George Wood had been running away. When he was at the club, he had good conditions — as long as he did not want to see Tang En, then Tang En could not see him. But now, he had nowhere to run. He was already in the national team. Tang En was his manager, and he was Tang En's player. How could he run? Just like today, he could only run in circles around the training ground that was one-to-one the size of the stadium.
This day still came.
"Run your grandpa!!" Tang En, who was so tired that he could not catch his breath, lay on his stomach and rested for a while. When he finally caught his breath, the first thing he said when he opened his mouth was vulgarities.
Wood did not understand this sentence, but he knew that every time this happened, Tang En would definitely speak in Chinese. He took two steps forward and asked, "What did you say?"
"Ah ha, you're finally willing to talk to me. Scolding you … But don't worry, it has nothing to do with your mother. It has something to do with your grandpa. Hey, have you seen your grandpa? "Tang En responded, panting heavily.
"I don't know who my grandpa is."
"Well, don't care about your damn grandpa. Let me ask you, why did you run just now? "
Tang En's hands left his knees. His back was still a little hunched. He was still tired. Racing with George Wood, he must have been out of his mind to come up with this idea.
Wood's lips squirmed a few times before he said, "I don't know …"
"You don't know why you ran!" Tang En heard this answer and could not help but feel angry. "I'm dead tired … Let me tell you, George. If my heart stops, you'll have to take full responsibility! " Although he was very angry, Tang En was still secretly laughing. At least Wood had unknowingly started a conversation with him. Tang En was quite confident in his eloquence. As long as Wood was willing to talk to him, any problem would not be a problem.
Wood took two more steps forward. The distance was too far for him to hear clearly what Tang En was saying.
Tang En still felt tired. He had not exercised so vigorously like just now for a long time. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest, making him feel tired. He simply lay down and did not look at Wood. "I'm England's manager, and you're England's captain. We need to work together. Don't act like you've seen your father's murderer, okay?"
He did not expect Wood's answer to make Tang En almost vomit blood. "Father's murderer? If someone can really kill him, I'll be very happy. "
"You …" Tang En knew he had used the wrong analogy. "Alright, stop bickering with me, George. I'll apologize to you, I'll apologize to you, alright? "
"Why are you apologizing to me?"
Tang En suddenly flipped over and sat up, raising his head to look at Wood, who was standing in front of him. "Do you really want me to say it?" He said through gritted teeth.
Wood did not answer. He just looked at him quietly.
Tang En gave in after being stared at for a while. He lowered his head and muttered, "I'm sorry to leave without saying goodbye, George. I... uh, I don't know what to say to you. But I hope you believe that I was forced to leave you. "
"I've coached the Forest team for eleven years. If I could, I'd like to keep coaching there and even watch you retire. Listen to me, you can play until you are at least 40 years old. You still have 12 years left. But that's the reality — it's getting more and more impossible to coach a team for more than 20 years. Today's Premier League is different from the past. The manager's power is gradually weakening. I miss the English football scene of the last century. Ha, why am I telling you this? "Tang En laughed." Anyway, you just need to know that I'm sorry. "He raised his head to look at Wood.
Wood, who had been silent all this while, suddenly asked a question, "Will you go back to the Forest team?"
"I won't go back for at least two years," Tang En answered frankly.
"Then what do we do?" Wood continued to ask.
Tang En smiled bitterly. This question was really childish.
"You're not children, George. You have the freedom to choose which path to take. Why are you asking me? "
Wood felt that Tang En's words made sense, but he did not want to admit it.
"Will you leave the Forest team, George?" Tang En asked.
In fact, his heart had always been conflicted. He hoped that Evan and Allan would be taught a lesson. At the same time, he did not want the team to really fall apart.
"I won't," Wood answered.
"Why?"
"I don't want to leave."
This answer was very idealistic. It was meaningless to pursue the reason. Tang En only smiled. "Let me say something a little selfish, George. I don't want the club's matters to affect your form. I don't want to see the you from the World Cup in Brazil again. "
"Without … without you, I'm a little not used to it …" Wood suddenly became embarrassed. He twisted his face and stuttered.
Tang En looked at Wood in the twilight. The expression on his face could no longer be seen. Only the outline was still very clear. The outline was so hard that it looked like it was made of steel.
