The Christmas gift that Allan gave Tang En was a huge gift package. Tang En had never thought of working with SI, but he did not expect Allan to succeed. This not only brought the club a new sponsor, but also made Tang En the image spokesperson of the game.
Of course, the announcement of the partnership with SI had to wait until after Christmas, and then there were more things to do. The press conference, the production of the new cover of the game packaging, the shooting of the game's promotional print advertisements, and so on.
The English Premier League was different from other European leagues. There was no winter break. Although the England national team's manager, Eriksson, had proposed a winter break a few years ago, the Football Association did not adopt it. Not only was there no winter break, but the period around Christmas was the most intensive for the English Premier League schedule. Think about the Forest team's two consecutive games on the 26th and 28th. Such an arrangement happened every year at this time.
The Forest team's internal Christmas party passed, and the calendar flipped over to the new year. In the blink of an eye, Tang En had been here for two years. Two years was not a long time, but it was not short either. The Tang En now was completely different from the Tang En on January 3, 2003. At that time, he was a fake manager. Now, he had slowly grown into a qualified manager.
Back then, he did not know anything. He had only pretended to be the team's manager based on the Football Manager games he used to play, watching various football-related news reports, and the fantasy in his mind. Because of his good luck and a little talent, he did not get dismissed midway and end up on the streets.
Now, he no longer saw himself as a fake who did not know anything. He believed in his own ability and that he could lead the Forest team to success.
※ ※ ※
On January 1, before the Forest team's home game against Bolton Wanderers, the Forest team's first player of the winter transfer period, the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, came to report. Tang En attended the press conference with him. Of course, before meeting the media, the team's manager, Tony Twain, had a conversation with Edwin van der Sar in his office.
Edwin van der Sar was brought by his agent. Tang En saw the Dutchman, who had rushed over from London, at the door of his office. He was exactly as he remembered, tall, low-key, and calm.
"Welcome to Nottingham's Sherwood Forest. Welcome to our red bandit gang. I'm the boss of this gang of robbers, Tony Twain. You can call me boss, boss, Tony … or anything else, it's up to you. " Tang En's self-introduction was a breath of fresh air for Edwin van der Sar. He had been to quite a few teams in his career, but he had never seen a team's manager introduce their team and welcome newcomers like this.
The Dutchman was taken aback and could not react in time. Assistant manager David Kerslake smiled and said, "This is his style. Just get used to it."
Edwin van der Sar stepped forward to shake Twain's outstretched hand. "Hello, boss …" The Dutchman was not used to calling a man who was only a year older than him "boss."
"I'm glad you chose the forest, Edwin _ Van _ der _ Sar. I believe you didn't come here with the idea of retirement, did you? "After shaking hands with Edwin van der Sar, Tang En went straight to the point.
Edwin van der Sar nodded, "Of course. If it's for retirement, I can go to Jax. "
Hearing Edwin van der Sar's answer, Twain nodded and then pointed to the door. "Yes, I think so too. We all know why you made your choice. There's a lot of media outside now. Did you see it just now? The parking lot is full. "
Edwin van der Sar nodded to indicate he understood.
"A lot of those people questioned the transfer between us. They said that the Forest team would only spend money to buy the old guys that no one wanted anymore, or that Edwin van der Sar was preparing for his life after retirement … and so on. Each and every one of them looked like they were serious about it. We just need to prove them wrong in the future games. I'm an ambitious manager. What about you, Edwin? "
Edwin van der Sar smiled and said, "Me too, boss."
"Very good, we'll work very well together! In a while, I'll take you to meet your teammates. The press conference is very short, and there won't be a segment like meeting the fans. After the press conference, you can go to the locker room to get to know everyone. Then … do you need to go back to the hotel to rest? "
Edwin van der Sar shook his head and said, "No, I can go straight to training." He thought it was a small test for the new player by Twain. If he wanted to leave a good impression on the new manager, he had to perform diligently.
Sure enough, Twain was very satisfied with Edwin van der Sar's answer. He clapped his hands. "Then let's go to the press conference first. If we let that group of reporters wait too long, who knows what nonsense they'll write in the papers when the time comes."
Edwin van der Sar found that the manager was indeed different from any manager he had come into contact with before. He was very humorous and very young, only two years older than himself.
