Chapter 204: Get Ready Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The entry of the two champion players, Demetrio Albertini and Fernando Hierro, was a great boost to morale. In general, the current Forest team could be regarded as a young team. The players were dynamic, energetic and motivated, but lacked experience. And Hierro and Albertini, two veterans who had led big-name teams to victory in the UEFA Champions League, could bring the experience and stability that the young players required. Tang En believed that having the older guys on the team would benefit the team a lot, both in training and in the games.
He had to admit that when he went to look for those two old guys, he was somewhat motivated out of the selfish interest as a fan who used to like them. Nevertheless, the difference between having the veterans in the Forest team and not having them was pretty obvious. It could be seen during the training. Young players always liked to imitate the famous players and Albertini and Hierro were willing to teach these kids during training.
Although Piqué was a Barcelona player, Hierro, the former Real Madrid captain, took great care of his fellow Spaniard junior.
And as for Albertini, Twain specifically asked George Wood to learn from Albertini. Not only to learn his defensive stance and route running, but also to learn his ability to organize offense. Albertini was not just a defensive midfielder.
Twain had high hopes for Wood and wanted to make Wood more well-rounded. He could not lose his defensive gift and talent, but his offensive capability should not be nil, either.
He would often praise the achievements of Hierro and Albertini in front of all the team members, hinting at the players that they were their role models.
Privately, he also hoped that Hierro and Albertini could help these young men on the team, and that the two veterans would not refuse to do so.
That summer, Manchester United and Arsenal had not been as active in the transfer market, so Chelsea, with its newly appointed manager, and the high-profile promoted Nottingham Forest attracted a lot of attention.
Since the arrival of José Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea had brought in several strong players such as Arjen Robben, Mateja Kežman, Petr Čech, Didier Drogba, and many others. In addition, Mourinho also brought in his players under his direct command in FC Porto: Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Tiago Mendes.
As Chelsea's new manager, Mourinho came at the heels of his championship title of the UEFA Champions League. That title was much more luminous than Twain's.
What interested the British media was that Mourinho was clearly not an easy man to deal with. When he started work at Chelsea, his speech to the players on the first day of team training was leaked to the media.
"Standing in front of me is a group of outstanding players. But boys, you have to remember—there is a great coach standing in front of you. I, José Mourinho, am a European championship manager!"
Prior to this, during a press conference held by Chelsea to welcome him, he looked directly at the cameras and said point-blank, "Please don't call me arrogant, but I'm European champion and I think I'm a special one."
No matter what other people thought, the media was happy. Tony Twain had just led the Forest team to their promotion to the English Premier League, and everyone still remembered the scene where he had made Mark Lawrenson shave his beard in front of the entire British television audience. And now came a Portuguese man who completely held his own next to him, spoke in fluent English, and exuded the mature charm of a successful man. He would become an excellent media figure in every aspect.
The only regret the media had was that, by the middle of July, the two most individualistic managers had not directly faced off against each other in the transfer market. The Forest team repeatedly blocked Manchester United and Arsenal from getting the players they liked in the transfer market, with only Chelsea seemingly being left alone.
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Allan calculated and provided Twain with an account of his spending during the transfer period. At the end of it, Tang En was surprised to find that he had not spent much money. Could it be that he was too accustomed being poor?
Up until now, the Forest team had bought a total of seven players. Ushering in Piqué only cost two hundred and twenty thousand pounds, the introduction of Bendtner had only cost two hundred thousand pounds, and buying Lennon had only cost one million. Then, he had obtained the three players—Ribéry, Albertini and Hierro—for free. One million pounds were spent to buy Chimbonda from SC Bastia. The center back Matthew Upson was the Forest team's biggest expense: four million pounds.
Saving money was good, but Allan hoped that Twain would continue to increase their investment in the transfer market. Although Albertini and Hierro were championship-level players in Twain's eyes, they were older, and their appeal was not as big as before. Twain had previously focused on how to maximize the ability of the team, and had ignored the needs of the market.
Allan specifically told Twain that he expected Twain to consider bringing in a popular player and said that, if possible, it would be best if he was a striker.
