428 I” (2/2)
”Do you want to know about it?” Unexpectedly, Dunn initiated the topic.
”Huh?” Tang En was surprised.
”Do you want to know about 'your' past?”
Tang En did not know if he should say yes or no. It was true that he very much wanted to know what had previously happened to the body of Tony Twain, but…
”But, haven't you always been unwilling to talk about it?”
”I want to talk about it now.”
”Why, suddenly…”
”Because I think it's unfair to you. I know everything about your past, but you don't know mine. Do you have anything scheduled tomorrow?”
”Tomorrow? Uh, I'm bringing the team to London for an away match against Chelsea.”
Dunn looked at Tang En. ”That's not an easy team to deal with.”
Tang En shrugged. ”Maybe.”
”Do you need any suggestions?”
Tang En shook his head. ”No, but thanks. And that sort of work can wait 'til you become a First Team manager.”
”Alright. When you return from London, I'll bring you to look at your past.”
The sound of dripping water could be heard from the washroom.
”Ah. The laundry is done. I'll hang them up.” Tang En tossed the rag down and turned, leaving the living room.
After bundling up the boxes from the recordings, Dunn took up the rag Tang En had tossed aside, continuing what he was doing earlier.
※※※
After eliminating Inter Milan, Tang En could, for the time being, finally put his focus on the domestic league. Currently, Nottingham Forest only had a two-point difference from Manchester United. Getting a draw in their match would allow the opponents to be on par with them while losing would set them back. In the final stages of the League matches, Forest still had two tough battles. A home ground match welcoming Manchester United, and an away match challenging Chelsea.
Even though all top four teams of the EPL would be awarded participation rights for next season's UEFA Champions League, there was still a difference between entering the matches directly and needing to participate in the qualifiers. Leaving out the impact it would have on the team's preparation for summer to play a few additional matches, the issue of saving face was no small matter; it was incredibly embarrassing if a strong team always needed to go through the qualifiers before participating in the Champions League proper.
The match with Chelsea was going to be a hard battle. But, the good news to Tang En was that this match was not scheduled in the period between the two Champions League matches. Otherwise, he would certainly give up the Premier League match and prioritize the Champions League. However, now that he had a week's time to prepare, he made a detailed plan, formulated battle strategies, and researched his opponents thoroughly.
He was so busy that he had forgotten about his ”fight” with Mourinho. That greatly disappointed the media, who were all too ready to watch the show and stir things up.
Tang En had no time to entertain the media and novelty-seeking audiences.
”Everyone, we have not been preparing a whole week only to come here and lose,” Tang En said to his players before the start of the match.
In this match, Tang En took everyone by surprise; he did not implement his most commonly used tactic of buckling down on defense. It not only took the audience aback but Mourinho as well. On Chelsea's home ground, Nottingham Forest did not choose a reserved option of tight defense. Rather, they chose to clash directly against Chelsea, who had planned on slaughtering them with their offense.
It was a clash with no holds barred. It made those who had thought Tang En only capable of defense and nothing else watch dumbstruck. The match intensified to a white heat as soon as it kicked off. The pacing of the switch between offense and defense was so rapid that it left people speechless. Of course, it was also tremendously intense. In the first half alone, the main referee gave out a total of six yellow cards to the players. On average, each team gained three.
Chelsea crashed their gates first. Making use of a chance after Forest pressed forward, they counterattacked. In front of the penalty area, Drogba leaned back against Piqué, making Forest's players think he was waiting for a teammate to take over. When their attention shifted to the others, Drogba made an abrupt turn and volleyed the ball. The ball flew beautifully into the goal, shocking the commentator so much that he repeatedly screamed, ”Incredible!”
However, the Forest Team quickly equalized the score after the brief bout of happiness on Chelsea's end; the goal was an own goal from Chelsea's player. Carvalho made a mistake under Eastwood's pressuring in the front field and headed Ashley Young's pass into their own goal.
Both teams entered the second half with a score of 1:1. After changing sides, the primary pacing of the clash between the two continued unchanged.
There was also no end to the goals. Both parties scored in a very orderly manner; the home team would first score and then the away team would think up a way to equalize it. Thereafter, the home team would again grab an opportunity to take the lead, with the away team soon tenaciously equalizing the score.
When the main referee blew the final whistle of the match, the score was set at 3:3. Using another defensive method, Tony Twain managed to secure his one point in the away field. Meanwhile, Mourinho continued his awkward record of failing to defeat Forest in the Premier League.
