The layers of mystery shrouding Dunn were dispelled, at least on the surface. After answering the many questions from the reporters at the press conference, everyone understood what kind of person Dunn was, the story behind his arrival at Nottingham Forest, and so on. The material was enough for the Chinese media to report on for a week without repetition.
But there were fewer reporters outside the Wilford training base than before. The British and other foreign media had all left, and only the Chinese media remained.
Sun Jihai did not get a main position in Nottingham Forest, so there was nothing much to write about his story. Instead, it was the assistant manager, Dunn, who became the darling of the Chinese media.
Everyone was tired of promoting Chinese footballers who studied abroad. Currently, the popularity of Chinese footballers on the major websites was very low because most of the players were not doing well outside. Sun Jihai was probably the most popular one now, because he was not an indispensable main force in the most popular team, Nottingham Forest. If every little thing about Sun Jihai was publicized wantonly, it would more or less be suspected of deceiving oneself and others.
"Chinese footballers who studied abroad" was a new publicity point. No one had done it before. A great deal of novelty filled the hearts of the domestic readers, who paid close attention to the manager's every word and action.
Dunn was unwilling to be exposed to the media and the spotlight. He just wanted to be a coach and study football, not caring about anything else. But now it was not up to him.
For example, three days after the press conference, the Nottingham Forest Football Club received a fax from Beijing, China.
CCTV5 hoped to come to England to film a special film related to Dunn.
Looking at Dunn's distressed expression, Tang En agreed to the other party's request gloatingly.
Of course, he did not do it to deliberately embarrass Dunn. Tang En considered that it was a good opportunity for Dunn to be more open.
Dunn's character was a little like toothpaste, unable to be squeezed out. If there was no external pressure exerted on him, he might have continued living like that without the slightest change. Just like if there was no transmigration, Dunn might have lived in such a solid shell, being a failure in Nottingham Forest, being dismissed not long after he became the acting manager, returning to the youth team … and then working for the rest of his life until he retired.
If he had not met Tang En, he would not have become what he was now without this person who nagged him all day, trying to find ways to talk to him.
Tang En was an external force that changed Dunn. Dunn still needed more external forces. Even though the media exposure made him uncomfortable, it might be a good thing for Dunn.
Unwilling? You don't like it? This is not an excuse. You have to face these problems and try to solve them with an attitude that you have never thought of before. You can't just hide in your shell and think that the world doesn't matter.
So, Tang En forced Dunn to accept CCTV5's interview request.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Don. They're just reporters, they won't eat you. " Twain snickered as he looked at Dunn, who had been frowning ever since he heard the news.
"I know … I just don't know what to do …"
"What should we do? What should I do? It's written very clearly in here, right? " Tony Twain pointed to the stack of papers in his hand. Just like when Gloria came to film, Tony Twain requested CCTV5 to show a more detailed and specific filming plan. Only when he nodded, did the matter finally come to an agreement. "I'm just following you around to film your daily life and training. If possible, I'll also film a match."
Dunn frowned. "I'm not used to putting my life in front of the public …"
Tang En patted him on the shoulder. "You'll get used to it sooner or later. You'll have to get used to it when you're following me."
Dunn looked up at him. "You're a public figure …"
"Ahaha!" Tang En finally stopped snickering. This time, he laughed happily.
"I'm not used to exposing my life in front of the curious eyes of others and then letting them judge me …"
"Dunn. You have to reach the realm of 'walk your own path and let others say what they want.' No matter how others judge you, their evaluation will not affect your own life, nor will it cause you to lose a single hair. You're still you. You won't change because of how others view you. If you're someone who cares so much about other people's opinions … Would you have lived in isolation for more than 30 years? "Tang En was referring to the Dunn before he transmigrated.
After listening to Tang En's words, Dunn was silent for a moment before he said, "But their intention here is to report on a real Chinese manager. Am I?"
Tang En was also silent for a while. The two of them had a messy identity. Sometimes, even they themselves felt uncomfortable talking about it.
"Uh, this … Actually, this question is very simple. You're a Chinese, through and through, a genuine Chinese."
"What about you?" Dunn raised his head and asked Tang En.
In the dark room, Tang En's eyes flickered. "Me?" He pointed to the dusky sky outside the window. "Have you noticed the clouds floating around in the sky? I'm that thing. "
Dunn followed Tang En's finger and looked out the window. The sky was filled with red clouds.
He understood Tang En's thoughts.
He clearly had a home that he could not return to. His biological parents were still alive, but he could only pretend to be Dunn's friend and acknowledge them as his godparents. Only then could he openly call them "Dad" and "Mom."
Clouds were things without roots …
※ ※ ※
After Tang En agreed to CCTV5's filming plan, the other party moved quickly. Three days later, they all arrived in Nottingham.
They were not willing to let go of such a topic that was of concern to society and let other media outlets monopolize it. They had an advantage over the print media. While others reported with words or pictures, they could do video reports. A moving image was obviously more attractive to the audience than a static image.
After the other party's filming crew arrived, Tang En went over to greet them as the team's manager. He acted like the host and did not bother with them anymore. He left the reception and other matters to Dunn to handle.
He introduced the team's situation and told them what they should pay attention to during the filming. These were all handled by Dunn. Other than that, there were no changes to Dunn's work. He was still in charge of the team's training.
As for the filming of their daily lives … Because Tang En and Dunn lived together, both of them felt that it would not be good if this was filmed. They did not want to be on the cover of a British gay magazine.
So, taking advantage of this opportunity, Dunn took the initiative to move out. He did not move too far away. It was just next door. It did not prevent the two of them from frequently getting together to study the match tapes and tactics. It was just to let the media see that there was no inexplicable relationship between the two of them.
