Godfather Of Champions

It was almost eleven o’clock at night when they got back to the hotel they were staying in for the night. Twain, who was tired from the busy day, simply took a cool shower and fell asleep on his bed.

In the room next to him, Dunn also took a shower when he returned to his room. He did not immediately fall asleep because he had washed his hair and he had to wait for it to dry before he went to bed. Making use of the time, Dunn turned on his laptop and logged online. There was a problem that had been floating in his mind ever since it came up on the bus, and it was bothering him. He would not be able to sleep tonight if he could not figure it out.

Pulling up the official English Premier League website, he clicked onto the page with the competition schedule.

The situation was not quite the same as Twain predicted.

In the 37th round, Manchester United would challenge Manchester City in an away game and Chelsea would play against Arsenal.

There were two derbies being held.

※※※

Early next morning, Twain was woken up by a knock on the door. He flipped over and picked up his watch from the bedside table. It was only eight o’clock.

He initially wanted to ignore it, but the knocking on the door was insistent.

“I don’t need any room service!” Twain cried.

“Tony.” Dunn’s voice came from outside the door.

Twain paused for a moment before he jumped out of bed, wearing only underwear to open the door.

Dunn was already dressed properly. He looked as if he had been up for some time.

“There’s no training this morning.” Twain yawned and went back towards the bed.

“Aren’t you going to Mr. Chairman’s house?”

“That’s at nine-thirty. It’s only eight o’clock. I can sleep for at least another hour.” Twain flopped back into bed, ready to sleep again.

“I found out an interesting thing last night and I want to tell you. Perhaps it can help you a little in your meeting with the chairman this morning.”

“What? Go ahead…” Twain yawned again.

“Do you know which the opponents for the remaining two rounds of Chelsea and Manchester United are?”

Half-asleep, Twain shook his head and feebly mumbled, “Who remembers other teams’ schedules? It’s already pretty good that I can remember the Forest team’s schedule…”

“In the 37th round, Chelsea challenges Arsenal in an away game and Manchester United is on an away game against Manchester City. In the 38th round, Chelsea will host Everton…”

Without waiting for Dunn to finish, Twain sat up from the bed. He looked at Dunn, who nodded and said, “two derbies.”

Twain was not sleepy any longer. He sat up, squinting and looking dazedly out of the window at the bright sunshine outside.

“How could this be…” He muttered after a long while.

“Is this good news or bad news?”

Twain began to get dressed. Even if he were to lie in bed, he could not sleep anymore. “I don’t know. If we handle it well, it is good news. It will be bad news if we mishandle it.”

He did not expect to be involved in the situation he had set up because of an accident.

Just as he had said to Dunn, the matter would have a happy ending if they handled it well, or they would end up with nothing if they botched it.

“I still want to sit on the sidelines as a spectator and watch our opponents fight to death to reap the rewards after, Dunn. It’s a lot better to watch the show than to see it go down in person.”

“I don’t believe you don’t want to take this title.”

“Of course I want to, but I don’t know if this is going to be a honey trap.” Twain’s muffled voice came from the bathroom. “We once set the same trap for Chelsea and Manchester United, leading them to play poorly in the first leg of the semi-finals. So, I know the danger of this trap.”

Twain came out of the bathroom and wiped his face before he continued to talk to Dunn. “If this is not a trap, I’m not willing to let go of a championship title for nothing. So, I’m currently undecided and conflicted.”

“There are only two rounds left anyway. Just hunker down and persist.”

Twain did not give an opinion. He did not know what to say. The sudden development had upset all his plans. He was unable to calm himself down.

“In short… I’ll meet Evan and see how it goes.” Twain put on his coat and opened the door, “Let’s go and have breakfast together.”

※※※

The players who had finished their breakfast left the hotel in droves to attend to their own matters. They had half a day off before training in the afternoon to prepare for the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals happening midweek.

Twain’s seat was filled with a pile of newspapers, and Kerslake sat next to them.

