Chapter 14: Conditions left

The Royal Medical College of Nottingham is located in the southeast corner of the university, across the lake from the university campus.   When you open the window on the hospital inpatient building, you can see the sparkling lake surface. Looking further into the distance, you can also see the landmark building of the University of Nottingham in the distance, the white building like the White House.

Don and Wood did not just look up the scenery upstairs. They were walking by the lake at this moment. Near noon, there were very few people here. The patients who came out to breathe saw the sunlight above their heads getting hotter and returned to the room. Don and Wood didn't care and walked slowly along the lakeside.

"I don't think you need to hold any press conferences." Don Eun handed the newspaper in his hand to Wood, "it's basically almost a certain fact."

Wood looked down at the newspaper in his hand. There was an article about his retirement. The reporter's tone was very confident and he didn't know how they learned the inside story. But Wood didn't care about this.

"Mom is in a bad situation. I want to accompany her to walk the rest of the way..." Wood whispered.

This sentence shocked Tang En. He stopped and turned his head to look at Wood. Does this kid know in his heart that his mother has no more time?

Wood didn't care that Don was staring at him, and he turned to the hospital building, as if looking for the window of his mother's ward.

"...In this case, I don't have the heart to play football, and the club will also be affected by me."

"So you just make the point clear and retire directly, so that the club no longer worry about your affairs?" Tang En added.

Wood nodded.

It was indeed not an impulse, just as he said, it was a decision after careful consideration. But if this is true, it would only make Tang En even more trouble.

There is a row of benches in front for the patients to rest. Tang En pointed there, "Let's go over and take a break."

The two of them sat down on the chair.    The small lake facing the front, the clear lake water reflected the blue sky and white clouds, as if the lake water was also blue.

"Do you think that if you announce your retirement midway through the season, you can keep the team from being affected? Do you know your current status and role, George?" Tang En said to the lake, "Do you still remember the first time we met?"

Wood was stunned for a moment. He almost forgot what happened more than ten years ago.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Don Eun continued, "You suddenly ran to my doorstep. Return my wallet and told me that I should sign the best player in England." Speaking of this, Don Eun glanced at Wood, "Now the best player in England has suddenly announced his retirement. Do you think this matter will have no follow-up impact?"

Wood still didn't say anything, but he didn't immediately refute Tang En, which was a good phenomenon.

"The impact has already occurred after you hid in the hospital. Do you think Nottingham Forest will win Liverpool in tomorrow's game?"

This time Wood did not remain silent. Instead, he said, "Even if I am here, it's hard to win." He raised his head and looked at Tang En, and then opened his mouth, "The Nottingham Forest is no longer the Nottingham Forest you were in at that time..."

This sentence left Don Eun with nothing to say. What Wood said was the truth. Even if Wood was there today, it was very difficult to defeat Liverpool at Anfield. When he thought of the Nottingham Forest he led sweeping across Europe, God blocked God and Buddha blocked God. His heart beat faster. It was a fascinating period of time...

Tang En raised his head, leaned against the back of the chair, looked up at the blue sky, and narrowed his eyes.

——Nottingham Forest won! They are the champions! European champions!! Tony Donn's team defeated AC Milan!

——This is incredible! Tony Donn’s team became the first team to successfully defend the title after the reform of the Champions League! Nottingham Forest made history!

...

——League champion, FA Cup champion, European Champions League champion! The 2013-14 season belongs to Nottingham Forest! They have become an amazing triple crown!!

What would happen if I didn't choose to leave but instead swallowed my anger and continued to stay in the Forest team? Nottingham Forest should have a few years of glory? The Triple Crown champion will not think about it, and it should be okay to win a few more championships.

"George, do you still hate me?"

Wood turned his head and looked at Donn.

"Nottingham Forest is like this now.  It's somewhat my reason, right?"

"Of course I hate you." Wood replied in a true sense of faith in his heart. "How is your life after retirement?" He suddenly changed the topic.

"Uh..." Tang En didn't expect Wood to ask this question suddenly. He thought about it and seemed to have nothing to say. "It's just like that, I'll take care of my children at home every day and accompany Shania. How else can a retired old man live?"

When Wood heard Tang En say "a retired old man", he actually laughed. This was the first time Tang En saw him smiling in the past two days.

"why are you laughing?"

"I'm imagining what the life of a retired old man is like."

"Do you think I water flowers in the garden every day, plant some tomatoes, potatoes, etc.? No, no.   I don't do that kind of thing.  I still care about world football. Maybe I will be a TV commentator in the future and comment on your game.   George.  " He seemed to have forgotten that Wood had just retired.   You have performed poorly in recent games.     The current midfielder you are at the forefront? You can't even get the ball, what front midfielder? Do you forget that offense is converted from defense? Do you know why I insisted that you stay in the back position without developing in other directions? The back midfielder is an offensive and defensive hub. Here you can have more opportunities to get the ball, your career is broader, and your opponents are less harassing, which is conducive to your performance. But looking at the recent games, you are almost becoming a second striker!"

The more Tang En said, the more harsh they became, as if they were not in the backyard of the hospital, but in the locker room on the court.

"That's not my problem, it's the head coach's decision." Wood defended himself. "McCaulist believes that the team's offense is a big problem, so he decided to take my premise and let me organize the offense directly. If conditions permit, he can still shoot from a distance."

Donn frowned when he heard what Wood said. “Evan Doggetti’s vision of choosing a head coach is really unpleasant…”

"He has only picked the right one in the years." Wood continued.

"Ha!" Tang En laughed, "Yes, I only picked it right once."

Then the two of them seemed to be unable to find a topic to continue and fell into silence.

