The old guard of the Wilford training base, Ian MacDonald, had turned on the radio before the game started. He turned the volume to the maximum and sat in the guardhouse to listen to the game. At this time, the players who were on the squad list were at the City Ground stadium. Those who were not were at home or somewhere else. The training base was quiet, with only the voice of the commentator coming from the guardhouse.
He still remembered the smile and promise that Tony Twain gave him in the morning: "You'll hear the news of us scoring one goal after another on the radio." This filled him with anticipation.
Not long after the game started, he indeed heard the news of goals coming from the radio. However, it was not Forest's goal, but the away team, West Ham's. The game had only gone on for half an hour, and his favorite team had been forced to score three goals by the away team, West Ham.
He sat in his chair in a daze, unable to believe what he had heard.
"Jermain Defoe, Defoe, shoot! The ball's in! What a beautiful surprise attack! "
"Defoe takes the ball outside the penalty area … He suddenly moves, it's over! Will it be 2: 0? Yes！ Jermain Defoe, he scored twice! West Ham leads Nottingham Forest by 2: 0! "
“Unbelievable！ Unbelievable！！ A volley shot from outside the penalty area! From Joe Cole! It's hard to believe he's only 21 years old! He's the future treasure of English football! This is West Ham's third goal of the game. They have complete control of the game, and Forest has no chance! 3: 0, the game ends early! "
End early? You bastard commentator, what are you talking about? The game has only started for 30 minutes. We still have 60 minutes to turn the tables! MacDonald had never trusted the acting manager, Tony Twain, so much. At this moment, he believed that this man could fulfill his promise.
He waved his fist at the radio, as if he were standing in the stands of the City Ground stadium with his companions, demonstrating against the away team. Ever since he became the gatekeeper of the training base, he had not been to the City Ground stadium to watch a game in years.
The City Ground stadium was almost drowned in boos. Twain was all too familiar with the boos. When he opened his eyes to see the world three days ago, these were the boos that surrounded his ears. The boos from the home fans were not directed at the visiting team, West Ham United, but at the home team, Nottingham Forest.
In a corner of the stadium, a group of players wearing West Ham United jerseys surrounded their captain and were celebrating their third goal of the game.
Des Walker hugged his head in frustration as he sat beside Tang En. From the pre-match preparations to the tactics, he was the one who had arranged everything. Tang En had said he trusted him. He really wanted to use victory to repay his manager's trust in him. He did not expect to be massacred before the first half had even ended.
The score of 0: 3 on the electronic scoreboard was red and dripping with blood. The middle finger he gave to the technical area was like a towering tree in Sherwood Forest, northeast of Nottingham. It was not only the score that angered the home fans, but also the performance of the players on the pitch.
Off the field, Tang En could see it very clearly. If he were a hardcore Forest fan, he could only use vulgarities and middle fingers to express his feelings when faced with such a 30 minute first half. He even suspected that the eleven people on the field had not slept well, just like him. Did they go out to see a prostitute in the evening? These bastards! He furrowed his brows and gritted his teeth as he thought about it.
