When Tony Twain and Carl Spicer's war of words was over, the national team's matches also came to an end for the time being. The players returned to their respective clubs and began to prepare for the league tournament and cup.
On September 15th, Nottingham Forest would travel to Manchester to challenge Manchester City.
On September 17th, they would return to their home ground to play the Champions League against the Scottish Premiership powerhouse Celtic.
The league match against Manchester City was very eye-catching because of the feud between the two teams over the past two years.
Bendtner was now Manchester City's main striker, an unshakable main player, and was doing very well in Manchester. Although the team's results did not improve, he personally benefited a lot from that transfer. The UAE boss could fire a manager, but he would not fire a striker who could score goals for no reason.
Ashley Young was also doing quite well in Manchester City. He was basically the main player on the flanks. Even though he left the Forest team, his assists every season were still among the best. He could be said to be a classic example of "gold shines everywhere." The Manchester media once mocked Tony Twain, "Selling such a good player just like that, does he really think he's the king of Nottingham Forest? He's delusional! "
The good performance of these players was in stark contrast to the decline of Nottingham Forest's results in the past two seasons. During the season when Tony Twain was recuperating for half a year due to a heart attack, the media expressed their joy for Bendtner and Ashley Young who "escaped" Nottingham Forest's hell in time.
But the tables had turned. After those two seasons, Nottingham Forest returned to the ranks of contending for the title. This time against Manchester City, even if it was an away game, Tony Twain did not want to lose.
Before the game, the personal feud between him and Bendtner was once again brought up on the table. Twain felt that these media were very boring. What was the point of talking about these old and rotten matters again and again?
Bendtner said in a pre-game interview, "I get excited every time I play against a team wearing red."
Some people analyzed that he was trying to please the Manchester City fans because Manchester United was wearing red. But in reality, more people believed that he was indirectly scolding Nottingham Forest. After all, he had already secured his position as the main striker in Manchester City. He had only wanted to please the fans when he had just joined. Why would he need to show his loyalty now?
Twain's response to this was silence. He felt that it was not worthwhile to waste his breath on a traitor who had left. That would be too embarrassing. It was better to use the results of the match as a weapon to retaliate.
It was his general, Gareth Bale, who jumped out unhappily to hit back at Bendtner, "He should think clearly about where he would be if there was no Nottingham Forest. Maybe he'll play as a substitute at Arsenal, and then keep clamoring about transferring if he doesn't get a chance to play. "
This sarcasm was really deep and very much like Tony Twain's style. Having been with Twain for so many years, Bale's glib tongue had grown. He was no longer the young boy who would get nervous when he followed Ashley Young to a brothel in the Netherlands.
George Wood did not participate in the argument between the two teams. He was busy negotiating a new contract with the club.
After the incident with AC Milan, Tony Twain realized that he had to negotiate a new contract with Wood to give the team and the fans a sense of confidence at this time.
So, he threw Billy Woox, whom he did not want to face the most, to Allan Adams and let the two foxes discuss the renewal of the contract.
It was said that if the new contract was successfully signed, George Wood would play for Nottingham Forest until 2015. He would be 29 years old by then, and it would only be another new contract for him to retire from the Forest team.
This contract would also greatly improve George Wood's treatment in the team, solidifying his current position as the highest paid player in the team. This time, whether it was Allan Adams or Tony Twain, they did not intend to be stingy with their salaries. No matter what, George Wood was also a main player who finished fourth in the World Cup. After the World Cup, his reputation was no longer the same as before. If they did not put in a lot of money, how could they make Wood stay here wholeheartedly? How could they show the extraordinary and unique value of this captain?
There was insider news that he would receive a hefty contract with a weekly salary of 130,000 pounds, which could be compared to Manchester United's Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, and other world-class star players.
And his original goal of entering professional football had been achieved — a weekly salary of 120,000 pounds, and his current contract was 10,000 more than his ideal.
No one in the Nottingham Forest team objected to George Wood's contract. Everyone knew what Wood meant to this team. As the team's captain, midfield core, and flag bearer, he deserved to receive a contract that far exceeded the salary of the rest of the team.
And everyone else knew in their hearts. If they wanted to follow George Wood's standard of signing a contract of this standard, maybe the boss would put them up for sale after serious consideration …
George Wood's contract renewal negotiations had been in full swing since the AC Milan incident. The two foxes, Allan Adams and Billy Woox, haggled for several rounds before finally finalizing the last word and punctuation on the contract.
Then, two days before the game against Manchester City, Nottingham Forest officially announced:
Nottingham Forest's captain, George Wood, had proudly signed his name on a new five-year contract this morning after clearing up the rumors that he had an affair with AC Milan. He would continue to play for Nottingham Forest until June 30, 2015.
Then, Wood and Tony Twain attended the press conference for the contract renewal together.
