Chapter 574: Four Consecutive Wins and A War of Words

The Nottingham Forest team returned to their home ground after their victory over Everton. Five days later, they would face their opponent, Middlesbrough, in the second round of the league tournament at the City Ground stadium.

They were not a very strong opponent. The Forest team was in good form, so they did not take Middlesbrough seriously.

The Middlesbrough manager was no longer McClaren, who Twain had a bad relationship with. He had gone to be the manager of the England national team. The feud between the two men did not show any signs of reduction since McClaren’s departure, and Twain would attack McClaren’s work in his special column in the newspapers. He was very good at finding flaws in the small details that others, including McClaren himself, did not pay much attention to, and then made a splash, and used it as an “ironclad evidence” to attack McClaren.

Sometimes during the interviews, McClaren would go through BBC or The Sun in a roundabout manner to hit back at Twain. However, the clash between the two men did not intensify. It was only limited to verbal bickering.

For example, Twain criticized McClaren for his poor results in leading the team. In order to clear his predecessor’s influence, he would rather let the team do poorly in the UEFA European Championship Qualifying, than recruit David Beckham to join the squad, which was his way of avenging his personal vendetta. As to what kind of vendetta existed between Beckham and McClaren, Twain did not say, nor did he need to. The media would naturally marshal all the forces that could be mobilized to investigate, and create an uproar. Even if nothing had transpired, they would infer the opposite. Twain was more well-acquainted with the concept of “playing a game of cat and mouse” than anyone.

McClaren would not take it lying down. He would not write an opinion piece to hit back at Twain. If he did, he would feel that he took Twain too seriously which would delight Twain even more. Therefore, he could only pretend to “occasionally” let slip when he spoke to the press: “If Manager Twain is so interested in the position of England’s manager, why doesn’t he give it a try in person?”

Twain would scornfully say, “do you know which are the two jobs in the world that will shorten lives? The British Prime Minister and the England national football team manager. I’m not going to be the manager who works non-stop twenty-four-seven without any rest and privacy. As for Mr. McClaren’s displeasure, I understand it deeply, but not everybody is a chef. If I thought a certain dish tasted terrible and the chef came to question me and said ‘You make it then,’ I’d definitely flip the table on the spot and let him know what hospitality is.”

Tony Twain’s sharp and unkind words as well as his gift of the gab were well known. And the constant target of Twain’s insults, Mr. McClaren, had learned a valuable lesson from being bullied repeatedly. When Twain stirred something up, he just needed to respond with his standpoint and views, which were not for Twain’s ears. They were stated for those spectators to listen to, lest Twain mislead the public with misrepresentation and deliberate fabrication. Then, when Twain continued to blow it up further, he had to stay silent and pretend not to hear it. “Silence is golden.”

The English media once ridiculed the relationship between Twain and McClaren, stating that it did not look like a personal feud between enemies, but rather a married couple who quarreled every few days. This type of quarrel caused little damage to the love between them; it was just one of those things in life. It was like watching a reality television show. They were not interested in shows filled with romantic content, but they loved to watch real-life squabbles. Because they were real and full of anecdotes, they could make people roar with laughter or at least smile.

The Middlesbrough manager changed when McClaren was transferred to the England national team. Twain was no stranger to this man — Gareth Southgate, the former main center back of the England national team and one of the influential figures during the Premier League’s first decade. He had participated in the 1996 and 2000 UEFA European Championship, and the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup. Without Twain’s transmigration and subsequent rise of the Forest team, he would have led Middlesbrough into the 05-06 season’s UEFA Europa League final a year ago and achieved the club’s most glorious moment in history. Unfortunately, the last glory of his personal career became a future that would never happen because of Twain’s arrival.

In 2004, he announced his withdrawal from the national team because he was not selected for England’s main list for the UEFA European Championship. As the then Middlesbrough manager, McClaren was elected England’s manager last season, Southgate, the team’s captain and McClaren’s aide, took over as the Middlesbrough manager after a few twists and turns.

It was said that he had a bit of trouble because Southgate did not have a coaching certificate from the UEFA at the time. According to the rules, anyone who did not have the certification could not coach the First Team. However, there were some differences between England and Continental Europe. The UEFA rules were less widely accepted in England and the English football world had its own rules. Before the incident, Newcastle United’s manager Glen Roeder was also an “uncertified induction.” This precedent that gave the Middlesbrough chairman, Steve Gibson, confidence. He petitioned all the club owners in the Premier League. After he obtained approval from two-thirds, Southgate became Middlesbrough’s manager. This was the so-called rule of the game in English football. They did not need to follow the UEFA arrangements. As long as their own people felt that it was not an issue, it was not a problem.

