Nottingham Forest was going through a change that they had not encountered in a decade. It was said that the next person to leave the team was Ibišević. That was Flores' request. After all, Forest now had a more mature Mitchell. Ibišević's form would inevitably decline as he got older. They could make more money if they sold him now.
However, that had nothing to do with Tang En.
In the past, Tang En felt that being the manager of the national team had to be easier than being the manager of a club. However, when he sat in this position, he realized his mistake.
As he had just taken over the England team, he was not familiar with the players on the national team's waiting list. Therefore, he had to spend a lot of time doing homework — watching the players' match videos to familiarize himself with their strengths and weaknesses and establish their positions in his mind.
Although he would also play against the teams that these players were in when he was coaching Forest, studying them as an opponent was different from studying them as a subordinate. He still had to understand these players once again. This understanding was very detailed, even including what food each of them liked to eat.
Tang En's eyes could not take spending ten hours a day in front of the computer screen. When he was tired, he would call Shania. Shania would definitely accompany him no matter what time it was.
They seemed to have a lot to talk about when they were apart for a long time. Actually, they were all trivial things in life. For example, what did I eat this morning? The two of them could talk about it for a long time, and they could even laugh heartily for a while.
Chatting with Shania was also a way for Tang En to reduce his stress. Therefore, he never talked about work, even football.
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The days passed just like that. The new season of the English Premier League finally began.
As the defending champions, Nottingham Forest's home game against the newly promoted Charlton Athletic was set as the opening game and was broadcast to the world.
On the day before the game, Nottingham Forest's official website released the slogan for the new season:
New stadium, new season, new glory!
This was also Evan Doughty's wish. After Tony Twain left, the best way to make people forget this meritorious manager was to recreate a period of glory. It was just like how the best way to solve a broken relationship was not to drown one's sorrows in alcohol, but to quickly start a new one.
Evan hoped that Flores would be able to bring the team back into a period of passion. Flores was capable. He had once led Valencia to become one of the strongest teams in Spain. Evan had high hopes for him.
Ibišević had already left the team, and Aaron Mitchell had completely secured the position of the team's number one striker. However, he was not happy at the Forest team because his most trusted manager had left and a lot of things had happened to the team. If he had not been the most hardcore Forest fan since he was a child, it was hard to say if he would have followed the example of the players who had left and left the Forest team.
For this opening match, Twain would once again head to the venue to watch the match. Tang En had chosen to watch Nottingham Forest's matches twice in a row. Some in the media believed that this was a sign that Tang En would build a new national team with the Forest players as the core. Others felt that it was just because Tang En could not let go of the team he had coached for 11 years.
Perhaps only Tang En himself knew what he was thinking. He actually came to watch Nottingham Forest's matches twice in a week. This would definitely cause the other clubs to be unhappy and think that he was ignoring the other 19 clubs in the English Premier League. However, Tang En had always been a person who did things his own way. The Football Association also did not restrict him from watching the same team's matches consecutively.
"I won't deny that I plan to build a team with the Nottingham Forest players as the core. Des, "Tang En said to the assistant manager beside him as they headed to the stadium. He needed to let the assistant manager understand his thoughts so that they could work well together.
Walker did not say anything. He knew his partner's temper. The media's comments could not affect him at all. He only needed to worry about whether the Forest players could withstand the pressure.
When the two of them arrived at the Crimson Stadium, many people had already left the stands. The players from both teams were warming up in the stadium. They did not meet anyone on the way into the box, so naturally, they were not recognized by the fanatical fans.
Walker was still teasing Tang En. "Why aren't you wearing your sunglasses?"
Tang En glanced at him. "It's cloudy today."
Walker's mouth widened into a silent laugh.
The last time Tang En came here, the scene of him being booed by more than 50,000 fans was still fresh in his mind. It was not a pleasant experience. Returning after more than half a month, the place had already undergone earth-shattering changes.
Pepe had left, Şahin had left, Ibišević had left, and Martin O 'Neill had also left.
The Nottingham Forest team that was warming up in front of him gradually became unfamiliar. Very soon, it would have nothing to do with Tang En anymore.
Tang En and Walker sat down in their seats and quietly waited for the match to begin.
With five minutes to go before the match kicked off, the club's chairman, Evan Doughty, appeared on the podium. The live broadcast also cut the camera to him. When the fans saw him appear on the big screen in the stadium, they, who had been idling around, collectively booed.
Then, on the opposite side of the podium, a very eye-catching slogan appeared. On it was written in black paint:
FUCK_YOU，MR.Doughty！！！
That one sentence expressed the heartfelt thoughts of all the Forest fans.
