Chapter 1007: Inside First, Then Outside
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Although rejecting the Queen’s award caused a stir at home, Twain wasn’t much affected. He was still taking the team everywhere, playing the game. In every Forest home game, their Crimson Stadium was still full of seats. The Nottingham press continued to sing his praises every week. The voices of the few opposing media people did not affect him at all.
Britain’s royal family only regretted that Twain, such a prominent celebrity, has refused to be honored. They did not say much about it. Perhaps they thought that it was really inappropriate to take it so seriously when one had royal n.o.ble status like they did.
However, someone must have been dissatisfied with Twain’s open letter, because they felt like they were deeply offended. Twain didn’t care how they felt. Just let those haters keep on hating him.
“Nottingham Forest have risen from 17th to 14th place… ”
Xia Yang was reading the news of international football in the newspaper.
“Are you still questioning my choice, Uncle Xia?” Chen Jian was sitting next to him, peeling an apple for himself.
“Hey…” Xia Yang had to admit that he was not as trusting towards Twain as the young man next to him was. “Just a few victories, that doesn’t make a difference. And I’ve heard that Twain will retire again at the end of the season. What will you do then? You have to know that ‘every emperor has a cabinet composed of his own favorites’, Chen Jian.”
“I’m going to be worth more than I am right now even if I only spent half a season at Nottingham Forest. Don’t you know this, Uncle Xia?” Chen Jian lifted the apple parings, and Xia Yang saw the paring of an apple was not cut off at all. The slices were still connected as one. “Furthermore, maybe the new head coach will like me as well?”
“Stop your daydreaming!” Xia Yang gave him an angry stare, but deep inside he wished this may be true.
“What did the club say?”
“Nottingham Forest has made an official offer, but they haven’t given any reply yet. I think they’re going to wait until the winter transfer window opens. I hope it will get more attention from the other clubs for a better price.” Speaking of this, Xia Yang frowned. “I have given the news to the press, but I think the pressure they put the club under is quite not enough yet.”
“I would like to join Nottingham Forest as soon as I can, Uncle Xia. ”
Xia Yang looked at him. “If you want that, you will have to go to Manzano to talk to him personally, Chen Jian. Media news can only be considered as catching the wind and grasping at the shadow, but as for the player’s own opinion, they will have to consider it.”
Chen Jian put a piece of apple in his mouth and took a bite. “OK, I’ll go to talk to Mr. Head coach.”
Chen Jian went to find his coach Manzano for a showdown, while Twain was making his way to Thiago Silva.
“To be honest, Thiago, the club doesn’t need you anymore. If you think of looking for a new club after the winter window opens, I’m sure many will be ready to appreciate the contribution you’ve made in recent years.” Twain sat in his office chair and looked at the 33-year-old center-back on the sofa.
Both men looked a little aloof. Twain had long wanted to get rid of this “Overlord in the dressing room”. Now the chance was finally here.
During the last round of the league, Twain used the rotation system in the dense schedule. Thiago Silva, who hasn’t played ever since he took the job, finally appeared in the starting lineup. However, his performance was not flattering at all. At the age of 33, he clearly couldn’t resist the impact of a young striker. His speed was low, his turn slow, and his bounce poor. Where he’s been had become a major weak point for the opponent. Twain eventually had to replace Silva at the start of the second half and sent Sacco to finally stabilize the situation.
Although in this game the Forest team only got a draw, it showed to many people Silva’s embarra.s.sing performance.
“I’d like to finish my contract with the club and retire from the Forest,” Silva made his own comments without any expression.
“If you’re willing to leave the team in January, the club will compensate you for the rest of the season.” In order to get rid of this man, Twain spared no effort. And Evan Doughty was also in line with Twain. Even if it meant losing lots of money, he wouldn’t hesitate.
“I have signed a contract with the club for a year and a half.”
Thiago Silva’s remark meant that the club should compensate him for the entire duration of the contract. Twain and Doughty would certainly not agree to such a request, but at least it meant Silva was ready to leave the team, it was only that the price didn’t reach his expectations yet.
Twain could only curse Evan privately in his mind. He could not understand how Evan was thinking to sign another three-year contract with a 32-year-old center-back. It was said that Alan had done this deal, and now he could not help believing that Allen had received some profit from Silva’s agent.
Therefore, it might not have been a whim for Evan to dismiss Allen.
What if Silva insisted on fulfilling the eighteen-month contract?
Twain said, “Then I’ll give you a showdown, Thiago. From today on, until your contract expires, I will not put you on the starter lineup, nor will I put you on the roster. You won’t get a second in all the games, even in the preseason. The team doesn’t need you now. You can go back to Brazil for a holiday, or you can go somewhere else to play or spend your vacation however you wish. I won’t care if you come to train or not. However, every time you miss a training session, I’ll deduct your salary for a week. Every time you are late for training, I’ll deduct your salary for a week as well. What do you think of this condition?”
Thiago Silva suddenly showed a surprised look – this head coach was simply too ruthless!
Seeing his change of expression, Twain grinned silently. He wasn’t at all afraid that doing so would cause the other players to complain. The Brazilian was no better at the dressing room than Balotelli, and many English players and veteran players were eager to see how Silva would suffer.
However, since the conversation has gone this far, there was no need to talk about it anymore. Silva would definitely not discuss it calmly, and Twain wasn’t planning on wasting his breath.
Silva left the head coach’s office with a furious look, and Twain believed that next, he would look for his agent, but he was not afraid at all. If Silva was going to leave, of course it would be the best choice for both of them. However, if he insisted on staying, Twain was determined that the Brazilian would know who was in charge of Wilford and Nottingham Forest.
