729 He’s back

"There are still two rounds left in the league, but these two rounds are the most important rounds for Nottingham Forest and Chelsea. Scolari's team has been eliminated. Aside from the Champion's Cup, they did not enter the finals at all. Scolari will probably still do well even if they are unable to participate in the Champion's Cup next season. Abramovich once said that Scolari would never be dismissed regardless of the results of the league, but who would believe his words?"

The television in the bar was playing "Football's 90 Minutes" on Sky Television. Although its main host had been replaced several times, the program still had an important position in the hearts of the British audience. It was different from "Match of the Day" on BBC channel, which aired after the matches on the weekends. It was the prospect of the matches following the program.

In the previous season, the away team, Nottingham Forest, tied with Manchester United. Because the match had not ended yet, this score line made several Nottingham Forest fans' hearts quicken as all of them thought this meant the end of the season. Surprisingly, Chelsea also had a draw before the end of the season.

That night, the Nottingham bar saw two extremes in the emotions of Nottingham Forest fans. Kenny Burns sold all his alcohol that day.

"Nottingham Forest rose from the dead. In the remaining two league matches, both teams have weak opponents. If Nottingham Forest can maintain and win both matches, they will be able to return to the Champion's league in the following league season. This has to be the happiest moment to a Nottingham Forest fan…

In the bar, a customer shouted, "To be honest even just the league cup is fine! I don't want to stress them too much!"

Someone immediately rebutted, "Don't get it wrong. It's not the kids that are stressed. It's that guy, Tony!"

"Let's hope everything is fine with his heart…"

"Hey, just a small piece of news… Shania sneakily returned back to Nottingham again…"

"Wow! Tony definitely won't be stressed!"

The group of guys raucously laughed with their mugs in their hands. Though Tony had not been there often in his bid to quit smoking and drinking, his presence still lingered in the bar. The longtime fans who gathered in this bar still stayed there as Tony Twain's supporters.

※※※

Tony Twain spent the last night before the second league with his wife. Since these two matches concerned the future of the team and its financial status, the news reported that Tony Twain did not have it easy. Hence, Shania flew back specially for him in hopes of helping him tide over for two weeks.

Although Twain did not feel like his heart was that weak since he had met with such stressful situations many times, it did not seem like it was stressful at all this time. He was still glad that Shania, who was staying in the United States, could come back and accompany him. They were a married couple that lived separately. For someone who lived in a villa that spanned several thousand square feet, it was extremely lonely and cold.

To welcome Shania home, he personally cooked up a feast. British food really could not be considered a delicacy, so he only cooked Chinese food.

"Aren't you afraid I'll grow fat?" Shania asked with her hands on her hips as she took in the spread of food on the huge table.

Twain indecently held Shania's waist and said, "I think there is no need to worry about that at the moment."

"Hey!" Shania slapped Twain's hand, pulled out a chair, and sat down. She was not rushing to start. Instead, she looked at Twain sitting opposite her and said, "It's been three months since we last saw each other. Did you miss me?"

"Are you aware that you've asked me that question 10 times today?" Twain asked. "There's a saying that absence makes the heart fonder. Our reunion after the short separation feels like our honeymoon. That is what I'm feeling now."

"There's such a saying, huh. Absence…" Shania looked up while deep in thought. "In the future when I travel everywhere, wouldn't we always be our honeymoon period? If you say it like that, then separation will become a very romantic matter!"

She applauded as she beamed, quite proud of her discovery.

"I don't see it that way." Twain pouted. "If possible, I hope you'll always be by my side."

Shania smiled as she looked at Twain, who looked slightly bummed. She asked, "Did you know that while I was in Los Angeles, I went back to school?"

"Eh?" Upon hearing what she said, he was a little surprised. He did not know about that matter. She had not mentioned it before. He thought Shania had only been entertaining other movie stars and improving her own acting skills in preparation of the new film in Los Angeles.

"You're still going to school?" he asked. "What are you studying?"

"Costume design." Shania winked.

Twain thought about it and understood why. Shania, being a model, was naturally more sensitive to fashion trends and had her own insights. If it was about costume design, he believed she would excel in that more than acting. He still wondered why she suddenly thought of learning costume design.

"Hey, Tony, let's discuss something," Shania said.

"Yeah?" Twain asked.

"If I get pregnant, I'll quit modelling and acting," she said.

