Because it was not officially open for business, the lights in the bar were not turned on. The curtains outside the windows were half-closed, and light shone in from there, bringing some light into the dark room. The dust in the room churned under the light, like the water vapor used for special effects on a stage. Such an environment was not suitable for reading. In fact, the two people in the middle of the bar did not need to read books or newspapers. One was inside the bar, and the other sat on a high stool outside. In front of them, there were two thick glasses filled with golden wine.
This quiet and dark environment was suitable for chatting.
"Tony, did you know? Your performance last night really opened my eyes and shocked me. "Burns refilled the empty glass.
"Oh?" Even an alcoholic like Tang En was slightly tipsy after downing five glasses of strong whiskey.
"You've been here for seven years. I watched you come. You were still young then. I've never seen you get into conflict with anyone. You have a good temper, even if you're a little eccentric. But you always smile when facing others. Those old guys were drunk yesterday. If they were sober, they would not have done something like that when they saw you. But I didn't expect your reaction to be so strong. You're not like a football coach. "
Tang En smiled bitterly. He did not expect himself to be a good person in the eyes of others. "Maybe you're right. But I can't remember." Tang En pretended to touch the back of his head with a pained expression. "I … forgot a lot of things." He realized he really had a talent for acting. "I don't remember how I trained the team. I'm also very unfamiliar with Forest. The match is the day after tomorrow, but I don't know how to lead them. "
Tang En buried his head between his arms in pain. He realized he was already in character. Not only was he in the current scene, but he was also in the scene of Forest's acting manager, Tony Twain.
Seeing Tang En sprawled on the bar in pain, Burns also felt the situation was more serious than he had imagined. "So … you've basically forgotten all your abilities as a coach?"
"You could say that …" Tang En said with his head lowered.
"That's really bad. Does that old guy, Doughty, know about your situation? "
"I didn't tell him." Tang En shook his head.
Burns tapped his fingers on the bar counter as though he was thinking of a solution.
Tang En raised his head and looked at him. "Kenny, can you tell me how I used to be a coach?"
Burns clapped his hands. "That's a good idea. Maybe you can remember something from your past self. Well, let me think, you came to the Forest team seven years ago … "
For a fan, they were always used to measuring time with a football and using the football to engrave a unique mark on this ruler of light. Later, when they look back on that year, they won't say what I was doing, because maybe they don't even remember what they were doing. However, they would clearly tell you what happened in the football world in a certain year, what important competitions were held, which players were born, which players left quietly, and which players became successful and famous. They would also give you some interesting gossip along the way.
It was the same for Tang En. In 2003, he was not even 23 years old and had just graduated from university. Looking back seven years, he was still a junior high school student in 1996. He could not remember what he did that year, but he still remembered the summer of that year until now. Because the ninth UEFA European Championship was carried out vigorously in the summer of 1996, and the host this time was England. He would secretly stay up late to watch the game, and the next day, he would use his pocket money to buy sports newspapers and repeatedly read the reports and various news about the game the day before.
At that time, when the internet was not widespread and China had just started broadcasting live television, his access to information was very poor, but it did not stop him from completely loving football from that time onwards. He got to know Gascoigne, even though he had long been famous. He also got to know Bierhoff, even though he was already 28 years old and was still called a "rookie." That year, Zidane entered the limelight. Later, he became the European Footballer of the Century … He also got to know a lot of people. Those people accompanied him for the next ten years, from junior high to high school, then to university, and then to society. Some of them retired, and some were still fighting. The rookie of that year was already old, the superstar of that year was already far from his sight, and the unknown people of that year had become the stars of the present. They carried all of Tang En's youth, and they were like Tang En's friends, appearing on time every weekend to accompany him.
He did not know how to describe that feeling. This person, who was always unlikable in front of others, was smelly and stubborn, could cry because of the retirement of a star. Of course, when he cried, he would not let others see it.
So, in 2003, seven years ago, he first watched a major international football match, and for the first time, he was attracted by the charm of football, and thus became its believer. It was also the only interest and hobby that accompanied him.
On the other side of the world, a young man with the same pronunciation as him ushered in a turning point in his life. The young man from the small town of Eastwood, Tony Twain, walked out of his hometown. He loved football as much as the other Tang En, but his personality underwent a huge change after the tragedy in his family. He did not want to stay in his hometown, which made him sad, and decided to go out and make a living.
