Godfather Of Champions

After Tang En agreed for Anelka to leave, his brothers began busying themselves again. Although the condition of 25 million pounds sounded somewhat high, Anelka's brothers believed that they would surely find a club willing to pay this sum based on their brother's outstanding performance in the previous season.

Tang En also stopped caring about their matters and focused on the team's summer training and other transfers.

First, he gave Man City's main manager, Stuart Pearce, a call. He asked about the possibility of a transfer for Kasper Schmeichel. Man City Club was indeed keen on giving the favored young goalkeeper a chance to train himself. However, it was not very realistic to let him be the core player in Man City's First Team or even play as the first goalkeeper substitute. Stuart leaned more towards loaning out Schmeichel Jr. to train for a season. After all, the renowned son of Peter Schmeichel was not even 20 years old; he had a limitless future ahead of him.

No matter how good their relations were, Stuart was unwilling to benefit Tang En for nothing.

Tang En would not want to do something like loan a goalkeeper to be a substitute. Forest was no longer some processing factory helping others to train up football stars.

He still hoped for Stuart to consider it for a while and sell Schmeichel Jr. to Forest. This time, Stuart was resolute. After selling Sun Jihai to Nottingham Forest, he did not want to lose a future core goalkeeper for the team. He was, however, agreeable to loaning out Schmeichel Jr. to Forest for one or two seasons. But Tang En was unwilling.

Just like that, the search for a candidate as the substitute goalkeeper entered a stalemate.

Originally, Tang En was in favor of Kasper Schmeichel. But it was not just him who valued this young goalkeeper. He understood that it was a tactful refusal this time; Stuart was not going to give in.

Just as he was feeling vexed from the unsuccessful deal, Dunn recommended another player to him. He had once been very familiar with his name, but it had since faded from his memory. If not for Dunn's mention of it, he would probably have been unable to recall it at all.

Igor Akinfeev. The Russian Premier League team CSKA Moscow's main goalkeeper. He was an important contributor to the team's championship run in the last season of the League.

Tang En's mind suddenly turned optimistic. He was indeed a brilliant goalkeeper who could shoulder Forest's future.

Since they were without any objection from the main manager, Nottingham Forest immediately sent out a purchase request of Akinfeev to Russia's CSKA Moscow.

As a football team from Russia, they were clear about one fact: the outstanding players they had nurtured were certain to take their leave to head towards a stage that was even more vast.

In truth, Nottingham Forest was not the first European club to become interested in this young goalkeeper. Numerous powerhouses, including Manchester United, Arsenal, and AC Milan, all had rumors of interest in purchasing him. But the first club to make a clear transfer request for the young goalie was Nottingham Forest.

The other teams mostly remained spectators. Ferguson even directly dismissed people's hopes of Manchester United bringing Akinfeev in; he claimed that the Russian goalkeeper was not included in his plans.

In the FM07 Tang En had used to play, the goalkeeper known as "AK" was a famous special character. But goalkeeping was a position in which age and experience became highly valued. Young goalkeepers often needed to be observed over a greater length of time. No powerhouse would dare to bet it all on a goalkeeper who had just turned 20. They still hoped to keep observing.

Tang En was aiming for that time difference. In the eyes of the others, he had an image of being a bold gambler in his transfer transactions. This was no exception. While the other clubs were still observing or hesitating, Forest had already put in a transfer request to CSKA Moscow. Their offer was five million pounds.

The response came quickly. CSKA Moscow was not surprised to hear about Akinfeev's departure, but they were unable to accept the price. They raised it to 7.5 million pounds, approximating 10 million euros.

10 million euros to buy a goalkeeper who was only 20 years old!

In the eyes of several people, it was madness. Even though Buffon's transfer from Parma Calcio 1913 to Juventus was valued at 20 million euros, setting a world record for the value for goalkeepers, Buffon then had already proven his capabilities in the domestic league and the matches representing the national team. Furthermore, another differing point from Akinfeev was that Buffon had come from Italy, a world-renowned strong team. The standards of their league and national team were on an entirely different level compared with Russia.

"If the Russians are trying to use this price to scare us off, they're barking up the wrong tree. We're no longer the same Nottingham Forest as two years ago." Tang En's reply was to raise the first offer to six million pounds. At the same time, he added another condition of allowing Akinfeev to be loaned back to CSKA Moscow for free for a season.

