#Alex the next day: do i still ahve a job?

[willedwoods]

@sekizein​

The whole situation felt uncomfortable and heavy. The moment Emmet ‘asked’ him to go out with him once the station closed for the evening, and by asked it sounded more like a demand and if he tried to avoid the outing then Emmet was just going to show up at his apartment anyways and drag him out. Or worse make himself at home. He’d done it before and fully expected his boss to do it again at any time.

Why was he like this?

He stared at the drink on the table that rested between his hands. Something light in flavor but still a little sweet. How many had he had at this point? Enough to make his mind feel a little foggy at the very least. “Why?” His normally calm and mild tone filled with unfiltered annoyance. “Why’d you force me out with you?” In his uncomfortable state he may have burned through more drinks than he thought. 

“Don’t you have any other friends to keep you company? Harassing me 5 days a week isn't enough? You really have to do it on my time off too?” He hissed staring at his boss from across the booth. Though before he knew it, Alex was already moving to stand. Well as much as he could, one of his hands gripping onto the edge of the table, supporting his weight. 

“You show up to my apartment uninvited. You force all sorts of work on me that wasn’t in my job description and don’t even bother to pay me more. I was hired to battle. I don’t know how to do any of yours and Ingo’s work. I don’t know the first thing about trains or subways! You never tell me what you’re actually feeling or what you want from me. You just act like some cryptid weirdo making weird vague demands of me. What am I supposed to think or do?”

Alexander paused at the other side of the table, blocking Emmet into the booth. Maybe it was an attempt to be intimidating or maybe he had really just wanted to move to sit next to the Subway Boss instead of across for some reason. Fumbling onto the bench he forced the Subway Boss back in the confined space, the only way out being to duck under the table. 

“I can’t keep up with this!” His left hand slammed down onto the table quite a bit harder than he intended, shaking it and nearly knocking over Emmet's drink in the process. “Just tell me what you want from me already! Do you hate me that much?!” His right hand came down right hard next to Emmet's head on the wall to his side, trapping him in place. The raised tone, and uncomfortably close position was something future Alex could be embarrassed about and regret later. 

“I’m not Ingo, can’t you see that?! I tried to be your friend-- I wanted to help you when you were struggling-- But you never ask for what you want! You demand the world from everyone but you don’t actually tell people what you need! That little world of just you and Ingo you’re still trying to live in doesn’t exist anymore! Ingo is gone! There’s people who are here! People care about you but you’re so in your own head that you can’t see it. I care about you! I’m not Ingo. I can’t replace your brother and I know that but it doesn’t mean I’m useless. Even if its not me-- You need to let someone in! Stop trying to do this on your own!”

#❁ic #sekizein #4 u because you did a stressful thing #im always so proud #a promise is a promise #Alex the next day: do i still ahve a job?

[jrpneblog]

Will the storm pass?

“Keep the faith, the storm will pass” tweeted a good friend of mine this week as Social media reached boiling point after Tuesday nights horror show in the Lancashire derby. I`m not sure it will, I thought to myself as I reflected on the tweet of someone who has an opinion I have great respect for. There is usually a sequence of events when a manager has taken a club as far as he can go. Usually starts off with him blaming bad luck, then poor refereeing, then injuries, then blaming the players. After that it sort of descends into desperation. Alex Neil has blamed the lack of fans or noise but surely that is the same for every team, it is just that other managers seem to get their teams up for the occasions. I think John Beck once had a spirit exorcised from Deepdale and Paul Simpson had a pop at Elvis as I recall. This was a bit unfortunate as the King had been dead 30 years, I disgress! Alex Neil has had his fair share of injuries that is for sure and several of his better players have been sold from under his feet. I think North End fans sort of expect this, after all we are a selling club and always will be under this regime and many before it I might add. However it is the type of football being played, particularly at Deepdale that is making a growing percentage of fans call for change. If you look at Alex Neil`s record in the three full seasons he has been here we have finished 7th, 14th and 9th, which gives us an average of 10th. Now many will  think that is indeed a very good achievement all things considered. Well it is until you factor in some of the garbage that has been served up at home in this calendar year and the managers persistence with playing one striker at home. One shot on target in two home games against teams that were both below us before the respective games started sort of underlines my point. I am still with the manager as we speak ahead of the games at Watford on Saturday and Bournemouth in the week. These are two tough games and not really games or results the manager should live or die by. However if nothing comes back in the next few days from Vicarage Road or the Vitality Stadium then my support for the current managerial regime will have expired. I have never been one for calling for the head of a manager but two more defeats on top of continual poor quality at home may well be enough.

Reflecting on the past seven days it was not the best week we have ever had even though we started off with a home win against Sheffield Wednesday last Saturday. The sending off of Windass certainly helped our cause but the fact that Tom Barkhuizen`s winner at the start of the second half was the only effort on target probably says more about the game than another five paragraphs could. On Tuesday North End fans took a real body punch as we were beaten 0-3 at home by local rivals Blackburn Rovers. The sending off of Joe Rafferty just before the break certainly didnt help but the game didnt swing on that decision. Rovers were slicker, smarter, more agressive and just wanted it more than North End and with Tyrhys Dolan scoring the third goal it just about pput the tin hat on it as far as North End were concerned.

Looking ahead we have a very difficult week coming up with trips to Watford and Bournemouth but with some of the away results this season who knows what North End will serve up. No doubt in my mind that those thirteen points on the road ahve kept Alex Neil in his job and he needs to produce some more of the same as we head down the M6 ahead of these games. I fancied Watford to bounce straight back but they have had more managers in the last few seasons than my local Morrisons. However it is not the easiest place to go to with a full squad never mind with eight first team squad players missing. Anything from this game would be a good result and I suppose the result at Watford might affect the managers thoughts for the game at Bournemouth, which will be as tough if not tougher. We must bring something back from these games but just as important at this crucial point in our season is the performance. Two defeats and I fear Steve Thompson will be caretaker manager for the next home game.

And finally this week :- most of the football world mourned the loss of Diego Maradona who died from a heart attack this week at just 60 years old. Maradona was undoubtedly one of the the all time football greats on the field but I think saying he was the greatest ever is a step too far in my opinion. He was a tortured soul, perhaps misguided and some may call him a cheat for an incident in Aztec Stadium in the Summer of 1986. He was raised in Villa Fiorito, a shantytown on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina and grew up to be the Messiah in his homeland. Love him or hate you have to respect his greatness as a footballer and I do just that. 

RIP Diego - one of football`s all time greats

JR`s HIGH FIVES           

ARSENAL to beat WOLVES 21/20           

A £5 Stake returns £10.25 on bet365     

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