"… Freddy Eastwood, once the legendary striker of Nottingham Forest, is now the acting manager. At this moment, he is using his actions to prove the media's prediction — Manager Eastwood has lost the first game under his leadership. Nottingham Forest has lost four games in a row. … Now the team is in a state of panic. It is said that Balotelli has already submitted an official transfer request to the club, hoping to leave. The rumors about George Wood's retirement have not been clarified by him … "
Kenny Burns' Forest Bar was bustling at night. The Forest fans nearby would gather here after a day of work to discuss the recent happenings of the team. If the Forest team did well, then there would be cheers. Everyone would raise their eyebrows and hold one glass of beer after another. They would come in high spirits and leave with a good time. If the Forest team lost, then the bar was bound to be full of wails. Everyone was sighing, complaining about their bad luck, complaining about a player's poor performance in the game, or making a guest appearance as the manager to criticize the team's tactics for not being right.
But regardless of whether the team won or lost, the atmosphere here would be very lively.
Tonight was different.
It was so quiet that they could even hear what was being said on the television clearly.
In the face of the news broadcast on the television, the most the fans could do was to sigh.
Otherwise, what else could they do?
Wood was not in a good condition because of his mother's critical illness. Could they still scold him? Eastwood was the team's legendary striker, but he lacked experience as a manager. He should not be the only one to bear the responsibility. It seemed that only the club chairman was worth scolding. But over the years, they were already tired of scolding him. No matter how fiercely they scolded him here, they would not be able to shake Evan Doughty's position. What was the point other than wasting their saliva?
When they thought of such a situation, everyone lost interest in talking. More than twenty men in the bar could only bury their heads and drink one glass after another to drown their sorrows.
"Is there no way to save our team?!" A young man could not stand the oppressive atmosphere and suddenly stood up and shouted loudly.
His companions next to him looked up at him, then lowered their heads to continue drinking, or simply stared at the television screen in a daze.
This question had been asked countless times in the past four years, and the result?
But today, this young man seemed to have come prepared. He stood up and found that no one responded to him, so he looked at the bar on the other side. Then he picked up his glass, pushed aside his companion who was standing beside him, and staggered over.
Twain was drinking juice in front of the bar and chatting quietly with Kenny Burns. Now that Shania and Teresa were still in the United States, he did not want to stay in such a big villa all day. Other than the hospital, he spent the rest of his time in this bar.
However, as he was no longer the manager of the team, he deliberately kept a distance from John and the others and did not get involved in their circle. He only came to chat with Kenny. If John and Bill wanted to look for him, they would come alone and would not drag him to their side.
Everyone carefully avoided one topic during the conversation — the Forest manager.
But today, a drunk young man rushed in front of Tang En and slammed the wine glass in front of him. He then turned his head and glared at Tang En. "Tony … Tony!"
Tang En turned to look at this uninvited guest.
"Come back!" shouted the young man. "Come back!"
Hardedef hurriedly got up to stop the impulsive young man who had drunk too much. "Joseph, you …"
"Come back and lead Nottingham Forest!" The agitated young man's eyes were even filled with tears. "Come back and bring us …" Before he could finish his sentence, his body suddenly tilted and he slid off the high stool — he had already passed out.
Fat John rushed to Tang En's side and helped the young man up. "Joseph talks too much when he's drunk!" he explained to Tang En, then forcefully helped Joseph back to his seat.
"He did not say 'Joseph talks too much when he's drunk'," Kenny Burns said at the side.
Tang En did not express any dissatisfaction with Burns's action. He looked at the backs of John and the young man. They had returned to the crowd of fans. It seemed that not many people blamed Joseph for his impulsiveness. Instead, there were some who secretly glanced at him, wanting to observe his reaction.
Tang En thought that they would not be able to see anything because there was no expression on his face.
※ ※ ※
Eastwood did not expect to receive such a guest that night. He asked his wife, Serim, to bring the children upstairs to sleep, leaving the living room for him and this late-night guest.
"I've thought about it for a long time. Even though I'm already retired, I still follow football and Nottingham Forest. I think I might be able to provide you with some help, Freddy," Tang En said as he looked at Eastwood.
