Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 711: The Imminent Passing of 2008

There are no matches between 21st December to 25th December. On Christmas, everyone can leave behind their woes for the year, kick back and enjoy the occasion.

The festive mood for Christmas was discernible in every nook and cranny in the city since the start of December. Christmas is akin to Chinese New Year in China, and is regarded as an important occasion in the West.

It did not matter if you are carrying a truck load of worries. You have to put them aside momentarily during Christmas and celebrate the day with everyone else. The same applied to Twain.

The atmosphere at the Christmas party organized by the club was insipid given how the team has been plagued by a run of poor results.

The Christmas tree was placed where it should be and each player received a small gift as well. However, the atmosphere was still much colder than before. Nobody was in the mood to celebrate the occasion given the bad results. No one knew what lies in store for them in the future, and they just could not bring themselves to celebrate.

Shania gave Twain a call to check on him and to remind him repeatedly to find a chance to sit back and relax so as to not ruin his health.

The two were quite in sync in how neither brought up the incident that happened between them previously. Shania seemed to have made up her mind that Twain has to be the one to speak about the matter first. She will not force him for an answer.

As for Twain, there was too much on his plate right now, and Shania was one of them. He has not found a way to deal with what is happening with the team, and certainly does not have a way to deal with his relationship issues either.

He just talked with Shania casually as he always had while being careful to avoid touching on the topic that will make him feel awkward.

It was only when he returned home in the middle of the night to a pitch black and chilly house that he realized how inconvenient it was to have one less person around him.

Twain spent the Christmas with Dunn at George Wood’s house. He thought Sophia’s face kept looking paler and paler every time he saw her.

It seems like the winter had not been easy for her either.

The only thing different about Sophia this time round was how she had a twinge of worry in her eyes when she looked at Twain.

Twain had forgotten to shave and he also did not cut his hair for a while, so his hair had grown long and only looked like it would grow longer. His eyes were bloodshot and looked a little clouded.

“Mr. Twain, please look after yourself…” She reminded as they were all having their meal.

Twain laughed. “I’m in fine fettle! Don’t worry, it’s just that I’ve been so busy that I’ve forgotten about my personal hygiene… It’s okay, I will shave and cut my hair when I get back…”

Sophia told him softly, “I don’t know much about what’s going on with the team, but George has been feeling down lately and keeps pulling a long face…”

Hearing her words reminded Twain of how George looked dispirited recently. His performance on the pitch so far has been solid, but could not be considered as particularly outstanding.

Is it because of the slump that the team is in, or is there another reason that he can’t speak about?

“Er… It’s nothing big. The winter will definitely pass, right? Shelley once said, ‘If winter comes, can spring be far behind?’… That was from Shelley, right?” Twain turned his head to ask Dunn.

Dunn nodded his head.

“It’s Christmas today. Let’s just celebrate the occasion and not bring up anything else!”

He did not want to hear about the things that have been troubling him for half a year, especially during a jovial occasion like Christmas.

Just let him forget everything!

He wanted to stop frowning just for tonight…

※※※

After leaving Sophia’s house, Twain located his white jeep amongst a row of cars by the road and got into the vehicle with Dunn.

Once inside, he started the ignition, but was not in a hurry to drive the car away.

He just sat on the driver’s seat and spaced out.

Dunn turned his head to look at the dazed Twain and asked, “What’s on your mind?”

“Many… Many things.”

“The team, or Shania?”

Dunn broke into a smile. “Both.”

“I know I probably shouldn’t say this… But, how long do you intend to stay this way with Shania? She has already confessed to you. Shouldn’t you give her some kind of response as a man?”

Twain placed both his hands over his face and kneaded it.

“I know that… But I don’t know how I should face her…”

“Do you love her?” Dunn asked without beating about the bush.

“I don’t know…”

“Why won’t you just shake your head and say ‘you don’t love her’?”

“I don’t know…”

“Are you still worried about the age gap between the two of you?”

Twain remained silent.

