426 George and Demi’s Future (1/2)
Even after returning to Nottingham and resuming training, some of Wood's teammates still talked to him about his forward cut at the final minute to assist with the offense. Precisely because of how he had moved up abruptly with the ball, Albertini was able to create an opportunity to equalize the score. Even the teammates who were familiar with George were mystified by his actions. Without considering actual matches, it was extremely rare to see George Wood dribble the ball for more than 30 meters even when they were playing against each other in practice matches during usual training.
”Uh huh. Wood, could you tell us how you felt after taking off with the ball to assist with the goal, from the back?” Ribéry asked Wood, acting like a reporter during a moment's rest in training.
Wood look at him and expressionlessly said, ”Not bad.”
Ribéry scratched his head. ”Hey, George, you're not cooperating at all. Reporters would have a headache, you know that? Didn't that playboy agent of yours teach you how to deal with the media?”
”But you're not a reporter.”
The surrounding teammates laughed.
Ribéry coughed twice and muttered, ”Can't tell if you're not immersed enough in the act, or overly immersed…”
※※※
While Ribéry was joking with Wood on the training grounds, Albertini was not sitting at the sidelines and resting. Instead, he found his way into the manager's office.
”Is anything the matter, Demi?”
Tang En was making tea for himself in the office. He liked drinking tea very much, but his habits of tea-drinking were not at all like those of an Englishman. Everyone in the club knew about that.
”Boss, I would like to discuss something about Wood with you…”
Tang En set the teacup on the table. ”George? What's the matter with him?”
”I think you're using him in a rather limited way,” Albertini said seriously.
Tang En understood this man's personality. He was the kind of person who would say exactly what he thought. That was the reason he had clashed with every other manager he previously worked under. However, nothing like that had taken place throughout their cooperation so far. Tang En was just beginning to think something was wrong, and he had immediately come knocking.
Tang En turned back to the tea. ”Would you like sugar or cream?”
”Ah? Oh, no. Thank you, Boss. But water is fine for me.”
Tang En handed a glass of water to Albertini. ”Now, tell me more, Demi.”
”Boss, you've been using George as a midfield engineer, but I don't think he should be used that way. His position and effect shouldn't be restricted to just being an engineer, to be responsible for the defense and ending his mission there. It shouldn't be like that.” Albertini said, shaking his head.
”Then, what do you suggest?”
”I want George to become a midfield player who is capable of both offense and defense. To become a midfielder like me.”
”To take control of the pace of attacking and defending?”
Albertini nodded. ”Where he has the edge over both Arteta and I is the fact that his stamina is better than either of ours. He can persist and play in every match in the season for the full 90 minutes without needing to be rotated. I believe stability is a prerequisite for being a core; regardless if it is the stability of his condition or the amount of time fielded. In that way, the team could also adapt to him more easily.”
Tang En nodded as he listened, and noticed Albertini looking at him. He waved his hand at him, saying, ”Go on.”
”George has an outstanding physique. I think it is rather wasteful for him to only be a defending midfielder. If he could put his body into offense, he would surely create huge trouble for his opponents. Did you see the final goal we scored? Martins, Cruz, and Cambiasso all failed to threaten him. If we had a player like him capable of holding the ball in our front field, someone who was not afraid to lose the ball, our offense would be better paced.”
Tang En pointed to Albertini. ”You could do it with George. You hold the ball, he protects. Haven't we always done that?”
”If one person can achieve that, do we need two?”
Albertini's question stumped Tang En.
”If one person can do the work of two, then wouldn't the other person be relieved to do other things? Wouldn't that be equivalent to having 12 people on the field for us?”
”You could be right, Demi. But you know that George is lacking talent in attacking.”
Albertini shook his head. ”Perhaps that's only because he performs too well in the defensive arena and it obscured his talent the other way. Did you see his performance in the final moments of the last match?”
Tang En nodded.
”Wasn't it beautiful?”
”Yes. It was great, very beautiful.”
”If he truly had no talent, how could he have discovered that pass route? You must understand that the penalty area was entirely filled with people. I also made no signal for the ball from within that crowd. I only ran diagonally towards the gap I spotted, praying that George had also seen it. He did, and passed the ball accurately, without error.”
Speaking of that ball, Albertini was somewhat excited even now. However, he was not excited over scoring a goal himself; while he had not scored that many goals over the course of his professional career, scoring a goal was just not worthwhile enough for him to be that thrilled about it. What he was excited about was the fact that the ball came from George Wood's assist.
”Uh... I think it was just a wild shot, Demi. It was a coincidence.”
”But, behind every such accident must surely be an inevitability. I believe that maybe he did not know I was in the penalty area. But he had surely seen that gap, otherwise, he wouldn't have passed the ball to that spot. Do you agree with that, Boss?”
Tang En nodded. ”Agreed.”
”Some football players would never be able to see that gap, even after playing football their whole life. But Wood could. Isn't that also a kind of talent? It's just that he expressed that talent a little later than other aspects of his genius.”
As the two were discussing that point, David Kerslake walked in.
”What are you guys chatting about?”
”We're chatting about George's future,” Tang En said, opening his hands.
”George's future?” Kerslake asked, confused.
”I told Boss that he has a misconception about how to use George. George shouldn't just be a midfield engineer, knowing nothing except defending.”
After hearing Albertini say that, Kerslake looked up at Tang En, wanting to know his opinion.
”We were just discussing whether George has any talent in attacking. What do you think, David?” Tang En asked.
Kerslake thought about it. ”When he was in the Youth Team, I always let him play the position of a defending midfielder. I also told him to guard at the back whenever they were attacking… Because, truthfully speaking, I don't see any attacking talent in him.”
Albertini was unhappy with Kerslake's answer and shrugged.
”If you only tell him, 'when attacking, you should stay at the back and wait', how could you possibly discover other talents outside of his defensive capabilities?”
”Demi. Right in the beginning, George's position in the team was a forward. But he never scored a single goal. Instead, he tackled Eastwood's leg and broke it,” Kerslake explained to Albertini.
The Italian nodded.
”I know about that, coach. But, George back then and the George now are different. The current George is more mature. I believe he can do better than before… But, of course, I don't think he is suitable to play as a forward. The best position for him is still a defensive midfielder, not merely an engineer who can only defend.”