Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 734: The Final Moments of 2009

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After coming away with a draw against Manchester United at their home grounds, Nottingham Forest’s ‘juvenile footballers’ received an overwhelming ovation from the supporters. They also slapped their critics in the face through their actions and performances.

On 27th September, Matchday 8, they won 1:0 against Newcastle in an away game.

On 3rd October, Matchday 9, they won 2:0 against Hull City, who performed unexpectedly well last season.

On 17th October, Matchday 10, they won 2:1 at home against Portsmouth.

On 25th October, Matchday 11, they drew 3:3 with Manchester City in an away game.

Tony Twain’s ‘juvenile footballers’ went undefeated for 8 matches since Matchday 4 on 30th August. Their ranking in the league shot up from the second last to seventh.

All the criticisms against them were silenced.

Carl Spicer was the only one who continued to have doubts over Nottingham Forest’s performances, as he always had. Every other media outlet had gone quiet.

The young players’ performances have also earned the approval of the masses.

Chris Cohen might not be a player who stood out, but his numerous crucial performances have helped the team earn at least seven points in the league this season.

He was the type of the player that others would typically overlook or not pay attention to, but he was a very useful asset to the team. He might not be blessed with outstanding talent like Moke, who has been demoted to the reserve team, and he might not be quick and is also not good at getting past his opponents. But, he was an all-rounded player. He could play as the left midfielder or the central midfielder and was skilled at both passing and crossing from the byline. He was also a straightforward individual who did whatever Twain told him to do without a single complaint.

Kris Commons had been sold for 2 million pounds by Twain. The only two left midfielders on the team were Petrov and Cohen. With Petrov getting on with his age, Cohen will undoubtedly be playing games for Forest consistently in the coming years.

He has more luck than Commons did since Forest will most likely not be able to fork out too much money to bring in established football stars from here on out. This means he would be able to get more game time, unlike Commons who was only able to make an appearance in the EFL Cup, FA Cup, and during garbage time for some matches.

Cohen’s performance attracted the attention of some other clubs as well. The season had only barely started for a few months, and there were already rumors going around that certain clubs were showing an interest in acquiring Cohen. A winger like him who was willing to track back and defend and could also put in accurate crosses definitely appealed to several other clubs.

Victor Moses’ performance was noteworthy as well. He has played a total of 340 minutes throughout all the matches so far, and he has found the back of the net twice and provided three assists. Such results were considered to be passable for a player like him who was only 18 years of age.

Additionally, he managed to achieve those results when the season has yet to pass its halfway mark. Twain was certain that Moses would continue to repay the trust he has placed on him as long as he continued to give him a chance to play.

Moses displayed all the attributes that should be found in an African football player. His only problem was inconsistency. His two goals and three assists were all attained over 3 matches. However, inconsistency cannot truly be regarded as an issue for young players. It was actually normal and within expectation. What Twain has to do is to give him patience and encouragement.

On the other hand, Nicolás Millán, who also played the role as a forward in the team like Moses, was able to get a lot more game time than him because he could also play as a midfielder. He finely exhibited all the attributes that could be found in South American players. He possessed exquisite footballing technique that could not be found in the Premier League. His speed and technique ensured that he could work his way around big and burly defenders. They also allow him to help the team earn set pieces and penalties, and give Gareth Bale a stage to shine on.

Of course, by helping the team win free kicks and penalties, he also attracted negative attention onto himself, and got labelled with names such as ‘The Chilean Who Is Good At Falling Down’ or ‘The Lad Who Dives’.

Every time an opponent or the media make such criticisms against Millán, Twain would always publish an article rebutting them in his column, or he would openly scold those critics during an interview, “If the referee says it’s a foul means it’s a foul. If you are upset about his decision, please question the referee’s decision. Don’t take your anger out on my player!”

Millán might have only scored once so far, but his techniques have definitely enriched Forest’s attacking abilities in the final third.

His biggest flaw at the moment was his weak physique. He might be able to earn free kicks for the team, but there is no manager in the world who wishes for their forward to only be able to earn free kicks and penalties.

