Overthrowing an Empire: One Yellow Wall at a time.

Saturday, 22nd, April 2017 5:30 PM

The sea of yellow from the home fans was amazing as always, I mused to myself, I really did manage the best fans in the league. The 'Yellow Wall' was already chanting my name as I walked out onto the turf, to look over the pre-match warm ups with Steve Walsh and the physios.

I clasped hands with Steve as he approached me, a smile beaming ear from ear.

"The lads look hungry for it today Josh, I wouldn't be too worried about complacency setting in, I think we will be partying come tonight" he chuckled. I couldn't help but admire how Steve was so calm under any situation, in the DFB-Pokal final last season he was as breezy as ever. I knew the league was our in reality and it should be today, but I always felt nervous before important games.

As kick-off quickly approached I signalled for my players to come back inside, the changing rooms a mess of boots and sports bags, but in the corner I caught the sight of the traditional 'Champions Banners' and shook my head laughing to myself.

"Ok lads listen up" I bellowed, "We all know what is at stake today, the league is more or less ours, but today we have the chance to win it in front of our home fans and give them a four week party! What more could they wise for! Keep your heads and play as you always do lads, we are here for a reason, don't think about it too much now!"

With that Julian Weigl stood up and rallied the lads, he was shaping up to be a future captain I thought, he had the ability and it appeared the leadership.

The roar of the crowd was deafening when the referee got the game underway but it was nothing compared to the noise that reached my ears just 16 minutes later.

Marco Reus picked the ball up in the Paderborn final third and the crowd as they always do when this special talent touches the ball, held their breaths. I could see Mario Fernandes making a run to his right and prayed Reus spotted it, without even hesitating Marco played in the fullback and first time he crossed it towards my personal favourite player Mkhitaryan. The ball was in the air an age and never seemed to come down, but it suddenly the ball was in the back of the net and I could smell the burning flames of a flare being set off behind me in the crowd. We had a lead.

I wasn't even watching when I suddenly realised that we had scored yet again, as I was discussing Mario Fernandes's potential injury with the fitness coaches in the dugout, but as I turned all I saw was Aubameyang leaping high in the air and heading it simply into the net.

Steve grabbed me and embraced me tightly.

"We have another title Joshy boy!" he exclaimed and I couldn't help but get carried away with only 23 minutes gone, it would take three Paderborn goals to ruin the party and even when the visitors didn't claw one back, the fans merely carried on partying.

But for some reason I was still feeling tense, maybe it was yet to sink in that I was about to win another league title as a manager? Despite all the doubt early on? I watched in glee as Mario pounced on a sloppy pass and broke forwards, the man was deceptively quick I thought to myself, his passing however was evidently superb, there was no hiding it. For a fullback he has one of the best distribution of the ball I have seem.

The Brazilian casually picked out Aubameyang and I found myself running down the touchline before he had even shot, but as the ball went flying past the keeper to make it 3-1, I was already down the touchline to jump onto the celebrating players.

It had finally sunk in. I have won another league title.

The game fizzled out and remained 3-1 and when the full-time whistle blew, I shook hands with my opposite number, before hugging every single one of my staff and substitutes.

There was no need for formalities in the changing room after, the party started instantly, the vodka, champagne, Jäger and beers were out in full flow. Crates of the drinks spewed across the floor, with every player and member of staff knowing we were winning the title today, they had time to bring drinks in with them and boy did they deliver.


**************

I finally crawled into bed, more hammered than I ever had been before. I had already thrown up multiple times in every place I could find between the nightclub and my house, much to the delight of my players.

I rolled over moaning as my head spun and checked my clock, it read 6am.

"Great" I muttered, "I have a press conference in three hours" and with that, I shut my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Two in a row! Perfect! Great start to the trophy collection this year! Great stuff bro

Get in!!! I always believed in you! Onto the next mate

@ TheLFCFan Thanks a lot mate, the Bundesliga has been easy this season due to Ancelotti and Munich not really gelling so will be interesting to see what happens next season! Hopefully this season I can add one or two more trophies to the list!

@Jack Thanks a lot mate! Was a foregone conclusion some weeks ago, but nice to finally have it confirmed and in my hands!

26th April, 2017

The Volkswagen Arena was alive and buzzing, I was yet to ever experience an atmosphere like this away from home. The DFB-Pokal semi-final had unfortunately come just four days after we won the league against Paderborn.

