Chapter 889: A Change of Manager

David Moyes was the first candidate to reject the English Football Association. He stated that he was happy to stay at Everton and did not want to change his working environment. Furthermore, it was too exhausting to be the manager of the England national team. The manager was under watch by the reporters three hundred and sixty-five days a year. There was no idle time twenty-four hours a day. And one also had to guard against those tabloids, such as the fake Sheikh incident and so on.

He did not like that kind of life. Therefore, he publicly rejected the Football Association. Everton later issued a statement on their website to clear up the earlier rumors and confirmed that Moyes would remain at Everton.

The English Football Association had offered an annual salary of up to eight and a half million pounds for the new manager, which made the position appeared to be a highly coveted and drool-worthy job. But in fact, it was actually a hot potato. The eight and a half million pounds salary was the annual salary of a manager which led the team to win the UEFA European Championship. In addition to the other incentives, the new England manager could earn more than ten million pounds a year. But all the managers knew how difficult the England manager’s position was.

Not only did he need to have enough fame and prestige to control those big-name star players who had been spoiled rotten by the media; he was required to have real ability and solid learning to withstand the questions from experts; Moreover, he also needed to have the awareness of an entertainment star, and could not gripe being under the magnifying focus of the media all the time.

After mulling over it for a period, Stuart Pearce also decided to give up the well-paid job. He said that he would prefer to continue working in the Under-21 youth team in response to questions from the reporters and that developing young players was the way forward for English football.

The two men’s consecutive announcements of their withdrawal left the Football Association in an awkward position – it was estimated that no one would take over the job within the scope of local managers.

They could only set their sights abroad.

There were a lot of good managers overseas, such as Scolari, Mourinho, Ancelotti, Hiddink and so on…

But the chief executive officer of the Football Association, Shaun Harvey still wanted to find a good local English manager. said the issue was “a good thing Barclay still wants a good coach from England. Foreign managers were not easy to manage. If there were still no results in the end, the Football Association would also be criticized that it was “because they chose a foreign manager.” A local manager was much easier to manage.

However, Moyes and Pearce were not interested. In particular, Pearce, who was specially cultivated by the Football Association, got cold feet at the last minute. He did not have the same drive as he did when he was a player which disappointed Harvey.

Just as he was worried about the matter, he received a surprise phone call.

“I’m in London now. I think we can talk about it in detail…” The man who said that was Tony Twain.

Twain was actually tempted. It would be impossible for the Football Association to stop halfway this time…

※※※

While the English Football Association was fretting about a new manager, so was Nottingham Forest. They had already made an overture to Mourinho, but Mourinho was not interested in them. It was not that he thought a small club like Nottingham Forest could not keep a big shot like him. Mourinho himself was a manager with a very individualistic character, so he did not like to go to a team with another person’s deep imprint. It would be too hard to get off to a good start. He was not interested in being anyone’s second generation and he certainly did not want to live in Tony Twain’s shadow.

No one wanted to come to Nottingham Forest after they searched outside for a successful manager. Hiddink had agreed to coach the Forest team, but the terms he gave were unacceptable to Evan Doughty. The legendary Dutch manager still wanted to remain as the manager of the Netherlands national team. Evan was not looking for a part-timer, so he would never allow him to have a foot in both teams. As a result, Hiddink’s encounter with Nottingham Forest was brief.

The other managers were very interested in the Forest team’s position and also keen on the annual salary figure, but the Forest team was not interested in them. These people were usually second-rate coaches. Evan did not think they could handle the current championship team.

In the end, after Nottingham Forest went through a lot of hard work in July, they finally poached the Manchester United manager, Martin O’Neill. The former Nottingham Forest manager was, by all accounts, the most suitable for the Forest team. Martin O’Neill had the ability and certain fame. And the most important thing was that he had a much milder temper than Tony Twain. Such a person was very easy to discipline.

