Episode One Season One: A Short Prologue
I’m Tom Henderson, 35 years old, and I’m from London. My passion is, has always been, and will always be, football. The perfect distraction. For 90 minutes, I forget the negative things in life and totally immerse myself into a magical world. Impossible goals, spectacular passes, unexpected outcomes and amazing fans. I’d argue that football is the best and most enthralling sport in the world.
For the past few long and devastating months I’ve really needed football to distract me from life. About five months ago, my wife, Charlene, was shot in a horrible accident. Well, that’s what authorities say, I don’t think it was an accident at all, because of a dream I have. During some nights, shortly after the death of my wife, I’d have terrifying dreams about the events that happened that day. I dreamt that she was shot by a hitman wearing a leather black trenchcoat, who also tried to kill me.
Anyways, let’s not get distracted from the main storyline here. So, as you’d imagine, my life has been filled with darkness ever since my wife passed away. My wife was a sweet and loving woman, who was always there for me. Together, we lived a careless life and we were both happy. Since she’s departed us, I’ve been struggling to keep my head above the water and not drown in the sea that is called life.
Only when watching my beloved West Ham at the mythical Boleyn Ground, I’ve managed to take my head off it all. As a life-long Irons fan, I’ve experienced the highs and the lows. Trust me, there have been many. In some way, West Ham is a reflection of my own life. I’ve experienced joyous highs, but also depressing lows. Now, I’m hoping that I can add the highest of highs to my life. Being successful as a football manager.
I’ve always wanted to do something in the fascinating world of football, but never really had the chance to materialize that dream. After the devastating loss of my wife I decided to start on a coaching course. I want to become a football manager, so I can think about football not for 90 short minutes per week, but for the whole week.
I had never played professional or even semi-professional football in my life, but because of my touching life story, the FA let me join this basic coaching course. I passed with ease and was now cleared to find a semi-professional club in England. Many lower-league teams were still looking for a manager, so I applied at virtually all open jobs and waited for one to get back to me.
In the meantime, I read many articles on revolutionary managers from the past and present and dreamt about being one of them. I wanted to climb up from the rags of English football to the summit: the Premier League. I knew this was a ridiculous dream, but the time I wasn’t thinking about the loss of my wife was good time for me.
