When Roy Keane reappeared at the Wilford training base of the Nottingham Forest team to train alone, the newspapers were reporting that he had stood up for Real Madrid.
It was said that he had even passed the medical examination. Just as the two sides were about to sign the contract, Roy Keane suddenly chose to refuse the transfer and left Madrid.
No one knew why he left. Some speculated that it was because of the contract period, some speculated that it was because of the factions in the Real Madrid locker room, which made Roy Keane tired, and some thought it was family reasons.
Although he was perhaps the closest person to Keane apart from the agent, Twain did not ask him the reason. It was a more personal matter, and it was not convenient for him to inquire. He was not an all-pervasive paparazzi.
The players were also surprised by Keane's return, but everyone still restrained their curiosity. No one took the initiative to ask the story behind Real Madrid.
Michael Kennedy had not been seen for many days. After returning from Madrid, he became even busier. He flew around all day, looking for a suitable team for Keane. With such an agent, it was no wonder that he could accompany Keane from a nobody to a world-class superstar. His performance made Twain change some of his prejudices against agents.
During this time, Twain was not idle either. He just paid attention to Keane. His team played three rounds of games in the league tournament. On the 11th, they challenged Manchester United in an away game. The two sides shook hands at 1: 1. When the two managers drank together after the game, Ferguson specifically thanked Twain in person, thanking him for being able to provide the training base for Keane alone to use at this time for free.
On the 14th, the Forest team went to play an away game in the third round of the league tournament. Their opponent was West Ham United. The result of the game was a 3: 1 victory for Twain's team over the Hammer Gang.
On the 17th, Nottingham Forest beat Charlton 4: 0 at home. After 17 rounds of games, they were ranked second in the league with 39 points, four points behind Chelsea, who was first in the league.
Wigan Athletic, the big dark horse in the first half of the season, seemed to have shed its dark horse mantle. They successively encountered strong teams before Christmas and lost again and again, falling from third to sixth in the league. Manchester United and Liverpool caught up, one with 37 points and the other with 31 points, respectively in third and fourth place. Arsenal's situation was not very good. They only had 26 points with one game less and were ranked eighth.
Except for the game against Manchester United, Keane was present for the other two games when Twain arranged the specific tactics a few days before the game. He deliberately avoided the pre-match tactical training with Manchester United. That day, he gave himself a day off and went shopping downtown.
The draw was the best result for Roy Keane, who trained at Forest's Wilford base.
Two days after returning from Madrid, a day of training had ended. Tang En returned to his office to pack his things and prepare to go home.
At this moment, someone knocked on the door.
"Please come in."
Seeing Keane push open the door, Twain wasn't surprised.
"I've come to bid you farewell."
"Going home for Christmas?"
"Well, you can say that. But I won't be coming after Christmas. "
Tang En was a little surprised. He looked up at the Irishman standing before him.
"The Celtics are very interested in me. They have sent me an invitation."
"The team in the Scottish Premier League?"
Keane nodded. "That's the team I've loved since I was a kid. I want to spend the last years of my career there."
Hearing Keane say so, Twain was silent for a moment. Perhaps it was because in his heart, he still held on to a sliver of hope that after spending so much time with Keane, he would fall in love with this place and thus decide to stay. He was a little disappointed when he heard Keane say that he was going to play for Celtics.
"If that's the case, then I wish you good luck, Roy."
Keane coughed. "I know it's useless to say this now, but before I leave, I still want to tell you — I was going to take the initiative to talk to you about the contract with Forest, if Celtics hadn't intervened."
Twain looked at Keane.
"I'll admit that in these ten days of getting along, I've grown to like this team. Have I told you before? Actually, I don't have much affection for Forest. Nottingham Forest is more special to me only because of Manager Clough. "
"When I came here, Clough's team had already fallen into a slump. I could feel what the ending was like. The locker room was filled with despair and complaints. Everyone wanted to leave the club and find another way out. I was the same. I thought that my outstanding performance in Forest could attract the attention of more big clubs. Reality proved me right. Then I went to Manchester United. "
"After Clough left Forest, Nottingham Forest was no different to the hundreds of other professional teams in England to me. Hmm … But now I've changed my mind. I like the current Nottingham Forest. It's completely different from what I remember, completely different … "
Keane shook his head.
"I heard a lot of comments about you in Nottingham. It's a pity I didn't hear any bad things." The Irishman laughed. "Then I had a serious discussion with Michael about what would happen if I played under you. The conclusion we came to was very good. I almost chose you. Unfortunately, in the end, Celtics joined in. The team I liked to support since I was young wanted me to play for them. I couldn't refuse this invitation. This has nothing to do with any bullshit money or glory. It's just because I like them. I hope to be able to wear that jersey at the end of my career. Only then can I feel that my career as a player is complete and without regrets. "
Hearing this, Twain sighed. "I understand. What can I say? I can only say, 'Good luck, Roy.' "
Keane saw Twain's expression and smiled. "Hmm, thank you, Mr. Twain. I've said before that I want to be a coach after I retire because I've been influenced by two managers. Now I'm going to change it. I've been influenced by three managers. But I won't say the name of the third person. I don't want him to be too proud. "
Twain came up and held out his hand. "I hope we'll meet on the sidelines one day. You have to be careful. I won't be merciful. "
Keane also held out his hand. "I'm never soft on my enemies."
The two men's hands clasped tightly together.
※ ※ ※
Michael Kennedy, Roy Keane's agent, waited in the parking lot until Keane came out of the small building.
"We'll fly to Glasgow tomorrow to talk to them …"
Keane vetoed the plan. "Tell them to wait another day."
Kennedy was a little puzzled. "Is there anything left to do here?"
Keane looked back at the training ground in the twilight. "I forgot one thing. I'll have to come again tomorrow." Then he opened the car door and got in.
"Let's go, Michael."
(To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. COM. More chapters. Support the author. Support genuine reading!)
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