“If you were younger by 22 years and were the same age as her right now, will you like the girl?”

Bang.

Twain and Dunn both raised their heads to look into the distance at the same time, and they saw a cluster of red fireworks bloom in the night sky through the car’s windshield.

“I guess… I will probably like her.”

Dunn smiled and said nothing else. He looked out the window and seemed entranced as he admired the breathtaking fireworks that went off one after another in the night sky.

Twain turned the steering wheel and drove the car out of the parking lot.

“Do you want to see the fireworks?” Twain asked.

Dunn shook his head. “There’d be a crowd. Let’s just go home.”

Twain nodded his head in agreement. He was not interested in a fireworks display that highlighted all the good times of the past year.

2008 is about to be over. Should I reminisce it, or should I not?

※※※

Nottingham Forest’s first match after Christmas was a game at home against the northern powerhouse team Newcastle.

For non-football fans, the Christmas break has just started and they can choose to go all over the world for a vacation as long as they had the money.

For the football fans, being able to admire high standards of Premier League football is the best form of holiday to them.

The Nottingham Forest fans still vividly remember how the team lost to Newcastle at St James’ Park a month ago.

Now that they are on their home ground, they definitely have to make sure that Newcastle gets a taste of their own medicine!

To Twain however, getting revenge was only a complement. The most important thing was to win the match. They had to win no matter what.

His team had lost three times in a row in the Premier League. Their only win since the start of December was against Kyiv Dynamo in the group stages of the Champions League. This losing streak simply cannot go on!

They have to defeat Newcastle and put an end to these excruciatingly suffocating days!

There needs to be change in the new year. They must welcome the new year and pave the way to Nottingham Forest’s resurgence with a victory!

※※※

“If the Premier League conducted a poll on the most disappointing or worst football team for each month, then I would give my vote to Nottingham Forest for the month of December!” The experts were doing all sorts of analyses for the match on television.

“Three consecutive defeats and a shocking loss against Blackburn at home. There are absolutely no signs that this team is the two-time defending champion of the Premier League! It feels like the team is in complete disarray when all they have really lost is van Nistelrooy… Don’t tell me they won all those matches in the past because of van Nistelrooy?”

“We certainly cannot condemn the team based on one loss, but in the case of Nottingham Forest, it is not just one loss. They have been performing terribly for a long time. When they win, they do it unconvincingly, and when they lose, they make people wonder what just happened. Is this the Nottingham Forest that we know of? The Nottingham Forest that we know of under Tony Twain is a team that wins convincingly and was reputed as a consistently performing team, and even when they lost, they don’t leave people wondering why.”

“Nottingham Forest’s offense has seemingly lost its direction now that Van Nistelrooy is not in the team and van der Vaart and many other players are out injured. Their offense lacks a clear strategy… Look at the players, all they do is to run about blindly not knowing what to do. When the ball reaches a player’s feet, he can only fight alone by relying on his techniques. Even the team’s passing… The players only pass the ball around because there is a team mate next to them. They lack a clear strategy. Why do they pass the ball, and how they should pass the ball… None of those. They have none of those thoughts going through their heads. Nottingham Forest might be playing at home against Newcastle, but with the way they have been playing, I don’t expect them to win. The odds given by the various betting companies all suggest that they see Nottingham Forest as the underdogs going into the match. I don’t think their views are unwarranted…”

※※※

Twain did not feel like saying words like ‘we definitely have to win this match’ before his players anymore. He believes his players have grown sick of those words as well. Therefore, rather than straining his throat to say a bunch of useless, empty words, he decided to say something practical to them this time round.

“The fullbacks should move forward to attack in turns. Try to pass high balls more often and send the balls above Žigić’s head. We must make full use of Žigić’s height and physicality. Let’s use the simplest way to defeat them! Force them to follow our tempo in the game through our attacks. We must score a goal within the first 30 minutes! One goal won’t be not enough, we must score two before we think about switching over to defending! We must make sure we are leading them and have the upper hand before we revert to the playing style that we are more used to, then we can drag the game out with Newcastle…”

His voice sounded very solemn. He was not his usual self where he would banter with the players.

