The Sun decided to expose the conflict between Twain and Wood in an attempt to gain the upper hand in the increasingly intense news war. The media at Stamford Bridge were more concerned about whether their Terry could retain the England national team captain's armband.
According to the usual practice, every new manager would announce the captain candidate when the team officially assembled after he came to power. Some managers would choose to retain the previous national team captain and vice-captain to ensure the stability of the team. But there were also many managers who would choose a new captain that they preferred or thought was more suitable.
For example, after Beckham stepped down, John Terry became the captain of the England team and Gerrard became the vice-captain.
The Liverpool media were also concerned about the issue of who would get the captain's armband. They hoped that Twain could make Gerrard the captain.
The local Nottingham Forest media were waving the flag for George Wood.
In fact, in terms of qualifications and influence, Wood was the least dominant candidate. Most neutral media thought that Terry and Gerrard should continue to be the team captain and vice-captain. After all, if Twain wanted his team to maintain stability, then the sensitive position of captain should not be changed.
In fact, Twain was indeed very cautious about the captain issue. Terry and Gerrard were both influential figures in English football. If he was not careful, it could cause a big mess.
He decided to have a good talk with both Terry and Gerrard.
Terry and Gerrard both expressed their desire to continue to be the team captain to Twain during the conversation. They thought it was a great honor to wear the national team captain's armband.
Twain could understand this idea, but he could not support it.
Because after he came to power, he wanted to completely rebuild the England national team, including the captain, could not be used anymore.
In other words, in the national team, it was "time for a change of dynasty."
Twain wanted to re-establish a kind of order, and changing the captain was the first step.
He told the two of his ideas and admitted that the two were a little old, and he needed someone who could be the team captain for a long time.
Terry and Gerrard both knew what the new manager was going to do.
Being removed from the captain's armband would definitely make them unhappy. But in England, the long-standing tradition was that the manager was the most powerful. No one dared to go against the manager, even in the national team. Instead, it was often seen that the players were closely united around the manager to go against the English Football Association.
If it had been any other country, Tang En's series of actions would have caused him to be repeatedly dismissed. He would not have been able to lead a team, let alone manage the national team.
Tang En hoped that Terry and Gerrard, as veteran national team players, would be able to set an example for the stability of the team.
At this point, what else could he do but accept? Quit the national team in a fit of anger? Although in terms of age, it would only be a few years before they left the national team, it was clear that neither of them wanted to leave in such a disgraceful way. Tony Twain did indeed have the ability to win the championship, and the England national team had not won anything for many years. They also hoped to be able to fulfill their long-cherished wish of following this manager who was fated to win the championship trophy.
Having won 12 championship trophies in 11 years, Tony Twain was indeed qualified to be dominant in front of them.
Therefore, both of them said that they would listen to the manager's arrangements.
Twain breathed a sigh of relief as the biggest obstacle was dealt with.
If it were not for the stability of the team, he would not have gone through so much trouble. He did not care how the media explained it to him. As long as the players understood him and knew what was going on, that was enough.
※ ※ ※
The afternoon training session was the first time that all of England's players were present. Before the training began, Tang En was going to announce the team's new captain and vice-captain.
Terry and Gerrard's expressions were a little abnormal. Their eyes flickered as if they were hiding from others. They already knew in advance that they would not be able to keep the captain's armband.
George Wood, who knew nothing about it, was summoned by the assistant manager after he finished his warm-up to wait for Tang En to come out for a lecture.
It was a sunny afternoon and Tang En came out wearing his Ray-Ban sunglasses.
"Good afternoon, lads. I hope you all had a good afternoon nap. Because the afternoon training was not easy. "Tang En raised his hand to greet everyone. Then he walked into the crowd and stood in the middle of the circle.
"As usual, we have to announce the new captain and vice-captain candidates for the national team."
The Chelsea players turned their heads to look at Terry, while the Liverpool players looked at Gerrard. The Forest players naturally all looked at Wood.
