Chapter 139: The Winter Transfer Part 2
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
With their two consecutive acquisitions of midfielders, the Forest team’s left wing was set. Now it was the right wing that gave Tang En headaches. He originally envisioned that he would be able to persuade Lennon to transfer to Nottingham Forest, which would solve the problem of their right wing. He had not even considered that the plan might fail. Plus, the performance of Brian Cash was disappointing; the kid seemed immersed with himself and his own dribbling, and had no regard for the team’s overall tactics. After a full year, he had made no progress. Tang En deleted his name from his future plans.
Therefore, after leading the team for a month, he still had not found Nottingham Forest the right player for their right wing.
The team’s offense was now seriously leaning to the left. That was a big disadvantage. A team like that might as well be walking with a limp.
At that time, the old scout, Moore, helped him out again. He recommended a young player to Twain. Even though he had played in one match on the First Team, as soon as he heard his name, Tang En decided to buy him no matter the cost.
Moore’s recommendation to Twain was an eighteen-year-old midfielder who had just been moved to the First Team by the Watford club: Ashley Young.
The young man was a strong player in the making in FM, and was not bad in reality either. In the 06-07 season, Aston Villa spent eight million pounds to take him away from Watford. He could play both left and right wings of the midfield, his passing and dribbling were outstanding, and he had a beautiful free kick and goal shot.
Any player who could be spotted by Moore, the Forest team’s chief scout, would surely be highly valued by the other team as well. If he did not pay the right price, Tang En would not be able to bring the young player to the City Ground. But Tang En believed the other club’s stance would not be a problem. Purchasing Clint Hill had cost three hundred thousand pounds, and Kris Commons had cost another three hundred thousand, adding up to six hundred thousand. Meanwhile, the transfer fund that Tang En had at his disposal was eight million pounds. There was still a balance of seven million, four hundred thousand pounds remaining. This money was a huge sum for a League One club. Tang En was sure that Watford would be unable to resist such an onslaught of money. The only uncertainty was the attitude of the Young himself. If Ashley Young was another Lennon, then no amount of money would be enough. Tang En knew how to spend his money, provided that the player’s feelings were clear.
Naturally, it would violate FIFA’s regulations to circumvent the club and contact players privately. But as long as one was not so blatant and obvious that everyone knew, it was permissible.
If Ashley Young could be convinced, the Forest team’s right wing problems might be solved.
In addition to the continuous good news coming from the transfer market, there was another thing that kept Tang En’s spirits high.
Because he had scored two goals in the Sunderland match and become the number one contributor to the team’s victory, Eastwood could receive a goal bonus according to the contract. Plus, the media’s opinion on him had changed overnight.
Even the harshest media outlets, when faced with two goals and that beautiful long shot, had no choice but to restrain their discriminatory views and acknowledge that Eastwood’s performance had been a great surprise.
Of course, two goals were considered insignificant in the grand scheme of a long season, and there was no guarantee that Eastwood would continue to score in future games. But this at least gave him a good start on the Forest team and lead the Forest fans to immediately accept the new player. For a striker, there was nothing more pleasing to the fans than a goal.
As Eastwood became famous, his treasured colt was also became a star before long. The pet store which it was placed in the care of not only decided to help Eastwood raise his horse free of charge, but also advertised it in the newspaper. The full text of the advertisement was as follows:
“The House of Pets” offers the best service to Freddy Eastwood’s darling horse!
At these words, the shop became incredibly busy. There was a steady stream of people who came every day to see Eastwood’s horse. So, naturally, the store launched a “photo with the star player’s darling horse” promotion. It only cost a pound to stand outside the railing and take a photo with the horse.
It was common to take a photograph with a star player; but suddenly, taking a photo with a star player’s horse had attracted the interest of countless fans.
Eastwood was not jealous of his horse, but he did make an agreement with “The House of Pets” that they needed to ensure the horse’s health. The stipulated working hours stated that it could only “receive customers” for five hours a day at most, and that they needed to use a minimum of 30% of the revenue to improve the horse’s daily treatment. He believed in his horse’s “professional ethics,” and was confident would be no incidents of biting or kicking its fans. After all, he often rode it along the shoulder of the A127 highway with cars coming and going; what couldn’t it handle?
