211 The Fateful Matchup (2/2)
”Of course it's true,” Twain said, his tone serious.
”That's…”
”All right, Mr. Reporter.” Twain always called Brosnan ”Mr. Reporter.” He did not want Brosnan to think that they had a close relationship. ”There are some things that I think it's more appropriate for me to say personally than for you to say on my behalf. So I'll be updating my personal column in the Evening Post soon.”
”But…” Brosnan still wanted to have his name on a report that would attract public attention.
”Mr. Reporter, would you dare to call your colleagues 'sons of b**ches' in an article that you wrote?”
”How could that be? Why would I-”
”That's right, but I dare to.” Twain guffawed and hung up the phone.
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The next day, in the Nottingham Evening Post, Twain's column published a statement about his refusal to do an interview. In the article, Twain rebuked the media for being disrespectful towards others, and said that they had no professional ethics. At this point, he used the term ”sons of b**ches” to describe the media for the first time. Of course, despite the use of foul language, his tone was not intense; it was still in his trademark style. Sarcasm and swearing coexisted, interspersed with irony and all sorts of bizarre metaphors.
Twain refused to mess around with the media. Trying to pry any information from him was just wishful thinking. The first to hit a snag had been the Sky TV reporter. Twain used the excuse of having to lead the team's training, and, in order to reject the television network with the exclusive rights to broadcast the Premier League, said that he could not be distracted before an impending big game.
The media had to dig deep for gossip. They tried every possible way of locating Forest players from twenty-five years ago, but there were only a handful of people to be found. Needless to say, most of the focus was on the Forest team's past manager, Brian Clough.
More than twenty reporters gathered at Clough's doorstep in the distant Derby in a single day. They all wanted to hear the record-maker's views on the team that was fast overtaking him.
Clough was much more experienced in dealing with the media than Twain was. He extolled Arsenal in the interview, claimed he was an admirer of Arsène Wenger, that Arsenal was his favorite team, and that his favorite striker was Thierry Henry. He said that he believed that Arsenal played the art of football, and that it put them ahead in the decade-long Premier League. Therefore, if his own record were to be in a tie with, or even broken by, such an outstanding and remarkable team, he had nothing to complain about. Finally, he encouraged Arsenal to go beyond the Forest team of that time.
He may have delighted the Arsenal fans with his words, but then the recalcitrant old man added, ”Just like what Manager Tony Twain said: records are made to be broken. After all, we set the record, no one can deny the existence of that record. For me, forty-two undefeated games are even more exciting than becoming the Champions League champion. Arsenal is just a younger generation challenging us.”
This remark was not made until the end, but it was enough to illustrate the old man's pride. Unfortunately, not everyone noticed.
Tang En noticed it, and the remark made him feel a lot better. He knew the Chief was still helping him, but the way the old Englishman expressed his feelings was more steeped in the English tradition. He would always like to convey his feelings in an unspoken and understated manner.
I support you, Tony, he seemed to be saying. But don't expect to publicly hear a good word from me.
Perhaps one day, when you reach the stage that I was at in my peak, I will grudgingly say, ”It will do, it's just like when I was young.”
That will be the best compliment I'll give you, kid!
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Arsène Wenger had little affection for the English press. But still, unlike Twain's gruff handling of the media, he would always try to be cautious and rarely appeared alone in front of the media. This was because when he first arrived in England, the British paparazzi had claimed that the Frenchman was gay.
Now that Arsenal was close to breaking the record, he had to appear in front of the television cameras more often than usual, or in the sports edition of the newspapers.
Whenever Nottingham Forest was mentioned, he would express his obligatory respect for the team. When Clough said he was his idol, Wenger also spoke with excitement and proclaimed that he was a Nottingham Forest fan too. He had liked to watch Clough's team play when he was young. The years when the Forest team had swept across Europe were still unforgettable to him. Just thinking about it still stirred his heart.
But who knew which remarks were true and which ones were fake?
When the topic of the imminent game came up, Wenger put aside his admiration for Nottingham Forest. Although he gave recognition to Tony Twain's achievements in the summer's transfer market, he stated with much confidence that his team was ready to create a new record.
”The best way to pay tribute to the record holder is to beat them and create a new record.” After this declaration of victory that thrilled the media, Wenger walked back to his office building. He already understood how to deal with the media, but evidently his opponent was still ignorant.
A smile emerged on the Frenchman's face as he thought of the contentious relationship between Twain and the press.
A 35-year-old manager? So young…
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”Welcome to Nottingham! The historic city of central England. Here lies the lush Sherwood Forest and the world-renowned bandit who robbed the rich to help the poor, Robin Hood! There is also a notable team here: Nottingham Forest!” The cameraman coordinated with the Sky TV Reporter's words at this point, and cut to the City Ground Stadium behind the reporter, zooming in to provide a close-up shot of Nottingham Forest's logo. The red color was particularly eye-catching in the sun.
”Yes, Brian Clough created the Forest empire, and left a record for future generations to look up to—an unbeaten record in England's top league: forty-two games! Until today… twenty-five years later, this record may be rewritten. And we can't help but rue the mysterious twist of fate: For the team to succeed in breaking the record, they must defeat the creator of the record!”
As soon as he had yelled this out, he saw two groups of people, both wearing red jerseys. But when the two separate groups of fans walked past him, the Arsenal fans were singing songs that supported Arsenal, and the Nottingham Forest fans were singing new songs that they had made up for Tony Twain.
The camera closely followed these two groups of people and seemed to get a glimpse of the match that was happening in a while.
The stands were almost full, and the news media was huddled outside of the stadium. Everyone was looking forward to the performances of the two opponents, who were brought together by destiny in this fateful showdown.
Arsenal and Nottingham Forest were deeply connected, because two of the founding members of Arsenal were Nottingham Forest players. When Arsenal was first established, they did not even have their own kits. Those two founders went to the Forest club to borrow a bunch of jerseys and footballs, which was considered to have helped build up their team.
However, the developments of the two teams could be said to be polar opposites. Arsenal relied on Herbert Chapman in the 1930s to create their dynasty, and embarked on the road to riches. And what about Nottingham Forest? It had never been considered a rich and powerful club. It was considered an old-style strong team at most, but only became a household name during Clough's era. Finances, influence, strength… no matter which aspect was compared, the Forest team looked like a poor country relative to Arsenal, even though it was this poor relative that had helped Arsenal when it was in its infancy.
Next to Arsenal, perhaps the only ways that the Forest people retained their self-respect were their two shiny silver Champions League trophies and their record of 42 consecutive undefeated games in the England's top leagues.
But now, the Champions League trophy was a thing of the future, and it was uncertain when it would happen again. But the 42-game record had been tied by Arsenal, and furthermore, the day of the record being broken was publicized by the media as if it were today.
The glory of the past was gradually drifting away, and now the Forest team was starting again from the beginning.