Chapter 913: The New Captain of the Three Lions

The Sun decided to publish an article about the tension between Twain and Wood so as to gain an advantage in the increasingly competitive news industry.

On the other hand, the media outlets associated with Stamford Bridge were much more concerned about whether their player, John Terry, is able to retain his captaincy in the England national team.

Usually, every new national team manager would announce who the captain for the team is after all the national team players have come together. Some managers would choose to go with the player who was named captain in the previous year as a way of stabilizing the team, but there are quite a few managers who would select another player whom they think are more suitable or whom they have a preference for as the new captain of the team.

After Beckham left the national team, Terry was named captain of the England national team, and Gerrard was named as the vice-captain.

The media outlets associated with Liverpool were also concerned about who would end up with the captain’s armband. They hoped that Twain would promote Gerrard from vice-captain to captain.

Similarly, the media outlets associated with Nottingham Forest were also crying for Twain to pick George Wood as the captain.

However, George Wood paled in comparison to both Terry and Gerrard in terms of experience and influence. Most of the media outlets believed that the captaincy and vice captaincy should still be given to both Terry and Gerrard respectively. They felt that Twain should not change the captain and vice-captain of the national team if he wanted to maintain stability in the team.

Twain was cautious with his selection of the captain. Terry and Gerrard were both players who were quite influential in England’s footballing scene, and he could stir up chaos if he was not careful.

He decided to discuss the issue with both Terry and Gerrard.

Both players expressed their desire to either continue being the captain or to become the captain of the team. They both felt that it would be a great honor to be able to wear the captain’s armband on their sleeves.

Twain understood where they were coming from, but he could not agree with their thoughts.

He wants to rebuild the entire England national team after being appointed as the new manager. This meant that every single thing related to the old England national team has to be discarded, and this includes the previous captain and vice-captain of the team.

In simpler words, Twain wants a ‘complete overhaul’ of the England national team.

Changing the captain would be the first step needed for Twain to establish a new system within the team.

He conveyed his thoughts to the two senior players, and told them straight up that he found the two of them to be slightly old. He wanted a captain who could stay as the captain of the team for a long time.

Terry and Gerrard immediately understood what the new manager was intent on doing.

They were upset to be stripped of their captain armbands, but the manager has always been regarded as the biggest and most influential person in every single England football team. Nobody dared to defy the manager’s words, and things were not different in the national team either. In fact, it was more common to see scenes of players congregating around their managers to go against the Football Association in England.

If this had been any other country however, Twain’s actions would have led to him being fired from the job. It did not matter how good his CV as a football manager was. He would never have been given the job as the manager of the national football team.

Terry and Gerrard were both senior players of the national team. Twain hoped that the two of them would be able to act as role models to the other players and help to stabilize the team as a whole.

What could either Terry or Gerrard do besides to agree to Twain’s arrangement after hearing what he had to say? They could not possibly leave the national team in a fit of rage.

The two of them did not have many years left to play in the national team, and neither of them wished to leave the team without accomplishing anything. Tony Twain was definitely a man who has the capability to lead his team to become champions. They both hoped that they could win something under the guidance of a manager who seems to have an affinity with trophies, given how England has failed to attain a single trophy for many years.

Tony Twain is a man who managed to achieve 12 trophies in 11 years. He definitely has the right to be pushy.

Both Terry and Gerrard agreed to the manager’s arrangement.

Twain heaved a sigh of relief at their responses. The biggest obstacle was out of his way now.

He would not even have gone through all this trouble if it wasn’t for the fact that he had to maintain stability within the team.

He did not care about what he had to say to the media regarding the change of captains. All he cared about was that the players understood the rationale behind his decision.

※※※

The England national team players came together for the very first time during the afternoon practice session.

Twain was going to announce the new captain and vice-captain of the team before training commenced.

The expressions on both Terry and Gerrard’s face were off. Their eyes kept swimming about and they evaded eye contact with their team mates. The two already knew that they were going to be stripped of their captaincy.

George Wood, who knew nothing about Tony’s decision to announce the new captain, got called over by the assistant manager after finishing his warm-ups. He then waited for Twain to give his pep talk before the training session began.

It was a sunny afternoon. Twain appeared before the players with his Ray-Ban sunglasses on.

“Good afternoon, lads. I hope you all slept well yesterday, because our practice session today is going to be tough.” Twain raised his hand to wave at everyone before he walked into the middle of the crowd.

“I’m going to announce the captain and vice-captain of the team this year before the practice session begins, just like how things were done in the previous years.”

The Chelsea players all turned their heads to look at Terry, while the Liverpool players looked at Gerrard. Similarly, the Forest players all turned to look at Wood.

The players from other football clubs did not show particular interest in who the captain was going to be. It was not like they would get picked to become the captain anyway.