“Tony, look at the papers.” He pointed to the newspapers.

“Reading newspapers at mealtimes can be bad for your gut.” Even so, Twain spread out the papers.

Nottingham’s media were full of praises about Forest’s game yesterday, complimenting Twain for letting the fans enjoy the joy of winning once again. That was not what Twain was concerned about. He quickly skimmed through and found the news in the papers about the other two league games yesterday.

Both Manchester United and Chelsea were tied by their rivals, which was an outcome that the media did not anticipate. Before the game, pundits had analyzed that the probability of these two teams having a draw at the same time was extremely low; they did not expect them to really do it.

As these two tied games brought on a chain reaction, it was also naturally within the focus of the media.

Several different newspapers listed the latest league standings. The names of Chelsea, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest were printed in bold. Their points were also in bold to make them more striking.

In an ascending order: 79, 80, 82.

These scores made people’s imagination run wild.

Almost all media outlets thought these two draws had suddenly thrusted Nottingham Forest, which had little hope of winning, into the ranks of a title contender. To verify this interpretation, they even listed these three teams’ competition schedule for the final two rounds. Chelsea and Manchester United faced strong rivals in the 37th round, as Arsenal and Manchester City were not to be trifled with. Furthermore, in the context of a derby, these two games would hard to play. Whereas, Nottingham Forest’s opponent in the 37th round was Aston Villa, who was not a strong team. As long as those two teams lost in this round and Nottingham Forest beat Aston Villa, they would have the opportunity to take the top seat and share the same points as Manchester United. However, the requirement of dominance in the goal difference would still put them first in the league.

This would be the first time they would have taken the top spot in the league this season.

“I can say that the 37th round is likely to be the key to determining the eventual champion of the league title.” One expert solemnly vowed.

Twain put the papers aside. He already knew everything that followed without reading it.

“They all seem to forget that Chelsea and Manchester United are still one game short,” he said to the two assistant managers. “Even if they both lose the 37th round, so what? Similarly, if Chelsea wins, Chelsea will be first; if Manchester United wins, Manchester United will be first; if both sides had a draw, Manchester United is still number one. What’s the point of analyzing these? Dunn, you just said there are two rounds left and that we just have to hunker down and persist. But it is because there are only two rounds left that our hope is slim. Two rounds are just too few. There’s no room for us to maneuver.”

“What if both teams lost their last rounds…”

“Wake up, David.” Twain scoffed. “Our opponent in the last round is not weak either. It’s Liverpool. They are in the fourth place, pushing Arsenal down. What’s more, even if we can beat Liverpool at home — no matter the cost — and get the last three points and expect the other two teams to lose at the same time, the odds of Manchester United losing and Chelsea getting a draw are too low. Chelsea’s final round is with Everton, who is rather strong. Manchester United’s last round is at home against West Ham United. I don’t believe that with the strength of Manchester United and Ferguson’s experience, they will upend at home in the final round. That’s only a theoretical possibility. I think it’s too unreliable to pin our hopes on a theory. Do you know how complicated our situation is now?”

Kerslake remained silent for a while before he muttered, “Reality is really harsh…”

※※※

After breakfast, Twain decided to drink coffee at the hotel to admire the beautiful women while waiting for Evan’s driver to pick him up. Dunn, on the other hand, went home alone.

Before he left, Dunn asked him, “have you already made the decision to give up the league tournament?”

Twain shook his head. “No, I didn’t say I was going to give up. I’m still considering it now.”

“Indecision doesn’t quite suit your personality.”

“I can’t be a qualified manager by relying on impulse and passion alone.”

Dunn nodded. “Anyway, the person who has to decide is you. I just execute it.”

After he said goodbye to Dunn, Twain sat alone in the hotel lobby and looked at the passersby outside the window, lost in his thoughts. It was not until the familiar dark red Audi appeared in sight that he snapped back to reality.

