Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 289: Wood and Eastwood Part 1

Translator:Nyoi-Bo Studio

Editor:Nyoi-Bo Studio

When Tang En's unusual reaction to Forest's loss against Middlesbrough was publicized by the media, the first person to react was Moyes.

He searched for Forest's schedule in the UEFA Europa League and looked through it. It dawned upon him quickly.

Clearly, the Championships for the UEFA Europa were more alluring.

After realizing this, Moyes did not relax. Instead, he tightened up on training the team. He intended to make full use of this period to widen the gap of the scores between the two teams, to a point where Tony Twain could not catch up even if he wanted to.

Since the end of February, after Everton's loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup, they were left with only the Premier League as their aim this season. While Forest team still had to deal with dual line-ups for matches, Everton had more than enough time to recuperate and welcome the final round of league matches in their prime condition.

Moyes, who had been staring blankly at Forest's match schedule, shook his head and sighed. He had not expected the young man he had seen at the League Managers' reception to become such an incredible character. Back then, he had seemed so uncertain about the future. Moyes recalled how he had acted in a seemingly generous way, offering Tony a place to coach an EFL team, as if trying to give him a job. It was funny now…

During the same dinner, he had even said he was looking forward to a match against Tony Twain. Moyes believed that that day was not far off. It would be in the 31st round of the League matches, on April 3. Nottingham Forest would be playing on their home ground against Everton. If they were still unable to ditch Forest by that time, the match would very likely become the decisive factor in the final positioning of the two teams.

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When it came to Sporting Club de Portugal, Tang En was not at all unfamiliar with them. Of course, what he was familiar with was the name of the team, and not all the members it consisted of.

The reason why Tang En was not worried about them was that he knew that Sporting CP was no longer the same as they had been. Within Portugal, they were on the decline: FC Porto had already overtaken them in the number of times they had won the domestic championship; and they had only won a UEFA Cup Winners' Cup once, 40 years ago.

The Sporting CP now no longer shone with the same brilliance as they once had. Currently, they were ranked fourth in the domestic league. There were also no big-name football stars on their team. They seemed just like any ordinary Portuguese football team.

The dream of attaining the highest honor in Europe made Tang En's blood boil with passion and fearlessness.

He did not think that the current Sporting CP could be any threat to him. Within Portugal, the teams that could possibly do that included only FC Porto, the team left behind by Mourinho, and Benfica. But, if Tang En had known half as much about the UEFA Europa as he did the Champions League, he would have known that Sporting CP was the runner-up for the season.

According to the match schedule by UEFA Europa, they were to play in round 16. The first match between Nottingham and Sporting CP was set to be in Nottingham, with the Forest team first playing as the home team and later as the away team.

This match arrangement was the only thing Tang En was truly worried about. In such a two-legged tie, the away team had an advantage in scoring. Tang En felt very little assurance with Forest team playing the away match in the second leg. He preferred to deal with the worst-case scenario first. If they played the away match first, they would have some chance of recovery in the second match on their home grounds. But if their first match was on their home ground, they would not have that option.

Just as he was about to delve wholeheartedly into the preparation against Sporting CP, he became annoyed with another matter. Ever since the media had found out about the "story" between George Wood and Eastwood, they began making a fuss about the relationship between the two; were they friends or foes?

During their usual training, observant individuals would realize that the optimistic Eastwood was always smiling towards everyone on the team. He was always friendly and amicable, except to Wood. Facing Wood, his expression was somewhat cold.

After this discovery by the media, who blew the matter up, the results were completely different. For most reporters, one of the most exciting things to do was to dig around for conflicts within the locker room. Compared to an unchanging report of only Forest's match results, such gossip could attract greater attention from the audience.

Was Freddy Eastwood nursing a grudge against George Wood because he once broke his leg?

Was George Wood saddled with guilt because he had broken Eastwood's leg in a tackle? Or was he like Roy Keane, who was gleeful about having seriously injured Haaland's leg? Weren't there many who kept saying how George Wood was, in recent years, the player most like Roy Keane?

Did no one think that having the two of them co-exist peacefully in the team for a whole year was something incredulous?

