Maddox felt a surge of old-school anger. He had seen coaches like that in his previous life, men who valued their own ego over the development of talent.

"Declan, look at me," Maddox commanded.

The boy raised his head.

"Kingston United made a terrible mistake," Maddox said firmly. "A massive one. They saw a player who could think for himself and they tried to break him. Here, I don’t want robots. I want creators. Yes, we have a tactical system, but that system is designed to give you the platform to be brilliant. When you cut inside against Hastings, you weren’t being selfish. You were being a winner."

Maddox stood up and walked around the desk. He put a hand on Declan’s shoulder. "I am telling you right now: your ’attitude’ is not a problem for me. Your fear of making mistakes is the problem. From now on, if you try a dribble and lose the ball, I won’t scream at you. I’ll only get angry if you stop trying that dribble."

A small, shaky breath escaped Declan. The "Bond Level" notification flickered in Maddox’s vision.

[BOND LEVEL INCREASE: DECLAN WHITTAKER (Level 2 - Awakening Trust)]

"You have a path to the top, Declan," Maddox continued. "But you have to leave Kingston in the past. We’re going to the Ascension League. The scouts from the big clubs will be there. You can either show them that the Kingston report was right, or you can make them look like fools for letting you go. Which one is it?"

Declan’s hands stopped fidgeting. He gripped the arms of his chair. "I want to make them look like fools, coach."

"Good," Maddox said, turning back to his desk. "Now you two, get out of here and get some rest. Monday morning, six a.m. Don’t be late."

As the two players left, Luis stayed back for a second. He leaned against the doorframe and looked at Maddox with a teasing smile. "You’re good at that, boss. The talking bit."

"It’s not just talking, Luis," Maddox replied with faked seriousness. "It’s the truth. Now go on, get out of here."

***

The office was quiet once more, but Maddox wasn’t done for the night. He opened a different file on his system interface, a secure scouting database he had been building since his first week in this world.

He didn’t have much money, but the club’s board had been surprisingly generous following the qualification. The qualification to participate in the Ascension League had brought in new sponsorship interest, and Northcastle had released a transfer fund of 1 million Terra (⊽1m).

In this world’s strong economy, it was a solid amount for a youth team, though less than peanuts compared to the professional giants.

With a thought from Maddox, a name was typed into the interface search bar: "Noah Perring."

A face appeared on the screen, a boy with messy blonde hair and an intense, focused stare.

[Noah Perring (CAM, CM, DLP, HYBRID)

Age: 16

Foot: Left 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Wage: 40 ⊽/week

Overall Rating: 9.0/ 20

Potential (updated): ★★★★☆

Current Ability: 8.1 / 20

Stats Overview:

Pace: 10

Shooting: 10

Dribbling: 11

Passing: 10

Physical: 6

Defending: 3

Technique: 12

Positioning: 7

Creativity: 12

Movement: 8

Teamwork: 10

Aggression: 2

Decisions: 9

Leadership: 3

System Summary:

Positives: Creative spark. Excellent technique. Still overlooked by coaching staff due to size. A true Hidden Gem.

Negatives: Lacks playing time.

Recommend: Regular Play Time.]

Maddox remembered the boy clearly. He had been the hidden shining light at Silvergate before Maddox was sacked. Noah was a playmaker with vision that shouldn’t belong to a teenager. He could see passing lanes before they opened. He was the "Brain" that Maddox’s current midfield was lacking.

Maddox had promised himself that he would come back for Noah after settling in whichever club he found himself. He had seen the heartbreak in Noah’s eyes when the youth club had shown Maddox the door, especially since he had been the only Silvergate Youth Sailors coach to put his full trust in him.

"Teddy!" Maddox called out while transferring Noah’s information into a tablet.

The assistant coach stuck his head back into the office. "Yeah, Eric?"

"How much do we know about Silvergate’s current situation?"

Teddy grimaced. "Not good. Since you left, they’ve lost four in a row. The new manager, Nigel Crowther, is a cosmic-level disaster. He’s playing a long-ball system that doesn’t suit their talent. The fans are revolting, and the board is looking to cash in on their assets to cover the losses from dropping out off the youth league for the next three years."

Maddox tapped the tablet’s screen, highlighting Noah’s profile. "Noah Perring, while he’s an asset to me, Silvergate considers him to be surplus to requirements and they’ll want to move him and a few others. He’s too good for their current level, and his value will only drop if he stays in that system."

"You want him?" Teddy asked, his eyebrows rising. "He should be cheap if that’s the case. But with their current situation, Silvergate would be tough to negotiate a fair price since they’ve got nothing to lose now."

"I have been given a million Terra by the board for transfers before the start of the NextGen Ascension League. No more than a hundred thousand Terra should do the trick. That’s peanuts compared to what I consider to be his real price currently." Maddox said. "And more importantly, I have a connection. Noah doesn’t want to play for a manager who doesn’t understand him. He wants to play for the man who believes in him and taught him how to see the game."

Maddox looked at the clock. It was nearly ten p.m. He picked up his phone and dialed a number he had kept saved in his private contacts. It was Noah’s father, a man who had always been a vocal supporter of Maddox’s methods.

The phone rang three times before a deep voice answered. "Hello?"

"Arthur? It’s Eric Maddox."

There was a stunned silence on the other end. "Eric? We’ve been reading about you. The ’Touchline God,’ eh? My boy hasn’t stopped talking about that 3-2 win against Hastings. He watched the highlights a million times."

Maddox smiled. "I’m glad to hear he’s still interested in my matters. Arthur, I’m calling because I’ve qualified for the NextGen Ascension League. I’m building something here at Northcastle, and I’m missing a piece of the puzzle."

"You want Noah," Arthur said, his tone turning serious.

"I do. I promised myself I wouldn’t leave him behind when I found another club. I have the funds to make a fair offer to Silvergate, but I need to know if Noah is willing to make the jump. It’s a lot of pressure."

"Eric," Arthur said, and Maddox could hear the smile in his voice. "The boy has his bags packed in his head already. He hates it here now. They’re stifling him, especially since he hasn’t featured in any game since you left. If you send that offer, he’ll walk to Northcastle if he has to."

"Good," Maddox said. "Tell him to keep his fitness up. I’ll be in touch with his agent and the Silvergate board by tomorrow morning."

Maddox hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. The pieces were starting to fall into place. He had a striker who was regaining his edge, a winger who was finding his confidence, and now, he was reaching back into his past to bring in a generational talent.

He stood up, grabbed his jacket, and turned off the lights. As he walked through the quiet corridors of the Northcastle facility, he felt a sense of purpose he hadn’t felt in decades. He wasn’t just a 70-year-old man in a 25-year-old’s body anymore.

He was the architect of a revolution.

The NextGen Ascension League was only three weeks away. The world thought they were just a small youth team that got lucky. They thought Maddox was a flash in the pan.

They were about to find out how wrong they were.