The University of Nottingham's Royal College of Medicine was located in the southeast corner of the university, across the lake from the university campus. Opening the windows of the hospital building, one could see the sparkling surface of the lake. Looking further out, one could also see the University of Nottingham's landmark building in the distance, the white building that looked like the White House.
Tang En and Wood did not just look at the scenery from upstairs. They were currently strolling by the lake. There were very few people here as it was nearing noon. The patients who came out for a breather saw that the sun above their heads was getting hotter and hotter, so they all returned indoors. Tang En and Wood did not care and walked slowly along the lake.
"I don't think you need to hold a press conference." Tang En handed the newspaper in his hand to Wood. "It's basically becoming an established fact."
Wood looked down at the newspaper in his hand. There was an article about his retirement. The reporter's tone was very certain. He did not know how they knew the inside information. But Wood did not care about this.
"Mom's condition is not good. I want to accompany her for the rest of the journey …" Wood said in a low voice.
These words made Twain tremble. He stopped walking and turned to look at Wood. Did this kid know in his heart that his mother did not have much time left?
Wood did not care that Tang En was staring at him. He turned to look at the hospital building, as if looking for the window of his mother's ward.
"… I don't have the mood to play football under these circumstances, and the club will also be affected by me."
"So you might as well make it clear and retire so that the club will not worry about you?" Tang En added.
Wood nodded.
As expected, it was not a spur of the moment decision. Just as he said, it was a decision made after serious consideration. But if that was the case, it would only give Tang En a bigger headache.
There was a row of benches in front for the patients to rest. Tang En pointed there. "Let's go take a break."
The two men sat down on the benches facing the small lake in front. The clear lake water reflected the blue sky and white clouds, as if the lake water was also blue.
"Do you think announcing your retirement midway through the season will not affect the team? Do you really understand your current position and role, George? "Tang En said as he looked at the lake." Do you remember the first time we met? "
Wood froze for a moment. He had almost forgotten what happened more than a decade ago.
Seeing that he did not make a sound, Tang En continued, "You suddenly came to my doorstep dirty, returned my wallet, and then told me that I should sign the best player in England." Having said that, Tang En glanced at Wood. "Now that the best player in England has suddenly announced his retirement, do you think there will be no repercussions from this matter?"
Wood still did not speak, but he did not immediately refute Tang En, which was a good sign.
"After you hid in the hospital, the impact was already felt. Do you think Nottingham Forest can beat Liverpool tomorrow? "
This time, Wood did not remain silent. Instead, he said, "Even if I were here, it would be difficult to win." He looked up at Tang En and said, "The Nottingham Forest of today is no longer the Nottingham Forest of your time …"
This sentence left Tang En speechless. What Wood said was the truth. Even if Wood was around, it would be very difficult for Nottingham Forest to defeat Liverpool at Anfield. At the thought of the Nottingham Forest team he led to sweep across Europe, killing everything in their way, his heart beat a little faster. What a fascinating period of time …
Tang En raised his head and leaned against the back of the chair. He looked up at the blue sky and narrowed his eyes.
— Nottingham Forest won! They are the champions! European champions!! Tony Twain's team defeated AC Milan!
— This is incredible! Tony Twain's team became the first team to successfully defend the Champions League title after the restructuring! Nottingham Forest made history!
…
— League champions, FA Cup champions, UEFA Champions League champions! The 2013-14 season belonged to Nottingham Forest! They became the amazing treble winners!!
What would have happened if he had not chosen to leave back then and had swallowed his anger and continued to stay in the Forest team? Nottingham Forest should still have a few more years of glory, right? He did not think about the treble, but a few more championships should be possible.
"George, do you still hate me?"
Wood turned his head to look at Tang En.
"Nottingham Forest is like this now, more or less because of me, right?"
"Of course I hate you." Wood's answer was true to his heart. "How's your life after retirement?" He suddenly changed the topic.
