Strikers Instinct

by A. D. Rogers

  He finally made it back onto the coach for the long trip home and as he sank down into his comfortable seat, Craig presented him with a cold beer and the whole team gave him three cheers. To make a perfect day complete Luke joined in a game of cards with Craig, the physio and the kit man and the hours seemed to fly past. A taxi was waiting to take him from Wishton to home and he was pleased that Sue was waiting up for him.

  “I made the kids go to bed but I was too excited!” Sue said. “I couldn’t wait to see you! Two goals – it’s unbelievable – I’m so proud.”

  “I can’t believe it myself.” Luke smiled as they hugged. Seconds later the sound of running feet could be heard as both Lexi and Tom flew into the room. Lexi pushed her mum out of the way as she flew into her dad’s arms.

  “You’re fantastic!” she squealed as Luke whirled her around. Tom joined in by jumping on his dad’s back.

  “Well done dad – not bad for an old man!”

  Luke pretended to hit Tom but he dodged deftly out of the way and the whole family fell about laughing. Sue finally made everyone go to bed but Luke couldn’t sleep – it was hours since the game ended but he kept replaying the game in his mind. Consequently – for the first time in many years – Luke Linden didn’t get up at 6am the following morning – it was nearer to 9am when he finally opened his eyes.

  Strictly speaking, the players didn’t need to go into the training ground the day after a game but Luke decided to drive in after lunch to loosen up. He’d already done a shortened version of his daily exercise routine at home but he told himself that it would do no harm to run a few laps – get the stiffness out of his legs. In truth he wanted to see Sandy and Andy and thank them for giving him a night he would never forget.

  As soon as he stepped out of his car at the training ground he began to receive congratulations and slaps on the back – everyone seemed genuinely pleased about his debut performance. One or two people however, seemed slightly unhappy.

  “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” moaned Harry. “I would have loved to see you play!”

  “I had no idea until a few minutes before the kick off.” Luke said innocently.

  Just as they were speaking, Ed Tierney appeared.

  “Luke,” he oozed, “wonderful performance – I’m gutted that we didn’t cover it properly – it’s like a fairytale – we should have had it on the news! I’m not happy that Sandy kept it quiet.”

  “I’d hardly call it a fairytale.” Luke grimaced – noticing that behind the chairman some of the players were pretending to be fairies and were waving imaginary wands around!

  Ed didn’t seem to notice – he was obviously frantically thinking how he could cash in on this unexpected turn of events. When he had agreed to let a fan become part of the Wishton team squad for a year he had no idea that they may end up with someone who could actually play football. Luke decided that he would work equally hard to make sure that Ed didn’t exploit the situation. He thanked Ed and hurried away to find Sandy – leaving Ed bending Harry’s ear with all sorts of weird plans.

  Luke smiled as he walked towards Sandy’s office – he had no intention of letting Ed make this into something bigger than it actually was – but he knew he would have to be on guard for the next few days. Sandy seemed very pleased to see him.

  “Well done son, well done!” he cried, jumping up to shake Luke’s hand. “I knew you wouldn’t let us down!”

  Luke stared at Sandy for a second. “Did you really think I would do OK boss?” he asked.

  Sandy thought for a second and then grinned. “Do you want me to be honest?” he asked.

  “Please.” replied Luke.

  “Well then no, I didn’t think that you would play as well as you did.” replied Sandy. “I knew you wouldn’t disgrace yourself otherwise I wouldn’t have put you forward but I didn’t think you would be such a success! In fact you’ve given me a bit of a problem.”

  “In what way?” asked Luke.

  “Well the chairman has already been in to see me and he wants me to name you again in the reserves next week.” said Sandy.

  Luke groaned. “What did you tell him?”

  Sandy grunted. “What do you think I told him? I pick the team – not Ed Tierney or Luke Linden! I think he got the message. But I have to say that I do think he has a point. I’ve just finished watching a recording of last night’s game and I’m impressed. That first goal was pure slapstick but your second goal was very good. That wasn’t what impressed me though – your overall play and leadership was excellent for a 46 year old amateur.