Eastwood smiled bitterly and said, "You coming back to coach the team is the biggest help you can give me … Alright, I know this request is a little unrealistic. Actually, I don't think I'm suited to be a manager … You know, boss? Before I led the team for the first game, I actually forgot to tell the players the starting lineup. It was Jimmy who reminded me, so I didn't make a fool of myself. Now that I think about it, I was so lame back then … "
He was a little depressed. As a manager, he had made a fool of himself in front of the players. It had become a psychological trauma for the past few days.
Tang En laughed and said, "What do you mean, Freddy? In my first game coaching the First Team, I was knocked unconscious by my own players. I left the technical area under the watchful eyes of the crowd and went home. After the game, I became the laughing stock of the whole of England. When I went to the bar to relieve my boredom, I was laughed at for it. Don't take such a small thing to heart. The job of a manager is actually very simple. If you can lead the team to victory, even if you don't arrange for the starting lineup, it can still become a part of your legendary personality. "
"Here's the problem, boss. I just don't know how to lead the team to victory. You know, when I watch them play off the field, I wish I could go up and help them score goals and obtain victory. But as a manager, I don't know what to do … "Eastwood was in a very low mood. It was rare to see this optimistic gypsy in such a mood.
"That's because you lack experience, and …" Tang En suddenly thought of a problem. "There's no one around you who can help you well." Back then, he was also a rookie, but he had Old Ian and Walker. These two people had a lot of experience as players, and they had been honed for many years as Forest's grassroots coaches. Then, after being groomed by many managers, it was Tang En's turn to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor. However, the current Forest team was in a mess. Outstanding managers were lost one after another, and they were poached by other clubs. An outstanding manager like Kerslake was dismissed just because the results were not satisfactory. Evan did not even let him continue to stay in the Forest team.
Although Eastwood had also been a manager for four years, in England, the difference between a manager and a coach was too big.
Eastwood did not want the topic to continue on him. He suddenly asked, "Coming to me so late at night means one thing, boss."
"What is it?"
"You can't let go of Nottingham Forest."
Tang En glanced at Eastwood and said, "Of course I can't let go. I'm a hardcore Forest fan. I've bought every season's ticket package."
"If you can't let go, you might as well come back." Eastwood looked into Tang En's eyes and said.
"I've retired, Freddy …"
"Nobody said that you can't come back after retirement."
"I still have to accompany my daughter …"
"Aren't you in England now, and your daughter is in America?"
Tang En shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about this. If there's anything you don't understand when you're coaching, you can ask me. I'll tell you my experience without holding anything back … "
However, Eastwood seemed to be specifically going against Tang En today. He threw out another difficult question and said, "George is the core of the team. If his condition does not recover, the team's results will not be stable. Do you have any ideas, boss? "
Tang En was speechless. He knew why Wood was not in form, but such a thing was something he could not solve. As long as Sophia's condition did not improve, Wood's condition would not improve.
This was not a problem that could be solved with techniques and tactics. It was not even something that a manager could do.
Speaking of Wood, Tang En would think of that day in the backyard of the hospital. Wood had said to him, "If you don't want me to retire, come back."
Did they agree on it? Why does everyone want me to come back the moment they see me?
※ ※ ※
In fact, when Tang En was still the England manager, not many people would say this to him. However, when he retired and idled at home, he was immediately targeted. He could say he was retired, but others might not understand it that way.
For example, he received a call from Tang Jing the next day. The content of the call was like a bolt from the blue in his mind.
The China Football Association contacted him through Tang Jing. They actually wanted him to coach the China national team!
"I'm just a messenger, Mr. Tang."
"You can directly reject them and say you can't contact me." Tang En did not want to be associated with the China Football Association. It would be bad for his reputation …
"I'm also a China person after all. To be honest, I think it would be very interesting if you went to coach the China national team …" Tang Jing was obviously laughing on the other end of the phone.
"That won't do. I don't want to lose my integrity in my old age." Tang Jing refused very straightforwardly. A bystander might find it interesting, but he, the person involved, could not say anything.
Tang Jing was indeed a messenger. When Tang En refused, she did not try to persuade him and readily agreed to reply to the Football Association. As for the reason, it was naturally that Tang En had not rested enough and did not want to come back to coach again.