Tang En looked at the lake in a daze, and Wood didn't know where he was looking. It took a long time before Wood broke the silence: "Are you here to advise me not to retire, right?"

Tang En nodded.

This was really annoying to him. He would rather lead the Chinese team to the World Cup qualifiers than face a stubborn Wood.

"I have a way."

Tang En suddenly turned his head and stared at Wood. He was afraid that he had heard it wrong just now.

Not caring about Tang En's hot gaze, Wood continued: "If you go back to the forest team, I will stay with you."

Tang En opened his mouth wide in surprise. He really didn't expect that he could hear such words from Wood's mouth.

Under Donn's surprise gaze, Wood continued: "This is not a joke, I have considered it very seriously."

"I'm retired, George..." Tang En really didn't know what he should say, the result was something he absolutely did not expect.

"You flew back to the UK from Los Angeles just to advise me not to retire. But as you said just now. You are retired, neither the head coach of England nor the head coach of Nottingham Forest. So what does it have to do with you whether I retire or not?" Wood looked at Donnon directly, as if he wanted to see through his heart.

Under Wood's gaze, Tang En was a little at a loss. This was the first time he discovered that Wood's eloquence could be so good.

"Don't you really want me to retire?" Wood asked.

"Uh, of course..."

"Why? You are no longer my coach, why do you care so much about whether I have retired?"

"Why?" Don chewed Wood's question. "Okay... I watched you grow up. It was me who turned you from a street gangster to a world-class star. I have feelings for you. I don't want to see you leave this stage that belongs to you so early."

"So what else can I get if I continue playing? What is your retirement? You have won the honor of the club and the honor of the national team. I have no motivation, so do I." Wood said calmly.

"No..." Tang En shook his head, "Don't you think playing football is very happy? It's not for utilitarianism, but just enjoying the joy of football..."

Wood laughed again: "Who told us that we wouldn't be happy if we can't win? Who told us that we can only be qualified to say that I am enjoying football if we win the championship? Do you think I am still happy to play football in this environment now? Can I still enjoy football?"

Tang En suddenly felt that Wood on the opposite side had transformed himself into himself. He became George Wood who needed to be persuaded.

"I won the championship and I lost my happiness. Why can't I retire?"

Tang En found that Wood was right at all, and it was normal for him to retire from the right side of the situation. But why did he just want to see him retire?

He suddenly remembered something. When he had not yet traveled through time, when he was still an ordinary Chinese, liked football, and liked to play football manager games. When he was digging out a terrifying player in the game after more than ten years of professional football career, he announced that he would retire at the end of the season. What was his mood? He told the other party that a data-based NPC. He told him to reconsider his retirement decision.

In fact, what else can I play in the end of a football manager game? No matter how bad the team is, he can bring it to the top of Europe. The domestic league, the Champions League championships are n consecutive, and the transfer funds are sufficient but they cannot be used at all, because the teams in his place are the best players in the world in that era. As George said, he won all the land champions, and he will never be ecstatic like winning the domestic league championship trophy for the first time, nor will he gain a sense of accomplishment like he was promoted to the top league for the first time. So what is the need to continue playing? The reason to support him to play is just that he does not want to leave earlier than the names he is familiar with.

After more than a dozen seasons, those NPCs with only names and data are no longer cold NPCs, but living people, real players. They will thank the media after receiving an honor, thanking the head coach for their help and promotion. They will also guiltily say that the head coach was furious in the locker room after the team lost, "We all feel his anger." When you praise their recent performance, they will be happy, and when you criticize their recent bad condition, they will also receive different responses... Although for others, this is just a game, and no matter what, it is a multiple-choice question designed by programmers, real football managers will devote their feelings to playing.

Yes, put in love.

Therefore, Don Eun doesn't want to see Wood retire too early, just like any player who has devoted his feelings will persuade him to reconsider this decision when he learns that his favorite player is about to retire, even if he knows that he may encounter a wall.

"I feel lonely when I see fewer and fewer familiar people on the court." Tang En sighed, "So I don't want you to retire. You are one of the few people I'm still familiar with."

Wood opened his mouth but made no sound. He continued to look at the lake. The two of them fell into silence again.

After a while, Tang En heard a faint voice coming from his ear: "You are one of the few people I am still familiar with..."

In the game the next night, the highlight between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool was selected by bbc TV to broadcast the country live. So in front of millions of viewers, Nottingham Forest was slaughtered by Liverpool five goals at Anfield. That Nottingham Forest had no fighting spirit and seemed to have been thinking about leaving as soon as possible from the second he stepped onto the court. When the team lost one goal, head coach McCaulist was still furious below and was very dissatisfied with the status quo. But when the team lost three more goals in fifteen minutes, he was already sitting in the chair and was indifferent.

Commentator Motson said that the performance of this Nottingham Forest was obviously affected by George Wood's absence. At that time, Donn accompanied Wood to watch live TV in the reception room outside the ward. He turned his head and looked at Wood and found that there was no expression on the other person's face.

In the end, the team lost to Liverpool in a shameful 0-5 score, ending the nightmare of Nottingham Forest fans.

The next day, with Sophia's strong insistence, Wood had to suspend his "vacation" in advance and return to the team for training. But before leaving, he told Tang En, don't think that he would not give up on his retirement plan. If he really doesn't want him to retire, come back to accompany him.

Tang En did not respond.

On the same day, Nottingham Forest Club held a press conference to announce that head coach McCallister took the initiative to resign. After research, the club has agreed to his resignation request. The team's head coach will be temporarily the youth team director Greenwood.

After such personnel changes, in the eyes of outsiders, the once powerful Nottingham Forest is sliding into the dark abyss, and the slipping faster and faster...
Chapter completed!