  Luke didn’t know what to say so he just shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

  “Anyway,” Sandy continued, “it’s my problem so you don’t worry about it. I just want to make sure that all this doesn’t turn into a distraction. What are you doing here today anyway? Seems like you can’t keep away from the place!”

  Luke laughed. “I don’t know really,” he admitted, “coming here almost every day has become addictive, I guess I’m making the most of it while I can.”

  “Well, as long as you keep playing like you did last night – I’m sure I can find you a game here and there.” Sandy promised.

  He proved to be as good as his word. Sandy began to use Luke mainly for the reserve team away games – he felt there was less pressure that way. A couple of times Luke came on for just the last 10 minutes and once he just sat on the bench for the whole 90 minutes but he managed to score in both the games he played in – and the Wishton reserves won both games.

  Finally, the inevitable happened – Ed put Sandy under intense pressure to play Luke in a home reserve game and reluctantly he had to agree. Luke found himself on the bench facing Bury reserves and he had to pinch himself – he was in the squad for a game at the Wishton stadium! Although the crowd was tiny compared to first team match day, there were still more spectators in the stadium than usual. As far as Luke was concerned, the most important fans were his family and friends who were gathered behind one goal. Luke noticed that there also seemed to be a lot more journalists and cameramen in attendance than usual.

  After 80 minutes Wishton were 2-0 up and cruising to victory. Craig turned to Luke and nodded.

  “Warm up – you’re going on.”

  Luke trotted up and down the touchline, stretching and twisting as he moved. The fans behind the goal noticed the movement and began to cheer. A few seconds later the ball went out of play and Luke was waved onto the pitch. He had been instructed to play in the centre of defence and for the next few minutes he played adequately without particularly standing out. With a few minutes to go Wishton won a free kick near the corner flag and Craig waved his central defenders up.

  “Let’s see if Luke can do it again.” he announced to no-one in particular.

  As the ball was crossed into the area the wind seemed to catch it and move it away from the intended target – which was a mass of competing players. Instead, the ball dipped towards the front of the penalty area and the only player who had run into that space was Luke. He dived towards the dipping ball and headed the ball past the outstretched arms of the Bury goalkeeper!

  Luke’s supporters went ballistic and up in the stand even Ed was on his feet cheering. This was the first reserve team match that Ed had attended all season and he was very pleased that he had decided to come along. Luke and the rest of the players trotted back to their own half and turned to face the kick off. The game continued for another couple of minutes until the referee blew the final whistle and then Luke ran across to his family.

  The cameras flashed as Luke hugged Sue and the kids as other members of Luke’s family and his many friends tried to join in. Finally Luke dragged himself away to get changed but Lexi shouted him back.

  “Dad,” she shouted, “there’s one more thing we need to talk about!”

  Luke turned to listen.

  “If you keep scoring like this we are going to have to find a trademark celebration for you!”

  CHA
PTER 42

  The next few months leading up to Christmas fell into a familiar pattern. Wishton Clough first team went from strength to strength – they were top of the Championship, the striking partnership of Adi and Rae had proved to be the stuff that all managers dream of. Each night Sandy prayed that his family would be safe and well and then he prayed that Adi and Rae didn’t get injured. In the reserves Luke continued to get the occasional game and continued to play well. He usually scored at least one goal per game and was really enjoying himself. However, Sandy and Craig had decided to cut back on his appearances – they didn’t want to turn this into a freak show.

  Luke was more than happy to go along with their wishes – already the media interest had become ridiculous. Ed of course wanted Luke to play more – not less – but each time he spoke to Sandy or Luke about the subject it seemed that Luke had developed a slight injury that ruled him out of the next game. Luke was content with the occasional game if it helped the club out, otherwise he was more than happy training with the players or helping out back at his home in the swimming pool. One thing had changed however – following his daughter’s suggestion – Luke now had a trademark celebration he used when he scored a goal.

