Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 136: This Is Eastwood! Part 1

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

This was the day that Eastwood and George Wood first met on the training field. As the rest of the team all watched their new teammate's style at the gates, they did not appear to be that unfamiliar with Eastwood. Some jokers even cracked jokes to Eastwood about the horse. A very likeable smile remained hanging on the the Gypsy's face, and he did not seem to take the jokes to heart at all.

Only when he saw George Wood did the smile on his face disappear. He did not greet Wood, shake his hand, or make any other gestures to signify his goodwill. Wood did the same. But this did not mean that Wood bore a grudge like Eastwood did. That was simply the expression he usually wore when meeting strangers. He had long forgotten the name and face of the player whose leg he had once broken due to a reckless foul tackle.

Tang En witnessed the scene from the side. Out of "goodwill," he did not remind George that he had once broken his new teammate's leg. Personal grudges between players had to be resolved at a suitable time.

For now… Let's just leave it alone.

Eastwood was an extrovert and an optimist by nature. This was evident from his continuous smile, and from the fact that he had continued playing football even after he had broken his leg. Tang En was not the least bit worried about him being able to adapt to the team.

But would the Football Association let him on the field?

Nottingham Forest's opponent in the third round of the FA Cup was West Bromwich, which was in League One. Currently, West Bromwich's ranking in the League was not bad at all; they were in second place, with a total of forty-six points after twenty-six rounds of matches. They were only five points beneath Norwich City, first in the league. However, it was very close to the teams ranked beneath it; there was only a five-point difference between the second place and sixth place teams in the League. A piece of information that was advantageous to Tang En's goal of being promoted to the Premier League by the end of the season, was that the fourteenth ranked team was only two points away from the eighteenth ranked team, and three points away from the twelfth ranked team. On top of that, there was also only another three-points difference between the twelfth ranked team and the ninth ranked team. The teams in the middle were very close in terms of points, with three teams having thirty-three points, two teams having thirty-five points, and two other teams having thirty-six points.

As long as Nottingham Forest won the few upcoming crucial matches and did not make any serious mistakes, it would be able to steadily improve its ranking and return to the first group of the League. Once its ranking entered the top ten, Tang En would be able to launch into a sprint towards qualifying for the playoffs.

Nottingham Forest was currently ranked eighteenth in the League with a total of thirty-one points. But it was precisely because the teams' points were so close that Tang En dared to "boast" about his team returning to Premier League by the end of the season. This was not an unfathomable miracle. It was simply born of a lack of understanding and analysis on the part of those who felt that way.

To Tang En, January and February would be the most crucial period for the team. If the team messed up during that period, then they would really have to hope for a miracle if they were going to catch up.

The two matches at the end of January were matches which Tang En had to win.

Following this train of thought, Tang En eventually decided to give up on the FA cup. He hoped that West Bromwich would advance as far as they could in the FA Cup, and, if possible, he hoped that they would advance straight into the finals. That way, their attention and efforts would be split on both ends, allowing Nottingham Forest to overtake them…. I hope that West Bromwich, who has advanced into the finals of the FA Cup, will proceed to make an "impressive record" of qualifying for the UEFA Europa League as a team in the second tier football league! Tang En thought to himself. As for the English Premier League qualification, Nottingham Forest will just have to "bite the bullet" and take their place!

Tang En, who had devised this plan, told the coaching staff to plan their training sessions to target Nottingham's next opponents — Sunderland. That would be an away match, and Sunderland was currently ranked fourth in the league.

To Tang En, this match belonged in the category of, "We have to win at all costs, no matter what methods we use." This category included all of the matches against teams which were currently ranked higher in the league than Nottingham Forest.

Since it was an away match, Tang En continued to insist on adopting tactics which prioritized defense. Sunderland's past records on their home grounds were relatively good, with seven wins, five draws, and one loss. This record was good enough for them to be regarded as the kings of their home turf. Challenging an opponent like this would definitely not be easy. The only thing that Tang En could use to his advantage was that Sunderland's back defensive line was awful. They had conceded thirty-eight goals, the most among the top six teams. Even Bradford, which was ranked second from the bottom, had only conceded thirty-nine.

Hence, the coaching team used this to devise a training plan. Rebrov would be stationed in the middle of the field, and Gareth Taylor would be at the forefront. These two people were the team's greatest investments of the season, so none of the coaching staff would dare to not use them. Tang En moving Gareth to the reserve team for two matches was already a testament to his character. If he was a "good-guy" manager like Ranieri and did not dare to offend anyone, then the team would be an absolute mess. It was precisely because of this that Chelsea's new boss Abramovich was already unable to stand its performance this season anymore.

But that was beside the point.

The person to whom Tang En paid special attention during training was the team's newcomer, Freddy Eastwood. After two days of trainings, all of the coaching staff was completely at ease regarding this player who had once broken his leg. In terms of ability, he did not have any problems.