In other words, Nottingham Forest would be paying Akinfeev a year's salary, and at the same time gifting him to CSKA Moscow to use for free for a season. CSKA Moscow would also net six million pounds as profit.

That condition was rather good. CSKA Moscow did not turn them down, agreeing to let Forest and Akinfeev proceed with the negotiations of his contract.

A year before, Forest Team might not have had the capability. However, now, Forest could be said to be extremely attractive to Igor Akinfeev. After all, they were the runner-up to both the English Premier League and the Champions League; their capabilities were, without a doubt, being largely acknowledged by the public.

The additional joining of world-class forward Ruud van Nistelrooy boosted the team's attractiveness even more.

Akinfeev knew that the Russian Premier League was not the stage he wanted to stand on, that Europe's top-level English Premier League was his future. Although there had been a number of rumors of interest in him from big teams, none of them were realized. Now that the opportunity was here, he did not want to miss out on it.

The negotiations between the two proceeded smoothly.

Akinfeev signed a five-year transfer contract with Nottingham Forest. After taxes, his annual salary was 1.5 million pounds. In his first season, he would be loaned back to CSKA Moscow, the team who had nurtured him.

When both parties separately announced the news, Tang En was beaming to the reporters. He could already see the future of the team becoming clearer and clearer day by day.

Naturally, there were all sorts of interpretations of the transaction by the media. Some praised Forest for buying complete insurance for their future goal doors, while others claimed that recklessly (the transaction period was very short, with everything settled in a total of four days) buying a young goalkeeper who might not be able to adapt to the English Premier League was hardly a wise action. They even suspected there were some unspeakable secret dealings going on behind the transfer.

Tang En could care less about nonsense from the media. First of all, he himself would not deny having any secret dealings; to let the transfer progress more smoothly, Nottingham Forest gave Akinfeev's agent a small sum of money. However, it was true that Tang En personally did not acquire any gain from it. In terms of economic gain, Tang En was content. He did not miss this small sum of money and was unwilling to use such methods to amass wealth underhandedly. Brian Clough's prior example was still clear in his mind.

"Alright, the goalkeeper for Forest's next decade has been dealt with. This is worthy of celebration." Tang En said to his subordinates in his office after completing the transaction. "But… I've realized that we've gone a whole round without having resolved the initial problem: where is our substitute goalkeeper?"

Kerslake and Tang En both looked at the goalkeeping coach present, Andy Beasley, hoping for him to answer the question.

"Uh, actually… I think that having Paul as the substitute goalkeeper is sufficient." That was Beasley's answer. Tang En frowned. It clearly did not satisfy him.

At this point, someone spoke up for him.

"I believe Paul Gerrard is qualified to be our substitute goalkeeper," Dunn said. The Chinese assistant manager spoke fluent English.

Tang En looked at him. "Reason?"

"He has a good attitude and doesn't demand to play as a core player. Additionally, I've looked over the recordings for the Champions League's finals. For suddenly being fielded in that sort of situation, his performance was already extraordinary." Dunn finished reporting his reasons and lapsed back into silence.

Tang En pinched at his chin as he contemplated it deeply.

He was recalling the match, seriously recalling every little detail from it. That match had left him with a deep impression, and it had only been two months since then; he would not forget it.

"If not for Paul's excellent performance, our score would have already been equalized by Barcelona in the first half. I know his abilities aren't qualified to be a core goalkeeper. Paul himself knows that. So, I think he's the best candidate to be our number-one substitute goalie," Goalkeeping coach Beasley said from the side in agreement.

Tang En drew himself away from his memories and shrugged. "Andy, you're the goalkeeping coach. In that area, you've got more authority than me. If you think he has the ability to be a qualified substitute, we won't need to put in the effort to look for another one. To be honest, that position is as difficult to fill as Wood's substitute."

Everyone laughed. Tang En was exactly right. Goalkeeping was a particularity among the positions. It demanded stability, so it was not one that would be easily changed and was certain to be excluded from the rotations. The substitute goalkeeper needed to have enough patience and a calm mindset to face with an endless life of being on the bench. Yet at the same time, they had to be prepared for an opportunity to be fielded at any point in time.

