Spencer FC - Gamechanger

CONTENTS

I stormed down the tunnel with the roar of the crowd still ringing in my ears. It was all square at 33 against Weller Wanderers in the 2016 Wembley Cup final. This was supposed to be our big day at Wembley, our Champions League final the biggest match of our lives but wed played like we were strangers so far and I wasnt happy with the way things had been going at all.

I was fuming as I got to the dressing room, but our manager, Arsenal legend Martin Keown, pulled me to one side and said, Spence, dont go in there angry. Were riding a wave after fighting back from 31 down so youve got to keep it super-positive in there with the team.

He was right. And with 20,000 people watching in the stands and millions more on YouTube, we knew we had to up our game for the fans. We came out full of intent in the second half only to go 43 down to a goal from Wanderers forward Theo Baker.

I looked across at my teammates, at legends like Jamie Carragher, Patrick Kluivert and Robert Pirs, at freestyler forward Daniel Cutting who was desperate to score, and at my own brother Seb, such a strong competitor, and I knew we had it in our locker to turn this around. Come on, boys! I shouted.

In the 63rd minute Robert Pirs went tearing into the box, as he had on so many occasions for Arsenal in the Premier League, and squared the ball for ChuBoi to put an easy finish past the keeper. We were back in it, and when that man ChuBoi won a penalty for us only six minutes later we had an opportunity to take the lead.

There was only one man for the job in my eyes: Seb.

Its difficult to describe just how loud it is playing in front of a crowd of thousands of people at the home of football. You have to shout at the top of your voice just to even attempt to be heard, and my voice was already hoarse. But at that moment, in the hush that descended as Seb stepped up to take his penalty, you could have heard a pin drop. The tension was unbearable, but Seb remained cool to the last. He wrong-footed the keeper and slotted it effortlessly into the back of the net. Get in! I ran straight to the corner for Sebs trademark golf celebration: he mimed putting a ball into the hole where I was playing caddie with the flag.

As children, wed kicked a ball about in the back garden with each other, pretending we were playing at Wembley for England or West Ham. For both of us to be playing in the same team, celebrating his goal, at the real Wembley Stadium was beyond our wildest dreams.

But we still had a job to do. With our defence expertly marshalled by Jamie Carragher, our forwards had the freedom to attack, and we kept the pressure on Wanderers. Manny made it six for us and then Daniel Cutting finally got his Wembley goal to put us 74 ahead after a superb run from San Garnier. Surely the game was ours now, but I didnt dare contemplate it. We needed to keep cool heads until

The final whistle blew. I couldnt believe it. Wed done it wed won the Wembley Cup for the second year running! Wed fought back from 31 down to an unbelievable victory! The crowd roared its approval, and every moment felt like I was walking through the dream Id spent most of my life practising for.

I collected my winners medal from our manager Martin Keown, and then, as team captain, I took my place at the centre of the winners podium, with friends, family and football legends my teammates either side of me. I grinned at the camera and to all the people watching at home, with my hands hovering above the trophy, before I lifted it triumphantly above my head, just as Id seen so many FA Cup, World Cup and Champions League winners do on TV. The fireworks went off with a bang, the flamethrowers lit up, the glitter cannons rained the shiny stuff down on us and we all started jumping up and down as the celebrations began. It was every bit as crazy and awesome as Id ever hoped for.

It was quite simply the best moment of my life.

So, how on earth did this happen? How did a kid who at one point couldnt even get in his school team end up playing at Wembley Stadium in front of 20,000 people? How did someone who spent his life playing computer games and making YouTube videos get to play football in the same side as World Cup- and Champions League-winning players?

How did the creator of a YouTube channel write an introduction to his book that reads like the start of a professional footballers memoir?

Im part of a growing movement of people who, despite fervently supporting a Premier League team and loving the sport at the top level, want more from the game than what the Football Association and FIFA serve up. With my YouTube channel Spencer FC and my Hashtag United team Im a football club owner outside the traditional football structure. Im putting out football matches that are drawing audiences bigger than many professional clubs, and Ive been lucky enough to do that alongside the great friends and family Ive played football with for decades.

Im doing it because I love it. I love video games, I love making YouTube content and I live and breathe this beautiful game of ours. In our community the world that millions of YouTube creators and viewers inhabit we connect the dots between all of this and engage with the game and the audience in ways unlike anyone has before.

As my Twitter bio reads, lifes a game called football and I intend to play it. Over the last few years Ive changed the game so I can play by my own rules and map out my own road to Wembley. This is how I did it

Alright, mate, how you doing? Welcome to my story, and like any good story, it makes sense to start at the beginning.

Believe it or not, I wasnt always football mad. In fact, it really amazes some people considering how much my life revolves around it now that I didnt really get into football properly until I was 12 or 13 years old. If you compare that with my older brother Seb, who was obsessed by the time he was 5, playing at a very high level and smashing it by the time he was 12, you can see I had a lot of catching up to do.