Even Walker could not help but be impressed once again by Tang En's insight. He really did not know how Tang En had discovered a person like him; someone who had never taken part in any first team's matches, and had gone to play in the Amateur League after sustaining a leg injury and being abandoned by his previous team.

Of course, Tang could not tell him that he had seen footage of Eastwood playing three years later in 2007, and had previously used him in a version of Football Manager. Hence, he simply offered no explanation at all, and let his colleagues continue to look at him with veneration. This actually worked out in his favour, and was helpful for the continued fortification of his position and authority.

One should never show all the cards in their hands to others, even their best friends or colleagues. Especially as a manager, a job which required personal charisma, Tang En needed a mysteriousness which made others, like Brian Clough, unable to comprehend him at times. Peter Shilton, English National Football team goalkeeper and core player in Nottingham Forest's attaining of two consecutive UEFA Champions League championships, once said, "Shankly, Ramsey and Ernst, all these managers are impressive. They have an aura and charm, but Clough also has the mysterious X genes."

In the end, reality proved better than anything else that maintaining a suitable amount of mystery and a sense of unapproachability in front of other people was beneficial in improving one's reputation and credibility on a team.

※※※

On the 3rd of January at City Ground Stadium, Nottingham Forest faced off against West Bromwich in the third round of the FA Cup. Before the match, Tang En made Eastwood don Nottingham Forest's jersey and appear in the middle of the football field to meet the fans. The fans' reactions towards the unfamiliar man were slightly cold, and whereas the fans' cheers shook City Ground Stadium, this time there was no welcoming scene.

The meet-and-greet session was very simple: Eastwood stood by the side of the field and waved at the fans while holding a Nottingham scarf in his hand and letting the reporters take a few pictures. It lasted for less than five minutes before Eastwood got off the field. After that, he took off his jersey and, dressed in his neat attire, watched the match from the lounge located by the stands. He did not even make it into the reserves for the match.

The match ended with Nottingham Forest losing to West Bromwich with a score of 1:2, and Nottingham Forest's disqualification from the FA Cup. The fans were slightly disappointed, but they still clapped for the team when the match ended. After all, the team had at least entered the semi-finals of the FA Cup, and they should not be too greedy.

Instead, Eastwood, who had made his debut before the match, soon became the center of the media's attention. The reason was simple. The media discovered that Eastwood had just broken his leg and had been playing for an amateur team, without any match experience with a professional team.

Although this transaction only cost the club a hundred thousand pounds, the media, which liked to make a mountain out of a molehill, still sensationalized the matter. Quite a few media outlets questioned Tang En's judgement and, at the same time, questioned Eastwood's abilities.

Although it was unclear how they managed to find out, there were even some in the media who reported about the dramatic scene that had unfolded when Eastwood had first arrived at Nottingham Forest. They exaggerated the events of that day, and tried their best to mock Eastwood. In the end, they finished with assertions like, "Eastwood is a gypsy who lives inside of a large caravan and brought a horse to the training grounds to report on his first day as though he lived a primitive life. Someone who helps his father sell second-hand cars, broke his leg, and could only play for amateur teams…. This is Tony Twain's frontline lance? Nottingham Forest's hope? The world must have gone crazy!"

In reality, Bruce was also somewhat worried about this newcomer's abilities. However, out of trust for Tang En, he did not publish any articles that were unfavorable towards Eastwood. When he expressed his pessimism towards Eastwood's prospects, he was always very careful with his choice of words. But the rest of the media did not care as much. They were still unhappy with the fact that the war between Nottingham Forest and Millwall had not been started. With such a good opportunity in their hands, how could they let it go so easily?

"…I've seen a varnisher become a professional football player, I've seen a plumber become a professional football player, and I've even seen someone doing odd jobs at a restaurant become a professional football player. But I've never seen a vagrant whose entire family lives inside a caravan become a professional football player!"

"As we understand it, when Freddy Eastwood was playing for the Westham United youth team, he once received a serious foul from a Nottingham Forest player during a youth league match. Could it be that Mr. Tony Twain wants to make amends to him, and that's why he signed a player who completely hasn't proven his worth? Hey, Mr. Twain, are you planning on changing careers and becoming a philanthropist?"

"Freddy Eastwood almost entered Charlton FC. At that time, Eastwood hoped to be able to try out for the South London team's trials. But after the club found out that he had once broken his leg, they rejected him without hesitation."

Of course, not all of the reports cast doubts on Eastwood. There was still someone who stood out and spoke for Tang En and Eastwood, even though it was only one person — Mr. Stimson, the manager of Grays Athletic, who Eastwood had previously played for. Mr. Stimson was furious at the media for mocking Eastwood, and he even felt that this player, whom he himself had convinced to return to the field, would definitely shock everyone with his performance.

"When he was on my team, he usually scored five to six goals in a single match!"

But who would pay any attention the comments of the manager of an amateur team? Indeed, his words were soon turned into a new excuse for the media to mock Eastwood.

"For a player who had received professional training from an official youth team, the ability to score five or six goals in amateur matches is nothing to brag about!"