994 He Is Back (1/2)

Twain flipped through his phone book at home. There were very few numbers written in it because he did not have many friends. He did, however, have many foes who wanted him dead.

He has yet to give Evan Doughty a reply, but that was something he could do later. After all, it was not like Evan Doughty could ever refuse his return to the club.

There were other things he needed to do before that. For example, he needed to find an assistant he could work with. Twain has always worked with a talented assistant for the past 15 years of his managerial career, and it has become a norm for him. A good assistant could save him a lot of time and energy. Twain was never the kind of manager who would do everything by himself. There were numerous times when he would step back from the players' training, and this is where his assistant would come in.

Des Walker won the World Cup with Twain during his stint as his assistant manager in the England national football team. As a result, his net worth as a manager skyrocketed. Walker also chose to leave the England team after Twain left, but unlike Twain, he did not retire. Instead, he was appointed as the manager of Leeds United, who were intent on making their way back to the top.

Dunn was still working as the manager of Notts County. His team has made remarkable progress as a whole after playing in the Championship for two seasons. They barely survived relegation in their first season, but they were now one of the top 10 teams in their second season. However, Twain could not possibly get Dunn as his assistant manager once again. It would be a waste of talent.

Twain focused his attention on the name 'David Kerslake'.

Kerslake has not been able to achieve any notable results after he left Forest. He was appointed as the manager of Bolton Wanderers for half a season before being sacked due to poor results. Thereafter, he worked for numerous Championship teams and even coached a team overseas. However, he was never able to replicate the results that he achieved at Forest. Not every manager would be able to achieve the results that he had at his previous club after switching to a different one. Adaptability was an important skill for football managers. Evidently, Kerslake was not as good as Des Walker and Dunn when it came to adapting to a different environment and team.

According to Twain's knowledge, Kerslake would be unemployed and spending most of his time at home now. Twain remembered the wonderful days when the two of them worked together. It would be a complete waste for someone as talented as Kerslake to be idling about at home. Hence, he dialed Kerslake's number and hoped that the latter has not changed it in the past four years.

※※※

Kerslake felt like he was caught in an awkward situation. He was never able to achieve good results as a manager again, and his most prominent result to date came during his stint as the caretaker manager of Forest. He did not feel happy working as a manager, but he could not bring himself to become an assistant manager either. Kerslake still believed that he would be able to achieve some kind of notable result as a manager someday. All he needed was one good opportunity. Wouldn't it be humiliating if he took on the role of an assistant manager once again? Who would be willing to eat McDonald's and Kentucky when they have gotten used to French cuisine?

Now he spent most of his time idling about at home with his wife and kids. Fortunately for him, he had saved quite a bit of money working as a manager. He also managed to earn quite a hefty amount of prize money by working under Twain. However, his savings have become depleted over the years, and there was not a lot of money left. It was becoming increasingly difficult to support a family of four, and he was considering getting a job once again. A few clubs had offered him work. Three of them wished to appoint him as their manager, but they were all teams in lower division leagues, and their offers were not very attractive. He also received an invitation from a Premier League club to work as an assistant manager. It seemed like most people in the football world knew that he has achieved much better results as an assistant manager than a manager…

Kerslake was not like Twain. He might be 54 years old this year, but he had no thoughts of retirement.

Just as Kerslake was pondering about which club's offer he should accept, he received a call from Twain.

”Great! You didn't change your number, David!” Twain's voice sounded very happy over the phone.

”Tony?” Kerslake was a little surprised – why would Twain call him?

”Are you still in Nottingham? Can I meet you for a cup of coffee or something?” Twain asked.

”Uh, no. I'm in London now.”

”You moved?” Twain was a little taken aback.

”Of course. I moved after I left Forest.”

”That's not good…” Twain mumbled.

”Why did you call me, Tony?”

”Okay, it's like this.” Twain thought about what he should say for a moment. ”Are you interested in becoming an assistant manager once again, David?”

”Assistant manager?” Kerslake thought that Twain was acting as a go-between and that he had only called on behalf of someone else. He guessed that Nottingham Forest could be that 'someone else' because he heard that Freddy was struggling at Forest and was in desperate need of an assistant. However, becoming the assistant manager to Freddy was a little…”No, Tony. I don't want to be an assistant manager anymore.”

”That's a shame…” Twain was disappointed with Kerslake's response, and he muttered to himself, ”Looks like I have to find someone else to be my partner…”

Those last few words from Twain were very soft. It was clear that he was mumbling to himself. Twain must have forgotten to hang up the phone before complaining about the situation.

Kerslake was astonished after hearing what Twain had uttered.

A moment later, he heard Twain say in a disappointed voice, ”Really sorry to have bothered you, David. I know you have turned me down, but I still hope we can have a drink together when I head over to London.”

Kerslake snapped out of his reverie right as Twain was about to hang up. He frantically shouted, ”Wait! Wait, Tony! Wait…”

”Hmm? Is there something else that you want to talk about, David?”

Twain's focus was no longer on Kerslake. He could understand why the latter had rejected his invitation. Kerslake has gotten used to working as a manager, and it would not be easy for him to go back to being an assistant manager now. Take Carlos Queiroz for example. He failed as the manager of Real Madrid, but he would not be willing to become an assistant manager of Manchester United again unless he was working under a legendary manager such as Alex Ferguson. Twain did not bear a grudge against Kerslake for turning him down. After all, men should always strive to achieve greater heights…

Twain was flipping through his phone book at the moment. He hoped to find another suitable candidate to become his assistant manager.

”Who do you want me to work with as the assistant manager?” asked Kerslake. He thought he already knew, but he just wanted to make sure.

”Who else? Me, of course!” Twain replied.

”Didn't you retire? Wait…” Kerslake's mind suddenly snapped into action. ”There's a rumor going around that you would take over at Nottingham Forest once more?”

”It's not a rumor anymore, David,” Twain laughed.

Kerslake jumped from his chair. ”Are you really going to take charge at Nottingham Forest once again?”

”Today's not April Fools', David.”

”So you are asking me to be your assistant manager?”

”Yes. You already asked that earlier.”

”I'll do it!” Kerslake did not hesitate in giving his response this time around, and his sudden change in attitude surprised Twain.