Godfather Of Champions

Dunn had not yet replied to him, and Twain knew that waiting for him was not the way to do it. The First Team coaching staff was currently still on their vacation and he could not do anything on his own.

He thought of the Forest youth team. He had not been there for a long time. Although a report on the youth team was sent to his desk every once in a while, reviewing the data in the reports was not the same as going to the training ground to observe in person.

If Allan and Evan’s new stadium plan was to be implemented, he would not be able to obtain much funding for transfers in the new season. If he wanted to compete with the other strong teams in the transfer market for the star players, he would appear to have a lack of confidence without a strong financial backing. Twain recalled when Wenger, the “Professor” who had to tighten his belt in order to build a new Emirates Stadium. If Arsenal could supplement the squad with the players developed by their powerful youth training system, why could Nottingham Forest not do the same? Nottingham Forest’s youth training level could be considered top notch across England as well.

They might not be able to produce a second Bale or Wood, but they could at least produce a few qualified rotating players, right?

With such an idea, Twain went straight to the youth training base to the north of Wilford.

Unlike the First Team, the youth team had resumed training. In addition, the football camps opened for schools were in full swing. Before he entered, Twain already heard the laughter and the whistles.

He wore sunglasses and hid silently in the shade of a tree alone to observe quietly. He did not want to go straight to the youth team manager, Ian Greenwood yet. He decided to observe on his own to determine first.

There were a number of people around the five regular fields at the youth training base. Most were parents of the children playing on the field, while the others were scouts from other clubs.

Just like how Southampton could not stop Twain from poaching Bale, Nottingham Forest could not stop the scouts from the other teams from coming to nose around.

The youth training base was very lively, which could not be seen during the season because more children were scattered in various schools or the training camps in the other areas. Those training camps were not big. Each training camp only had fifty or so children with eight coaches. The training camps were not part of the Forest team’s regular youth team. Children who were interested in football could receive basic training. Then, for four days at the end of each month, They would bring these children together to gather at Wilford for the intensive training and competitions. They would select the gifted children from among them and sign traineeship contracts with them. They would officially join the Forest team.

It was summer, and the children of each training camp, led by their coaches, returned to Wilford to participate in the football camp. They would play together to test the results of their year of training. If their performances were outstanding, they could possibly be seen by the professional scouts, or be promoted to the regular Forest youth team, or… be lured by the other teams’ scouts and their silver tongues.

The youngest of these children was six years old and the oldest was eighteen years old. They would play in groups according to ages. Although it was noisy, everything was in order. This was credited to Nottingham Forest’s decades-old operating system.

Once upon a time, Jenas, Michael Dawson and Andy Reid were these children’s idols. Now their goal was to become George Wood, Gareth Bale, and Wes Morgan, who had won the Champions League title.

Twain watched each age group play, one after another.

For the time being, his eyes had not lit up on any child yet.

He was a little disappointed. He did not know if it was because the Forest team’s youth training level was really not as good as Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea, or because he was used to watching the world-class star players and could not see the potential in these not yet matured children?

After all, not everyone had the dazzling talents of George Wood and Gareth Bale and could be easily discovered in a large group of people.

After a turn, Twain decided to go look for Ian Greenwood and see if he could recommend any good seedlings.

※※※

Ian Greenwood was leading the Forest Under-18 team in their daily training. These people were closest to professional football. Some of them could be promoted to the First Team in the Forest team if they were lucky. Those less fortunate ones could only go somewhere else to find another way out or mixed in the reserves.

Professional football was not as wonderful as people thought, with opportunities were everywhere, and one could be a big star player just by playing.

In addition to talent, luck was needed to succeed.

George Wood and Gareth Bale were the best products of the Forest youth training system so far. Their success had caught the attention of powerhouse clubs. George Wood had been linked with a few transfer rumors and Gareth Bale also had rumors about many clubs wanting to get him.

Their success had increased Ian Greenwood’s pressure.

Both players were discovered and groomed by Tony Twain in the position of the youth team manager. Greenwood might have had a hand in Bale, but the more impressive George Wood was completely developed by Twain.

