When Twain learned that his opponent for the first game was Nottingham Forest, his heart was not calm. Similarly, the Nottingham Forest people also fell into some kind of entanglement knowing that they had to go against their former mentor.
Freddy Eastwood could still remember his reaction when he found out that the boss had quit. At that time, he was pouring coffee into his cup and reading the newspaper on the table. When he saw the headline, "Tony Twain and Nottingham Forest's 11-year relationship officially ends," he forgot what he was doing and could not wait to read the main text. He only reacted when the hot coffee overflowed from the cup and dripped down the table onto his trousers. He threw away the empty coffee pot and looked down at his wet trousers and the mess on the table. His mood was as messy as everything else.
He could not believe and could not accept such a fact. The man who once smiled and said to him, "You will become a legendary striker and I will become a legendary manager" had left the position he had held for 11 years.
Fortunately, he was no longer the person who needed the boss to help him overcome setbacks. He had his own will and he lived for himself, not for someone else.
He accepted the fact a little faster. It only took one day.
On the other hand, his former teammates were in a bad situation.
Gareth Bale heard the news while on vacation. As a result, the planned trip to Hawaii with his girlfriend made her complain incessantly, saying that he did not love her at all and was absent-minded when he went out to play with her. His girlfriend also questioned whether he loved Tony Twain or herself. In the end, his girlfriend broke up with Bale and flew back to England alone. Bale stayed in Hawaii for another day before returning home.
After the team started training, Bale's state was also worrying. He did not know what to do after he could not see the boss wearing sunglasses and pretending to be cool on the training ground. All this while, he had treated Tang En as his second father. Now that his father was gone, so was his backbone. He had no idea what to do next. His father, who was also his agent, asked him about his plans, but he just shook his head. In the last season, Twain presided over the renewal of new contracts for most of the team's main players, improving their treatment and renewing the length of the contract. Bale still had three years left on his contract with the club. Should he leave the team before his contract expires, or should he stay here?
It was already July when he decided to stay. He has feelings for the boss, but he also has feelings for Nottingham Forest. As a professional footballer, he had to understand one thing – he was playing for himself, not for a coach. Although it was a little heartless to say this, it was the truth.
Pepe's reaction was the strongest among the players. On the second day of Tang En's departure, he informed his agent, Mendes, after receiving the news. He told him clearly that if Tang En were to go to another club to coach, then he would follow him. Suddenly, he forgot about his hatred for Ribry. Perhaps he hated Ribéry not because he betrayed the team, but because he betrayed the boss.
Now that the boss had gone to coach the England national team, Pepe could not follow him. Deep down, he was extremely disappointed with the current Nottingham Forest. If there was a suitable opportunity, he would definitely choose to leave. Right now, he was also the player with the most "scandals". Many clubs were interested in recruiting this world-class center back. However, Martin O 'Neill did not want to let the Portugal international leave.
It was a good thing that Tang En did not leave quietly without even saying goodbye. All the Nottingham Forest players received a postcard from Tang En from Brazil. The postcard did not say why he chose not to renew the contract, nor did he ask the players to do anything. There were only greetings and apologies – sorry that he did not inform them at the first instance and let them be kept in the dark.
Tang En did not say that he had done so because he had some difficulties. He also could not ask everyone to forgive him and understand him. This was not something he could do. If any of the players still resented him after seeing the postcard, he could only throw up his hands. He was still like before, unwilling to let others easily walk into his inner world, unwilling to show the other side of himself other than being strong and confident. Even if he left, he also wanted to give others a free and easy view of his back.
After returning to the public eye, he never mentioned Nottingham Forest on any occasion. When a reporter asked questions about Nottingham Forest, he would choose to be silent or evade the topic. Some people thought this was indifference, so people like Bill were angry and full of resentment towards Tang En. But in reality, this was just a clumsy tactic of a man who did not know how to hide his feelings. He did not want the players to miss him because it would not be conducive to the new manager's work. Nottingham Forest should not become "Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest." Whether it was wishful thinking or not, he thought so when he had a heart attack. A mature team could only be called a "powerhouse" if they could maintain a high standard even after a change of manager, like Barcelona. If they only relied on themselves, Nottingham Forest would never be able to shake off the title of "nouveau riche."