At the conference, Wood very solemnly and seriously expressed his loyalty to all the Nottingham Forest fans, "I will play for Nottingham Forest until I retire, even if they are unfortunately relegated."
Twain patted him lightly from the side, "Don't say such inauspicious words, George. How can Forest be relegated? "
The two men's intimate actions caused the reporters present to laugh. This performance also completely shattered any rumors that Wood and Twain had a conflict.
Afterwards, Pierce Brosnan wrote in his commentary on the contract renewal, "After half a month of waiting, all the Nottingham Forest fans can finally breathe a sigh of relief and get a good night's sleep — they don't have to worry about waking up to read the newspaper only to find that their captain has gone to distant Italy. George Wood has promised that he will play here until he retires, and he has expressed his love for this team. The story of the summer has become a farce, and we have reason to look forward to the day when George Wood will gloriously retire from the Forest team! "
Twain's choice to announce the success of the club and Wood's contract renewal before the Manchester City game was also after careful consideration.
He wanted to send such a signal to all opponents, including, of course, Manchester City — Nottingham Forest was still internally united, and the enemies should not think of taking the opportunity to cause trouble. A flag player renewing his contract with the team until 2015 could also greatly boost the team's morale and confidence. No one would be harassed by reporters who liked to gossip during training. Everyone's mind was only thinking about how to win the game.
Of course, Twain did not forget to continue to launch the psychological attack he was best at — not against the small Bendtner, but against the team's manager, Kevin Keegan:
"I really, really sympathize with him. I used to think that being the manager of the English football team was the hardest. Now I realize my mistake — in fact, the Manchester City manager is the hardest! Look at his predecessor, Mark Hughes, what was the first thing he said after class? 'I can finally have a good sleep!'! Too pitiful … He can't even sleep well as the manager of Manchester City. In fact, Kevin had long wanted to leave that place, hadn't he? He's in a tug-of-war with Manchester City now, and the rope being pulled is the Manchester City team … Ah, who's the most pitiful person? I bet it's not Kevin Keegan. Who should I sympathize with? "
Manchester City's results last season were poor, and at the beginning of the new season, they suffered a crushing defeat in the Toto Cup and lost the qualification to play in European competitions this season. Coming up empty-handed was simply unforgivable for the Manchester City boss, who had invested at least 300 million in the transfer market in two years.
Such a result, if it were any other team, the club would not hesitate to fire the manager. Or some managers themselves could not bear the tremendous pressure and took the initiative to resign.
But in Manchester City, the situation was very special.
Keegan's stubborn refusal to resign had a lot to do with the contract he signed with Manchester City. After Mark Hughes left, Kevin Keegan returned to Manchester City in a high-profile manner. The club valued his reputation and coaching ability in English football and gave him a valuable contract — an annual salary of 3.8 million pounds! He was almost on an equal footing with the two legendary Premier League managers, Ferguson and Wenger.
The contract was signed for four years, and only one year had passed now. If the club had to fire Keegan … Very well, the remaining three years' salary of 11.4 million pounds would be compensated first.
Anyway, Keegan had a good temper and mentality. He would not suddenly have a heart attack and faint on the sidelines of the field like some idiot because of the pressure …
So he took it for granted to hang around in this position. When the Manchester City club could grit their teeth and pay the salary of more than 10 million pounds in one go, he would leave immediately.
How could others not know the calculation in Keegan's mind? But they were all insiders, and basically no one mentioned such hurtful words. As the saying goes, "Hit people but not their faces."
Tony Twain did not care. Once he opened his big mouth, everything that could and could not be said poured out like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube …
So Kevin Keegan's face immediately darkened when he heard what he said.
The manager's loyalty to a team would directly affect the team's fighting spirit and morale, as well as its performance. It was not that Tony Twain did not understand this, so he must have deliberately shouted this out.
Managers all knew not to think too highly of professional players. As a manager, if you wanted to manage these players in an adult way, you would be badly bruised and finally find that it was still best to use a paternalistic management method and discipline them as children.
The players often had a blind trust in the manager. They were willing to believe the various gestures and expressions that the manager made on a daily basis, and did not consider whether such statements and practices were reasonable.
Although Kevin Keegan's results were a mess, with his good-natured management style and popularity, he still had a high prestige within the team, despite his bad relationship with the top management. A group of players, big and small, listened to him. Every time the media came out that the club's top management was dissatisfied with Kevin Keegan's results, there would even be players who would come forward to defend their manager, saying that the club should give a good manager enough patience. Keegan had long proved his level in his previous coaching experiences. All he needed now was time. A club constantly changing managers could not solve any problems …
Winning over the locker room was the most effective way for Keegan to compete with the club's top management.
