Part 209: Chapter the Eleventh: Dr. Meteor and Mr. Mujkic

Chapter the Eleventh: Dr. Meteor and Mr. Mujkic.
March 7, 2027-April 8, 2027

We've got to win against Valencia. Other than that, we really have no important matches. We're twelve points ahead of Manchester United with two games in hand, they would need to win out while we lost most of our remaining matches to fumble away the title and the real question is whether we can set a record for the number of games remaining when we clinch. The current record for a 38 game season is locking up the title with four games remaining. I think we can beat that.

There's also youth intake in a few days. Since we're broke it won't take up much of my time. Then there's an international break, which also won't take much time as the USMNT is only facing China.

vs Valencia, March 9, 2027
Champions League, Knockout Round Home Tie


We lose if Valencia draws us and scores even once. Not getting an away goal could turn out to be our undoing.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Hammatt, Quiboulaz, Loseille, Maloney, Shirra, Mercado, Allan, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Tounkara, Bailey, Pickee, Damgaard, Stringel.

The Turkish referee hands out three yellows in the first five minutes, and two of them are to Hammatt and Loseille. The cautiousness that results allows Valencia to push us around, but they miss a great chance to score. Then Thiago scores against the run of play, and we're in business. Valencia are unable to press us as hard after that, and we get some breathing room when Ed Hammatt crushes a header past the Valencia keeper. We add to that buffer with Thiago's second goal of the game just before the break.

The Spaniards need a huge comeback, and we spot them one of the three goals they require when Minami makes an unnecessarily rushed clearance directly to a Valencia forward. That's the only one they get, though, as our defense otherwise locks down and controls the end of the match. We're still in the Champions League and seeking a double.

Man of the Match: Thiago




Wrexham (3) 3-1 (1) Valencia



Not shabby at all, Meteor, I didn't think anyone was going to break that Bailey record.



There's some good prospects on this U20 squad. The most obvious is Rodrigo Moctezuma, but David Hunt, Matt Orozco, Matt Brown, John Morales, and Casey Medina are all four star or better prospects. If they all reached their full potential they'd be as good or better than everyone not named Brent Woods from our last World Cup team. It's only a matter of how much they'll have improved by the time the next World Cup comes in 2030.

At Brentford, March 13, 2027
Premier League


Brentford are doing about as well as could be expected, sitting six points above the drop in fifteenth place. I want to build on our victory over Valencia, it'd be nice to just plow through the rest of our matches without a hitch.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Cirjak, Tounkara, Laux, Loseille, Bailey (c), Allan, Parr, Stringel, Damgaard, Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Reed, Quiboulaz, Maloney, Shirra, Mercado, Pickee.

We have a habit of scoring early, and this match is no different as precise passes from Bailey and Parr set Thiago up for a simple finish. A similar four touch movement sees Allan snake a pass between two defenders to Stringel, who looks up and sees Parr breaking for the net. One placed shot later, and we're ahead two-nil in the 12th minute. Thiago later manages to hit the keeper when he has the entire rest of the goalmouth to work with, but Stringel is right there to hole the second effort.

Brentford come out firing in the second half, forcing Minami to make two sprawling saves to protect the clean sheet, but when our opponents do put the ball into the net it's an own goal that provides the final margin.

Man of the Match: Isaac Stringel




Brentford 0-4 Wrexham



Our academy class is not very good this year, yielding only a few two star prospects, and I've no money with which to go out and supplement it. We'll be fine without any improvements, though, only a couple of our best prospects are graduating from the U18 team this year.



Of course he's not getting called up to the senior team, I want him to go win the CONCACAF U20 championship, not play one boring friendly against China.



Shahed Parr has been a joy to watch when he's healthy enough to play. He's been great, averaging a goal or assist per game played. This is his third multi-week injury of the season, though. He'll only miss one game, against Swansea, thanks to the international break, and then we'll have him for a couple more games before he hurts himself again.



I'm not sure what dropped out of our rankings to see us improve so much, but I'll take it.



Ah, lovely. We'll face a team that spends a full £100m in salary more than their next closest domestic competitor.



Only 19 days now separate our two league matches with Southampton. If we can get past PSG we could end up playing them back to back in early May!




I wanted to use the upcoming friendly in China to blood some of our younger players, but that does leave stalwarts like Latham concerned about their place in the side.



I swear, every time I call him up he gets hit by a truck. Poor bastard.



Oh no! No! This is terrible news. How can you quit on me Bruno? We had such a good thing going! Who will I call a mindless parasite who coasts on the skills of his players and who can't even fathom the 4-4-2?

At Swansea City, March 21, 2027
Premier League, Welsh Derby


Swansea just held Manchester United to a draw, and are on a twelve match unbeaten streak. Their season really picked up once they were knocked out of the Europa League, prior to that they had been getting thrashed on a twice-weekly basis.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Tounkara, Laux, Loseille, Bailey, Shirra, Pickee, Stringel, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Quiboulaz, Hammatt, Bale, Allan, Damgaard, Mercado.

