Godfather Of Champions

More than 80 reporters from different media sources crowded the big conference hall of the Crimson Stadium as they attended the press conference in the afternoon.

Evan Doughty and Allan Adams attended this press conference.

The reporters were still rather reserved at the start, asking questions about O’Neill’s resignation, or asking about the identity of the next Nottingham Forest manager. However, after a few questions in, the reporters could hold back no longer and they started to stand up and ask about Tony Twain.

“Is the public letter from Tony Twain true?”

“Did you force a meritorious manager out just because you were unable to agree to his request of having absolute control over the club’s transfer matters?”

“Would you agree that the club’s biggest failure was not to extend Tony Twain’s contract?”

“There was supposedly a big group of fans protesting outside the Wilford gates this morning, care to talk about it?”

“Mr Allan Adams, you said that the club will give the fans an explanation about Twain’s resignation. Can you reveal a little bit about this explanation?”

…

The two of them were embattled by the questions that were coming in like a violent storm. They were obviously not adept at handling reporters and now they realized how dumb their decision to attend this press conference was——They could have just sent any media officer as their spokesperson.

At the end, they had no choice but to use their trump card——

“We’re sorry, but today’s press conference is held to give an official response to Martin O’Neill’s resignation request. We’ll not answer any question that is not related to this matter,” Allan Adams stood out to shield Evan from the questions, but how long could he last?

The reporters came up with an idea and changed the phrasing of the questions.

“Is the reason for Martin O’Neill’s resignation the same as Tony Twain’s reason to resign?”

“It is said that after the friendly match between Forest and England, O’Neill and Twain had another private talk after the press conference. Does it have anything to do with his resignation?”

“It is rumored that the Nottingham Forest team is not united, and Martin O’Neill did not have the trust of all the players. Does this have to do with the fact that Twain’s influence is still strong within the team?”

“Does the club have any countermeasures in place after losing two managers in the span of two months?

…

The reporters were bent on forcing these two to say what they thought about Tony Twain.

Allan Adams had no choice but to keep beating around the bush and answering off topic. The reporters were not happy with his attitude and their questions became even more blistering.

“There’s a rumor that you received a commission from Inter Milan in Lennon’s transfer, is this true?”

“Nonsense!” Allan was finally angered, “Rumors like these are equivalent to slander, I have the rights to sue!” He stood up and waved his hands in an agitated manner.

Evan Doughty, who was next to him, took one look at him and then gave the media officer a look.

The media officer stepped forward to “rescue the emperor”, “Everybody, this will be the end of today’s press conference…”

Before he could finish, Allan and Evan had already turned around and left.

The reporters were not willing to let them go and they chased after them, asking questions until the two of them completely disappeared out of sight.

“Bastards…they’re not cooperative at all!” The reporters complained as they did not get any news that were of value.

“Don’t worry, didn’t Allan say that the club will give the fans a satisfactory reply in four days’ time? Let’s wait and see,” The older counterparts laughed very happily, “This is a wonderful summer. If only every summer is like this…”

※※※

When scenes of this press conference were shown on television, many Forest fans laughed happily at the flustered looks of Allan Adams and Evan Doughty.

At first, they might still be doubtful about it as they did not believe that the club’s management would do something that self-destructive.

However, as the media reports pile up and more and more inside information was dug out, nobody had any other doubts that these two are the culprits behind the club forcing Tony Twain out.

They used the phrase “forced out”. Even though Twain was the one who chose not to extend his contract, nobody thought that Twain was responsible for it after knowing the truth. If not for the fact that the club’s management was unwilling to give up power and wanted to restrict Twain, it was impossible that Twain chose not to extend his contract. This was the result of 11 years of his hard work and there were countless fans who supported him, there was really no reason for him to leave.

So, the club’s management forced Twain out, that was indubitable.

There was laughter coming from the Forest bar too.

The fragmented bar was slowly recovering. The people were no longer arguing about whether Twain treated them unfairly, on the other hand, they felt guilty for how they treated him. Football fans in England are like this, they dare to love as much as they dare to hate.

Bill was the only one who seemed conflicted still.

He had not been there much recently, and even if he did go, he would drink alone at a corner and not pay any mind to anyone who came forward to talk to him.

Today was the same. Nobody noticed him when he arrived as everyone was busy watching and laughing at the club’s chairman and business executive on the television. He preferred it as well as he sat at a corner and made a hand signal asking for beer to Burns behind the bar table.

Burns asked a waiter to bring beer over to him while telling John, “He’s here again.”

John took one look at Bill, “I see him.”

“Aren’t you going to say something? You two are good friends you know.”

“He’s still feeling very confused, I should leave him alone for now. Let’s wait a few days… If he can think it through himself, there will be nothing to worry about, if he can’t, then there’s no use for anyone else to say anything. He’s already almost 50 and he’s still acting like a kid…” John rambled on.

Burns laughed when he heard the last time, “To me, all football fans are like kids. You did a good job leading the guys at Wilford this morning… Did you think about the kind of response that you’ll get? To be honest, I don’t think the club will possibly openly admit that it was a mistake letting Twain go. At least not during this period of time anyway…”

John shook his head and said, “I just want to make things difficult for them, let them know that there are still people in this world who dare to defy them. Even though that man is the club’s chairman, us fans can still give him our middle finger! If they do not give us a satisfactory answer, then we’ll show our displeasure towards the club with our actions in every home game. And…” He stopped for a while, “…it’s also to apologize to Tony. After all, we booed him mercilessly in the Crimson Stadium before. Those jeers must have hurt him. If… I’m saying if, Tony ever returns to the Crimson Stadium, I want to lead everyone to apologize to him.”

“I don’t think there’s much chance of that happening,” Burns dampened John’s enthusiasm.

