Twain's refusal of the Queen of England caused an uproar in Ying Kingdom. However, Twain was not affected. He still led the team to play every game. The Crimson Stadium was still full, and the media in Nottingham still sang praises for him every week. The voices of the small group of opposing media did not affect him at all.
The British royal family only expressed their regret that a well-known figure like Twain refused the award, but they did not say anything else. Perhaps they thought it was degrading for the royal family to stoop to the level of a commoner.
However, there must be people who were dissatisfied with Twain's open letter because they felt offended. Twain did not care how they felt. Let those who hated him continue to hate him.
"Nottingham Forest's ranking has risen from 17th to 14th …"
Xia Yang was reading the news of international football in the newspaper.
"Do you still doubt my choice, Uncle Xia?" Chen Jian was sitting next to him, peeling an apple for himself.
"Hey …" Xia Yang had to admit that he did not trust Twain as much as the boy next to him. "It's just a few wins. It doesn't mean anything. And I heard that Twain will only be in charge until the end of this season before he retires again. What will you do then? You know, a new king brings his own ministers, Chen Jian. "
"Even if I can only stay at Nottingham Forest for half a season, my value will still be higher than it is now. Don't you know that, Uncle Xia?" Chen Jian lifted the apple skin. The skin of the apple was not broken, it was connected as one. "What's more, the new manager might like me too."
"In your dreams." Xia Yang rolled his eyes at him, but he also hoped so in his heart.
"What did the club say?"
"Nottingham Forest has made an official offer, but they haven't given any reply yet. I think they plan to wait until the winter transfer window opens, hoping to attract more clubs to pay attention to you … "Xia Yang frowned at the mention of this. "I've leaked the news to the media, but I don't think they're putting enough pressure on the club."
"If possible, I hope to join the Forest team as soon as possible, Uncle Xia."
Xia Yang glanced at him. "Then you have to talk to Manzano yourself, Chen Jian. The news from the media will only be considered groundless, but they have to consider the player's own wishes. "
Chen Jian put the apple in his mouth and took a bite. "Alright, I'll go look for Mr. Manager."
※ ※ ※
Chen Jian had a showdown with his manager, Manzano, while Twain had a showdown with his manager, Thiago Silva.
"Honestly, Tiago. The club doesn't need you anymore. If you can find a new club after the winter transfer window opens, the club will be very grateful for your contributions to the team over the past few years. " Tang En sat on a chair in the office and looked at the 33-year-old center back sitting on the sofa.
Both of their expressions were a little cold. Tang En had long wanted to get rid of this "tyrant" in the locker room. Now, the opportunity had finally come.
In the last round of the league tournament, Tang En implemented a rotation system in the dense competition schedule. Thiago Silva, who had not played since he took over, was finally in the starting lineup, but his performance was not flattering. At 33 years old, he clearly could not withstand the impact of the opposing young striker. He was slow, slow to turn, and not good at jumping. His position became the focus of the opponent's breakthrough point. In the end, Tang En had to replace Silva at the beginning of the second half and put Sakho in place to stabilize the situation.
Although the Forest team only achieved a draw in the end, many people saw Silva's disheveled performance.
"I hope to fulfill my contract with the club and retire from the Forest team …" Silva gave his opinion without any expression.
"If you are willing to leave the team in January next year, the club will compensate you for the remaining half of the season." In order to get rid of this man, Tang En spared no expense, and Evan Doughty also listened to Tang En's words. He did not feel the heartache if Tang En asked him to pay.
"I still have a year and a half of my contract with the club."
Thiago Silva's words were actually a reminder to the club that if they wanted to compensate him, they should at least compensate him for the remaining half of the season's salary. Of course, Tang En and Evan would not agree to such a request. But at least it showed that it was not that Silva could not leave, but that he did not have a satisfactory price tag.
Tang En could only silently curse Evan for being muddle-headed back then. He actually signed a three-year contract with a 32-year-old center back. He really did not know what he was thinking. He heard that Allan was the one who handled the matter. He now suspected that Allan had received a kickback from Silva's agent back then.
It seemed that Evan's decision to leave Allan might not have been on a whim.
What if Silva insisted on fulfilling his contract for the remaining one and a half years?
Tang En said, "Then I'll lay my cards on the table with you, Thiago. From today onwards, until your contract expires, I will not put you on the starting list, nor will I put you on the squad list. You will not get a second of playing in all the matches, even the pre-season friendlies. The team does not need you now. You can go back to Brazil for a holiday or go somewhere else to play. I won't care if you come to training or not. But every time you miss a training session, I will deduct a week's salary from you. Every time you are late for training, I will also deduct a week's salary from you. What do you think of this condition? "
Thiago Silva's expression changed abruptly. This manager was simply too ruthless!
Seeing his expression change, Tang En opened his mouth and laughed soundlessly. He was not at all afraid that doing so would cause a backlash from the players, because the Brazilian's popularity in the locker room was not much better than Balotelli's, especially with many of the English players and those old players who could not wait to see Silva suffer.
Since the conversation had already reached this point, there seemed to be no need to continue talking. Silva would definitely not calmly discuss with Tang En here, and Tang En also did not intend to waste his breath.
Silva left the manager's office with a terrible look on his face. Tang En believed that the person looking for him next would be his agent, but he was not afraid. It would naturally be for the best if Silva wanted to leave. If he insisted on staying, he was also confident that he would let the Brazilian know who was in charge of Wilford and Nottingham Forest.