  In the old days – when Luke was working away, he used Skype a lot to talk to his family and they had developed some secret signals. Sue, Lexi and Tom each had a signal that only they knew, that meant all was well. Luke’s signal for Lexi was simple – he rubbed his finger under his right eye – and his signal for Tom was a similar gesture under the left eye. Luke used these signals because in the early days, Skype had been easy to hack into and he wanted to pass some messages on without being observed. All his family knew that if they were talking to Luke online and he started pulling his left ear then that was a secret signal that he was in trouble – and they had to let someone in the office know straight away.

  Luke decided to combine Tom and Lexi’s secret signal after he scored a goal. When he first used it both kids were speechless – then they cheered harder than ever. Sam Barker asked Luke to explain to the readers why Luke put his fingers under his eyes when he scored but Luke just laughed and said it was “personal”.

  This was to be the first Christmas in the new house for the Linden family and Sue and Luke went all out to make it a special time. They decorated the house inside and out – even the drive leading up from the main gate glittered and shone, just like the entrance to Santa’s grotto! The week before Christmas they threw a party for family and friends – old and new. Sandy and Andy’s families mixed with other players and Luke’s five a side partners. Even Ed turned up and seemed to enjoy himself. Sue noticed that Sarah Jenkins seemed to be getting quite friendly with Jason Grimshaw as she whizzed around the rooms checking that everyone had enough to eat and drink. It was easy to spot the players – they were the ones who were drinking juice – not alcohol.

  The party was a great success and a few days later, on Christmas Day, after they had all been to church, Luke and Sue held a much smaller family gathering. Harry and his mother were there of course – they were considered to be part of the extended Linden family – along with Sue’s mother, Luke’s mother, Uncle Jack and various other members of the tribe. Once again everyone had a great time and Luke and Sue gazed around the room and again realised just how much they had to be thankful for.

  The following day was Boxing Day and the Lindens set off to watch the home game against Blackburn Rovers. Rovers were up near the top of the table and everyone expected a close-fought game. That was exactly what happened. From their seats in the stand Luke and his family watched as the game swung to and fro – from end to end. It was deep into the second half when Wishton finally made the break through – Adi flicked a ball through to Rae who seemed to shrug off a strong challenge to slip the ball past the goalkeeper. The Wishton fans went wild but after a few seconds they fell silent as they realised that Rae hadn’t risen from the ground. Their fears deepened as a stretcher appeared and the stricken player was carried from the field. The injury seemed to unsettle the remaining Wishton players and they were caught sleeping a few minutes later when the Rovers centre forward powered down the middle and lashed the ball into the top corner of the net. A furious Sandy bullied the players back into action and they remained vigilant for the rest of the game but were unable to claw back another goal. The match finished 1-1 and the Wishton fans went home disappointed – two points thrown away and their star striker injured.

  Luke hurried down to the dressing room after the game to check on Rae only to find that he had already been taken to hospital.

  “Don’t worry,” said Andy, “hopefully it’s only a precaution. The problem was with his ankle – the Rovers player tackled him just as he was hitting the ball and his foot was planted. His ankle was swollen but he seemed to be moving it OK.”

  The dressing room seemed subdued following the result and the mood wasn’t helped a few seconds later when Sandy strode into the room. The players faced a withering dressing down from their furious manager who pointed his finger at various players around the room. He explained in no uncertain terms that their performance hadn’t been good enough and they had better improve before the next game. With that he strode from the room, slamming the door as he left.

  “Flipping eck.” said Nobby. “I wonder what he would have said if we had lost!”

  Luke had been standing out of sight – around the corner of the showers. Andy grunted when he reappeared.

  “You know when to make yourself scarce!” he said accusingly.