Not only were we battling with fatigue of fixtures piling up, but we also missed a training session from the partying after the Paderborn game, Wolfsburg however, have had the perfect preparation for this game.

I over looked the pre-match training as I always do and it just wasn't clicking, passes were being under hit, the tackles looked lacklustre and I myself wasn't feeling it. I still felt ill from Saturday night.

Oh well, I mused to myself, league titles don't come along every year, need to enjoy them when they happen, not two months later!

I called the players into the dressing room and tried to reassure them that they were the better side, the home crowd is nothing and that we have a true chance of chasing the treble this year, to make Dortmund history.

I thought my team talk would have worked, but to my horror, André Schürrle found himself in space just four minutes in, a quick one-two saw the German winger skip past Jorge with ease, before cutting in and blasting the ball past Rulli.

I couldn't believe it, we were 1-0 down after four minutes, away from home in a semi-final.

The remainder of the game was no picnic, Reus struck the woodwork twice,. Aubameyang had two penalty shouts waved away, and while I won't admit it to the media, they were the worse decisions I have seen all season.

The most irritating fact is we had the ball cleared off the line as well!

But I know deep down writing this, that we were not good enough today, when the final whistle blew and the scoreboard read clearly 1-0 Wolfsburg, I could only put my heads in my hands and have a moment to myself.

The contrast of emtions from Saturday to Wednesday couldn't have been more different, players were slumped on the floor, one or two were close to tears.This is the passion I loved to see from my men, lkay Gündoğan however seemed rather neutral about it all I noted, that is something I must keep an eye on with interest from Manchester City mounting.

I pulled the German midfielder aside, "lkay, what was happening out there you didn't seem yourself?" my player looked me in the eyes.

"I am sorry boss, I should have told you before. My agent has been in touch with City, they have informed him that come the end of the season, they will be triggering my contract clause. I am coming to the end of my Dortmund career boss, I am sorry."

I just started at him, this is for sure not how I wanted this day to end, "My office, 9am tomorrow, if you are to leave, I am getting the best price for you and I am getting the best out of you, that understood?"

"Yes boss" the soon to be former Dortmund player mumbled.

I patted him on the back and sent him on his way, this is not how I wanted this day to pan out what so ever.

April review and the meeting with İlkay Gündoğan

April was all in all a very exciting month for Joshua Bean and Borussia Dortmund, they reclaimed the league title, making it two in a row for Dortmund and they also progressed to the semi finals of the Champions League after a 3-2 aggregate win over Manchester City.

Sadly they were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal following a very poor performance away at Wolfsburg, Dortmund will be even more disappointed when they consider the fact that they would have been facing a Bundesliga 2 side, surely making victory in the final a formality.

As for players, the press were reporting that lkay Gündoğan was in talks with Manchester City, over a potential move to England this summer, with the reported heated exchange between Joshua Bean and lkay Gündoğan post-match, adding further fuel to the transfer story.

It is unclear what the two were discussing but in between congratulating the opposition bench and applauding the away fans, Bean sent an awfully long time talking in a non to comforting manner with the German midfielder.

When asked post-match about the talks with Gündoğan, Bean would reply every time, "this question is for another day, for now I want to offer my congratulations to Wolfsburg who were the better side and to thank the fans for their support as always, we now move our focus to the Champions League semi-final with Arsenal".

Dortmund ended the month with a comfortable 3-1 win over lowly placed Mainz, in a dead fixture. Mainz are unable to be relegated and Dortmund have already won the title.

The performance was strong and there goals for Aubameyang, Reus and Mkhitaryan on the day.



************

April 25th, 9am, 2017

Steve Walsh shook my hand firmly and stood up to leave, as he reached the door he turned to me, "Josh, this is the best we can do in this situation, we have to show some authority and get the most we can for him."

I nodded knowingly, signalling for Steve to be on his way. Besides his innate talent of being able to spot a players talent and potential better than most scouts in the world, another reason why I valued him so highly was because we were completely opposite in terms of how we go about things. Emotionally we are the same, hearts on our sleeves. But how we get there? Well I tend to enjoy being the nicer guy and Steve has no qualms about being the hated member of the group, so I suppose good cop bad cop is a good summary.

