Chapter 154: New Forest Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After beating Bolton in the first round of the semi-finals, Tang En gained not only a victory, but a better reputation as well. Now, all of England came to know of Nottingham Forest's ingenious manager. Despite his youth, he was able to lead a team that was ranked fourth from the bottom in League One, all the way to the semi-finals. Not only that, but he had also managed to triumph over his semi-finals opponent, a Premier League team.
The scene of Tang En being pushed to the ground by the players as a form of celebration had been published in a small segment of the "Match of the Day" weekday edition called "2 Good 2 Bad." This was a small segment that was only available during the weekday editions. It usually only featured Premier League highlights, and rarely featured other league's matches. However, what happened to Tang En was so amusing that the editors decided to add the scene into the highlights compilation.
The host of the program, BBC's pundit Adrian Chiles, freely described the sight in his own words. In the end, he made it sound very fun, making the already interesting story sound even better.
"Goal! This is too great, hey…hey! Hey! Freddy, you're running to the wrong place… Ah! Can anyone~~save me~~~~Alright, Tony Twain may very well be the only manager that doesn't wish for his team to score a goal…"
The host and the guests burst out in laughter.
Everyone came to know what kind of manager he was—he was the happiest person to see his players score, but whenever they did, he was also the unluckiest person.
Tony Twain was not the only one whose reputation improved. His team, as well as the young players who had performed exceedingly well, earned a better reputation as well.
George Wood had only played two matches for Nottingham Forest's first team, and there were already football clubs asking Nottingham Forest for an asking price.
Since this matter concerned the purchase and sale of players, Evan Doughty kept his promise and did not interfere at all. Instead, he let Tang En have full say over the matter. Tang En's stance was firm: he wouldn't sell.
Tang En knew how scarce good defensive midfielders would become in the next few years. As long as Wood continued to play like this, his value would quickly inflate. To sell him just because someone offered? Tang En was no fool. Moreover, the club had just signed an eight-year contract with Wood, and it was definitely not just for show.
In reality, Tang En was not at all worried about the issue of Wood's loyalty. The lad knew that the club had helped him a lot, and he knew full well whether he should choose to stay or leave. But the situation did make Tang En start to worry about Wood for another reason; perhaps George should have an agent to help him settle his personal affairs and manage his finances.
It was true that the Professional Footballers' Association could help players negotiate contract terms on their behalf, as well as settle some financial problems for them. Doing it like that could prevent him from being exploited. But who has ever seen a football superstar who still needed the Professional Footballers' Association's help with their contract?
Tang En felt that Wood was sure to become a superstar, but only under one condition: Wood had to be playing for Tang En, not some other football club.
Tang En was not opposed to the idea of football players finding agents; they required professionals like agents to help them manage their finances and public relationships. Managers were not gods, and were therefore unable to take care of all the players' needs. So, those kinds of things should be handled by agents. Tang En hated agents who prioritized their own benefits instead of the players' benefits, sowed discord between the players and their clubs or managers, endlessly requested pay raises, and threatened the football club on the slightest whim.
The reason for Tang En's hatred was not because he could not stand seeing football players and their agents earn money. No, the only reason was because they would invariably oppose Tony Twain, the manager of the team. They would infringe upon Tang En's profits, and that was something that Tang En could not allow.
So, if Wood were to find an agent, it would have to be someone whom he trusted. If possible, it would be best not to engage with big shot agents. Those without much power in the circle would be unable to create unnecessary trouble. But at the same time, Tang En wanted someone who could put in his best effort to package Wood and was very successful in business operation models. That way, Wood would be able to earn a lot of money, and his entire family could live a carefree life.
Are those conditions too hard to fulfill?
Tang En shook his head, deciding not to think about the issue for now.
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While the search for an agent could be done slowly, matches waited for no one. One week later, Tang En led the high-spirited Nottingham Forest to face off against Bolton on Bolton's home ground, Reebok stadium. This time, although his team lost, they still managed to score a precious goal. The EFL Cup's semi-finals' rules were not quite the same as normal Cups' rules. If both teams were to draw, they would proceed to overtime instead of looking at number of goals scored on away matches. If it still ended in a draw after overtime, the number of goals scored on away matches would then be taken into account. If the number of goals were the same, then a penalty shootout would take place.
Nottingham Forest beat Bolton with a score of 3:1 on their home grounds. On the away grounds, Bolton tried very hard to beat Nottingham Forest, and they managed to achieve it. However, it was to no avail. When the whistle came, signifying the end of the match, the large scoreboard revealed the final score: 2:1. Even though Bolton won the match, they lost the overall semi-finals.
