General pov
"Brighton stuns Liverpool in 2-1 thriller, with Grayson being the standout player"
"Brighton's Boy Wonder Sends Liverpool Packing"
"Grayson drags Brighton to a 2-1 win over Liverpool in the first leg of the Semi-finals in the EFL cup)
It was the day after the game, and the entire football world had exploded. No one had expected Brighton to win against Liverpool, so when they saw the 2-1 win, they were shocked. But with that win came all the glory, and it all came rushing towards Dick, who had practically dragged Brighton to a win with 2, mostly, solo goals. On Insta, his comment section had exploded.
@JayJay: Brighton just beat Liverpool. Richard Grayson is not human.
@Gymgoer: Yo, how the fuck does a 16-year-old have the best physique I have ever seen *Photo of Dick celebrating shirtless* I mean holy shit, I'm straight but this guy is fucking hot
@Matheusx: Klopp clapping at full time says it all. The kid is unreal.
@Brodie: One cup run doesn't make him world-class. He's 16, calm down.
@Scouser&proud: Liverpool played their B team, don't get carried away
@Brightonfan20: Brighton beating Liverpool in 2016… the scriptwriters have gone mad
The comments had been mostly nice, a lot of them were on how ripped he was, how hot he was, how good he was, or how shit he was; so there were a lot of different comments. However, the man of the hour was currently in the office of Chris Hughton, having been selected to be drug tested to see if he had been cheating. Dick didn't mind; he knew what he had signed up for when he started his football journey, so he knew this was normal when someone was performing at this level. What he wasn't expecting, however, was that Hughton would then pull him for a chat afterwards.
"So, boss, what did you want to talk about. Is it about the drug test?"
"No, it's not about that at all. I've got no worries about you not passing it; you are a good kid. This is about your future transfer after this season, and I want to give you some advice."
Dick then pulled a chair and sat down, before saying.
"Sure, coach, go for it"
Hughton nodded, took a deep breath before saying.
"I've got no doubts that you've already gotten hundreds of offers from different clubs, and that normally young players' first instinct is to take the biggest offer from the biggest club and take with it all the prestige and trophies that would come along with it. However, I know you… And I know that what you need right now isn't the prestige, money or going to a big club. What you need is to play, and that might not be something that these bigger clubs would offer you that easily"
Dick looked confused and said
"I don't understand. Why do you say they won't play me?"
Hughton shook his head slightly before saying.
"It's not that they wouldn't play you, it's more that they wouldn't play you enough. Listen, you are a hot commodity right now, you are breaking records left and right, and you are practically outsourcing players that have been doing this for a long time. However, that will be something that people might look past because you are doing this in the championship and not in a top league. And because of that, some coaches might be a bit more hesitant on playing you as you are 'unproven on a bigger stage' "
A look of understanding crossed Dicks face before he slowly started nodding to himself. He understood it now.
"So, what do you recommend, coach?"
"Honestly, I'd love it if you could stay, but I know you are looking for a team that's more competitive in bigger tournaments, so I'd look for a team that promises you playing time and is also in a top league. But the rest is up to you. I just wanted to give you some advice because I truly believe that you could become one of the greatest football players to ever grace the pitch, and I would kick myself if I didn't say something. These are your prime development years, this is where you will discover what kind of a player you are, and you can only do that when you are playing"
Dick nodded before standing up, shaking Hughtons hand, and saying.
"Thanks, boss, you've given me a lot to think about, and I'll definitely take your advice into consideration"
Hughton waved him off before telling him to go enjoy the rest of his day off, not knowing that Dick would be spending the rest of the day talking to Mendes about these new thoughts that he had, and even going as far as asking Mendes to go back over his list and see which teams would offer him playing time.
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General pov
After that conversation, Mendes went on a hunt and found a couple of clubs that would offer him some playing time. And after some careful research, Dick found three clubs that offered him the best playing time: Dortmund, Roma, and Napoli, along with a couple of others. Dick hadn't found out which club he wanted to sign with, and just didn't have enough time, as he was going to enter a heavy game period, so he was focusing on staying ready for that.
On the 14th of January, Brighton faced Sheffield for their 25th matchday at the Amex Stadium. Brighton managed a 3-0 victory with Dick scoring one and assisting 2. He scored from a penalty, which he managed to get himself after a dumb tackle from a Sheffield defender.
