Godfather Of Champions

Appendix: Nottingham Forest’s final list in the 2006-07 season (jersey number in brackets).

Goalkeepers: Edwin van der Sar (1), Paul Gerrard (25), Igor Akinfeev (12, on loan to CSKA Moscow)

Defenders: Leighton Baines (22), Gareth Bale (2), Pascal Chimbonda (3), Sun Jihai (21), Gerard Piqué (24), Vincent Kompany (33), Pepe (6), Wes Morgan (5)

Midfielders: George Wood (13), Demetrio Albertini (4), Martin Petrov (8), Rafael van der Vaart (23), Kris Commons (20, on loan to Watford), Ashley Young (18), Aaron Lennon (17), Franck Ribéry (7), Mikel Arteta (14)

Strikers: Freddy Eastwood (11), Nicklas Bendtner (9), Ruud van Nistelrooy (10), Nicolas Anelka (39)

※※※

“Guys, don’t you think it’s amazing?” Twain asked his team in the locker room before the first game of the season. “Our first game last season was here too, against the same opponent.”

When he said that, everyone thought about it. He was right, it was exactly the same.

Nottingham Forest had hosted Wigan Athletic in last season’s first game. Everyone still had an impression of this team, because they had been called “the second Nottingham Forest” by the media, both before and after the game. The opposing manager had also named Twain as his idol during the interview and said that Nottingham Forest was a role model for his team to learn from top to bottom.

“It looks like you all remember. So, does anyone remember the course of that game?” Twain continued to ask.

Accordingly, everyone thought again. Other than the newly joined Van Nistelrooy, Van der Vaart, and Petrov, everyone else remembered what that game was like.

“Chief, we played badly in the first half,” Albertini stood up and answered. Although George Wood spent more time on the field wearing the captain’s armband, the Italian was still the team’s first captain.

“Not bad.” Twain motioned for Albertini to sit down. “I was furious with you all during the halftime interval and then we won in the second half, but I don’t want to a repeat performance. I’m sure you don’t want to see me like that again, do you? I’m actually very good-natured.”

The players laughed.

“At that time, we were still young and naive enough to feel complacent just because our opponent gave us a few words of praise. Now, it’s different. We’ve all been through a lot of important games and have more experience!” Twain and his players met gazes and in the exchange, the players understood what Twain was referring to when he said experience—the UEFA Champions League final. “We’re no longer the same as we were a season ago. We’ve weathered a lot and will not trip over such a small game. Bring your best form! We have a magnificent goal for the new season. Do you all know that?”

“Yes, Chief!”

“The Champions League title! WOOOW!”

The players shouted in unison, impassioned by this goal.

“Very good. Now, this is our first official game for the new season. So… give me a good start!”

※※※

“This coincidence was wonderful for Nottingham Forest, whose opponents in last season’s first round appeared in the first round of this season. The weaker Wigan Athletic cannot threaten the Forest team’s defense. The Forest team’s big-name stars will show their offensive strength as much as they like in the front field, and poor Wigan Athletic can only choose to defend their goal to the death.”

“Twain shows no mercy to their little brother… Haha!”

It was almost a replica of everything that had happened last season. Even the two commentators for the game were Twain’s old acquaintances—John Motson and Alan Hansen.

The only difference was that the two commentators joked about the two teams in the game in an easy manner and didn’t mock or ridicule Nottingham Forest’s poor performance as they had last year, because Nottingham Forest was gaining the upper hand, both in terms of the game situation and the score.

The game’s latest score was displayed on the electronic scoreboard: Nottingham Forest 1:0 Wigan Athletic.

“This is a more mature team.” Motson critiqued the Forest team as such.

He was right to say that. After that important defeat, the Forest team had matured a lot. It was obvious, judging by how they dealt with Wigan Athletic.

They didn’t give their opponents any chance and took advantage of their overwhelming advantage of their home ground and strength. They controlled the pace of the game firmly. The team’s overall tactics were no different from last season. At the beginning of the new season, Twain placed importance on stability. They had to first strengthen their performance before they considered a change of tactics. During this game, the Forest team’s two flanks repeatedly shuttled up and down. On the left side, Ribéry agitated Wigan Athletic’s defense on the right until they were confused and jittery. Ashley Young, who was back in action after his internal ban had ended, repeatedly used his passes to salvage his image in the manager’s mind.

Other than the major changes on the forward line where Van Nistelrooy replaced Viduka and Eastwood replaced Anelka, the rest of the team was no different from last season.

Van der Vaart, who had been bought for 5.7 million dollars, entered the team’s main list, but didn’t make his debut. The Forest team’s midfield combination in the middle was still the unstoppable George Wood and Arteta. Therefore, the team formation was still the flat four positioning, 4-4-2.

