"Well, no matter what, Tony Twain has left the world of football. Now it's time for us to look away from him. " On BBC's Match of the Day, the three guests said this when discussing the major events in the football world. They all unanimously ranked Twain's retirement as the second most important event in England's sports world. The first was naturally England winning the World Cup.
This sentence also represented the attitude of the media. After more than a month of hype, the new season was about to begin. A retired manager, even if he was a champion manager, could not attract more attention. Moreover, if Twain no longer managed the team, then there was no point in hyping him up. Tony Twain was nothing without football, and the media did not have to buy into him.
Twain was happy to see this. Shania naturally had to work, and Twain was at home taking care of the child. Fortunately, Teresa had spent the most difficult infant period in the orphanage. It was not too difficult for a man like Twain to take care of her. Twain did not have the experience of being a father, but he always remembered one thing: make the child happy.
He was almost 50 years old, but he was still like a naughty child in front of the child. He played with Teresa all day and did everything possible to make her happy. For a time, Teresa was the only focus of his life. As for football? He had long thrown it beyond the nine heavens.
In order to help Teresa adapt to this unfamiliar country and lifestyle as soon as possible, he often brought her out shopping or to Burns' bar. Of course, alcohol was not allowed, and the area around Teresa was designated as a "non-smoking zone". The fans were not allowed to smoke. When he was no longer busy with work, he finally had more time to come to the bar to chat with his old buddies. Everyone was eager for him to come every day. So what if they did not allow him to smoke? Teresa was very popular. Even though she was only an adopted daughter, who cared? Her father did not care, so why would outsiders care?
This was Twain's happy life after retirement.
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"Which team do you think will win the new season?" Lineker asked the two guests on the show.
"Liverpool," Alan Hansen answered without hesitation.
"Reason?"
"Do I need a reason? I'm their fan … Okay, I'm just joking. I just hope that Liverpool can win the title, but after a calm analysis, I think Arsenal and Manchester United have the most hope … "
Lineker then looked at the other guest, Mark Lawrenson.
"Ahem." Lawrenson cleared his throat and replied, "I'm optimistic about Chelsea …"
"What about the teams that can qualify for next season's Champions League?"
This time, the two men's opinions were surprisingly consistent. "Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea."
Lineker suddenly asked, "No Nottingham Forest?"
Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson shook their heads. "No."
Lawrenson also added, "It's not easy for them to hold the qualification for the Europa League in their hands."
The UEFA Europa League was the former UEFA Europa League. It was later reformed and its full name was "UEFA Europa League." After the reform, the UEFA Europa League made some adjustments to the competition system and participation qualifications. In the past, the runners-up of the national cup competitions were allowed to participate in the UEFA Europa League. If the cup champions were eligible to participate in the Champions League, then the runners-up would replace the champions in the UEFA Europa League. Now, this method was no longer feasible. For those small and medium-sized clubs who wanted to find a breakthrough in the cup competition and enter the European competition, the threshold was raised.
Nottingham Forest had already lost the qualification for the Champions League for two consecutive seasons and could only participate in the UEFA Europa League.
In fact, for many clubs, even being able to participate in the UEFA Europa League was already a very praiseworthy achievement. However, Nottingham Forest had just flaunted their prowess in Europe's top competition a few years ago. Now, they could only participate in the UEFA Europa League. It really made people feel that they had "fallen." After all, the influence and benefits of the UEFA Europa League could not be compared to the Champions League.
Moreover, there was also something that had a considerable impact on Nottingham Forest's results. It was no longer an illusory rumor, but a solid fact — Evan Doughty had always wanted to sell Nottingham Forest. How could a club chairman who had no intention of continuing to run the club lead the club to continue to move forward? Until now, Nottingham Forest had been changing managers so quickly that the media mocked that the door of the Nottingham Forest manager's office had long been changed into a "revolving door."
