"… Let's do five sets of passing practice. George, you're in charge of passing the ball. Pass the ball from here to the two flanks. Five passes to the left and right flanks as a group … "Manager McAllister was explaining the specific training content to the players on the training ground." Later, Freddy will kick the ball to you. You have to pass the ball directly without adjusting. Got it? "
Wood nodded.
"From the two flanks, cut inside and shoot when you receive the ball."
The players on the flanks understood.
"Very good. Let's start training." After giving all the instructions, McAllister left the training ground and left it to coach Freddie Eastwood to handle. He stood at the side and observed carefully.
The team's recent performance was up and down, and he was under a lot of pressure. The league was already in October, and the Forest team was still in tenth place. Such a ranking was not satisfactory in any case. There had long been rumors that Evan Doughty wanted to fire him, but he could not find a better excuse. Because when it looked like he was going to be fired, he could lead the team to win a game immediately and relieve some of the pressure on him.
But this was not a long-term solution. He had to find a way to stabilize the team's condition. Unfortunately, he was not a master of psychological adjustment. He could only think of a way from the technical and tactical aspects. He strengthened Wood's position as the core, and all the tactics revolved around him. This was the only way McAllister could think of. After all, Wood's condition was guaranteed. For so many years, there had been almost no problems with his condition. With him as the core, as long as his condition was stable, then the team's condition would not be too big of a problem.
Compared to him, the other Italian was simply too unreliable … Balotelli always wanted to leave the team. He would make a fuss for a while before every season, and the fans were already tired of him. But the miraculous thing was that he could never leave. Now that he was fixed in the right midfield position by McAllister, the Forest team at least did not have to rely too much on him to score goals.
In order to improve the team's performance, McAllister decided to sacrifice Wood's defensive ability and let him focus on offense. So, during training, Wood was more involved in offensive training. The previous straight passes, diagonal long passes, and even his own long shots … These training programs were more intense.
Ever since he became Forest's manager, he had no choice but to admit that even though Tang En was a little annoying, his contributions in grooming George Wood for England could not go unnoticed. Right now, he was also benefiting from it.
While McAllister was staring at the training ground, thinking about how to maximize Wood's role, someone hurried over from behind him.
"Mr. McAllister."
"Ah? What's the matter? " McAllister was annoyed that his thoughts were interrupted, but he didn't turn around and continued to stare at the training field. He used this method to tell the uninvited guest that he was working hard and that if there was nothing urgent, the guest should not disturb him!
"It's about George Wood …"
The man whispered behind McAllister. As he listened, the expression on McAllister's face immediately changed from one of doubt to one of shock and bewilderment …
※ ※ ※
Wood was practicing passing on the field. The training subject this time was a long pass. It was mainly to practice the accuracy of his long pass without adjusting when the opponent was pressing for him. McAllister did not arrange for anyone to snatch the ball. He only told him not to adjust after receiving the ball. The effect was still somewhat different.
From the first three groups of training, Wood's long passes were becoming more and more skillful. Whether it was the speed of the ball or the accuracy of the final pass to the target, it could be considered first-rate.
Just as he was about to continue with the fourth group of training, he saw the manager, McAllister, who had been standing on the sidelines, make a gesture to Eastwood for a pause. Then, he personally walked up and walked straight towards him.
Was there a problem in the training? Wood didn't think so. The quality of the training this time was very high, and he was very satisfied with himself. One must know that Wood had always had high standards for himself. Even a strict manager like Tang En felt that he was sometimes too harsh on himself. Experience also proved that as long as he thought there was no problem, the manager basically could not find any fault.
He stood in place, waiting for the manager. He did not know why the manager would pause the training to look for him.
When McAllister walked up to Wood, he opened his mouth but could not make a sound. He really did not know how he should tell the other the news.
After a moment of silence, the other players on the training ground noticed the strange situation happening here, and they all looked over to pay attention to it.
McAllister clearly also realized that standing there and not saying anything would be worse. "Uh, there's something I have to tell you, George …" As soon as the words left his mouth, his voice was hoarse and low, giving McAllister a shock. His voice was not like this usually.
Wood looked at the other person in confusion. When did the manager speak so carefully?
"Well …" McAllister hesitated for a moment and decided not to directly say the outcome of the matter. Instead, he started from the beginning to give Wood a mental buffer. "Just now, the club received a call from the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University … Your mother is critically ill and has just been sent to the hospital …"
Wood stared at the manager in a daze, his mind blank.
※ ※ ※
In fact, in the past two years, Sophia's health had been deteriorating. Wood had spent money to hire professional nurses to take care of his mother at home. He had to train and fly around to participate in competitions, so he could not stay by his mother's side.
