The journeys to adding the second star above the badge

Is 2026 the year we finally add a second star above the badge?

If it is, the journey to achieving it doesn't start tonight.

It started with countless hours playing football with mates in Wythenshawe and Fletcher Moss.

It started with a rejection letter from Arsenal's youth academy, and years spent on loan finding his finishing in the lower leagues.

It started from kick-abouts in Blyth. From proving his worth in the Conference South. From years honing his creativity in the caged pitches around Greenwich.

And it even started from a small town in Bavaria, and pouring pints in Stuttgart after a forced retirement from playing football at the age of just 24.

The path to where we want to go is littered with setbacks, diversions, and challenges. It's the commitment to staying on that path, and the positive habits we can build around ourselves to maintain that momentum, that give us the best possible chance to achieve what we otherwise might have thought impossible.

Consistency in the gym. 

A Couch to 10k.

A Hyrox PB.

An Olympic Medal.

And maybe, just maybe, the chance to bring it home.