What could the taciturn Tony do? He seemed to bring a gust of cold wind wherever he went. He was not liked by others. Besides, he did not know anything, except for his passion for football. In the end, God gave him a chance.
In the summer of 1996, England melted in the football craze. The once sealed country finally got through its darkest period and re-emerged into the world, attracting the attention of the world. It was the same for Nottingham, which was located in the middle of England. After experiencing the pain of being relegated from the English Premier League in the 92-93 season, the Forest team returned to the Premier League the following year. Following that, they had a fantastic season. In the 94-95 season, they excitedly finished third in the league and qualified to participate in the UEFA Europa League. After 11 years, the Forest team returned to the European arena.
Still reliving the glory of the European arena of the past, the Forest team faced a problem that all small and medium-sized football clubs would encounter. Under the temptation of money from the big football clubs, they sold the team's star player, Stan Collymore, to the powerhouse Liverpool for 8.5 million pounds. At the same time, they brought in the new national football player, Andrea Silenzi, from the Italian team Torino. However, the deal cost the club 1.8 million pounds. The tall Italian scored 17 goals in a season in Torino and became a national football player. However, they did not expect him to become the biggest joke of the season for the Forest team.
Tony Twain came to the Forest team at this time. The club made new personnel arrangements for their youth training camp and needed to recruit some staff. Tony, who loved football, walked into the gate of the Forest team's training base. His first job was as a stadium cleaner. However, Tony knew where his real job was. Usually, he paid attention to the work of the coaches. He listened carefully on the sidelines to what they talked about with the players and how they did it. Then, he began to think and learn. That year, he was only 27 years old.
All the efforts of the Forest team that summer finally came to nothing. Eleven years later, they could no longer keep up with the pace of the European arena. Although they broke into the top eight of the UEFA Europa League, they were humiliated by the powerful Bayern Munich with a total score of 7: 2 and eliminated. At the same time, because they were fighting on two fronts, their results in the domestic league were not satisfactory. At the end of the season, they only ranked ninth.
The disappointed board fired the manager, Frank Clark, who led the team back to the Premier League. The team captain, the 34-year-old left back, Stuart Pearce, became the team's acting manager. It was also in this year that Tony met the most important person in his life, Paul Hart. The Forest team poached him from the Leeds United youth team and he became the manager of the Forest youth team. He was the person who repeatedly appeared in Twain's dreams several times.
Paul Hart was a very famous youth team manager. When he worked at the Leeds club, he cultivated a group of treasures for the team: Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Smith, Paul Robinson, Harry Kewell … Look at these shining names now. They were all the masterpieces of Manager Paul Hart.
Hart's arrival changed the course of Tony's life. Hart, who had just arrived at the team, lacked a trustworthy assistant. At this time, he took a fancy to the studious Tony Twain, so he suggested to the club to give Twain a new contract. From then on, Tony became Hart's assistant manager, one of the four assistant managers in the Forest youth team. He also set foot on the path of a manager.
Hart thought highly of Tony, who was studious and never talked nonsense. He brought him along no matter what the occasion was. Tony learned a lot from the successful youth team manager.
The Forest team's youth training standards had always been at the forefront in England, and Paul Hart's arrival brought the Forest team's youth training standards to a higher level. He brought an excellent youth team to the Forest team, and the most outstanding player in the team was a young lad named Jermaine Jenas.
The team performed well in the first half of the season, and Pearce showed his talent as a manager. But the team's board of directors made a stupid mistake again. They did not bring Pearce up, but invited Bassett to co-coach with him. The division of power caused the team's combat effectiveness to suffer, and the team inevitably fell into League One that season.
After the relegation, the Forest team was taken over by the current club chairman, Nigel Doughty. He chose to believe in Bassett, and Bassett did not disappoint. A year after the relegation, the Forest team was successfully promoted again. But the dream only lasted for a year. In the 1999-2000 season, the Forest team was relegated again, and Bassett was dismissed. Doughty found David Platt to be the team's manager. But the team never recovered and was unable to return to the English Premier League. Instead, they spent their pride and drive in League One year after year.
In the summer of 2001, the English Football Association appointed Platt as the manager of the England youth team, and Platt gave up his position as the manager of the Forest team to Paul Hart. And Paul Hart left his position as the manager of the youth team to Tony Twain — it was Hart who recommended Tony Twain to Doughty. He thought that Tony Twain had the talent to be a successful manager.