Following these two players, the expectations for the Forest youth team were very high. The continuous anticipation for a blowout and output of talent and excellent players in the youth team were not easy.

Everyone wanted to have “Busby’s kids” in their hands, as well as “Ferguson’s class of 92,” but a combination of many factors was required for a large number of geniuses to be concentrated within an age group.

The U18 group Greenwood was currently leading had a few good seedlings. If it had been four years ago, they would have been directly promoted to the First Team and play as the main force, but now…

Truthfully, the level of training in the Forest youth team had not kept pace with the progress of the Forest First Team. It was not that the standard of the youth team had declined, but the First Team had shot up quickly…

Twain asked the club to increase the funding for the youth training base, which was definitely not on a whim. He was also very aware of the inconsistency between this. It was impossible for the First Team to slow down and wait for the youth team to catch up. The only way was to rely on the youth team to raise their standards to a very high level. Just like Abramovich’s Chelsea, he threw money to build the most modern youth camp, buy the best equipment, use high salaries to go around and poach the best youth team coaches, and then hire the best youth team and attract the most outstanding young geniuses from everywhere. A combination of these factors made Chelsea’s youth team jump into the top four and keep pace with veteran youth teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool.

Ian Greenwood did not know that the club was not planning to invest more funds in the youth team right away. What kind of mood would he be in if he did?

There were some players who saw Tony Twain walk into the training ground and they happily greeted the legendary manager who had been promoted from the youth team.

The sound alerted Greenwood, who turned his head to see Twain. He tossed the whistle to his assistant and trotted over.

“Tony, fancy seeing you here,” he said jokingly.

When Twain was the head of the training base, he had been one of Twain’s men. After Twain left, and Twain’s assistant manager, Kerslake, was promoted to the manager of the youth team, he became Kerslake’s assistant coach. Then when Dunn became the manager with his excellent professional knowledge and coaching skills, he became Dunn’s assistant again. Dunn only stayed for one season before he was transferred to the First Team by Twain to work directly as his assistant manager. After many years of moving up the ranks, Ian Greenwood finally became the manager of the youth team.

“I’m here to take a look at the results of your work.” As the superior, Twain did not have to beat about the bush.

“I thought the First Team only purchased players from the outside.” Since it was an old relationship, Greenwood did not have to be so polite when he spoke.

Twain smiled wryly. “How can it be that easy? The player may not come even if we have the money and the player who is willing to come, we may not want him.”

Greenwood looked at Twain’s face and suddenly thought of a possibility. He asked tentatively, “um, Tony. Is it because you don’t have any money, so you’re here for a bargain?”

“Hey!” Twain glared at him. “Listen to what you just said. What do you mean by a bargain?! They are the future hope of our team!” Twain claimed as he pointed to the hardworking and serious young men in training. “But… I’m a little tight recently.”

Greenwood laughed.

“So much is happening out there. Did you see anything good?” He pointed to where the U18 training was being held in the northernmost end of the base and the innermost section. It was a lot quieter than outside.

Twain shook his head. “There are too many people. I can’t find what I want in a short time. But aren’t your people there too? They did not tell you anything interesting?”

“It will be a few days before we know.”

“Well… All right, let’s be direct then. Is there anyone you can recommend to the First Team here?” asked Twain.

Greenwood glanced at Twain, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised. “You’ve got to find him yourself, Tony.”

Here we go again!

Paul Hart’s traditional little game had been preserved among the Forest coaches.

Twain glared at Greenwood and then stood on the sidelines to observe carefully.

His attention was first attracted by a tall kid. It was not because how well the kid played. People always put their attention on those with outstanding statures at first glance, both men and women… For example, the young man was so tall that it was impossible to avoid looking at him.

He whistled and said to Greenwood, “this kid has got to be six foot three, right?”

Greenwood shook his head. “No, six feet and seven inches.”

Twain was startled.

Six foot three was about 1.94 meters, and six foot seven was more than two meters.