”3:3. You madman.” Mourinho said that with gnashed teeth when they shook hands after the match. Before the television lens, however, he put up a smile. He had not at all expected Tang En to go on the offensive this boldly during their away match. They had the momentum of having put everything on the line, taking Chelsea's players by utter surprise.
”A crazy match needs two crazy managers,” Tang En answered with a smile.
Someplace away from the ears of the media, the two engaged in another short verbal battle with neither the loser nor winner defined.
In truth, this result was the worst acceptable to Tang En. However, he had no choice. It was too difficult to win against Chelsea on their home ground. Currently, Mourinho's football team was in prime condition; they were practically unassailable.
With Manchester United in hot pursuit of Forest, Tang En urgently wanted to pull apart their point score difference. At this crucial period, however, they had to meet with Chelsea. It was already incredible that Tang En did not end up losing the match.
On Forest Team's journey back to Nottingham Forest, Tang En finally received a piece of good news. In a match between two strong teams, Manchester United, ranking number three, drew with Liverpool, who ranked at fourth in an away match. Neither side gained anything, instead benefiting Tony Twain.
When Kerslake announced that news, a loud cheer went up on the bus. Tang En also messed around with the players for a while before falling into deep thought. He leaned towards the window, looking outside and watching the scenery whizz by him, disappearing in mere moments.
Since Manchester United had failed to win, the difference between the two remained two points. At the same time, Arsenal, who had been focusing on the Champions League for the season, put in a last-ditch effort in the final stages of the Premier League and caught up. They were only three points away from rank four, Liverpool. As the three teams—Liverpool, Arsenal, and Tottenham Hotspur—were quite a ways in their point accumulation from the top three of the League, the final participation rights of the Champions League would be given to only one of them. It could be foreseen that the final rounds of the Premier League would be extremely cruel to those three teams.
Conversely, there was little meaning in watching Manchester United and Nottingham Forest's fight for runner-up in the Premier League. When the time came, Tony Twain could also sit in front of the television and watch as everyone fought tooth and nail for a single Champions League entry ticket.
When the League progressed to its 33rd round, Tang En looked back on the season. What allowed him to sit back and relax now was the eight-match victory streak midway through the League. That helped the team earn numerous points. When the Champions League started, the team's results immediately started becoming unstable. They had won no matches in the recent three rounds of the EPL, getting two draws and one loss. A little further before, they had only won a single match out of seven rounds. They were in the sorry state of being pursued this hot on their heels by Manchester United because of their terrible results from those seven rounds; one win, two losses, and three draws.
Despite Tang En's current fame as a manager throughout Europe, his mind remained clear.
This season happened to coincide with Wenger's focus moving from the domestic leagues to the European match scene. Adding to that a persistently low period for Manchester United, the traditionally strong teams did not manage to perform at the level of their true capabilities. Only this had allowed Forest to get to where it was. If Forest's aim was only to assure their yearly participation in the European competitions, Tang En should be quite satisfied. However, his aim was to become the champion. How could they be worthy of the championship with such a performance? If he could not resolve the instability of the team when playing in multiple leagues, next year would be the same for them…
”Tony, what are you thinking about?” David Kerslake asked him with a smile.
”Ah… nothing much. You seem to be in a good mood?”
”Manchester United didn't win, and we weren't overtaken. How could I be in a bad mood?”
Tang En laughed. ”We can't always expect the opponents to perform badly… I think we should sum up our mistakes in our work this season, David.”
Kerslake stopped smiling. ”The season hasn't even ended.”
”We need to prepare for the future.”
”But I think you've already done well enough.”
”David,” Tang En said, looking at his assistant manager. ”You have to understand, we are aspiring to become champions.”
※※※
On their return to Nottingham, after the announcement that the team was dismissed and to resume training the next afternoon, Tang En went home alone to find Dunn waiting for him. The two did not call for Landy's cab, instead taking the tram directly towards a small town, Eastwood, north-west of the city.
”The same name as one of your favorite players on the First Team,” Dunn said, acting like a tour guide. The two stood outside a small church.
”Eastwood. Once upon a time, my hometown.”
When Tang En saw the church, he guessed as much.
They walked directly through the front of the church to enter the graveyard at the back. They stopped at a tombstone, the name on which had already been eroded to the point of being unclear. Dunn bent over and scrutinized it before standing up, saying, ”This was my father.”