Then on the 16th of January, they faced Lincoln City away for the 4th round of the FA cup, where they managed to win 4-0. Dick scored a brace and even got an assist before being subbed off.
Then, after 4 days, they faced Newcastle, where they beat them 2-1. Dick scored 1 before he was subbed off. Newcastle had been hacking him down the entire game, which explained his free-kick goal, but overall, he had just been kicked down too many times, and with their second match vs Liverpool coming up, Brighton decided to rest Dick. He played some parts of the match, and even scored the deciding goal, but he was just too important to keep on the field. The only reason he had played was because Newcastle were second in the league, and Brighton wanted to kick them down.
—----------------------------------------------------------------------
Liverpool vs Brighton, 24th January, Anfield Stadium, 2nd leg of EFL cup
*Tweet*
Dick passed the ball and was immediately hit with a wall of boos and chants of "Who are ya?" coming from the Liverpool fans. He finally understood why players and managers all said that the atmosphere in Anfield is like no other stadium in the world.
He was being booed, mocked, and everything in between. There was even a childish chant about him having "kissed a girl and liked it", which was a reference to the time when he was caught kissing Rebecca, his ex-girlfriend. He cracked his neck, trying his best to tune out the chanting, but it was just crazy; he had never experienced this kind of atmosphere before.
The game continued, and Brighton were being slowly broken down; they were pushed around by Liverpool's attack and midfield. It turns out Klopp started watching a lot more tape, trying to come up with different strategies to try and lock down Dick, which results in a slower and sloppier Brighton. And it all paid off because Liverpool were able to score a goal in the 30th minute. Dick stood near the middle of the pitch, his hands on his hips as he chewed on his cheek. He then spat on the field and walked over to where the ball was to prepare himself to continue the game. However, before he did, he ran over to his team and gave them a short pep talk.
Dick then returned to the pass spot, stretched a bit and then sent the ball back. The game continued, and in the final embers of the first half, Brighton finally had a good chance. The ball came flying towards Dick, who managed to hold back Henderson and bounce the ball on his chest before using Henderson as a wall to push against and spin around him.
Dick sprinted down the middle of the pitch, his head on a swivel, seeing all of the Liverpool players practically rushing towards him. Wijnaldum came rushing towards him, and Dick, spotting him, started turning left before rapidly dragging the ball back and going right.
Wijnaldum, going close to top speed, couldn't stop in time and fell down while Dick sprinted down the middle again. The two centre backs, Lovren and Matip, both inched closer to him, not leaving any space to get past them, so instead he stopped, started doing rapid faints, went left, faked right, left again and with barely any space left outside the box he hit the baall with the inside of his left foot just as he was pulled down by Lovren.
The ball flew into the air, looking as if it would go wide, only for it to curl just perfectly. The ball slipped past Mignolet's hands and just kissed the crossbar before it smashed into the net. Dick then scrambled up from the ground, and being a bit full of himself, he pointed back at the defenders behind him with a smug grin on his face. The entire stadium shook with the boos from the Liverpool fans, but to Dick it was music to his ears. They had been screaming at him every time he touched the ball, so it felt nice to hear them booing because they were hurt.
He then reached the corner and did his classic celebration, his arms spread wide as his head tilted back. He looked around and just tapped his chest before being surrounded by Brighton players who all cheered with him, even the subs had come from the bench and jumped him. With that goal, the aggregate score was 3-2 for Brighton. It was a lead that they just couldn't fumble; they had to try their best to keep it, so thankfully, they had half-time just as the game started again.
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"You guys are playing like this is Sunday league!!! Slower than syrup and just as thick!! I swear it's like all the training we have done just flies out the window when we get scored against, and then you rely on a 16-year-old boy to pull you out of your depression!!! What is the matter with you lot!"
The guys were all out of breath, drinking water, and had their heads dropped in their hands. Dick was eating a banana and being given a massage. Hughton took a breath before saying.
"Now, it's not over yet. We have another 45 minutes to show how we really play. To play like the men that you are. Now, I believe, and truly I do believe this, we can beat Liverpool. All we need to do is this…"
He then went over all the tactics, moving the different figures on the white board and telling each player what they should do in the second half and how they should play, how they should react to each of the Liverpool players' movements. He went on like this for 12 minutes before spending the rest just hyping up his team, trying to boost their mentality.