What Tang En did not know was that at this moment, a camera on the opposite side of the field was aimed at him, showing his facial expressions in a close-up on the broadcast screen. The person in charge of commentating this match was England's BBC's famous football commentator, John Motson, who had commentated on Forest's previous league match. He was famous for his sharp words and passionate commentary style. He had just finished praising West Ham United's young captain, Joe Cole's goal, which was West Ham United's third goal in the game. He even came to this conclusion: "This match is already over! Even though Forest has a very glorious history, they are now like pitiful worms struggling at the feet of Jock Cole, worrying about the next wave of attacks that they do not know when! Look at Forest like this, look at the red jerseys they are wearing. It really hurts! "
"Manager Tony Twain also seems to be quite dissatisfied with the performance of the team. Then please come up with something! Don't always grimace in the manager's seat. Do you have a toothache? In fact, in this match, we only saw his assistant manager, Des Walker, frequently stand up to direct the match. Who exactly is the manager? But who would expect a rookie who had just retired to lead an A-League team to defeat a super team? Before the match, the doubts about Forest's acting manager's standard were not groundless. Tony Twain has not brought the slightest change to the team so far. He is not even as good as his predecessor, Paul Hart. It is said that Tony Twain's appointment was because of Paul Hart's strong recommendation to Chairman Doughty. What I want to say is, Paul, you have always had a good eye for players, but you still need to improve when it comes to judging a manager! "
If Tang En heard him being belittled in such a way, he did not know if he would quarrel with the famous commentator on the spot. But now, he was not in the mood to consider how others would judge him. He had to change the situation on the field. He knew that West Ham was very strong. Just by looking at their names, he knew how strong they were. But this was not the reason why Forest should fail.
There was only one reason for failure, and that was that we did not do well enough!
Tang En muttered these words in a low voice.
Walker tilted his head toward him. He seemed to have heard it, but did not hear it clearly. "What?" he asked.
"Nothing." Tang En shook his head.
"Tony, you have to think of something. This can't go on." Walker moved his mouth to Tang En's ear and whispered to him. "Bowyer has made up his mind to watch the show. I think he can't wait to lose this match!"
"You're right. That old man does think that way. But I have no other way now. "
Walker was very disappointed with Tang En's answer. A manager could not do such a thing. When he lost control of something, it was often the end of the road.
"Do you think our defensive players can defend against Joe Cole, Lee Bowyer, Di Canio, and Jermain Defoe?"
Walker shook his head. Truthfully speaking, his team was indeed unable to compete with such a super team. Listening to the names of these players, they were either veteran star players who had been famous for a long time, or rookies from all over England.
"Also, do you think our forwards and midfielders can penetrate the defense of Michael Carrick, Ian Pearce, Tamos Repka, and David James, and score a goal?"
Walker continued to shake his head. This defensive line was at the level of the national team. James was the England national goalkeeper, Tamos Repka was a member of the Czech Republic national team, and Carrick even transferred to Manchester United in the summer three years later. In the entire first half, Forest's two main forwards only had three chances to shoot. The balls they shot out did not even give James a chance to warm up.
West Ham United easily controlled the pace of the game with a group of talented players in their team and took over possession of the ball on the field. Forest could only run back and forth following the football they kicked out, exhausting their energy and fighting spirit in this meaningless running. West Ham may have been miserable in the English Premier League, having only obtained 16 points in 21 matches in the first half of the season and ranked last in the league. However, they were still able to show off their might in front of a Division One team and vent the frustration of being bullied.
The game had only started for 17 minutes when West Ham United took the lead. The incredibly fast young striker, Jermain Defoe, easily broke through Forest's clumsy defensive line and scored the first goal for the team. Five minutes later, Defoe made a comeback and once again used his speed to break through the defensive line to score a second goal. Watching this rookie, who was later selected to represent England, put in all his effort to perform on the field, Tang En felt as though time had passed. He knew what this young man would achieve in the future. What made Tang En feel helpless was that there was no lack of talent and strong players in this West Ham United team today. It was really tough for his Forest team to play against such an opponent.
Watching West Ham United's players pass the ball around on the field as though they were taking a stroll in the park, Joe Cole even began to perform his back-heel passes and passes in front of the few away fans. Hearing the laughter from the West Ham fans and the boos from the other stands from time to time, Tang En had an illusion: Whose home field is this?
This situation made him very angry. Although he wasn't there to witness Jock Cole and the others doing it over and over again, he still felt insulted. Because he was the manager of this team, the responsibility for his team being bullied on the field was definitely on the manager. This was the same as him being bullied himself.