  Luke laughed. “He wasn’t telling me off. It’s you lot who are in trouble!”

  With that he dodged various boots and towels that were thrown at him and decided to escape back upstairs before things got worse. He reported back to the family that hopefully Rae was going to be OK and they decided to have another drink in the bar before they headed off for their Boxing Day meal at Luke’s mothers. They were just about to leave when Sandy appeared – obviously he was searching for Luke.

  “Son.” he said urgently. “I need your help again.”

  “Sure boss – what’s up?” asked Luke.

  “We’ve just heard that Rae hasn’t broken anything – just a strain and bruising.” Sandy explained.

  “That’s good news.” Luke said happily.

  “It is indeed,” replied Sandy, “but could we use your facilities tomorrow to help speed up his recovery?”

  “Of course,” replied Luke, “bring him round whenever you like.”

  “Great.” Sandy said. “Dave will be round with him first thing – he’ll bring a portable ultrasound machine with him but if we can use your pools and hot room as well that will be great.”

  With that Sandy hurried away before Ed could grab him to talk about the game – Sandy was obviously in no mood to have to deal with Ed today. Luke drained his drink – Sue was the designated driver today – and they set off across town.

  After spending a good old-fashioned Boxing Day night at his former home, Luke was in a good mood the following morning as he waited for Rae to arrive. Everyone else was still asleep when the buzzer went and all was quiet as Luke opened the gate so that Dave could drive up to the back of the house. Luke opened the passenger door so that he could help Rae out of the car. Rae thanked him and hobbled into the pool room, fumbling with the unfamiliar crutches. Dave came through a few minutes later carrying the portable ultrasound machine.

  Dave had just started to use the machine on Rae’s ankle when the door opened and Lexi entered carrying a tray of steaming tea.

  “I thought you may need this.” She said quietly.

  Luke’s eyes narrowed. Lexi hadn’t been up this early during the holidays for years and he immediately wondered what she was up to. On closer inspection she seemed to be wearing some of the new clothes that Sue had bought her for Christmas – and she was wearing make-up! Luke then noticed that Rae had sat up and seemed to be taking more of an interest in what was going on.

  “Than
ks Lexi.” Luke grunted. “Maybe you could go and check with Nell to see if she can put some breakfast on a little later?”

  “No problem Dad,” Lexi shyly replied, “I’ll come back down and let you know what she says.”

  “That’s OK.” Luke said sternly. “Dave and Rae are busy – no need to disturb them again. Thanks for the tea.”

  Lexi glared at her father and opened her mouth to say something but obviously thought better of it. She turned on the spot and flounced out. Luke turned to see Dave grinning and shaking his head.

  “Something wrong?” Luke asked.

  “Nothing at all.” Dave said innocently as he busied himself with Rae’s ankle. Rae seemed totally oblivious to what was going on around him.

  The treatment continued over the next few days and Rae’s ankle quickly began to heal. After a day or two he began swimming and after each session on the machine he went into the hot room and then the ice-cold plunge pool. And each day Lexi tried to find some reason to visit the pool area during Rae’s visit. Her last attempt was the final straw. She turned up to try to have a swim whilst Rae was using the pool – the sight of Lexi in a bikini stopped Rae dead in his tracks! Luke dragged her out of the pool room and Lexi was furious. The shouting attracted Sue.

  “What the hell is going on?” she tried to talk over the commotion.

  “Dad is ruining my life!” Lexi screamed.

  “I’m just trying to stop her making a fool of herself,” Luke replied calmly, “turning up with no clothes on to try to impress that boy!”

  Sue glanced from one to another then spoke again.

  “Lexi – upstairs now – and put some clothes on.”

  Lexi turned to argue with her mother but after seeing the look on her face she realised that she would be wasting her time. She decided to cut her losses so flinging a filthy look at her father she once again flounced out of the room.

  “Sue – you have to do something with her – she’s out of control!” Luke growled. “You need to be more firm with her!”