Daniel Pleasant’s TV Interview After the [PVCS vs STM Match 2015]
Interviewer: I’m standing here with Daniel Pleasant, assistant manager of Team PVCS and Simley Town FC. Heavy rain, fighting, dramatic ending to a dramatic match. 3-2 against your squad… what are your thoughts on the match?
Daniel Pleasant: Our two teams are unusual, because most of us are not even regulars in the Regional League, but both sides played our best.
Interviewer: Yes, but some players didn’t make it to the final whistle. What are your thoughts on the red cards from Team PVCS? The most controversial one must be Consort Capp’s. Any comment on that?
Daniel: It’s no secret that Mr Capp and Mr Monty had a long-standing feud, so Mr Capp wouldn’t find it easy to lose in public against Mr Monty’s team. But most of us managers in regular teams have more experience in restraining ourselves even if things don’t go our way.
Interviewer: Oh well, that might be true. One of our reporters saw your arguing with one of the substitutes. Care to comment on that?
Daniel: She is my daughter, Lilith Pleasant. She wanted me to put her on, but the eventual substitutions are a joint decision between me and Mr Capp. Juliette Capp showed much better aptitude than Lilith during the training sessions.
Interviewer: Ah, so everything was fair, no favoritism?
Daniel: In football, it’s aptitude and attitude, not who you are related to, that decides who gets the best chances.
Interviewer: That leads me to the next question. Tybalt Capp’s penalty could’ve brought you level before the full time whistle. Was he the designated man for this set piece, or was that decided at the spot? Was there anybody else in the squad who could’ve been the penalty kick taker? Maybe someone without the Capp name?
Daniel: Consort Capp assigned Tybalt for the task. He knows his Veronaville players better, like the way I know my Pleasantview players. Many of my Pleasantview players are better at defending and for midfield roles. Mr Capp knows which of his players have the most confidence for the task.
Interviewer: All right… now here’s a different question. How are things going at Simley at the moment? We have been reading some articles in the newspaper, and the fans are also wondering, but nobody commented yet? Is it that private?
Daniel: Any team that’s used to being in Primary Leagues B or C most of the time would feel a lack of morale if they ended up stranded in the Regional League for three consecutive years. It may be time for fresh faces or an overhaul of our tactics.
Interviewer: Last question. There have been rumors of you becoming the new Simley Town coach, any comment on that?
Daniel: Ferguson has made no announcements about his retirement. So nothing is confirmed.
Interviewer: OK, thanks for your time. That was Daniel Pleasant. Back to you in the studio.
(Lucy Burb: Look, Angela! They’re interviewing Uncle Dan!)
Coach Pleasant’s Simley Town
(This part may be somewhat technical, but is nonetheless essential. We’ll be returning to more familiar territory in Chapter 7.)
At the start of 2016, old Coach Ferguson had a stroke, and retired. The club appointed Daniel Pleasant as the new manager of Simley Town FC.
As promised, Daniel proposed some of Jennifer Burb’s new jersey designs. On the surface, her new designs looked very similar to the previous years’ jerseys, but there were significant changes to the underlying ergonomics to optimize athletic comfort. She got the contract.
After his interview in the 2015 Match, Daniel approached Team STM Players Tank Grunt and Johnny Smith, in the attempt to add these two Strangetown boys to Simley Town FC.
Tank declined, in favor of enlisting in the army. A few days later, when Johnny came with his mother to sign the club contract, Daniel could not help but notice how relieved Johnny seemed, about being the “only Strangetown teen” who joined Simley Town.
Johnny Smith proved to be a strong and reliable central defender. His ability to clear most balls before they cross the goal line saved Simley Town many valuable points. Johnny is also a lighthearted and enthusiastic presence in the dressing room, as he gives pep talks alongside Daniel when things are not looking so bright for the team.
In 2018, Daniel formally denied Dustin Broke’s application to join the club, on the grounds that he had acquired a criminal record one year ago. Daniel’s daughter, Angela Pleasant, broke up with Dustin when he was arrested.
However, Daniel’s other daughter, Lilith Pleasant, went to visit Dustin in prison, where they bonded over their common status as rejects. As a result, Lilith and Angela ended up exchanging boyfriends, with Dirk Dreamer being with Angela instead.
As a result of the Sims Football Association (SFA) deciding to open up all teams to female players in 2000, Daniel’s niece and Jennifer’s daughter, Lucy Burb, joined Simley Town on her 13th birthday in 2020.
Daniel remembered how unhappy Jennifer felt when she was excluded from fulfilling her footballing dreams as as child. So he did his best to let Lucy get whatever Jennifer could not.
While Lucy was generally well-behaved, she tended to lack consistency in performance. Nevertheless, she frequently told her uncle about her dream of being scouted by a prestigious club, so she, “LB7”, could be a football superstar.
As Lucy had the tendency to be selfish, instead of having a teamwork-first mentality, she often found herself a substitute who comes on early in the second half. She was more likely to secure herself a starting place when Simley Town was facing a lower-ranking team. Nonetheless, she proved to be a quick and versatile player, filling in as an all-round midfielder or as a left-back.
Daniel’s best advice to his niece was to focus on her training.
The following years brought Lucy Burb some “incentive” to stay in Simley Town, when the other two Broke brothers, Beau and Skip Jr, joined the club in 2023 and 2029 on their respective 13th birthdays. As they got older, Lucy and Beau began to fancy each other.
Beau Broke was originally a bench-warmer, but several “super-sub” appearances, and a hat-trick against Primary League A titan Simchester United in the cup, secured him a place in the Starting Eleven.
Daniel was surprised that a younger brother of “that delinquent Dustin Broke” could have a good attitude on and off the pitch. Beau became a favorite with the fans, who enjoyed his performance as a dynamic midfielder with strong passing skills.
As Daniel was pleased with Beau Broke, it became easier for the youngest Broke brother, Skip Jr, to join the club. In his first season, Skip managed to keep a clean sheet(#) in most matches, which made him a promising young goalkeeper who was eyed by several bigger clubs, some of these from foreign leagues.
When Skip was 17, he was on the verge of joining Simley Town’s biggest rivals, so Daniel did the desperate move of promoting him to the first team — a decision that paid off.
From then on, Skip Jr was not particularly keen on transferring out of Simley Town. He enjoyed a good reputation with the fans, and his loyalty to the club would probably keep them happy for many years to come.
(#) clean sheet: not letting in any goals in that match
In the [next chapter], we backtrack to 2016, when a familiar important event took place in the Pleasant family. Things are not as straightforward as they seem…
GOALS OF DANIEL PLEASANT – Chapters
1. The Wannabe
2. Juvenile Match
3. His Biggest Fan
4. An Oldie But a Goodie
5. Pleasant-Burb Family Dinner 2015
6. Team Dynamics
7. The Trap — most “familiar” Pleasant family scenario
8. The Purge
9. A New Leaf
10. Babysitting
11. Pecking Order
12. Amends
– [Extra 2] Bloopers & Lots
– [Extra 1] Primary League B? Relegation?
What do these terms mean? How do they work?
StrangeTown Monty (STM) 
This chapter was pretty technical, but it’s interesting to see how the neighbourhood politics shaped the signings for the PVCs teams 😉
PVCS and GODP are about translating the “canon neighborhood politics” into the football context 😉 Let’s see how “predictable” the next chapter can be, especially if it treads on “familiar ground”… 😛