824 Trus

When Nottingham Forest arrived in Liverpool, many journalists tracked them down to their hotel in the hopes of getting some pre-match updates up close. Thus, the local media in Eastern Liverpool naturally got the updates first. They gathered outside the hotel, waiting to interview every Forest player who would come out of it.

George Wood was clearly the most high-profile player. Recently, the media had hyped his feud with Eastwood, which brought out days from his youth team when he was still new. The majority of the media thought George Wood should take responsibility for Eastwood's retirement, who pretended to be very angry at his teammate's retirement, but Eastwood didn't even mention it, questioning whether the atmosphere in Nottingham Forest was really as harmonious as what Twain had preached…

This time, many Liverpool journalists went to ask Wood directly about Eastwood's retirement. These Liverpool journalists clearly calculated when they did this—they knew the reason behind George Wood's poor form.

Now that you've been injured here and the wound hasn't healed, we don't mind shoving a knife into your wound and spilling salt into it…

Actually, resorting to any means for victory was not something only Twain was capable of.

"Wood, the media said that Eastwood's retirement was related to you. Are you planning to comment?"

"Hey, George. I heard your relationship with Eastwood has been bad. Was it because of that?"

"It was said that you two are not friends. How do you two get along usually?"

※※※

As soon as he showed up, a group of journalists flocked to him to throw such questions. Wood would then lower his face and look as gloomy as he could, not wanting to answer any questions. No matter how the reporters harassed him, he just didn't speak.

Eastwood became part of the coaching staff. He also went with the team, and the same media ran to ask him similar questions. He was very much courted by the media because he loved to talk and was very cooperative in answering the questions from the media, but today Eastwood acted as if he were possessed by George Wood, making his face gloomy and keeping his mouth shut. He turned a deaf ear to the reporters' questions.

That was enough.

Those who wished to create a scene were satisfied with this moment. They didn't really expect two people to stand in front of the microphone and talk. As long as they could capture the faces the two had in the face of the problem, it was sufficient for them to write articles about it.

Soon, a report about George Wood and Eastwood's falling-out appeared in the media. Their expressions were placed together. Even if there wasn't any text, it was still clear. After these media renderings, in the eyes of outsiders Nottingham Forest seemed to be at the point of being disbanded at any time.

At a press conference the day before the game, Twain pointed to the media and scolded, "I know what you all are trying to do, but it's a shame that what you're doing is useless."

And in response to the media's disinformation, Twain, who used to refuse to show his roster list until the last minute, announced the starting lineup a day earlier. George Wood's name was still inside. He used this action to show his support for his captain.

He didn't know what Eastwood's conversation with Wood was about, but he believed in Eastwood. And also, only he could accomplish this affair. He also believed in George, that he would be able to get out of it and that he could wait for Wood to become something close to a robot. He was the team's guarantee of victory, the lamp that would never go out, the tower of power.

"Coach Tony Twain insists on sending George Wood, but Wood's form in recent games was really bad, and the team's performance has been affected. This was obviously because Eastwood retired. Carl Spicer might be right this time."

Before the game, while announcing the starting lineups for both teams, the narrator analyzed for everyone: "We all know that Tony Twain is a very grumpy, self-centered person. He always insisted on things that people disagree on. He was right the past few times, but will he still be right this time? You must know that his opponent this time is Liverpool, who is on a five-game winning streak."

Meanwhile, Twain was making a final change in the roster for the team in the locker room. "Liverpool has won five in a row recently and are second in the league. They are a difficult opponent to deal with. We've only won one game in the past five games."

Twain raised his finger for the players to count. "They are second in the league, and we are seventh, which is far behind. They're great, and our situation isn't optimal… However, what I'm saying has no relation to all this."

He made a gesture. "What does it have to do with this game if they are doing well? Nothing at all. Each game is independent of another. Arsenal, who was unbeatable for forty-nine games, still lost their fiftieth game, so Liverpool, who's won five games in a row, might not be able to win a sixth. Gerrard is a key figure. George, your job in this game is to freeze Gerrard for me and assist in the attack."

