157 EFL Cup Part 2 (2/2)

The help and support to the manager would be huge, and the team's ability could also be greatly improved, if the right assistant manager could be found. If the right assistant manager could not be found, the situation would be bad.

Therefore, many teams' assistant managers often stayed longer in the teams than the managers, were more familiar with the teams than the manager, and could help the managers to familiarize with the teams faster. They were often cultivated from within the teams, seen as being the real ”descendants”.

This was particularly the case for the English teams. For example, if a team were to decide to change its manager, their first choice must be the team's assistant manager, and the second choice was usually the youth team manager.

That was why, as a youth team manager twice, Glenn Roeder was able to serve as the First Team manager for West Ham United and Newcastle United respectively. The English clubs were especially loyal, and the managers, who had worked for the teams for years, were more likely to gain the trust of the fans and the top brass, even if their levels were simply not up to par.

There was another position for this kind of loyalty: the team doctor. The professional term for this role was ”physiotherapist”. Even now, a lot of the English team doctors were unlucky retired players or turf maintenance employees, club guards, and even the manager's loyal friends.

These people did not have professional licenses at all, and relied on the most superficial common sense to treat the injured players. Thus, it was not hard to explain why a lot of English players were unable to recover after suffering from major injuries, since the last century till now. For example, the former Liverpool captain Jamie Redknapp's brother, Mark Redknapp, who was once the hopeful star of A.F.C. Bournemouth, while playing as a full back, his future looked about the same as his brother's.

However, in a game with the Cardiff City reserve team, Mark was toppled over by his opponent, and was carried off. Because he had been treated by the team doctors, he has only been able to walk with crutches ever since. He later became an agent of another defender, Rio Ferdinand. And his younger brother, Jamie Redknapp, unwilling to follow in his brother's footsteps, used his own money to pay a private doctor for his surgery. Although he successfully returned to the stadium, he had to leave Liverpool, because he ”broke the rules.”

The English clubs were so faithful to these two traditions, that they had been preserved from the last century, without caring if they were right or wrong. Consequently, the English Football Association would prefer to cooperate with the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University if the players were injured, rather than looking for the Premier League clubs' team doctors. After all, who knew if the ”quacks” would recommend a player who had a hernia (a torn muscle in the groin) to undergo an operation to remove his pubic bone?

Naturally, it was thanks to this ”tradition” that Twain could become the First Team manager straight from being the youth manager, and to quickly build his reputation among the fans, because he was someone cultivated by the Forest club, and one of ”our own”. Walker was also ”one of our own”, but his departure could be said to be an exception. If it were not for the team's broken spirit, Walker would not have any intention to quit. But who knew ... he had just decided to leave, when he heard the news that Twain was coming back. Caught in a dilemma for a while, he still chose to keep his promise, leaving the Forest team to help Ian Bowyer before the end of the season.

After having determined his path ahead, Walker was even more involved in his work. During training, Tang En did not even have to open his mouth, because Walker's voice was louder than his. He knew that it was his goal that inspired this man's entire enthusiasm and fighting spirit.

The EFL Cup, the Premier League qualification, the UEFA Europa League qualification, nothing less! It is a goal that ignites a man's passion!

And now, it all starts with the EFL Cup!

Middlesbrough and McClaren, you're going to hit the wall!