In Tang En's view, the only players in the Forest team currently qualified to be in the English Premier League were Freddy Eastwood, Peter Crouch, and Nicklas Bendtner. The latter was young, and was expected to be a substitute while developing progressively. As for David Johnson... Tang En initially had planned to loan him out, but Johnson wanted to stay with the Forest team.
Having only three strikers was not very reassuring to Tang En. It was imperative to bolster their forward strength.
He picked up his list of candidates for players; this list was specifically used to record the names and information of the players he was interested in. Originally this function should have been replaced by the "Player Database System" that Twain had proposed last Christmas. However, when he received the beta version sent from the United States this summer, he had only used it for fifteen minutes and decided to break off their cooperation with that American I.T. company. The system was idiotic and not user-friendly at all. There were a lot of problems using it and there were so many bugs that Tang En had lost count. At that time, he had so many matters to attend to that he did not have the time to handle the matter. He had put it aside for the time being. Now he had to replace the computer program with the most traditional method, pen and paper.
Tang En went through the names one by one and circled the names of the players that he was interested in. Putting aside whether the Forest team could afford them in the first place, Tang En would circle the names of the players he felt good about and then refine the list after he had completed this step.
Hernán Crespo, the Argentinian national footballer, was one of the top players in terms of both strength and market appeal. Furthermore, Hernán Crespo's relationship with the Chelsea manager, Mourinho, was not very cordial. After Mourinho had been in office for several days, when Crespo was mentioned, the self-important Portuguese man said, "I haven't seen Hernán Crespo since I came here. Have you seen him?" It seemed feasible to make a transfer request to Chelsea at this time. But the reality was that Carlo Ancelotti had long promised Hernán Crespo. AC Milan had already gotten in touch with Chelsea, hoping to get the Argentina's main striker.
Tang En crossed out Crespo's name.
Patrick Kluivert, the Netherlands national footballer, was the striker for Barcelona. But his days at the Camp Nou seemed to be coming to an end ever since the introduction of Samuel Eto'o and Ludovic Giuly. In addition, with the gradual rise of Lionel Messi, Kluivert had lost his groove and position as the main striker. It would naturally be a wise choice to leave Barcelona at this time. But would he come to the Forest team? Apparently not; Newcastle had just announced that Kluivert was their man.
Kluivert's name was also crossed out.
Nwankwo Kanu? He was abandoned by Arsenal, so obviously Tang En would not want him too.
After reviewing the list, Tang En's eyes locked on two people from the same team.
Leeds United was finally relegated to League One last season, and it was heartbreaking for fans of Leeds United. But for the managers of other teams, it was a good opportunity for big purchases.
Tang En was not a fan of Leeds United, so he was delighted to see Leeds United being relegated and going bankrupt as he had expected, and to see them forced to sell their team's star players to repay their debts.
He had his eye on Leeds United's two strikers: Alan Smith and Mark Viduka.
Strictly speaking, Smith was not a striker. He was more of a midfielder than a striker. But Tang En thought that a striker like Smith could raise the Forest team's potential for offense on the front field. He knew that with certainty. According to his memory, Smith would go to Manchester United this summer, but since he had already taken Piqué from Manchester United, why not try his best to snatch Smith?
The only problem was the player's individual aspiration. The contract between Smith and Leeds United was up. Come summer, he would be free to choose to go to his favorite team, rather than be at the mercy of the club. This had left the Forest team at a disadvantage at the start of a competition with Manchester United.
Actually, Tang En really wanted to tell Smith that going to Manchester United did not mean that his career would reach a peak, but that it was a honey trap. But then again, he could not say that. Why? Because even if he had said that, Smith would not believe it. He might think that this was a way to persuade him to join the Forest team.
Wouldn't there be more opportunities for glory on a big-name club than a recently promoted team? Even if I'm not going to Manchester United, why would I choose Nottingham Forest?
In the campaign for Smith, Nottingham Forest's Tony Twain lost to Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson. Nottingham Forest could not match the allure of a big club.
As far as young players go, he could still attract them with opportunities for steady appearances in games. However, for those mature players who had no need to develop their skills through regular appearances and longed for glory, Tang En was out of ideas.