The whistle blew, and Selhurst Park erupted. The first day of the season. The first day of the rest of our lives. The noise was a raw, primal roar, twenty-five thousand people who had been waiting all summer for this exact moment, and it washed over the pitch like a wave breaking against a cliff.
Across the touchline, Mark Hughes stood with his jaw set, his eyes narrow and watchful. He was a proud, experienced manager: former striker for Manchester United, Barcelona, and Bayern Munich, former manager of Wales, Blackburn, and Manchester City.
He was not a man who came anywhere to lie down. Beside him, his assistant Mark Bowen was already barking instructions at the Stoke midfield, while their goalkeeping coach Eddie Niedzwiecki stood further back, watching Butland's positioning.
