Godfather Of Champions

Ruud van Nistelrooy had already left Nottingham, and was undergoing final preparations prior to his operation in America.

No one knew if he could return to the pitch after the operation. It was also unclear if Nottingham Forest would still want the 34-year-old at the club when he returns. His current salary is relatively high amongst all the players at the club, and his contract is due to expire by the time he recovers and makes it back to the team.

The uncertainties surrounding van Nistelrooy’s future left everyone feeling uneasy about his trip to America.

Twain was the only one who forced a smile and comforted him, “Come back alive and kicking, I am waiting for you!”

Van Nistelrooy’s injury had further aggravated the team’s woes at the front. There was now a complete lack of attacking options in the team.

However, that was only one of the many issues that his injury brought about. A bigger issue was how the team’s morale suffered a heavy blow as a result of his injury and departure.

The usual scenes of perpetual laughter were nowhere to be seen at the Wilford training grounds. Everyone would sigh collectively when the word ‘injury’ is mentioned in the dressing room and would say nothing else afterwards. Everyone prioritised their own safety and chose not to give their all during training.

It was safe to say that a fear of injury had spread and manifested itself throughout the entire team.

Twain was clueless as to how to deal with everything that was unfolding before him. He could not berate the players and tell them to give their all during training, because that would cause the players to slightly, or even completely, lose trust in him.

The players’ fear of picking up an injury was even more evident during a match. Their opponents seemed to have honed in on their fears as well, and they would all show their strong and aggressive side before the Forest players during the game and make use of boorish defending to control the flow of the match.

Most of the time, the Nottingham Forest players could only choose to give up the ball against such crude defending.

George Wood was the only player who remained unchanged and unaffected by any external influences. Sadly, he was not able to carry the entire team on his shoulders alone.

A low team morale. The players’ lack of stamina. The constant state of anxiety that the players were in due to their fear of injuries. All these factors led Forest to two consecutive defeats in the league.

On 6th December, Nottingham Forest lost 0-2 to Arsenal in an away game. On 13th December, they lost 0-1 to Blackburn at home.

Following their two consecutive defeats, Nottingham Forest slipped from third place to seventh in the table. Aston Villa and Everton were ranked above them, and Hull City was ranked eighth.

On 16th December, Forest travelled all the way to Japan to participate in the FIFA Club World Cup.

The exhausting plane flight coupled with Twain’s indifference towards a match of this level resulted in a loss for Forest against Fluminense Football Club, who was the champion of Copa Libertadores, in the finals of the FIFA Club World Cup. Forest missed out on bringing the trophy back home.

The only positive for the team came during the last round of the Champions League’s group stages. Nottingham Forest clinched a 4-1 victory over Kyiv Dynamo at home amongst the cheers from their 30,000 fans, and managed to secure the last spot into the knockout stages.

They were able to hold onto both their spot in the Champions League and the money that they can get by remaining in the competition.

At least they have funds going into the next season.

The team might have made their way into the knockout stages of the Champions League, but the media’s criticisms of Twain did not relent and had only increased instead. The reason for it was because they realized that Tony Twain would most likely be unable to make a comeback in a short period of time this time round, so they did not need to worry about getting slapped in their faces by Twain after he started to win games.

Many criticized how he only had his sights on victories and turned a blind eye on the players’ fitness levels, which led to the disaster that befell van Nistelrooy.

Others criticized his powerlessness to do something that would help bring his team out of the pinch that they were in.

Some derided him over how he spent most of his time squabbling with the media, but did not spend any to build up his team’s fitness levels.

A few believed that the reason behind why there are very few managers who get embroiled in a lot of off the pitch news is because those news would lead to the manager becoming distracted during his training and guidance of the team. Managers like that cannot be counted as incompetent, but have certainly failed as managers.

“… We can criticize a player if he performs badly when he gets overly caught up with affairs that have nothing to do with his job as a footballer. The manager can drop him to the bench or send him to the stands to let him reflect on his actions. But, what about a manager who gets so distracted that he is unable to give his all for the job? Are there any ways for us to punish him? Tony Twain thinks he is the king of Nottingham Forest. I have no intentions to debate over whether he is the king or not, but if a country’s king encounters a problem and makes a mistake, where should the country go from there?”

All sorts of criticisms besieged Twain. He would come across at least two columns lambasting him every single morning when he flips open the newspapers.

He eventually stopped reading newspapers all together. This was also how he got rid of his bad habit of reading the news while eating breakfast.

He was not scared in the slightest of how the media admonishes him. It was not the first time it happened to him anyway. The only difference was that the media seemed to be concentrating their attacks together this time round instead of the scattered, individual attacks in the past.

What made him feel growingly pressured was the intent from the higher-ups of the club.

It did not matter how good of a relationship he had with Evan on a daily basis. The fact was that the team was performing badly right now. He could not escape being summoned to the office by a grim-faced Evan to discuss about the situation for an hour.