Under normal circumstances, professional nurses would be able to handle it. But if she was sent to the hospital, it meant that the problem was serious …
When Wood rushed to the hospital's intensive care unit, his mother was still in a coma. Ms. Nancy, the private nurse in charge of taking care of his mother, was sitting outside the ward, somewhat at a loss. Her work had been taken over by the hospital. From now on, if Sophia did not leave the hospital, she basically had nothing to do.
Wood wanted to rush straight into the ward, but was stopped by a young female nurse wearing a mask.
"Sir, what are you doing? You can't just enter the intensive care unit! "
"I want to see my mother!" Wood roared at the other person.
"Please don't be loud!" The female nurse who was blocking the door frowned. "You can't enter the intensive care unit without permission." Wearing a mask made her speak in a muffled voice.
"I'm her son. Why can't I go in?" Wood did not care so much. He just wanted to barge in. The nurse was not to be outdone. She came forward and stood in front of Wood with her chest out.
"The patient is still in critical condition. The doctor is closely observing her. Please don't disturb our work!" She stared at Wood, not to be outdone.
"You …" Wood clenched his fists and was about to push the insensible female nurse away, but was held back by Ms. Nancy who saw it next to him.
"Calm down, Mr. Wood! This is the hospital … "
Although Nancy was a woman, she was not a petite woman. She was strong, with broad shoulders and thick thighs. Although these words were not appropriate to describe a woman, it was a true portrayal. Her strength was comparable to that of a man, and she was able to hold back Wood.
"Are you the patient's family member?" The female nurse opposite saw that Wood was held back and also took out a list to glance at.
"I'm her son. She's my mother." Wood calmed down after being persuaded by Nancy and replied in a low voice.
She did not expect the other party's attitude to suddenly become so good. The female nurse looked up at him strangely. How could she not know the person in front of her? As long as one was from Nottingham, even if one was not a fan, one should recognize the person in front of him at a glance. Because he was the legendary captain of the Forest team, George Wood. No matter how bad the team's results were, how difficult the situation was, he never had the idea of leaving the Forest team, so he was respected by countless people.
But she really did not expect the captain, who was very low-key off the field, to have such a fiery side. This was not the stadium …
But knowing him did not mean that everything went according to his wishes. It was a rule that the intensive care unit could not be entered at will. Even if the Queen came, she would not let him in without permission.
Thinking of this, the female nurse's attitude also eased a lot. She said to Wood, "Your mother is not out of danger yet. We have just finished resuscitation, and she is still under observation. You can look at her through this glass. "
Needless to say, Wood was already in front of the thick glass window, gazing affectionately at his mother lying on the bed inside. Her body was full of all kinds of tubes, connected to a lot of equipment he could not name. In the ward, a doctor in a sterile suit was observing the equipment and making records.
Seeing the other person's appearance, he also realized that if he had just rushed in, it would have ruined things.
Having figured this out, Wood turned to the nurse who was still standing next to him and said, "What happened just now … I'm sorry … I was too impulsive. I hope … you can forgive me …"
The female nurse looked at the man's awkward appearance as he apologized and could not help but laugh. He probably rarely apologized to others, right?
Thinking that he had clashed with her because he was anxious for his mother's safety, the last trace of dissatisfaction in the female nurse's heart vanished. She smiled and shook her head. "I'm fine." The pair of eyes that were still looking at Wood previously had now turned into two beautiful crescent moons.
According to the usual practice, after this opening sentence, they should continue to chat and get to know each other. However, Wood was not in the mood to chat with the nurse. After he apologized to the other party, he turned his gaze back to his mother who was separated by the window. Other than his mother, there was no room for anyone else in his heart and eyes at this time.
Wood stared at his mother in the ward, and the nurse outside the ward stared at Wood.
※ ※ ※
The reporters quickly noticed something strange. In the routine filming the next morning, they did not see George Wood's figure.
Since George Wood became a member of the Forest team, he had only been late once. That was because when AC Milan wanted to buy him, he had a conflict with Tang En and used being late as a protest. Of course, the media did not know the real reason here. They just thought that Wood wanted to leave but was eventually persuaded by Tang En.
Other than that, Wood had never been late for training.
It was different this time. Not only was Wood late, but the reporters waiting outside did not see Wood's figure until the end of the morning training session. This was not being late, this was being absent from training …
Such a serious matter — yes, it was not a big deal when it happened to the undisciplined players, but when it happened to George Wood, it was a very serious matter — naturally attracted a lot of attention from the media. They surrounded the manager, McAllister, after training, wanting to ask him why Wood was absent from training.