The players from the other clubs were not very interested in this. In any case, it would definitely not fall on them. Everyone tacitly agreed that these three were the most qualified to be the captain. Terry was England's old captain. He had been the captain for eight years since 2006. His results were known to everyone. Gerrard had also always been the vice-captain. He wore the captain's armband when Terry was absent. He was recognized as the England player with the most leadership qualities. The Liverpool media had always thought that he was more qualified to be the captain than Terry. George Wood was the captain of the most successful team in England in recent years. He was also recognized as the England player with the most manly temperament. He was the role model for all English professional players.
But George Wood's advantage was that he was younger. He was 28 years old this year, which was the golden age.
Tang En looked at everyone's reaction. It was all within his expectations. If he had not looked for Terry and Gerrard in the beginning, then he would have had to bear the risk after the announcement. Now that it was fine, he knew that the two of them supported him. He had nothing to fear.
"George Wood and John Terry will be the team's captain and vice-captain." Tang En threw out the candidates very simply but clearly.
There was a small commotion in the team. The Liverpool players were clearly disappointed. The Chelsea camp was also a little surprised because their captain had become the vice-captain.
It was the Nottingham Forest side that was the first to burst into applause to congratulate the new captain.
Then, regardless of what everyone was thinking at the moment, everyone applauded to congratulate George Wood and John Terry.
Gerrard was a little disappointed because he did not even manage to keep his vice-captain position. But who asked him to be the oldest among the three? He was already 34 years old, while Terry would only be 34 at the end of the year. It was always easier for a center back to play longer than a midfielder. Even if they could not run anymore, the manager still wanted to rely on the experience of an old center back. Look at how long Cannavaro had played in Italy? He was still playing for Italy in the World Cup in South Africa at the age of 37! And it was too difficult to find a veteran player over 35 years old in the midfield of every team.
Gerrard worked hard to maintain his form because he did not want to be pushed out of the national team too early. Because he knew that there was a large group of outstanding players chasing behind him, and George Wood was the best of them.
To be honest, Gerrard was not jealous of Wood getting the captain's armband. It was normal for the two men to develop a mutual appreciation for each other after years of confrontation in the Premier League. Moreover, Wood was really good.
The person who was surprised was Wood himself. There was a rare and obvious change of expression on his face. He widened his eyes and opened his mouth, looking at Tang En in disbelief.
Tang En looked at him with a smile. It was the first time in a long time that he saw Wood's true emotions show, even if it was just a surprise. He was very happy.
"George." He called Wood's name and motioned for him to come forward to accept the captain's armband.
Wood walked out of the crowd a little woodenly. He had not reacted yet. The Forest players clapped hard behind their backs and even whistled and cheered.
Tang En pulled Wood to his side and said to the players, "I have to explain to you why I chose George. In the summer transfer period that just passed, there were the most rumors about George Wood's transfer in the whole of England. The Forest team was in a quagmire. Their flag bearer was being seduced by countless powerhouses. But in the end, we saw that George chose to stay in the Forest team. He used his actions to prove that there is still 'loyalty' in today's football world. "
Tang En's tone was calm when he talked about the Nottingham Forest incident. It was as if he was talking about a team that had nothing to do with him.
"As a player who has been the captain of Nottingham Forest for seven years, I think he is fully capable and qualified to be the captain of England. I am very grateful for everything that John and Stephen have contributed and their understanding of this decision. "He then looked at Terry and Gerrard. So, the Chelsea and Liverpool players understood that Tang En had single-handedly dealt with them.
The two of them forced a smile on their faces. They were relieved of the captain's armband just like that. Who asked Wood to spend the most time with Tang En? Who asked Tang En to think highly of Wood? Everyone said that Tony Twain was George Wood's father. His own father became the national team manager. How could his son not receive some special treatment?
In fact, Tang En's action was equivalent to putting the pressure on Wood. Everyone knew about the close relationship between him and himself, even if there were rumors recently that the two had a conflict. He could not stop the outside world from speculating that Wood had become the captain of the Three Lions because of his special care for him.
However, Tang En believed in Wood's ability to withstand pressure. The pressure in Nottingham Forest was not much less than in England. Moreover, Wood was also known as "Saint George" by the English fans. These were all conditions that were beneficial for Wood to become the captain.