Twain was so shocked he dropped his spoon. He looked at Shania, who had a serious look on her face, and replied, "You're kidding, right?"

"Why would I be kidding? I can't possibly act and walk down the runway with a huge belly, right?" Shania giggled, but her tone was still firm.

"You could wait until after you gave birth," Twain said.

"The competition in this industry is cut-throat," Shania said. "Who knows what the world would be like after I lost my pregnancy weight? Now you know why I want to start learning about costume design?"

"You've thought that far, huh," he replied.

"Far? Pregnancy is actually a simple matter." Shania had a gleam in her eye as she looked at him. "Let's start tonight!"

※※※

Twain and Shania lingered in their home for the night. Every time he saw the young and beautiful Shania pliant and moaning under him, he was filled with a desire to conquer, one that raged strongly in his chest. This feeling did not fade after they made love. He rode on this high the next day during work.

He was kind of chauvinistic. Whether it was women or his opponents, conquering them brought him immense satisfaction. From this perspective, it was perfect timing for Shania to return.

In the city stadium's changing room for the home team, Twain passionately spoke to his team about the European Champions Cup. "Although I've never won the league championships before, why should we still compete for some league cup if the league championships exist? There is only a one-point difference between Chelsea and us. They can turn the tides if we aren't careful. I don't want something like this to happen right before the end of the league season. All of you must know this well. I only want the Champion League Cup!

"An opponent like Middlesbrough should not even be a concern. You guys just need to perform as per normal, and the victory of this match will belong to us. Remember, do not give chances to our opponents, whether they are our opponents in this match or in the ones in the back waiting for us to make a mistake!"

The end result was Nottingham Forest winning at home 2:0 against Middlesbrough. Chelsea also won beat Hull City on its home field. While there was still a match left to the league, Nottingham Forest still led Chelsea by a point.

※※※

After the match, Nottingham Evening Post ran the headline, "A match is what separates us and Europe!"

Pierce Brosnan voiced what the Nottingham Forest fans were thinking. "Nottingham Forest's last match in the league was Stoke City! Checking out this name, their luck could not have been better."

It was no wonder Nottingham's local media was hurrying to announce that Nottingham Forest had obtained the participation rights into the European Champions league in the next season. There were some who still worried that Nottingham Forest, which was basking in the praises, would become complacent and mess up in the last match. Anything could happen in this world.

Twain turned down all of these worries or, rather, these "expectations." He repeatedly emphasized during team training to treat the opponents in the last match seriously. He set the roster for the match solely based on the players' attitude and emotional state during training.

He was obviously aware that there was the possibility of an upset during the match, which was why he was trying his best to avoid that. Twain was definitely not the type of person who only had regret after the problem reached him. He wanted to destroy even the last bit of hope Chelsea had. He wanted to make his opponents feel despair.

※※※

The last match of the league season started a week later at 3 p.m. on a Saturday. Nottingham Forest challenged Stoke City as the away team while Chelsea was at home waiting for Portsmouth's challenge. Everyone who was spectating these two matches knew Chelsea would likely not lose to Portsmouth on its home field. Hence, the focus was on Nottingham Forest, which was playing on away ground.

Scolari was already adding pressure onto Nottingham Forest team in his interview before the match, waging a psychological war.

He said, "My players have never given up the tickets in entering the European Champions League next season. Although, Nottingham Forest isn't a bad team, they're very, very young. Some of their players are even first-timers. Being able to achieve the results they have today is already quite the feat. Youths have passion, but they're also very unstable and unable to withstand so much stress."

It was obvious what Scolari was trying to say. London's local media was even more obvious with its propaganda.

"If Nottingham Forest can only go as far as the League Cup, it's not too big a loss for them in terms of competition. Their greatest loss would be their financial one. Participating in the League Cup and the Champions League are two completely different things. Participating in the Champions League would mean a lot more income.

"Everyone knows their financial situation isn't ideal. Allan Adams hasn't been able to find a sponsor for their new stadium, so that lousy piece of architecture was left it as it is except a fixed base. For a team that won four European Champions league, that lousy field is just like the scars on their fresh appearance. Evan Doughty must be under a lot of stress, which will transfer onto the team. If they are unable to get the rights to participate in that European Champions League next season, this stadium might continue to rot."

They cleverly drew a connection between the club's financial status and the results of the team to accurately tell the players without errors, "If you guys can't win, you'll feel the stress." Who does not want to play in the Champions League? Who does not want to improve their future days?

