AN: Hey guys sorry for not posting more, I am studying for an exam so I've been quite busy. sorry bout that, when my exams are done I'll be back to posting like normal but until then I might drop it down to one chapter a week. Also, you guys need to help me with a decision down below, so see you then. Enjoy the chapter
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General POV
It had been two days since the game against Burnley, and once again, Dick had lit up the footballing world. A lot of people were talking about how great Brighton had been doing against Premier League teams. They had beaten Liverpool, West Ham, and Burnley, and at the centre of it all was the 16-year-old wonderkid that Brighton had just picked up out of nowhere.
Dick had been feeling like he was on top of the world recently; he felt stronger, faster, and just like he had been getting better and better. His one and only complaint was that the trolls had come out as well, which he knew was the cost of fame and popularity. He had been dealing with a ton of Manchester fans making fun of him on the internet, but all he did was laugh because if they were that focused on trying to tear him down, it meant that they were just scared of him.
Another thing that happened was that Jose Mourinho had a pre-match press conference about their game and said some things about him. A reporter had asked him the question.
"José, Brighton have made it all the way to the final, largely thanks to their 16-year-old striker Richard Grayson. What are your thoughts on him?"
To which José just chuckled, almost dismissively, and said
"Ah, the boy… yes. He's good. Very good. Five goals against Liverpool — you cannot ignore that. But let's be honest, it's easier to surprise people when you are unknown. Everyone loves a new story in football, a new toy. But now, in a final, against Manchester United? It's a little different."
He was also asked
"There's a lot of talk about Grayson being 'the next big thing.' Do you agree?"
Jose smiled and said
"In football, I've seen many 'next big things.' Some become Cristiano Ronaldo… others disappear by twenty-one. Let's see who he wants to be. I hope for him — and for Italy — that he becomes the first Richard Grayson."
He was asked a couple more questions, but the overall message of the entire conference was just about building up Manchester, while also humbling Brighton and their star player, Dick.
And all Dick could think was that it was personal now.
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On the 22nd of February, Brighton faced Reading and won 4-0 with dick scoring 4 goals. He had channelled his anger for the game and went on a rampage in the 60 minutes that he played. He scored the first two goals from solo runs, which was when Reading ramped up the tackles. He then scored 1 goal from a penalty in the 42nd minute and then finished the game off with a header in the last couple of minutes that he played. He walked off the pitch to a roaring crowd, all of them screaming his name. But the only thing that the cameras caught was the stone-faced Dick, who looked like this entire game had just been a walk in the park for him.
After the game, the pundits agreed on one thing.
"If Grayson continues to play like he did today, Manchester United might be in a lot of trouble"
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26th February, EFL cup final, Brighton vs Manchester United, Wembley Stadium
The air was tense for the Brighton players; they were all silent while in the tunnel, facing forwards and running through the game plan in their heads. Meanwhile, the Manchester United players were all more casual and laid back in their approach.
Dick was currently chewing on the inside of his cheek, something he had done since he was a kid when he was nervous, while looking at the Manchester line-up and feeling his pulse start to race a bit.
He saw Zlatan, Lingard, Martial, Pogba, De Gea, and Mata, just to name a few. He saw Zlatan look at him slightly, and a smirk appeared on his face before the referee walked past, picked up the ball and led the players to the field.
The players quickly finished the formalities, and the captains quickly got together and did the coin flip with the referee. Manchester won the coin flip and chose to start with the ball, meaning Brighton could choose which side they played at, so they picked the one against the sun. Peter Drury and Jim Beglin were commentating on the game, and the ever-poetic Peter had this to say at the start of the match.
"Under the great arch of Wembley, on a cold February evening, English football prepares to crown a new champion. Manchester United, the mighty, the familiar, the serial winners, stand where they so often do, on the brink of silverware. And opposite them… Brighton & Hove Albion, the dreamers from the south coast. A Championship side, a club that has climbed from the depths of despair, now daring to believe in something impossible"
Jim then added in
"You can feel it, Peter, the nervous energy, the suspense and the overall excitement. Not just from the players, but from the fans as well, this is shaping up to be a fantastic night of football"
*Tweet tweet*
"And the game is on"
The game started quickly, Dick and Murray and the Brighton midfield all pushed forwards, trying their best to create pressure in the Manchester formation and try to get them to make some early mistakes. However, Manchester were playing well, their passing was good, and their mentality was obviously focused. Dick, who was running after the ball, had only one thought.