On one hand, the reason why the club had not been sold was the decline in results, the decline in market influence, and the lack of interest. After all, Nottingham was not a big city like Manchester, Liverpool, and London. The small area meant that the prospects for development were small. In that case, the possibility of attracting foreign consortia was very low. On the other hand, the price could not be negotiated. Occasionally, there would be a buyer, but Evan Doughty would think that the price was too low and he could not accept it. Therefore, the stalemate continued for two years. Every season before, during, and at the end of the season, there were rumors that Doughty wanted to sell the club, but he always failed to do so. The fans were disgusted by his lack of loyalty. At first, they were angry, but now it had become a joke. They only saw Evan Doughty as a clown. The Robin Hood stand at the Crimson Stadium had banners that scolded Evan Doughty all year round. It had become a scene here. Every time the game was broadcast, there would be many close-up shots of the stand.
Fortunately, there were European competitions every year. The first few years were the Champions League, and the last two years were the Europa League. The management did not fall to the point where it was difficult to continue. However, the results of the competition were not satisfactory. The continuous change of managers caused the players to panic, and the tactics could not be agreed upon and implemented. Today, a new manager came in with a new set of tactics, and the next day, the new manager left. The new tactics that they had practiced for half a season were abandoned, and everyone had to start from scratch again …
If they could still get good results like this, they would really be bullying the English Premier League.
Once the team lost the strength and motivation to win the title, it was inevitable that such a team would not be able to retain players.
Michael Dawson, the center back that Evan thought was a good buy, had been plagued with injuries ever since he was bought, and finally retired at the age of 34 due to injuries. David Bentley left Nottingham Forest. He brought the team a transfer fee of 12 million pounds, and he went to Blackburn Rovers. Adriano Moke did not want to leave the club, but the decision was not in his hands. Both his agent and the club chairman wanted him to leave because he could be sold for 18 million pounds, and his agent could also take a cut from it. So, in the end, he went to Arsenal …
For the Nottingham Forest fans, the four seasons after Twain's departure were four dark seasons. Not only did the team gain nothing, but they also had to watch their former heroes leave one by one every summer. It was as if they had returned to the beginning of this century, to the days when Nottingham Forest was up and down in the lower leagues.
At that time, they missed Brian Clough. They said, "If Clough was still around, he would not have let things become so bad." Who were they missing now? Of course it was Tony Twain. Unfortunately, Twain had retired.
※ ※ ※
"The club's goal for the new season is actually the Champions League? Ha! Be realistic, Mr. Chairman! " In Burns' bar, the fans who came from nearby were enthusiastically discussing the team's future for the new season. At the mention of the club chairman, Evan Doughty, everyone's tone was full of sarcasm.
"It's already good enough that we can guarantee that we can participate in the European League!"
"Although I think it's always good to have great ambitions … But this doesn't apply to Doughty. Even if the team's results can improve, it will only increase his bargaining chips to sell the club … "
Twain turned a deaf ear to the heated discussion on the other side of the bar. He pulled his daughter, Theresa, to sit at the side, and was teasing the slightly bored Theresa.
"Theresa, Daddy will tell you a joke!"
Theresa nodded.
"It's a scorching summer, and the weather is very hot. Two bananas are on their way. Suddenly, the banana in front says, 'It's so hot, I want to take off my clothes.' After saying that, he takes off his clothes, and then the banana behind falls! Hahahaha! "With that, Twain held his stomach and laughed out loud on the table. "Isn't it very funny?"
Theresa, who was sitting opposite, twitched the corner of her mouth. She tried very hard to make herself laugh, but after trying a few times, she really could not do such a difficult thing. So, she said to Twain with some grievance, "Daddy, I can't laugh …"
This time, it was Kenny Burns' turn to laugh out loud.
Twain felt very awkward. "Alright … I know this joke is a little difficult for you to understand …" He scratched his head and turned to look at the bar owner who suddenly appeared. He quickly changed the topic. "Why aren't you wiping the glasses?"
Burns placed a glass of freshly squeezed fruit juice in front of Theresa. "It's my treat, Theresa."
