Chapter 118: Personal Terms
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Dawn light spilled over Broadfield Stadium, painting the training pitches in shades of gold as Crawley's morning mist began to lift.
Niels reached the field just as the horizon began to blush with dawn. The earth was cool beneath his boots, mist curling low over the ground like breath held too long.
A tight knot of anticipation sat in his stomach, every muscle tuned to the quiet promise of challenge.
Luke Freeman was set to arrive for talks to lock in his personal terms, while Paul Pogba would take his first steps in a squad training session.
With League One's opening match just weeks away, these moments could define Crawley's season.
Niels carried a worn clipboard, its pages dense with new drills and tactical ideas, Freeman and Pogba's names jotted in the margins, potential catalysts for a team ready to fight.
The wind rolled in off the hills as he stepped onto the pitch, the silence around him thick with expectation.