"Uh …" Tang En did not expect Wood to suddenly ask this question. He thought about it and did not seem to have anything to say. "It's the same. I take care of the kids at home every day and spend time with Shania. What else can a retired old man do? "
Wood actually laughed when he heard Tang En say "a retired old man." This was the first time Tang En had seen him smile in the past two days.
"What are you laughing at?"
"I'm imagining what a retired old man's life is like."
"Do you think I'm watering the flowers in the garden every day and planting some tomatoes and potatoes? No, no, I don't do that kind of thing. I'm still quite concerned about the world of football. Who knows, I might become a television commentator in the future and even commentate on your matches, George. "He seemed to have forgotten that Wood had just said he wanted to retire. "Your performance in the last few matches has been really bad. Blocking at the front and attacking midfielders? You can't even receive the ball, how can you be an attacking midfielder? Have you forgotten that offense is converted from defense? Do you know why I insisted that you stay in the position of defensive midfielder and not develop in other directions? The position of defensive midfielder is the pivot of offense and defense. You can have more chances to receive the ball here, your career is more open, and the opponent's harassment is less, which is beneficial to your performance. But look at the last few matches, you're almost becoming a second striker! "
Tang En became more and more stern as he spoke, as if they were not in the backyard of a hospital, but in the stadium's locker room.
"That's not my problem. It's the manager's decision." Wood defended himself. "McAllister thinks the team's offense is a big problem, so he decided to put me in the front and let me directly organize the offense. If the conditions permit, he even let me take more long shots."
Tang En frowned when he heard Wood's words. "Evan Doughty's eye for choosing a manager is really unflattering …"
"He's only picked correctly once in so many years," Wood continued.
"Ha!" Tang En laughed. "That's right, he only picked correctly once."
Then, the two men seemed to be unable to find a topic to continue and fell into a period of silence.
Tang En stared at the lake in a daze, while Wood also did not know where he was looking. After a long time, Wood finally opened his mouth to break the silence. "You're here to persuade me not to retire, right?"
Tang En grunted in response.
This was something that really troubled him. He would rather lead the China team to play in the World Cup qualifiers than face a stubborn Wood.
"I have an idea."
Tang En abruptly turned his head to stare at Wood. He was afraid that he had heard wrongly.
Not caring about Tang En's fiery gaze, Wood continued, "You go back to Forest, and I'll stay with you."
Tang En's mouth opened wide in shock. He really did not expect to hear such words from Wood's mouth.
Under Tang En's shocked gaze, Wood continued, "This is not a joke. I've thought about it very seriously."
"I've already retired, George …" Tang En really did not know what to say. This was an outcome that he absolutely did not expect.
"You specially flew back to England from Los Angeles just to persuade me not to retire. But as you just said, you've already retired. You're neither the manager of England nor the manager of Nottingham Forest. So, what does it have to do with you whether or not I retire? "Wood looked straight at Tang En, as if he wanted to see through his heart.
Under Wood's intense gaze, Tang En was somewhat at a loss. This was the first time he realized that Wood could be so eloquent.
"You really don't want me to retire?" Wood pursued.
"Uh, of course …"
"Why? You're no longer my manager. Why do you still care so much whether I retire or not? "
"Why?" Tang En mulled over Wood's question. "Alright … I watched you grow. I was the one who turned you from a street thug into a world-class star player. I have feelings for you. I don't want to see you leave this stage that belongs to you so early."
"Then, what else can I gain by continuing to play? What's the reason for your retirement? You've already obtained the glory of the club and the national team. You've lost your motivation. It's the same for me, "Wood said calmly.
"No …" Tang En shook his head. "Don't you feel that playing football is very joyful? Not for the sake of fame and fortune, but purely to enjoy the joy of football … "
Wood laughed again. "Who was it that told us that if we can't win, we can't feel happy? Who was it that told us that we only have the right to say that we're enjoying football after winning the championship? Do you think that I can still feel happy playing football in such an environment? Can I still enjoy football? "
Tang En suddenly felt that the Wood opposite him had transformed into himself, and he himself had become the George Wood that needed to be convinced.
