George Wood played in the starting lineup for England against Andorra and his performance was commendable. When he was brought off in the 80th minute, England was leading by two goals and winning the game was no longer a problem. Therefore, Capello was relieved to bring him off — with him on the field, England's rear defensive line was indeed much more stable. It was not only the defense that benefited, England's offense was also more threatening because of his presence. After all, the offense was launched from the midfield. Capello arranged for Wood to be responsible for the defense in this game, and the others to attack. As for the problem of the "three Germans", Capello did not use the 4-4-2 formation that England was most used to in this game, but changed to a 4-3-3 formation. George Wood stayed at the back to defend alone, with Gerrard and Lampard in front, in a position between the attacking midfielder and the shadow striker. This way, they could maximize their offensive capabilities, and at the same time, they would not be distracted by defense.
But the problem of the offensive core was still not solved. Gerrard and Lampard were both very strong offensive players, and they also played the important role of the offensive core in their respective clubs' teams. But who would be the core in England?
Although in the field of computers, a dual-core CPU was more powerful than a single-core, it was not so simple to understand on the football field. After all, people were not computers, and one more core could lead to mutual interference, and in the end, no one could play well. Like the current Brazil team, Dunga was having a headache on how to coexist with Kaka and Ronaldinho on the field.
If Gerrard was the core, then Lampard's play would be limited; if Lampard was the core, Gerrard would not be able to play to his best level.
England's 2: 0 victory over Andorra had nothing to do with the excellent play of Gerrard or Lampard. Both goals were scored from set pieces. George Wood's appearance only made England's defense more stable, and he did not directly contribute much to the offense.
After playing this game, the England players still had to stay in the national team to prepare for the qualifiers on September 11th. And Capello still had time to make adjustments to the team's lineup and tactics.
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There was no game for the First Team, so Twain had been in the reserve team during this time, supervising the training and games of the players who did not play for the national team — the reserve league.
Aaron Mitchell was training hard to adapt to the new position of center forward. Progress was very slow at first. After all, he had played as a center back for seven years. Some habits were not so easy to change. The difference between a center back and a striker was also very big. Changing positions was not as simple as changing the name. There was a lot of knowledge involved. Mitchell could only slowly explore and experience it on his own.
Şahin's improvement also made Tang En very pleased. With the help of psychologists and coaches, he was trying not to avoid physical confrontations on the field. At first, he was a little hesitant, but he was finally doing it. Tang En had already decided to let Şahin represent Forest in the EFL Cup next month. If Şahin could successfully return to the level he was at before his injury, the Turkish Football Federation should really send a banner to Tang En and Nottingham Forest.
After training ended, Tang En would sometimes meet up with Kerslake and Dunn at Burns' bar to have a drink together. Dunn, of course, only drank non-alcoholic beverages. He chatted with Fat John and Skinny Bill and then went home with Dunn.
Life was simple.
However, if he was not busy or drinking, Tang En would still feel a little lonely when he was not with his friends. The house was not small, and most of the time, no one was there. Every night before going to bed, he would pass by Shania's room to go to the toilet. Sometimes, he would suddenly stop and look inside.
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"Hey, Tony. Want to go for a drink tonight? "Kerslake called out to Tang En enthusiastically after training ended. Dunn also looked at him.
He did not expect Tang En to shake his head and refuse this time. "I have something to do, so I won't be going. You guys go by yourselves. "
Kerslake looked at Dunn and was about to speak when Dunn said, "If that's the case, I'll go straight home." He had no interest in the bar. In the past, he only went there because Tang En wanted to go and they could chat. Since Tang En did not want to go today, there was no need for him to go to a place he did not like.
Kerslake sighed helplessly. "Alright. If you guys aren't going, why would I go there alone? "
Tang En chuckled. "You'd better go home and accompany your wife, David! You already have a child, so don't go to the bar all day. "
Kerslake shrugged and walked away. Tang En looked at Dunn. "You go back too."
Dunn nodded. He did not ask what Tang En was going to do and turned to walk away.
What was Tang En going to do? Actually, he was still going to drink, but in a different environment. He did not want to go to Burns' bar today. There were too many acquaintances there, and there was always someone holding a glass of wine to talk to him. There was not a moment of free time.
Why did he suddenly decide to change to a different bar? Because he suddenly remembered that tomorrow was his birthday. It was Tony Twain's birthday.
It had been almost five years since he came to England, and he had never celebrated a birthday. The first year, it was because he did not remember when the owner of this body's birthday was. That year, the memory gap was a little serious, and he could not remember many things. Now, he remembered some of them, but he still could not remember others. However, those were very distant memories, and it was not a big deal not remembering them. In the last three years, he knew that Tony Twain's birthday was September 9th, but he did not have the leisure to celebrate it. On one hand, it was someone else's birthday. On the other hand, he was always very busy. By the time he remembered about birthdays, the time had often passed. Over time, he could not be bothered to think about boring things like birthdays.