'This game is going to be hard'
The game went on for a bit with Manchester having almost all of the chances. They had had 7 attacking opportunities while Brighton had only had 2, courtesy of Dick, who had almost scored once from open play, but the ball was deflected out by de Gea. Currently, Manchester had the ball and they were sprinting towards the goal. Dick followed Mata closely, but Mata, being the more experienced player, managed to just slip past Dick and cross the ball into the box where Zlatan waited and headered the ball into the net. Dick put his hands on his hips while Mata wheeled away to celebrate with Ibrahimovic, and all he did was crack his neck and walk towards the goalie and give him a pat on the back to make sure he didn't get too angry about the goal and make more mistakes.
"Mata… swings it in! Ibrahimović rises… and delivers! The old lion strikes first under the Wembley arch! Manchester United's king of the big occasion roars again, and Brighton, Brighton must summon belief."
"You can't leave him that space, Peter. Zlatan lives for these nights; he's made a career of this kind of moment."
He then got the ball and jogged up with it to get the game started again, which it quickly did. Brighton were now passing the ball more in the middle; they were trying to pull on the Manchester formation, as they had already parked the bus after just one goal, which was a typical Mourinho thing to do. So they were getting closer and closer with each attempt, just creating small holes in the formation before the ball got passed to Dick, who spotted an opening and ran into it like he had a rocket strapped to his back. He caught Lingard and Martial off guard and managed to get past them before running into Pogba.
Dick did a rapid right-to-left then back to right, faint and managed to get Pogba to stumble, which he took quick advantage of by hitting a ronlado chop to get to the middle of the pitch. He was then face-to-face with Smalling and Bailly, and he managed to la croqueta past Smalling before he felt a hard tug on his arm. He tried to fight it and keep running, only for Rojo to slide in and knock him down. The whistle came immediately afterwards, and Brighton were awarded a free kick in the 30-yard range, just slightly right of the penalty arch, while Roja got a yellow card.
Dick quickly leaned back and pushed himself back onto his feet before going to where the referee was setting up the free kick. Dick was analysing the wall and where De Gea was standing, and thought that he saw an option where he could get past, only for De Gea to shift to the left and cover the empty space. Dick jumped up once before taking a couple of steps back. He took a deep breath and decided there and then that he was going to risk it. He ran to the ball and pretended that he was going to shoot high, only for him to lean over the ball at the last minute and hit it with pure power.
The wall jumped up, expecting to see the ball around their heads, only for it to go under them, just barely floating off the ground. The ball flew right past the frozen De Gea, before slamming right into the inside of the left post and smacking into the net.
"And now, perhaps, the boy with the world watching. Richard Grayson… only sixteen years old. Thirty yards out. The wall jumps, OH. He's gone under it! He's gone under it! And Brighton… Brighton are level at Wembley! A trick of mind, a touch of genius! Oh, the sheer impudence of youth!"
Jim then added on
"De Gea was rooted; he never saw it coming. That's something special from the young lad, pure nerve!"
The away end of the stadium went wild, the Brighton fans that had shown up were shouting their hearts out, and at the 28th minute, the score was 1-1. Dick ran to the side before sliding on his knees, with his arms spread wide right in front of the Manchester supporters, who were all booing him. He was then mobbed by his fellow teammates, with Murray hugging him and Sidwell ruffling his long black hair.
The game was quick to continue, the Manchester players bailed on their 'parking the bus' strategy and started an all-out, intensive attack plan instead. It was relentless. Murray was now the lone striker, as Dick had dropped into a more CM position. Dick was helping in the defence the best he could, running after every ball, tracking his man, trying to cut off passing lanes. And in the end, it paid off. Dick managed to snap up a loose ball from a bad first touch from Herrera and just took off. Most of the Manchester players were on the other side of the field, so it was Dick and Murray against the 4 defenders. Dick continued his run before shifting it to the right. He sprinted as fast as he could, and even got past Smalling and Roja again. He noticed that his shooting angle was too tight, so instead he used the heel of his right foot and passed the ball back, right into Murray's lane.
"Now Grayson, galloping like the wind! It's a two-on-four — he doesn't care! Look at him go, the courage of the boy! He finds Murray… GLENN MURRAY! It's in! It's in! Brighton has flipped Wembley on its head! From the Championship to the grandest stage, this is not supposed to happen, but it is!"
"That's Brighton at their best — Grayson again, the composure, the pace, the perfect pass. He's running this final!"
