The hottest month of the year, August, had passed. Entering September, the weather in Nottingham gradually became cooler. Sometimes, Tang En had to put on a jacket over his T-shirt when he woke up early in the morning.
Yang Yan ended her summer vacation and returned to Nottingham from China. During her two-month vacation, she first went to Italy with her friends. Then, after the SARS epidemic in China was alleviated and the travel ban was lifted, she returned to her hometown.
Unfortunately, Tang En could not go back even if he wanted to. He was leading the team to play in a competition.
After Yang Yan returned to Nottingham, she gave Tang En a call to say hello. She told him that she had returned from China to bring a gift from China to Manager Tang En, who loved Chinese culture. This should have been something that made Tang En very happy, and he expressed his gratitude to Yang Yan.
However, he was no longer looking forward to Yang Yan's appearance as much as before. He had not seen Yang Yan for more than two months. He had not heard her voice and had no thoughts of missing her at all. In the past, the biggest thing he looked forward to every week was leading the team to victory, and that was Yang Yan's Chinese lessons.
Later, when school reopened, Yang Yan took the initiative to reduce the twice-weekly Chinese lessons to once a week because she would be busier than before in the new semester. Moreover, she felt that Tang En's Chinese was already very high — "probably even higher than some Chinese people's standards." There was no need to waste any more time on it.
Tang En also did not have more time to spend on learning Chinese, because he did not need to learn it at all. Therefore, when Yang Yan made this request, he readily agreed. He even added that if it was not convenient for Yang Yan to come on that day, she could just give him a call to explain.
Because of the adjustment of the competition schedule, the sixth round of matches for most teams was postponed to the end of October, including Nottingham Forest. Collymore could finally breathe a sigh of relief. However, the media did not intend to let him go just like that. They kept a close eye on him every day, wanting to see what other excuses Mr. Collymore could find.
If he said that the team did not have a tacit understanding with each other, that would be great. Now that the team was given a two-week adjustment period, 12 days should be enough for him to break in with the team, right? No matter how stupid Gareth Taylor was, he should have some tacit understanding with the team, right? If you still can't win the competition, let's see what else you have to say.
Other than recharging his batteries every night and studying the notes that Tony Twain had left for him, Tang En spent his time at Burns' bar, chatting with everyone about the current situation in the football world and the difficulties that Forest had recently encountered. If someone wanted him to return to the City Ground, he would never refuse.
Ever since he found out that Twain often went to Burns' Forest Bar, Pierce Brosnan almost treated it as his second home.
Tang En did not wish for the media to be too close to him. He hated the media very much. So when he saw Bruce in the bar a few times, he tried to chase Bruce away.
"Hey, are you chasing me away again today?" Brosnan stood in front of Tang En's seat and looked at him with his hands in his pockets.
Tang En was eating when he saw Brosnan. He put his spoon aside. "Damn it, I've lost my appetite when I see your face. What are you doing here? You should be working overtime in the office making up those sensational stories... Where's Kenny? "He looked up and around.
"Stop looking. I'm a customer who paid to spend here. He has no right to chase me away, and the same goes for you." Brosnan took two glasses of beer from the messenger, one for himself and the other beside Tang En's plate. Then he pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Trying to bribe me with a glass of beer?" Before Tang En could finish his sentence, Brosnan pushed the beer in front of him over.
"If you want more, that's fine too."
Looking at Brosnan's smiling face, Tang En sighed. "Alright, if you want to look for me, go ahead. But I have to warn you: you're not a reporter here. No matter what we talk about, I don't want to see it in the papers. "Tang En used this to test Brosnan's motive in approaching him.
If he wanted to get any exclusive news out of him, then he would chase him away immediately.
Brosnan nodded. "Of course, I'm just an ordinary Forest fan after work."
"Very good, not bad." Tang En pushed the glass back to Brosnan. "I've thought of it, Mr. Brosnan. If one day I suddenly decide to write a biography, I'll definitely look for you. "
"If that day really comes, it'll be my honor." Brosnan smiled. "Also, can I ask you a question? Mr. Tang En. "
"Yes?"
"Are you ready to return to the City Ground stadium?" Brosnan raised his glass.
Their glasses clinked against each other.
"What do I need to prepare? I don't need to prepare anything. But now is not the time to go back. Not yet. "
That's right. Now was indeed not the best time for Tang En to return to the City Ground stadium. God did not seem to have abandoned Stan Collymore.
After a twelve-day break, Forest faced Sheffield United, who had eliminated them in the play-off round last season, at home in the seventh round of the league tournament. For the Forest fans, this was a very important game that they absolutely could not lose.
Collymore and the Forest players were clearly aware of the importance of this game to them. Therefore, it was only natural that they would win this game at home.
Gareth Taylor, whom Collymore had high hopes for, finally exploded. He scored two goals in the 30th and 56th minutes of the game, equalizing the score to 2: 1.