He sized up the big guy again. He was taller than everyone else on the field. Two meters was not an exaggeration.

“How old is he?”

“Seventeen years old.”

“Hmm…” Twain continued to observe.

The giant played as the center back on the field. He was doing the drill for headers as his height gave him an aerial advantage. Generally speaking, players with such height usually did not jump very well, because their body structure determined that they could not jump too high. However, this person jumped very well.

After he finished the header drill, he followed his teammates to do a backwards run.

His speed was not slow either.

Twain had some interest in this aerial giant, who was not slow and jumped well. “What’s his name?”

“Aaron Mitchell. He’s currently the core of the team’s rear defense. His physical quality is excellent, but his shortcomings are also obvious — his tackling skills are terrible. His headers are not considered good for his height.”

Twain nodded. “Let him train for two years and take a look at the results. If it is possible, he can go out on a loan to train. His body is his gift, as for his skill… Let’s take it slow.”

The two men let go of this tall giant and searched for the next target.

The assistant coach of the youth team knew what Twain was there to do.

He did not consult with the youth team manager, Ian Greenwood, before he made the decision on his own to change the training plan to get the players to split into teams to play on the field.

Ever since he became the head of the youth training, Twain had set a principle for the Forest team’s youth training base which was “everything is to be based on an actual game as the standard.” Each team had unique features and traditions. The current Forest team’s tradition was “results and competition first.” Therefore, the young players in the youth team training also played in accordance with the standards of a game. If a young man’s fancy header could win acclaims, Twain would be dismissive of it. No one would give any player a chance to play like that in a game. He demanded that the training had to include elements of a game. A training which did not have elements of a game was worthless in his view. Which meant that even if they ran laps, everyone had to dribble the ball as they ran. From the youth team to the adult team, such training principles were adhered to which focused training with the ball, competition, and confrontation.

Twain was pleased with the timely change. He could directly observe and understand the comprehensive abilities of the players — their techniques, psychological qualities, stamina, and competitive state. Be it advantages or disadvantages, they would be exposed in the contest.

After the start of the game, a player quickly caught Twain’s attention. His line of sight followed him.

He wore the Forest youth team’s number 10 jersey.

He dribbled and broke through with the ball on the right flank of the field and no one could block him. Sometimes he would switch to the middle to get in a long shot, but apparently he preferred to move on the flanks because there were too many defensive forces in the middle which made it hard for him to break through. It was a different story on the flanks.

His skills were excellent. He liked to bypass the others and he was fast.

The defensive side often needed to converge on him with two or three players. If it was a one-on, he would get past that player without mercy.

※※※

“Hey, Addy! You’re sly!” the full-back who was defending this number 10 complained as he approached. “Even though the First Team manager is on the sidelines, you don’t have to be so ruthless, do you?”

That number 10 smiled. “James, if you can stop me, won’t you make a deeper impression on the manager?”

The other party froze for a moment. “You’re quite right… Ah!”

While he was distracted, number 10 slipped past him like a fish, and he knocked the ball past him beautifully.

“You sly bastard, Adriano!”

※※※

“That number 10, what’s his name?” Twain pointed to the player on the field with his pursed lips.

“Moke, Adriano Moke. He has the best skills in the team. Although he still looks a bit immature, he’s making rapid progress.”

Twain nodded. This kid was really brilliant and courageous. He knew he was watching it on the sidelines, so he put in a particularly active performance.

However, it was a pity that the position he was used to playing in was the right midfield. And for now, the First Team had Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon in this position. Come July, there would also be Beckham which would make it overcrowded. There might not be a position for this kid in the next few years.

Twain thought about it. “Can he play any other position?”

“He’s okay in the middle of the midfield too, but… he prefers to play on the right flank, and his left foot can be appalling to watch as compared to his right foot technique. Other than the right midfielder and the center-forward positions, he can’t adapt to the other positions.”

Twain shook his head lightly. He would not make it. He could groom him to sell him. On the one hand, he could make some money for the club, and on the other hand… he could avoid delaying this kid’s progress.