※※※

It was the first time Twain had gone to the club chairman’s house. He had previously thought that the Doughty family, who were rather famous and wealthy in Nottingham, must have bought a mansion in the most luxurious part of the city. He did not expect the car to drive him out of the city and head straight to the rural wilderness to the northwest.

The final destination was a farm that looked no different from all farms in England. A three-story conjoined mason building showed that the house had some history. If it were a cloudy day, the grey building would be reminiscent of something eerie like “The Haunted Castle.” Fortunately, the sky was blue and dotted with white clouds. The gray stone building, situated in a green wilderness, looked perfect.

After the car passed through the high walls and iron gates, Twain saw a vast expanse of green fields and low hedges. This scenery was uplifting. He could not help but take a deep breath.

As he got out of the car, Evan Doughty personally met him at the entrance. Or rather, just happened to be there. He was pushing a wheelchair with an old man sitting in it and taking a stroll.

Although he had not seen him for several years, Twain quickly recognized the man, the former club chairman, Mr. Nigel Doughty.

He was taken aback by this discovery.

He remembered what the old chairman had said to him when he patted him on the shoulder after he had just moved there. At the time, the simple words gave him encouragement and comfort, and also strengthened his belief to make something of himself in this field.

When he reacted, Twain greeted Nigel Doughty. “Good morning, Mr. Nigel Doughty.”

Sitting in the wheelchair, Nigel Doughty was expressionless and did not seem to hear Twain’s words as his fingers and head kept shaking.

After a while, an indistinct voice came from the depths of his throat, as if to answer Twain’s greetings. It had to be so…

“Parkinson’s disease,” said Evan, who was pushing the wheelchair.

Looking at the appearance of the former chairman, Twain also did not know what to say. He found it hard to associate the former Nigel Doughty with the sick old man in front of him. He remembered that when Evan came to power, the announcement had stated that Mr. Nigel Doughty was unwell, and he could no longer continue to hold his position as club chairman. He thought it was just a dignified excuse; he did not think it was true.

“If the weather is good, I take him out for a stroll. There are not many such opportunities in the UK. When he went to America, he could not bear to leave England, but the weather here is too inhospitable for an elderly patient.”

When he saw that Twain did not speak, Evan also knew that it was not a nice topic, so he pushed the wheelchair and walked as he spoke. “Tell me about the league tournament, Tony. We seem to be in a good situation.”

His tone had calmed down a lot since the day befpre. Perhaps he had analyzed it too?

Twain guessed so. “It only looks good.”

“Oh? The media say we are currently a strong contender for the title.”

“The media likes to exaggerate. You want to hear my analysis?”

Evan Doughty gestured for Twain to continue.

Twain repeated the speech he had given to Kerslake at breakfast that morning. Evan did not interrupt him and listened attentively.

When Twain finished, he asked, “so how likely do you think we are to win the league?”

“0.1%.”

“You may as well just say there’s no hope, Tony,” Evan said tersely.

“I didn’t want to dash your hopes.” Twain laughed. “We’ve been aiming for the Champions League title for a season, and now with two rounds left in the league tournament, I find it a bit difficult to switch us to the league title instead. If we could be sure that we had a better chance, I would have seriously consider it. But the hope this time is just too small. I don’t want us to put in one hundred percent of our efforts only to end up with nothing in the end. It could jeopardize our Champions League plan. You know how important the Champions League is, Evan.”

Evan Doughty nodded. “Of course I know. It’s the dream of all European clubs.”

“Yes. And the Champions League holds a special meaning for Nottingham Forest. If I have to choose, I think choosing the Champions League will be better for us.”

“I’m not asking you to choose one out of the two. I want both, Tony.”

“Oh, come on, it doesn’t need to be spelled out. If we have any hope of getting aDouble, do you think I don’t want to, Evan? I’m more eager than anyone to get the title and win more championships. But to put it bluntly, this season’s league title doesn’t belong to us. Maybe at the end of the day we have a hope of coming in second in the league, but the chances of a league title are too small.” Looking at Nigel Doughty, the former club chairman in the wheelchair, he added, “maybe we’ll have a chance to get a Double in the future, a Treble, or even five titles like Liverpool… But not this season.”

