Godfather Of Champions

Martin O’Neill’s nightmare did not come true. When he laid in bed and opened his eyes the next day, he was not woken by the phone ringing off the hook, which gave him a little peace of mind. Because that meant the club did not put up a massive sale of the main players. Otherwise his phone would be bombarded with calls from the news media and the players’ agents.

The Northern Irishman, who had been left exhausted by the recent transfer rumors as well as beleaguered by the team’s top brass which always liked to intervene in the team’s affairs, laid in bed for a while before getting up to wash up and enjoy the breakfast his wife made for him.

While picking up the jug of milk, he stared blankly as he took the sports edition of The Sun from his wife next to him which she had folded properly for him.

The most striking thing in the newspaper was four photographs put together to form a square. It was clear that the photograph was taken in secret. The image resolution was not high, and the image was not clear, but O’Neill recognized Allan Adams’s baby face. It was taken in a restaurant where Allan was in discussion with someone. The cameraman tried several angles and could not get a full shot of the face of the man whom Allan Adams was talking to. In the final shot, when the man exited the hotel, the camera finally caught his face – it was Michael Dawson!

O’Neill hurriedly turned the page with the photographs to read the article.

“… Our reporter took the photographs yesterday at the Delimar restaurant in north London. The image showed Allan Adams, Nottingham Forest’s commercial director, secretly meeting with Tottenham Hotspur’s center back Michael Dawson. The pair’s meeting confirmed the newspaper’s earlier speculation that Nottingham Forest was interested in getting Dawson to return. And that Dawson himself wanted to leave Tottenham Hotspur to join his hometown team. He has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons. Not only has he lost his position in the England national team, his position in Tottenham Hotspur is also in jeopardy. He is about to turn thirty-one years old and he hopes to start over in a different environment. It is reported that the amount involved in this transfer should not be too high…”

※※※

With a “pop!” sound, a newspaper was thrown on the table in front of Evan Doughty.

Evan looked at the photograph secretly taken of Allan in the newspaper and looked up at an angry-looking Martin O’Neill.

“When Pepe was sold by you guys, you had promised to sign on a center back of good quality. I only have one request – that he’s young enough! Michael Dawson is about to turn thirty-one and he’s been having injuries throughout this season. I don’t know why you’ve decided to buy him!” Without any apprehension, O’Neill asked loudly in the chairman’s office.

“Michael is really a high-quality center back…” Evan glanced at Allan, who sat on the couch wordlessly and explained to O’Neill.

Truthfully speaking, he was not mentally prepared to face O’Neill’s bald-faced question directed at him all of a sudden. His mind was still dazed till now – how did O’Neill who was always easy to talk to, suddenly become a violent warrior?

“I want a young and high-quality center back, not a center back who was almost thirty-one years old and has just recovered from an injury too. Moreover, a center back who has been seriously injured thrice in four seasons!” O’Neill vowed not to give in this time. He must make the other party be accountable to him.

“More importantly, did anyone ask me for my opinion when you decided to contact Dawson?” That was what made O’Neill most angry. To be honest, Michael Dawson could still be used. At least he still had the ability. It would not be a problem for him to play once he recovered from his injury.

O’Neill thought of Pepe’s transfer again. With new and old hate intertwined, he felt that his position as the manager was completely a puppet tole. He decided that everything in the team was decided the other two men in the room. One sat behind the chairman’s table looking at him in shock and the other man was nestled on the couch quietly as if he was watching the show.

“I’m the manager of this team. Gentlemen, in England, a head coach is called ‘a manager.’ His title is different from the title of ‘a coach’ in La Liga and Serie A. He also has different responsibilities.” O’Neill ambiguously criticized that the two Americans did not understand the British customs. “It is my power and duty to decide which player the team buys. You pay me to come here to work, so I’m going to exercise all the authority I ought to have.” O’Neill looked at his immediate boss and the boss above him. His eyes were full of uncompromising determination.

As expected, he was a man of completely temperament to that of Tony Twain. Even when he was angry, he was not going to be as foul-mouthed and hysterically lost his mind like Twain. He was still very calm, spoke reasonably and well-organized in his thoughts. But it was also due to this that every word he said made Evan Doughty particularly uncomfortable – he thought that when he had sent away Tony Twain, demon personifying pestilence, O’Neill who came was easy to talk to and a pushover. He did not expect the well-behaved man more difficult to deal with when he flipped out.

He was silent for a short few seconds, thinking about how to deal with this in his mind.

“Don’t get worked up, Martin… Of course, we know you’re the manager of this team. But what Allan does can be considered as paving the way for you ahead of time. If everything has to be done personally by the manager, then you will be exhausted to death, won’t you?” Evan laughed as he tried to alleviate the tense atmosphere. However, he found that the other two men in the room did not laugh except himself. So, after barking out a couple of laughs, he somewhat awkwardly shut his mouth.