Loseille gets a first minute yellow, and Laux picks up one 25 minutes later. Swansea are playing well, but we're still creating opportunities. We're just missing them, the most obvious being an open net attempt that Tounkara fluffs just before the end of the half.

Swansea takes advantage of our punchlessness and Bailey's failure to mark his man on a free kick and gives Swansea the lead. We're still not getting any pressure on Swansea, and things go worse when Mujkic gets his second straight red of the season. Unlike the prior tackle this one seems like it's for no reason at all. I start to think the ref has it in for us when we're denied a clear penalty, and I order us to get well stuck in. Finally, after Thiago blows yet another chance, it's Dramane Tounkara making up for his earlier miss on a corner. We can walk out of South Wales with a draw by the skin of our teeth.

Man of the Match: Dramane Tounkara




Swansea 1-1 Wrexham



It didn't look that vicious to me, Mujkic came in straight for the ball. So I'm going to gamble that Williams is wrong, and appeal.



Hopefully this means he doesn't get an additional suspension atop the two games he'll already miss.



Nope! He's going to miss almost half of our remaining league games. I hope Claus Damgaard is eager to show what he can do during his run in the first team.




Allan and Reed are both upset that I didn't hit Mujkic with stronger discipline, and they both have a point. I should have paid more attention to Paul William's take rather than what my lying eyes told me while watching the match.



Look! A rare example of me admitting I was wrong. It does happen!



Brent, if you wanted to act like the captain why did you give up the position?



We played like Wrexham, which was excellent to see. We could easily have won by six.



I like our chances in the Gold Cup. We're finally starting to get where I feel like we should be as a national team.



Look who's finally back.



Parr returns as well, and we've got a clean bill of health. He'll make it through three more matches before getting hurt, probably.



So long as I keep Mercado benched for three of our last nine league matches we won't be on the hook for another year of his gigantic contract.



I also have to get around to renegotiating our deals with our staff, since it seems like all of them are due for an extension.



The young Dutchman really wants out. I've got to tell him tough luck, since he's probably going to be our starter next season in Shahed Parr's current role.

At Manchester City, April 3, 2027
Premier League


This is our toughest remaining league match, but City don't look likely to qualify for the Champions League, sitting eight points back of fourth with seven games remaining. Their Financial Fair Play penalty is going to cost them dearly.

Starting Formation: 4-2-3-1 Control
Starting 11: Minami, Cirjak (c), Tounkara, Laux, Loseille, Zouaghi, Shirra, Pickee, Stringel, Damgaard, Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Reed, Quiboulaz, Bailey, Allan, Parr, Mercado.

City have a marked possession advantage, but we're the ones taking all the shots. Tounkara is grabbed around the waist and held back from a corner kick, and we get a penalty that Shirra converts. Damgaard puts us ahead by two on an excellent solo effort. The pattern continues through the second half, and the real question is why it took until the final ten minutes of the match for us to score again.

Man of the Match: Scott Shirra.




Man City 0-3 Wrexham



Loseille's already racked up 42 appearances this season, second on the team after Thiago. And Thiago's job as a center forward requires a lot less running around than Loseille's wingback position. With an average distance traveled of 7.85 miles per match, the 22-year-old Frenchman has logged 344.2 miles since the Community Shield last August at an average clip of over 5 miles per hour.



I'd really like to lock up the league as soon as possible, but United keeps winning.



Wow, I've been around a long time now.



There's not going to be a whole lot of drama in the second leg of those quarterfinals.

At Paris Saint-Germain, April 7, 2027
Champions League, Quarterfinal Away Tie


We need an away goal or two here, because while PSG is a weirdly underperforming club they're still as talented as anyone in the world. It's going to be hard for us to keep them off the board, they have Marco Valerio Cirelli and Mark Bloem up top and that is a lot of firepower to keep under wraps.

Starting Formation: 4-5-1 Counter
Starting 11: Minami, Reed, Hammatt, Quiboulaz, Loseille, Laux, Shirra, Allan, Parr, Mujkic (c), Thiago.
Subs: Kocsis, Cirjak, Tounkara, Maloney, Bailey, Pickee, Stringel.

Mujkic has been a complete ass since he won the Ballon d'Or, with discipline issues galore. He picks up a yellow in the first 10 minutes, and I'm worried he's going to get suspended from the Champions League as well as the Premier League. We go behind on a corner kick in the 20th minute, but despite his discipline issues it's not like Mujkic has stopped being a good player, when he's sprung by a perfectly weighted Allan pass he finishes the job to draw us level.

The second half is a tightly contested battle that heads into the late minutes still knotted at one each. As time slips away we gain the upper hand, but we can't put away any of the multitude of chances served up on a platter for us. We have to settle for a draw, which is hardly the worst outcome but still feels like a missed opportunity.




PSG 1-1 Wrexham



Hey, that's something. I'm pretty sure 24 matches is greater than the real life record as well.



Our magic number is six. Any combination of us picking up or Manchester United dropping six points will secure us our fourth Premier League title in five years. No matter what else happens this season, we've been wildly impressive in the league and should take some comfort in that.