Later, I saw them in the analysis room, watching clips of Liverpool's penalty takers. The system had already provided me with a detailed report, showing each player's preferred side, their run-up style, and their success rate under pressure.
I'd shared a simplified, non-System version with Michael, and he was now using it to prepare Ryan. "Look at their number nine," Michael was saying, pointing at the screen. "He always opens his body up, always goes for the keeper's left. But when he's under pressure, he changes. He goes for power, straight down the middle. Remember that."
On Tuesday, I decided to tackle the issue of the crowd head-on. Wembley was going to be a cauldron of noise and emotion, the biggest crowd these players had ever seen. I couldn't let them be intimidated. I consulted the System's Player Psychology module, checking the 'Big Matches' attribute for each player.