Michael Dawson was by far the most hardworking player on Forest. Unfortunately, he was unable to stop West Ham United's tide-like attacks alone. He was not responsible for conceding three goals. It was the team's overall poor performance. After watching the game for more than 30 minutes, Tang En decided to give the captain's armband to this young man in the next game. Since the 21-year-old Joe Cole could be the captain of the "Hammer Gang" (West Ham United's nickname), why couldn't the 19-year-old Michael Dawson? A genius who was full of fighting spirit and had walked out of Forest's youth training system, who else was more suitable than him to lead this current team?
The north grandstand of the City Ground stadium near the Trent River was the main grandstand for the Forest fans. On the top floor, there was a long corridor enclosed by glass windows, two sets of old but tidy seats, and two televisions. This was the box for the City Ground stadium. Compared to the stadium boxes of the powerhouse teams, Forest's home box could only be described as shabby.
Naturally, no one would sit and watch such a terrible game. There were only two people in the box now. They did not sit on the chairs, but chose to stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, looking at the field.
They were the team's chairman, Nigel Doughty, and his son, Evan Doughty.
Evan Doughty glanced at the television in the corner, then turned his gaze to the field. "This is the team that you love, the once glorious Nottingham Forest team?" There was an obvious sense of ridicule in his tone, completely different from the courteous Kenny that Tang En had met that day.
His words were for his father to hear. Old Doughty, on the other hand, did not mind his son's taunts. He continued talking to himself, and when he spoke, he kept nodding his head. "Come with me to the locker room during halftime. I need you to meet the players."
Evan knew his words were ignored by his father again. "But I don't think there's a need for that. Besides, it's not a good time for everyone to meet." He still tried to persuade his father, hoping that his father would dismiss the idea of him meeting the players and coaches.
Nigel Doughty did not answer his son's words. He just watched the game intently.
Evan could only shrug and sigh when he saw his father's expression. He was not the least bit interested in the boring one-sided game on the field. He simply sat down and crossed his legs. He drank the Coke provided by the stadium and looked at his surroundings in boredom.
The shabby box, the shabby stadium, the low-level competition, the unattractive team … He really did not understand why his father liked such a team and was willing to invest tens of millions of pounds in it — he had never invested so much money in his own son.
When he watched NBA games, he was a Chicago Bulls fan at first, then he became a Los Angeles Lakers fan. In the last year, he showed signs of becoming a San Antonio Spurs fan, even though his home and company were located in Houston. The only reason he frequently changed his favorite team was that the previous team lacked appealing star players and champions. In his opinion, it was incomprehensible and inconceivable to like teams that were not famous, had no star players, and were even mingling around in the fifth division. What pleasure and benefits could they get from being infatuated with such a team? They could not enjoy the wonderful performances brought by the star players, there were no championship trophies one after another as happy memories throughout the summer, there were no glorious results for them to talk about after a meal …
He looked at the densely packed heads under his feet and on the opposite stands, as well as countless outstretched and waving arms. Such a lousy game actually had a full house. He shook his head gently.
What were these thousands of people like my father after? Every weekend afternoon, sitting in the shabby stadium stands, wasting away time and growing old little by little. How sad.
What puzzled Motson was that Tang En did not say anything at all after he finished speaking to Walker. Even Walker, who had been very active before, seemed to have his butt glued to his seat. The two of them just quietly looked at the field, not saying anything, not doing anything.
It was strange. Seeing their team lose so miserably, were they not anxious? Were they not angry? They had to show some emotion, right? But they did not. The close-up camera swept back and forth on Tang En and Walker's faces. The two men looked at the field in a daze and did not even frown.
Feeling embarrassed, Motson could only mutter, "Did they run out from Madame Tussauds?"
West Ham United's manager, Glenn Roeder, was very satisfied with his team's performance. The unbearable first half of the season seemed to have been left behind by this group of young lads. He and Tony Twain had the same coaching experience. They were both transferred from the youth team because of the poor results of their predecessors. In the contest between the two managers, he had the upper hand. This was his first game in charge, and it was a good start. He believed that as long as the team played at the same level as the first half of the season, it would not be a problem to avoid relegation.