Later, Twain introduced Kerslake to the Dutchman and brought him into the press conference venue.
Although it was the New Year, there was still a lot of media because this was the biggest transfer involving a player in English football so far in the winter transfer period. The 34-year-old Dutch national goalkeeper did not choose Manchester United but defected to Nottingham Forest. In any case, it was impossible that there would be no repercussions.
Sure enough, as Twain said, most of the media's questions were focused on Edwin van der Sar's decision to change clubs at the age of 34.
Edwin van der Sar's answer was in line with Twain's expectations — to say some nonsense that sounded nice on the surface but did not actually say anything. He would not give the media, who liked to tamper with other people's words, an opportunity to take advantage of.
Twain sat to the side with a smile on his face. Now that the goalkeeper problem that had given him the most headache had been resolved, he could not think of anything else to worry about.
The forward line had the stable partners of Viduka and Eastwood. Even though Bendtner and Crouch could only be their substitutes, in Twain's eyes, everyone had the ability to be in the starting lineup.
There was no need to mention the strength of the midfield. George Wood was currently popular, Albertini was old and strong, and there was also Ribéry, Ashley Young, and Aaron Lennon. The slightly weaker ones here were probably Chris Commons and Branya Gunnarsson.
The back line had the veteran Hierro holding the fort. Although the number of times he appeared on the field had slowly decreased, his experience was still the team's most valuable asset. Piqué was gradually growing into the main center back. Twain kept his promise when he first signed the contract with him and gave him opportunities to appear on the field. Piqué also quickly grasped these opportunities and slowly displayed his strength.
Now, there was also a strong addition to the goalkeeper position. Although Edwin van der Sar was already 34 years old, his condition was still very good. In the next two to three years, Twain would not have to worry about the goalkeeper problem anymore.
After ending the press conference, Twain led van der Sar to the locker room. The players who were participating in today's training were arriving one after another. On the way, Twain introduced the team and players to van der Sar. "In general, everyone is easy to get along with. Have you heard of any negative news in Forest's locker room?" He saw van der Sar hesitate and knew what the Dutchman was thinking. "That's just a story made up by the media. You'll know when the time comes. I guarantee you'll like this team very soon. "
Before they reached the locker room door, the two heard loud chatter and laughter coming from inside.
Twain smiled at van der Sar, then pushed the door open and appeared in front of everyone.
"Guys, I'd like to introduce you to a new partner — Edwin van der Sar." Twain waved his hand and signaled for van der Sar to come up and greet everyone.
"Hi, everyone." Edwin van der Sar generously greeted his new teammates. As the captain, Albertini was the first to stand up to express his welcome. He smiled and said, "I didn't think we'd become teammates, Edwin."
Edwin van der Sar had once played for Juventus in Serie A for a period of time and had played against Albertini's AC Milan many times. Although there had always been rumors that Juventus and AC Milan were a holy alliance in Italian football, the two sides had no alliance to speak of when it came to fighting for the championship title.
Edwin van der Sar was happy to be able to meet an "old friend" that he was familiar with here. Even if it was not in the past, it was now.
Having Albertini take on the responsibility of bringing the newcomer into the group was obviously much better than Twain. So, while everyone came up to greet van der Sar, he quietly retreated out of the room.
The atmosphere was good, except for Ward, who would be replaced. He politely came up to shake hands with van der Sar and then retreated to a corner.
As for the gloomy Darren Ward, Twain also had a plan. He would see if any club would be interested in him during the winter break.
※ ※ ※
Twain did not wait for an offer from a club interested in Darren Ward. Instead, he waited for a bunch of offers related to George Wood.
In the 21st round of the English Premier League that ended on January 2nd, Nottingham Forest beat Portsmouth 1: 0 on their home ground. Wood's performance was still stable. In fact, his performance had always been like this. However, a goal against Manchester United changed everything and made him attract more attention.
It was ironic. A defensive player did his job seriously, but no one praised him. Instead, there were many who nitpicked at him. But when he scored a goal, he immediately received praise from all directions, almost praising him to the skies. Defensive players had to rely on scoring goals to prove their ability, because most people thought that scoring goals was the most exciting thing in football.
(To be continued. If you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support the original reading!)
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