After tossing and turning for an entire night, Tang En kept thinking about that question — should he stay at Nottingham Forest?
What were the pros and cons of staying or not staying? What kind of impact would it have on his future? What kind of impact would it have on his social circle? Would he be able to guarantee success by going to a foreign city and starting all over again?
These questions circled around in his mind, making him feel distraught. His brain seemed to have become an old computer. When dealing with these complicated questions, it would always stop responding for a period of time after a creaking sound.
When the next morning arrived, Tang En still did not have a clear answer in his heart. He hated making detailed plans for the future, and was not good at predicting his own fate. He had tried his best to avoid such a multiple-choice question in the past 26 years. Now, he finally could not avoid it anymore.
Yesterday, he had been so impulsive that he had almost said "I've decided to leave the forest" to Evan. As the saying went, if you can't stay here, there will always be a place for you. But after a night, when the initial anger of being abandoned gradually subsided, Tang En began to hesitate.
If only someone could give him some advice and advice from an objective point of view, or even if they did not give any advice and only listened to his troubles. How good would that be?
Tang En climbed out of bed, intending to start a new day — even though he did not know what else was worth looking forward to in this new day.
Just as he finished washing up in the bathroom, he heard the phone he had left in his bedroom ring.
Could it be that another club had taken a liking to him and wanted him to coach the team? Puzzled, Tang En ran back to his bedroom to answer the unfamiliar call.
A female voice sounded. "Is this Mr. Tony Twain?"
"Ah, it's me. I'm Tang En. May I know who you are? "
"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Barbara Clough, Brian Clough's wife. "
"Oh!" Tang En immediately changed his tone, and even unconsciously straightened his body. "Mrs. Clough. Is there something you need from me? "
"Don't be so nervous, child." Mrs. Clough laughed on the other end of the phone. "Are you busy today?"
Tang En shook his head without hesitation. "Nothing, Madam. I've been very free all day. "
"That's great. Brian wants you to accompany him to the Coaching Association's reception. "
Although he did not understand why the old man would suddenly bring him to a cocktail party, they did not have any form of contact after that visit to Clough. But the experience that day had left a deep impression on Tang En. He knew that the old man would never do anything without a reason.
Tang En nodded quickly. "It's my honor, Madam. Do you need me to pick up Mr. Clough at your house? "
"Oh no, you don't have to. Nigel will pick you up in his car, son. All you have to do is wait at home. They know where you live. I think they should be here soon. "
Just as Mrs. Clough finished speaking, Tang En heard the sound of a car horn from outside. He opened the bedroom curtains and saw a white Ford sedan parked on the curb below.
"Oh, my God! Look who's sitting in the car! "
"It's Brian Clough! How long has it been since we last saw him? "
"Hey, Clough, how are you?"
"I heard you've just recovered from a liver transplant operation. May I ask … can you open the car window and accept a short interview with us?"
The reporters who had been waiting near his house suddenly became excited when they saw the car appear, and the frequent flashing lights surrounded the white Ford car.
Tang En saw this scene from the bedroom on the second floor. He did not need Mrs. Clough to say anything to know who was sitting in the car.
"Yes, Madam. They're here."
"Mm. Go quickly, son. I wish you a good time. "
"Thank you, Madam. I wish you a good time too."
Tang En hung up, put on his coat and ran down. It would be a lie to say that he was not secretly delighted to be invited to a cocktail party by such a legendary figure. Tang En had to admit that he was like a happy child who was brought to the amusement park by his parents for a good result in a test. As for his future, he had already thrown it to the back of his mind.
Opening the door, Tang En calmed his excited heart down a little before striding towards the car.
The reporters saw that Tang En had also come out and immediately pointed their cameras at him. Some even wanted to ask him questions. But Tang En did not give them the chance. He quickly got into the car and closed the door tightly.
The old man sitting next to him stretched out his hand and said, "I'm very happy to see that the neighborhood near your house will soon become the second Fleet Street." Fleet Street was synonymous with the British media because that small street in the center of London had once gathered all the British newspaper groups and television stations. Of course, with the relocation of many media outlets, the street was no longer as popular.
A middle-aged man sitting in the driver's seat laughed. Tang En could not see what the man looked like, but he knew that the man should be Clough's son, Nigel Clough.
Tang En was a little embarrassed. He stretched out his hand and shook hands with Clough. Then, Nigel, who was in front, also turned around and shook hands with him with a smile. "Nigel Clough, nice to meet you."
The reporters outside the car frantically pressed the shutter of their cameras and recorded the image of the three of them together. Although they did not know why Clough would come here to meet Tony Tang En, there was always a use for the photo.
Seeing the enthusiasm of the group of people outside, Brian Clough held Tang En's hand again and gestured for him to face the car window and smile. Tang En did not understand why he did it, but he did it. This indeed stimulated the media again. The flashes made Tang En a little dizzy, but when he wanted to frown again, the old man said to him, "Smile, son."
They held hands and smiled for a full minute for the reporters to take pictures. Then Tang En looked at Clough in confusion.
The old man pursed his lips. "In my time, the media was like this. You have to learn to use them. "Then he knocked on the back of the driver's seat." Let's go, Nigel. "
The reporters made way for the car. It was obvious that they were still quite afraid of Brian Clough, who was sitting in the car. Tang En looked at the reporters holding up their cameras in the car and repeatedly thought about Clough's last words to him.