He stood on the sidelines, smugly thinking about the next Premier League game.
Tang En glanced at Roeder, who was standing on the sidelines directing the game. He looked elegant with a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on his fair and clean face. He knew this man. He had known him before he came. This man later became Newcastle's manager, but before becoming Newcastle's main manager, he was the head of the Magpies' youth team. After Souness was dismissed because of his poor results, he replaced him. He sat in "the most attractive position in the world," but his results were not good. He was luckier than his predecessor in that when his results were bad, he had the excuse that the team was facing a large number of injuries. The team supported him internally. But in the end, he resigned because the results were too poor. His team even set a historical record for Newcastle since 1951 — the record for consecutive home games without scoring a goal: 500 minutes.
Because Tang En knew about Roeder's experience, he understood that Roeder had nothing to be afraid of. West Ham was playing well now, and it had nothing to do with that gentlemanly manager. It was just because they had a group of talented players.
Regardless of the players on the field, we only need to look at the people sitting on West Ham's substitutes' bench to know the strength of this team: England's 2002 World Cup international Trevor Sinclair; Mali's international player, Kanoute, who later became a famous striker in La Liga, helped Sevilla win the UEFA Cup twice, and became the hero of the 2006-07 La Liga Double. Looking at these names, and then looking at the team's ranking at the end of the season: third from the bottom. They were relegated.
After the team was slaughtered by Everton 0: 5 and Blackburn Rovers 1: 7, the manager claimed that the team's poor results were not his fault, but that the players bought by his predecessor, Redknapp, were too poor. But his poor standards were not a "fallacy" that one or two people came up with with colored glasses. The criticism and doubts of the entire English media had never stopped. Based on Tang En's observation of the first half, he firmly believed in this.
Tang En shrugged. He had already found a way to deal with this team. But now was not the time to adjust. Anyway, there were only five minutes to the halftime break. When he got to the locker room, he would give these sleepy players a good beating.
He suddenly heard a very ear-piercing and clear booing coming from behind him. After the booing came a series of curses. He felt very strange. It was very quiet behind him before. Why did it suddenly become lively?
He turned around to look at the source of the sound, only to see Michael and the others making faces and giving him the middle finger in the stands behind him. The gauze on that person's head was too conspicuous …
"Go back to your youth team! This is the adult team, not a place for a kid like you. Go back to Mommy's side and act like a spoiled child! Wahaha!! "
"Oh — Oh —" The people around him followed suit. Most of these people were the ones who laughed at him in the bar that day. There were also some who were unfamiliar, but definitely with Michael and the others.
Walker's attention was also attracted by the curses behind him. He stood up and loudly berated those people, "Michael, what are you doing?!"
Michael ignored Walker. He tilted his head and said, "Des, you'd better not interfere. This is a personal grudge between us and the manager."
"Personal grudge? A personal grudge between a group of you and one person? "Walker snorted.
"All right, ignore them." Twain pulled Walker down.
"Tony, what's going on? I remember you never had any conflicts or quarrels with anyone. And Michael is also a loyal Forest fan. Why do they hate you so much? "
"It's nothing. I splashed wine in the face of the leader at Burns' bar, and then fought with him. It ended very quickly. I knocked him to the ground with one punch, and then I called the fat guy on the left a 'fat pig.'" Twain said it casually, but Walker's mouth opened so wide that he could swallow a ball. His impression of Twain was that he hated drinking and smoking. He would never get angry with others, let alone directly hit them. What was going on?
Twain knew that Walker was very surprised. Anyone who was familiar with him would be surprised when they heard what he said. "I'll explain it to you later. For now, let's watch the game. I've found a way to deal with them."
Walker turned back to look at Michael and the others, who were still making a ruckus in the stands, and then watched the game in peace.
