714 The Purge Lis (1/2)

In fact, the subject of Chen Jian did not cause any sensation—not even the slightest ripple. A week later, after someone from the Nottingham Forest Football Club came in to help Chen Jian take care of all the procedures, he left the Tianjin Justice Jingguan School under the envious gazes of his classmates, and embarked on the journey to his dream in Nottingham.

There was no domestic media coverage of the matter. The Nottingham Forest Football Club was very low-key in its handling of it, and did not inform any media outlet. Allan Adams had wanted to hype it up in China so that the club could open up the Chinese market further. But Twain discouraged him, saying that it would not be too late to publicize it once Chen Jian had really made something of himself. Even if it was publicized now, it would not produce any effects. China's market was vast, but it would not be receptive to a young player whose future was unknown at the moment.

In actual fact, Twain did not want to put too much weight on Chen Jian's shoulders. The pressure on him was already heavy enough.

Once he arrived in Nottingham, he received no special treatment other than a small family welcome dinner prepared for him by his landlord, Fat John. He still lived at John's house, and would take time out every week to attend a cultural class at the University of Nottingham. He was the same as the other young players on the youth team. Twain had only met him once, when he arrived in Nottingham and went to busy himself working for the First Team, after he realized that he had no way back. Twain did not say much—he just wanted him to persevere. There was no press conference, welcoming crowd, or reporters in pursuit... Everything indicated that he was just an apprentice.

Greenwood made a small joke: ”Chen, did you dribble the ball back from China?”

”Yes, Manager Greenwood.” Chen Jian replied proudly.

Everything was business as usual.

At present, Chen Jian was no longer the youth who had arrived here more than a year ago, filled with endless expectations and visions for the future. He understood the cruel reality of the situation, and was also well aware of the gap between him and his dream. Instead of fantasizing and dreaming of achieving the day when he would be constantly impressive, it was better for him to stay down-to-earth and diligently train. He did not think about whether he would realize his dream. He firmly believed that as long as he worked hard every day and stuck to it, one day he would dig through the mountain and open the path between the reality and the dream. No matter how long it took, no matter how high the price he had to pay—even if it was in blood—he would continue to dig forward!

※※※

The matter of recruiting Chen Jian as an apprentice was settled. But Chen Jian's story had only just begun. It might take a long time before Twain could see the third and fourth volumes, as well as the ending of the dream journal. However, he was not in a hurry. He had patience, and would slowly wait to accompany the strong and tenacious kid to the end.

Now he had to shift his focus to the First Team.

During the interlude of Chen Jian's pursuit of his dream, Nottingham Forest had already played another league game.

Nottingham Forest faced West Bromwich Albion on May 9th in the 36th round of the league tournament. Although Twain had officially begun to join the team's day-to-day management work, the game was still directed by Dunn on the sidelines. Twain sat in the box and watched the game.

Perhaps knowing that the real boss was watching them from high in the stands, the Nottingham Forest players did their utmost. They beat West Bromwich Albion by 3:0 in the away game, kicking their opponent back to the EFL Championship two rounds ahead.

During the match, the television footage repeatedly swept to Tony Twain, who sat upright and still in the box. The commentator mentioned more than once that today's Forest team was completely different from the last round of the league tournament, for the simple reason that their king was coming back.

Nottingham Forest, which won the game, rose two spots to rank at the tenth spot in the league table, with fifty-two points. With two rounds remaining before the season ended, they were seven points away from the sixth-placed Aston Villa, and were inevitably unable to qualify for next season's UEFA Europa League.

Could the season be declared over in advance for them at this point?

Twain did not see it that way.

When they were back in Nottingham's tactical session, Twain told his players, ”This is a great opportunity. You have the opportunity to prove that you are still men with balls, who make your own decisions! Even if we came up empty-handed this season, we still have to end the season with three consecutive wins. It will be the most insignificant compensation we can make for our previous poor results! Let those home fans be comforted in the final round! Tell them that even if we don't get anything this season, we're not broken! Tell the opponents who are waiting to see us fail that Nottingham Forest will be back in the new season, and no one will be able to stop us! Let the new season officially begin from this game!”

On May 16th, the thirty-seventh round of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest took on Stoke City.

Before the game, Nottingham Forest's official website officially announced that their ”king,” Tony Twain, had returned to the team. Dunn had handed over the command, and Twain would personally sit in the technical area to direct the game. The team once again decisively won against Stoke City by 3:0 under his command in the away game.

After the game, this was what the BBC's sports news said about the game:

”The other managers in the Premier League need to be careful. That guy is back!”

※※※

Before the final round of the league tournament, the battle for the league title became clearer. Arsenal had to pay the price for trying to gain supremacy with a young squad. They were firmly positioned in fourth place, with no danger of losing. However, they could not go any higher. Chelsea also slowly fell behind after their boundless prospects in the first half of the league tournament, and finished third.

Instead, the two teams vying for the league title were Liverpool, which was previously thought to be unable to play in the league, and the shrewd and ruthless Manchester United.

Both teams had the same number of points, but Manchester United was temporarily in second place due to the goal difference. If they wanted to win the title, they had to score at least three goals in their last game against Hull City, and pray that Liverpool didn't win by a wide margin. In terms of the opponents, Manchester United's was slightly more favorable. Hull City was ranked in the middle level and had no desire for more, whereas Liverpool's opponent, Tottenham Hotspur, had to fight to stay in the league.

Such a situation inevitably reminded people of last season's final round of the battle for the title, when Manchester United was one of the main players for two seasons in a row. But their opponent was replaced. Nottingham Forest, which had wiped out Manchester United to take the crown at Old Trafford last season, was ranked in the middle and bound to get nothing, which was a shame.

Twain did not have the time to care that people were lamenting for his team. He was just as busy, even though Nottingham Forest did not have any specific goals at the moment.

The team's training was all handed over to the coaching staff, led by Dunn and Kerslake. Twain was busy talking to individual players to find out their inclination, to determine the candidates on the purge list.

The first person he looked for was the team captain, George Wood.

When he had not yet returned to the team, the transfer rumors about Wood had been flying around. Many clubs were interested in this type of midfielder, who was rare in the world of football. He was willing to do the grunt work, did not ask for high wages, and was not emotional. AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen, FC Schalke 04, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and Arsenal were all on the lookout, to name a few...

All of these clubs were in the big leagues. Any one of them was a fatal temptation.

But Wood's agent, Billy Woox, remained unmoved.

After Nottingham Forest announced the official return of Twain, Billy Woox immediately announced that his player had never thought of leaving Nottingham Forest, that it was Nottingham Forest who had nurtured him and had given him his current achievements. He was willing to stay at Nottingham Forest, unless the club chased him away.

Twain was unable to make sense of the old man's intention, so he simply looked for George Wood to hear his own player's thoughts.

”What Woox said is the truth,” Wood answered him. ”I've never thought of leaving. Even if he wanted me to leave, I wouldn't. Don't I have to sign the contract myself in the end?”