The Coaching System

Pre-Match Preparations 

The tension inside the Bradford dressing room was thick. The players sat on the benches, focused but anxious, knowing tonight's match was the toughest challenge yet.

They were about to face Stockport County—the current League Two leaders, an unbeaten side with the most goals scored and the fewest conceded.

Paul Roberts, Jake's assistant, checked his clipboard. "They play a 4-2-3-1, press high, and rely on their full-backs to create width. Their striker has seven goals in six games. If we give him space, we're screwed."

Jake nodded, already aware of that. The system had analyzed them hours ago.

[Ding! Opponent Analysis Complete – Stockport County]

Weakness: Slow decision-making in defensive midfield.

Weakness: Right-back leaves space behind when pushing forward.

Threat: Striker is lethal inside the box.

Jake turned to his squad. "Listen up. They press high, but that means they leave gaps. We'll use quick, vertical passing to break them down."

He looked at Ryan Carter. "You and Ortega need to move the ball fast. No hesitation. If we let them settle, we'll struggle."

Carter nodded. "Got it."

Jake turned to his attackers. "Castellón and Collins, their right-back bombs forward too much. Exploit that space."

The players looked confident. But Jake knew confidence meant nothing once the game started.

Kickoff 

From the opening whistle, Stockport dominated.

3rd minute: Stockport's full-backs surged forward, whipping dangerous crosses into the box.

7th minute: A loose pass from Benson led to a Stockport counterattack. Their striker forced a diving save from Okafor.

Jake watched from the touchline, arms crossed. They were struggling to get a foothold.

Then, in the 16th minute, disaster struck.

Carter miscontrolled the ball in midfield, and Stockport immediately launched a counterattack.

Their winger delivered a low cross into the box, and their striker—unmarked—smashed it into the bottom corner.

GOAL!

1-0 Stockport.

The away fans erupted, while Jake clenched his jaw.

"Carter!" Jake called out. "Be sharper!"

Carter gritted his teeth and nodded. But things got worse.

28th minute: Ortega lost possession near the halfway line.

Stockport broke forward instantly, slicing through Bradford's defense.

Their attacking midfielder squared the ball to the striker, who easily slotted it past Okafor.

2-0 Stockport.

The Bradford players looked shaken.

And then, tension exploded.

Ryan Carter, furious with himself, turned to Daniel Lowe—the midfielder playing behind him.

"You were supposed to cover for me!" Carter snapped.

Lowe's eyes widened. "You lost the damn ball, not me!"

Carter shoved Lowe, and suddenly, the entire team was surrounding them, trying to separate the two.

Jake immediately stormed to the sideline, his voice cutting through the chaos.

"HEY!"

The entire team froze.

Jake glared at Carter and Lowe. "If you want to fight, do it in the parking lot after the game. On this pitch, you play as a team."

Both players stood there, breathing heavily, before Carter muttered, "Sorry."

Lowe hesitated before nodding. "Yeah. My bad."

Jake didn't say anything else. They had 45 minutes to turn this around.

Halftime

Inside the dressing room, no one spoke at first.

Jake took a deep breath. Yelling wouldn't fix this.

Instead, he pointed at the tactics board.

"We're not losing because they're better," Jake said. "We're losing because we're playing into their hands."

He looked at Carter. "They're pressing us hard. Instead of forcing passes forward, we need to pull them out of position."

He moved the markers on the board. "We slow the tempo in midfield. Make them step up. The moment they do? We hit them with a quick ball behind their right-back."

He turned to Ortega. "You control the game. If there's no forward pass, reset it. We dictate the tempo."

Ortega nodded. "Understood."

Jake then looked at Carter and Lowe. "You two need to trust each other. If one pushes forward, the other covers. Simple."

Carter and Lowe exchanged glances before nodding.

Jake clapped his hands. "We get one goal early, and the pressure shifts to them. Let's go out there and make it happen."

Second Half

Bradford started the second half sharper.

49th minute: Ortega, following Jake's instructions, slowed the tempo before playing a perfect diagonal ball to Collins on the wing.

Collins drove forward, cut inside, and unleashed a shot.

The keeper got a hand to it, but Novak pounced on the rebound.

GOAL!

2-1!

The momentum shifted instantly.

65th minute: Ortega and Carter exchanged quick one-touch passes in midfield, forcing Stockport to step forward.

As soon as the right-back was out of position, Ortega played a perfect through ball to Castellón.

The winger cut inside and curled a beautiful shot into the far post.

GOAL!

2-2!

The stadium exploded as the Bradford players rushed to celebrate.

Jake clenched his fist. Now they had them.

Stockport, desperate to regain control, pushed more players forward.

Jake smirked. That was a mistake.

88th minute: Bradford won the ball back near their own box.

Lowe played it to Ortega, who immediately switched play to Silva on the right.

Silva sprinted down the wing and squared a pass to Novak in the box.

Novak, with a perfect first touch, slotted it past the keeper.

GOAL!

3-2 Bradford!

The stadium erupted!

Jake didn't celebrate wildly. Instead, he watched Stockport crumble.

They had come into this match as League Two's best team.

And now?

They had just been dethroned.

Full-Time

As the referee blew the whistle, Bradford players fell to the ground in exhaustion.

They had fought, struggled, and come back from the brink.

Jake walked over to Carter and Lowe, giving them both a pat on the back. "That's how you respond."

They both nodded, exhausted but satisfied.

Paul Roberts grinned. "Hell of a match."

Jake smirked. "And just the beginning."

The league had been put on notice.

Bradford weren't just here to participate.

They were here to win