He did not doubt the feelings the old man had for Nottingham Forest. In the mid 90’s, when the Forest team was at its most difficult, he bought most of the Forest team’s shares and invested heavily in the team, hoping that the team would get back on its feet and advance into the Premier League again. Unfortunately, no one could predict what fate had in store for them. The collapse of the independent television digital platform caused all his efforts to be in vain, and also greatly impacted the old man’s ambition and aspirations. Like Twain’s mentor, Paul Hart, he chose to hand the club over to his son and withdrew.

The first half of the last sentence was meant for him to hear.

Indeed, Nottingham Forest was certain to return to its glory days and restore its brilliance. As long as he was in charge, there would be such a day.

However, Rome was not built in a day. The rebuilding of a team would require time.

After a moment’s silence, Evan sighed. “To look on helplessly while the championship trophy is right in front of us, and yet we can’t take it… It’s really hard to bear.”

“You’ll be fine if you don’t think about it. If you are hung on what you can’t get, then you will feel terrible. At least we have a Champions League title.”

“But we haven’t finished playing the semi-finals yet…”

“It will be us who goes to Athens. Do you doubt that?”

“No, of course not.” Evan shook his head.

“It will be us who win at the end. Whether our opponent is Manchester United or AC Milan, we will certainly win. Unlike a league title with only a 0.1% chance, this championship title is 100% ours.”

Evan stopped in his tracks and turned his head to look at Twain. “I’ve always had a question, Tony. Why do you have so much confidence in the Champions League? Whether it’s Manchester United or AC Milan, both of them are tough opponents.”

Tang Jing once asked Twain the same question, but Twain did not have the same answer. He just shook his head. “I do not know.”

Evan did not expect this answer. He stared blankly for a second and then curled his lips. “You disappoint me, Tony.”

“If I said it was intuition, you wouldn’t believe it. But the truth is, it’s intuition. The championship is like a gamble. We’re gambling every minute. We can only continue to advance when we win. We have to beat it if we lose. I believe it is not skill that dominates the outcome of the gamble, but luck. Or rather, seven parts luck and three parts skill. So when you asked me why I believe that my team will win the Champions League, then I can only say intuition, even though it sounds as inconceivable as a god of gambling saying he’s always lucky.”

Evan shrugged and said, “I prefer your reason that it is due to the strength of the team.”

“That’s within the three parts skills.”

As they chatted, the two men reached home, and Evan handed the wheelchair to the private nurse waiting there. She would accompany the old man to continue to bask in the sunshine. Evan and Twain sat on a bench at the side.

“If we can really win the Champions League title, I’m going to plan a big celebration at the City Ground stadiu, to be held in the evening. Allan has been busy with this matter.” Evan said, looking at the wilderness in the distance.

“You’re already making preparations?” Twain was a little surprised.

“Yes.” Evan looked at Twain with a sly smile. “So you must to advance to the Champions League final and be sure to win it.”

“That goes without saying, Evan. Of course, we’re going to win.” Twain chuckled.

“Stay for lunch, and I’ll go to Wilford with you after.”

Twain considered for a moment. Shania was not in the UK, so there was nothing to be concerned about. He nodded.

“I won’t force you for this season’s league title, but I want you to remember what you said. In the future, I want to see that we can win two, three, four, five titles in a row in a season… more championship trophies, Tony.”

Twain nodded and promised.

It was nice to control a club. The chairman had the final say and did not need to go through a raucous board meeting for that. And both individually owned clubs were Nottingham Forest and Chelsea, which Twain could not help but sigh.

I’m luckier than you, Mr. Mourinho. When you work with Abramovich, do you have the feeling of “accompanying one’s sovereign can be like accompanying a tiger”?