O’Neill’s departure triggered a chain reaction. Manchester United stepped up the momentum of their pursuit of Mourinho after losing O’Neill and eventually persuaded Mourinho to switch teams from Inter Milan to join Manchester United. His arrival was seen by the Manchester United officials as a starting point for the Red Devils to rebuild its glory. It was mentioned on the same terms as when Liverpool signed Shankly, Manchester United signed Ferguson and Nottingham Forest signed Tony Twain.

For their part, Inter Milan could not do anything about it other than to express their regret. Manchester United was desperate, and even covered the penalty fee for Mourinho’s default in the contract. It looked like not having won a title for years in a row, made Manchester United, which was accustomed to winning titles during Ferguson’s era, a little flustered. They did whatever it took in order to get a good leader at the helm.

At this time, Inter Milan had to find a manager, so they contacted Tony Twain. Unfortunately, Twain had already reached an agreement with the English Football Association – he was going to officially coach the England national team.

He only had to wait now for the Football Association’s official announcement.

During the negotiations with Harvey, the two sides had agreed on the terms. Although the English Football Association was similar to the Chinese Football Association in some areas, they would not interfere with the manager’s work, which was the point that Twain was most satisfied with. He did not care about the other things. Some people were worried that after becoming the England manager, they would be kept under watch all the time. Twain was not afraid. He felt that fighting against fate and destiny was nothing compared to fighting against people because it was boundless joy to fight with people.

It was the case at Nottingham Forest, and it would be similar going to the England national team.

The Football Association’s idea was that they had let the word out that they must find a home-grown English manager this time lead the England national team. Since Twain offered to take the initiative, they had no reason to turn a blind eye or refuse. As long as everyone could reach an agreement, then they would let Twain be the manager.

The two sides hit it off, and the result was that the candidate whom the media thought of as the least favorite was the eventual winner, who was now with the English Football Association.

Two days later, the English Football Association held a press conference together with Tony Twain to officially announce the news at the meeting. At that time, a lot of people would definitely be taken aback by the news.

※※※

Martin O’Neill started his first day of work at Nottingham Forest today. He would meet his team for the first time. It was an ordinary meeting, but O’Neill was nervous and even restless. It was all because the last manager of this team was… too brilliant.

He and Twain were not considered close, but they were also friends. Because he never publicly said anything bad about Twain. It was enough to make someone like Twain think of it as a friendship. One must know that there were a lot of people who cursed and abused Twain every day.

Now he had to face the enormous influence left by his friend. He was also a successful manager and naturally was unwilling to live in the shadow of others.

Perhaps it could be said that how hard Martin O’Neill’s job was from another point of view.

While waiting for the new manager to arrive, the Forest players were changing their clothes in the locker room. But it was Tony Twain whom they were discussing instead.

“I read yesterday’s news that said a reporter had filmed the boss with that old man, Harvey. Do you think the boss is really going to coach the England team?” Bale asked.

“Who knows, I don’t think it’s very likely. The Football Association hates the boss…” said Mitchell, frowning.

“Hey, why do you care so much about that… I think we’d better think about how different the newly arrived Mr. Martin O’Neill will be from the boss.”

“How different are they? We can talk about it for a day and a night. The boss is the most unique and you can’t find another like him in the whole of England… No, no, in the entire Europe. Not even Mourinho can be compared to him!”

“Why do you think the boss wanted to leave…” Bale asked again.

All the talk immediately disappeared. Some people even sighed lightly. This question troubled a lot of the Forest players. They thought about a number of reasons, such as the boss’ poor health, a problem in the boss’ family, the boss and the club’s top brass could not get along, the boss was tired of coaching in the same team for eleven years in a row, or the boss had betrayed them…

Twain had never explained the reasons for his sudden resignation in the media, so there were a lot of rumors outside. Some of which were very close to the players’ speculation, so that they felt confused and did not know whom to trust.

The impact of Tony Twain’s sudden resignation was still very much present today. Some of them still did not understand why the boss chose to leave suddenly at that time, but they could clearly feel that the boss was gone. It felt as if the team had lost something very important and the will of the players fell apart. It would not be easy to gather together again.