"How's your mother, George?" Tang En suddenly changed the question.
Wood was stunned for a moment before he reacted.
"She's … okay," Wood said uncertainly. Tang En knew that Sophia's physical condition must be deteriorating. In fact, this mother's life force was already very tenacious. From the time he saw her 11 years ago, he thought she could leave Wood at any time. He did not expect her to persevere for so long.
"Say hello to her for me when you go home. I'm busier than before now that the league tournament has started. I'm running all over England. There's almost no chance for me to return to Nottingham. I'm sorry I can't go see her. "
"She knows you're busy."
How was this a normal conversation between a manager and a new captain? It was clearly two old friends chatting about family matters.
"How's the little monkey?"
"Very good."
"What about the others? I know my sudden departure must have had a bad impact on them … "
"After seeing your open letter, they're all very good."
Tang En smiled a little proudly. The players he had groomed were still on his side. Leaving behind so little in 11 years was not considered a failure.
"How's the new manager?"
"Not bad. A little like you. But … "Wood suddenly changed the topic." The results are good now. Everything is good. If … "
"We'll talk about the future in the future." Tang En interrupted his guess.
He stood up from the ground and patted his butt. After sitting for so long, his butt was wet. He had to return a pair of pants when he returned.
"I didn't ask for your opinion before appointing you as the captain. Do you have any thoughts?"
They finally got to the main topic. Tang En looked at the sky. It was time for the conversation to end.
Wood shook his head. "A little surprised. No other thoughts."
"Well …" Tang En muttered to himself for a moment. "But you have to be mentally prepared. After this result is announced to the public, it will definitely cause a lot of discussion. You'll be under a lot of pressure … "
"I know." Wood's answer was simple, but Tang En could hear the determination in it.
Tang En laughed. "Don't give them the chance. Also, you have to be a little more lively in the team. Don't be silent all day and be an invisible person. You could do that in the past, but not in the future. There's no invisible captain here. You have to let everyone know of your existence. The better you perform, the more I can do what I want to do. "
Wood nodded.
"Alright, hurry to the locker room to take a shower and change your clothes. The night wind here is a little cold. "Tang En walked up and patted Wood's shoulder. This time, Wood did not turn and run away.
Wood obediently left.
Tang En continued to stand in the training ground under the twilight.
It looked like the misunderstanding between him and Wood had disappeared. The biggest stone in his heart had been safely lifted. As long as Wood was still on his side, he had nothing to worry about.
The next day, he brought the new captain to meet with the media. As for what the talkative media wanted to say, he did not care.
※ ※ ※
In fact, the media already knew about the change of ownership of the national team captain's armband.
What did the English media do? They had eyes and ears everywhere. They were lying in wait near the national team's training base to find out new news at any time. The emergence of a new national team captain was not small news. How could they not know?
The Liverpool media complained about Gerrard's injustice. The columnist for the Liverpool Echo, Chris Bascombe, was the first to open fire.
"… I can't understand what judgment Mr. Tony Twain made to make such a decision. Stephen's influence in the England national team cannot be ignored. As the spiritual leader of the Reds, he should continue to be the captain of the new national team. But what are we looking at? The spiritual leader of the Reds did not even become the vice-captain! Is Tony Twain provoking Liverpool? … I don't know why Stephen accepted such an arrangement. If I were him, I would directly quit the national team to protest! "
The media supporting Chelsea were also a little jealous because their Terry had been changed from the captain to the vice-captain. But this was far less than the anger of the Liverpool people.
That night, Liverpool's local television and radio stations launched a big discussion about England's new captain. For them, Liverpool had not won glory for many years, and Gerrard was the only flag they could be proud of. Now this flag flying high above England had been pulled out by Twain. Thinking about how many painful memories Twain had brought them during the club era … it was simply a combination of old and new hatred, and they could not live under the same sky!
"Gerrard is the spiritual symbol of English football! He should have his own place in the national team! "
"I don't hate George Wood, but compared to Gerrard, he's still a little inexperienced!"
"Tony Twain is nepotism. I'm not optimistic about the future of this national team!"
"His brain must have been fried to make such a decision!"
…
For a while, listeners called the radio station to express their views.