In the 71st minute, Andy Reid added the icing on the cake. In the end, Nottingham Forest won the game amidst the roars of the fans.
Collymore, who had won the game, was very pleased. During the interview, he kept mentioning Taylor's two goals — both were iconic headers.
Of course, it was not completely without problems. Although Rebrov contributed an assist, as the main striker, his goal tally had stagnated since the first round of the league tournament. No matter how many assists a striker had, what was the use if he could not score?
On the 17th of September, in the eighth round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest challenged Burnley in an away game. This time, they won more decisively, 3: 0.
David Johnson, Andy Reid, and Gareth Taylor each scored a goal. They won two games in a row, and Taylor scored two goals in a row. Collymore was so happy that he excitedly announced that the team would have a day off … Then, on the night of the game, he disappeared. The hotel room was empty. Who knew that he would find that beauty to spend the night with.
Two consecutive wins allowed Collymore to go out and spend the night with the beauty, which also relieved a lot of the pressure in his heart. As a manager, winning and losing were very normal … So, it was easy for him to forget the situation he was facing. Tang En's evaluation of Collymore was a classic example of "today we can drink, but tomorrow we can worry even more." He did not seem to plan for the team's future. When the pressure was reduced after winning, he would go and pick up girls. When they lost, he would blame this and that.
He thought that Evan Doughty did not seem like a fool. Even Americans who did not understand football should be very clear about what a manager of this level could bring to the Forest team. But why was there still no movement from the club's top management? Tang En began to pay attention to all news regarding the Forest team's finances and the club's board of directors.
In any case, compared to his previous job as a First Team manager, his current job was as relaxed as if he was on vacation. He had a lot of time to study these things that he had never been involved in before.
Speaking of Tang En's own work … Nottingham Youth Team was ranked second in Group Four of the Youth League, only two points behind the first-place team, Aston Villa. It should be noted that Villa Youth Team was the 2002 English FA Youth Cup champion.
The Forest team also successfully made it to the third round of the FA Youth Cup. The young players all liked Tang En's coaching style because it could bring them victory. Wasn't the point of playing a game to win? If they won, they would be noticed by more people and have a brighter future. Even if they were not noticed by the First Team, they would still be in a good mood, wouldn't they?
Tang En never let his players "enjoy football" during a game unless the team was already leading by more than four goals and there were less than ten minutes left in the game. He also never told the young players "what a wonderful game football is." He usually said "what a wonderful thing to win."
George Wood's name was on the substitute list for every game in the Youth Team, but he still did not get even a minute of game time. To be honest, Tang En's way of doing things puzzled the other Youth Team players. Everyone could see that the manager paid a lot of attention to Wood. He even specially brought him to the second training ground for extra training every day after training. But why did he not let him play in a single game? The kid's performance during training was not bad, and Kerslake often praised him loudly.
Even Kerslake would sometimes suggest to Tang En to let Wood play in a game when there was no one around. Tang En's answer was "wait a little longer."
And so, they waited for another two months.
When Tang En finally changed out of his black suit and red round-collared short-sleeved T-shirt and wore a long-sleeved shirt underneath his suit, Nottingham's late autumn arrived even though he could still feel the chill of the morning.
Britain's rainy season had also arrived. Ah, wrong. Britain had a rainy season all year round. Now, it was the cold rainy season.
Tang En stood at the side of the field and watched the Youth Team's training with his neck hunched. He straightened the collar of his suit, but the rain still poured into his neck. Kerslake, who was personally guiding the players on the field, looked even worse than him. His UMBRO sportswear had been drenched by the rain until it could no longer reflect light.
Tomorrow was the third round of the FA Youth Cup. Forest would face their opponent here, a strong team from the English Premier League that had a worldwide reputation for training young players — Arsenal!
Arsenal's adult team was a strong team, and their Youth Team was not weak either. Other than having a manager like Wenger, who valued the development of youth football, they also had a modern youth training base and the best youth training coaches. They also had the ability to buy young players with great potential from all over the world and nurture them vigorously.
Tang En was not afraid of Arsenal, but he had to take this team seriously. That was because there was a very special person in the current Arsenal Youth Team.
The training in the rain was mainly focused on defense. George Wood was clearly a key figure in the training. He was given "special attention" by the coaching staff. The 18-year-old Ross Gardner was a midfielder who came over from Newcastle in the summer. Now, he was the main midfielder and playmaker of the Youth Team. The 18-year-old James Beaumont was Gardner's partner in the midfield. He had average skills and was an all-rounder.
The coaching staff wanted the two of them to take turns to organize the offense. Tang En, on the other hand, wanted Wood to defend against the two. Whoever came up, he would go up and stick to that person. If the two of them came together, he had to be in a good position and not let the opponent easily break through his line of defense. He could not count on anyone to help him. He had to do all of this alone.