Before asking McAllister, the media were also speculating whether this meant that there was something wrong within the Forest team. The general and the manager had fallen out? That was big news!
McAllister was surrounded by dozens of reporters. If he did not explain the reason, he could not think of leaving Wilford today.
"Everyone …"
He had just opened his mouth when he was suppressed by an even louder uproar.
"Mr. McAllister, did you ask for leave from Wood's absence from training?"
"Mr. McAllister, do you know why Wood was absent from training?"
"Mr. McAllister, the recent results have not been good, and Wood was absent from training. Are you going to punish him?"
"Mr. McAllister …"
"…"
"Enough!" McAllister shouted in dissatisfaction, "All of you, quiet down!"
When the reporters shut up one after another, he continued, "I'm sorry to inform you that because George's mother is critically ill and hospitalized, he asked for leave to go to the hospital to take care of his mother."
As soon as this answer came out, the reporters on the scene just looked at each other. For a moment, they could not react to what was going on.
McAllister slipped away while the reporters were still in a daze.
※ ※ ※
Vivian Miller was the nurse on duty in the ward. She had just finished her work and was ready to leave to give Wood and his mother some space. But just as she closed the door, she heard a rush of footsteps coming from the end of the corridor. Following the footsteps, a large group of reporters holding cameras appeared in front of her.
Why are they here? This was her first thought. Her second thought was — George Wood! They must be here for Mr. Wood and his mother!
So, Vivian did the same thing she did to stop Wood a day ago. She stood at the door to stop the group of uninvited guests from approaching.
"This is the hospital. May I ask who you are looking for?" Vivian asked knowingly, stalling for time.
"Miss nurse, may I ask if George Wood's mother is staying in this ward?" One of the reporters came forward and asked.
Miss Vivian Miller stared at the group of ill-intentioned reporters and did not answer.
The reporters only took it as her acquiescence and were about to barge in.
"This is the intensive care unit. You are not allowed to enter without permission!" For fear of disturbing the patient inside, the nurse could not raise her voice. In front of such a large group of men, she seemed a little helpless. If the group of men really wanted to force their way in, there was nothing a girl like her could do …
"We're all friends of George. We're just here to care about him. You know, he did not go to training this morning …"
Some of the reporters were fine. They knew to find excuses for themselves, even if it was a lie. Others directly reached out to push Vivian Miller, the nurse who was in the way.
"I don't know your group of 'friends.'"
Vivian felt that she could not hold on any longer. She lost her footing and took a step back. However, she did not hit the door. Instead, she hit a person's chest.
George Wood appeared at the door and helped Vivian block the attack of the reporters.
Seeing the main character appear, the thick-skinned reporters suddenly became energetic. They took out their cameras and began to take pictures of him. Some people even stretched out their microphones and interviewers, wanting to ask questions.
Wood did something that the reporters did not expect. He pulled the nurse behind him with one hand to protect her, and with the other hand, he grabbed the lens of the camera that was stretched out the furthest in front.
"If you dare to take a picture, I'll crush it."
This sentence surprised the media. They did not expect to get such a response. "Hey, George … We're just concerned about you …"
"Thank you, but I don't need it." Wood replied with a gloomy face. His voice was low, like a beast growling from the depths of his throat. It was a precursor to an attack.
Both sides seemed to be in a deadlock. The air at the scene seemed to have frozen. Miss Vivian Miller, who was hiding behind Wood, only felt her heart beat faster. She was afraid that a physical altercation would break out …
"Patients need rest and a quiet environment. If you continue to pester here, I guarantee that all of you will receive a letter from my lawyer." The person who said this was not George Wood. The voice came from behind the crowd of reporters.
Everyone turned to look. It was Wood's agent, Billy Woox, and a large group of hospital security guards behind him …
※ ※ ※
With the threat of the security guards and the lawyer's letter, the reporters around the door were finally driven away. Woox was in the room outside the ward talking to Wood.
"I rushed back as soon as I got your call. How's Sophia?"
"She just passed the critical period, but the doctors said we can't be too optimistic …" Wood said in a low voice, as if he was afraid of disturbing his mother in the room.
Woox looked at the lifeless face and did not know what to say for a moment. After working with Wood for so many years, he knew Sophia's place in Wood's heart. It was not an exaggeration to say that she was Wood's faith. Now it seemed that Sophia would not be able to hold on for much longer. What would happen to George then?
Wood sat in front of Woox and pursed his lips. The room fell into a silence. This silence was really uncomfortable. Just as Woox was about to find something to say to ease the almost frozen atmosphere in the room, Wood was the first to break the silence.
"I've thought about it for one night. I've decided to retire."
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