727 The Final Moments of 2009

After coming away with a draw against Manchester United on their home grounds, Nottingham Forest's "juvenile footballers" received an overwhelming ovation from the supporters. They also slapped their critics in the face through their actions and performances.

Sept. 27, Matchday 8, they won 1:0 against Newcastle in an away game.

Oct. 3, Matchday 9, they won 2:0 against Hull City, who performed unexpectedly well the previous season.

Oct. 17, Matchday 10, they won 2:1 at home against Portsmouth.

Oct. 25, Matchday 11, they drew 3:3 with Manchester City in an away game.

Tony Twain's "juvenile footballers" went undefeated for eight matches after the fourth match Aug. 30. Their ranking in the league shot up from second to last to seventh. All the criticisms against them were silenced. Carl Spicer was the only one who continued to have doubts about Nottingham Forest's performances, as he always had. Every other media outlet had gone quiet.

The young players' performances also earned the approval of the masses. Chris Cohen was not a player who stood out, but his numerous crucial performances helped the team earn at least seven points in the league.

He was the type of player that others would typically overlook or not pay attention to, but he was a very useful asset to the team. He wasn't blessed with outstanding talent like Moke, who had been demoted to the reserve team, and he wasn't quick or good at getting past his opponents. But, he was an well-rounded player. He could play as the left midfielder or central midfielder and was skilled at both passing and crossing from the byline. He was also a straightforward individual who did whatever Twain told him to do without a single complaint.

Kris Commons had been sold for 2 million pounds by Twain. The only two left midfielders on the team were Petrov and Cohen. With Petrov getting on with his age, Cohen would undoubtedly be playing games for Forest consistently in the coming years.

He had more luck than Commons did since Forest would most likely not be able to fork out too much money to bring in established football stars from there on out. This meant he would be able to get more game time, unlike Commons who was only able to make an appearance in the EFL Cup, FA Cup, and during garbage time for some matches.

Cohen's performance attracted the attention of some other clubs. The season had only barely started, yet there were already rumors going around that certain clubs were showing an interest in acquiring Cohen. A winger like him, who was willing to track back and defend and put in accurate crosses, appealed to several other clubs.

Victor Moses's performance was also noteworthy. He had played 340 minutes throughout the matches so far. He had found the back of the net twice and provided three assists. Such results were considered to be passable for a player like him who was only 18 years old. Additionally, he managed to achieve those results when the season had yet to pass its halfway mark. Twain was certain that Moses would continue to repay the trust he had placed in him as long as he continued to give him a chance to play.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

Moses's only problem was inconsistency. His two goals and three assists were all attained over three matches. However, inconsistency could not truly be regarded as an issue for young players. It was actually normal and within expectations. What Twain had to do was to give him patience and encouragement.

On the other hand, Nicolás Millán, who also played the role as a forward like Moses, was able to get more game time than him because he could also play as a midfielder. He possessed exquisite footballing techniques that could not be found in the Premier League. His speed and technique ensured that he could work his way around big and burly defenders. They also allowed him to help the team earn set pieces and penalties, as well as give Gareth Bale a stage to shine on.

Of course, by helping the team win free kicks and penalties, he also attracted negative attention onto himself. He was labeled with names such as "The Chilean Who Is Good At Falling Down" or "The Lad Who Dives."

Every time an opponent or the media made such criticisms against Millán, Twain would publish an article rebutting them in his column or openly scold those critics during an interview. "If the referee says it's a foul that means it's a foul. If you are upset about his decision, please question the referee's decision. Don't take your anger out on my player!"

Millán might have only scored once, but his techniques had definitely enriched Forest's attacking abilities in the final third. His biggest flaw at the moment was his weak physique. He could earn free kicks for the team, but there was no manager in the world who wished for their forward to only be able to earn free kicks and penalties.

If Millán hoped to develop further, he had to enhance his physicality. It did not matter how good techniques were. One could not survive in the Premier League if one's body was not strong enough to stand up against an opponents during physical battles. Nonetheless, his performance had been worthy of his title as the "Genius Youngster."

His reputation in Chile continued to soar with each passing day. Many Chileans became Nottingham Forest fans because of him. Every time Nottingham Forest had a match, they all hoped that Tony Twain would send their "gem" onto the pitch and let him play.

Amongst all the new blood in the team, Joe Mattock received the least game time. That was definitely not Twain being biased and giving preferential treatment. It was simply because the back line was very important to the team and could not be easily changed. He would only think about giving young players game time when the team lacked defenders and had no one else to choose from.

Twain was worried that his actions would upset Mattock, so he went up to speak with him on numerous occasions. He told him that he needed the back line to be sturdy and stable. There was little room for error for defenders, unlike the front line whereby the players got to be more free and could do as they liked. Hence, as a left back, Joe Mattock would get less game time than the other new blood on the team.

However, Twain promised Mattock that he was still a part of his plans. He also hoped that Mattock would try playing other positions, such as center back and right back. In Forest, a player able to play multiple positions had an advantage over players who were only good at one position when it came to game time.

Joe Mattock accepted Twain's suggestion. He had been working hard to get used to playing as a right back. The reason he was eager to work hard was because everything he had seen in Nottingham Forest so far had convinced him that Tony Twain was the manager he should entrust his future to. Pearce had not lied to him. Nottingham Forest was indeed the team that suited him the most right now.

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They might have achieved an excellent run of results of going undefeated for eight matches, but that did not mean things would be smooth-sailing for them in the league.

For Matchday 12, Nottingham Forest faced Arsenal in an away game. In the end, Arsenal came out on top with a 3:2 win over Nottingham Forest with its home advantage, successfully putting an end to Nottingham Forest's unbeaten run.