"George Wood!" Kerslake whistled and paused the training. He stepped through the mud and strode towards Wood, who was standing in the rain, panting heavily. "You've lost your position again! Position, position! How many times do you want me to tell you? Defense is not an idiotic way of rushing up to shovel the ball when you see the opponent dribble the ball! Look at your front, back, left, and right. Block your position and force the opponent to only move horizontally or pass back. Look at you just now … you've been bypassed by Gardner again! "
Kerslake's roar could be heard clearly in the rain, sending the raindrops around him flying. Wood lowered his head and did not speak. The other players took the opportunity to take a breather. The training session had been interrupted many times. Wood's defense always liked to snatch the first point, and then he was easily bypassed by the opponent. He performed well when he was alone. But once he was in a good position to defend … the problem came.
Tang En stood by the side of the field and watched Kerslake teach Wood a lesson. He was well aware of Wood's current problem. The kid was good at marking and defending because of his abnormal physical ability. He could make up for the gap in experience, awareness, and technique in a one-on-one. But standing defense was more dependent on experience and awareness. These were what Wood currently lacked the most.
Could he be counted on for tomorrow's match?
He watched as the players sprinted back and forth in the rain-soaked field, shoveled the ball, rolled, and dug up piece after piece of soil and turf. Standing next to Tang En, Mr. Andrew, who was responsible for the maintenance of the turf at the training base, frowned in distress.
"Mr. Tang … can't you go to the second field for training? We've just leveled and trimmed this field. Now … look, it's become a swamp! "he complained. "We still have to play on this field tomorrow!"
Tang En turned his head to look at the turf worker in his forties and comforted him. "Don't worry, Mr. Andrew. I did it on purpose. After training, all you need to do is cover the turf back up. You don't have to put in a lot of effort to level this field. "
"This …" Mr. Andrew did not quite understand.
"Oh, right. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, water this field more an hour before the match starts."
Upon hearing Twain's words, Andrew knew what was going on. He asked excitedly, "How much more water, Mr. Tang?"
Tang En looked at the enlightened Andrew and grinned brightly. "If I tell you to water this place … will that work?"
Andrew laughed heartily. "Mr. Tang, you're so bad! Don't worry. I'll take care of this. I'm sure those kids at Arsenal won't think that playing here is a very comfortable thing. "
Because tomorrow was the match, today's training ended quickly. In the end, Wood still did not make much progress in his understanding of the defensive position. Kerslake sighed at Tang En, shook his head, and went back to take a shower and change his clothes.
The players ran back to the locker room with their heads down. Only Wood was still standing on the field in a daze. His performance today on this muddy field was indeed bad enough. But it was okay. It was fine as long as he knew his shortcomings. Tang En would never worry that Wood would lose his motivation to move forward because of the scolding. That was because his reason for playing football was different from the other kids in the team. He had a tough body, and at the same time, he had tough nerves.
Tang En walked up and patted the dazed Wood.
"Go back and change your clothes. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Wood raised his head to look at Tang En. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Will I still be on the list for tomorrow?"
"Of course." Tang En nodded. "Go back quickly. If you catch a cold, I'll have to remove you from the list."
Only then did Wood run back to the locker room. Looking at his back, Tang En was also having a headache over the problem that Kerslake was worried about.
The sky outside had darkened. Because of the cloudy weather and rain, it was not even 5: 30 p.m., but it was already as dark as night. The pitter-patter of rain hit the glass windows and the ground, making a continuous pitter-patter sound. From time to time, there would be people running past the window, their feet stepping on the puddles of water. The pitter-patter sound came from far to near, and then from near to far. Because of the weather, the streets outside were a lot quieter. There were no loud noises of children gathering together, nor were there any men and women shouting and scolding.
Although it was very cold outside, the simple kitchen cum dining room seemed especially warm because of the warm fire, orange lighting, and fragrant black tea.
This was the feeling of home.
Although the family of two living here did not have much money, they were much warmer than Tang En's empty and cold house.
After taking a hot shower, George Wood threw all the clothes that got dirty during training and drenched in the rain on the way back into the washing machine. He then poured the water from the bucket into the washing machine, scooped up a spoonful of detergent, covered the lid, and turned the switch. After he was done, he returned to the kitchen to help his mother wash the dishes. Sophia sat at the dining table, cutting potatoes in preparation for dinner, even though it was still very early.
"George."
"Yes?" Wood took the cleaned milk pot out of the water, wiped it dry and put it aside. He then picked up the dinner plate and put it in the water.
"If I remember correctly, you guys have a match tomorrow, right?" Sophia asked casually as she lowered her head to cut the potatoes into pieces.
Wood made another sound of acknowledgment. Even in his own home, he did not speak much.
