Godfather Of Champions

The Forest team played an important league game when the rumors about Ribéry’s transfer swirled around. Their opponent was Arsenal, their direct competitor for the league title. Twain would not allow the team to make any mistakes, but the result was not what he wanted.

The game ended up with a 0:0 draw. They were forced to a tie with Arsenal at home, and Twain was a little upset. However, there was no other way. He could not win the game just because he wanted to win. The game was not always won by the strongest team; sometimes luck was the most important factor. The Forest team was as powerful as Arsenal and comparable in terms of luck. So they could only tie.

The draw was not a good result for either team. Twain wanted to win, and so did Wenger. As the season drew to a close, the top three teams had hopes of winning the league title. Which team would give up?

The draw was great news for Ferguson’s Manchester United team.

Taking advantage of the Forest team’s draw, Manchester United, who won their league game for the round, rose to the first in the league’s rankings. They had the same number of points as Forest, but were dominant in terms of goals scored.

In March, after the Champions League tournament was completed, the most important thing was the domestic league. There were now nine rounds left out of 38, and the top three teams were still in a tight race.

At present, Manchester United was in first place with 67 points, Nottingham Forest was in second with 67 points, followed by Arsenal with 65 points. No one knew which team would become the league champion.

It was the delight of football for the spectators, but not an easy job for the three teams’ managers.

Furthermore, all the three teams had advanced to the quarterfinals in the Champions League. Another English team in the quarterfinals was Chelsea, led by Grant.

Faced with the hope of both the league title and the Champions League title again, Twain did not want to give up the league tournament like he did a year ago. After communicating with the coaching staff and team doctors, he believed the team’s condition could cope with the two competition. They currently ranked second in the league and had the same points as Manchester United. Even though they would challenge Real Madrid in the Champions League, the Forest team might not lose. It would be a pity to give up either side.

Therefore, the Monday morning after they played the league game against Arsenal, Twain announced the team’s real goal this season at the regular coaches’ meeting.

“I want to win both championships.”

The coaching staff was not surprised, as if they had taken it into account.

With Twain’s propensity to pursue victory and championship titles, plus the strength of the team was now a level higher, he really had no reason to give up any of these championships.

The players had the ability and the manager had the idea, so that was how it would be.

※※※

On March 16th, the 30th round of the league, at their home ground, Nottingham Forest deployed a lineup made of half main players and half substitutes to defeat Bolton Wanderers by 1:0. They continued to keep pace with Manchester United in the rankings while the hapless Arsenal, on the other hand, was behind the two teams by four points after a tie with Middlesbrough.

Just as the media began to speculate on whether Nottingham Forest or Manchester United would be the final champion of the league, the Forest team unexpectedly lost in the 31st round of the league.

On March 22nd, Nottingham Forest had an away challenge against Blackburn Rovers. Although the opponent currently ranked mid-stream, and Blackburn Rovers was crushed 5:3 by the Forest team in the first half of last year’s league tournament, Twain still dared not take them lightly. He sent the strongest squad he could.

However, while he took it seriously, his players did not have the same regard. Nottingham Forest underestimated the opponent during the game and was slow in getting into the game state.

The result was a goal by the opponent in the opening thirteen minutes.

Following that, the Forest team launched a counterattack and tied the score shortly after the start of the second half. The Forest fans thought it was time for the Forest star players to perform next, but they did not expect Blackburn’s breakout.

They scored two consecutive goals in the final ten minutes of the game, destroying the Forest team’s dream of a reversal to achieve victory.

“To be fair… Nottingham Forest has no reason to win this game at all.” After the game, the television commentator said, “I couldn’t find the slightest positive point other than that equalizer goal. The players of the Forest team played as if they were asleep. John said the Forest team was slow to enter the state, but I thought they did not get in at all… It could that they underestimated their opponent. Who knows? They lost anyway. Manchester United comes out ahead in fight for the league title.”