Murray got the ball halfway into the Penalty box, with no defenders on him and the goalie being too far right, so he whacked the ball into the left side of the goal, not giving De Gea a chance to save it. Murray sprinted right to Dick, who had his arms open, and jumped onto him, giving him a big hug while Dick held him up. Dick let him go, and they were soon joined by their teammates, who were all jumping together and smacking Murray on his back and ruffling his hair before the ref told them to go back to their side and get ready to play again.
It was now that Manchester stopped treating Brighton like they were playing a casual game and started ramping up their attacks. Brighton tried their best to hang on, to at least finish the first half up 2-1, but Manchester were just too volatile on attack, and in the 44th minute Lingard managed to get a good pass from Mata, and just slotted the ball around a Brighton defender and right into the bottom left corner. It was an unsavable shot, but it felt like a punch to the gut for Brighton.
"Mata again… Lingard! Oh, that's heartbreak for Brighton. The familiar faces of Manchester United make it even again"
They had been defending like their lives depended on it, yet Manchester were still able to break through and score a goal. The players were all catching their breath and looking a bit down, so Dick started to try to cheer them up by saying.
"Lads, what's all the sad looks for? We managed to get 2-1 above Manchester United after we were down 1-0. Do you really think that just because they managed to tie it up 2-2 that the game's over…we have an entire second half to win this game and make Brighton history, so pick yourselves up because we still have a game to play"
The effect was immediate, the Brighton players all looked more enthusiastic and even a little pumped up. As embarrassing as it was to admit, they all looked up to and respected the 16-year-old. He was obviously their best player, and his positive attitude and just general, cheerful and nice demeanour made him a fantastic person to be around and to believe in. So, when Dick wasn't giving up, their pride and egos also got awakened, because how could they let Dick be the only competitive person on the team? They all wanted to make history.
The game continued with both sides playing aggressive football; they were running, tackling, pulling, and overall, it was a crazy last few minutes of both teams giving it their all. It was then that the referee called for half-time. All players were gasping for air; they were tired and had been pushing themselves without a break for the entire game. The players went to their locker rooms, and each of the coaches gave their own talks and tactical changes. Mourinho made some subs, and Hughton decided to keep the players the same but change the formation. He turned their normal 4-4-2 into a 4-4-1-1, with Dick acting as a box-to-box pivot CAM. he gave the Brighton boys a pep talk and told them how they should defend against the Manchester press.
After 15 minutes, the game continued again, and now it was Brighton starting with the ball. Dick received the ball from Murray and then passed it all the way down to the goalie, who stopped the ball, let the Manchester players push up, only to pass it to his right back, who passed it to Sidwell, who spotted Dick running into open space and quickly let it fly. Dick chested it up and over Lingard, before tapping it left and just past the outstretched leg of Pogba, and then ran up as fast as he could. He passed the ball to Murray, who had run into open space in the middle, before he continued his run right past Roja and Smalling and received a perfect ball from Murray, who slotted the ball between the players and right into Dicks path. De Gea ran towards the ball, trying to psych out Dick, only for Dick to pretend to shoot and then chip the ball over the now lying down De Gea.
"Grayson, gliding through once more — chest, control, poise…and the finish to match! A work of art in motion! He's done it again, the child becomes the man on the biggest of stages! Thirteen goals in this competition, and that one, surely, is the crown jewel!"
"He's fearless, Peter. Sixteen years old and he just chipped De Gea like it's a training session. That's class — pure class."
The game was now 3-2 for Brighton; they were ahead by 1 in the 47th minute, and they were hyper. Dick ran towards the corner and punched the air while screaming, he then hit his classic celebration right to the away fans. The Brighton team were quick to join in the celebration, all of them screaming in joy and in celebration. But this celebration was for more than just them being 1 over Manchester again, because this was the 13th goal that Dick scored in the EFL cup, meaning he had just broken a record set in the 1986/87 season of 12 goals in this competition.
They then ran back to their half, and what followed was a red wave of continuous attacks. Manchester were one down, and they were not happy about it. They were attacking like crazy, but one thing that Dick noticed was that every time Ibrahimovic had the ball, he would try to shoot or be the focal point of the Manchester attack. So Dick tried his best to cut off those passing lanes to Ibrahimovic. And for a while it worked, until the 60th minute, where Ibrahimovic got the ball in the air, controlled it with perfect skill, megged the Brighton defender and released a missile of a shot from just outside the box, that looked like it would tear a hole through the netting if it had any more power.
