Tang En flipped through his phone book at home. There were not many people on it, as he did not have many friends. There were a lot of enemies who wished for him to die.
He had not replied to Evan Doughty, but that was not a problem. As long as he nodded, Evan Doughty would be overjoyed. How could he refuse?
Before that, he needed to do some things, such as finding a satisfactory assistant for himself. Tang En's 15 years of coaching career could not do without an excellent assistant. It had become his pattern. An excellent assistant could save him a lot of time and energy. He was not the kind of manager who had to do everything himself, even training.
Des Walker had just won the World Cup with him, and his value had increased. After he left the national team, Walker also left, but he did not retire. Instead, he was invited to be the manager of Leeds United, who was determined to revive their glory.
Dunn was still the manager of Notts County. His team had played in the English Football League Championship for two seasons, and they had improved significantly from barely avoiding relegation to now being in the top ten. Moreover, it was a waste of his talent to ask him to be his assistant manager again.
Tang En fixed his gaze on David Kerslake's name.
Kerslake, who had left Forest, did not fare well. He had been the manager of Bolton Wanderers for half a season before he was dismissed due to poor results. Later on, he mixed in with many English Football League Championship teams and even went abroad to coach. However, he did not achieve the same results as he did at Forest. Not all managers could revive their glory after changing places. There was also the attribute of "adaptability" among managers. Clearly, Kerslake was not very adaptable, at least not compared to Des Walker and Dunn.
Kerslake was now unemployed at home. Thinking of the days they worked together, Tang En felt that it was a beautiful memory. He could not let such an excellent talent be wasted at home. Therefore, he dialed Kerslake's number, hoping that he had not changed his phone number in the past four years.
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Kerslake felt that he was in an awkward situation. He had never been able to lead a team to good results as a manager. The results when he was the temporary manager of Forest might have been his most glorious moment. Although he was not happy being a manager, he was a little reluctant to be an assistant manager again. After getting used to eating French cuisine, who would be willing to eat McDonald's and KFC all day long? He always felt that he should be able to see some results as a manager, but he lacked good opportunities. Become an assistant coach again? Wouldn't that be degrading himself?
Now, he was unemployed at home, accompanying his wife and children. Fortunately, he had some savings from his previous job as a coach. When he followed Tang En, he received a lot of bonuses every season. However, over the past few years, they had been eating away their savings, and it was getting harder and harder to support a family of four. He considered going out to work again. He had a few invitation letters from a few clubs, three of which wanted him to be the head coach. However, they were all teams in the lower leagues and the conditions they offered were very ordinary. Another Premier League club had invited him to be an assistant manager. Everyone in the circle knew that he had better results as an assistant manager than as a manager …
Kerslake was not Tang En. Although he was 54 years old now, he had not thought of retiring.
Just as he was hesitating about which club's invitation to accept, he received a call from Tang En.
"You didn't change your number. That's great, David!" Tang En sounded very happy over the phone.
"Tony?" Kerslake was a little surprised. Why was he calling him?
"Are you still in Nottingham? Can we come out for a cup of coffee or something? "Tang En sent out an invitation.
"Uh, no, I'm in London."
"You moved?" Tang En was a little surprised.
"Of course. Ever since I left Forest Team, I moved."
"That's not good …" Tang En muttered.
"Why did you suddenly call me, is there anything, Tony?"
"Yes, it's like this." Tang En thought for a moment. "Are you interested in being an assistant manager again, David?"
"Assistant manager?" Kerslake thought Tang En was asked to be a lobbyist by someone, such as Nottingham Forest. He heard that Freddy was not doing very well there and urgently needed a helper. But to ask him to be Freddy's assistant manager … "No, Tony. I don't want to be an assistant manager anymore. "
"What a pity …" On the other end of the phone, Tang En was clearly disappointed with Kerslake's answer. He muttered softly, "Looks like I'll have to find someone else to partner with me …"
His voice was very soft, and Tang En was completely talking to himself. However, he had forgotten to first politely bid farewell to Kerslake and then hang up the phone before complaining.