Tang En could not help but laugh when he saw the slogan in the box. It looked like the fans already knew who was the cause of all this. He no longer had to take the blame for it.
The director in charge of the live broadcast of the match was a smart man. The 15 cameras in the stadium had captured every corner of the stadium. There were 15 surveillance screens in front of him. Camera number five had captured Evan Doughty. As the director, he was well aware of the recent events at Nottingham Forest, so he had specially broadcasted this scene.
The reaction of the fans in the stadium satisfied him. The first gimmick of the match had already been produced.
At that moment, Camera number 15 swept across the area of the box. The sharp-eyed director felt that something was not right.
He signaled for his men to cut back the scene they had just swept across. Then, he saw a familiar face on it.
He laughed. "Ah ha, I've caught you, baby. Give me a close-up! At least ten seconds! "
The person on the screen was Tony Twain.
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When Tony Twain and Des Walker appeared on the big screen in the stadium, the fans who were booing Evan Doughty in the stands were stunned for a moment before they stopped booing the club chairman and stood up in unison to applaud the man on the big screen.
Some people even whistled, but they were not booing him.
Tang En was talking to Walker on the screen and did not notice that the person on the big screen had changed to him. Instead, Walker, who was listening to him, saw it and hurriedly gestured to Tang En.
So, Tang En also raised his head to look at the big screen.
When he raised his head, the applause from the stadium did not stop. There were even loud cheers. Many fans whistled and waved the red scarves in their hands at him. There were also some people who opened their mouths and shouted something. However, it was scattered and could not be heard clearly in the noisy environment.
Walker smiled at the slightly stunned Tang En. "This is a completely different treatment from the last time, Tony. How do you feel? "
To be honest, Tang En was indeed shocked by the fans' actions. Although he had thought that after the truth was revealed, he would no longer receive the treatment of being booed by the fans, he did not expect to receive such a welcome.
After coming back to his senses, he was a little touched.
No matter which corner of the stadium the fans were in, they all stood up and turned to the VIP box on the left side of the podium. Then, they waved their scarves or anything else that could be waved in that direction.
These people's shouts became louder and louder, eventually converging into a torrent of sound that swept past the podium and rushed towards that VIP box.
Now, the sound could no longer be heard clearly by tilting one's ears. It clearly reached Tang En's ears. Even the thick double-layered soundproof glass was completely ineffective.
More than 50,000 fans in the stadium were all shouting one person's name.
"Tony! Tony! Tony!! "
This voice swept through the stadium, rampaging and wreaking havoc to its heart's content.
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"Push closer! Close-up! Close-up of the face! "The director in charge of broadcasting the match directed the camera. This was the best show before the match.
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In the magnified close-up of the face, people could clearly see that Tang En's eyes were moist as he stood up and looked at the stands.
He was originally seated, but when the fans' shouts became louder and louder, he could no longer sit calmly, so he stood up.
Standing in the VIP box, leaning against the huge glass wall, he looked down at the fans who were fanning a storm.
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In the stands, Skinny Bill kept whistling and clapping. After clapping a few times, he waved the scarf in his hand and rushed towards that VIP box. Behind him, many people were like him.
These people had once scolded and booed Tang En in the same place. Now, they were giving their heartfelt applause and cheers to the same person.
"Tony!!" Bill roared until his voice was hoarse, as if his vocal cords would break.
John watched from the side and did not applaud, because he was holding a banner with his companions, facing the VIP box.
That banner was no stranger to Tang En. When he led the team here half a month ago, the banner was here, saying:
Welcome home, Tony!
The tsunami-like cheers lasted for a whole minute, and there were still no signs of it stopping. The ten-second close-up became a minute, then two minutes …
The commentator and commentator who were doing the pre-match analysis looked at the scene and sighed, "This is really the treatment of a king …"
"Maybe the English Football Association should consider changing the England team's home from the new Wembley Stadium to the Crimson Stadium. Here, Tony Twain's team will definitely receive the most enthusiastic and unconditional support. "
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Both teams had finished their preparations in the locker room, and the players were appearing in the tunnel one after another, lined up and waiting to go out.
Then they heard a burst of enthusiastic cheers and applause, which sounded without warning. Especially since the sound was immediately followed by the boos, everyone did not understand what was happening outside.
"What's going on?"
"I don't know …"
Just when the group of people were confused about this, Flores walked out of the training ground accompanied by Kerslake.
The huge cheers from the scene hit him in the face, almost causing him to tumble.