Wood's substitute was another peculiarity; it was not that a defensive midfielder could not be rotated, it was only that Wood was simply too stable. He never got injured and did not fluctuate in his condition. His stamina was even less of a problem. What reason would the manager have to rotate such a player? In that way, his substitute would have even fewer chances to get on the field. Think about poor Gunnarsson last season; Tang En originally retained him, just in case of contingencies. Unexpectedly, the season did not have any such contingencies at all.

Now, Gunnarsson had left the team, transferring to Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.

As the laughter abated, Dunn suddenly said, "I think we needn't look for Wood's substitute on purpose. It would be somewhat of a waste if his sub was a specialized defensive midfielder while Sun is a well-rounded backfield player."

Tang En nodded in understanding.

Rather than especially searching for a defensive midfielder to be a substitute for Wood, they might as well look for a backfield utility player. Not only could he be Wood's substitute, but he could even sub in for the others, such as the center backs, fullbacks, and defensive midfielders. Anyone. For example, Pepe and Pique both had experience in playing as a defensive midfielder. Sun Jihai, even more so. This way, George Wood's substitute problem could be considered resolved.

They had only changed their angle of consideration, and the issue that had been bugging the team's managerial team for more than a year was smoothly resolved. The colleagues in the managerial team gained a greater understanding of the Chinese man who was directly promoted from Youth Team assistant manager to First Team assistant manager. He truly had the ability. He did not get the position solely because he had good personal relations with the main manager.

Thanks to the failure of Bayern Munich's purchase of Ruud van Nistelrooy, they shifted their sights to Franck Ribery, who had shone brilliantly during the World Cup. But Nottingham Forest labeled Ribery as "non-saleable." They did not only turn down Bayern Munich's offer, but also all other buyers interested in Ribery.

If Forest wanted to create even more outstanding results, if Tang En hoped for the team to become an important force that could not be ignored within the European soccer scene, now was not the time to sell off players.

Not just Ribery; Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon, Arteta, George Wood, Pique, Pepe, Baines, Bale, Chimbonda, and so on; the core line-up for Forest last season had already been almost exhausted by the buyers. Tang En flatly refused them all.

The most crucial thing for a team with lofty aspirations for the future was the stability of their formation. These players had been playing together for one to two seasons, and their tacit understanding of each other were already completely built up. If the group was torn apart just for a bit of money, then Tang En would truly be the greatest fool in the world.

"Nottingham Forest does not survive on selling our football stars for money. We are not such a team. We are not some football star processing factory for any rich or powerful club. Even if someone really took out two trillion pounds, I would not sell any one of my players."

This was the promise written down by Tang En in his personal column.

After that, Lineker commented on Tang En's words in his personal column as well: "…He is a manager with lofty aspirations. Note that I'm saying, 'lofty aspirations.' They're not aspiring to anything like preventing relegation or making sure the team gets into next year's European scene. These aspirations are about becoming champions. With such a main manager, it is not difficult to understand why Nottingham Forest underwent such an earth-shattering transformation under his leadership, jumping three grades in three years, and are still continually broadening their own capabilities. It is because this team is just like their main manager. They both have lofty aspirations."

Tang En's rejection of the requested offers that his office table was swimming in was equivalent to stabilizing the team's morale. Now, Forest's players understood it well. So long as they follow their Boss forward, they would have a rich future. No one wished to leave this team and choose a new adventure. Tang En's overtness with those words was also for that intention. By steadying the team's morale before the match season, the whole team at all levels would be on the same page, ready to put in their all. In this way, the new season would have a good sign going for it.

Following that, he continued taking actions on the transfer market.

As Tang En said to Dunn, "Allan's job is about how to let the club earn more money, and mine is about how to spend the money Allan earns."

Despite Mikel Arteta's commendable performance in the last season, Tang En was still annoyed by the fact that the team had no true offensive midfielder. Furthermore, their grouping in the midfield would surely be thoroughly researched by their opponents. Trying to dominate the scene in the new season by reusing the same strategies would be no different from speaking nonsense.

He needed to bring in more new blood in the midfield. Not only would it bring about more versatility in their strategies, but it would also maintain a sense of crisis among the group of boys and make them realize that there wasn't a core position in the world they could sit permanently on.

After comparing numerous candidates this time, his eyes looked towards Holland.

He was delighted to see a different development to that of his own memories, because over there was the perfect candidate in his heart.