Twain and Greenwood watched on the sidelines for a long time. He observed some of the players and then looked for Greenwood to inquire about the specific circumstances of those players before he made any judgment.

The end result: he did not find a player who could be transferred directly into the First Team, but he saw some good potential among them. If they were nurtured well, with some luck, these players could have the ability to become the rotating players in the future for the Forest First Team, and perhaps become the main force in other mid-tiered teams in the Premier League.

He figured this was the reality. How would he be able to find so many geniuses in the world who could shock the world? Firstly, he had no money and secondly, he had no power. What could he use to fight with Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea for the gifted young players?

Wenger’s Arsenal youth training was famous, and many young geniuses would rather go to Arsenal to be trained under the Professor than to go to the other teams. But little did they know that Arsenal’s youth team brought together the geniuses from all over the world, and if they were not exceptional, when would it be their turn? Everyone wanted to be the next Francesc Fàbregas. But was it that easy? When Theo Walcott first joined Arsenal, he was a sensation in England and Europe. And now? Fàbregas was the core of Arsenal’s midfield and Walcott was only a substitute. In Twain’s view, the kid was nothing other than fast and would not play with his head at all. He only knew to play recklessly with his speed.

He decided to look further afield to let the scouts move around and go to the other clubs’ youth team to unearth those who had not yet become famous talents. Perhaps they might have some unexpected gains.

Twain left empty-handed. After he watched the matchup, he chatted with the youth team coaches and departed. The children of North Wilford were very disappointed that he did not ask anyone for a private conversation. Everyone knew that the First Team manager rarely visited. They had a chance to perform in front of him and yet the result was no one made the mark.

This was so frustrating.

Twain clapped as he left. Greenwood was going to have a headache. He was responsible for soothing the wounded hearts of these children. He had to let them re-establish their goals and continued to train hard.

※※※

What the group of children did not know was Twain had a few very promising players in mind, but they were too young and unable to solve his immediate problems.

In the afternoon, Twain went around to inspect the reserves team, and this time he picked a substitute goalkeeper.

Paul Gerrard had retired. Edwin van der Sar was old, but he was still in shape. If everything went well, he could play another year of high-quality games. But who would be able to predict the future? Just in case he was injured, or his form was in a state of continuous slump, Akinfeev had to take over. It was better for a First Team to be guaranteed with three goalkeepers, so that there would not be an embarrassment if there was nobody to guard the goal.

Twain often encountered this when he played the video game. He used to think that finding a substitute goalkeeper was troublesome: a player with strong ability was not willing to be a substitute and as a manager, he did not want those with little ability. The result was always he only had two goalkeepers for the game. If both the main goalkeeper and the substitute goalkeeper were injured, he eventually had to use any player to be the goalkeeper… Fortunately, it was a video game. If it had been real life, he would have been utterly humiliated.

Last season he had worried about where to purchase a substitute goalkeeper. In the end, it was Dunn who resolved the issue and said Paul Gerrard was a good substitute. The good substitute had to miss the entire season since he had a fractured skull after being struck in the match against Reading in October.

Then the Forest team had played the remaining games with two goalkeepers. One was the main goalkeeper and the other was the young goalkeeper who was going back to the First Team from the reserves this time — the barely twenty-years-old Dale Roberts.

A year ago, he was still in the U19 youth team as the inexperienced goalkeeper, but Paul Gerrard’s injury gave him the chance to come to the First Team to experience real professional football. He grew up fast during the year, and his several appearances in the cup games made the coaching staff acknowledge his ability. Therefore, he would replace the retired Paul Gerrard in the new season to be the team’s third goalkeeper.

He was the first new member of the Forest team in the new season and strictly speaking, he could not be considered “new”… He was temporarily transferred to the First Team last season and he was returning now.

The Forest team’s signings had not yet officially begun, but Twain was already on the move.

The list was basically confirmed. They just had to contact the players’ agents.

The new season was about to begin, and the vacations of the players and coaches was coming to an end. His idle and boring days were finally over.