296 Unacceptable Part 2 (1/2)

Chapter 296: Unacceptable Part 2

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

George Wood was the first to reach the locker room. He had already showered and changed his clothes. He just sat there, looking up at the television broadcast.

When he heard someone come in, Wood took a glance and saw that it was Twain. He did not look away; he just stared.

”If you were in the game, the score wouldn't look like this.” Twain shrugged. ”But I'm not blaming you. I think your choice was understandable under those circumstances. I just hope you can be smarter the next time, George. You can wait till the 89th minute before you wipe out the bastard.”

Wood was taken aback for a moment, then nodded. He lowered his head. ”I'm sorry, boss.”

Twain gave a grin, walked in, and patted Wood on the shoulder, ”All right, let's not think about it. No one will blame you. I don't, and they won't.” He pointed to the door as the noises outside grew louder and nearer. The players were heading back.

He knew why Wood was the way he was, so he said he understood Wood and did not blame him. For people who were not good at expressing their inner feelings to others, they could only choose the method which they thought was the most direct, even though they might look stupid to other people.

The first person to walk into the locker room was Ribéry. He was not surprised to see Wood and Twain standing together. He gave Wood a thumbs-up and shouted, ”Well done, George!”

His voice caught the attention of the rest of his teammates returning to the locker room after him. They expressed the same opinion as Ribéry.

”That's right! I've wanted to deal with that bastard for a damn long time!” Leighton Baines said.

Just as Twain had said, no one complained that Wood's foul was a momentary impulse of individual heroism which disregarded the team's interests. No one felt that Wood was accountable for turning their two-goal lead into one goal. Everyone commended Wood's actions for retaliating on their behalf.

Eastwood was extremely popular on the team. Even though everyone speculated that there were some irreconcilable differences between Wood and Eastwood, it was hard to believe those rumors again based on what he did today.

Albertini and the assistant manager David Kerslake were the last to enter the locker room. He looked at the situation in the locker room and turned to ask Twain, ”Chief, how's Freddy?”

Everyone fell silent. They were still haunted by the image of Eastwood being taken to the hospital in the ambulance. As a professional footballer, they were well-acquainted with the feeling of an injury. His was definitely not a minor injury.

Twain shook his head. ”I don't know, there's no news from the hospital yet. But our goal now is to play this game well.” He smacked his hands, signaling for everyone to re-focus. ”The opponents took advantage of our chaotic timing to regain a goal. We can't give them that chance in the second half. In the next half, we'll concentrate on our defense. We'll guard against our opponents' attacks first, and wait for an opportunity to counterattack.”

※※※

The halftime interval went by quickly. The fifteen-minute period probably felt long for the viewers, who were bored stiff watching the commercials in front of the television while they waited for the second half. But for Tony Twain, who was making impromptu adjustments in the locker room, another fifteen minutes for him would still be too few.

Eastwood's departure due to his injury and George Wood's sent-off completely disrupted his pre-game plan. He needed to almost completely overturn his plan during the fifteen-minute halftime interval. Keeping Nani in check was the key.

They could not continue to let Nani be. But who was going to take care of him? It was really a problem.