His first reaction was: These are cheers and applause for me!
Therefore, he held his head high, intending to accept this big welcome gift.
He did not expect to see a close-up of Tony Twain on the big screen when he looked up. His expression became awkward, and he understood who this formation was to welcome …
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The louder the fans cheered, the uglier Evan Doughty's face became on the podium. In his view, the fans' move was undoubtedly a slap to his face in the name of welcoming Twain.
And what made him even angrier was that he could not fight back …
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"I got it!" Bale suddenly snapped his fingers.
All the Forest players looked at him.
Bale did not directly announce the answer, but deliberately asked in a mystifying manner, "Who can be so popular here? Who can make the fans outside cheer from the bottom of their hearts for two minutes here? Who is qualified to enjoy this kind of treatment? Who is it! "
When Bale asked the first rhetorical question, the players guessed who he was talking about. Because in the whole of Nottingham, there would not be a second person who matched all the above characteristics.
Therefore, before Bale's voice died away, everyone shouted, "Boss!!"
“YES！”
The Forest players' sudden shout shocked the Charlton players next to them. They leaned on the other side and curiously watched their opponents' strange behavior. They must be unable to understand the feelings that the senior Nottingham Forest players had for Tony Twain, just like they could not understand the earth-shaking cheers outside.
George Wood was the last to come out. He had just walked here when he heard his teammates shouting, "Boss!!"
"What's going on?" Wood asked.
Bale pointed excitedly above and said to him, "The boss is back! He's up there! "
Wood glared at him and said, "What has it got to do with us? Our mission is to win this game. "
Bale shrugged and ignored the awkward man.
※ ※ ※
Twain stood in the VIP box. The fans were still shouting his name, waving towels at him, clapping, whistling, and expressing their love for Twain to their heart's content.
His emotions finally calmed down.
Although it was a freak combination of factors that led him to appear here, he had never thought that he would have anything to do with such a professional football club in the faraway United Kingdom. But now, Nottingham Forest had occupied a very important place in his life.
He thought that he would never be able to fall in love with a second team in his life.
There were his ideals here, but there was also the cruel reality. There were the years filled with passion, but there were also the painful memories filled with tears. There were the 11 years of his life.
When he brought back 12 championship trophies for the team and then resigned, he found that no amount of championship trophies could compare to the fans' heartfelt support, which gave him a greater sense of achievement.
It was because of these people in front of him that the championship trophy that he desperately "snatched" back had a shining meaning.
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The players came out, and the cheers continued.
Almost all the players who had played under Twain would turn their heads and look up when they ran out of the tunnel, looking for Tony Twain in the VIP box. After knowing the truth, the originally confused players regained their faith, which made them extremely happy — the person they admired the most had not betrayed them.
When Bale ran out, he turned in the direction of the VIP box and gave a military salute.
Walker knew what the gesture meant. He lamented at the side, "It's really painful to be your successor."
Twain still stood in front of the glass wall and replied, "After 11 years, if I can't even leave behind something like this, I'd be a failure."
"You said Doughty called you again and invited you back. Why did you refuse? "Walker could not help but ask when he saw Twain's reluctant look.
"Even though Evan is a bastard, he was right — it's time to start a new journey. Whether it's me or Nottingham Forest, it's the same, "Twain turned around and said to Walker.
The fans had already turned their attention to the players who came out, and every Forest player received a hero's cheer.
The big screen in the stadium changed to the names of the players who came out, and Twain finally withdrew from the people's sight.
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In this opening game, Nottingham Forest, who had the home advantage, was almost pulled down by the newly promoted Charlton Athletic. If they had not scored two goals in a row in the last five minutes, it was possible that they would have lost at home 0: 1.
Forest's players did not want to perform too badly in front of their boss, but instead carried the burden of thinking.
A narrow victory was not enough to satisfy the fans. Instead, it made them miss Tony Twain, who was sitting in the VIP box at the moment. In the last ten minutes of the game, the fans once again targeted Evan Doughty on the podium. They gave Evan the middle finger and mouthed "F * ck" to insult him. Then they chanted Tony Twain's name to embarrass Evan.
Even the news media and the match commentator did not pay much attention to the outcome of the game … Or rather, such an outcome and process had stimulated their interest in reporting on "Tony Twain's influence on this team."
For all the media present, they had personally witnessed the shocking scene before the start of the match and understood from one side what Tony Twain meant to Nottingham Forest.
Even though he was not the highest leader of the club, he was indeed the king here.
Because —
He was not here, but there was a legend about him here.
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