The League Managers Association’s response was stronger compared to the generosity of the club owners. They were almost unanimous in their opposition. They were worried that that kind of rule-breaking was going to start a bad tradition. There was Glenn Roeder before and this time, it was Gareth Southgate. How were they supposed to know if any Tom, Dick, or Harry would seek to assume a post without certification in the future? If so, what kind of authority would a manager have? In England, many football fans were almost all football experts. Perhaps they would feel they could become impressive Premier League managers.

Twain was a different voice among the opposition. He publicly supported Southgate as the Middlesbrough manager. There was a sense of empathy since he also thought of himself as an “uncertified induction.” He was a complete rookie four years ago, but he had become the manager of the European Champion team. Therefore, he did not think that a coaching qualification was a necessary thing. As long as he had the talent and was smart enough, he could become a qualified and excellent manager after practice. As for a manager’s authority… Twain scoffed at such nonsense. The authority of a manager was not dependent on a piece of paper, but won through the results of the team he led. If he could not win the games, even if UEFA were to give him a gold certificate, he would not have any prestige to speak of.

Based on this idea, Twain was adamant in his support for Southgate. After Southgate eventually became the official manager of Middlesbrough, Twain texted to congratulate him. This gave the two complete strangers a friendship. At some point in the future, this friendship would show its results.

Twain was no longer a nobody in the League Managers Association reception. He would deserve a mention at the association because he had achieved the brilliant results. But perhaps due to his unfavorable first impression of the association, he never thought of himself as a member of the association. He couldn’t care less about the boring stuff such as the preservation of the managers’ prestige and the reputation of the League Managers Association. Are they worried that anyone can become a manager? I actually look forward to it! If there’s no upheaval, how else can I watch a good show?

Once Twain publicly spoke out in support, a few more people in the association came out to congratulate Southgate, and the matter was settled indefinitely.

The explosive atmosphere of the encounters between the Forest team and Middlesbrough of the McClaren era also vanished due to this relationship.

The atmosphere of the game was normal and no different from any ordinary league match.

The Forest team made use of their home advantage to beat Middlesbrough with one goal.

Southgate worked hard, but he was still a bit inexperienced. He used to be a good player, and perhaps a good assistant manager. However, the things that a manager needed to take into consideration were different from that of an assistant manager. The way of looking at problems was also not the same, which determined why there were managers and assistant managers. In Twain’s view, Southgate’s ability to instruct the players, especially the defenders, was great, but his grasp of the team’s overall tactics and his responsiveness according to changes in the games were lacking.

After Southgate became the Middlesbrough manager from being a former defender, he was staunch about defense. The abandoned Real Madrid player, Jonathan Woodgate, had a second spring and flourished under his command. Middlesbrough’s defense also greatly improved. They came to the City Ground stadium with the idea of clinging onto one point. Their parking the bus defense did cause a lot of trouble for the Forest team’s offense during the game.

Arshavin, who was active in the first game, started again. However, overwhelmed by the tall English defenders, he could not get into the groove at all. Twain replaced him with Eastwood in the second half and the Forest team’s offense picked up.

Southgate almost left the City Ground stadium with one point as he planned, but he was not as cunning as Tony Twain.

Before the last fifteen minutes, the score was still 0:0. In the 75th minute, Twain replaced the young Bendtner with the more experienced van Nistelrooy. This was his second replacement spot. He then instructed van der Vaart and Wood to move the midfielder’s position in the middle forward and improved the long shots. In the last ten minutes, he brought on Rafinha to replace Chimbonda and instructed Beckham to lean to the middle so as to set aside enough space for Rafinha to break through. He used the full-back as a side midfielder.

Following Twain’s swift consecutive adjustments, Southgate reacted too slowly to keep up with the pace. In the 84th minute, the Middlesbrough goal was finally lost.

Rafinha’s breakthrough caused chaos in Middlesbrough’s defense on the left flank. The football was diverted to the flank, where van der Vaart immediately shot the ball. The force was too great and the Australian goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, pounced on the ball and saved it. Lying in wait the box, the experienced “King of the Six-Yard Box” van Nistelrooy grabbed the shot and easily pushed the football into the empty goal.