Jack Wilshere was named man of the match after scoring once and providing two assists. The light surrounding the 17-year-old genius was so blinding that it made the entire Nottingham Forest team disappear in its shine. The commentator could not stop roaring his name throughout the match, as though he was a fan of Wilshere. The Emirates Stadium erupted into thunderous cheers every time he touched the ball. He even managed to steal the spotlight from the captain, Fàbregas, during the match.

Neither Şahin, John Bostock, Nicolás Millán, Cohen, nor Victor Moses, who came on as a substitute later in the match, could hold a candle to him.

"He's a true genius!"

"Jack has come out of nowhere and is really making himself known! Capello is sitting in a private room in the Emirates Stadium, and he must have taken note of his performance today! Perhaps we will see the name of this 17-year-old in the player list for the next training session for the England national team."

"He is another gem that Arsenal has unearthed for us!"

"The day we see Walcott still seated on the bench is when we can start looking forward to Wilshere becoming a leading figure in the Premier League!"

After the match, all sorts of praises were heaped on Jack Wilshere. It might not have been his first season in the league, but the match against Nottingham Forest made him stand out from the crowd, especially since he was also awarded the man of the match.

In the hearts of the Arsenal fans, the match was the best possible stage for Wilshere to shine on. Nottingham Forest was a team that was becoming too full of itself in recent years. A team like that became a backdrop for Wilshere in the latest match. That was a scene all the fans wanted to see.

However, Twain had a different opinion on the matter. During his post-match interview the day after the match, a reporter wanted him to comment on Wilshere's remarkable performance.

He smiled and said, "I believe that Jack Wilshere is an undisputed genius footballer. I had my eyes on him since last year. Back then, I even wanted to take him on loan from Wenger, but he refused me. He is a gifted player and definitely has the skills. I don't doubt that he will be able to achieve great things in the future. But…" Twain paused and shrugged. "It's not surprising for me to see a player like Wilshere rise to fame after performing well in a match. Unfortunately, in my eyes, he was lucky that his opponent was us. I want all of you to remember something. George did not play in the game yesterday."

Twain was clearly hinting that if George Wood had played, would Wilshere have been able to perform as well as he did? His words undoubtedly upset the Arsenal fans, but what he said was the truth.

George Wood was unable to play in the Arsenal game after picking up five yellow cards in previous games. His defensive abilities were already well-known in the Premier League and did not require Twain to do any further explanations.

During the match, it was as if Wilshere had wandered into an uninhabited territory. He met little to no resistance on the pitch and was free to do as he liked because Tiago could not keep up with his pace. It seemed as though the young was bullying the old throughout the match. However, quite a number of people believed that if it had been George Wood playing instead of Tiago, Wilshere would not have been able to act as freely as he did in the first 15 minutes of the match due to Wood's constant assaults on him.

The truth was that Wenger only started Wilshere and gave him the onus of creating chances for the team at the front of the pitch because he knew that George Wood would not be playing due to his one match ban. Wenger won the gamble. Arsenal and Wilshere both attained success in the game.

On the other hand, Twain was a little depressed. He had to console his new players after the match and tell them that losing was part and parcel of life, even though losing to Arsenal was not an unacceptable outcome. During training, he even took an aim at George Wood.

"Look at what happened, George," Twain said. "You missed one match and an underage kid rose to fame just like that."

George Wood replied in his usual, serious tone, "I hope that the next time we meet, that lad will still start in the game."

Twain laughed as he stood to the side. They might have lost, but he was not angry with the result. He had learned to loosen up and not view each loss so seriously, unlike his past self who had the mentality that they could not lose even one match.

It was true that he was leading a team whose average age did not exceed 25 and there were several new players to the team that the others did not think favorably of. It was also true that the club was experiencing financial difficulties and going through rough times. However, he did not feel stressed despite being in a tough situation.

Those days from the previous season where he had to bite the bullet and pull through each and every day felt like a distant memory. Now, it was normal for them to be losing matches. It took time for a team to mature. It was not possible for his new blood to play like experienced players in a short period of time.

Twain also did not want to burden his heart too much, primarily because he was worried that Shania would not be able to handle it if he did. He personally did not really care if his heart was burdened or not. His main source of stress-relief has been going shopping with Shania ever since he quit smoking and drinking. Many shops have been giving discounts on their items due to the economically tense situation they were in. It was a good time to be shopping.

Besides shopping with Shania, he would visit the Forest Bar and order a glass of fruit juice and chat with his friends. If not, he would wage a war with Carl Spicer on various media outlets. It was good for the health to scold someone or something every day. Life has been comfortable and good for him thus far.

Allan had to fly around every day to clinch new sponsors for the construction of the new stadium. Just doing that one job was enough to leave him overwrought. In contrast, Twain did not have to care about any of those annoying issues and could just leave them all in the hands of Allan and Evan.

All he had to care about was leading the team out to matches. He had also stopped pondering over what players he should buy for now. There was nothing he had to worry about as long as the club was still able to pay everyone's salaries.

The team continued to win and lose games under his guidance for the next few matches. Their performance was unstable and had its ups and downs, but it was slowly improving as they approached the new year. Half the season was about to be over, and it was time for Christmas once again.

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Shania spent her first Christmas after getting married strutting down different runways across the world just like she always had. Similarly, Twain spent his Christmas with Dunn at Wood's house where they had a Thanksgiving dinner together, just like he did in previous years.

Sophia's face would turn extremely pale every time winter came. Twain knew how tough living through the winter was for the sick. Her body would start to feel better once Spring came, at least that was what he believed.

He spent almost half of 2009 living in the shadows of his heart disease, but he also gained a love that would last a lifetime. His career might have been down in the pits, but things weren't too bad for him. He could still stage a comeback. He wondered if the sea of red before his eyes would turn even deeper in color the next time he appeared in Europe.