Chapter 134: The Rookie Reports Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
January 1, 2004, was New Year’s Day for the others, the start of a new year. But for Tang En, there was another layer of excitement for him—the winter transfer window was finally open. For the first time, he could experience that feeling of being a manager, running around, brandishing the checkbook everywhere, and signing the players he admired.
Of course, it was inevitable that as he welcomed new players, he also had to send some players off.
Michael Dawson and Andy Reid were leaving for London on that day. With a value of £8,000,000, they were joining the Premier League elite squad, Tottenham Hotspur. There was a small press conference to welcome them.
And 33-year-old Eoin Jess also told Twain that although he was delighted to see Twain back on the Forest Team, he wished to leave the club at the end of this season and return to the team where he first made his debut, Aberdeen, to retire.
Tang En did not try to persuade him to stay, because he and Jess knew that the chances of Jess playing this season were getting slimmer. Even if the team succeeded in their promotion to the Premier League, there would not be a position for him. No matter how many goals and the number of assists he had contributed to the team, it was useless. The current Forest team was still not qualified to be a retirement home.
This was also a cruel aspect of professional football. The old men would naturally be replaced by younger people. With the constant injection of new blood, a team would always retain its vitality.
The other player who would be leaving the team was the striker, Craig Westcarr. The 19-year-old had not played much after he entered the First Team, and furthermore, his ability fell too short of Tang En’s requirements. It just so happened that there were two clubs who had submitted a purchase application for him. Even though the money was not much, only £150,000, Tang En agreed. The remaining thing was for Westcarr himself to negotiate the contract with the two teams.
The old scout Storey-Moore came back from Leeds and did not bring Tang En the results he wanted. The Lennon family was even more loyal than he had imagined. Even if Moore had offered a signing fee of £100,000, it could not shake their belief that they would remain at Leeds to sign a career contract.
Tang En shrugged his shoulders to this and did not blame Moore. He did his best. But he knew that if there were no surprises, Leeds would be relegated at the end of this season and was certain to be bankrupt. By that time, there was no reason he would not be able to buy Lennon if he made an offer. As for Lennon himself… Would he prefer to play in League One or go to the Premier League? It was too easy to make a choice to this question.
The only pity was that it would take a lot more money than £100,000 to purchase Lennon, the 17-year-old genius. Hotspur had spent one £1,000,000 in the 05-06 season to buy Lennon from Leeds. Tang En believed that to purchase during the 04-05 season would not be more than one million, but it was unlikely to be much less.
Rebuilding the team during the winter break was risky, and Tang En could only do minor revamps. The main team would remain unchanged. He could fully tap into their potential and rely on them to play and advance into the Premier League. Then he could reconsider the reconstruction plan. In fact, in all fairness, the players that Collymore bought basically still had strong abilities. But he did not train these players well, did not create a cohesive team to form a strong enough fighting power. A divided team, even one like the powerful Real Madrid could end up with an embarrassing situation of coming up empty-handed for three consecutive championship seasons, not to mention Nottingham Forest.
As for the center back, Moore had recommended a player for Twain. After only watching several of his game videos, Tang En decided to buy him.
Clint Hill was an example of a good bargain for a full back in the CM era. He was supposed to play for Stoke City this season and it would become more difficult to buy him. But with the arrival of Tang En, the ripple effect of the influence on this world proliferated, it had also changed Hill’s career trajectory. The Stoke City team did not managed to agree on a transfer fee with Hill’s Oldham Athletic before the transfer window was closed. Hill could only remain in the League Two team, Oldham Athletic. And Tang En took advantage of the situation at this time.
Hill, who was not so tall, was only 1.83 meters, but his physical fitness was excellent and his abilities for headers, tackling, and marking were outstanding. The only problem was that he lacked defensive and positional awareness. His strengths and weaknesses were clearly detailed in Moore’s scout report. However, for Tang En, having such a full back as the main force in League One was not an issue. Even when they were in the Premier League, it would not be a problem. The substitute position for the main force would at least be guaranteed.
Therefore, Tang En instructed the club to contact Oldham Athletic to propose the acquisition of Clint Hill. Although Hill was now the main center back in Oldham Athletic, Tang En knew that neither the club nor the player himself could refuse his request.
Moore also did not return empty-handed from Leeds. When he could not get Lennon, and Twain did not further request, he judged that the team lack players on the wings based on his own experience. So, he brought back a young player’s training video from Leeds United for Twain.