The Middlesbrough defenders thought van Nistelrooy was offside and raised their hands without even trying to defend. In the end, it was proven that they had misjudged. Van Nistelrooy was indeed behind the entire rear defensive line when he shot. But at the moment when van der Vaart did the long shot, he was parallel to the rear defensive line…

With the ball, the Forest team defeated Middlesbrough at home and won twice in a row in the new season.

After the game, Twain praised Southgate highly, believing he had the talent to be a good manager. As to whether he really was, he did not know. Anyone could nice things since flattery did not require any responsibility afterwards.

The real him had watched Southgate play throughout his youth, but now in the coaching world, he was qualified to be Southgate’s senior.

Southgate was very gracious. Although he had lost, he complimented Twain, who was supportive of him becoming a manager. He said he was sincerely convinced and accepted the defeat. He wished the Forest team could achieve better results in the new season.

The Forest team had already taken the Champions League title last season. To achieve better results? What would be considered a better result?

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The home win against Middlesbrough was just the second step in a series of victories for the Forest team.

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Just two days later, on August 19th, the Forest team took down West Ham United, who had planned to hold fast at home in London, with another 1:0.

The Forest team played hard in the game because Twain did not expect that the other team would hold fast to their ground at home and their highest aim was to obtain one point.

“Holy shit! To just take one point at home! No wonder West Ham United is dying every year, so unambitious!” Twain could only vent his frustration.

All his pre-match arrangements fell through. He originally thought that West Ham United would use its home-field advantage to compete against him for the control of the midfield. Unexpectedly, the West Ham United team withdrew to within the thirty-meter zone in one go and adopted the stance of parking the bus to defend to the end. The Forest team’s quick counterattack hit an iron panel and was unable to gain anything except being battered and bruised.

They relied on Twain’s ability to adapt and command accordingly to conditions on the field to solve the problem.

Fortunately, the current Forest team was no longer that team that only knew how to play a quick counterattack and would be at their wits’ end when they faced an opponent who clung fast to defense. He brought on Beckham, who was better at set piece and positional play, and Gareth Bale, who was equally good at free kicks. He used the last substitution spot on Bendtner. The young Danish player replaced van Nistelrooy. For the next twenty-five minutes, the West Ham United players watched the football fly over the front of their goal.

Bale and Beckham frequently played high balls and lob shots in front of the goal from the left and right flanks. They relied on Bendtner’s outstanding height and header skills to create chaos in front of the opponent’s goal.

The move obtained a fantastic effect. When Beckham’s precise-to-the-centimeter pass appeared at the back point, Bendtner jumped high and surpassed all the West Ham United defenders. Now all he had to do was hit the football right in front of his eyes into the goal.

Just like a fadeaway jump shot, Bendtner leaned slightly backward in midair to power up. While in the air, he was disturbed by the West Ham United defender. He was tugged at from below and nearly lost his balance. He leaned too far back and could not get his strength up. He had initially wanted to fling his head back to shoot. Instead, he brushed the football, which went up high in an arc and fell through a narrow crack. It was a lucky strike.

The football brushed the crossbar and fell into the goal. In order to pounce on the ball, the West Ham United goalkeeper, Robert Green, nearly hit the goalpost, but failed to stop the football from getting into the goal.

The Forest team’s goal in the final ten minutes helped them take down West Ham United in the away game.

After the game, the West Ham United manager, Alan Curbishley, defiantly said that their loss was just due to a little bad luck, and that his tactics were perfect and had limited the Forest team’s attacks. Twain was kind enough to remind him that luck was also part of a team’s strength.

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Nottingham Forest traveled north to Newcastle on August 25th to challenge the city’s only professional team. After a bitter battle, the Forest team took their fourth consecutive win since the start of the new season with a score of 2:1.

Moreover, the best result that their opponent, Chelsea, obtained was three wins and one draw in four games and ranked second with ten points. The Manchester City team, which had a new manager, performed outstandingly with three wins and one loss in four games and came in third with nine points. With one game short, Liverpool had two wins and a draw with an accumulation of seven points to rank fourth. Next was Everton with seven points from two wins, one draw, and a loss, as well as Arsenal with seven points from two wins and one draw. Among the teams that had the ability to compete for the league title this season, the worst-faring was Manchester United, who only scored just one win, two draws, and one loss in four games and ranked tenth with five points.