And Jenas, whom Hart thought highly of, followed him to the First Team, and fought for the Forest team in League One.
Tony Twain did have some skill, even though his later achievements in the youth team were built on the foundation left behind by Paul Hart. When he was the manager of the youth team, several players began to emerge in the youth team, and they quickly became the focus of the youth team. For example, the left midfielder, Andy Reid, and the youth team captain, the center back, Michael Dawson.
Tony Twain hoped that he could become a successful youth team manager like Paul Hart. He liked the joy of finding one or two gems among a large group of children, and the sense of accomplishment of seeing tender grass grow into towering trees under his hands. It was no less than leading the team to win the UEFA Champions League.
However, his peaceful life was changed three days ago.
Paul Hart was not a mediocre manager. In the summer of 2001, the team made him the manager in the hope of successfully promoting to the Premier League. For this, Doughty invested a lot of money, and even borrowed money from the bank to build the team. From the media to the fans, everyone was full of confidence in the future of the team. In the words of the Nottingham Evening Post, "This is a Premier League team that should not be in League One." They were outstanding, and they had great goals … All of this changed fundamentally because of a disaster outside the football stadium.
Previously, in order to compete with Sky TV who broadcast the Premier League, ITV spent a sky-high price to buy the broadcasting rights of all English leagues outside the Premier League. However, the appeal of League One was not as attractive as the Premier League. The television station spent a lot of money but did not get a corresponding return. The company's financial burden increased, and finally, unable to bear the burden, they declared bankruptcy.
When the city gate caught fire, the fish in the moat suffered. Countless team owners and managers in the lower leagues found that they had no money to use overnight, and were heavily in debt. The star players that were originally signed at a high price became the team's biggest burden at this time. The Forest team invested the most at the beginning of the season, and naturally suffered the most from this economic crisis. After a failed season, they had to sell the team's high-paid players in order to alleviate the economic crisis. Among them was Jermain Jenas, who was known as the spokesperson of England's youth training. He transferred to Newcastle United for five million pounds, setting the record for the most expensive young player in English football history.
Jenas's transfer was not out of his and the manager's will, but to alleviate the team's economic crisis. Therefore, even though teams like Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United offered him a price, he still chose to go to Newcastle United, who offered the highest price. Paul Hart was also greatly affected by the sale of his beloved general. His original lofty ambitions had disappeared with the departure of Jenas.
Most of the capable players in the team had left, and the ones who stayed were also anxious, not knowing if they would be the next to be sold. The capable ones began to busy themselves looking for a next team, and their minds were not on the game. One could imagine the results of such a team. In the first half of the 02-03 season, the Forest team was ranked in the middle. For a team that once had a glorious tradition and had played in the English Premier League a few years ago, such results did not satisfy the fans.
Finally, on the third day after Christmas, Paul Hart, who was under a lot of pressure, took the initiative to ask for his resignation from chairman Nigel Doughty. The two of them had a long discussion, and the chairman agreed to Hart's request to resign. As compensation for his voluntary resignation, Hart recommended Tony Twain to the team to be his successor as the manager of the First Team.
Doughty was no stranger to Tony, and he had a good impression of him. After all, he had worked in this team for seven years, diligent and conscientious. The results of his two years of coaching in the youth team were also obvious to all. Therefore. On the 29th of December 2002, the Forest team officially announced that their youth team manager, Tony Twain, would be the acting manager of the First Team until the end of the season.
The media and fans paid close attention to Tony's first First Team match, but they did not expect Twain to make a huge joke of himself on the sidelines of the field. The 0: 3 score became something that others could use to attack him.
"… Tony, losing is nothing. Any manager will lose," Burns consoled him when the topic turned to the match that had ended the day before. "You've been doing well in the youth team. You've already proven your ability to others."
Twain also thought of the scene that had happened on the sidelines yesterday, as well as the people he had met in this bar that night. He was mocked on television, and he was mocked outside of it. The most fundamental reason was not that he had been knocked off the field by his own players, but because he had lost the match. As long as he had lost the match, he would be scolded, laughed at, and looked down upon. Insignificant mistakes in other areas would be magnified, magnified, and magnified again because of the loss.
