Chapter 105: Gypsies Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
One week had already pa.s.sed since Tang En had gone to look for Storey-Moore and Des Walker. In that period, the youth team played a youth league match in the fourth group. Compared to the previous match, Tang En had given George Wood the chance to play for half the match and his performance remained rather good. In fact, it was even better than the previous match. Kerslake felt that it had to be attributed to Wood"s extremely st.u.r.dy psychological quality.
"Oh gosh, Tony. This kid doesn"t seem to know the meaning of the word "nervous"!" Kerslake exclaimed.
Tang En laughed out loud and said, "That is because he always played truant during his lessons!"
Of course this was a joke. Tang En did not tell Kerslake that aside from Wood"s psychological quality, there was another very important reason for Wood"s good performance for two consecutive matches. That it was his mother, Sophia, who had been watching him play from the side of the field.
Wood told Tang En, that he and his mother had reached an agreement—if the weather was good and the sky was clear when he had a home match, he would permit his mother to come watch. If it was raining or it looked like it was going to rain, then she would not be allowed to come.
Hearing Wood"s words, Tang En smiled and said to him, "Rest a.s.sured, George. As long as it"s a match on our home ground, the weather will definitely be good and won"t rain."
Sure enough, on the day of the match, the skies of Nottingham, which had just entered winter was extremely clear, with the sun s.h.i.+ning brightly. Under the close watch of his mother, Sophia, George Wood also beautifully completed his performance in the second half, helping the team defeat its opponent with a score of 2:1. Tang En made him mark the enemy team"s core offensive player. As a result, the core player who had been quite active in the first half, was almost nowhere to be found in the second half. In the end, the opponent team"s manager could only subst.i.tute him out. Tang En also made use of this chance to let Wood apply what he had learned during his training—become a fixed position defensive midfielder, and serve as the first line of defense instead of marking a certain specific player.
Although he made some mistakes—the entire managerial team was able to see that—this lad was slowly working toward the right direction step by step.
Give him more time and let him partic.i.p.ate in more matches. After that… what will we get?
What a highly antic.i.p.ated future!
At the same time, Collymore"s days became increasingly unbearable.
He stayed true to his word and refused to accept all forms of interview from the Nottingham Evening Post. After that, his good days had completely come to an end.
Pierce Brosnan, James Robson, and various other big and small reporters from the Nottingham Evening Post, all became the forefront of the anti-Collymore faction. Even if Collymore was slightly distracted for a split second when he answered questions during the post-match press conference, he would be caught by the Evening Post and be attacked for it. They would also make accusations about him which seemed possible but were actually wrong.
The readers also liked reading these sorts of articles. With the increase in the Nottingham Evening Post"s sales, their scolding was taken to a whole new level.
Today was a Sunday, and Nottingham Forest"s first team was headed to Wigan for a match. As such, Tang En did not need to go to City Ground Stadium to watch the match. Tang En, who was in a good mood, got out of bed early and made himself a simple breakfast. After that, he watched the morning news on the television while enjoying the wonderful morning. Ever since he knew that he would soon return to the manager"s seat in the first team, his mood was so good that it was as if he were able to see sun daily during winter.
The television was rebroadcasting the sports news from the night before. The Nottingham Forest"s local television station paid the most attention to Nottingham Forest and Derby County. As for Premier League or any other matches, even those were of a lower priority than these two teams.
Nottingham Forest had been the focal point of the press recently, and it was because of their terrible results as well as that incapable manager.
If Collymore did not come up with anything soon, and the team"s results continued to spiral downward, then at the end of the season Nottingham Forest would have the "honor" of becoming the first team that had won the UEFA Champions League, and yet have to struggle in the country"s third tier football league.
Looking back at the past glory of this team, and then looking at their current horrible situation, it was really a heartbreaking sight. There were even some newspapers that were unable to hold themselves back from making headlines such as: Former European champion in dire straits, its future bleak and dark! They had already completely stopped believing in Nottingham Forest"s ability to make a comeback in the remaining half a season.
The reporters from the TV station casually interviewed a few football fans on the streets, and asked for their opinion regarding Collymore as well as the team"s prospects. Tang En watched them interview four people, and none of them said anything positive. Three of them accredited the team"s terrible results to Collymore"s low standards and lack of professional ethics. At the same time, there were also two people who felt that the club"s board of directors should also take responsibility for the current disastrous state of the team.
"If they didn"t fire Manager Tony Twain, perhaps we would already be in the top six position of the league!"
