Tony Twain and Dunn, who bought Piqué, quickly left Barcelona and Spain.
The English Premier League started earlier than other countries' leagues, starting in mid-August. Therefore, the English Premier League teams' preparation time was also earlier than other countries' teams.
Now, for Twain, there was a problem that needed to be solved — his partner's coaching certificate.
Tony Twain had an English A-level coaching certificate. Of course, it was obtained in the past and had nothing to do with Twain who had transmigrated. Even though Dunn was the original Tony Twain, his current identity as a Chinese did not have any first-class coaching certificate.
Strictly speaking, without a coaching certificate, the English Football Association would not let him be a coach of a Premier League team. If it was in a lower-level league, such a situation would be enough for the association to turn a blind eye and pretend nothing had happened. This was the tradition of English football. Since those retired players could become team doctors with white gloves, why couldn't retired players put on suits and become team coaches?
For almost all English football clubs, letting a retired player become a coach after serving the team for many years was the best reward for loyalty. And loyalty was what they valued the most.
Dunn was not a retired player of the Forest team, but he could be an assistant manager — before the English Football Association found trouble with Nottingham Forest. If there was any criticism, it was not because Dunn did not have a coaching certificate, but because he was too young. Secondly, he was not English.
Twain and Dunn had no way to solve these two points. They could not let Dunn change his nationality or age. At present, they could only let Dunn take the test for a coaching certificate to increase the persuasiveness of the new assistant manager's appointment. Young, non-native, and without a coaching certificate. How could they trust this assistant manager?
Twain had specifically asked Dunn before making this arrangement. Dunn had no objections to taking the test for a coaching certificate again. He would definitely pass anyway.
So, Twain left Dunn in Nottingham and flew away again.
He went to Denmark this time to supplement the team's forward line.
The only players who could stay and play in the Forest team's forward line last season were Freddy Eastwood and Peter Crouch. Two strikers were too few for a team that needed to fight on multiple fronts.
Twain's transfer strategy this summer was mainly to grasp the future stars of hope in his hands. Whether he became the Forest team's main player in the future or sold him for money, it was worth it. Such was the case with Piqué.
He went to Denmark for a young striker who was not very famous at the time – Nicklas Bendtner.
He was a 1.91m tall tall center forward, but his footwork skills were better than most tall center forwards. He was fast, had excellent headers, was physically strong, and had outstanding skills … These were all his strengths. Of course, his biggest strength was his youth.
In the first half of 2004, when he represented the Danish under-16 national team, he made three appearances and scored three goals.
In Tang En's memory, he had been snatched away by Arsenal in the summer of that year. He had been training and competing in Arsenal's youth team and reserve team. Later, in the 06-07 season, he had been intercepted by Birmingham City and was the number one contributor in Birmingham City's rush to the English Premier League.
It just so happened to be the summer of 2004. If Tang En still did not act, Bendtner would be snatched away by Wenger. Although Tang En did not have a bad impression of Arsenal's manager, Wenger, he would not be soft-hearted in the face of such a matter that concerned the team's results. He flew directly to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and contacted Bendtner's agent and himself using the method he used to deal with Piqué. What followed was another round of negotiations …
The negotiations with Bendtner were a little more difficult than the one with Piqué.
A position in the First Team, a younger lineup, an English Premier League team, and the qualification to participate in the UEFA Europa League were the four main conditions that Tang En needed to attract a player to join the Forest Team. This was very tempting, but Bendtner was a little hesitant.
Wenger and Arsenal's reputation was too great. Bendtner was not like Piqué, who grew up in a powerhouse. He did not know how deep the waters of a powerhouse were. Going to Arsenal could satisfy his vanity. After all, it was a powerhouse in the English Premier League. As for Nottingham Forest … had anyone heard of it?
Tang En could only repeatedly explain for Bendtner the pain of being a second-team substitute in a powerhouse and only being able to participate in matches through a loan, as well as the benefits of being a regular first-team player in a small team. Furthermore, the Forest Team could participate in the UEFA Europa League this season. They were the champions of last season's EFL Cup, so their reputation was not that bad.