“Stephen McPhail. The 24-year-old Republic of Ireland national footballer was capped seven times and scored one goal. He can play two positions in the left wing of the midfield and middle of the midfield. He’s a very creative player with outstanding passing and crosses. I think if Taylor is the main striker, then he’ll come in handy.” Moore pointed to the Leeds United player on the television screen who was dribbling to break through.
Tang En nodded in agreement with Moore’s point of view. This little guy’s personal skill was indeed good, even better than Reid who had just left the team. Although he did not get Lennon, the left wing in the midfield should be fine if he was added in.
“But … his value must not be low?” This was what Tang En was most concerned about. He only had £8,000,000 to spend this season. He had to use it sparingly.
Moore nodded, then shook his head again. “4.4 million pounds. But I suggest you loan him. Leeds and he want to get more chances to play through being on loan. The only problem is Leeds expects us to pay 90% of his salary.”
Tang En frowned. Was Leeds United so poor to the point that they could hardly afford to pay their players? “How much is that?”
“His weekly salary is £9,000.”
Tang En turned to look at Moore, with his eyes widened. “Leeds should just simply go rob a bank. Only Rebrov is drawing a weekly salary of over £10,000 on the Forest Team. He’s only a short-term loan, and I have to dig out 9,000 per week… Forget it. I don’t want him. It’s not as if I do not have other candidates for the left midfield.”
When he heard Twain said this, Moore was also interested. He found that the manager’s knowledge of many players seemed to be no less than his. For example, Eastwood was discovered by Twain. So, he asked, “Who have you taken a liking to again?”
Tang En took his notepad and pen which were always with him, wrote a name on it, and handed it to Moore, “Mr. Moore, you help me pay a visit to Stoke City to see how this man is doing.”
“Kris Commons?” Moore stared at this name and then gave a firm nod, “I know who he is. You have taken a fancy to him?”
“Well, his team played against us last season. He was brought on at the last minute, but he caused a lot of trouble for my team. His team eventually lost six goals to us in that game, but he was the only Stoke City player who I remembered.” Tang En nodded and said, “His breakthrough, crosses, long shots, powerful free kicks… he is not a bad left midfielder. And I don’t think his price will be too high, so we don’t have to have that £9,000-weekly-salary guy.”
On the television screen, McPhail beautifully went up against two opposing players on the wing alone. Then he deployed a very imaginative way to send the football through the middle of the two players, and he increased his speed to bypass around them. At this time, his opponents were still rooted to the ground and did not know where the football had gone. It was immediately followed by a beautiful cross, which he assisted his teammate to score.
Watching this scene, Tang En coughed a few times. “Well, actually, it’s not bad to loan him. After all, I do not know whether Commons can persist and appear in every game without any injury or illness. All right, it looks like we need to have a good talk with Leeds.”
Next to him, a hint of a smile appeared on Moore’s face again.
It was at this point that the cell phone in Tang En’s pocket rang. It was a call from the entrance guard, Ian MacDonald.
“Tony, I have a guy here who wants to see you. He says he’s a newly signed player for the Forest Team, but I think he looks like a liar.”
There was a quick-talking and sharp voice on the other end of the call. “I’m not a liar! I am a professional footballer! Shall I give you the original agreement? Damn it! Sabina, quickly help me find that agreement!” It was followed by the sound of a baby crying.
When he heard these, Tang En smiled and asked MacDonald, “Ian, the ‘liar’ you referred to, did he drive a yellow wagon to come here?”
“That’s right, Tony. It almost blocked the front gate! I’ve never seen a ‘professional player’ who has a home in a wagon. What do you mean he’s not a liar? And…”
“I said it before, I’m not a liar! I have proof!” The sharp voice rang out again. Even Moore could hear it.
Tang En and Moore glanced at each other in tacit understanding and laughed.
“Ian, you did well. I’ll be right over.”
※※※
When Tang En and Moore hurried to the front gate of the training ground, Eastwood was still in an argument with Ian MacDonald. The old guard dutifully listened to Twain’s instructions and refused to let the Romanichal Gypsy who did not look like a professional footballer enter the training ground. And Eastwood was waving his arms at MacDonald in frustration because he and his wife could not find the agreement. His wife, Sabina, was calming her child on the side as the little baby was apparently frightened by his father’s sharp quarreling sound. He was crying nonstop in his mother’s arm and struggled with all his strength.
This was indeed a boisterous scene!