I was not looking forward to how I was going to have to handle this Gündoğan situation. It was ironically my idea as I refused to get only £35 million the release clause demands, for arguably one of our most important players, especially when midfielders were going for so much in this current market.

I heard a knock on the door and waited several moments before summoning the person in, it was always good to show authority even in the daftest of ways. As expected Gündoğan nervously entered, he simply nodded at me, and gestured behind him where I saw his agent follow behind dressed in a sharp suit.

I laughed and shook my head.

"No agents İlkay, this is a meeting between player and manager. Possibly our last ever one to one meeting, I don't want no outside factors interfering. Anything we discuss you can relay word for word as soon as you leave this room, but for now, the football men will talk it out."

The agent started to protest but he could see clearly from my expression that he was getting no where, it was up to İlkay to decide whether the meeting went ahead or if they both walked. After several seconds of tension he nodded at his agent to leave.

I waited until his agent had left and then I waited some more, I was hurting from how he had gone about this and I wanted him to know that.

"Explain to me, why my star midfielder and one of my favourite players at this club, took it into his hands to negotiate his transfer, behind my back and to even cost us the semi-final of all games?" I asked him quietly.

He knew allowing his agent to leave was going to make this harder for him, he started awkwardly at the floor, "Sorry boss I didn't mean it to affect my game honest."

I looked at him, preparing to deliver the news.

"Mate me and Steve along with the board have had an emergency meeting and we have come to two scenarios for you, both end up with you going to City as you desire. I won't have you on this team no matter what next season, after ruining that semi-final. But the two scenarios vary greatly." I looked him in the eyes and could tell he was fearing some kind of scheming.

"Option one" I continued, "The better of the two for all of us. You continue to play a key part in our Champions League challenge, you get your move to Manchester City, I can sleep soundly knowing I got as much money for you as I possibly could and the fans can be content. This is what we do, I offer you a new contract, a base contract, exact same as your current one but your release clause is upped to £59 million, no ifs or buts."

"But boss that is mental! They may not pay that, that is more than £20 million more in demands!"

"Quite" I demanded. "Option two is this. You refuse to do that, you don't play for this club ever again and myself and board will release separate statements as well as multiple press-conferences, stating that you refused to play for this side, as you claimed to be unhappy, as well as stating that you negotiated this deal behind the clubs back the day of the DFB-Pokal semi-final without my knowledge, showing you back stabbed us on a hugely important game, which we lost."

Inside I felt awful this was not how I wanted to end my friendship with him but I gulped and carried on.

"These are your only two options. You sign a new contract to make sure this club gets a player fit to be your replacement. Or, you refuse and leave for a lot less, but your name and reputation will be destroyed with the fans and they will never forgive. Nor will your fellow teammates."

He made to protest, anger in his eyes, but I dismissed him by turning my chair and looking out of the window, as he was about to leave and called him back, "Bring your agent in mate and here you go" I handed him the already created new contract.

"Need a pen?"

The ink had dried on the contract as I handed it to the board, shrugging sadly "We are getting £59 million for him then guys" I now needed to plan for Arsenal as well as scouting potential midfielders to replace him.

Great, just what I needed I laughed to myself.

"We can beat Arsenal" claims Bean

On the eve of the first leg against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals, the pre-match build up brought about the usual buzz of excitement as the travelling Arsenal fans hit the local pubs, the home fans discuss the upcoming semi-final and both managers speak to the media one last time.

Joshua Bean looked as happy as ever as he entered the Dortmund press room, beaming smile ear from ear, as he shook hands with his press officer who sat beside him.

While the questions were as demanding as ever, both Bean and the journalists were in joyous mood as they discussed the upcoming fixture.

"So how do you feel about Arsene Wenger claiming that his side are the favourites for the tie?" asked one journalist.

"Well I can understand his confidence, he is far more experienced in Europe than I am. But I would argue that this Dortmund side I have under me, are by far the stronger of the two, players such as Reus and Aubameyang are just something special and we will see this over the two legs."

"You certainly seem confident, I am guessing you believe you can in fact reach the final then?"

" Well, I won't lie I fully appreciate how difficult this match alone will be let alone the match at the Emirates, they are arguably a bigger side, whatever that means. They are a well trained and well manned side, but again, yes we can win!

The questions continued down the same road, until the press conference ended on a joyful note.