"You"re wrong, idiot!" Tang En pointed his fork at that plump football fan on the screen and said, "We would be first in the league!"
"If Brian Clough was still around, the situation would not have worsened to this current state," A female football fan shook her head and said painfully to the camera. The male football fan standing beside her, obviously her husband, continued.
"I think that Tony Twain can do it as well. It"s a pity that he"s currently managing the youth team."
Those words made Tang En feel extremely flattered to have people pin their hopes on him like they did for Nottingham Forest"s legendary figure, Clough. Their expectations for him made him feel a sense of accomplishment. He even felt that when he led the team in the second half of the season and advanced all the way into the playoffs, the prestige and expectations that the fans pinned on him then was much lower than they had for him currently, when he became part of the youth team.
Perhaps people tended to place higher expectations for the things that they were unable to attain at the moment.
Right when Tang En was reveling in front of the television, his phone rang.
"Mr. Twain, I"ve found the person you tasked me to find."
Half an hour later, Tang En and Moore were already onboard the train from Nottingham to London.
"Freddy Eastwood, born in 1983 on the 29th of October in Epsom, located southwest of London. Currently, he is staying with his wife as well as his son, who is not even one-year-old yet, at Basildon." Moore, who was seated opposite Tang En, remained calm and collected, and he continued to speak slowly. Tang En, on the other hand, was very eager to meet the person. "Once we reach London train station, we will take the subway before taking a bus there."
Tang En shook his head, and said in a somewhat excited manner. "No, no, Mr. Moore. There"s no need for so much trouble. We"ll rent a car and head there directly."
Moore remained expressionless, and his body swayed to the rhythm of the moving train. "Mr. Twain, looks like you can"t wait even a minute longer."
"That"s right, Mr. Moore," Tang En chuckled. "Truth to be told, I can"t wait to meet him immediately!"
"I can understand how you feel, Mr. Twain. But, I heard that he had been fouled intentionally in a youth match in the first half of the year. As a result, he broke his leg." Moore said slowly as he looked at Tang En without blinking. At that moment, Tang En had already felt that something was not right. "At that time, he was still on Westham United"s team, and their opponents for that match was—Nottingham Forest."
The smile on Tang En"s face immediately turned stiff.
They directly called a car rental company at the London train station. A black rental car came to pick them up, driving them toward Basildon, which was located in the northern part of London.
Tang En, who was seated in the car, was no longer as excited as he was when he departed. He sat at the back quietly as he looked out of the windows at the wilderness and buildings which flashed past in an instant.
If Tang En really met Eastwood, how should Tang En approach him after revealing the motive of his visit and his background?
The wilderness outside the car gradually decreased. Row upon row of buildings became increasingly common. They had finally reached Basildon.
After they entered the town, Moore made the driver pull over by the side of the road.
"We will have to walk in from here on." Moore said to Tang En.
Tang En got out and looked at the environment around him. They were currently at the National Highway Section A127 which connected London and Basildon. There were houses on both ends, and two rows of shrubs which separated these houses from the highway. Despite much of the leaves falling due to winter, it still appeared to be rather dense.
Moore led the way in front without saying anything, while Tang En followed behind him quietly. After his interaction with this old man, Tang En discovered that Moore was not someone who liked to talk. So, Tang En did not take much of an initiative to strike a conversation with him.
After walking for a short distance, the ground below their feet was all muddy and difficult to walk on. The shrubs on both sides of the road also gradually increased. Tang En felt that they were not looking for a person, but observing wild animals.
"Where does he stay?" Tang En could not help but ask.
Right at this moment, Moore stopped. He turned his head around and said to Tang En, "We"re here, Mr. Twain."
Tang En took a step forward from behind Moore, and then looked around at the surroundings. This was undoubtedly a small residential area, and the area was filled with old-style red-bricked houses. In the middle of the buildings was an empty s.p.a.ce that was surrounded by shrub bushes.
After that, Tang En saw that there was a long yellow wagon parked in the middle of the empty s.p.a.ce. There was even a white-colored curtain laced with designs of flowers inside the car. Outside the car were two red-colored foldable chairs, three pails full of water and a few empty bottles. At a not-so-faraway distance, there was a rope with both of its ends attached to two trees. On it hung a few clothes with flower designs, which appeared to be female clothes at first glance.
Seeing this sight made Tang En"s mouth gape wide in astonishment. After a long while, he finally recovered from his shock and asked the silent Moore, "This… this is his house?"
Moore nodded his head.