Although they had repeatedly practiced new tactics during the summer training session, Twain was still not reassured. The new tactics were still hasty and not as dependable as the old tactics that the team had practiced for two years. At the start of the new season, he chose to be steady, and at the end of the day, the utilitarian in him was at work.

The team performed well year after year: They ranked fourth in the English Premier League in their first season and were in the top eight in the UEFA Europa League. In the second season, they were the runner-up in the Premier League and the Champions League… What extent would be satisfying for them this season? The Forest team would have to bear more expectations in the future seasons. The Forest team’s rocket-like ascent made everyone feel that this miraculous team’s outstanding performance was to be expected as a matter of fact. Otherwise, the World Soccer magazine wouldn’t have rated Nottingham Forest “a strong team” instead of “a dark horse.”

Just as Twain was flushed with success, the pressure on his shoulders grew heavier… Certainly, this was part of the price he had to pay for success. As the hottest manager of the moment, he had to be aware of this.

※※※

The player who scored a goal for the Forest team was Franck Ribéry. With his excellent performances in the World Cup and the UEFA Champions League, he had become a world-renowned player. Wigan Athletic specially arranged to closely mark him but still failed to block him. With a corner kick, Ribéry shot Nottingham Forest’s first goal of the new season.

The City Ground stadium fell into a frenzy. Even though everyone had become familiar with Tony Twain’s team bringing victory after victory, every goal could still ignite the passion.

After the goal, Ribéry ran to the corner flag, followed closely behind by Van Nistelrooy, the player nearest to him. This newly joined player waved his arms to signal to his teammates to come up and celebrate.

Twain had once told Dunn and Kerslake that he wasn’t worried at all about the question of Van Nistelrooy’s integration with the team. It had now been proven.

Twain knew this. Van Nistelrooy was a very professional player. A new environment for him meant that he had to start over. He needed to adapt to everything in the new team. He knew how to integrate faster and better with this team. It was normally a good idea to take the initiative to be friendly.

He wasn’t peculiar like Anelka, who wasn’t likeable.

Van Nistelrooy’s assimilation into the team was smooth, so it wouldn’t be difficult for Van der Vaart, either. The team had three Dutch players, and the first to join was Edwin van der Sar. Twain didn’t mind the men from same country sticking together. The old players could help the new players become familiar with the team. It was a virtuous cycle when done properly.

As for the wrangling between the factions from various countries, Twain wasn’t worried. The days were long, and there was time for them to recognize who the people were that the team couldn’t do without.

※※※

At the end of the first half of the game, the score was still at 1:0, with Nottingham Forest dominating. The home fans weren’t worried about the outcome of this game. Tony Twain’s team was reassuring. The quality of the team’s determination would not easily lead to failures like a “dark three minutes,” where a foregone conclusion at the last moment could be completely reversed.

During the fifteen minutes interval at halftime, Twain lauded the team’s performance with reservations and specially praised each player after roll call. He didn’t gloss over his words, but truly praised everyone from the bottom of his heart.

No one disliked praise. Twain was also not stingy with his praise, which was a means of management. He was reminded only after Kerslake mentioned Bale at that time that it was easy for a person to pay a compliment, but it might be an important incentive for those who received it.

Of course, he also wasn’t stingy with telling them off.

With regards to this point, Twain was rather inventive with rewards and punishment…

During halftime, Twain didn’t say much tactical stuff other than praising everyone on the team. All the coaches knew that when their team did well and occupied the dominant position in the first half, there was often no need for anything else to be said at halftime. It was the best option for the team to continue playing the way they had in the first half. This was the same principle for the reason not to hastily change tactics and deployment of players when the lineup continued to win games.

Therefore, towards the end halftime, Twain just clapped and said to the players, who were ready, “Play like you did before!”

※※※

The Forest team carried out this remark in the second half and continued playing in the second half as they had in the first half.

Wigan Athletic was definitely not willing to lose this game. After all, they were no longer newly promoted from a season ago with a dream to successfully stay in the English Premier League. Last season’s excellent results had made them more ambitious this season—to qualify for the next season’s UEFA Europa League.

Since they were called “the second Nottingham Forest,” how could the Wigan Athletic manager, Paul Jewell not study the team in front of his eyes?

He admitted that he understood Twain’s team and Twain as a person and was fully confident that he could make a comeback in the second half—conceding one goal in the first half was well within Jewell’s plan.

Much accomplished at a young age, Twain was currently flushed with success. He had chosen to take it lying down in the first half so as to make Twain underestimate his opponent. The second half was a good time for Wigan Athletic to launch a massive counterattack. He still remembered the Forest team’s performance in the first game last season.

It would have been possible for Wigan Athletic to go home with three points had it not been for Twain’s admonishment of his players at halftime.

But right now, Manager Twain, you won’t be scolding them during halftime… Jewell thought, feeling a little smug.