They all believed that Terry, Gerrard and Wood were the most qualified to become the captain of the team. Terry has been the captain of the England national team ever since 2008. His performances over the past eight years have not gone unnoticed by his team mates. Gerrard has always been the vice-captain of the team, and he would wear the captain’s armband whenever Terry is not playing. He was regarded as a footballer who possessed the best leadership skills among all the England footballers. The media outlets associated with Liverpool have always believed that he should be named the captain of the national team over Terry. As for George Wood, he was the most successful captain in England for the past few years. He was widely regarded as the toughest footballer in England, and he was a role model to all other England footballers.

However, George Wood has something that would give him an edge over the other two players. It was age. He was only 28 years old this year. He was much younger than the other two players and was right in his prime.

Twain observed how the players reacted to his words. They behaved just as he had expected them to.

If he had not discussed this matter with both Terry and Gerrard earlier, then it would have been a risk to announce his new captains, and he would have had to bear the possible consequences of his announcement. But, Twain has nothing to fear now, because he knew that the two players were behind his decision.

“George Wood and John Terry would become the captain and vice-captain respectively.” Twain announced his captains in a straightforward and clear manner.

A small commotion broke out within the team. The Liverpool players clearly looked crestfallen, whereas the Chelsea players looked surprised, because their captain had been demoted to vice-captain.

The Nottingham Forest players were the first to applaud Wood for becoming the captain of the team.

Everyone else also began applauding to congratulate both George Wood and John Terry on their captaincy shortly after, regardless of how they felt at the moment.

Gerrard was a little despondent after hearing Twain’s announcement, because he did not even manage to retain his vice-captaincy. But, it was to be expected, given how he was the oldest of the three. He was already 34 years old, whereas Terry was only going to turn 34 at the end of the year. Center-backs are always able to play football for a longer time as compared to midfielders. It did not matter if the center-backs are old and unable to run about any longer. Managers would still play them because they want to rely on their experience. Take Fabio Cannavaro for example. How long did he play football in Italy? He was still able to represent the Italian national football team in the Africa World Cup despite being 37 years of age! In contrast, it was very difficult to even find a midfielder aged 35 and above who would still get picked in football teams.

Gerrard has been trying his best to stay in shape and maintain his fitness levels, because he did not want to be kicked out of the national team too quickly. He was well aware that there are numerous talented footballers chasing after his position in the national team, and George Wood was one of them.

Gerrard was not jealous of the fact that Wood got the captain’s armband instead of him. The two have developed a special sense of respect for each other having battled each other numerous times in the Premier League for the past few years. Wood was definitely a talented player worthy of the armband.

The only player who was shocked by Twain’s announcement was Wood. The expression on his face visibly changed, which was a rare occurrence. His eyes were bulged and his mouth was agape. He stared at Twain in disbelief.

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Twain grinned at Wood. It was the first time that he was seeing a genuine display of emotions from Wood and he felt happy to be able to witness it.

“George.” He called Wood’s name and signaled for him to walk forward to accept his captain’s armband.

Wood walked forward slowly. He was still reeling in shock. The Forest players patted him on the back and whistled to cheer for him.

Twain pulled Wood over to his side, then turned to speak to the other players. “I have to explain to everyone why I chose Wood as the captain. During the previous summer transfer window, rumors of George Wood’s transfer were widespread throughout the whole of England. Forest was put into a difficult situation, because their best player was being enticed by numerous big clubs. But, in the end, George chose to stay in Forest, and he used his actions to prove that loyalty still exists in modern football.”

Twain’s voice was calm when he spoke about matters involving Nottingham Forest. It was as though he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

“He is a player who has been the captain of Nottingham Forest for the past seven years. I believe that he has the capacity and the qualifications to become the captain of the England national team. I’d like to thank Terry and Gerrard for all that they’ve done over the past few years, and I’d also like to thank them for being understanding.” Twain looked at Terry and Gerrard. The Chelsea and Liverpool players understood through his gaze that he had already settled things with both Terry and Gerrard previously.

Both Terry and Gerrard forced a smile. They both lost the captain’s armband, but what could they do about it? Wood was the one who spent the most time with Twain among them, and Twain also thought highly of Wood. In addition, many people also describe Tony Twain as George Wood’s father. Now that the father has become the manager of the national team, how could the son not get a bit of a preferential treatment?

In truth, Twain’s action of naming Wood as the captain has only piled pressure onto Wood’s shoulders. Everyone knows that the two of them are close, even though there might be reports of tension between them recently. Thus, everyone would naturally speculate that Wood was only able to become the captain of the England national team because he is close to Twain, and Twain cannot do anything to stop any of those speculations.

However, Twain believed in Wood’s ability to handle stress. After all, the stress that he has gone through as the captain of the Forest team was just as immense as the stress that will ride on his shoulders from here on out as the captain of the England national team. Additionally, Wood is also nicknamed ‘St. George’ by many of the British football fans, and Twain believed that all these different factors make Wood a good captain for the team.