Within a team, it was impossible for everyone's relationship to be fantastic. It was just common sense. There would always be some who did not get along so well with the others. In that case, between George Wood and Eastwood, who was it?

No matter how one looked at it, Eastwood's relationships seemed better. But currently, it was obvious that George Wood was more favored by the club and manager, Tony Twain. Was there still a need to point out which was more beneficial? Having good relationships with other players or the upper echelons?

As a result, three months after the "locker room scandal" that occurred before their match with Manchester United, another so-called scandal erupted on Forest team. Some media purportedly claimed having received internal tips from such-and-such Forest player. They reported on George Wood and Freddy Eastwood's apparent mutual dislike for each other in the locker room: they never talked, never joked, and minimized contact with each other during training… Evidently, the relationship between the two was dreadful. They were just a step away from being complete strangers.

In truth, the media was not entirely making up falsehoods this time around. The matter had some basis in fact and was obvious to anyone who was meticulous and observant enough. Every team had a player or two who rubbed each other the wrong way, so nobody was initially bothered by the issue. However, now that the media had exposed the backstory of George Wood having broken Eastwood's leg during a tackle, everyone made the connection and began to realize the matter was not as simple as they had thought it to be.

To them, the matter was as incredulous as having Roy Keane and Haaland play together on the same team. Haaland had once mocked Roy Keane for faking an injury during a Manchester Derby and called him a liar through-and-through. As a result, Keane held a grudge against him and finally found an opportunity for revenge during another Manchester Derby: whilst Haaland was receiving a pass, Roy Keane gave a vicious stomp to Haaland's knee from the side. The kick was so vicious it whipped Haaland into a spin in the air before he fell to the ground. Following the serious injury he inflicted, Haaland directly announced his retirement.

Their enmity was well-known across the UK.

Eastwood was also nearly forced into retirement because of George Wood's tackle. Even though Wood himself had never claimed that it was on purpose, no one could rule out the possibility of George Wood writing some autobiography years later after becoming famous and gleefully admitting that it was on purpose. After all, Roy Keane had already paved that path before him. The power of role models was boundless.

From this, it was clear that the media was not simply blindly firing this time. However, Tang En could still feel no shred of good feelings for the English paparazzi; their timing in stirring up this news was impeccably bad.

Right before facing the challenge from Sporting CP, the media just had to be so keen on stirring up conflict within Forest's locker room. Weren't they trying to cause trouble for Tony?

This was the same as when the England National Football Team was getting ready for the World Cup Qualifiers. During that crucial period, England's tabloids were making a big fuss over Sven-Göran Eriksson's "sheik" incident. This group within the media was without any writing ethics or quality to speak of. In pursuit of their own benefits, they were willing to go to any lengths.

In certain aspects, Tang En felt that the media in England and China were rather like each other. To attract the attention of their readers, they spared no effort to exaggerate, sensationalize, completely make up stories, and even skirt boundaries with attempts at sexualization… Tang En recalled King Kong from Sina Sports. That was really a god to bow down to. Even after two years in the UK, he had not seen an editor, reporter, or column writer who had as much talent as him.

He digressed. Anyhow, Tang En was immensely displeased that the media had spread news of "George Wood and Eastwood's soured relationship" just before the UEFA Europa's 16th round. However, in consideration of the stability of the team, he had been suppressing his temper. He did not want to negatively influence the mood of the preparing players.

At the end of their scheduled press conference, Tang En had said in a surly manner to the reporters clamoring for sensational insider news, "I am terribly disappointed that you have not shown me anything new. Three months ago, you were stirring up news of George Wood's tense relations with his teammates. Now, you're still doing the same thing. I hope that you can bring out something a little fresher after another three months. It gets boring otherwise. We all have got to learn to improve, haven't we?"

Although Tang En managed to give the reporters a verbal lashing, the problem remained unsolved. Tang En also knew of the strained relations between Eastwood and George. He had expected this when Eastwood had first entered the team. The media had gotten at least one part right: if this was not well-handled, it would indeed become a peril to Forest's stability.