"I've already won the championship, and my happiness is gone. Tell me, why can't I retire?"
Tang En realized that what Wood said was not wrong at all. Logically, it was normal for him to retire. But why was it that he was unwilling to see him retire?
He suddenly remembered something. Before he had transmigrated and possessed his body, when he was still an ordinary Chinese who liked football and liked to play the Football Manager game, when a certain goblin player he had unearthed in the game announced his retirement at the end of the season after more than a decade of professional football career, how did he feel? He told the other party, an NPC made up of data, to ask him to reconsider his decision to retire.
Actually, what else was there to play in a Football Manager game until the end? No matter how bad the team was, he could still bring it to the top of Europe. He had won the domestic league tournament and the Champions League consecutively. He had plenty of transfer funds but could not spend them at all, because his team was made up of the best players in the world at that time. Just as George said, he had won all the championships that he should have won. He would never be as ecstatic as when he picked up the domestic league championship trophy for the first time, nor would he feel the sense of accomplishment like when he rose to the top league for the first time. So, what was the point of continuing to play? The only thing that kept him going was that he didn't want to leave the game earlier than the players he was familiar with.
After playing for more than a dozen seasons, those NPCs that only had names and data were no longer cold NPCs. They were living people, real players. They would express their gratitude to the media after they obtained an honor, thanking the manager for his help and promotion. They would also say guiltily after the team lost that the manager had flown into a rage in the locker room after the game, "All of us felt his anger." When you praised their recent performance, they would feel happy. When you criticized their recent terrible state, you would also get a different response. Even though it was just a game to others, and it was just a multiple-choice question designed by the programmers, real Football Manager players would put their feelings into playing the game.
Yes, put their feelings into it.
Therefore, Tang En did not want to see Wood retire prematurely. Just like any player who had invested his feelings into his favorite player would try to persuade him to reconsider his decision when he found out that his favorite player was going to retire, even if he knew he might hit a wall.
"Seeing those familiar faces on the field dwindling, I guess you'll feel a little lonely." Tang En sighed. "That's why I don't want you to retire. You're one of the few people I'm still familiar with."
Wood opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He continued to look at the lake. There was another period of silence between the two of them.
After a while, Tang En heard a faint voice by his ear. "You're also one of the few people I'm still familiar with …"
※ ※ ※
The next night's game, the highlight between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool, was chosen by the BBC to be broadcast live to the whole country. So, in front of millions of viewers, Nottingham Forest was crushed by Liverpool with five goals at Anfield. That Nottingham Forest team had no fighting spirit. It seemed that from the second they stepped on the field, they were all thinking of leaving as soon as possible. When the team lost a goal, the manager, McAllister, was still jumping in anger and was very dissatisfied with the situation. But when the team lost another three goals in 15 minutes, he was already sitting in his chair, unmoved.
The commentator, Motson, said that the performance of this Nottingham Forest team was clearly affected by George Wood's absence. At that time, Tang En accompanied Wood in the guest room outside the ward to watch the live broadcast on television. He turned his head to look at Wood and found that there was no expression on his face.
In the end, the team humiliatingly lost to Liverpool with a score of 0: 5, ending the nightmare of the Nottingham Forest fans.
The next day, under Sophia's strong insistence, Wood had no choice but to stop his "vacation" early and return to the team for training. But before he left, he told Tang En not to think that he would not give up on his plan to retire. If he really did not want him to retire, then come back to accompany him.
Tang En did not give any response.
On the same day, the Nottingham Forest Football Club held a press conference to announce that the manager, McAllister, had taken the initiative to submit his resignation application. The club had agreed to his resignation after some research. The team's manager would temporarily be the youth team director, Greenwood.
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