Twain did not deny that he was thinking of forming a new England national team with Wood as the core. Letting Wood become the new captain of the team was only the first step of his plans, and he would continue implementing his plan in the matches to come.

It was time for a complete overhaul of the England national team. Many of the players in the current England national team would be slowly kicked out and replaced by new talent.

Twain wanted to build an England national team that belonged solely to him. He was going to get rid of any marks that had been left behind by others on his team, and he was also going to get the team to listen to his every word and to play for him.

All those aforementioned things need to happen first before he can even be confident in the team’s ability to become champions of the UEFA European Championship.

After he finished explaining his rationale to the other players, Twain personally put on the captain’s armband onto Wood’s left sleeve. He then patted Wood’s left arm when he was done.

“I must remind you of one thing, George. This armband is not without an expiry date. I would not hesitate to strip you of this thing the moment your performance falls short of my expectations, and when you are not able to fulfill your role as the captain of the team.” Twain pointed at the armband.

Wood did not respond to his words.

“Everyone, get started with your training!”

Twain retreated to the side and allowed the assistant managers and coaches to get started with the training session.

Wood’s Forest team mates went up to congratulate him, but his response to their words was rather flat. Both Terry and Gerrard also went up to congratulate him, and so everyone else in the national team followed suit and walked up to pat Wood either on the shoulder or on his head. Everyone seemed to be getting along well with one another.

Twain knew that Wood’s captaincy was a challenge both for Wood and for himself.

Wood was able to cement his position as the captain of the Forest team due to Albertini’s teachings and Twain’s favor. The way in which he speaks through his actions rather than words has endeared him to his Forest team mates. They have all come to accept him as their captain wholeheartedly after interacting with him for a long period of time.

However, things were different now that he was the captain of the England national team. Most of the players in the national team are players who come from different football clubs, and many of them would not have interacted with Wood for a long period of time previously, thus they would not be able to accept him as their captain straight away.

Not only that, the impression that most players have of Wood is that he is someone who is reticent and who does not fit well into the group. Given how Twain has suddenly forced the title of captain onto someone like him whom the others did not have a very good impression of, Wood definitely has to perform even better than he did in the past so as to prove that he is worthy of the position as the captain.

Wood did not appear to be as happy at becoming the captain as others had expected him to be. He accepted the words of congratulations from his team mates with a stoic expression the whole time.

He did not seem to be in high spirits during training either.

However, Twain noticed something during training. Wood was more serious than any other player towards training, and he also put in the most hard work during each and every training segment as well. In fact, he performed even better than he did in Forest.

The edge of Twain’s lips went up at that sight.

※※※

After the afternoon training session concluded, Twain stood in the middle of everyone and analysed the pros and cons that he observed during the session. He commended a few players and also criticized a few.

Thereafter, everyone but Wood was dismissed.

This seemed like a normal gesture from the manager. The new manager has to communicate with the new captain so as to better manage the team.

However, Wood knew why Twain had asked him to stay behind. He just knew based on instinct.

The Colney Training Center was basked in the orange glow of the setting sun after everyone left the premises. The trees in the distance swayed gently in the breeze, and their movements seemed to have carried a sense of coolness into the training center. The weather felt less hot than it did in the afternoon as a result.

The cool weather seemed to make people feel much more relaxed and comfortable.

The training center was very silent. Only the chirping sounds of birds in the distant forest could be picked up.

Wood stood on the pitch and Twain stood at the sidelines. Approximately 20 meters separated the two of them from each other.

Twain took one step forward.

Wood took one step back.

Twain thought it was just a coincidence. He stopped in his tracks for a moment before he took one step forward. Then another. And another.

Wood swiftly took one step backwards. Then another. And another.

Twain understood what was going on. He stood still, threw out his hands and asked loudly, “What’s this? Like charges repelling each other?”

Wood stood wordlessly on the pitch that was bathed in the orange hue of the setting sun.

Twain took several strides forward quickly, and Wood retreated backwards quickly.

Twain began running forward, and Wood turned around to flee.

Thereafter, a chase began on the pitch, and it looked just like a hunt that was taking place on the African savanna.

By right, the prey should be in front and the predator should be at the back. But, the scene right now was just like the prey chasing the predator… The rabbit was panting heavily, whereas the cheetah still had the luxury to look backwards here and there to see how far behind the rabbit was.

The two had barely run around half of the pitch when the 46-year-old Twain threw in the towel. He could not continue running anymore. He bent over and pressed both his hands on his knees as he panted heavily.

Wood stopped running when he noticed that Twain had stopped in his tracks. He then stared at Twain from a distance.

Twain suddenly straightened his back. Wood thought he was going to continue the chase, so he turned around and was about to continue running when Twain scolded him angrily, “Stop running for god’s sake!”