The guests on the television program also supported Gerrard as the captain and opposed Twain's "Nottingham Forest" of the England national team.
The Liverpool fans even planned to shout slogans and erect banners in the stands during the first England game to attack Twain. They called it a "war to defend Gerrard."
Unlike the bitterness at Stamford Bridge and the anger of Liverpool, there was a cheer at Nottingham. The Nottingham Forest fans called the local radio station's hotline to congratulate George Wood on becoming the new captain of the national team.
There were even fans who said, "I knew Tony would favor us more! Who asked him to walk out from here? " They did not seem to be worried that Twain would be pushed to the forefront of the media, because they had seen such things happen many times. If he could not even settle the new captain, Tony would not be Tony.
"George should be the captain. He has been the captain of the Forest team for eight years. The results of the Forest team in these eight years are obvious to all! As the captain of the most successful team in English football in recent years, it would be a big joke if he is not qualified to be the captain of the national team! "
"Don't care what the Liverpool people say. Gerrard is good, but he's too old. Can he maintain his form until the UEFA European Championship? He'll be 36 in two years! "
"George only became the captain at 28 years old. I already think it's too late!"
"In the later years of Capello's era, George Wood was already the main core of the team. It's only natural for him to be the captain."
George Wood's personal website had also become a battlefield. The Liverpool fans ran up to scold him and Tony, while the Nottingham Forest fans went up to defend their captain. The two sides launched a fierce battle on the website's message forum, which eventually ended with the website's server going down.
In just one night, the replacement of the new captain had caused an uproar in England. By tomorrow, when most of the newspapers had published it, no one knew what kind of storm would be formed …
Billy Woox gave Wood a call and briefly told him what was going on outside, asking him to prepare in advance.
※ ※ ※
At the start of the next day's training, Twain found that the number of reporters gathered outside was about twice as many as the day before. He rolled his eyes and immediately knew the reason.
"It's like a school of sharks behind a slave ship. The slightest smell of blood can attract a frenzied scramble." Twain gave the reporters the most vivid evaluation. "Maybe we don't need to officially announce the change of the captain. They all know."
Indeed. While everyone was eating breakfast, the news of George Wood becoming England's new captain had already been published prominently in the various freshly printed newspapers. Criticism and doubts against Twain had already appeared in the Liverpool media. The Liverpool media believed that Twain was obviously "nepotism" and a symbol of injustice. This kind of behavior must be corrected.
There were even people like Beesley who suggested that Gerrard quit the national team in protest.
Seeing Twain come out, many reporters rushed forward, wanting to ask questions about the selection of the captain.
Without waiting for them to speak, Twain shouted, "There's a routine press conference in the afternoon. If you have any questions, ask them then. It's training time now. Excuse me, everyone, please leave! "
The security guards heard his shout and tacitly came forward to drive the reporters away.
"Just one question, Mr. Twain!"
"Not even half a question!"
"About the selection of the captain …"
"Ask again in the afternoon."
"Do you admit that you're nepotistic …"
"You only have 15 minutes of free filming time. If you plan to waste your time bickering with me, I don't have any objections. But don't say that I'm obstructing the freedom of the press. "
It was noisy outside the field. The attention of the players who were warming up on the field was also attracted.
"What are they arguing about?"
"What else can they be arguing about? The new captain … "Someone glanced at Wood and Gerrard when he said this.
Wood was doing his warm-up seriously and completely did not notice what was happening outside the field. Of course, there were also people who suspected that Wood had seen it but deliberately pretended not to.
Gerrard only glanced over there and retracted his gaze to focus on his warm-up. He had always had the image of an honest man. Unexpectedly, at the age of 34, he had become the main character in the national team's storm …
During the training break, Twain found Gerrard, hoping that he would attend the afternoon press conference with him. Originally, he had planned to bring the new captain to attend and introduce the captain to the media. But now it seemed that there was no need.
Obviously, this was to deal with the reporters. Gerrard nodded and agreed. He was not the kind of player who liked to go against the manager. If the team needed him, he would contribute.
"Have you seen those reports?" Twain asked.
Gerrard shook his head. "Not yet, boss."
"Well … You can take some time to look at them in the afternoon."
"I don't think it's necessary, boss. I know what they're talking about. "
"That's good … Go and train."
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