Not everyone took birthdays very seriously. Tang En remembered that he was not a person who cared about such things in the past. When he had his parents at home, and when he was studying and working alone, he had never celebrated his birthday. He had few friends, and it was too silly to buy a cake and blow out the candles. It was enough to just remember the year, month, and day he was born. There was no need to do so many things.
Tang En reckoned that Dunn was like him, the kind of person who did not care about celebrating birthdays. Ever since Dunn came to Nottingham, Tang En had not seen him celebrate his birthday even once. Incidentally, Dunn's birthday was August 8th, which had already passed. It happened to be the opening of the Olympic Games. At that time, Tang En had even joked that his birthday party was even directed by Zhang Yimou. Dunn had no reaction to it, which made Tang En feel like he had told another cold joke.
But this year, Tang En, who did not care about his birthday, thought of this birthday thing.
Because he suddenly remembered that after tomorrow, his body would be 40 years old.
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Forty years old!
This was a very scary age.
When Tang En sat in a bar in the downtown area of Nottingham that he had never been to before and poured himself a drink, he was still thinking about this problem.
In the past, he had never cared about his age. It could even be said that he had always felt that after he transmigrated, his age should start from 26 years old. In that case, he was only 31 years old this year. In China, there were many youths of this age who were not even married.
However, reality was cruel. He could feel that his body was slowly aging. This was a natural law that could not be stopped, nor could he turn a blind eye to. Although in the football world, the media and others still called him "Young Marshal" and said that he was "young and promising," football was a special world. Here, players in their thirties were called "veterans."
Forty years old was indeed old.
As the saying went in China, "Stand tall at 30, and be unperturbed at 40."
At 30, one should have a family and a career. Now that he was 40, he was still alone. From now on, he had to treat himself as a person who had lived for 40 years.
He felt that he should seriously consider the concept of "home."
A messy bachelor's room needed to be tidied up, and he could not always go to Burns' bar to eat fast food after work, and he could not play handguns and answer phone calls to accompany him for the rest of his life. Most importantly, he was not celibate, gay, or sexually apathetic. He had never been hurt by a woman when he was young, and he was not psychopathic. He was not a hardcore member of the "Go to Hell," and he did not hate society, women, or family. Then, his heart would always be lonely without a place to go, and he would feel uncomfortable in the dead of night.
Recently, when they drank together, Kerslake would always look at his watch when it was time and complain incessantly about being pestered by his wife if he returned home late. As he said, "Having a woman at home is troublesome. I can't even drink to my heart's content," he would obediently bid farewell to Tang En and rush home to accompany his wife.
Tang En asked Dunn. Did Kerslake want to stay for a few more drinks, or did he really want to go home to accompany his wife?
Dunn thought about it and shook his head, saying he did not know.
Without a family, he probably would not be able to understand what it was like.
Thinking of his family, Tang En felt even more troubled. He gulped down large mouthfuls of the golden alcohol.
That was because he realized that his circle of life was pitifully small. In the past, he did not think there was anything wrong with that. This was the life he wanted. Now, when he wanted to find a woman from his circle of life that he could live with, he could not find one. 99.9% of them were men.
In fact, Dunn was the same as him. However, Dunn was still young, just 27 years old. He had a long future ahead of him. He had plenty of time to plan his life and meet the person he liked. For the first time, Tang En felt that he was pressed for time. Ten years would pass in the blink of an eye. When that time came, he would be 50 years old, more than 50 years old. In the past, he had no concept of this age. Now that he thought about it, he felt a chill run down his spine.
How could a middle-aged man in his forties, with an eccentric personality and an unpleasant temper, have a woman he liked?
This was a very lively bar. The liveliness was not because there were many people chatting loudly, but because there was explosive music playing here. Young men and women were playing together wildly. This was not a traditional bar, but one that was younger and more fashionable. It was similar to the discotheques in the country.
Tang En had randomly found this place. He did not like this kind of noisy music. To him, this music was not as melodious as the singing from the stands of the City Ground. However, he could now reach a state where he could completely turn a deaf ear to the music and noise. He just sat alone in the corner, drinking one glass after another. But when something made him feel vexed and troubled, he would drink until he was drunk. Naturally, the vexed would be gone.
His appearance attracted the attention of a certain someone in another corner.
"Can I sit here?" A woman's voice rang out beside Tang En's ear.
Tang En looked up at the other party. A woman with brown hair and fair skin sat in front of him with a smile, holding a glass of wine. Her face could not be seen clearly because his eyes were hazy from drunkenness.
He was not unfamiliar with this kind of opening. He often encountered it on some occasions. The other party was definitely dressed very flirtatiously, wearing sexy clothes. They would sit down with a smile, and you would treat them to a glass of wine. Then, you would go and do whatever you needed to do.