Evan did not reproach him. He only talked about how the team was in a difficult position right now, and how he hoped that Twain would divert the attention away from the club’s financial issues and change the image that people have of Forest currently by winning matches.

As long as they won matches, all the problems would stop being problems.

As long as they won matches, the fickle media would start to cheer for Forest again…

The words that Evan said were what made Twain feel immense pressure.

Evan was an owner who only sat in the office the whole day. He never cared about the club. He has no idea how hard it is for the team to win matches with the situation that they are currently in, but Twain was different. He understood it best as the manager of the team.

Nonetheless, Evan was still his boss, and what he said was right as well. Nobody would wish to see their team lose matches. Losing matches was not the way for him to reduce the stress placed on him either.

What to do? Brace yourself, grit your teeth and face it head on, of course.

Twain agreed to do as Evan said.

They will win their next match. They had to win. The situation would definitely turn for the better. The issues that they have on their hands were only temporary…

But who was their opponent for the next match?

On 20th December, matchday 18, Nottingham Forest was up against Manchester United in an away game….

※※※

Ferguson might be Twain’s drinking and horse racing buddy, but it would be a pipe dream to expect him to let Twain off the hook because of the friendship that they share.

How could Ferguson pass on the chance to obliterate the arrogant Nottingham Forest who had tyrannized the Premier League for two seasons?

Even if he was willing to go easy on Forest, Manchester United’s players and fans would never assent to it either.

Think about it. Who was it that snatched the Premier League Champion’s trophy from them during the final game of the previous season?

The Nottingham Forest who did that to them is currently in a sorry state. Twain could not even gather 11 players to play for his starting team.

Manchester United was not a charity organisation. They have no obligation to help them get over their hurdles.

Rumors circulated before the match that if Twain were to lose again, he would likely get the boot.

A banner with the words “See Tony Twain off with a victory. Die, Nottingham Forest!” appeared at the Old Trafford stands during the match as a response to the rumors.

The Old Trafford stands were teeming with animosity towards Twain. Many of the fans were desperate to rush down and dismember him.

There were endless insults thrown Twain’s way from behind his manager’s seat.

The British were certainly creative. They came up with all kinds of ways to scold him so that he would not feel lonely for 90 minutes.

Van Nistelrooy has left the team indefinitely due to an injury. Van der Vaart is out with an injury for a month and so is Pepe, who is out of action for half a month. Similarly, Beckham is out for a week, Eastwood is out for two weeks, Petrov is out for 10 days, Tiago is out for a week and Sun Jihai is out for a month…

Who else do they have on the pitch right now?

How could they hope to win against Manchester United with such a team?

If Ferguson knew about the promise that Twain made with Evan prior to the match, he would definitely fly into a rage and say that Twain was looking down on him and his team.

All Twain could do was to force a smile. He knew how hard it was to win Manchester United as an away team. However, there was no way back for him now. The team’s morale would take a hit if he were to show his weak side at a time like this.

Twain stood by the side of the pitch and kept flailing his hands about agitatedly as the match progressed.

Seeing that, the Sky Television’s commentator joked, “Tony Twain probably longs to get on the pitch himself and help the team win the match personally.”

The team was in a slump. The players who had performed well in the past were unable to re-enact their past good performances.

Şahin, the Turkish gifted youth player who was playing as a replacement for van der Vaart, quickly became invisible in the game after being closed down in Manchester United’s midfield.

Rafinha was close to becoming disoriented after dealing with Cristiano Ronaldo’s repeated breakthroughs.

Kompany could not stop Rooney and Tevez’s interchanging attacks all by himself.

George Wood kept on running, but he was unable to defend both sides of the flanks at the same time.

Žigić was isolated at the front of the pitch and was unable to produce anything without support from the midfield.

Lennon tried to find a way to break through, but his attacks were too predictable and were easily stopped by his opponents…

Twain raised his head to the skies. There was nothing else he could do…

Everything had gone well for him during the past few seasons. There were a few occasional injuries, but those injuries did not affect the team as a whole.

Maybe lady luck was smiling at him back then?

Unlike the past few seasons however, every unlucky thing came at him at the same time this season. The way that they happened one after another in such a short span of time made Twain feel as though they were all pre-arranged.

God, are you trying to drive me to my grave?

He felt a sudden pang at his heart.

Twain gave up directing the match by the pitch. He turned around, languidly walked away, and languidly sat down on the manager’s seat.

His face was one of utter stupefaction.

The score for the match at that moment was 3-1. The home team’s score comes first, followed by the away team’s.

※※※

Nottingham Forest suffered their third consecutive defeat and they continued to slip down the ranking table. This time, they fell all the way to 11th place!

Amidst the state of chaos for the team, Real Madrid made a move once again to throw things into further disarray. They openly announced their interest in Forest’s Ribéry, and how they hoped to buy him during the winter transfer window.