If Millán hopes to develop further, he has to enhance his physicality. It does not matter how good your techniques are. You cannot survive in the Premier League if your body is not strong enough to stand up against your opponents during physical battles.

Nonetheless, Nicolás Millán’s performance so far has been worthy of his title as the ‘Genius Youngster’.

His reputation in Chile continued to soar with each passing day. Many Chileans became Nottingham Forest fans because of him. Every time Nottingham Forest had a match, they all hoped that Tony Twain would send their ‘gem’ onto the pitch and let him play.

Amongst all the ‘new blood’ in the team, Joe Mattock received the least game time.

This is definitely not Twain being biased and giving preferential treatment. It is simply because the back line is very important to the team and should not be changed easily. He would only think about giving young players game time when the team lacks defenders and has no one else to choose from.

Twain was worried that his actions would upset Mattock, so he went up to speak with him on numerous occasions. He told him that he needs the back line to be sturdy and stable, and that there is little room for error for defenders, unlike the front line whereby the players get to be more free and can do as they like. Hence, as a left back, Joe Mattock would get lesser game time than the other ‘new blood’ in the team.

However, Twain promised Mattock that he was still a part of his plans. He also hoped that Mattock would try playing in other positions such as center back and right back as well.

In Forest, a player who is able to play multiple positions has an advantage over players who are only good at one position when it comes to game time.

Joe Mattock accepted Twain’s suggestion and has been working hard to get used to playing as a right back.

The reason why he has been working hard is because everything he has seen in Nottingham Forest so far has convinced him that Tony Twain is the manager that he should entrust his future to. Pearce had not lied to him. Nottingham Forest is indeed the team that suits him the most right now.

※※※

They might have achieved an excellent run of results of going undefeated for eight matches, but that does not mean that things will be smooth-sailing for them in the league from now on.

For Matchday 12, Nottingham Forest faced Arsenal in an away game.

In the end, Arsenal came out on top with a 3:2 win over Nottingham Forest with their home advantage, and they successfully put an end to Nottingham Forest’s unbeaten run.

Jack Wilshere was named man of the match after scoring once and providing two assists. The light surrounding the 17 year old genius was so blinding that it made the entire Nottingham Forest team disappear in its shine. The commentator could not stop roaring his name throughout the match, as though he was a fan of Wilshere, and the Emirates Stadium erupted into thunderous cheers every single time he touched the ball.

He even managed to steal the spotlight from the captain Fàbregas during the match.

Neither Şahin, John Bostock, Nicolás Millán, Cohen nor Victor Moses, who came on as a substitute later in the match, could hold a candle to him.

“He’s a true genius!”

“Jack has come out of nowhere and is really making himself known! Capello is sitting in a private room in the Emirates Stadium, and he must have taken note of his performance today! Perhaps we will see the name of this 17 year old in the player list for the next training session for the England national team…”

“He is another gem that Arsenal has unearthed for us!”

“The day we see Walcott still seated on the bench is when we can start looking forward to Wilshere becoming a leading figure in the Premier League!”

After the match, all sorts of praises were heaped on Jack Wilshere. It might not be his first season in the league, but this match against Nottingham Forest made him stand out from the crowd and become noticed, especially since he was also awarded the man of the match.

In the hearts of the Arsenal fans, the match was the best possible stage for Wilshere to shine on. Nottingham Forest was a team that was becoming too full of themselves in recent years, and a team like that became a backdrop for Wilshere in today’s match. That was a scene that all the fans wanted to see.

However, Twain had a different opinion on the matter.

During his post-match interview the day after the match, a reporter wanted him to comment on Wilshere’s remarkable performance from yesterday.

He smiled and said, “I believe that Jack Wilshere is an undisputed genius footballer. I had my eyes on him since last year. Back then I even wanted to take him on loan from Wenger. But too bad, he refused me. He is a gifted player and definitely has the skills. I don’t doubt that he would be able to achieve great things in the future. But…” Twain paused and shrugged. “It’s not surprising for me to see a player like Wilshere rise to fame after performing well in a match. Unfortunately, in my eyes, he was lucky that his opponent was us. I want all of you to remember something… George did not play in the game yesterday.”

