253 Heavy Responsibility Part 2 (2/2)

Twain marked Rio Ferdinand's position with an arrow directly inserted into Manchester United's goal.

”Keane is a problem. So during this game... Demetrio, you need to move up in your position to hinder him; don't give him too much time to help Ferdinand.

Albertini nodded. ”Okay, boss.”

”When Manchester United attacks, you have to return to defend; I'll let George help you.”

Speaking of which, Twain glanced at George Wood. Even though the Forest team was now within his control and the atmosphere on the team was fairly good, he still could not penetrate other people's thoughts. The media's unscrupulous speculation, which did not care about what the Forest players thought, might really convince the rest of the team that he overly favored George Wood. Like Brynjar Gunnarsson, who was repeatedly mentioned in those nonsense reports as a direct competitor with Wood for the same position. With the media adding fuel to the fire, who knew what Gunnarsson really thought?

As young players, Piqué and Bendtner had to be substitutes. Why was George Wood able to be in the starting lineup for every game?

Could anyone guarantee that such thoughts would not emerge in the young players' minds?

Such problems initially did not exist, or were not serious enough to produce any disastrous effects. However, due to the fact that the Forest team had lost to Villarreal, it was hyped up by the media to such an extent that it attracted Twain's attention.

This was another reason why Twain was harsh and insolent towards the media.

I can understand that you need to create fake stories and sensational news to attract the public's interest for the sake of sales volume and your livelihoods. After all, I'm not a moralist. I have absolutely no interest in correcting British society by calling for the return of media ethics and asking the public to reflect on the lack of media integrity. But if you target my team, don't blame me for not giving you face.

The Chinese had a good saying: If others do not offend me, I will not offend others; if other people offend me, I will retaliate!

”George.” Wood stood up when he heard his name called.

”You have a heavy responsibility for today's game. In addition to defending Manchester United's number 8, Scholes, you have to pay attention to covering Demetrio. If Keane comes up to attack, you will be required to defend against him at times. Also... if our defense in our flanks is tight, you'll have to help too.” Even Twain, not to mention the other players on the Forest team, thought that this demand was a little harsh for Wood.

How could one man deal with all ofthose situations at the same time?

Some people turned to look at George Wood in the corner, but they did not see Wood frown with hesitation. Instead, they saw him nod and reply simply, ”Okay.”

Doesn't this kid know how to complain? This is not a job that one man can do! Is he right in the head? How can he just agree to whatever the manager says? He should have his own thoughts once in a while!

Twain had not expected Wood to answer so straightforwardly. His original intention was to just mention it; but in reality, all four midfielders would still be involved in the defense. Ribéry and Ashley Young needed to retreat to assist the full backs defend.

Unexpectedly, Wood had agreed, so he grinned. ”Are you sure you're capable of accomplishing all of that, George?”

With a calm face, Wood said, ”If not, you can bring me off the field.”

Was he confident? Or was he dim-witted?

Twain sighed. ”Alright. Ribéry and Young, you two can be more aggressive on the flanks and create pressure for the Manchester United's defense to prevent their two wingers from stepping forward and participating in offense.”

The two midfielders understood why Twain wanted them to do that. They both looked at Wood. Victory was most important, but now they had one more thing to look forward to. They all want to see if George Wood could accomplish all the tasks that the boss gave him, or have to be brought off earlier.

And they could tell that there were more than a couple of people with the same idea. It was clear from everyone's expression as they looked at Wood.