"And Zlatan… oh, that's thunderous! The master answers the apprentice! One for the ages from the Swede, and what a final this is becoming!"
"He wasn't going to let Grayson steal his show that easily — that was hit like a bullet!"
The score was back to 3-3, and all Dick could do was stand there watching as Manchester celebrated the goal.
He was chewing on the inside of his cheek when he saw that Hughton was making some changes. He swapped some midfielders and changed the formation to 5-3-1-1. He told them that the formation would still be 4-4-1-1, but on defence, it changes to the 5-3-1-1 as they couldn't let Manchester score any more goals. And it looked like Mourinho had the same idea because he swapped out Martial and Lingard for more defensively inclined players. And he tightened the noose around Dicks neck, as more players started to follow him around.
However, now it was Brighton's turn to be on the attack. They launched attack after attack, but the bus that had been parked really blocked them. Dick, in particular, had it bad; there were 3 men around him at all times, meaning he had to drop even further down to try and get the ball, which stifled the Brighton attack by quite a bit.
There were now 10 minutes left of the game, the score was still 3-3, with both teams having had multiple attacks, but nothing coming from them. Yet that was about to change because Dick had gotten Brighton a corner. He had blasted the ball from outside the penalty box, and it looked like it was about to be a goal, only for the ball to be saved by De Gea, who had single-handedly stopped Dick from scoring 7 goals this game. Dick was now outside the box, with two guys on him, while the rest of the Brighton players were ready to try and head the ball in.
The ball came flying, and it bounced around inside the box until it was knocked out by a defender trying to clear it. But the defender did a terrible job as it landed right in front of Dick, who managed to push the two players behind him and just smash the ball with all his power as soon as it came to him.
The ball soared over the crowd of people, looking as if it was going right, only for it to change trajectory and go left. The ball took De Gea by surprise, but he was quick to change trajectory and dive after the ball. It looked like it was about to go in, but De Gea managed to just get his finger on it, but would that be enough?
*Ding*
*Swish*
*ROOAAAAARRRRRRRRRR*
"The corner whipped in… half-cleared… it falls to Grayson! OH MY WORD! OH! MY! WORD! RICHARD GRAYSON! That is unthinkable! The boy wonder writes himself into immortality! From the streets of Brighton to the steps of Wembley, he has conquered the giants! Sixteen years old — sixteen! — and he has carried a club into eternity!"
"That's unbelievable, Peter. The contact, the power, the bend — De Gea got a finger to it, but it's unstoppable. The kid's done it again, he's done it all! And now he caps off this game with a hat-trick"
No, it wouldn't, the ball just kissed the inside of the top left corner post before rippling into the net. The away side went nuts, Brighton fans were crying, screaming, throwing pints around. And Dick had ripped off his shirt and was waving it around before he tore away towards Hughton, who stood there shouting with his arms open wide. Dick jumped into his arms, and the entire bench, staff, reserves, and Brighton players formed a giant group around Dick and Hughton. Some of the older players shed tears, while some of the staff also shed tears. The referee was quick to tell them to continue the game and not to waste time. So the players all left, but not before Hughton told them to play ultra-defensively.
The game ran on, and in the last minute, the 90+2 minute of the game, Ibrahimovic got the ball right outside the penalty box, he got past both defenders and was alone against the goalkeeper. He was about to shoot it when the neon green adidas boots slid past him and stole the ball. He looked to the right and saw Dick boot the ball upfield and right to Murray, before he heard the sound of
*TWEEET TWEEET TWEEEEEEEET"
"And that… is the whistle. The impossible has happened under the arch. Brighton and Hove Albion — from the south coast to the summit of English football glory. And leading them… a sixteen-year-old, radiant, relentless, remarkable. Remember the name, Richard Grayson. A boy who made men believe."
"That's history right there, Peter. Pure football history."
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AN: welcome back gamers. heres the decision we need to make. I've decided that Dick is either going to Roma or Napoli and then transfered again to liverpool where he will stay for quite a bit. But I can't make up my mind on which team he should go to.
Napoli had more domestic success, and got second in the league in the 2017/18 season, but they didn't get far at all during the champions league.
Roma, gor far in the champions league, and you could even make an argument for them winning it if Dick joined their team, or at least making it to the finals. but only got third in the domestic league. Also, he would need to play as a winger because their actual striker did pretty good that season. but it could be fun because Alisson was in Roma during that season, and the enxt season he would go to Liverpool with Dick.
IDK, I need help peeps. tell me your opinions. otherwise I'm making him join the Rovers.