Keane left. In the end, he did not choose to join Nottingham Forest. He and Tony Twain had just brushed each other by. Twain guessed that they would not have a chance to work together in the future. After the opportunity to cooperate was lost, it was almost impossible to work together again. He knew that Roy Keane would not want to be his a.s.sistant manager, just like he would not want to be another person"s a.s.sistant.
Therefore, even if Keane retired in eighteen months and chose to be a coach, Twain could not extend the proud Irishman an invitation to serve as his a.s.sistant manager.
They could not be partners, but it was also good to be rivals.
If all the capable men were on his side, what was the point of competing in the games?
Twain did not want to lose interest in the game too soon.
※※※
Another Christmas approached. For Western countries, Christmas was equivalent to the Spring Festival in China.
Tang En had spent two Christmases in England. Because Sophia was around, he did not feel the loneliness of a foreign visitor.
He and Dunn would spend this Christmas with Sophia"s family as usual.
Unfortunately, Shania could not come to Nottingham to accompany her this year. Last Christmas, she had said that "It"s going to be like this every year." But she could not realize her words. She had broken her promise.
But this breaking of her promise was a good thing for her personal career.
After a year of hard work in England, Shania gradually became known in the modeling world. As a result, she was now no longer an ordinary unknown young girl who could casually wander in the streets and go to school every day.
"I"m so sorry, Uncle Tony..." Shania apologized to Twain over the phone, but she sounded more like a child complaining.
"Why are you apologizing? I think it"s a good thing for you." Twain held the latest issue of a fas.h.i.+on magazine. If he did not look carefully, he would not think that the person on the cover was the fifteen-year-old Judy Shania Jordana.
Her name was written next to the cover girl image, and below was a headline: "The future of the runway."
That was a special edition of this issue, which featured some of the most notable new stars in the modeling world.
It was just like a football magazine, which would introduce the world"s up and coming star footballers.
Shania"s exceptional physical a.s.sets, as well as her qualities from her early professional training, got her on the list of top ten most promising models.
Although Shania always complained that she did not like modeling, there was no denying that she had the making of a supermodel. Twain once thought that Shania did not like to be a model because she was subject to the constant rigorous modeling training that caused her to resist. But in fact, she was most suited to be a model.
"But I want to spend Christmas with you," Shania whined on the phone.
"This is your job too, Shania." Twain cleared his throat. "Just like it"s my job to coach the team. Last Christmas, didn"t you see that I had to constantly lead the team through the training and compet.i.tions? I thought you didn"t want me to regard you as a child. Now that you"re busy with work during the holidays, it shows that you are an adult, Shania."
Shania was quiet for a moment and said, "But now I want you to see me as a child!"
Twain rolled his eyes.
Without waiting for him to come up with new words of consolation, Shania sighed. "Okay, I know I"m being a little unreasonable. You must be in a difficult position, Uncle Tony. Are you thinking, "How can this child be so difficult!""
Twain gave a hard cough. "Don"t you dare think that, Jordana!" His tone became severe.
Shania immediately became pliant, "I was just joking! Even if we can"t spend Christmas together, I still want a Christmas present! A new Totoro toy! It has to be different from the previous one. You can"t give me the same one again!"
Twain nodded and agreed. "No problem at all. You can have as many as you want."
"No, I just want one! If I can"t spend Christmas with you every year in the future, you will have to buy me a different Totoro soft toy each time!"
Twain smiled wryly. This girl is already realizing that she is becoming an international supermodel. Why else would she say that? We probably won"t spend too many Christmases together.
Even though he thought that, he still said, "That won"t happen. We"ll spend Christmas together the next year."
What could he do if he was the manager of an English Premier League team? Few tournaments in the world had intensive compet.i.tion schedules during Christmas. The Premier League committee had hoped that the Premier League would bring joy to people who had been busy all year during the Christmas season. Going to the stadium as a family to watch the game or watch live television broadcast at home became their most important event during the Christmas Season. However, who was going to give a holiday to the players and coaches who had been busy for half a season and would continue to be busy?
A player or a coach was able to command a higher salary than the average person. But the pressure that they bore was not what ordinary people could imagine. Coaches might have one of the most stressful occupations in the world. One had to endure unimaginably immense pressure long-term and received very little vacation time. Many coaches liked to drink. Why was that? Because it was the only way they could relieve the stress and forget their troubles.
The former Liverpool boss Houllier had a heart attack due to excessive stress. Twain did not wish to be on the operating table someday for heart surgery. What was the point of earning more money if he could not live to spend it?
Shania might not agree with what Twain had claimed, but she accepted his comfort. "Yes, maybe we"ll be together again next year. I wish you a Merry Christmas in advance, Uncle Tony. The makeup artist is calling me."
"Merry Christmas, Shania."
After he hung up the phone, Twain looked at the glamorous Shania on the cover. Would readers and onlookers care about the price that the models had to pay behind the glamor?
He curled his lip and put the magazine aside. He got up and put on his coat as he walked downstairs.
"Where are you going?" Dunn casually asked as he saw Twain got dressed while he walked downstairs.
"I"m heading out to buy something."
"Are you buying a gift for Shania?"
Twain nodded as he opened the door to go out.
Shania was partic.i.p.ating in a party for a fas.h.i.+on brand in Milan during Christmas. Obviously, she was not invited to attend as a VIP guest, but as a brand endors.e.m.e.nt model walking in the show to showcase the new products. She was not the only model who was busy working during Christmas. There were also a lot of young girls like her, dressed in glamorous clothes and walking the runway under everyone"s envious gaze. Some of them worked hard for their dream of becoming an international supermodel, while some people worked hard to just survive. The former did not want to be easily replaced and for the latter, modeling was just a job.