#strikerbacks

- paulo. would you like a lift home? - who are you? - the man who got you released.

excuse you, co-led by nutgaitis and i

ok THANK YOU!! YOU KNOW WHO I WANNA TALK ABOUT

best: šime because he is a beautiful mermaid prince!!

worst: charlie because hes a trash rat whomst i am in love with. also dejan lovren. also white boy brothers in arms ante n krama. and apparently miss raketa is Controversial....wow who isn’t a worst nut on vatreni lmao

would never admit: mateo “i belong to jesus” kovačić

9) In the curtain falls, what’s your favourite scene that you wrote?

NGL IT’S XABI/GIGI INTERACTION 

ok ngl I love a lot of the scenes just because blade runner imagery is so good and I rly liked when they went to the stadium, but just in terms of emotional whump I think the san gigi / san iker one was my favourite? I didn’t know that san gigi was a thing until i did research and it was just such a beautiful..parallel, and also the whole idea of saints, everlasting against robots - it was mm i liked that

10) In here you are with your faith, why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind?

IT’S NOT A uhh becks was always going to die and we all knew it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’ve never liked, y’know, happy happy endings. I like endings that are sorta hopeful despite pain? and I think that becks, back on the pitch that was his home, thinking about one of his greatest moments in a united shirt, was that gleaming ray of light in the dark sky kinda moment. it just felt very - fulfilling even though it was sad??? iDK HOW TO EXPLAIN!!! i think the easiest would b to think about it like godot (slam me in a locker pls) - hope in spite of the shittiness of humanity. 

16) How did you come up with the idea for if it seems like i've been lost?

I’M JUST REALLY REALLY SAD ABOUT ENGLAND ALL THE DAMN TIME!!!! someone was askin me to write time twavel fwic and at first i had it down for bloemfontein 2010 but then i read all played out and, like, it was just so pAINFUL and i reaLly had TO  fix THAT!!!! time loop fixes aren’t new but I also wanted to explore the idea of doing it right, that is to say not making it as easy as ‘oh this happened therefore i just have to change it’, so that even when they won they weren’t winning it correctly. it was more important that gawwy wasn’t the hero, because I think that’s reflecting of the engl narrative - there’s a sort of undercurrent of sad nobility in being second best that we’ve always enjoyed. does this make sense again!!! i feel like my brain does all these horribl big concepts that i can never really put into words

26) Which part of it's all about who's standing tomorrow was the hardest to write?

Absolutely the stadium in 1958. I think it’s so hard to get that balance right, y’know, dealing with anything like this - trying to be respectful but also express the emotion you want to. I’ve read things written about 1958 that I really hated, and I’ve read things that just make me break down and stare at the wall for an hour. Not just about respect, but about the sentiment behind it - anything too maudlin also, I think, detracts. It’s very hard!! I hope I did it ok!!! 

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

He smiles into the sheafs of paper and thinks, christ, Becks, where the fuck did you go?

16. What makes your favorite coach better than other coaches?

Fergie was THE BEST! COACH! THAT EVER DID LIVE! even though tumblr thinks he’s nsfw

hIS MAN MANAGEMENT! Who else could keep four world class strikers happy at the same time. Numerous people have talked about this in various interviews but he was just. so good at making you feel needed even if he wasn’t going to play you, and always offered you a reason why you weren’t playing... that’s why he got RESPEKT! And I adore it because he passed it on to his lads - I keep wanting to do this juxtaposition set where a Molde player talked about how Ole would do this as well - it’s just. him good. him the best at management. 

The siege mentality that he cultivated: strongly believe that this was the reason United was so good and so hated at the same time, because that team was brainwashed???? to think that they were ‘not arrogant, just better’ - that everyone was against them and that’s why they had to be strong. And that’s why they were going to win.

Tangentially, see: putting his arm around becks the moment becks fuked up in ‘98. ‘He’s a United player and he’ll talk about United things’. GOD! he attac he also protecc. COMPARE AND CONTRAST TO uh mou’s ‘luke has a weak mentality’ or whatever bullshit he said. No! that’s not how you manage players! Fergie made sure United was an island and the lads knew it, knew how much playing for the badge meant!!!!!

His stupid team talks about Aberdeen shipyards and geese who does that

#winning - I mean, fergie time was a thing, but there was a reason WHY it was a thing - because his mentality was rock fukin solid! no one could ever get to him. see: kevin ‘love it if we beat them’ keegan. see: rafa ‘facts’ benitez. the man was a mountain and that rubbed off on fortress old trafford. has any team besides united won the title three times in a roW? I THINK NOT! 

He was such a grandpa.... he still does that cheeky smile thing when he remembers something one of the players did..... yknow!! hes so good 

Consider : most of the players under him became United fans even if they didn’t start that way. That’s Special. IT REALLY IS. 

He played understanding the dna of the club. He would talk to Sir Matt, he always promoted the youth al  W   a y s, he didn’t come in and just be like ‘oh I’m the Special One and I’ll Do things My Way’. CAN U TELL I’M BITTER! but no. I think he always understood narrative and, y’know, what football meant and what United meant. I don’t think there’ll ever be anyone like him ever again.

I love him so much I might die 

OKAY DEEP BREATH

25. Favorite Midfielder

Hrahhhh u know this...Paul Scholes...... swear to god, the first time I ever saw him play live it was...fuckin magical. Like. Television doesn’t capture how good he is, you gotta be there looking at the whole pitch because I swear he has eyes on the back of his head - he can see every single pass and he’ll hit every single pass to pinpoint perfection. I can’t even explain it! It was just. Art! It really was art!!!!!! The most beautiful thing I ever watched! And that was when he was, what, 40??? I want a cloning machine so he can play for us again. The feeling when he runs into the box knowing that the ball’s coming out and knowing that he’s going to score a goal is just mA G I C. 

55. Three players from past generations you wish you had seen

what is my generation..... uHHH. I’ve seen most of the 90s players even if they were charity matches and I would die to see them in their prime, but for the sake of argument I’ll leave them out -

George Best, because everyone says he was beautiful. Bobby Charlton, because of The Special. And of course Duncan Edwards.

73. Your proudest moment as a fan

YOU MEAN STUFF THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN WHEN I WAS FOUR?

England semi-finals and you know it! You! Know! It! I’ve never been so happy and I’ve never been so sad. And I’ve never been so proud of the lads. Sure the route there was easier! Sure ‘it was only Panama’! but people have No Idea how fragmented national football in England is and to see literally everyone getting behind the team regardless of club was. Just the best.

89. A player who just makes you smile with all the things he does off the pitch

oh god... gonna say Juan because 1. common goal!! 2. he visits MUSEUMS!!! 3. He loves wandering around Manchester tldr i love him