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The second half had gone to shit. Liverpool had managed to score 2 goals in 30 minutes. The aggregate was now 3-4 for Liverpool, and with the way that Brighton had been playing, it looked like Liverpool might be able to walk away with it. Dick had been locked in; he had created many chances for Brighton, but they just hadn't been able to finish. After the second goal, he had dropped deeper to help with the defence, which helped but also slowed the attack.
With 15 minutes plus stoppage time left, Brighton needed a miracle. And thankfully, they got one…named Richard "Dick" Grayson.
At the 80th minute, Dick had managed to intercept a ball from Wijnaldum and quickly sent it to Murray before sprinting down the pitch to get a pass back. He was running down the middle and was just 8 yards out from the box when he was roughly pulled down by Henderson, which resulted in a yellow for him. Dick lay on the ground for a bit, trying his best to catch his breath before he rolled on his back and used the forward momentum to push himself up.
The referee set everything up before walking away to give Dick his space. Dick only stood by the ball before looking at the wall and where the goalie was. He took a moment to find his zen, and then took his 6 steps back. He heard the whistle, did his run up, and just smashed the ball with the inside of his left foot, aiming towards the far post, hoping that Mignolet would buy the fake out. He saw that the ball went high, and looked as if it was going towards the left corner. Mignolet saw this too, and shuffled over there, only to stop and try to go right again, but to fall down as the ball dipped and curved and went right into the sidenetting of the right side of the goal.
Dick went crazy, he ran, jumped up and punched the air, before landing and running towards Hughton, who opened his arms wide and caught Dick, who jumped into his arms. This made for a funny picture as Dick was the taller of the two. It was then that the bench and Brighton players all joined them in the celebration. They celebrated for a bit before the referee split them apart.
The game continued again, and with Dick motivating the Brighton players, they were playing like their normal selves again. Both teams were having a tough battle in the midfield, and often it would end with Liverpool just edging them out slightly. However, with 4 minutes left of the game, Dick had managed to get Brighton a corner. Everyone had crowded the box, and Lovren had been clinging to Dick in the box. He was grabbing his shirt and trying his best to hold him down. The corner came flying in, and just as it was about to fly over them, just a bit too high for anyone to connect to, Dick (who had practically elbowed Lovren in the chest to make him release him) flew into the air, his thighs practically going parallel to Matip's face, and managed to smack the ball with his head.
The ball came flying down, and Mignolet just slightly misjudged the trajectory, thinking that it would go directly towards the goal. But instead, the ball bounced on the ground and bounced right up into the roof of the net. Dick landed, and for the first time since the game started, the entire stadium just went silent. Dick then came rushing out of the group of players in the box and just went wild. He jumped up again, just as high as he did last time and punched the air. Before he landed and ran right towards the camera, just as the booing reached its true peak of the night. Dick grabbed the camera and just shouted.
"COME ON!!!!! WHO'S DOUBTING US NOW, HUH!!!"
He then let go of the camera, said sorry to the cameraman, who just waved him off, and ran into the literal crowd of Brighton players, staff, and substitutes, all rushing towards him like a stampede. They all grabbed him and threw him in the air, before catching him and just celebrating in general. Dick came out of the crowd with messy hair, his kit was a mess, and he just looked dishevelled in general. He quickly fixed his hair and returned to the pitch where the entire Brighton team spent the last 7 minutes (4 mins plus 3 mins extra time) just playing ultra-defensive, parking the bus like never seen before, and it paid off.
*TWEEET TWEEET TWEEEEEEEEEET*
3-3 game, 5-4 aggregate, and Brighton, for the first time ever, in the EFL cup finals. And it was all thanks to one player, Dick Grayson, who scored a Hat-trick to lead Brighton to victory against Liverpool.
Dick, surprisingly, received a stadium-wide round of applause when he went to collect the match ball from the referees. The Liverpool fans, although they wanted their own team to win, all had to agree that this game was simply insane and that the 16-year-old was a phenomenal player.
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AN: So, I guess you guys didn't like the idea of him dating someone else before Billie, which I personally don't get. I mean Dick is famous, he has money now, and he is hot as fuck so it would make sense that he would have a gf but I guess i can do smth else with him.
Anyway, I have been thinking about his move after this season, since its rapidly coming to an end. And I personally want him to go to either Napoli or Roma. they both had pretty great seasons in the 2017/18 season so it would be awesome to see how much further I could take them if Dick was in their teams. So, feel free to tell me your opinions.
Hope yall have a good day/night, and thanks for all the support <3