The person who had scored the crucial goal for Nottingham Forest was Peter Crouch, the tall forward on loan from Aston Villa. During his time at Aston Villa, his professional football career had been in peril. Nobody had expected that after coming to Nottingham Forest, he would score in two consecutive matches. Seeing his exceptional performance on the field and his constant use of exceptional techniques to create opportunities for his teammates, Andy Gray, in the commentator's seat, could not help but praise Tang En's ability to train his players. In terms of realizing the players' potential and helping them build confidence, Tang En was indeed in a league of his own. First there was Rebrov, then there was Eastwood, and now Crouch. It was no wonder that he was so well-liked by the players. How could the players not like him, a manager who could make players who had hit rock bottom shine with new splendor?
The sound of the referee's whistle became the overture of the Nottingham Forest players' revelry. They were celebrating their advancement to the EFL Cup finals to their hearts' content. Although the EFL Cup was of little interest to strong, Premier League teams, and was only used for them to train their young football players and reserve teams, it held much significance for Nottingham Forest, a declining team who had once been a powerhouse.
For a team like Nottingham Forest, which had struggled in lower-level leagues for many years, advancing to the EFL Cup finals did not only mean that they had a chance to obtain a championship title; much more importantly, it made people once again remember the old times. Over twenty years ago, Nottingham Forest had swept the English Football scene and the European continental wearing its red football jersey. And now, just as the Nottinghamians became sure that they could no longer see the red Forest, when their old, fearsome team appeared be buried forever under the dusts of time, Tony Twain had managed to bring that team back into the present!
"The match has officially ended! Forming a stark contrast with the dejected Bolton players, are the overjoyed Nottingham Forest players! They will be advancing to the EFL Cup finals! This is their first time entering the EFL Cup finals since they got second place in the 1992 EFL Cup! Twelve years have passed, and the match venue for the EFL Cup finals has also changed from Wembley Stadium to Cardiff Millennium Stadium. The Red Forest is finally back!" Andy Gray's excited comment at the end of his commentary made it seem as though he was a Nottingham Forest fan, even though he was actually an Everton supporter.
The Nottingham Forest fans who were unable to watch the match at the venue, and could only follow the match through their televisions and radios, let out a shout that could be heard throughout England. "Yes, we are back! Nottingham Forest is back!"
"February 29, Cardiff Millennium Stadium! Let's look forward to the EFL Cup finals match between Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough! Will Middlesbrough obtain its second EFL Cup trophy in its entire club's history, or will Nottingham Forest win the trophy for the fifth time, and become the football club with the second most EFL Cup championship titles? Ladies and gentlemen, we will know when the time comes!"
Nottingham Forest's celebration was wild, but once they entered the changing room, Tang En's face turned sour. Now was not the time for celebration.
"Lads, I'm giving all of you ten minutes to shower and change before we leave this place. If you guys want to pop a champagne and celebrate, wait for the night of February 29!"
After Tang En said this, everyone calmed down and proceeded to shower and change.
Afterwards, Tang En turned back to attend the press conference. As the victor, he had the right to let Bolton's manager Sam Allardyce wait for him in the press conference hall for that short while.
The victor becoming the protagonist of the press conference was almost law. Tang En was bombarded with many questions, and most of them revolved around Nottingham Forest's advancement to the EFL Cup finals for the first time in twelve years. Tang En was in a good mood, so he did not feel irritated by these repeated questions. However, he was also very smart. He did not reveal any plans he had for the finals during the press conference; not even his goal.
It was a given that Tang En hoped to win the championship title. Since they had already made it into the finals, what purpose would it serve to make pretentious remarks like, "We're doing this with a learning attitude," or "We'll just try to do our best, the results don't matter"? Of course we're here to clinch the championship title. And not accomplishing it means failure!
But there was no need to tell the press that.
Although Allardyce was rather sad about his loss, he also commended Nottingham Forest's performance during the press conference. He even put in a few good words for Tang En, saying that it was respectable of Tang En to have achieved such a remarkable feat at such a young age.
As soon as he said this, the reporters once again shifted their focus to Twain's age. Indeed, for a manager who had led his team into the EFL Cup finals, thirty-five years old was really quite young. He was even younger than Bolton's Djorkaeff by a year! Upon noticing this, the reporters became more excited. That was indeed a good topic to sensationalize!
In response to this, Tang En's reaction was quite dull. "If there are fifteen, sixteen years-old players who can represent their clubs and their national teams, why can't managers be younger too? I don't think that age is an issue. What's important is the results of the team. It doesn't matter if he's seventy-six years-old, or twenty-six years-old. As long as he can bring victory to his team, he's a good manager!"
The next day, his words made the news. Soon, everyone knew about him—the manager who only cared about victory.