However, the Chinese media learned from Tang Jing that the China Football Association actually went to look for Tang En and wanted him to coach. At that time, the media bluntly mocked the Football Association for biting off more than it could chew. Other than not directly saying, "Look at yourself in a puddle of piss." In fact, the meaning was similar. In China, the only government agency that could be scolded to its heart's content without taking responsibility was probably the China Football Association. Although FIFA stipulated that the football associations of each country and region must be non-governmental organizations, China's national conditions were special. The Football Association was a government agency.
The matter of the China Football Association looking for Tang En to coach was considered over with Tang En. However, he did not expect it to set off quite a storm in China. A series of questions surrounding whether the China Football Association should look for Tang En to coach, whether Tang En should come to China to coach, and whether he should come to China to coach, were discussed incessantly in the media and on the Internet. Some people felt that a high-level football coach like Tang En should be invited. Otherwise, China's football would remain stagnant and would never be able to improve. Some people felt that with the conduct of the China Football Association, it would be useless to invite a famous manager. If Tang En really came, it would ruin his reputation. There were also people who claimed that the heads of the China Football Association had shit in their heads again. If they did not think about inviting Tony Tang En, would they be able to control him? Not to mention that they wanted to give up power, that was absolutely impossible unless the China men's football team won the World Cup. But this would become an endless loop. In short, it was a meaningless thing.
In fact, the one who deliberately leaked the news was Tang Jing. She wanted the Chinese Football Association to make a fool of itself again. China's football had not improved for so many years. The leaders of the Chinese Football Association and the General Administration of Sport had changed batch after batch. But every leader was only thinking about their own positions. No one had ever thought about football as a sport. China's football could only stay where it was, or even regress slightly. She had long retired from the media circle and focused on being a wife in England, taking care of her husband and children. But when it came to China's football, she also got angry. Her words did not carry much weight, so she could only use this method to vent her dissatisfaction.
※ ※ ※
Tang En did not care about the storm stirred up after he rejected the Football Association's invitation in China. His thoughts were still on the Forest Team.
Eastwood said that the biggest help would be for Tang En to come back and coach the Forest Team, while he himself would continue to be that coach. But this was obviously impossible. Tang En used another method to help Eastwood. He and Eastwood studied the current problems that the Forest Team was facing and found a solution.
Tang En told Eastwood that if both Wood and Balotelli could not be relied on, then he would decisively remove them from the starting lineup and replace them with second-string players from the youth team and the reserve team. They were obviously more motivated than the current First Team. Currently, the Forest Team did not have a problem with their techniques and tactics. At the very least, the biggest problem was not that, but their fighting spirit and mentality.
He was so engrossed in helping Eastwood that he did not notice the way Eastwood looked at him. He also did not think about whether it was appropriate for a retired man to interfere in other people's work. He just wanted the Forest team to perform better and not let so many fans like him worry about them.
After Eastwood listened to Tang En and replaced half of the First Team lineup, they stopped their downward trend in the second game. Relying on tenacious defense and overall fighting, they forced a 0: 0 draw with the powerful Manchester United in the away game. Although the game was ugly and there was no offense to speak of, they did not continue to lose. Moreover, they were facing the powerful Manchester United, which was even more commendable. Therefore, when the result came out, many media were very surprised. Before the game, they predicted that the Forest Team would be humiliated by Manchester United at Old Trafford, just like Liverpool.
In that game, both Wood and Balotelli were not in the starting lineup. Wood was only brought on in the last ten minutes. This gave many media a chance to dig up old scores. They dug up the original conflict between Wood and Eastwood and used it to hype up the situation. They analyzed that after Eastwood came to power, he would unrestrainedly suppress Wood. Previously, there were rumors that Wood was going to retire, so it seemed that the rumors would soon become reality.
Of course, these were all nonsense. Eastwood was not the kind of person to use his position to avenge personal grudges. Besides, there was nothing between him and Wood for a long time. Moreover, not letting Wood start was Tang En's idea. Tang En did not even want to give Wood a minute. He wanted him to completely calm down. It was Eastwood who felt that if he wanted Wood to maintain his form, he should let him go up and play.
But this time, the media really jinxed it.
Just as the team stopped their four-game losing streak and returned from Manchester confidently to Nottingham, Wood, who was with the team, received a call from the hospital.
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