Our lead instructor was a man named Mike Phelan, a former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He was a legend, a man who had won it all, and he commanded an instant, almost fearful respect.
He was sharp, intelligent, and had a no-nonsense attitude that could strip a man bare with a single, withering glance. When he walked into the state-of-the-art lecture theatre for our opening session, the room fell silent. The seats were plusher than my sofa at home, and the massive screen at the front displayed the FA logo in crisp, intimidating detail.
"Welcome to the UEFA B Licence," he said, his voice echoing around the room.