Kerslake heard every word of this sentence. His first reaction was shock.
Then, he heard Tang En say with some disappointment, "I'm really sorry to bother you, David. Although you rejected me, I still hope that when I go to London, I'll be able to invite you for a cup of … coffee. "
With that, he was about to hang up. Only then did Kerslake react. He hurriedly called out, "Wait! Wait, Tony! Wait … "
"Yes? Is there anything else, David? "
Tang En no longer placed his focus on Kerslake. He more or less understood Kerslake's thoughts. It was indeed difficult for a person who was used to being a manager to want to be an assistant manager. A person like Queiroz had gone to Real Madrid to be a manager who failed for a season. If he were not a manager of Ferguson's level, he would certainly not be willing to return to Manchester United to be an assistant manager. So, Tang En actually did not blame Kerslake. After all, water flowed downwards, and people walked upwards …
Now, he continued to flip through the phone book, hoping to find a suitable candidate for an assistant manager.
"Who are you looking for an assistant manager for?" Kerslake asked. In fact, an answer had already formed in his heart. It was just that he did not dare to confirm it.
"Me? Who else could it be?" Twain replied casually.
"Aren't you retired?! Wait … "Kerslake's mind suddenly became clear. "I heard that there's a rumor that you're going to coach Nottingham Forest again?"
"It's not a rumor now, David." Tang En laughed.
Kerslake jumped up from his chair. "Are you really going to coach Nottingham Forest again?!"
"Today is not April Fool's Day, David."
"Are you looking for an assistant manager?"
"Of course. You've already asked me once. "
"I'll go!" Kerslake answered without hesitation this time, which surprised Tang En.
"Didn't you just say that you don't want to be an assistant manager, David?"
"That depends on who I'm doing it for, ha!" Kerslake's mood suddenly improved. His previous worries about his future had all vanished like smoke in thin air. "I'll definitely have no objections to being your assistant manager! It's not that I'm bragging, but other people don't even have the qualifications to ask me to be an assistant manager! "
Tang En touched his nose. He was a little embarrassed by Kerslake's praise. This was really a very big compliment …
"When do we start working? Fortunately, my house in Nottingham has not been sold yet. I can get it back from the real estate agent … "Kerslake became excited at the mention of working with Tang En to return to Nottingham Forest.
However, Tang En wanted to pour cold water on him. "Hey, David, don't get excited. I'm not planning to work at Forest this time. "
"Ah?"
"You also know that Forest is currently in a terrible situation. Freddy lacks experience and prestige, so he can't lead Forest out of this predicament. Evan Doughty found me and hopes that I can return to lead the team out of this predicament. Of course, I don't want Forest to become a laughing stock, but you know my body well. I can't stay in this position for long. My idea is to only work at Forest until the end of this season … "
"Half a season?" Kerslake was a little surprised.
"Yes, I'm only here to put out the fire, not to create another dynasty."
"I see …" Kerslake felt it was a pity, but Tony was right. His body was indeed like a time bomb. His willingness to come out to put out the fire was already a sign of his deep feelings for Forest.
"But it's nothing. Anyway, I'm your assistant manager. I'll work for as long as you do." Kerslake, on the other hand, was determined to follow Tang En. The most glorious period of his coaching career was when he was Tang En's assistant manager for ten years. He felt satisfied to be able to return to Tang En's side and coach Forest together. There was no need to think about the future for now.
Hearing Kerslake's words, Tang En really wanted to shout back, "Good brother!" But Kerslake probably could not understand the subtlety of this sentence, so he just said, "Thank you, David. With you, I have nothing to worry about. "
"Hehe, of course, we're the best partners!" Kerslake was also in a good mood and joked.
After ending the call with Tang En, Kerslake sat in a chair. After the joy, memories of working together with Tang En in the past floated uncontrollably in his mind, making him full of anticipation for the next half a season.
Tony was back, and he really wanted to see the reaction of his opponents!
