402 Advancement Part 1 (2/2)
If the West Ham United team he had led eventually stayed in the Premier League after a half-season reversal, would his personal coaching career change and progress in a better direction? Roeder certainly believed this would be the case because he had done something which even his predecessor was not optimistic about. It could be called a miracle.
He did not think that due to that man's ”curse”, his miracle came to nothing. Success, honor, and money all vanished. Now, seeing how Twain was more and more successful, he was even more indignant. He felt as if Twain was stepping on his corpse.
Losing to this man again today made him even more disgruntled with him.
However, Twain could care less about Mr. Glenn Roeder's mood and thoughts. Roeder loathed him so much, but Twain might have forgotten about the enmity between him and Roeder.
Who's Glenn Roeder?
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As soon as the game was over, Eastwood was surrounded by a crowd of reporters who had flocked around him. Once again he became the focus of the media. But this time, no one looked at him with sympathy in their eyes; only with respect, admiration, and some amazement.
No one would say that he was the poor guy who could only play during garbage time. He had proved with his actions that he had not sunk to that point.
After three knee surgeries, Eastwood could score the moment he played. He was even more powerful than ever!
He was the hero who had turned the game around and saved his team!
”The Romani Rooney” was back!
Those must have been the thoughts in everyone's mind.
Question his ability? You must be joking; have we ever questioned it?! We've always believed in him.
Twain watched the reporters and the photographers carrying their cameras. It was like watching a bunch of flies around a buttercream cake.
He grinned and walked away from the noisy stadium.
Although he hated this kind of thing, he knew clearly that the football world was cruel and only cared about results. If Eastwood's performance was mediocre in this game, then those countless questioning voices would not only have crushed Eastwood after the game, they would have overwhelmed him. But as long as one scored a goal, no matter how they performed at any other times, just one goal could let people forget one's mediocrity at other points. As long as one scored a goal, they had succeeded.
What was the criterion to measure success? It was the result, not the process.
Fortunately, Eastwood proved his ability, upheld his dignity, and had not become a sacrificial victim of such rules.
The next day, the photos of Eastwood after he scored the goal were in all the major media outlets. Practically everyone was unanimous in their surprise that he was able to score in his first comeback game after ten months. Because of that, some reporters went to the Royal Hospital of Nottingham University to interview Dr. Stephen Albert who had treated Eastwood. The Notts County fan expressed disdain for the media's surprise, ”What's so strange about that? I'm not surprised that he can score. Some people would be devastated after ten months of continuous surgery and treatment. But he never thought to give up. It's perfectly normal that he was able to score in his comeback game!”
The papers which publicized the matter the most were obviously the local Nottingham media. ”The Nottingham Evening Post” reporter Pierce Brosnan mocked Mark Lawrenson, who had repeatedly put down Eastwood before the game, ”Luckily, he did not bet that if Eastwood scored a goal, he'd have to shave his head.”