He used silence to alienate Nottingham Forest, even though he often returned to the City Ground stadium in his dreams, back to the moment when tens of thousands of people chanted his name. But when he was sober, he was so cold that it was disgusting.
Not everyone could understand this man.
※ ※ ※
Des Walker suddenly thought of something interesting. "Tony, when you return to Nottingham Forest, do you know what you're going to do next? Have you thought about how you will be treated? "
Tang En pursed his lips. "I don't have time to think about that now."
He was not lying. Right now, he had to think about the 23 people he was about to face.
Arsenal's Colney training base was used as England's training base for a day. Tang En would meet his players for the first time here.
The New England players were changing into their training uniforms in the locker room. At the same time, they were also discussing what kind of person their new manager was.
Tony Twain's name list did not even have a single former Nottingham Forest player. It was a completely marginal name list. These people did not know more about Tang En than the tabloid reporters. So, there were many rumors about this manager with a personality.
"Hey, I heard Ashley Young say that Tony Twain is a person who will seek revenge for the smallest grievance. Maybe you don't know when you did something to offend him, but he will definitely find a chance to take revenge." The person who said this was Michael Johnson. He used to play for Manchester City, so he knew what Ashley Young thought of Tang En.
"Do I even need to hear about it? The whole of England knows what kind of manager he is. "
"To be honest, I used to hate him … I didn't expect to be his player now …"
"Ha, Joe. Anyway, it's just temporary. It's better than letting him be Chelsea's manager, right? "
"You guys think he's annoying? But I think he's great. A team like Nottingham Forest can win so many championships under his leadership … It can't be because of scolding people, right? "Since there were people who hated him, there were naturally people who liked him.
Tony Twain's contradictory side was clearly displayed even in the national team.
"I heard he will curse loudly in the locker room. Anyway, I don't like to be scolded. "
"Ferguson will too. I don't think the Manchester United people have anything against it." The person who spoke glanced at Fraizer Campbell.
Seeing that they were talking about Manchester United, Campbell had to come out and say a few words. "Although Sir Alex is a little hot-tempered, everyone thinks it's normal. He has so many honors, so what if he has a little temper? Anyway, I don't think there's anything wrong with it. As long as you don't make mistakes, he won't scold you. I don't know if Manager Twain is the same … It's a pity we don't have anyone from Forest here. "
"Ha, we're playing against them the day after tomorrow. How could they be here?"
"Don't make wild guesses, guys." Ashley Cole, who was the most senior here, coughed. "If we don't go out now, I guarantee that all of us will be scolded to the bone." He reminded everyone to pay attention to the time. If there were no accidents, he would wear the captain's armband in this exhibition game. He got into his role ahead of time.
Not a single person who heard this doubted it. Some of them shrunk their necks and began to change their clothes faster.
Ashley Cole was the first player to run out of the locker room and into the training ground. As he expected, he saw the entire coaching staff on the sidelines, which naturally included the legendary Tony Twain.
Wearing sunglasses, Twain stood out in the crowd on the green field under the bright sun. He could be seen at a glance.
When he saw Ashley Cole run out and look over, the corners of his mouth curled up. Ashley Cole wasn't sure if the man was smiling because he couldn't see the man's eyes.
"They must be in the locker room changing into their training clothes while discussing what kind of person their new manager is. Otherwise, it wouldn't take so long for the first person to come out. "Des Walker joked with Twain.
Twain raised his wrist to look at his watch.
This action made Ashley Cole rejoice. Fortunately, he came out first. If he was late, he believed this devil of a manager would not let them off easily.
In fact, he did not know when he would not be considered late if he came out. In the past, when the national team trained, the time was not fixed.
