With a single, decisive tap on the [Meet Your Squad] button, the world outside his office window zoomed into focus.
The perspective shifted, pulling him from his command center and placing him right at the mouth of the players' tunnel. The scent of grass and damp earth filled his senses again.
Before him, the stadium, his stadium—"The Apex," as he was already calling it in his head—rose in a magnificent bowl of blue and white seats.
It was empty, but he could almost hear the roar of 40,000 fans chanting his club's name.
A soft chime echoed. He turned. Walking out of the tunnel and onto the edge of the pitch was a group of about twenty-five men.
They weren't in uniform. They wore plain gray hoodies and black shorts, but underneath, the collar of the royal blue Apex United home shirt was visible on each of them.
They looked confused, blinking in the bright light, their expressions a mixture of curiosity and deep-seated skepticism.
Ethan recognized them instantly. There was the veteran goalkeeper, Angus Gunn, his face a mask of stoic professionalism.
The tough-as-nails defender, Grant Hanley, looking around as if assessing a new opponent.
The creative midfielder, Gabriel Sara, running a hand through his hair, looking completely bewildered.
This was the Norwich City squad, plucked from their reality and dropped into his.
And there, standing slightly apart from the main group, looking younger and more nervous than anyone else, was Emre Demir.
He had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie, his eyes wide as he took in the impossible sight of the empty stadium.
Ethan took a deep breath. This was his first test. Not tactics, not transfers, but man-management. He walked towards them, his footsteps the only sound in the vast arena. All eyes turned to him.
He stopped a few feet away, making eye contact with as many of them as he could. He could feel their doubt. Who was this kid in a tracksuit, looking barely older than some of them, who was supposed to be their new manager?
"Good morning, gentlemen," Ethan said, his voice steady and clear, amplified slightly by the stadium's acoustics.
"My name is Ethan Couch, and I am the manager of Apex United."
A few players exchanged glances.
"I know you have questions," Ethan continued.
"I know this is… unusual. One moment you were preparing for a season with Norwich City, and the next you're here. I'm not going to waste time with a long, confusing explanation. The simple truth is this: your time at Norwich is over. Today, right now, you are the founding players of a new club. This club."
He gestured to the stadium around them.
"This is our home. You are my squad. And our goal is simple: promotion."
As he spoke, a translucent data panel, visible only to him, overlaid each player. He saw their stats in real-time.
[Angus Gunn - GK | Current Ability: 69 | Potential Ability: 72]
[Grant Hanley - CB | Current Ability: 68 | Potential Ability: 68]
[Gabriel Sara - CM | Current Ability: 70 | Potential Ability: 76]
Solid. A squad with most players in the high 60s and a few touching 70 was more than enough to compete for the League One title.
But there was little room for massive growth in the older players. They were professionals who would do a job. His eyes then drifted to the young man at the back.
[Emre Demir - AM(C) | Current Ability: 66 | Potential Ability: 96 | SSS-Rank]
A thrill shot through him. Even standing there looking nervous, the boy's profile glowed with a different light. He was the future.
Grant Hanley, the de facto captain, stepped forward slightly. "With all due respect, 'manager'… we're players. We're used to a certain structure. A pre-season. What exactly is the plan here?"
Ethan smiled. It was the perfect question.
"The plan starts right now, Mr. Hanley. The plan is to work harder, train smarter, and play with an intensity our opponents can't handle. The past is gone. Your reputation, your old club—it means nothing in League One. Here, you earn respect on the pitch. And our work starts today."
He turned and walked towards the center of the pitch.
"Get changed. Training kits are in the dressing room. Meet me here in five minutes. No exceptions."
He didn't look back to see if they followed. He just knew they would. They were professionals, and their instincts would take over.
Five minutes later, they re-emerged, now fully decked out in the blue Apex United training gear. They looked more like a team. The skepticism was still there, but it was now mixed with a grudging curiosity.
"Alright, forget everything you know about a typical first day of training," Ethan announced as they gathered around him.
"We're not doing laps. We're not doing long, boring passing drills. We're going to play. I have one core philosophy: we lose the ball, we win it back. Instantly. We turn their attack into our attack. We thrive on chaos."
He quickly organized them into a drill. A large grid, with ten players on the attacking team inside, and five defenders tasked with winning the ball. The moment a defender won possession, they had to make three quick passes amongst themselves before playing a long ball to Ethan. It was a high-intensity pressing drill designed to force turnovers and reward quick transitions.
"Go!" he yelled.
The first few minutes were sloppy. The players were still feeling each other out, their movements hesitant. A pass would go astray, and the defenders would win it easily.
"Too slow!" Ethan's voice cut across the pitch.
"That's not a press, that's a jog! I want you on them like you're starving and the ball is the last piece of food on Earth!"
His intensity was infectious. The pace quickened. Tackles started flying in, crisp and sharp. The attacking team had to move the ball faster, their heads on a swivel.
The atmosphere changed from a light training session to a fierce competition.
Ethan watched, his eyes darting everywhere, analyzing every movement. He saw the strengths and weaknesses of his new squad laid bare. He saw Hanley's leadership in organizing the defense, Sara's clever passing, the raw pace of his wingers.
Then, he focused on Emre Demir.
The kid looked a little lost at first, overwhelmed by the physicality of the senior players. He received a pass, but a defender was on him in a flash, stealing the ball. Emre stumbled, a flash of frustration on his face.
"Don't switch off, Demir!" Ethan shouted. "The play isn't over because you made a mistake!"
It was like a switch had been flipped. The next time the ball came near Emre, he was involved in a tight passing triangle. A defender lunged in, anticipating the next pass and intercepting it. For a split second, it looked like a repeat of the earlier mistake.
But this time, Emre didn't hesitate.
The instant the ball left his teammate's foot, before the defender had even taken a second touch, Emre exploded forward. He closed the space in a heartbeat, his body low to the ground. He didn't just lunge; he executed a perfect, textbook slide tackle, hooking his foot around the ball and popping it back up into the air.
It was the speed of the reaction that was so stunning. It was pure instinct.
But he wasn't done.
As the ball looped up, he was already back on his feet. Without even looking, while twisting his body, he volleyed a first-time pass with the outside of his boot. It was a disguised, perfectly weighted ball that cut straight through the middle of the drill, bypassing three defenders and landing perfectly at the feet of a teammate on the far side of the grid, setting him up for an easy pass back to Ethan.
The entire sequence took less than three seconds.
A stunned silence fell over the other players. They had all seen it. The tackle was brilliant. The pass was sublime. It was a moment of impossible, intuitive genius.
Ethan felt a grin spread across his face, a real, genuine grin of pure delight. He had read the stats, he had seen the SSS-Rank. But seeing it live, feeling the potential ignite right in front of him… it was a thousand times better.
One of the senior players let out a low whistle.
"Okay… the kid can play."
Emre Demir just looked down, a faint blush on his cheeks, but Ethan saw the small, confident smile he was trying to hide.
The ice hadn't just been broken. It had been shattered by a single moment of brilliance. His players were tired, they were sweating, but for the first time, they were all looking at him with a newfound respect. They had seen a glimpse of the future. And so had he.
"Alright," Ethan called out, clapping his hands, his voice buzzing with energy.
"Not bad for a start. Now let's do it again. Faster."