However, the concept of a powerhouse was too deeply ingrained. For a small player playing in Denmark, the temptation of being called up by a powerhouse in Europe was too great for him. Wenger had promised him that Arsenal's future would definitely belong to him. Even though Bendtner knew that he would definitely not be able to play in a first-team match if he went to Arsenal now, to be able to become the Gunners' main striker in the future was also a very glorious thing.
So, Tang En told him the story of the feud between the powerhouses and brought up Barcelona's young center back, Gerard Piqué, as an example. Barcelona was also a powerhouse, but Piqué had tried every means possible to escape. Now that he had become a member of Nottingham Forest, he did not need to worry about not being able to play in matches.
The negotiations with Bendtner continued for three to four days. Finally, the Danish lad with long blond hair was finally convinced by Tang En. He agreed to reject Wenger's call and go to Nottingham Forest.
Then, just like Manchester United's manager, Ferguson, faced the same situation. Wenger also received a call from his scout in Denmark to tell him that Arsenal's talented Danish striker, known as the "Danish Ibrahimović," Nicklas Bendtner, had brushed past them.
Like Ferguson's reaction, Wenger's first thought was that Ferguson was playing tricks behind the scenes. He did not expect the scout to tell him that Nottingham Forest's manager, Tony Twain, had personally come to Copenhagen to take Bendtner away.
Hearing the name, Wenger was stunned for a long time. He thought of the battle in the rain again.
He saw that the words he had said back then would soon be fulfilled.
The next time they met, it would already be in the Premier League.
"Also, sir, there's something very interesting that I think you'll be interested to hear."
"Hmm?"
"Do you still remember the young Barcelona center back, Gerard Piqué, whom we were fighting for with Manchester United some time ago?"
Wenger nodded. "Of course, I'm very sorry that he chose Manchester United."
The scout on the other end of the phone laughed. "Sir! Piqué didn't go to Manchester United. Like Bendtner, who we were pursuing, he was snatched away halfway. Although the news has not been announced, it is certain that this is the final result. Piqué is now a player of Nottingham Forest! "
Wenger was stunned for a moment, then he laughed along.
This season's Premier League would be very interesting, right?
※ ※ ※
Having settled Piqué and Bendtner, Twain no longer personally went somewhere to recruit players. They had a complete system. Things like transfers could be settled through phone calls or faxes. If he went personally every time, how could he do other things?
Evan Doughty was still in the United States accompanying his wife and son. He had just become the team's new chairman, and Forest had won a cup title and qualified for the Premier League. He was in a good mood. He did not worry about the team's affairs. After all, the team was managed by Tony and the management was handled by Allan. He did not need to do anything.
They only needed to discuss a matter through a fax or phone call and make a decision.
During this period, Twain recruited three new scouts for the team. In addition to the two people who were originally at the club, Forest now had five scouts. For a team that had just been promoted to the Premier League, it was not a small number. Of course, compared to powerhouses like Manchester United and Arsenal, which had scouts all over the world, it was still not enough.
However, the construction of a team was a very long process. It could not be rushed. It had to be done step by step.
There were still a few days before the team ended their vacation and returned to gather. Twain was even busier. There were many issues he needed to consider. Which players in the transfer market were needed by Forest and could be bought? Which players in the team needed to be abandoned after entering the Premier League? As for the arrangements for the warm-up matches, the production of the team magazine, media interviews, and so on … there was no need to mention it.
What gave him the biggest headache was how to introduce a young, seemingly inexperienced Chinese into Forest's coaching staff. Evan did not know the identity of this new assistant manager. If he knew, what expression would he have on his face?
Twain did not think that Evan would smile and pat him on the shoulder and say, "This young man is very good."
Similarly, he did not think that the players would really believe him just because he said, "This assistant manager is very young, doesn't have a coaching certificate, and doesn't have a reputation. He's actually very good!"
He continued to think that his colleagues in the coaching staff, the team doctors in the medical team, the scouts, the workers who repaired the turf, the chefs in the club's restaurant … and Ian McDonald, who opened the door, would easily believe that Dunn was a qualified assistant manager and could be of great help to him.
(To be continued. If you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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