The players listened to him with grave expressions on their faces. They were fully aware of the situation that the team was in. They could not afford to lose… They could not afford to lose anymore.

Twain knew that this was a time where he should play in a more cautious manner, but he still decided to go for an all-out attack on Newcastle. This was an arrangement that suited him better as a gambler, or a gambler who was on a losing streak, because the stakes were high.

“Remember this! Minimize the mistakes that you make as much as you can. If they score one against us in the first half, don’t wait until you get back into our own half to defend. Snatch the ball from them wherever the ball is at! We are the home team. We must always act like one. If we can make them fear us then that’d be even better!”

※※※

Nottingham Forest started the match with explosive energy and displayed the air that one would expect of a defending champion football team.

With their backs to the wall, the team put in a performance that terrorized Newcastle for a while. Newcastle was sent into a frenzy and did not know how to react against them.

Nottingham Forest might not have been performing well lately, but they were still undoubtedly a strong team.

It had only been seven minutes into the match when Ribéry capitalized on a mistake by Newcastle’s defenders to slot in a goal into the bottom corner of the net.

The City Ground erupted into thunderous cheers. Tony Twain jumped high into the air and celebrated the goal by waving his arms in the air.

What a way to start the match!

Nicely done, Franck!

“Ribéry might have been troubled by the transfer speculations around him recently, but he continues to perform remarkably well for the Forest team. His goal is very crucial for the team! Look at how excited Tony Twain is by the side of the pitch. It’s almost as if he’s the one who scored the goal…”

Unfortunately, the good times did not last. Newcastle carried out a ferocious attack towards the end of the first half, and Owen managed to find an opening amidst the chaos before Forest’s goalpost. He shot for goal and scored the equalizer!

The City Ground went silent for a while. Twain did not know what kind of expression he should make as he stood by the side of the pitch.

The commentator made a joke after seeing Twain’s drastic change in emotions. “I think we should really give Tony Twain a heart rate monitor… His heart rate right now must be way above average!”

During halftime, Twain was livid and chastised the defenders for trying to carry the ball forward repeatedly and for being too apprehensive on the way they handled the ball.

“Why did you all try to carry the ball forward in our penalty box? For what? Did you all think we could carry it all the way over to the opposition’s penalty box? You must clear the ball away quickly! Clear the ball away quickly! Haven’t I told you guys that countless times? What’s the first thing a defender should do? It’s not to show off your superb techniques. It’s to get rid of the danger quickly! As long as the ball stays at your feet for one more second, we also stay in danger for one more second! The way you all handled the ball only gave the bastards from Newcastle more confidence! It’s like you were telling them ‘the ball’s at my feet, come and get it! As long as you get it you can shoot for goal straight away’!”

“If you can’t find someone suitable to pass the ball to, then just send the ball out of play! Don’t care about anything else!”

“Also, if you lot run out of stamina in the second half, then the full backs should stop moving forward to join in the attack… I’m going to say the same thing again. When the second half starts, fight to take the lead! The team that leads always gets to decide how the match goes! I don’t want the game to drag all the way till the 90th minute and still not be won by us. We can’t let that happen!”

※※※

Nottingham Forest was lively when the second half started and they actively went on the offense. On the other hand, Newcastle tightened their defense and did not give Forest any more chances at goal.

When a game reaches a stalemate, the importance of set pieces becomes accentuated.

17 minutes into the second half, Nottingham Forest wins a corner. Bale crosses the ball into the penalty box. Every single Newcastle player was focused on defending Žigić and they completely forgot about the short Ayala.

The short center back from Argentina jumped high into the air, and accurately located the spot where the ball fell without any players marking him. He then went on to do a beautiful header towards goal!

“They lead once again! Ayala’s thrilling header! Žigić provided the perfect cover for him! Nottingham Forest lead Newcastle by two goals to one!”