Twain’s face turned ugly when he heard the whistle at the end of the game. They had lost to the most undeserving opponent at a crucial moment in the race for the league title. After his team tied with Arsenal, Twain just comforted his players that it was just bad luck and he was not furious, but now he was keen to rush into the locker room and berate everyone.

In his plan, a game against a strong team was an effort to win, and a draw was the minimum requirement, but when up against a midstream team that was not as strong as they were, especially an unambitious midstream team, the Forest team’s goal was victory and nothing else. The name “Blackburn Rovers” was included in Twain’s “victory list” and the three points were planned.

Who would have guessed they would end up losing the game!

With those three points gone, their same-point advantage with Manchester United was gone. The Forest team fell to the second place, and the points gap with Manchester United turned into a three-point difference.

The three-point gap could not be underestimated. In the final sprint of the league tournament, even a one-point gap could cause irreparable failure, so no one wanted to make a mistake at a time like that. Making a mistake meant a season of hard work would be for naught.

Unfortunately…

The atmosphere seemed a bit subdued in the visitors’ locker room at Ewood Park stadium because of the loss. Tony Twain was outside for the post-match press conference, and Kerslake was comforting some of the dejected players.

Everyone knew what it meant to lose the game: they had ceded the initiative to compete for the league title to Manchester United.

The locker room door opened with a “whoosh” sound and everyone raised their heads to see Twain with a dark expression.

Someone even heard a swallow.

“In the press conference, all the reporters’ questions for me were just about one thing: ‘whether this loss will have any adverse effect on the team’s bid for the title.’” Twain said to his players as he shut the door with the back of his hand. His voice was low, but the Forest players knew it was nothing more than a low dark cloud in the sky before the storm.

“Guess how I answered? ‘You ask the question when you already know the answer.” Twain shrugged. “I wanted to say something that was more unpleasant, but I did not want to cause any more trouble. At this critical juncture, I f**king sent in the strongest squad, just for you to go up and underestimate the enemy!” He did not hold back from the use of foul language. “I’m so disappointed by your performance! No fighting spirit at all! I thought you guys were going to play a little better after that equalizer. I did not think you’d become incompetent right away! What were you thinking? We don’t have a Champions League game, and we don’t have to play in the FA Cup. It’s just this damn league tournament! Blackburn Rovers! You couldn’t even defeat such an opponent! How else do you expect to compete for the title against Manchester United and Arsenal?! You actually lost to the Blackburn Rovers!”

Twain scolded everyone, including the team captain, George Wood. The reason Twain scolded him was that Wood had too little support for the team’s offense. He didn’t appear firm enough when it was time to go up and seemed too concerned about defense.

No one could escape the misfortune of Twain’s spittle, except for those who failed to come to the away game.

“Think about it! You bunch of bastards!”

After he scolded everyone, Twain slammed the door and left, leaving a room full of people staring blankly at each other. The atmosphere was extremely awkward.

The people on the current Forest team were not used to being scolded by their own manager so mercilessly. The team had done well the last two years, so Twain rarely criticized them. He wanted to maintain a good atmosphere, and the players’ performance gave him no cause for any rebuke. So the older players had forgotten that Twain’s mouth could sometimes aim at them and the newcomers had no chance to encounter that kind of thing.

No one liked to be scolded, whether they was a nobody or a star player. Twain’s unapologetic rant had left some feeling embarrassed. But Tony Twain was the manager of the team, so they could only be silent and bury the dissatisfaction deep in their hearts.

Bendtner kicked his boots off in frustration. The brittle sound of cleats hitting the ground broke the silence in the locker room.

Kerslake clapped and forced a smile onto his face. “Well, guys, don’t take it to heart. Whether it’s this failure or… whatever else, pack up your things and get ready to board the bus.”

The group began to quietly pack their backpacks.

Kerslake whispered a few words to Dunn and turned to leave the locker room. He was going to look for Tony Twain. Some things could not be bottled up inside.

※※※

Kerslake found Twain sitting inside the bus.