"Thank you, Uncle Kenny." Theresa's English improved very quickly. The speed at which children accepted new things was always unexpected to adults. Now, she could already understand some English and could also use simple English to converse.
Taking this opportunity, Burns sat down beside Twain. "They all hope that you can come back …" He pointed to the group of fans opposite him. The discussion was still very heated. "But they don't dare to say it in front of you."
Twain looked at Theresa, who was sucking on the juice opposite him. "I've already retired."
"Jordan retired three times, but he can still come back three more times." Burns just smiled.
Twain looked at him but did not find any strange expression. It was as if he was just saying it casually.
Burns kept the empty glasses on the table, got up, and slowly walked behind the bar counter. Tang En watched his back from behind. This man was once a notorious villain in the English football scene. He was a big shot that made all his opponents tremble in fear. It was said that whenever he participated in a competition, there would be an additional "Bernsco" in the nearby hospital. He once used his fake teeth to demonstrate to the then European Footballer of the Year, Kevin Keegan, before the 1980 Champions League final. Keegan was so scared that he lost his form. In the subsequent final, Keegan basically did not even touch the ball. Hamburg F.C. also eventually lost that game, making Nottingham Forest the defending champion. After his retirement, he ran a bar here. The fact that he could make the big shots among the football hooligans listen to him had something to do with this kind of reputation. But now, he had a head full of white hair and his back was a little hunched. No matter how you looked at him, he did not look like the butcher villain that everyone was afraid of on the field.
Such a man later became an ordinary middle-aged man who sat behind the bar counter every day, wiping glasses. Now, he had become an ordinary old man who sat behind the bar counter every day, wiping glasses.
Twain turned his head and looked at his daughter. He found that she was also looking at him. She said timidly, "I can't finish it, Daddy …"
Twain reached out and touched her head. "It's fine if you can't finish it. We should go back, Theresa. "
With that, he got down from his seat and held Theresa's hand.
Theresa jumped down and held her father's hand. The two of them walked out.
"Goodbye, guys." Twain waved to the group of fans who were still engaged in a heated discussion.
When everyone realized that he was about to leave, they stopped their discussion and looked at him. It seemed like they had something to say, but no one said it. In the end, only Fat John called out when Twain was about to leave, "Are you still coming tomorrow, Tony?"
Twain looked back at him. "That's hard to say. I don't come here every day. I'm afraid that Theresa will learn bad things if I bring her here all the time. Haha!"
Twain did not say anything more. He laughed and waved his hand to push open the door and left.
Tony Twain never admitted that he was old. But perhaps in the eyes of these people, Twain, who slowly walked out holding his daughter's hand, was already considered an old man.
He was not even 50 years old. His body was not considered old. But his heart was old. The nuclear-powered champion's heart that kept beating had slowed down and slowly calmed down. Now that he had won the championship that he was supposed to win, what else could stimulate him? Nothing, absolutely nothing. There was really no reason for him to make a comeback again and drag a body with a hidden heart disease to satisfy the desires of the audience.
Perhaps to him, this was what he had always wanted. He had planned it a long time ago. After winning the World Cup, he would retire bravely and leave the most glorious figure for the world to see. His glorious image would not be tarnished, and people would not have to lament about the "end of a hero."
But for the audience, the most dazzling leading star had already left the stage. What was there to watch? Those superstars would always be called back by the fanatical fans at the end of their concerts. They would sing a few more songs on the stage, leave the stage again, and be called back on stage again. This repeated several times to show how popular they were.
It was a pity that they could not run to Twain and shout, "Come back, Tony! Sing us one more song! "
"I hope Tony is happy and healthy. Now that he has a daughter, it stands to reason that he should be even more so. But why do I still like the guy who jumps and spits at the fourth official on the sidelines more? "
Skinny Bill murmured.
"I like him too …" Someone beside him murmured.
Bill glanced at it. It was John. The two men looked at each other and laughed again.
"Why did he come back? Did the Forest team come back to ruin his reputation as the godfather of champions? It's better not to come back … "
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