There was a special characteristic of English stadiums. The technical area was rarely set up in the empty space between the stadium and the stands. It was different from most stadiums that people were familiar with. The technical area was set up in the stands, surrounded by seats for ordinary fans. The two sides of the players' tunnel were separated for the technical area and substitutes' seats. Unless they were directing the game, the coaches sat in the stands. Forest's home ground, City Ground, was not like this in the past. Their technical area was below the stands, on the sidelines, and even lower than the level of the stadium. The technical area was like a pit dug at the side of the field, covered with a concrete roof to block the sun and rain. Later, because of England's UEFA European Championship in 1996, it was reconstructed like most English stadiums, with the technical area and the fans' stands very close. This narrowed the distance between the fans. There were pros and cons. Twain was now enduring the "cons" side. Michael and the others, who sat behind the technical area, constantly used boos and all kinds of curses to humiliate him and challenge his endurance.
Even the team's substitutes could not help but stand up and turn back to glare at them a few times. Twain continued to watch the game without turning his head.
"You coward! You're a coward through and through! Did you see that? I'm scolding you, scolding your whole family! If you're so capable, come over and give me another punch! Where's the courage you had to beat me up then? Trash! You bastard! Son of a b * tch! You motherf * cking bastard! "Michael scolded loudly, even attracting the cameras of the television broadcast.
So, he waved his hands and feet and cursed above the stands, while the image of Twain sitting in a position less than three meters below him, crossed his arms and entered countless people's televisions. Burns, who was helping out in his bar, also saw this scene. There was a burst of cheers for Michael in the bar, but Burns could only gently shake his head as he looked at the room full of heads.
Perhaps it was really as Michael and the others scolded, that Twain was a "complete coward" and a "coward" who did not even dare to fight back. His performance disappointed many of the players. To be honest, Michael's scolding was too harsh. Even the players who knew the head of the fans could not bear to listen to it. But Coach Twain still sat in his seat, not moving an inch. It was as if he could not hear those people's scolding at all.
Motson became excited again when he saw this scene on the sidelines. "I've discovered an interesting phenomenon. As long as Coach Tony Twain is on the field, the most exciting moment is definitely not on the field, but within ten yards of his technical area. Now there's some commotion behind his technical area. It seems that some fans are saying something to him. Looking at their agitated expressions, it can't be anything good in any case. I think on tomorrow night's' Match of the Day 'program, we can invite a lip-reading expert to interpret what they're saying. If West Ham beat their opponent 3: 0 in this away game, there's nothing worth reporting about it, because they deserve to win. But the sudden incident on the sidelines deserves our attention. "
The game time was ticking away. The situation on the field was still disadvantageous to Nottingham Forest, but West Ham also slowed down their pace of attack after taking a three-goal lead. They would rather leisurely pass the ball back and forth on the field than kick the ball forward. Perhaps the players, like the manager, were beginning to think about the next Premier League game.
The scolding behind the home team's technical area did not stop. Many players even had to take the initiative to request to go to the sidelines to warm up, escaping from the embarrassing substitutes' bench. Twain did not respond to their requests. Walker could only sigh and let all the substitutes go to warm up. Immediately, the substitutes' bench was half empty, leaving only the members of the coaching unit.
Des Walker looked at Twain with some worry. He felt that something was not right with Twain. His expression seemed to be very ugly, as gloomy as the weather from two days ago.
When his gaze shifted down, he saw Twain's hands tightly clenched into fists. Because he had used too much force, his knuckles had even turned white.
The referee's whistle gave everyone relief. This unbearable first half was over.
Twain was the first to stand up and walk down from the technical area. He left the fans who were still hurling insults at him behind and was the first to walk into the tunnel. Walker glared at Michael and the others, then stood on the sidelines to console the players who were coming off the field. He patted this and that, shook his head and sighed. He told them that it was normal to lose three goals against a super team.
After all, we're an A-League team.
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