With four wins and twelve points, Forest ranked at the top of the list. This was the best start in the Premier League in the club’s history. This was also the first time the team had taken the top spot on the league table since Tony Twain became the manager of the Forest team. Although it was not the final ranking of the season, the Forest team celebrated it in the hotel they stayed that evening. They made their manager, Tony Twain, drink until he was too drunk to stand.

Their revelry was captured on film by the paparazzi from The Sun and published in the newspaper, causing a number of fierce verbal attacks.

Among those who slammed the Forest team were ordinary fans, as well as prominent journalists and football celebrities.

Some people thought that the Forest team celebrating like that after they achieved the small result implied that they were arrogant and despised their opponents. “Manager Tony Twain is so smug and conceited after he only won a Champions League title… one could understand with such a young manager. They always have to take more detours in order to get back on the right track. But I think it’s still necessary to remind Manager Tony Twain… ”

Some people also said the Forest team’s discipline had declined to a huge degree — the manager drinking with the players! Although it was not unusual for the players to drink, it was still of interest when it was exposed.

Kerslake was held by reporters. When he was asked about this matter, he patiently explained the coaches were the only ones who drank. The players actually drank juice, soda, and other non-alcoholic drinks. Why were all the players so lively after the party? Because they did not have a drop of alcohol at all.

Twain did not speak so nicely. He answered the reporters’ questions with a nasty tone. “This is not a big deal. I understand why you guys want to hype up this matter since you guys haven’t been around the block.” He spoke as if the people interviewing him were the ones who had little experience. “These days, there would be no readers if the media do not create waves. It’s not easy for everyone to earn a living.” His words were accompanied by an pretend understanding expression that made the media hover between laughter and tears. “But I want to make it clear that I do not mean to belittle my opponents. It was our internal celebratory party. This celebration was only held to celebrate our current achievement. I swear to God that we did not mention any of our opponents during our celebration, nor did we insult them in any way. You have put the mark of ‘despised their opponents’ wrongly on us.”

They did not mention any of their opponents? Was that a clarification or a provocation? It was really hard to judge.

“We never despise any opponent because it does not help us defeat them.” The words were decent, but with Twain’s character, he was bound to turn around. Sure enough… “Some people say it’s too early to celebrate? It’s not really that early. We’re rehearsing for our upcoming UEFA Super Cup victory celebration.”

These words fully reflected Twain style. The Liverpool people immediately seethed with anger.

The Liverpool Echo acted as the vanguard and freely attacked Tony Twain in the newspapers.

Twain brazenly responded in his column. “If the people of Liverpool feel they can depend on their media’s attacks to win the championship, then I invite them to attack all day long.”

His response further angered the Liverpool people, and even Liverpool players came forward to be interviewed to express their displeasure at Twain. They thought that a manager should focus on managing the players and leading by example, rather than fighting verbal wars all the time. This was clearly meant to ridicule the Forest team’s frenzied celebration.

Twain unceremoniously hit back. “I agree that a manager should put his mind on managing the players, so it is clear that Mr. Benítez’s work is not in place yet.” This time, he pulled in Rafael Benítez, the opposing manager, a Spaniard who had been very low-key. He mocked Benítez for not being in charge of his players, which made the people at Liverpool even angrier.

Who could stay out of the fray? No one could, since Twain quickly and easily stirred everyone up.

The UEFA Super Cup had not yet begun, and the war of words between the two teams was already full blown.

Twain cleverly made use of this media hype over their drinking party to launch psychological warfare while the other side was unaware. Twain did not expect the drinking party to be hyped up by the media, but, as an excellent master in psychological warfare, he had to use all the factors available to him to provoke the opponent.

Twain firmly believed that his tactics were effective. Whether the opponent was angry or contemptuous, they would not maintain their previous emotions. Perhaps they would not notice it, but the changes would faithfully emerge during the game.

In order to win, he would take advantage of all available factors. How could becoming a scoundrel who quarreled with people in the media in the eyes of the Liverpool fans be compared with a UEFA Super Cup?

Twain never cared about his reputation and image in the minds of the rival supporters. Otherwise, he would have been too distressed to sleep every night because there were just too many people who hated him. No one would like to the enemy that beat the team they supported, would they?

Tony Twain did not like any enemies that beat them, so he had a deep understanding of those people’s feelings..