Kompany had already been sold to Italy by Allan before O’Neill came to the Forest team. Without Twain’s obstruction, Allan could sell anyone, as long as the other side could offer the price that would tempt him.

Following immediately was the sale of Leighton Baines. He went to Everton in the Premier League.

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These two players brought in a revenue of twenty-seven million pounds for Allan Adams. If Twain was there, he would surely berate Allan Adams but there was no one who could stop the businessman.

The Forest team was unhappy with the top brass for driving the boss away and also dissatisfied with the sale of two of their teammates. A growing number of people within the team had already lost faith in the team. Ironically, just two months ago, this team won the great Treble and became the only team to do so in the European football arena in fifteen years. At the time, they must have thought they could continue to create brilliance and become the strongest team to unify Europe. If football also took a leaf out of the NBA and had a championship ring, all ten fingers and even toes were not enough to hold them when everyone retired… A future of that kind was really beautiful!

Rome was not built in a day, but one night would be enough for it to collapse.

The dreary atmosphere in the locker room was interrupted by a man.

“Don’t dilly dally and let the new manager think you’re all professional players who like to be late.” George Wood was the one who spoke up. He had already changed into his training uniform, stood at the door of the locker room and looked coldly around his teammates inside the room.

He seemed to have recovered from the blow of his boss’ departure. His poor performance at the World Cup had also become a thing of the past. He was still the hardest working and serious one in training. He also spoke more words now than before. It was just that the expression on his face … had become colder.

No one dared to defy George Wood who was like this. They did not even look face to face at him. A group of people kept their heads down and changed into their clothes and shoes in a hurry. Some people who had clearly changed their clothes, also untied their shoelaces and tied them once again, as if it would be a little tighter this way.

Then the players rushed out and marched to the training ground in twos and threes.

Over there, David Kerslake was giving Martin O’Neill a basic account of the current situation. He tried to avoid mentioning Tony Twain’s name. He did not want the new manager to have any other ideas.

“… We have just sold Kompany and Baines before, but fortunately they were no longer the absolute mainstay of the team. Pepe and Woodgate are fit to play at as center back partners. We have Gareth Bale and Joe Mattock as the left backs. Bale can attack and defend. Mattock is younger and has more potential… Although our rear defensive line is the best in England, but I think it will be nice if we have another high-level substitute goalkeeper… Tiago is a little old and his form is slipping so fast that he didn’t have many chances to play last season. Tony said that if the team wanted him to… Uh.” He suddenly shut his mouth because he realized that he had inadvertently mentioned that person’s name.

O’Neill smiled amiably and said, “Tony was right. Some people don’t have to stay in the Forest team all the time. The Forest team has the most united and harmonious locker room in the whole of Premier League, but that doesn’t mean we are a nursing home here, what’s more, a public nursing home.”

Kerslake marveled inside that O’Neill seemed to be easy to get along with and he continued with the introduction.

By this time, all the players had arrived at the pitch. They had gathered on the other side and were doing warm-up activities under the leadership of the fitness coach.

O’Neill was observing quietly as he listened to the assistant manager’s introduction.

What gift would this team that had swept across Europe and made the enemies terror-stricken, have to give to the new captain for the first time? How long could he stay on this ship? O’Neill could not think about these things. There was only one person on this mind – Tony Twain. He was keeping his mind as close as possible to Twain’s, speculating about how Twain led the team so that he could find the fastest approach for himself to fit in with the team and turn the team into Martin O’Neill’s own team.

When the team finished its warmup, O’Neill walked over and said hello to them, “Hello, gentlemen. I’m your new manager, Martin O’Neill. I believe you’ve heard of my name, haven’t you?”

Some of the players in the team laughed, while the others muttered in low voices, “What did he call us? ‘Gentlemen?’”

It’s awkward. I still like to be called ‘guys.’”