Tang En was not in the mood to begin with. He did not come to this unfamiliar bar to satisfy his physiological needs. But when he saw the other party's brown hair, he hesitated and changed his mind.
"Aren't you already sitting here, Miss?"
The woman smiled.
"You're really beautiful, Miss." This was a hypocritical compliment, and also an instinctive conditioned reflex. Tang En would say this whenever he saw a woman take the initiative to strike up a conversation. Right now, he could not clearly see the other party's appearance. On one hand, he had drunk too much, and on the other hand, the lights were dim. The first thing he saw was a field of shining white — the other party was wearing so little clothes.
"What's the matter, beautiful Miss?"
"I'm curious about you. Can't I?" The woman smiled.
"That can be considered a reason." Tang En nodded, then narrowed his eyes and stared at the other party. "But do you know who I am?"
The woman looked around. Under the explosive music, the men and women were still partying.
"On a night like this, what does who you are have to do with the two of us?"
The two looked at each other and smiled. This was tacit understanding …
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The sound of a car engine turning off came from the street outside the house. After a while, the sound of a lock being unlocked rang out in the dark house. The door was pulled open, and the light from the street lamps outside shone in. Two elongated figures appeared at the door.
"This is my house. It's a little messy … But don't mind it, ha." Tang En was tongue-tied as he pointed inside the door to the woman he was hugging. "You have to know, a single middle-aged man is like this …"
Tang En shook off the leather shoes on his feet and began to feel around in the dark to turn on the lights.
Just as he turned on the lights, another familiar voice suddenly rang out behind him.
"Your night life sure is colorful, Uncle Tony."
Tang En turned around in surprise and found his little fairy standing on the stairs, coldly looking down at him, as well as the woman he had gotten to know in the bar, who was still in his arms.
The scene was extremely strange. Tang En thought he had drunk too much and was having auditory and visual hallucinations. He looked at Shania, then turned his head to look at the barmaid beside him, who was baffled by everything that had suddenly happened.
He felt that his brain, which had been numbed by alcohol, was somewhat inadequate.
"This … What's going on … Huh?" After a long while, he managed to say this.
"Looks like you're doing quite well on your own. I'm relieved. Goodbye, Uncle Tony. Also, it's just past midnight. Happy birthday. " Shania took out a backpack from the room and walked down. With a cold expression, she waved at the two and walked straight out the door. Soon, the sound of a car engine could be heard. Following that, a white Mercedes-Benz Jeep drove past Tang En's door.
"She, she is …" The woman pointed at Shania, who had walked away, a little surprised and puzzled.
The cold wind outside blew in, and a layer of sweat appeared on Tang En's forehead. He had already sobered up.
Shania had specially returned from abroad. But … Why did it turn out like this?
This time, the woman looked at Tang En with an even more surprised and puzzled gaze. Tang En realized that he was still hugging her and hurriedly let go. "Sorry, sorry … I don't know what happened either. But I can't tonight … "As he spoke, he took out a few bills from his wallet and handed it to her.
Seeing Tang En's action, the woman's expression turned cold. She stared at Tang En and said in a completely different tone from when they were chatting at the bar, "I think you're mistaken. I'm not a prostitute. Mr. Tony Tang En. "
With that, the woman also turned and left Tang En's house. Like Shania, she drove off.
At that moment, Dunn, who had heard the commotion next door, ran over. When he entered the house, he found only Tang En standing alone at the door in the empty house, as dumb as a pillar.
"What happened? Where's Shania? "
Tang En turned to look at him. "You know? You've seen her? "
"When I came back, I saw that your lights were on. Out of curiosity, I came over to take a look. I didn't expect Shania to be back. I wanted to call you and ask you to come back. But she said she wanted to give you a surprise, so she didn't let me call her … She came back specially to celebrate your birthday and said she wanted to give you a birthday present … By the way, where is she? "As he spoke, Dunn looked around for Shania's shadow.
"Stop looking. She's gone." Tang En sat on the sofa dejectedly. He covered his face with both hands and rubbed it hard. He wanted to make himself more awake.
"What happened?" Dunn also felt that the atmosphere was not right.
"I don't know." Tang En spread his hands. "Simply put, I ran out to drink and brought back a woman. Then I saw Shania. Then Shania left, and then that woman left when I was about to give her the money. "
Dunn looked at Tang En as if he was a Martian. "How much did you drink, Tony?"
"I don't know. I didn't count."
Dunn sighed and sat down beside Tang En. He muttered, "That's why I hate drinking."
The two men sat on the sofa in silence. The door was open and the wind outside blew in, making them feel a little cold.
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PS, the morning chapter has been updated. There's still another update at 6: 30 p.m. Thank you for everyone's support.
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