This was not a joke published by the Spanish media outlets. It was also not that a screw came loose in the heads of the higher-ups in Real Madrid.

The reason behind why they wanted to spend big money to buy a player who participated in the Champions League before was simple.

Real Madrid and Nottingham Forest were both facing the same issues: injuries to players and a dreadfully incomplete team.

They had lost Robinho in the summer, and it weakened their already weak offense down the flanks. To make matters worse, Robben picked up a serious injury during the last match and was expected to be out for two to three months. This left Real Madrid in a situation where they have no wingers in the team that they can employ during games. Drenthe was too inexperienced and could not be played either. Schuster had made it clear that the Dutch was not a part of his plans as well.

Hence, it was imperative for Real Madrid to buy a winger in the winter transfer window.

Cristiano Ronaldo is still intent to leave Manchester United, but he will not agree to a transfer during the winter transfer window. The earliest he would agree to go would be during the summer next year.

After searching around, the only player Real Madrid could buy who would be risk-free, with a proven track record, and who would be able to get in the team and play straight away was Franck Ribéry.

Due to the fact that Nottingham Forest is currently going through a financial crisis, Real Madrid believes that the club would not play hardball and refuse an offer this time round.

After all, they are in desperate need of cash to turn their financial situation around, and Ribéry’s salary of 130,000 pounds per week was a heavy burden to the club as well.

Real Madrid put in a bid of 50 million euros for Ribéry after taking everything into account.

The reporters swarmed up to Twain, all wanting to obtain the latest information regarding the potential transfer from him.

Twain only shook his head and repeated his statement that he had not heard any details regarding the offer, and that Ribéry was happy at the club and would like to stay.

In contrast to Twain’s words however, Allan later came out and admitted that the club had indeed received an offer from Real Madrid during an interview with the press, but did not comment when asked about how the club intends to deal with the matter.

The media believes that Nottingham Forest would find Real Madrid’s offer in euros to be irresistible given the current economic downturn.

Twain was definitely aware of how tempting Real Madrid’s offer is. What he said to the media earlier were all lies.

Bruno Heiderscheid, Ribery’s manager, gave Twain another call to discuss about the matter, and he expressed his wishes for Tony Twain to let his player leave.

“It will help ease the club’s financial troubles and lower the wage structure. At the same time, Franck would be able to get what he wants. It’s the best of both worlds. I don’t think it is a bad offer.”

Everything he said made perfect sense, but Twain’s face was cold as ice and he just refused to nod his head.

※※※

Stress over the team’s results, stress from the difference in players’ thoughts, stress from the media, stress from the higher-ups and stress over finances…

Twain felt like he would only see a sea of black when he raised his head, even if the weather for the day was actually all sunny and bright.

It has been an exceptionally difficult winter for him.

What made things especially difficult for him was not the stress that continued to loom over him, but rather how he was completely clueless as to how to get rid of the stress that was weighing down on him.

He has no money to buy players and no time to make adjustments to the team and let the players rest. As long as the team continue to be depleted, there would be no chance of turning the results around, unless a miracle happened. The stress would only continue to accumulate if the terrible results keep coming one after another, until the day it gets so massive that he can’t endure it any longer and collapse.

When that happens, it did not matter how he, the Monkey King, struggled, he would just be crushed under the ‘The Mount of Five Fingers’ and not see the light for 500 years… [1]

It did not matter how tortuous the road was. As long as there was light before him, he could still get the entire team to grit their teeth and get through it by giving their all.

Sadly, the road that stretched out before him now was not only extremely tortuous, but without a glimmer of light as well.

If things were to go on as they have been, the team would likely face swift elimination despite qualifying for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The multi-faceted problem that they have on their hands is not only shown in the club’s financial situation, but also in the various competitions that the team competes in.

Twain has to give up a goal or two and invest his all into ensuring that he can at least attain one of his goals.

The problem is, should they fight for a top four finish in the league, or should they fight to leave their name in history as the three-time champions of the Champions League?

If the team is unable to finish in the top four in the Premier League, then they will miss out on Champions League next season and can only watch as others get busy and celebrate.

The prospect of being crowned as the three-time champions of Champions League is certainly enticing…

Twain contemplated for a long time, and eventually decided to prioritize getting a top-four finish in the Premier League.

He felt that regardless of how tough a situation he is in now, there would come a day where his luck would turn for the better. Things might not be going his way right now, but who is to say that luck would not be on his side after the winter passes? Misfortune might just be a blessing in disguise.

Twain did not think that it was mission impossible to secure a top-four finish with the current Nottingham Forest team.

Now that he has set his goal, all he needed were results to help him make his goal a reality.

Christmas was around the corner, and Nottingham Forest was ranked 11th in the league table. This result was a far cry from where he wanted Nottingham Forest to be, which was to not be too far away from first place.

He needs to win games…

Twain wanted to pull his hair out at that thought.

When has winning a game ever been easy?