"Kenny, I know you're right … But I just … hate failure so much!" Twain gulped down the wine in his glass in one gulp, and then slammed the glass back onto the table. He looked drunk.
Burns did not continue pouring wine for Twain. "I hate failure too. No one who plays football likes to fail. But there are some things you have to experience. The First Team is very different from the youth team. I think even if you don't achieve anything this season, no one will blame you or anything. I know you're not prepared, and we still have next season … "
His words were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. The bar's door was pushed open, and a few heads poked in.
"Hey, Kenny! Your bar isn't open yet? "
Burns lowered his head to look at his watch. "Oh, damn it, it's already 11.40. I have to do business. "
"Come on in, guys!" He waved to the people at the door, and then turned to switch on the lights.
The door opened, and seven or eight people walked in, hugging each other. The previously quiet and dark bar suddenly became lively. The liveliness of the people even made the room brighter. They chatted about all sorts of topics, and then walked to the bar for drinks.
It was only then that Twain, curled up in a corner of the bar, was seen. Someone quickly recognized him. "Aiyo! Look who this is? The Uncle Tony Twain who was knocked over by his own players on the field yesterday! Aiyo! Now he's curled up in a Forest bar, drunk like a pig! Aiyo! Could this be the secret to Forest's victory in the next FA Cup match?! " A young lad danced around, and his movements and tone of speech seemed to be singing a black rap song. His appearance amused the people around him.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Twain slowly turned around and squinted at the person. He had no impression of the young man, but from what he said, he should have been there last night.
"You little brat, you haven't even grown your hair out …" Twain struggled to stand up. Even though his real age was only 26 in his heart, his body was 34 years old, so he could take advantage of the other party without holding back.
Seeing that Twain was about to stand up, he did not look friendly. The people who were still laughing at the side immediately became alert. They had seen how quickly Twain knocked down the tall Michael yesterday, and the bloodied Michael was taught a lesson by his own wife when he returned home. Now, he did not even dare to come to the bar, and could only coax his wife at home. Only the lad who had not seen Twain's prowess did not take it seriously. He put on a boxer's stance, bounced up and down, and kept calling out, "Come on, baby! Don't think I'm afraid of you! "
"Bang!" There was a thud. It wasn't a direct hit to the nose. It was the sound of a heavy beer mug hitting the table.
"Whose Irish Stout?" Burns put his face between the two of them and asked.
The young man immediately withdrew his fist and went to get the wine. "Uh, mine …"
Bowens shook his glass in front of his hand and said, "Don't cause trouble at my place." Hearing this, everyone became quiet.
Tang En did not like this group of people at all. Looking at them filling the bar, he also felt that it was time for him to leave.
Burns personally escorted him out of the bar, then stopped him and said, "Tony. I think, if you don't know how to train the team for the time being and how to direct them in the game … you can leave it to your assistant. Until you think you're better. "
Tang En looked up at him. "Thank you, Kenny."
Bowens smiled. "You're welcome. Besides, Michael, they're not bad people. They were the most loyal Forest fans. It was just that the team's performance in recent years had been too bad, and they were too heartbroken. I hope you don't take it to heart. You'll see their cute side in the match the day after tomorrow. "
Tang En nodded and did not say anything.
"Do your best. Happy New Year, Tony. "
"You too. Happy New Year, Kenny …" Tang En waved at Bowens, then turned around and made a crooked turn around the corner.
Bowens looked at his back and gently shook his head. He also turned around and walked back to the bar.
"I really don't understand, Kenny, why are you so good to that idiot …" The fat man who had mocked Tang En last night could not help but complain when he saw Bowens walking back.
Bowens thought of Tang En's expression when he laid on the table and said that he hated failure. That was indeed from the bottom of his heart, and there was no way to hide the "hate." He turned his head to look at the fat man and said, "John, if you keep talking nonsense, I won't let you come here to drink anymore."
"Wah, I won't dare to do it again!"
The bar immediately rang with the laughter of the men.
Even with a wall separating them, Tang En could still hear the laughter coming from inside the bar. At this moment, he no longer walked in a crooked manner. His back was ramrod straight, and he did not look like he was drunk at all.
He stood by the side of the road, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. At the same time, he recalled Bowens' suggestion to him.
"Let the assistant manager do it? That's not a bad idea. "
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