Ten minutes after the start of the second half, Wigan Athletic suddenly powered up and threatened the Forest team’s grounds with three consecutive attacks.

Dunn looked at Jewell, who walked to the sidelines from the technical area and reminded him, “Tony…”

Twain smiled and waved, “I know. It’s not nice to be number two. Take a look, guys. No one is willing to be someone else’s replacement. Jewell thought that he had studied me and the Forest team, so let him continue to think so.”

“Do you want to make any changes?” Kerslake asked.

Twain stared at the field for a moment before answering, “No.”

Kerslake was surprised by his reply. He had thought that Twain was going to adjust his tactics. “But the opponents have seen through our tactics, and they’ve stepped up their defense on the sides…” he said and pointed to the field.

Twain smiled, “You’re right. They’ve seen through our tactics. But… what about it?”

Kerslake was rendered speechless by his rhetorical question.

“Does he know how to deal with it when he sees through our tactics? If he knows how to deal with it, does that mean he’ll be able to do it?” Twain laughed more and more happily. In Dunn’s eyes, he was giving off a feeling that his prank had succeeded.

“David.” Twain decided to give his assistants a good lesson. “In this world, these petty maneuvers do not mean that everything will go smoothly and unhindered. You know that they are still some distance away from us in terms of ability. But do you know how big a gap there is between them and us? Sometimes, an absolute advantage in strength can make all schemes and ploys ineffective. The gap between them and us…” He pointed confidently to the darkened sky and said, “Is like the distance from Earth to Mars.”

Kerslake’s mouth was agape. He had trouble accepting this reference.

“Nothing has to change. This lineup and this set of tactics will remain the same. We’ll let Wigan Athletic understand why they can only be ‘the second Nottingham Forest,’ and not the real one. As you know, it’s dangerous to believe oneself infallible in a fantasy.”

With that, Twain got up, walked from the technical area to the sidelines, then whistled. When his players set their sights on him, he gestured for them to push forward. He was telling the team to continue to press forward, keep attacking, and score more goals.

Wigan Athletic’s three consecutive attacks on the Forest team’s hinterland just then had already provoked his squad of proud and arrogant Forest players. Even without the manager’s reminder, they would also press up to absolutely crush the opponent.

For the rest of the game, Jewell could only look on in astonishment as he watched his team be trampled by the other team.

Twain was right. Jewell had seen through the Forest team’s tactics and studied them thoroughly. He had also come up with a lot of ways to curb the Forest team’s most impressive side attacks, but he hadn’t considered that his team, whether in overall or individual competitive ability, were far from the Forest team. Even if his strategies were on the right track, what was the use if the players who implemented them were not strong enough?

“Arteta… What a beautiful pass! Eastwood isn’t greedy, and he passes the ball to… Van Nistelrooy!! He scored his first league goal for Nottingham Forest!

“This was Van der Vaart’s first contact with the ball in the game. He tries a long shot—and it hits the Wigan Athletic defender on the leg and bounces out… and Ashley Young makes a pass! Antonio Valencia… goal! Poor Valencia, this is his first league game for Wigan Athletic…

“The frontline combination of Heskey and Camara simply doesn’t pose any threat to George Wood’s leading defensive line. Wood actually rushed up to participate in the offense… He makes a long shot! Oh, what a pity, he shot too high!”

After the team was leading the opponent by 3:0, Twain, who was standing on the sidelines, turned to the two assistant managers and shrugged, then walked back.

“The game is over,” he said to his two helpers at the 76th minute.

On the other side, Jewell’s face looked ugly. But what could he do about it? His strategy was completely ineffective against the Forest team. The gap between the strength of the two teams was too wide… even wider than it had been a year before. It wasn’t that Wigan Athletic had weakened. His team had added some players this summer. The only reasonable explanation was that Nottingham Forest had become stronger, and the speed of their strengthening was far greater than he had anticipated.

“Nottingham Forest has fully demonstrated the strength of a great team. Poor Wigan Athletic, it looks like they can only continue to be ‘the second.’ There’s no suspense in this game. Nottingham Forest takes control of every corner of the field and can score as many goals as they want! Tony Twain is having a really good laugh. This is the perfect beginning of a new season!”

Amid Motson’s praise, the referee blew the whistle to signal the end of the game.

Tony Twain took the initiative to go shake the hand of the loser, Jewell, and said, “Welcome back to Earth, Mr. Jewell. There are still thirty-seven games in the league. Please continue to fight on!”

Jewell smiled a little helplessly. “Please continue to do well, Mr. Twain.”

They were right. There were still thirty-seven matches in the league, and the new season was just starting. They all needed to keep fighting.

But in any case, Jewell’s team had been defeated, while Twain had received a boost, signifying a good beginning.