"Have you entered Mr. Tang's list again?"
"Yes."
"Will you be playing this time?"
Wood stopped what he was doing and stared blankly at the flowing water from the tap for a while. He then shook his head. "I don't think so."
"Why not?"
"Maybe I didn't play well enough."
"What would be considered good enough?" His mother asked again.
Wood continued to shake his head. "I don't know. If Twain thinks it's good enough, then it's good enough. "
"George, you have to call him Sir." Sophia corrected her son's impolite behavior.
Wood said reluctantly, "Mr. Tang."
Sophia smiled. "I want … to watch your match tomorrow."
With a splash, the plate in Wood's hand slipped into the water. He turned to look at his mother in surprise. "Your body …"
"It's just a walk. Don't think too badly of your mother, George." Sophia said to Wood with a smile. But her son did not give in. He frowned and did not nod.
Just like that, his mother smiled and looked at her son, while his son looked at his mother with a gloomy face. The sound of water splashing behind them. Sophia pointed to the sink behind her son and reminded him, "It's overflowing, George."
Wood turned around and turned off the tap to continue washing his plate.
"George, do you like to play football?" Sophia changed the topic.
Wood shook his head.
"Do you not like it, or do you not know?"
"I don't know."
"Then have you ever felt happy when you play football?"
"I … haven't thought about it."
"This can't go on." Sophia put down the potatoes and knife in her hands, then got up and went to her bedroom. Then, she took out a mirror, walked behind Wood, and slowly placed the mirror in front of him.
Wood looked at himself in the mirror and did not understand what his mother wanted to do.
"Look, George." His mother's soft voice sounded behind Wood's ear. "Why do you always frown? Did someone make you unhappy? "
"No, Mother." Wood shook his head.
"Smile more, George. Don't you think you'll look handsome when you smile? "
Wood grinned in the mirror, revealing two rows of white and neat teeth.
"Little lion George." His mother grabbed Wood's long, black hair. It was scattered on his head like a lion's mane.
Sophia returned to the dining table after she was done with her son. "What do you think of Mr. Twain?" She asked casually, but it made Wood focus his attention. "He's optimistic and cheerful. He seems to be full of energy every day. George, you should be like him. "His mother did not notice the change in Wood's expression. She lowered her head and focused on cutting the potatoes.
"I've decided. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'll go watch your match. "
Tang En ate his dinner at the Forest Bar while looking up at the weather forecast program on the television.
"… Nottingham will have light to moderate rain from day to night tomorrow. The temperature …"
"Yeah!" Tang En clenched his fist. This was the weather he hoped for the most.
Beside him, Burns put down the newspaper and said to him, "You place a lot of importance on tomorrow's match, Tony."
"Of course. If we win, we'll advance to the fourth round." Tang En lowered his head and ate.
"What are the chances of winning?" Brosnan asked, sitting opposite him.
Tang En shook his head. "That's hard to say. Arsenal is very strong. They have a few powerful young fellows in the team. Especially that Spaniard … "
"You mean that Fàbregas? But he's only 16. "Brosnan shrugged.
"Mr. Reporter, for some people, age is not a problem that affects their performance. We're used to calling these people 'geniuses.' "Tang En pushed his plate away and drank a mouthful of beer to rinse his mouth. Dinner was finished.
The effects of Tang En's transmigration were appearing more and more in front of him. Fortunately, it did not affect some important matters, such as Francesc Fàbregas's transfer. Just after the 1st of October, the young midfielder from Barcelona B Team transferred to London's English Premier League team, Arsenal. Professor Wenger could not wait until the transfer window opened in January next year to get his hands on the best player in the U16 World Youth Championship, even though he was still unable to give Fàbregas a place in the first team.
"Oh, don't worry, Tony!" Fat John said loudly to Tang En with a glass of wine in hand. "When the time comes, all of us will go and cheer for your team. Hopefully, we won't scare those Arsenal boys!"
His words received the agreement of the others. Everyone expressed that they would go and watch the Youth Team match.
Tang En gratefully raised his glass to him. "But, John, we only sell standing tickets."
The match was held in the training base and did not sell tickets at all. Anyone could come and watch at any time. All they had to do was stand outside the barbed wire fence at the side of the field. Compared to the plastic seats in the City Ground stadium, this was, of course, "standing tickets."
"It's okay, we can even squat down and watch the match …"
The skinny Bill interrupted John's words. "You're wrong, Fatty. We can squat down and watch the match, but you can't. If you can really squat down, prepare to sew your own pants! Ahahaha! "
Everyone in the bar laughed along with him.
John scratched his head in embarrassment. "Whatever, squat or stand is fine. But Tony … there are so many of us going to watch the match. You better not lose for us! "
"Fatty, when have I ever disappointed you?" Tang En replied loudly amidst the laughter. "Of course we'll win!"
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