The name League Managers Association, or LMA, was unfamiliar to Tang En. It was as if they were a new society that suddenly emerged from a dark corner. But in fact, it was an influential organization in the English football world. Established in the 1990s, it was the only official representative group of English professional football coaches.
The association was divided into two different bodies — the management body and the non-management body. The only difference between the two was whether they were in charge of specific management matters. Brian Clough was the deputy president of the non-management body. Like him, there was Sir Bobby Robson. The president of the non-management body was Kevin Keegan, who was even younger than them. The president of the management body in charge of specific management matters was Howard Wilkinson, and the executive chairman was John Barnwell. David Bassett, Sir Alex Ferguson, and David Platt were all members of the committee.
The members of the Managers Association were mainly the managers and assistant managers of the 92 professional clubs, as well as those who had been laid off for less than a year. From this point of view, Tang En could also be considered a member of the Managers Association.
The reception was not as simple as getting everyone together to drink and chat. Although the actual content was pretty much the same, there was still a reason for gathering everyone. First, it was to congratulate Sir Alex Ferguson for his recent Premier League Manager of the Decade award. Second, it was to congratulate the Everton manager, David Moyes, for being selected as the 2002-2003 England Manager of the Year by the Managers' Association.
Nigel sent his father and Tang En to the venue of the reception in Sheffield. He said that he would pick them up at two in the afternoon and drove away. Tang En was a little surprised.
"Mr. Nigel is not going with us?" On the way here, Tang En heard that Nigel was also a manager, but it was a part-time kind. At the same time, he was also a player of the team he coached. He had led the Burton Albion team to win the championship of the Southern Regional League in the 2001-02 season.
Clough shook his head. "He's just a part-time manager of an amateur team. He has no place in this kind of reception. And he has his own things to do. Let's go. "
The reception was held in the bar on the second floor of a small hotel. Tang En had just stepped through the door with Clough when his eyes blurred. He saw countless people who could only appear on the television screen with their heads raised, walking back and forth in the venue, chatting with each other. Just now, England's manager, the Swede Eriksson, walked past in front of him and walked toward the center of the room where the people were the most concentrated.
His gaze followed Eriksson's figure and found that the England manager's target was Ferguson, who was surrounded by the crowd!
These were all big-name managers!
But Tang En's heart did not beat too fast, his mouth was dry, and his hands and feet were weak. Because a real world-class manager was standing next to him.
A silver-haired, red-faced old man saw Tang En and Clough enter the door and came up to them.
"Bryan, how are you? I heard you had a liver transplant at the beginning of the year. " His voice was loud and his movements forceful, which did not match his age at all.
Clough shrugged slightly. "I think … God, that old guy doesn't really want me to go up yet."
The silver-haired old man laughed heartily and turned his gaze to Tang En, who was standing beside Clough. "Mr. Tony Tang, it's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you too, Sir Bobby Robson." Tang En extended his hand respectfully, expressing his respect for the famous English manager.
"I heard you've run into some trouble recently. Do you need help from the Coaching Association?"
Tang En did not know which "trouble" Robson was referring to. He deliberated for a moment and decided not to play riddles with the old manager. He pretended to understand when he did not. So he asked, "I'm sorry, Sir. But which trouble are you talking about? "
Robson laughed again. "I forgot that you have more than one trouble!"
A waiter carrying a tray of wine walked up and stood beside the three of them. Robson took a glass of red wine for himself and a glass of whiskey for Clough. Tang En hesitated for a moment before choosing whiskey as well.
With the wine glass in hand, Clough was much more spirited than when he first entered the door. He said to Robson, "I think we should suggest to the association to set up a Most Unlucky Manager of the Year Award. Then, you can personally present the first trophy to him." He pointed at Tony Tang En with the hand holding the wine glass.
This time, Tang En and Robson laughed together. During their first meeting, Tang En had already experienced the humorous style of the English old man. Now that he had become the target of his humor, he felt very happy. Why? Because it meant that Clough saw him as one of his own.
After laughing, Robson said to Tang En, "Stan Collymore is a good player, but not a good manager. I also don't understand why Forest's new chairman would choose him. "
"It's very simple. It's because that old guy Doughty's son is American." Clough shrugged and said disdainfully. "Bobby, do you expect that bunch of Americans to understand our sport?"
Although the topic they were talking about was related to him, Tang En seemed to only be a listener. He could not interrupt the conversation between the two big shots of the football world. He stood beside Clough, as if he was the boss's follower. If Clough wanted to take off his suit jacket, he would definitely ask Tang En to hold it for him.
He did not dislike holding clothes for the old manager or doing other things. But he resented the feeling of being excluded from the group. So, he decided to express his opinion. After all, they were talking about their own matters, weren't they?
"Uh, thank you, Sir Robson, for your concern. But I think, perhaps it's time for me to change places, "Tang En said, pretending to be relaxed.
Clough did not respond to Tang En's words. He placed the wine glass by his mouth, but his eyes were looking at the area in front of him where there were the most people. No one knew what he was thinking. Tang En also did not know. A brief awkward silence suddenly appeared between the three of them.
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