Of course, CCTV5's filming crew could follow Dunn to Tang En's house at night to film the scene of the two of them watching the match tapes together and discussing tactics. There was no problem with that. If Dunn did not move out, they might have to film the scene of the two of them going upstairs together.
When they found out that they could film at Tony Twain's house, the filming crew was very excited. This was because they had conducted an investigation and discovered that up until now, no media had been allowed to enter the home of this temperamental manager. And they, CCTV5 from China, would be the first media to bring them into Tang En's private residence.
Tang En did not mind a Chinese media coming to his house to film. After all, there was nothing much to film. After Dunn was not around, his private life was perfect and impeccable. Other than his alcoholism, there was nothing for the media to criticize. Moreover, alcoholism was a social phenomenon in Britain. It was normal for an Englishman to drink, and the media would not make a fuss about it.
Seeing the excited expressions of the Chinese reporters, he felt that the people from CCTV5 would soon grow tired of filming scenes of Dunn's life. This person's life was so simple and boring that it made people despair. Even when he lived with Tang En, he would spend all day studying the video tapes on the television screen. The Chinese audience would not want to see the back of the hero in their hearts who could save China's football to face the television screen without moving for two hours, would they?
※ ※ ※
After dealing with all these problems, Tang En focused on leading the team to train in preparation for the next round of the league tournament. While he was tormenting Dunn's matter, the second round of the league tournament had already passed. Nottingham Forest, which was described as "strong" by the media, had a complete 2: 0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in an away game.
Nottingham Forest had achieved two consecutive victories in the first two rounds of the league tournament.
Like Ferguson's Manchester United, they were the two teams that had maintained a complete victory and ranked second with the fewest goal difference.
Chelsea, led by another madman manager, Mourinho, who had declared before the season that he would defend the league title, had encountered a little trouble. In the first two rounds of the league tournament, Chelsea's results were only one win and one loss. In the first round of the league tournament, they defeated Manchester City at home, but in the second round, they unexpectedly lost to Middlesbrough.
It was worth mentioning that the player who scored the final decisive goal for Middlesbrough to reverse the score was Mark Viduka, who had transferred from Nottingham Forest.
The BBC's commentary on this was, "Tony Twain extended his winning record against Mourinho in another battlefield with the help of a former Forest player."
Of course, this commentary did not satisfy Chelsea's supporters. Mourinho also thought it was ridiculous. "If the performance of a player who plays in a new team can still be recorded in the records of his former team, then the world is too stupid."
Tony Twain subsequently expressed his own views on this series of comments. This time, he stood on the same side as Mourinho.
"Viduka is an outstanding player. I was very clear about this when he played for Nottingham Forest. I'm very happy to see his success at Middlesbrough. However, the grudge between me and Manager Mourinho still needs to be resolved face-to-face. What? Did I say grudge? Haha, how is that possible? You must have heard wrong! What I meant was that Manager Mourinho and I are now the managers of Nottingham Forest and Chelsea respectively, so the match between us must be a match between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea. Do you understand what I've said? "
That was what Twain said after being asked about this during a regular press conference.
Of course, the media understood. Did he not mean that the matter between him and Mourinho was only between the two of them? No one else was allowed to interfere. It was just that he had to put it mildly.
CCTV5's reporters were also at the scene. They could feel the uniqueness of Tony Twain's personality up close. Those who had previously evaluated his actions and actions were not false — it was indeed difficult to come to a simple conclusion about him.
Just now, everyone had heard him speak of the "grudge," but in less than ten seconds, he completely denied it. And when he did so, he did not even blush or pant, as if he was just saying it casually.
To put it bluntly … How could a person be so thick-skinned?
To put it nicely … Uh, was there a nicer way to put it?
This group of puzzled China reporters decided to ask Dunn what kind of person Tony Twain, this manager who had received two extreme evaluations, was. After all, Dunn was the person he had the most contact with.
In the end, Dunn's answer disappointed them greatly.
"I don't know what kind of person he really is."
After the reporter patiently guided him for a long time, he finally said, "You can't simply use 'good' or 'bad' to evaluate him … Or rather, you can't simply use the secular 'good or bad' to evaluate him."
※ ※ ※
Nottingham Forest was already used to the media following and filming them. The first time Gloria came, everyone was a little interested because she was a beauty. Now that the film crew was all men, who cared?
Moreover, the people in Forest were no longer simply players. They should be called "stars." They had long been used to training under the spotlight and surrounded by the media. After the start of the new season, there were more and more reporters coming here every day in hopes of an interview. This, of course, was attributed to their success last season.
Even when they went to an away game, there would be a lot of media following them. It was like sharks following behind a whaling ship. Some people would enjoy the feeling of fame. Some people might not like it — like Dunn. Now, no matter where he went, there would be a four-person film crew following behind him. While everyone was paying attention to the Asian reporters, they would also pay attention to him. This was not the kind of life he wanted.
But he was not a person who would complain when things did not go his way. So, no matter how much he disliked this kind of life, he still worked hard to cooperate with the other party's work — it was also his job. His attitude towards work was not based on personal emotions at all. Work was work. He was a little different from Tang En in this regard. Tang En often brought his personal emotions to work, and it had become his unique style.
Fortunately, Dunn's "Truman Show" life was coming to an end. Two days before the start of the third round of the league tournament, the people from CCTV5 told Dunn that they would leave Nottingham and return home after filming this game. The third round of Nottingham Forest's game against Fulham would be the last.
This made Dunn breathe a sigh of relief. There was always an inexplicable pressure from being stared at, which made him a little breathless. Although Tang En told him, "It's nothing. Just work and live as you normally do," how could he really treat the people around him as air? This would definitely affect his work.
And so, under such circumstances, the third round of the league tournament was getting closer.
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