Wood didn't nod or shake his head. He didn't say anything. Others turned to him, looking worried.

After Twain delegated George's duties to him, he turned towards Gago. "Fernando, your job is not to defend but to attack."

Gago was stunned. He thought he would allow him to assist Wood in defence. After all, Wood's recent form was poor, and if Wood had a problem, the opposing offense would face the backline directly. In the last six games, that was what had happened most of the time.

Twain saw his concern, but he didn't explain anything. He just continued to assign tasks. "Play to your strengths, and don't stop running. Don't be afraid of the ball being intercepted. Leave everything behind to George. You only care about the offense, you understand?"

"Oh… I understand, coach…" Gago answered hesitantly. Was there really no issue with this arrangement?

It was a bold arrangement, and if Wood was in good shape it wouldn't be an issue, but it was a surprise considering what Wood was able to do now. What was the difference between this arrangement and suicide?

Seeing Gago's hesitation, Twain added, "Offense, offense, offense… You just need to have offense in your mind, Fernando. Don't think about anything else. Even if there's a mistake, it will not be your responsibility."

Gago nodded. "All right, coach…"

Actually, he was still hesitant on the inside, and he definitely wasn't the only one.

After delegating the duties, Twain clapped. "All right, guys. Everyone knows what to do, but that's not enough. It's far from sufficient to just know what to do to win a game. You have to trust your teammates. Football is a sport played by eleven people, so no one can do without anyone. Right now in the locker room I can talk to you about tactics and tell you what to do and where not to go, but when it comes to the game, things change rapidly. Who can you count on? Anyway, it won't be me who is sitting outside." Twain spread his hands. "It'll be your teammates around you. Partners. Look into their eyes. You are together in the same trench. You can only choose to believe each other. You know what I mean? I know some people are worried that George's form will affect the team, but even if that's the case, you still have to trust him, because you can only trust him on the pitch."

This was a bit unreasonable, but it was Twain's style. Everyone was used to it, so everyone nodded.

"Let's play. "

The players got up and went out. George Wood lagged again. Twain looked at him, smiled at him, as Wood also looked at Twain. The two didn't say anything.

When Wood left, Eastwood offered to find Wood, as if trying to say something, "Coach, I…"

Twain interrupted him. "Keep me in suspense." He winked at Eastwood. Eastwood understood Twain's meaning. He nodded and walked away.

"Players on both sides are out! George Wood is at the front of the line, and he still wears the captain's armband. Tony Twain trusted Wood like a stubborn idi*t, but in the first few games, Wood didn't earn that trust. He did a poor job. So in this important game, will Twain's trust be rewarded?"

In the press, Beesley listened to the commentary coming from the television above his head while typing up the manuscript for that day on his laptop. He had already written the post-match press release in advance.

"… It's great that Twain has chosen to continue to trust Wood. We don't have to feel guilty about disrupting Twain's anniversary—he's asking for it…"

He looked up at the TV as a close-up of Wood's face appeared on the screen.

"Look at his face. You'd think Forest lost the ball. Haha!" He pointed to the TV screen while laughing with those around him.

Wood shook hands with Gerrard and stood next to the referee for the coin toss.

"It's a direct conversation between two of the best midfielders in English football today. This game is bound to be very eye-catching. Of course, Wood has been in poor form lately, and Gerrard may be taking advantage of it."

Wood lost to Gerrard in the coin toss.

"Gerrard with a lead. Ha!" Beesley laughed upon watching the scene.

After Twain appeared in the coach's chair, several media outlets gathered around him, blocking him in his seat, and the camera siphoned off him. He was the most high-profile focus of the game. He had had a ten-year stint in charge, in which he had won eight titles, big and small. He was one of England's most successful coaches, ranking in United Kingdom's "Coach Hall of Fame" as one of the top twenty and as one of the top ten in England's "Coach Hall of Fame." The most important thing wasn't these honors but Twain being only forty-five years old. As a coach, he was still "young and handsome." There was reason to believe that his legend was far from over yet.