But O’Neill did not give the chairman face this time. He responded with a serious look, “Yeah, you only inform me until you have privately reached an agreement with the other club, as well as the players themselves. Just like Pepe, isn’t it?”

Allan looked up and looked at the two men confronting each other across the desk.

While the expression on Evan’s changed, he glanced sideways at Allan, and turned back to look at O’Neill. He found O’Neill looking at him too… No, it might be more appropriate to say he was staring at him.

What O’Neill said was right. He was the manager of this team and he should be responsible for all transfers and be able to exercise his power. But Evan Doughty had been suppressed by Twain for so many years. He had long been unable to contain his desire for the control of the team. In his opinion, he was the owner of the club so he should be able to express his opinions about the team’s affairs and even directly have a hand in decisions… it could not be said that he had gone too far. So many club chairmen around the world liked to get involved in the team’s affairs, even if it was the English Premier League. So why could he not make a move?

No matter how good the manager is, he still works for me. I am the real boss here. Have you guys not figure this out by now?

Suddenly he did not want to face an employee with a smiling face. Sometimes he also had to show the dignity that a club chairman had.

“Very well. Consider it that you have been informed of this matter, Mr. O’Neill.”

Evan Doughty adopted the stance of showing the visitor out.

O’Neill stood in front of him and stared at him for a moment before he turned to walk away. He did not say another word to Evan Doughty again because he did not think it needed to be said.

※※※

The speculation and hype as to why Tony Twain wanted to leave Nottingham Forest at the height of his career had already declined. Some people even sanguinely thought that he ought to be like Shankly who suddenly quit the Liverpool team when he was supposed to make a big splash. Nottingham Forest would have a better future after a brief period of turmoil, like what happened in Paisley’s Liverpool team. After all, Twain had firmly established the foundation.

It was pointless to continue to speculate about a man who had already quit. It was better to put the focus on the new manager, Martin O’Neill.

But one person had an opposing view toward this idea.

When it was first known that Twain had not renewed his contract with the club, Pierce Brosnan, like everyone else, was enveloped by feelings of shock, anger, disappointment, and confusion. As a reporter, his curiosity gradually transcended several other emotions which settled in the days that followed. Since last week’s friendly match between the Forest team and the England national team, the accumulated doubts he had deep inside had surfaced. He had a growing interest in why Tony Twain did not renew the contract. Even if there were no other media investigating this matter, he still decided to get to the bottom of this matter.

However, he had no clue where to start when he wanted to check. Although he had followed the Forest team for interviews many times, he still did not know much about the senior management of the Forest team. On the one hand, he always mixed with Tony Twain. On the other hand, Evan Doughty also really kept a low profile at the time. Whenever Twain and Evan were together, they always looked like they had a joyous and harmonious relationship, which was enviable to others. He collected information all around, but he could not obtain any information in the two most critical areas.

Tony Twain kept his mouth shut and Nottingham Forest seemed to forget that they ever had such a manager. No news about Twain was disseminated.

Nottingham Forest was now solely Evan Doughty’s club. It was much easier for him to control the club than the board of directors.

These days Brosnan was busy collecting relevant information everywhere. Fortunately, his boss supported him, because they all knew that Twain’s departure was not a simple matter. There must be some inside information that others should not know. Otherwise the parties involved would not have sealed their lips.

And once the truth was revealed, it could be a piece of big news that would shake the world of English football. Therefore, it had to be done.

Brosnan was so busy day and night that he almost forgot that he still had to interview O’Neill. It was the first interview Martin O’Neill had accepted as the Nottingham Forest manager. His team-building policies and his goals in leading the team would be discussed in the interview, which could also be considered as an important interview.

It was only when a colleague in the office who saw him so obsessed with Tony Twain’s game of hide-and-seek reminded him that he suddenly remembered to call O’Neill to confirm the interview.

Regardless of why Tony Twain had left his job, regardless of what Evan Doughty who was in charge of the club had done behind the scenes, Pierce Brosnan must now put away his curiosity about these things. He neatly adjusted his clothes and knocked on the Forest manager’s door.

Martin O’Neill was waiting in his seat for the visit from the local reporter who was influential in Nottingham.

“Hello, Mr. O’Neill. I hope I’m not interrupting your work.” Brosnan put down his interview materials, got up and shook O’Neill’s hand.

“Not at all, Mr. Brosnan. My work is done for the day.” O’Neill smiled evenly.

Brosnan sat down and began to interview the new manager, who had always been considered to be in Twain’s shadow. But the interview did not follow the steps Brosnan had planned. He first asked the question, “How does it feel to be the manager of Nottingham Forest after two months, Mr. O’Neill?”

Under normal circumstances, O’Neill would have nodded and said, “It feels good. Everyone is very supportive of my work and I have received a lot of assistance…”

But O’Neill hesitated for a moment and shook his head as he said, “It’s harder than I’d imagined.”