Now Twain's words were clearly intended to divide the cohesion between him and the players. This move could not be said not to be vicious …
To put it more viciously, it was not too much to scold Tony Twain as despicable and shameless.
As a peer, how could he ruin someone else's rice bowl?
But Twain did not think so. He and Keegan were neither relatives nor friends. What did Keegan's life or death have to do with him? What was the point of exposing other people's scars for my victory? He had no psychological burden at all.
As soon as this remark was made, it set off a wave in the media. Kevin Keegan had to come out and refute the rumors, saying that he stayed at the club and it had nothing to do with his salary. It was just because he loved Manchester City and wanted to lead the team out of trouble …
A reporter asked insensibly, "If the results continue to decline, will you consider resigning?"
Keegan frowned and considered for a moment before avoiding the topic. "I never consider things that haven't happened yet. I believe in the future of the team. Things are not that bad yet. "
In the end, he did not say that he would resign.
Twain's words put Keegan in a difficult position, and Kevin Keegan was furious. Carl Spicer joked on the show, "I dare to make a bet with Tony Twain this time — if Keegan appeared in front of him now, he would beat him up!"
Very soon, they met.
※ ※ ※
In the fourth round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest challenged Manchester City in an away game. Kevin Keegan did not have to beat Twain in private. He now had a chance to beat Twain up in the open. In an interview before the game, he even lost his composure and repeatedly emphasized such a sentence, "We will win! Definitely! "
Twain's response to this was very calm. He only said one sentence, "He's crazy."
What was the result of the game?
Kevin Keegan, who was badly battered by Twain's psychological warfare, had no time to study how to deal with the Forest team's tactics. At the same time, the impact of Twain's words on the Manchester City team was like throwing a stone into an originally calm lake — perhaps not big enough, but the ripples and changes had occurred and were gradually spreading.
The team had doubts about their manager, and their performance in the game showed that they were not focused enough.
Tony Twain's team seized the opportunity and launched a fierce chase against Manchester City in the away game. Bendtner tried hard to rely on his own goals to change the result in the game, but under the Forest team's divided defense, he looked isolated and selfish — as long as the ball was at his feet, he rarely passed it out.
Twain took advantage of Bendtner's eagerness for revenge to strip him out of the entire Manchester City offensive system. Bendtner, who was mentally unbalanced and overly impatient, was not enough for the Forest team's rear defensive line.
As for Ashley Young? He was the unluckiest … He sprained his ankle on the last day of training before the game because he was too excited and did not even make the squad list for the game.
In the end, Nottingham Forest easily beat the chaotic Manchester City team by 2: 0 in the away game. Ibišević was not in the starting list for the game. After Twain confirmed that his form had returned, he gave the opportunity to other strikers who had sacrificed their starting positions for him in the previous games, such as van Nistelrooy.
Van Nistelrooy did not score in the game, but he assisted the team's second goal. With the increase of age and injuries, his goals were declining, but his versatility was indeed unmatched by any of the strikers in the Forest team. With him around, Nottingham Forest had many options after attacking to the 30-meter zone in the front field.
The two goals were scored by Şahin and Žigić, who replaced Eastwood in the second half. Twain used this aerial tyrant to blast open Richards' defense and smash the ball into the net in the air. The always strong Richards was also knocked to the side. This goal looked really powerful!
At the post-match press conference, a reporter asked about the war of words between the two managers before the game. Twain laughed so much that Kevin Keegan really wanted to do as Carl Spicer said, to pounce on the bastard and give him a punch.
He said, "I feel that I helped Keegan and Manchester City solve a common problem."
Two days later, the Manchester City club announced that it had terminated Kevin Keegan's work contract and paid Keegan 11.4 million pounds in a lump sum for three years' salary.
"We thank Kevin for his work for the team over the past season and wish him the best of luck." It was such a simple sentence to send Keegan off. After losing such a large sum of money, the Manchester City club did not want to show any "warmth" or "kindness" and drove Keegan out of the gates of the Manchester City Stadium as if he was a plague.
Tony Twain never lied. He did help Keegan and the Manchester City club solve a common problem.
Some busybodies counted that this was already the third manager to step down because of Tony Twain after the game against Nottingham Forest.
The first unlucky man was the Real Madrid manager, the Brazilian Luxemburg. He resigned the day after the game because he lost to the then unknown Nottingham Forest at the Bernabéu. The second unlucky man was the famous Mourinho. He resigned because he shook hands with Nottingham Forest in the away game, continued poor results, and had a conflict with the club's chairman, Abramovich. The third was today's Manchester City manager, Kevin Keegan.
But if you counted Collymore, who left the Forest team's technical area in disgrace because he wanted to give up his position to Twain, and McClaren, who was constantly cursed by Tony Twain that "being an assistant manager is more suitable than being a manager" from the moment he took office, there were as many as five …
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