"So Josh, fans have been saying that if you are to win the entire tournament, that you deserve to have a statue built of yourself? Would you agree?"

" "Hahaha, well that is impressive accolade for me! I must insist that it is sculpted based on a good hair day picture, I can't be set in bronze with bad hair now can I!"

Unfortunate to lose to Wolfsburg costing you the chance at a treble. Possibly even worse is the loss of Ikay but at least you will be getting a great price for him! Hopefully you can bring in an even better player in for that much. I agree, you can 100% beat Arsenal and get in to and win that Champions League final! Keep it coming mate!

If you can beat Man City, I'm certainly laying down my bets on you to beat Arsenal! Good luck mate, great update

@LFC Yeah gutting result to Wolfsburg, the treble was a possibility until then! Also I have a player lined up don't you worry Thanks for reading pal!

@Jack Just what I need, a betting man on my side I am confident in reality but in the game I am being heavily tipped as underdogs for some reason so of course the in game questioning was based on the underdog role! Get a win at home and who knows!

May 2nd, 2017, 19:30



The game had finally arrived, after the build up and debates, the discussions and arguments from the pundits and opposing fans, the first leg of the semi-finals were finally here.

The Signal Iduna Park looked stunning as always basked in the sea of yellow, flags waving through the air, flares adding bright fiery colours to the atmosphere, the fans were ready. The players were ready. I was ready.

Today was the start of arguably the biggest four weeks in my football management career so far, the road to the Champions League final had just one more road block to smash through and I was more than confident.

Damn I thought to myself, I had never been this confident for a game before. I looked around the dressing room, the players in silence looking up at me, eyes steeled, ready for the game ahead.

"Lads, today is just one game. Don't overthink anything ok! There is always a second leg, don't act as if today is a once in a lifetime, we are the stronger side, so play our normal game! Keep the ball, wait for the fullbacks and wingers to work their magic as they always do."

I scanned the room, locking eyes with Xabi Alonso, he has been here before I thought I could rely on him.

"Alonso, I need you to play more defensively today, primarily to counter the pace of the attacking Arsenal players. I am yet to see a man who can read the game as well as you, with you sitting just in front of the two centre backs, it prevents them counter-attacking with much success!"

The former Munich player nodded in agreement, considering his role for the night.

As I looked around the room, my eyes locked with those of İlkay Gündoğan, we shared a knowing look at each other and he subtly nodded to me, I knew I could count on him now.

Steve went over the final instructions as always and then we were off, the Champions League anthem sounded and before I knew it, kick-off was already underway.

The opening 20 minutes were cagey to say the least, Wenger seemed content to defend tonight I mused. I looked over at the Arsenal dugout and there was a real lack of movement or urgency, they had obviously discussed this idea.

Suddenly Wenger was too his feet, screaming for a card to be brandished after Jorge went in roughly on Sanchez. I was ready to let it go until the rest of the Arsenal coaching staff joined in, some even encroaching their technical dugout.

Me and Steve were over in a flash, much to the delight of the fans as they cheered us on. Good I thought, they were rattled at last.

It seemed to radiate over to the players as well as several minutes later, a sloppy pass from Sanchez, gifted the ball to Reus. The winger played a wonderful one-two with Weigl, before playing in Fernandes on the overlap. The fullback first time volleyed the ball towards the back post, I followed the flight of the ball like a hawk and could see Mkhitaryan at the back post.

I held my breath and suddenly the Armenian winger rose higher than the rest and nodded the ball into the back of the net. We had the lead and it was vital to keep it that way!

In reality the rest of the game was so boring, I won't even lie to myself here. It wasn't tactical like some Italian matches, it was just boring. Arsenal refused to leave less than six men behind the ball at all times and we were unable to break them down.

As the full-time whistle blew and I shook hands with Wenger, I couldn't help but say to him, "Play like that in two weeks and we may not even need to turn up"

It was made clear in the media by Wenger himself, that he was not a fan of mine. So I intended to use this to my advantage to rattle him.

As the fans applauded us off the field a smile broke across my face, 90 minutes was all that stood between me and a Champions League final.

Great job on the league title and dealing with Gundogan. Champions League final next hopefully

April 10th, 2017, 21:05



I paced up and down the technical area, bellowing orders to my players. "Keep tight at the back, don't allow yourselves to be split up! Alonso! Alonso! Alonso, sit tight, break up the ball as we discussed!"