※※※
However, Twain did not see Silva’s agent, and Silva wasn’t late for training or absent. Instead, he worked harder in the training. Twain thought Silva was testing him to see if what he said was true or just a bluff.
Twain was not concerned whether Silva believed what he said or not. In the next week, in two games, Silva did not even enter the roster.
In fact, that Silva didn’t make the roster list for two rounds in a row wasn’t such big news, so basically, the media didn’t pay much attention at first. But then came the news in The Sun that there was a conflict between Silva and Twain.
Twain had a hunch that it was something Silva’s agent had done in an act of trying to put pressure on him. What a joke. He was not afraid of this.
Indeed the reporters quickly came to Twain to ask him if he had a conflict with Silva or not.
Twain didn’t answer the question head-on. “A nearly 34-year-old center-back was out of the roster list for two rounds in the league. Isn’t it normal for a player of that age? I don’t know what you’re so surprised at.”
As Twain’s partner, Evan stood out at the right time and said, “The club is thankful for Silva’s contribution to the team over the course of four seasons. The club also hopes he can get better at the end of his career.”
This was a subtle expression of the club’s position – Tony Twain and I are on the same side.
In this case, Nottingham Forest club and Tony Twain were both right. They didn’t have to waste their weekly salary on a guy who basically couldn’t get out to play regularly. They didn’t care if they were criticized for being ruthless. How many clubs were charitable these days? Besides, charity was for those with true loyalties, not for everyone alike. Otherwise, the club would turn into a nursing home. AC Milan was once regarded as the most humane club, but they didn’t leave every worthless player in their club. They drove away a large number of players every year. A world like professional football was actually very cruel…
The team actually knew there was a conflict between Twain and Silva, but no one came forward to say anything. Even those foreign players who had been very well with Silva once now saw him as the plague and tried to get away from him as far as they could.
Once a big rival in the locker room to George Wood, he was suddenly deserted by his followers. He no longer had anything to rely on to move against Twain. After these two rounds, he was convinced that Twain was really someone who could do anything as he said. Two rounds out of the roster list were just a warning. Then if he had the slightest slack in the training, and were caught by Twain, it would end up with real punishment.
It looked like his good days here were over.
Twain finally met Silva’s agent, who came to confirm whether if Silva really left Forest this winter the club would compensate him for the rest of the half-season.
Twain nodded and made the promise. They could inform the media about this news. If the club didn’t live up to that promise, Silva could get justice for himself through the news media.
The next thing was simple.
Silva wanted to return to Brazil to end his career. The club was generous enough to say that they could terminate Silva’s contract ahead of schedule and compensate him for the rest of the half-season so that Silva was free to join any club he wanted.
Meanwhile, negotiations for Chen Jian were continuing. The RCD Espanyol offered 20 million, and both Evan and Twain thought it was too much. Even as the core of the RCD Espanyol, Chen Jian was not worthy of this price. Therefore, they deliberately cooled down the negotiations, waiting for news from Barcelona.
A few days later, the local Barcelona media reported that Nottingham Forest was interested in buying Chen Jian, who also found Manzano to give him a showdown and expressed his desire to leave the team.
As a head coach, Manzano certainly didn’t want his team core to leave, but he was under pressure from both the club and Chen Jian. Chen Jian was determined to go, even up to a refusal to train. The club also wanted to sell Chen Jian to obtain next season’s transfer budget.
Finally, after repeated negotiations, the two sides finalized the transfer fee at nine million pounds. Chen Jian has become the most expensive player in the Chinese professional football history. In addition, he has once again attracted the attention of the world’s football community. Of course, it wasn’t just he who caught the world’s eye, but also the Nottingham Forest club that acquired him for this price.
Many media outlets didn’t understand why Nottingham Forest was buying a player with similar technical features and style to Wood, and a Chinese midfielder who was no longer young at that. However, this time no reporters jumped out to mock him in such a hurry. They all learned patience in the face of this man who would always slap the doubting ones in the face. The media were all waiting, waiting for Chen Jian to come to the Forest team to make a fool of himself.
Twain didn’t care what the media thought. It was the best for the media to be confused because his opponents were confusing too.
He was delighted that the transfer negotiation had finally been settled before the winter transfer window opened. In this way, on January 1 next year, they could introduce Chen Jian right away.
In a phone call to Chen Jian, Twain told him the good news. “If you can pa.s.s the physical examination, you’ll catch up with the Football a.s.sociation Cup on January 5.”
Chen Jian didn’t understand why this was good news. If being able to play for the new team as soon as possible was good news, it was good for the player. It had nothing to do with the head coach!
“The schedule has come out early! Nottingham Forest’s first game of the Football a.s.sociation Cup this season is against Notts County.” Twain smiled on the other end of the line. “To tell you the truth, Chen Jian, my successor is your compatriot and you will have the opportunity to show your strength in front of him in the Football a.s.sociation Cup.”
Hearing this, Chen Jian understood Twain’s intentions.
He knew Dunn and Twain weren’t the kind of head coaches who would be unfairly privileged. Dunn could become the head coach of Nottingham Forest after that, no doubt, only because of Twain’s recommendation. There would be absolutely no question of opposing Twain’s words in Nottingham. If he didn’t want to just be a pa.s.ser-by at Nottingham Forest, he would have to show his strength in front of the next head coach. Wasn’t it better to show his strength ahead of time in front of Dunn than after he became the head coach?
This was really good news.
On Christmas Eve, Twain and his daughter Teresa dined at home with George Wood and Miss Vivian. In the pa.s.sing year, many good things happened to Twain. Although Sophia has left her son this year, Twain was now delighted to see Wood make a fresh start, a new life that was entirely his own.