Twain kept looking at his watch. More and more players ran out of the locker room and set foot on the training ground. After seeing Twain's action, they all quickened their steps.
When the last player ran onto the training ground, Twain finally put his arm down. Then, he grinned at the players standing in front of him, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"That's great. You all just happened to appear before the time is up." He said this with a smile, but some people felt a chill down their spines. What would have happened if they had not arrived on time?
"Let me introduce myself. Tony Twain. Your manager for the next two years — if there are no accidents. "
Some of the players lowered their heads and laughed. They all knew what Twain meant by this. Poor results or running his mouth would cause him to be fired.
"I know you all talked about me in the locker room just now. I don't mind you all talking about what kind of person I am in private. I'm actually very easy to get along with, really. "At this point, Twain took off his sunglasses and gave everyone a smile that was brighter than the sun.
This time, no one laughed along with him. It looked like due to the excessive rumors outside, everyone was still a little wary of this manager.
However, Twain did not force these people to accept him. After all, they were all marginal figures. Whether they could become the pillars of the England team in the future still had to continue to be observed.
"No matter what you all think now, in short, I've already become your manager. The game the day after tomorrow is just an exhibition game for your opponents to celebrate the opening of their new stadium. But I want you all to be clear about one thing — to you, it's not an insignificant exhibition game. You all should know why I did not call up any of the national team's main players this time, right? " Twain stood in front of the players and began to demonstrate his glib tongue to these unfamiliar players for the first time.
"Let me tell you, you are the so-called marginal figures of the national team. Some of you are very capable, but you do not have the chance to go to the next level. How did it feel to watch England lose to Brazil at home? Have you ever thought that if you were there, you would have avoided the tragedy? Now the opportunity is here. I'm a new manager. I know nothing about the previous England, and I don't want to know anything. My eyes look forward. Otherwise, why don't they grow at the back of my head? The game the day after tomorrow is such an opportunity. If you perform well, there will be a place for you in my future England team. I don't mind building an England team without a big star player, as long as you really have the ability. You don't have to care about what the media says. Your job is very simple, and that is to play well in the game the day after tomorrow. "
Twain waved his hands. "Go and warm up. Don't get hurt."
After the players heard the manager's promise, some of them rekindled their hope and felt full of motivation. But more people were skeptical. Especially when Twain actually said, "I don't mind building an England team without a big star player." Such words were simply too hypocritical. Who had the ability to do that? That would be going against the whole of England. Not only the media, but the Football Association and fans would also not allow such willful behavior. So what if he was Tony Twain? The outcome of going against the whole world was bound to be tragic.
When they were running and warming up, a group of people gathered together and whispered, "Want to bet? I don't think Twain will last long. "
"Look at that big mouth of his. It would be strange if he could last long. I won't bet with you. "
"He's really arrogant … The rumors are right."
"Actually, I've always thought it was a miracle that Mr. Twain could survive in England … He's too unlike an Englishman."
"What's there to be surprised about? What era are we in?"
"Ahem, he's looking at us …"
※ ※ ※
Twain was observing the players. He knew that it would not be easy to completely conquer this team and become the master of England. He would first use a victory to lay the foundation.
Beside him, Walker said, "You really have the heart to do it?"
"What?"
"Nottingham Forest."
Twain turned his head to look at Walker.
"After all, you've been here for 11 years, right?" Walker continued to ask.
Twain shrugged. "It's very simple. I used to stand with them. Now, I'm standing opposite them. "
"I'm suddenly a little curious …" Walker looked at the players who were warming up and said, "Will you yell at them in the locker room before the game, telling them to go and tear those bastards from Nottingham Forest to pieces? You always call your opponents that. "
Twain's eyebrows twitched.
After a while, he murmured, "It's just a friendly match …"
After leaving Nottingham Forest for a month and 27 days, he was finally going back. But this time, he was going back as an opponent. How would the people there welcome him? In any case, they would not roll out the red carpet and shout "Long live His Majesty the King." He knew the team and the fans that he had brought up all too well.
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