I looked down at my watch, fidgeting with the metallic feel of the strap, 25 minutes left. 25 whole minutes. The match at the Emirates was going our way on the aggregate scoreboard, but the game was not. At 0-0 we were going through 1-0 as it stood, but on the pitch Arsenal were humiliating us, they could have. No. Should have been 2, 3 maybe even 4-0 up by now and that is no exaggeration.

As I turned to assess the substitutes bench, trying to quickly decide who would be the best player to throw on to hold onto the 0-0, I heard a shout of pain. I sound round to see Aubameyang in a heap on the floor.

"Please not now" I muttered. I was willing him on, but saw the dreaded signal from the trainers, he has to come off. Damn it.

I turned round, "Shane two minute warm up and one minute stretching, go on son."

I knew I could rely on Shane, people were shocked when I brought Shane Long in from Southampton, but a mere £800k for a man who had everything you could possibly want in a second choice striker. Heck if I was a manager at any team, bar the top sides, he would be my starter.

Most importantly he is heavily reliable.

I rushed over to the edge of my area as the trainers jogged past me. "How bad is it lads?" Praying it wasn't season ending.

"Honestly boss, it's nothing. He has sprained it and it is too painful to run on, especially in a high velocity environment like football. But in reality he will be fine in two days."

I sighed a huge sigh of relief, but knew there was no point worrying about the final just yet, we had 20 minutes to hold out yet.

As Long was about to enter the field of play, I pulled him close so I could speak to him.

"Shane, you know exactly what to do now. We are set up to hit them on the break, use your strength to hold up the ball and is you can, try to play a pass to the onrushing players, but if needs be just hold onto it! But Shane, I believe i you mate, there is no pressure."


The Irishmen was pleased at my words, he knew what he had to do, but he knew I wasn't demanding anything exceptional in a high pressure situation.

The next 20 minutes were a blur, Arsenal attack after attack. Rulli was playing out of his skin to keep the Arsenal players at bay.

I saw the fourth official make his walk to the edge of the pitch to announce the added time, four minutes. God four minutes more. This was going to be tough.

Just as I was considering if there was much more I could change in the last four minutes, Reus went down in a heap following a soft challenge from Ozil. I smiled, well done to win that foul I chuckled.

The free-kick killed dead Arsneal's momentum but also killed some of the clock, an added plus was it was just in range to be crossed in accurately, rather than punted in and hope.

Thankfully only Long went up, as I instructed the usual attackers were littered around the edge of the area, to reclaim any headed clearance. Long was there to challenge for the ball and make a nuisance of himself.

I saw Shane grab Reus's attention and indicate subtly where and how he wants the ball, as Reus ran towards the ball, Shane darted inside and then out, freeing himself, leaping in the air the Irishmen connected just enough with the ball to flick it on its way.

The Irishmen just had time to turn and watch as the ball flew into the far top corner, much like Sam Vokes goal against Belgian in the Euros.



The entire dugout launched themselves onto me, creating a pile on right next to Wenger and his devastated player and staff.

The celebrations on the field were just as chaotic with Long sliding towards the corner flag where the away fans were desperately trying to get onto the field to embrace their new hero. Every single player in yellow on the pitch surged over to Shane, some even jumping onto the amass of fans being held back by the stewards.

"We are going to the final boys" I shouted at my players as the full-time whistle sounded a few minutes later. The exchanges between myself and Wenger before the match were nothing short of heated and neither of us bothered to shake hands before or after.

But I didn't care one bit, I was on the Emirates turf grabbing every player in yellow I could to congratulate them all individually. They all played their parts, each and every one of them. When I finally reached Shane I just laughed. "I asked you to hold onto the ball not score! That goal nearly gave me a heart attack I was being jumped on that much!"

I patted the Irishmen on the back and marched over to the away fans to thank them for their support. The job wasn't done yet, Manchester United the English champions were all that stood between my Borussia Dortmund side and that illustrious trophy.

You've got one leg in the Final (literally)! Time for you to take them apart at The Emirates!

@Ninja Thanks dude! As always means a lot that you are reading

@Jack Hahaha dude you commented literally as soon as I finished my second leg update! Thanks dude