They say every journey must come to an end. Every story has a beginning, an arc, and a climax. But some stories go on forever, as urban myths, as folk legends. Some stories never end.
Such is the tale of one man's determination to turn a forgotten club into an unbeatable force. It's hard to believe, just 15 weeks ago, Manchester United XI, or MUXI was considered one of the clubs that didn't even deserve to be in the bottom tier of the Classic League.
Seven seasons into existence, the club had had eight managers so far, none lasting more than four weeks, and one quitting after just nine days in charge. And in between these managers were intervals without a manager, at times up to eleven weeks long.
Needless to say, the club was in shambles. Having never finished higher than fifth in the bottom tier, their last four campaigns ended at the bottom of the barrel. They hadn't even scored a single goal in three seasons, and their last win was five seasons ago. Their cup record was no better, having never gone past the first hurdle.
Hope, as they knew it, was dead.
Then the board decided to bring in a manager out of retirement. A forgotten gaffer who had, and still has, no trophies in his cabinet. A controversial figure who attracts conflict in every league he has ever been in. Surely the board has gone overboard this time?
Enter Sir Brown Knight - A no-nonsense manager who started off by sacking 14 players within 48 hours of taking charge. Another eight would soon follow over the next month, leaving midfielder Olivier Tourneux the sole survivor from the original squad.
Fourteen new players joined the club before the cup campaign began, and the manager made a promise to the fans. A promise he will fulfill within 100 days - To deliver the best ever finish for the season.
100 days have passed since Sir Brown made that promise. And in these 100 days, MUXI have been transformed into a force to be reckoned with. Their dominance in the league has left them 11 points clear of the rest, securing their first ever league title with three weeks to spare. They also reached the second round of the cup for the first time, and have scored at least a goal in every single competitive match this season.
Sir Brown not only delivered on the promise, he actually took it one step further. Such was the domination of the squad this season, that at the end of the league season, MUXI have completed a clean sweep of all the individual player medals.
Star Forward John-Erik Wall, who has done for MUXI what Zlatan Ibrahimovic has done for the real Manchester United, won two Gold Medals for Most Points (37) and Most Goals (31); a Silver for MVP with 14 appearances on the Xpert Eleven; and a Bronze for Most Assists (6).
Midfielder Herold Bátori took home the Gold for his 16 Assists, as well as a Silver for Most Points (24) and two Bronzes for Most Goals (8) and MVP (13 X11s).
Young forward Hugo Thoresen took the Silver for Most Goals (11) and Bronze for Most Points (12).
Captain Naoya Shibuya earned himself the MVP award with the enviable feat of being X11 captain on eleven occasions, with another three appearances completing a perfect season for the Japanese defender.
Midfielder Henning Bernard completed MUXI's medal haul with a Silver for his 9 Assists this season.
Sir Brown Knight also received the tenth Manager Of The Season award of his career with 10 Manager Of The Round nominations, capping what was a perfect comeback season to Xpert Eleven.
But the journey doesn't end here. Next season will pose a whole new challenge for Sir Brown and his men. It is one thing to dominate a dead division, remaining competitive against 7 other active managers is a whole new ball game. But that story, perhaps, should be saved for another day...
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