It was fairly accurate to describe the horse as steady and calm, experienced and knowledgeable.
Unsurprisingly, when this matter appeared in the newspapers, it became a new joke among the team about the Romani.
Everyone on the team liked Eastwood very much. Even though the two goals accounted for a large part of the reason, that was not all. Eastwood’s character was great. He was warm and cheerful, and got along well with everyone. Coupled with his low-key personality, even Gareth Taylor, whose main position was threatened by him, could find no reason to dislike the man.
Nevertheless, Eastwood, despite his popularity, had one exception in his attitude towards his teammates.
※※※
George Wood, like Eastwood, was one of the players that Tang En paid the most attention to during training. Since he was transferred to the First Team after Christmas and had only been in training for half a month, he had not had a chance to represent the First Team by playing yet. His contract was still the one he had signed for the youth team.
But Tang En did not let Wood stop playing. In the past few weeks, he had allowed Wood to train with the First Team, familiarize himself with his teammates, and play in the reserve game to stay in shape. He would attend and watch every game to personally inspect Wood’s condition. To his relief, the boy was still making progress.
However, he still often appeared inexperienced, rough, and unable to calmly judge the situation on the field. He had more than enough drive, but he could not remain calm.
Tang En did not ask too much of young men. Compared to other people around the same age as him, he was remarkable enough.
Tang En had decided to give up the game against Reading in the 28th round of the League Championship and to just train young players and reserve players for it. After competing for half a season, the main lineup of the First Team would need a break to lessen the chances of injuries and prepare for the EFL Cup.
On January 16th, after the last day of training before the League Championship, Tang En announced the list of players for the next day’s game on the training ground as usual. For the starting lineup, he generally waited until before the start of the game and announced it in the locker room.
At such times, the competition that was usually hidden behind friendly smiles would emerge. Except for a few players who were almost certain to be included in the list because because of their outstanding and steady performances or special positions, the players would tensely wait for the moment Twain read his name. There was only one exception.
George Wood, who stood in the last row of the team, did not care what Twain said. He was thinking about how to play well in the reserves game the next day. His mother was very happy that he had been transferred to the First Team. Although he was still only playing in the reserves games, it was enough to make her proud. In her mind, the reserves team counted as the Second Team. It was certainly of a higher level than the youth team was, which meant that her son was more powerful than before. He did not want to disappoint his mother, so he would never allow himself to make mistakes.
His mother’s expectations and money were the only two reasons for him to continue on this path.
He suddenly heard someone calling his name and saw all the teammates at the front turning their heads to look back at him. He looked up in confusion and, through the gaps of the crowd, saw Twain, standing in front and looking at him.
“Wood, you stay behind. The rest of you are dismissed!”
The players dispersed and went to the locker room, each with his own thoughts. The main player list had been released; some people were happy, and some were concerned.
Wood stood motionless on the spot, and most of his teammates turned to look at him as they left. He did not understand why.
When everyone else was gone and there were only the two of them left on the training ground, Tang En walked over and pulled out a ticket to the game from his pocket and handed it to Wood. “Go back and give it to your mother.”
Wood did not take it. He did not understand what had happened.
Seeing his bafflement, Tang En asked, “Were you in a daze just now? Didn’t you hear me calling your name?”
Wood nodded.
“Well… This is a ticket for the VIP box in the City Ground. Go back and give it to your mother so that she can go to the stadium tomorrow to watch the game. The club will have someone to receive her then, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
Wood still did not understand.
Tang En smiled. “George, go home and tell your mother to take this ticket to the City Ground tomorrow afternoon to watch you play in the game. Remember, it’s tomorrow afternoon, not morning. You’re going to start in the League Championship game.” After he spoke, he stuffed the ticket into Wood’s hand, then turned and waved as he returned to his office.
“Bye, George. Have a good night’s rest. Be here at nine o’clock in the morning, sharp.”
Wood clutched the ticket tightly as he stood on the training ground, staring blankly at Twain’s back.