Twain sat in his seat, enjoying the star-studded treatment. This was the honour he deserved, and he need not be ashamed of it. His only regret was that it wasn't at City Stadium. Otherwise, he would have a chance to accept the club's award on the field and enjoy the scene of his name being sung by tens of thousands of fans and cheers for him. Maybe the Nottingham Forest club would still need to put a crown on him, putting on the big coat and letting him hold the cane to collect the prize.

As Twain got up from the coach's chair, reporters dispersed with a warning from security guards. The game had begun.

Liverpool took advantage of the home side's advantage to attack Forest's core from the start. They were really not intending to give Tony Twain the win on his anniversary day in this stadium. And as George Wood's form was not ideal, they intended to use him to expose Nottingham Forest's goalmouth.

"Steven Gerrard! Beautiful long shot!"

Akinfeev struggled to lift the powerful long-range shot off the crossbar and, after climbing up from the ground, he shouted to his teammates to pay attention to the defence in the middle. Although he didn't name names, everyone knew that Gerrard's range was under George Wood's responsibilities.

Gago was a little annoyed. Although the coach didn't want him to care about defending and only regard the offense, seeing how Gerrard almost scored with the long shot, if they lost the ball, how could they even attack? He decided to help Wood before he got into form.

Liverpool's corner kick did not go straight toward the goal but instead passed outside. Gerrard came again for a direct goal, although it was off, but this indicated that he was excited about the game. An excited Gerrard was definitely a danger, and Nottingham Forest had to be careful.

"Watch out for Gerrard." Kerslake could not sit still outside the match. He ran to the side of the field and reminded the players, "Don't give him so many opportunities for long shots!"

Liverpool came back again. Gago hesitated. Under the training in Real Madrid, he still ran toward the midfield to prepare to guard Gerrard. "The actions can be more exaggerated. The Premier League is not La Liga. If necessary, you can also foul," he muttered as he welcomed Gerrard.

But there was a man faster than him. George Wood started his attack. Heading toward Gerrard, the two men bumped into each other. Gerrard was hit by the bump, and the football was lost. Wood was going to get the ball, but he heard the referee's whistle.

"Foul!"

People booed loudly at Wood in the stands at Anfield. Wood ignored it as if he didn't hear it. He turned and made a "down-pressure" gesture to Gago. "Let me handle it from here." He pointed to the front again. "You advance."

Seeing Wood's expression, Gago nodded. From the first day he had come to Forest, the boss had told him to trust George as the captain in the game. He had always followed that, as he was happy to through the two league seasons. This time it wouldn't be a mistake, right…

As soon as he thought so, he heard a familiar voice shouting his name. "Gago! Gago!"

He turned toward the coach.

"What are you doing? Did you forget what I said before?" Twain waved his arms with much effort. "Your position is in front. Go forward! Go even more forward!"

Gago gave Twain a thumbs up, indicating he understood.

"Don't get behind George, or else who can he pass the ball to?"

"I know, coach," Gago had to answer out loud, otherwise he was afraid that the coach would keep saying it.

Nottingham Forest were not in a 4-5-1 formation but a 4-4-2 formation. Gago and George Wood's position were not on the same line. Wood's position was slightly behind, and Gago was staggered in front. It was not a diamond midfield, a disc-shaped midfield, or even a parallel midfield.

Such a formation had already made it clear how the roles in the midfield were distributed—Gago was the main attacker while Wood was the main defender.

Benítez saw this, but he didn't know why Twain dared to use this formation on an away field, but he was sure of one point—this was an opportunity that could be exploited.

It seemed like he was correct in attacking midfield. If he continued, it wouldn't be a surprise if the defensive line of Nottingham Forest collapsed!