“Shh, they have different styles. Be careful not to let him hear…”

In fact, O’Neill heard it. He had a smile on his face and acted as if he did not hear it at all.

He smiled on the surface, but he was laughing bitterly on the inside. It looked like it was not going to be easy to make this team his own…

Even though the Forest players were not yet aware of the difference between the new coach’s temperament and that of his predecessor’s, they soon learned the difference between how Manager Martin O’Neill led the team in training than that of the boss.

Twain always liked to leave the specifics and tasks to the rest of the coaching staff. He just stood on the side and watched. Occasionally, he would stepped forward and say a few words. He looked cool impeccably attired and wearing his sunglasses.

On the other hand, O’Neill wore a tracksuit and even personally demonstrated during training. It obviously had something to do with him being a great footballer once. Judging from the results of the training, O’Neill was better than Tony Twain. At least some of the players thought so.

Among the Nottingham Forest players was a stubborn “Team Tony Twain.” They would spurn the other people and coaches other than Twain himself. Although they did not give the new manager trouble on the surface, their hearts were full of contempt as they waited for the new manager to make a mistake so that it could become something they could hold and use against him.

The dyed-in-the-wool faction was reluctant to admit that O’Neill was more outstanding at training than Twain. They felt that O’Neill’s on-field command and mental ability must not be as good as the boss’s. Anyway, football ultimately depended on the outcome of the game, and not the training results.

After the morning training ended, everyone left, each with his own thoughts. Martin O’Neill went to see his immediate boss, the club chairman, Evan Doughty.

“How do you feel after your first day of work, Martin?” Evan asked with a smile.

“Very good. Everyone was very cooperative. It’s a great team.” O’Neill did not tell the truth. He lied to cover up those troubles.

Evan smiled and shook his head, “Don’t lie to me, Martin. I know this team. They’re like Tony Twain’s temper, smelly and tough.” He did not have a look of disgust on his face when he said this. He only gave a slight smile as if he was making a joke about an old friend. “I think some of them are not convinced by you, but it’s okay. They will know it after winning a few games. You must know the tradition of Nottingham Forest is quite simple – victory is ten million times more powerful than any sweet talk.”

Martin O’Neill muttered inside his heart: It’s also ten million times harder than sweet talk.

At this point, Evan shrugged. He suddenly remembered that this tradition did not have a long history because it was Tony Twain who brought it to the Forest team. Indeed, this man’s influence was really found everywhere in Nottingham Forest… like the ghost of an ancient castle which had not yet dispersed. He felt a little uncomfortable and changed his expression. His smile became milder as he said to O’Neill.

“You can make a purge list. We have to rebuild the team. Other than the core players who cannot be touched, you can do whatever you want with the others.

O’Neill was a little surprised to hear the club chairman say this. He looked up at the man in front of him, his eyes full of confusion.

“If you want a team that completely belongs to you, I think a proper purge is necessary, Martin. It’s time to reshuffle.”

O’Neill was silent for a moment and then nodded, “Very well. I’ll give you a purge list after I observe for a period of time. It will include the players who need to be sold and bought. It will all be there.”

With that, O’Neill took his leave of Evan Doughty and left the chairman’s office.

Standing outside underneath the sun, he suddenly understood why Tony Twain wanted to leave Nottingham Forest at such a glorious time. There were not many managers who had the capability to compete with club chairmen. Old monsters like Ferguson were rare. When the chairman of a club interfered too much in the affairs of the team, it meant that the team was dangerous.

It was the same when he was at Manchester United and now it was the case too at Nottingham Forest. It looked like the successful club chairman was confident about himself.

How long could he hold on in such an environment?

O’Neill did not know. He only hoped that he could regain his rightful place in the team with one victory after another.

Just like how his predecessor did, obtaining one victory after another, he would keep running forward and not give anyone a chance to stop and catch one’s breath. Even if he was tired, he had to grit his teeth and keep running.

Luckily, I do not have a heart disease.

O’Neill shook his head as he walked toward the parking lot.