“I thought so…” John muttered softly after taking a sip of beer.

※※※

“Damn it! Those damned reporters!” Even though Allan Adams was the shield during the press conference, Evan Doughty was the one who was fuming in private.

Allan followed behind Evan without saying anything.

The two of them were walking towards Evan’s mansion from the carpark, a manor that looked like an ancient castle.

“They want to watch us embarrass ourselves, we must not let them get what they want. We’ll shut up after publishing an official statement on our website regarding O’Neill’s resignation. We’ll wait a few days…”

When he talked about what would happen in a few days, Evan stopped and stayed silent, rooted to the spot.

Allan was also curious about the reply that the club was going to give the fans to stop them from creating trouble.

“How are you going to answer them, Evan?” Allan asked.

Evan looked like he made a very tough decision. He let out a deep breath and told Allan, “Aren’t we lacking a manager now that O’Neill’s gone?”

Allan nodded. He did not know what has that got to do with his question.

“I’ve decided to approach Tony.”

Allan was shocked and he suddenly understood what Evan meant, “You’re planning to ask Tony to replace O’Neill? Are you crazy?”

“I’m not crazy, Allan. The best solution now is for Tony to return. He’s the only one who can manage that team and he’s the only one who can calm our fans down. I’ve been thinking about it for one full day and this is the only solution.”

Allan stared at Evan in bewilderment for a long while before giving a wry smile, “After one big round, we’re back at the starting point.”

Evan did not say anything. He knew that it was very humiliating to do that, but to safeguard Nottingham Forest’s future, he had to do so.

“I don’t think he’ll agree to it. He’s someone who’ll seek revenge for the smallest grievance. We’ve offended him and he’ll never come back,” Allan felt that this plan was ridiculous.

“I can apologize to him and I can give him the power and freedom that he wants, give him the highest pay…” If Evan said this two months back, all these would not have happened. Too bad not everyone can predict the future.

“What about his contract with the English Football Association?”

“I plan to go pull some strings in London and fight to allow him to hold the post of the national team’s manager at the same time…”

Allan sighed deeply this time and shook his head, “You’re crazy.” Then he left Evan behind alone and walked on.

Evan was not sure himself if what he was doing was suitable. But this was indeed the only perfect solution that he could think of. If Tony would return and manage the team, all the problems would not be problems. He would lose a bit of pride but in the long run, what he would get far outweighs what he would lose.

※※※

Twain was very surprised that he would still receive a call from Evan Doughty. That was why he was stunned for a few seconds when he saw the name on the display of his mobile phone before picking up the call.

“I thought that you have already deleted my number and destroyed everything that proved that I ever existed, Mr Evan Doughty,” Twain became very sarcastic after picking up the phone.

The person on the other side of the line forced a chuckle. He knew he would be receiving this kind of “welcome speech”.

Evan did not pay heed to Twain’s sarcasm and he told Twain his intention for calling.

Twain’s reaction was not unlike Allan’s, he asked loudly, “Are you crazy?”

“I know this idea might sound a little crazy…”

“A little? Looks like those reporters gave you a tough time.” Twain mocked.

“But I’m here to apologize to you, Tony…”

“Apologize for what?”

“There might have been some misunderstanding between us…”

“There’s no misunderstanding, Mr Doughty. No misunderstandings at all. Me leaving only showed that our ideas towards football, towards Nottingham Forest, were different. Therefore, there’s no need for me to forcefully stay there and of course, since it’s impossible for you to leave, I had to be the one to leave. That’s all there is to that, what’s there to apologize for?

Evan started to think that his method might not work after hearing Twain say that.

“I still hope that you’re reconsider the possibility of returning to Nottingham Forest…”

“There’s no need to reconsider, Mr Doughty. I have a two-years contract with the English Football Association. During this period, I’ll be going nowhere. I won’t go back to managing Nottingham Forest,” Twain said firmly. It seemed like he was really not going to return to Nottingham Forest.

“Your players need you, Tony…”

Twain laughed, and he laughed out loud, “You’re the king of this team, aren’t you? You were arrogant and you thought you could control everything. Now that you realize you can’t, you want me to help you wipe your ass? So sorry, Mr Doughty. I’m tired of it. Good luck to you and good luck to your Nottingham Forest.

With that, he hung up without waiting for Evan to say anything else.

He could still feel the anger burning within his chest after hanging up and the flames were looking for an avenue to exit his body. So, he threw his phone and it smashed onto the wall and broke into countless pieces.

He only managed to calm himself down after drinking two glasses of water.

You decided to abandon me when you’re successful and content, yet you have the cheeks to ask for my assistance when you’re in trouble? Evan, Evan, is your head filled with shit? If I agreed to your request, what would I become? A tool that you can abandon at will? A slut who’ll sleep with you for money?

I’m very sorry but to me, there are indeed many things that we can put a monetary value to, but not dignity.

This is the shit that you created, lick it up yourself!

※※※

After Evan was hung up upon so rudely, he found out that the call could not longer go through when he tried again.

He sat back in his char and held his phone in his hands, lost in thoughts as he looked at the Wilford training ground outside his window.

The scene of the three of them drawing up the blueprint of Nottingham Forest’s magnificence inside an Indian restaurant ten years ago had become a yellow, faded photograph.

The shared target of G14 was also dismissed by a deal made by the UEFA six years ago.

The blueprint that they envisioned was already tattered and torn. If that was the case, why did they have to stick together? They could just go their separate ways from now.

I’ve apologized to you, but you wouldn’t accept it. I’ve tried to approach you with a soft approach, but you rejected me too. From now on, we don’t owe each other anything. What happens to you is none of my business, what happens to Nottingham Forest is none of your business either.

You’re England’s manager while I’m Nottingham Forest Football Club’s chairman. We have no relations with one another anymore.