Twain hugged Dunn who was beside him tightly. His hug was so tight that one could almost hear Dunn’s bones cry out in pain. However, Twain was unaware of how tightly he was hugging Dunn, and only continued to exert more force.

Kerslake was the one who saved the pitiful Dunn by turning around to hug Twain. It was only then that Twain let go of a Dunn who was gasping for air.

※※※

“F*ck! F*ck them! F*ck those northern sons of b*tches! Nottingham Forest will win!” The fans at the stands went into hysteria.

Forest’s consecutive defeats have left many fans feeling all riled up. Everyone wanted to win against the opponent that defeated them previously now that they are on their home ground.

The face of Newcastle’s newly appointed manager, Alan Shearer, who is the club’s legend, was still as chiselled as ever. Just like how his face has a strong and clear bone structure, the Newcastle United under him is also a strong team. They will not give up easily.

Shearer will not give up, and neither will his team.

He led the team to a 2-1 victory by catching Twain off guard at their home ground. He intends to win the team that is led by his former temporary colleague at BBC, who commentated on the World Cup together with him, again.

Issues with Forest’s stamina started to occur once the match entered the later stages of the second half. Ayala suffered from a leg cramp and was substituted by Woodgate. Ribéry was worn out and could not continue playing and was substituted by Leighton Baines.

Bale was shifted up to the midfield following Ribéry’s substitution, and his main role was to defend.

Simply leading by a goal is the riskiest scenario that a team can find themselves in, but Twain was not in a position to think about things like that. He had to thank the gods for being able to lead by a goal.

He waved his hands and asked the players to retreat backwards to defend. Only Žigić was left at the front. All he had to do was to fight for headers and harass Newcastle’s defenders so as to keep them in check.

After that, the only thing left for Twain to do was to keep looking at his watch and count how much more time remained in the match…

Newcastle went on the offensive after seeing that Nottingham Forest had run out of energy to attack them. They wanted to level the score before the end of the match.

Twain’s heart throbbed wildly every time he saw Newcastle close in on van der Sar’s goalpost. He was terrified that the worst case scenario would happen in the next second.

Twain stood by the side of the pitch with his back straight. His waist was starting to feel sore from him keeping that posture for so long, but the pain went unnoticed to him.

All his attention was on the match and before his goalpost.

No matter what happens, we can’t let Newcastle score the equalizer!

That was the only thought in Twain’s mind.

※※※

On the 88th minute, Martins broke into Nottingham Forest’s penalty box with his pace.

None of the Forest players dared to tackle the ball away from his feet out of fear that a penalty would be awarded against them, especially with the end of the game drawing close.

It’s not guaranteed that Martins would score if he shot, anyway…

Martins chose not to shoot for goal given the tight angle. He pretended to shoot but had actually passed the ball away!

Alan Smith swept at the ball with his feet as he was brought down by Kompany.

Twain was on tenterhooks. He leant forward, his eyes wide open and his fists clenched tightly.

He watched as the ball went under van der Sar’s arm and into the goal…

“Alan Smith! Alan Smith! Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable! Newcastle has levelled the score in the dying minutes of the game! Their relentless attacks have finally paid off! Ah! Look at Newcastle’s bench area… Everyone’s going wild! It’s a narrow escape for them!”

The commentator was yelling hysterically. The Newcastle players and fans were equally hysterical as well. They were cheering feverishly.

But, none of that mattered in Twain’s eyes right now.

A wave of exhaustion hit him.

He felt really tired, really sleepy and really cold.

“… This goal is a devastating blow to Nottingham Forest! Their players are standing on the pitch at a complete loss… Four consecutive matches without a win! Four consecutive matches without a win… This entire month of December must feel as cold as the North Pole to Nottingham Forest! They’ve just lost 3 points again… Let’s take a look at Tony Twain’s expression. We doubt he’d be able to say anything about what just happened!”

No one could see the expression on Tony Twain’s face, because he had already fallen asleep.