“Tony.”

Twain looked up at him. The anger on his face had not dissipated.

“I think we need to talk.”

“What about?”

“About the mess you left behind after your venting.”

“Are you saying I shouldn’t criticize them?”

“No, that’s not what I mean.” Kerslake saw Twain’s face darkening and knew he was still angry. “I just think… the players already know the problem lies with them and I’m sure they’ll kill their opponent in the next game. But your admonishment screwed things up… Well, I mean, you did not stir up their competitiveness, but you might have scolded them into…”

“How so?” Twain gave a quick glance sideway at Kerslake.

“Tony, once a crack appears, it’s impossible to heal again. I don’t want any discordance to appear in the locker room…”

“Are you worried that I’ve caused some players to become our enemies with my scolding?”

Kerslake did not answer, but his manner unmistakably told him the answer.

Twain did not refute him. He frowned and remained silent for a moment. “Well, I’ll apologize to them, but I’ll wait until tomorrow. I can’t back down now.”

Kerslake smiled. “I knew you are a smart man, Tony.”

“No need for flattery. I’m in a bad mood right now,” Twain said gruffly.

“Take a moment to relax.” As the season drew to a close and the goal of a Double was officially put on the table, Kerslake knew that the pressure on Twain’s head was growing. When they won the game, they were afraid of losing the next. Or they regretted not winning after a draw. As for losing a game… they did not even want to talk about it. That pressure would be with him all the time until the season ended.

“Take care of yourself, Tony.” He recalled how Twain came to him with a miserable expression and said he did not feel well after they had tied the home game with AC Milan and had asked him to attend the press conference. Kerslake was taken aback. Being a manager was a stressful career, and in the long run, the position was quite damaging to people’s health.

He still remembered the sudden fainting incident of Liverpool’s former manager, Houllier, in 2001, while he directed the game against Leeds United. When he was rushed to hospital, he was diagnosed with a heart attack and only managed to survive due to an eleven-hour surgery. Houllier spent five months recuperating before he returned to the Liverpool manager’s post.

The English Premier League managers might be under the most pressure in the world, whether they were at the top or bottom of the rankings. Everyone was under pressure and no one was much more relaxed than another.

Kerslake worried that the recent events would add to Twain’s psychological stress and cause damage to his health, so he had to remind Twain to stay calm at such times.

“You’re the manager of the team. If something happens to you, we will not only lose the game. It will be easy to lose the entire season.”

Twain was not an unreasonable man. He could not be angry in the face of Kerslake’s kindness.

“Thank you, David.” He could only express his gratitude. His body felt fine. Only the psychological pressure was great. However, what manager was not under a little psychological pressure? If the could not withstand this pressure, the should just quit.

“In that case… I will head back. Those boys are taking their time to get changed…” Kerslake got off the bus and went back to the locker room to urge the players to come out.

Twain sat alone in the empty bus, recalling every word he had just said in the locker room. Now that he was a little calmer, he admitted that some of his words were vicious. It looked like an apology was in order, but he had to wait until the next day.

He wanted to let the boys feel his anger to the fullest. Otherwise, if he joked and had fun with them all the time, would they really think that they could do whatever they want and he would condone it? You can joke with me, but you can’t lose a game. Losing a game that shouldn’t have been lost is even worse.

I’m the boss of this team. Ace player? Superstar footballer? You all have to listen to me.

The sound of footsteps came from outside the bus, and the Nottingham Forest players boarded one by one. He kept a straight face and did not acknowledge them. The players were also quiet as they got on the bus.

In this uncomfortable atmosphere, Nottingham Forest returned to Nottingham overnight to prepare for the next round of the league tournament — a home game against Portsmouth, who humiliated them with a score of 7:4. But this time, no one would dare to look down on their opponent again, because like Blackburn Rovers, who once scored three goals against the Forest in the first leg and was even better than them, Portsmouth had once scored four goals against Nottingham Forest, who claimed to start out with defense.