Tang En did not want to deny his intention to build a new England team with Wood as the core. Making George Wood the new captain was only the first step. He would gradually implement these plans in the upcoming matches. Those familiar faces from the past might slowly fade away. The time for a new generation of players had arrived.
He wanted to build an England team that completely belonged to him. He wanted to clean up the traces left behind by his predecessor. He wanted the team to completely listen to him and work for him. Only then would he have the confidence to win the UEFA European Championship.
After explaining the reason, Tang En personally put the captain's armband on Wood. He then patted his left arm that was wearing the armband.
"But let me remind you, George. This armband is not permanent. If your performance cannot meet my expectations and you cannot shoulder the responsibility of a captain, I will not hesitate to take this thing off. "He pointed to the armband.
Wood did not answer him.
"Let's start training!"
Tang En handed the stage to the assistant managers and the other coaches. He retreated to the sidelines.
Forest's teammates went up to congratulate Wood. Wood's response was very calm. Terry and Gerrard also went up to congratulate him. So, the others followed up to pat Wood's shoulder and head. The atmosphere seemed harmonious.
However, Tang En knew that this was a difficult challenge for both him and Wood.
Wood had benefited from Albertini's teachings and Tang En's high regard for him as the captain of the Forest team. Thus, step by step, the fact that Wood was the captain of the Forest team was established. After a long period of interaction with his teammates, they were also infected by Wood's style of silence but spoke with his actions. They sincerely accepted him as the captain.
The situation for the England team was different. As a national team, these people were put together at the last minute. It was impossible for them to work together and understand each other for a long time. In the past, the most common impression of Wood in the national team was that he was not very sociable and was a man of few words. Such a person became the captain of the national team. Moreover, he was forcefully pushed into the position by Tang En without any excessive foreshadowing. In the future, he needed to prove that he was worthy of being the captain with an even more outstanding performance than before.
However, it looked like Wood was not as happy as others thought he was. He kept a straight face as he accepted his teammates' congratulations.
He was also not in high spirits during the training afterward.
However, Tang En still noticed one thing. He always completed every training session with the utmost seriousness and effort. He did even better than he did in the Forest team in the past.
The corner of Tang En's mouth curled up.
※ ※ ※
After the afternoon training ended, Tang En stood in the crowd and analyzed the gains and shortcomings of the day's training. He praised some people and criticized others.
Then, the team was dismissed, but he asked Wood to stay behind alone.
This seemed to be a very normal move. The new manager and the new captain had to communicate so that they could manage the team well.
However, Wood himself was clear why Tang En asked him to stay behind alone. It was completely based on his intuition.
After everyone had left, the Kearney training base was enveloped in the twilight. The forest in the distance swayed gently in the breeze, sending a cool breeze over and lowering the high temperature of the day.
Everyone's mood also seemed to become better with this cool breeze.
The surroundings of the training ground were very quiet. Only the occasional chirping of birds could be heard from the forest in the distance.
Wood stood in the field while Tang En stood outside. The two were about 20 meters apart.
Tang En took a step forward, and Wood took a step back.
At first, Tang En thought it was a coincidence. So, he stopped for a moment and continued walking forward. One step, two steps, three steps.
Wood also quickly retreated. One step, two steps, three steps.
Tang En saw an inkling. He stood still and opened his hands, asking loudly, "Are we like repelling each other?"
Wood stood on the training ground in the twilight and did not make a sound.
Tang En took a few quick steps forward, and Wood took a few quick steps back. Tang En started running, and Wood turned to escape.
The two of them started chasing each other on the empty training ground. It looked like a life and death chase on the African plains. Logically speaking, the prey should be in front and the hunter behind. However, this scene looked like the prey was chasing the hunter no matter how one looked at it. The rabbit was panting from running, and the cheetah still had the leisure to look back to see how far the opponent was.
After running only half the field, the 46-year-old Tang En could no longer hold on and was defeated. He pressed his hands on his knees and bent over, panting heavily.
Seeing that he was no longer chasing, Wood stopped and looked over from afar.
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