With the sharp acumen of his profession, Brosnan immediately caught the important point. He followed up with a question to that remark and changed the question he had prepared before, “Is it because Tony Twain’s influence is too great?”

O’Neill continued shaking his head to say, “That’s not the case.” He seemed to be in the mood to talk today, so Brosnan did not interject. He just indicated for him to continue talking.

“Sometimes when you were on the outside, you couldn’t see clearly, and you thought everything was nice. But when you walked in, you found what you had thought was wrong.” O’Neill said mysteriously, “I used to think I was mentally prepared and had abundant experience. But now I feel like I’ve made an error of judgment at the time.”

Brosnan’s mind was spinning fast as he listened to these inexplicable words and was trying to work out what O’Neill meant. Then he tentatively asked a question, “Are you referring to Pepe’s transfer?”

He had guessed right.

O’Neill shrugged and said, “What were your thoughts when you first found out that Pepe had already decided to be transferred to AC Milan during the time when you still thought he might be leaving?”

Brosnan’s heart leapt. He seemed to have caught hold of something. The fog that had been bothering him was slowly dissipating.

“I’m sorry, Mr. O’Neill. I recall that you are the manager of the team. How could you only the last to be informed of this matter?” Brosnan continued to take advantage to pursue and attack.

“I don’t know why, either. But that was what happened. I was kept in the dark and everyone knew Pepe had already made a deal with AC Milan. Only I did not know. I also went to Pepe to have a talk once and was rightly turned down. I couldn’t turn the situation around. Now that the season is almost starting, we’ve lost the most important center back. I don’t even know who else we’re going to lose.” Full of resentment, O’Neill had finally found an outlet for him to vent. “Look at all the transfer rumors in the media right now about the Forest players. I’m really thankful that they’re still here.”

“Did you read the article on the meeting between Mr. Allan Adams and Michael Dawson, Mr. Brosnan?”

Brosnan nodded. As a sports reporter, he certainly had to pay attention to the sports news that happened every day.

“Did you find out through that report?”

Brosnan paused and shook his head after a moment. He said, “I have my own reporter friends, Mr. O’Neill. You know, we scratch each other’s back for information…”

Martin O’Neill bared his teeth and chuckled when he heard the answer, “That’s great. Even a reporter knows the target which our team is signing on before me, the manager. Maybe I should hire some reporters to be football scouts?”

This is a big problem.

Brosnan thought so in his heart. The problem was big if a manager was the last person to know what kind of player the team wanted to bring in. It was a big issue. He was completely bypassed. In that case, who was the one to find a way around him…

He suddenly thought of last summer, which was almost around this time. The Forest team’s right back, Aaron Lennon was sold to Inter Milan. At the time, Tony Twain was furious. All of England could hear his rants and foul words. He was admonishing Allan Adams for signing a deal with Inter Milan to surrender Lennon so readily, without asking for his consent,. Due to this, he even suspended the contract renewal talks with the team. At that time, there was a huge uproar. But then it quieted down later. The three men appeared to be the same together on the outside.

“Football is a sport that requires detailed planning. I have signed a four-year contract with the club, and I have a long-term plan, so everyone has to seek my consent before being able to buy and sell players. But now the situation is that my demands before signing the contract are not even met…”

While Brosnan was still in shock over this, O’Neill continued to speak and Brosnan’s recording equipment was faithfully recording.

“I wanted to stabilize the defense, but they sold Pepe in the end. I wanted a young and promising center back. Instead, they got in touch with Dawson. They didn’t even look at the players I recommended…”

Brosnan had to interrupt O’Neill and said, “I’m sorry, Mr. O’Neill. Who are ‘they’ you are referring to?”

“Who else can they be? The club chairman and the business director? Perhaps I now know why Tony left at the most glorious period at the time…”

The last fog in his mind finally cleared. Brosnan confirmed that he had grasped the key to all the problems.

“I chose Nottingham Forest because I started my career from here. I hope to continue the glory of the Forest team. But now from the looks of it, I was mistaken to think that everything would be great.”

There was a deep sense of exhaustion in the words. Although it had only been two months, Martin O’Neill was already tormented till he was bone weary.

The follow-up questions no longer needed to be asked and those questions that were prepared in advance were worthless in the face of such an explosive topic. Pierce Brosnan was so shocked by the thoughts in his mind that he was in no state to continue the interview. He got up to say goodbye to O’Neill and was ready to hurry back to write up this interview which would definitely cause a sensation.

“The Nottingham Forest manager blasted the club’s top brass!”

“Martin O’Neill: I’m excluded!”

“The dark secrets behind Pepe’s deal!”

There was still a lot of information he needed to gather from everywhere. But this time it was different. With the direction pointed, he knew where to look.

“Goodbye. I’m glad you accepted my interview, Mr. O’Neill. Good luck with that.”

O’Neill got up to see the reporter out. He also said, “Good day, Mr. Brosnan. Good luck to you as well.”