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Before Tang En could call Evan to reply, there was another eye-catching personnel change in the upper echelons of Nottingham Forest Football Club.
The marketing manager, Allan Adams, who was fully in charge of the negotiations with the United Arab Emirates Consortium, submitted his resignation to Evan Doughty. The club chairman, Evan Doughty, agreed to his resignation.
This was what the media said to the outside world. Well-informed people who knew the inside story knew that it was actually Evan Doughty who had fired Allan Adams. This move surprised many people, because just two days ago, the United Arab Emirates Consortium, which had been silent for more than two weeks, finally decided to restart the negotiations for the acquisition. This was originally good news for Evan Doughty, who was bent on selling Forest Team. But at this critical juncture, he fired Allan Adams, who was fully in charge of this matter …
It was really strange, and no one could understand what Evan Doughty was thinking.
Only Tang En might know the reason. Evan knew that his relationship with Allan Adams had always been bad. His firing of Allan at this time was probably a declaration to Tang En, to show that no one in the club would come back to obstruct his work …
It was more or less a sign of allegiance. However, Tang En did not care whether Allan was still in Forest Team.
"I'll only be coaching Forest Team until the end of this season, Evan," he said to Evan Doughty over the phone.
There was a moment of silence on the other side, clearly not expecting Tang En to coach only for this season.
"Just like how you never thought of working as the chairman of Forest Club for the rest of your life, I also never thought of working as the manager of Forest Team for the rest of my life. I didn't agree to come back this time because of you, Evan. I don't want the team that I single-handedly brought up to become a joke to others. Look at the comments on Forest Team in those tabloids. We're already a joke, "Tang En explained. "I'll lead the team smoothly through the rest of this season, and then help you find a suitable successor. After that, I'll retire to accompany my wife and child. What do you think? I think this plan is pretty good anyway. "
Since he had already said so, could Evan still say "I don't think it's good at all"? One had to know that Evan was now begging Tang En, not the other way around. So, Tang En took advantage of Evan's mentality and threw out his own conditions. If Evan could accept it, then they would work together for a second time. If not, they would break up. And Tang En was not at all worried that Evan would not accept it.
As expected, Evan agreed to Tang En's conditions. He did have other plans in mind. Anyway, there was still more than half a year until the end of the season. No one knew what would happen in the meantime. Perhaps after Tang En returned to the Forest Team's manager's seat, he would find the passion he once had and would not be willing to leave again? Even if it did not work out, with so much time, Evan could slowly think of a way to persuade him to change his mind, right?
Tang En did not care about the little calculations in Evan's mind. Like George Wood, he was also a rather stubborn person. As long as he made a decision, unless he himself changed his mind, it would be useless no matter how others tried to persuade him.
Since he had decided to coach Forest Team again, when exactly would he return?
Evan hoped that it would be as soon as possible. Tang En was not in a hurry, because before that, he still had a few things to do. Only now did he have the time. Once he became the manager, he would not be able to extricate himself.
The specific date of his start could be temporarily delayed, and Eastwood could also continue to hold on for a short while. Anyway, since Tang En had already confirmed his return, Evan Doughty did not care about the recent results.
But this news had to be announced as soon as possible to calm the hearts of the people. At the same time, it would also restore the confidence of those sponsors. To this, Tang En had no objections.
Therefore, on the next day, November 12th, every netizen who frequented Nottingham Forest's official website would notice a very obvious change. The main page of the website had been replaced with a full-page advertisement.
Tang En's huge photo was the background of the advertisement, and on it was written in an extremely provocative tone:
Yes, the King has returned!
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"… There's bad news for the managers of the other nineteen clubs in the Premier League …" The male broadcaster said with a smile after the attention-grabbing news was also broadcasted on the television news later that day. However, in the eyes of some people, the smile seemed to be a little playful. "Tony Twain is back!"
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While the English football world was in an earthquake because of Tang En's return, the person who caused it all had already left England and embarked on a journey to Spain alone.
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