※ ※ ※
However, Tang En did not wait for Silva's agent. Silva was not late for training or absent from training. Instead, he worked even harder in training. Tang En thought that the other party was testing him to see if the flowers he said were real or just a bluff.
Tang En was not afraid that the other party would not believe him. So, in the following week's two matches, Silva did not even make it into the squad list.
In fact, it was not news that Silva did not make it into the squad list for two consecutive matches, so basically, the media did not pay much attention to it at first. But then, news about the conflict between Silva and Tang En appeared in The Sun.
Tang En could even think with his knees that this must be the doing of Silva's agent. Was he trying to use this to put pressure on him? What a joke. Was he afraid of this?
Sure enough, soon the reporters came knocking and asked Tang En if the conflict between him and Silva was true.
Tang En did not directly answer the question. "It's just that he was not on the squad list for two rounds of the league tournament. For a center back who is almost 34 years old, isn't this a very normal thing? I really don't know what you're surprised about. "
As Tang En's partner, Evan Doughty very timely came out at this time. "The club would like to thank Silva for his contribution to the club in the past four seasons. The club also hopes that he can have a better development at the end of his career. "
This sentence was equivalent to tactfully expressing the club's position — We are on Tony Twain's side.
In this matter, Nottingham Forest Football Club and Tony Twain did not do anything wrong. There was indeed no need for them to waste their weekly salary for an old man who basically could not play often. If the outside world criticized them for not being humane, they would not care. In this day and age, how many clubs really cared about being humane? Besides, being humane was naturally for those who were truly loyal, and not just anyone could enjoy it. Otherwise, it would not be humane, but a nursing home. AC Milan was once regarded as the most humane club, but they did not see everyone staying. Every year, they would still chase away a large group of people. This was the kind of world professional football was, in fact, very cruel.
In fact, within the team, everyone knew that Tang En and Silva had a conflict, but no one stood out to say anything. Even the foreign players who used to revolve around Silva now seemed to have encountered the plague and avoided him as far as they could.
The big shot who could once contend with George Wood in the locker room had suddenly become deserted. He no longer had the capital to continue contending with Tang En. After these two rounds of competition, he was convinced that Tang En was really someone who would do what he said. Not being selected for the squad list for two rounds of the league tournament was only a warning. If he slacked off in the slightest during training and was caught by Tang En, he believed that it would be a punishment.
It looked like his good days here were coming to an end.
Tang En finally met Silva's agent. He came to confirm if Silva would really leave Forest this winter and the club would compensate him for the remaining half of the season's salary.
Tang En nodded and promised that they could inform the news media of this matter. If the club did not fulfill this promise, Silva could seek justice for himself through the news media.
What happened next was simple.
Silva hoped to return to Brazil to end his career. The club also very generously expressed that the team could terminate Silva's contract in advance and compensate him for the remaining half of the season's salary. This way, Silva could freely join any club that he wanted to join and that someone wanted him.
At the same time, the negotiations for Chen Jian's transfer continued. The RCD Espanyol offered 20 million, which both Evan and Tang En thought was an exorbitant price. Even if Chen Jian was the core of RCD Espanyol, he was not worth this price. Therefore, they deliberately cooled down the negotiations, in fact, waiting for news from Barcelona.
A few days later, the local Barcelona media reported that Nottingham Forest was interested in buying Chen Jian. At the same time, Chen Jian also found Manzano and told him that he wanted to leave the team.
As a manager, of course, Manzano did not want his core player to leave the team. But he was under pressure from both the club and the player. Chen Jian was determined to leave, even at the expense of training. The club also hoped to sell Chen Jian in exchange for a transfer budget for the next season.
Finally, after repeated negotiations, the two sides finalized the transfer fee at 9 million pounds. And Chen Jian became the most expensive player in the history of professional football in China. And he once again attracted the attention of the football world. Of course, he was not the only one who attracted the attention of the world, but also Nottingham Forest who bought him.
Many media did not understand why Nottingham Forest wanted to buy a Chinese midfielder who had similar technical characteristics and style and was no longer young. But this time, no reporters jumped out to ridicule Tang En. In the face of Tang En, who was used to slapping people, they had learned to be patient. The media were all waiting, waiting for Chen Jian to come to Forest and make a fool of himself before making trouble.
Tang En did not care what the media thought. It was best if they were confused, because then his opponents would also be confused.
He was happy that the transfer negotiations were finally settled before the winter transfer window opened. In this way, on the first of January next year, when the transfer window opened, they could bring in Chen Jian.
In the phone call to Chen Jian, Tang En told him a piece of good news, "If you can pass the medical, then you will be in time for the FA Cup on the fifth of January."
Chen Jian did not understand why this was good news. If being able to play for his new club as soon as possible was good news, it was also good news for his player, what did it have to do with the manager?
"The match schedule has been out for a long time. Nottingham Forest's first opponent in the FA Cup this season is Notts County." Tang En laughed on the other end of the phone. "To tell you the truth, Chen Jian. My successor is your compatriot, and you will have the chance to show your ability in front of him in the FA Cup. "
Hearing this, Chen Jian understood Tang En's intention.
He knew that Dunn and Tang En were not the kind of managers who only appointed people through favoritism. There was no doubt that Dunn would become the manager of Nottingham Forest in the future. It was only because of Tang En's recommendation that no one in Nottingham would question Tang En's words. If he did not want to be a passerby of Nottingham Forest, then he had to show his ability in front of the next manager. Compared to waiting for him to take over, wouldn't it be better to show his ability in front of him in advance?
This was indeed good news.
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