Godfather Of Champions

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.

“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to be an assistant manager just now, David?”

“I choose who I want to work under. Ha!” Kerslake felt a lot better suddenly. All the worries that he had regarding his future just a while ago were all gone. “I would never refuse to be your assistant manager! You might think I’m exaggerating when I say this, but no other manager is good enough to have me as his assistant manager!”

Twain felt embarrassed after hearing Kerslake’s praise, and he rubbed his nose in response. That had to be one of the biggest compliments he had ever gotten in his life…

“When do we start work? Thank goodness that my house in Nottingham has not been sold yet. I can just get it back from my real estate agent…” Kerslake was thrilled at the thought that he was going to work with Twain at Nottingham Forest once again.

However, Twain rained on his parade. “Hey, David. Don’t get too fired up just yet. I don’t intend to work at Forest for long.”

“Huh?”

“As you know, Forest is in a very bad state currently. Freddy lacks experience and prestige as a manager, and he would not be able to lead Forest out of their predicament. Thus, Evan Doughty contacted me, and he hopes that I would be able to lead the team out of this mess. I definitely do not want Forest to become the laughingstock of others, but you know how my health is. I definitely would not be able to stay at the helm for long. I’m only thinking of managing the team till the end of the season…”

“So you’d only manage the team for half a season?” Kerslake was a little surprised.

“Yeah. I’m just there to salvage the situation. I’m not there to create another dynasty or something.”

“Is that so?” Kerslake found it to be a shame. However, what Twain said was true. His health was not what it once was. The fact that he was willing to come out of retirement to salvage the situation showed his deep affection for the club.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. I’m still going to be your assistant manager, and I’ll work till you retire.” Kerslake was determined to work for Twain. The most glorious days of his managerial career were during those ten years when he worked as Twain’s assistant manager. He was content with managing Forest alongside Twain once again, and he was not going to think about anything that would happen in the future for now.

Twain wanted to shout, “What a great friend you are!” after hearing Kerslake’s words, but he decided against it. All he said, in the end, was, “Thank you, David. I don’t have anything to fret about if I have you as my assistant manager.”

“Heh heh. Of course. We work flawlessly together!” Kerslake was in a good mood and began joking with Twain.

Kerslake remained sitting in his chair after ending his phone call with Twain. Memories of the time he spent working with Twain welled up in his mind, and they filled him with anticipation. He could not help but look forward to the remaining half of the season.

Tony is back! I can’t wait to see how our rivals react to that!

※※※

A change in personnel in the Nottingham Forest’s board occurred during the period of time when Twain had yet to give Evan a call to tell him about his decision, and it caught the attention of numerous outsiders.

The club’s marketing manager, Allan Adams, who was also the person responsible for negotiating with the Bin Zayed Group regarding the takeover of Nottingham Forest, turned in his letter of resignation, and his request to resign was approved by the Chairman, Evan Doughty.

That was how the media had reported it, but everyone close to Nottingham Forest knew that Allan Adams had not resigned on his own accord. Evan Doughty had fired him. Doughty’s action surprised many. They did not think that Doughty would fire the very person who has been working on the sale of the club all this while, especially given how Doughty was dead set on selling Nottingham Forest. The Bin Zayed Group had renewed its interest in purchasing the club two days ago after going quiet for two weeks, but now the man who has been negotiating with them regarding the sale of the club was gone…

Everyone found Evan Doughty’s action to be odd. No one knew what was on his mind.

The only person who could know was Twain. Doughty knew that he did not get along with Allan Adams, and he had fired Allan as a way of telling Twain that no one in the club would get in his way when he returned…

It was something like a proof of allegiance from Doughty. However, Twain did not care if Allan was still at Forest or not.

“I’d only be managing Forest till the end of this season, Evan,” Twain told Evan Doughty over the phone.

There was silence on the other end. Doughty had clearly not expected Twain to only come out of retirement for such a brief period.

“I’ve never thought of managing Forest for the rest of my life, just like you’ve never thought of being the Chairman of Forest for the rest of your life. The reason why I’ve decided to come back and manage Forest is not because of you, Evan. I just don’t want the team that I’ve managed for so many years to become a laughingstock for others. Did you see the comments in the tabloids regarding Forest? We have become a joke to them.” Twain then went on to explain his plan to Doughty, “I’d manage the team for the rest of the season, then I’d help to find a suitable successor for you. After that, I’d retire once again and continue to spend time with my wife and kid at home. What do you think? I think this is a pretty good plan.”

How could Doughty possibly say ‘I don’t think this plan is good’? He was the one who begged Twain to come back, not the other way round. Twain made use of this advantage and listed all his conditions to Doughty. If Doughty accepted his conditions, they would work together for the second time in their lives. If he rejected, then they would part ways. However, Twain was not in the least worried that Doughty would reject his terms…

Just as Twain had expected, Doughty agreed to Twain’s stipulations. He figured that there were still six months till the end of the season, and there was a chance that Twain would change his mind in that period of time. Perhaps Twain would regain his passion for managing a football team after returning to the club, and he would then refuse to leave when the time was up! In any case, there was still time for Doughty to think about his next course of action. He was confident that he would be able to persuade Twain to stay at the club after the season ended.

Twain did not care about what was on Doughty’s mind. He was an obstinate person just like George Wood. No one would be able to persuade him otherwise once he has made up his mind. He was the only one who could change his own mind.

Now that Twain has decided to return to Forest, the next question would be: when?

Doughty hoped that Twain would return as soon as possible, but Twain was in no hurry because there were still several issues that he needed to settle before that. He has to deal with those issues now that he had time on his hands. He would definitely be too busy to settle them once he became the manager.

It was not a problem to delay Twain’s return for a while since Eastwood should still be able to manage the team for a while longer. The results that Forest would achieve before Twain’s return did not matter to Evan Doughty. All he cared about was the fact that Twain was coming back.

However, Doughty had a request. He wanted to release news of Twain’s return to the public as soon as possible to instill confidence in the fans and the sponsors. Twain did not object to Doughty’s request.

The next day, on November 12, the Nottingham Forest’s official website changed its homepage design. Every single netizen who frequented the website would find a huge advertisement poster when they landed on the homepage.

The poster’s background featured a large photo of Twain, and the following words were written on it:

‘That’s right, the king has returned!’

※※※

A few hours after the poster was put up on Nottingham Forest’s website, the news channels also began reporting the interesting piece of news. “…I have a piece of bad news to share with the managers of the other 19 Premier League teams,” the announcer said with a smile that seemed a little teasing to some. “Tony Twain is back!”

※※※

The news of Twain’s return to Nottingham Forest sent shock waves throughout the whole of England’s footballing scene. However, the man who had set it all off was no longer in England by then. He was on a journey to Spain alone.