Sporting Director

'Leicester vs The Beautiful Game' read the headline on the sports section of The Sun, . 'Even though Leicester won the game by a margin of 1-0, it wasn't the Derby County who lost, it was the game of football. The Leicester players weren't trying to play football at all, instead it looked like they wanted a wrestling match. And speaking of Leicester tactics, it was probably to hit opposing players if you could call it a strategy' it further read.

John put down the newspaper, cursing under his breath. John and Sean were waiting for their flight at the airport. After the win yesterday, John had woken up feeling on top of the world and was getting ready to travel to Portsmouth to take the next big step for the club. After arriving at the airport, he picked up a newspaper to read. But all they had was the criticism for Leicester's approach for the game, to put it lightly.

John then picked up the ever reliable Leicester Mercury, at least in John's opinion. 'Leicester pick up the much needed three points to go 19th', John read while feeling happy, ' Leicester winning the derby and Hull and Barnsley losing their matches ensured that Leicester gained an edge in the relegation battle.' The rest of the article went on to explain how this win will help Leicester but there was not much mentioned about how the match went yesterday.

'I guess even they don't want to praise the display yesterday.' John thought, a sigh escaping his mouth.

"Let's go" Sean said as the announcement for the flight was made.

******

"Is this the place where you arranged the meeting, Sean?" John asked as he alighted from the car. They were standing in front of a cafe where they were meeting the prime candidate for the Sporting Director of the Foxes.

"Yes, but we are 20 minutes early, it's still 1:40" Sean said while looking at his watch, "And you need to hire a secretary for making appointments."

"Yes, I will, once I have the money to pay a secretary, until then you will have to do." John said playfully.

John took a moment to take the surroundings in. He had never been to Portsmouth. It was a port city on the south east coast of England. It was the only English city that wasn't on the mainland of Great Britain. The city was full of rich history and much of it had been preserved.

They took their seats and ordered a coffee while waiting for the clock to turn to 2.

"John are you sure about this? This is a serious matter. A wrong decision here could lead the club to ruin." Sean attempted to change John's mind again.

"Yeah, I'm sure about this." John replied immediately with confidence.

"I don't know the reason for your confidence. He is just 26 years old and doesn't have any experience in management. If you didn't tell me his name, I wouldn't have been able to even find him." Sean said with worry.

"Yes, but he has the experience of working for a Premier League club." John tried his best to explain it to Sean.

"But he works as an analyst. He works with data and football isn't same as the other sports. Data isn't as important in football as it is in other sports. In football, a team can dominate the whole match and still lose." Sean tried to persuade John for one last time.

"I'm so sure about this because I am from the future." John said as seriously as he could but Sean just rolled his eyes.

"It isn't a joking thing you know, the whole club's fortune is tied to this decision."

"Yeah, I know and I am taking this more seriously than anybody, that's why I am here to persuade him to join our club." John said with a assured tone.

"And even if football is different from other sports, data is going to be more important in the coming years, especially in squad building and scouting talents. To remain ahead of the competition is the key if you want success in football and don't have a shitload of money. This is our chance to gain an edge over our opponents." John said as he drank his coffee.

Sean wasn't fully convinced but he knew that it was somewhat true and maybe John's vision will bear fruit in the future. And he had researched the guy, even if he didn't have much experience, he was competent at his job.

As the clock reached 1:57, a fair-skinned young man with lush black hair and gold rimmed glasses, dressed in a black suit entered the cafe and walked towards John's table.

"Hello, Mr. Baker, Mr. Murtough, I am Michael Edwards." He introduced himself enthusiastically.

"Hello Michael, just John is fine. How did you recognize us?" John asked feeling genuinely surprised.

"Alright, John. I looked you up online before coming here." Michael said as they took the seats.

John wasn't used to being famous. After thinking for a moment though, he thought he should get used to this because even though he wasn't as famous as celebrities, anybody looking for his information could easily get it online.