What Twain was getting at was, ‘If George Wood had played, can Wilshere still perform as well as he did?’

His words undoubtedly upset the Arsenal fans, but what he said was the truth.

George Wood was unable to play in the Arsenal game after picking up five yellow cards in previous games. His defensive abilities were already well-known in the Premier League and did not require Twain to do any further explanations.

If so, then had George Wood not been left out of the match because he had picked up all those yellow cards, then can Wilshere, who would definitely play in a position where he would be marked by Wood, still be able to put in such a good performance?

During the match, it was as if Wilshere had wandered into an uninhabited territory. He met little to no resistance on the pitch and was free to do as he liked because Tiago could not keep up with his pace. It seemed as though the young was bullying the old throughout the match…

However, quite a number of people believe that if it had been George Wood playing instead of Tiago, then Wilshere would not have been able to act as freely as he did in the first 15 minutes of the match due to Wood’s constant assaults on him.

The truth was that Wenger only started Wilshere and gave him the onus of creating chances for the team at the front of the pitch because he knew that George Wood would not be playing due to his one match ban.

Wenger won the gamble. Arsenal and Wilshere both attained success in the game.

On the other hand, Twain was a little depressed. He had to console his ‘new blood’ after the match and tell them that losing is part and parcel of life. Losing to Arsenal was also not an unacceptable outcome.

During training, he even took an aim at George Wood, “Look at what happened, George. You missed one match and an underage kid rose to fame just like that.”

George Wood replied him in his usual, serious tone, “I hope that the next time we meet, that lad will still start in the game.”

Twain laughed as he stood by the side. They might have lost, but he was not angry with the result. He has learned to loosen up and not view each loss so seriously, unlike his past self who had the mentality that they could not lose even one match.

It was true that he was leading a team whose average ages did not exceed 25, and there were several ‘new blood’ in the team that the others did not think favorably of. It was also true that the club was experiencing financial difficulties and they were going through rough times. However, he did not feel stressed despite being in a tough situation.

Those days from the previous season where he had to bite the bullet and pull through each and every day felt like a distant memory.

Right now, it was normal for them to be losing matches. It takes time for a team to mature. It was not possible for his ‘new blood’ to play like experienced players in a short period of time.

Additionally, Twain also did not want to burden his heart too much, primarily because he was worried that Shania would not be able to handle it if he did. He personally did not really care if his heart was burdened or not.

His main source of stress-relief has been going shopping with Shania ever since he quit smoking and drinking. Many shops have been giving discounts on their items due to the economically tense situation that they were in. It was a good time to be shopping.

Besides shopping with Shania, he would also visit the Forest Bar, order a glass of fruit juice and chat with his friends. If not, he would wage a war with Carl Spicer on various media outlets. It is good for the health to scold someone or something every day.

Life has been comfortable and good for him thus far.

Allan has to fly around every day to clinch new sponsors for the construction of the new stadium. Just doing this one job was enough to leave him overwrought. In contrast, Twain did not have to care about any of these annoying issues and could just leave them all in the hands of Allan and Evan.

All he had to care about was leading the team out to matches. He had also stopped pondering over what players he should buy for now as well. There was nothing he had to worry about as long as the club was still able to pay everyone’s salaries.

The team continued to win and lose games under his guidance for the next few matches. Their performance was unstable and had its ups and downs, but it was slowly improving as they approached the new year.

Half the season was about to be over, and it was time for Christmas once again.

※※※

Shania spent her first Christmas after getting married strutting down different runways across the world just like she always have. Similarly, Twain also spent his Christmas with Dunn at Wood’s house where they had a Thanksgiving dinner together, just like he did in previous years.

Sophia’s face would turn extremely pale every time winter comes. Twain knew how tough living through the winter was for the sick. Her body would start to feel better once Spring comes, at least that was what he believed.

He spent almost half of 2009 living in the shadows of his heart disease, but he also gained a love that will last a lifetime. His career might be down in the pits right now, but things aren’t too bad for him. He could still stage a comeback.

He wondered if the sea of red before his eyes would turn even deeper in color the next time he appeared in Europe…