As such, the youths in this team constantly fretted before the competition, thinking that they absolutely could not lose. The stress would accumulate until it popped like a balloon being pierced. At least, that was what the Londoners were hoping.

It was quite a sorry sight because the team they were rooting for only stood a chance if their opponent slipped up. No matter how they spun it, this was some form of charity.

Twain did not start any wars against the opponent through media. That would only intensify the situation, making it more complicated. It would not be great news for Nottingham Forest, which was preparing for war. He emphasized again and again that the only rebuttal method was using their match results after the war.

※※※

Stoke City did not want to be the calefare of another person's celebration. Their head coach, Tony Pulis, was accepting the interview with some discontent, saying, "I know we have no trouble avoiding relegation, and I also know you are concerned about the four teams representing England in the European Champions League next season. But, ladies and gentlemen, what I want to say is that this is our home ground. I won't let the away team be the main character on our field."

Just like what Pulis said from the start of the match, Stoke City's players were charging with all their might. They focused on securing their defense instead of rushing to attack, securing their defense and using their strength in numbers to hold down Nottingham Forest's attack. This tactic made it seem like Nottingham Forest was a wolf going up against a porcupine. They did not know where to strike.

As for the match at Stamford Bridge, Portsmouth had already surrendered from the start. Before the first half ended, Chelsea scored two goals. According to the television commentators, "Looking at Chelsea's stance, they might still score in the second half…"

The match between Nottingham Forest and Stoke City was still at 0:0 when the first half ended. When the whistle blew mid-match, Sky Television was airing the scores of both matches real-time. According to the current results, Chelsea was ahead of Nottingham Forest with a two point difference to be placed at fourth. Nottingham Forest had fallen to fifth.

During the mid-match break, Twain did not arrange any changes to the tactics. He felt that the tactics had no issues. They were just not playing a good game, but it was not because of the team. But, if he did not say anything, the players might feel like the problem was them.  Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

"My friends, this is the last match of the current league season," he said. "Think back to the summer a year ago and then today. What did we work hard for a full season for? Maybe some of you thought playing for the league cup would be good, and maybe some felt that all of this effort was just for competing rights for the Champions League to reduce the financial burden of the club. Now, I want to rightfully tell you guys that all of the talk above is bullsh*t! My Nottingham Forest is a team with a tradition to win championships. Even though we faced some issues last year, which pulled us away from Europe for a year, we are now coming back.

"In our absence, Europe's greats had a very comfortable life. They ate well since no one could threaten to take their spot. Every year, the favorites for the titles are always the same few teams. I'm sick of that! Things are different now because we're coming back. Robin Hood is back! Their honor and wealth, it won't be theirs for long, which is why they're panicking. What are we going to do next? "

Twain laughed. "Use this match to remind them that, yes, we're back!"

※※※

In the second half, Chelsea's momentum did not slow. They team continued to score. Two goals in 10 minutes locked the score at 4:0. Portsmouth had no will to fight. Its players were just waiting for the game to end. Chelsea fans at Stamford Bridge had long been unconcerned about the game under their noses. They were all wearing headphones and listening to the latest news from another stadium.

Even in Scolari's chair, someone was listening to the latest developments on the radio. Just as the media had predicted before the match, the deciding factor in the last Champions League spot was not Chelsea's match but the match between Nottingham Forest and Stoke City. At the very least, and to the relief of Chelsea fans, the score line was 0:0 up until the end of the 80 minutes.

After feeling briefly exhilarated, everyone began to anxiously wait for the last 10 minutes to end. Nobody thought 10 minutes could last that long. It was as if it took up all the time they had in their lives.

At the 87th minute, a voice came on the radio, saying, "Žigić's header! It's been pounced on! Shoot again! This time it was the goalposts that helped Stoke City! Ah… And, it's there! Nottingham Forest still has a chance… Freddy Eastwood… Goal! Gooal! Goooooal! They finally broke the deadlock! Nottingham Forest leads on away 1:0!"

Stamford Bridge was dead silent. Scolari and his aides looked at each other, refusing to believe what they just heard.

※※※

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest's coaches and bench were already in a frenzy at Stoke City's stadium, Britannia. Everyone hugged and cheered and roared for this late goal.

Twain was not as crazy. He just patted his chest and smiled at Dunn. "I almost thought the goal was going to be cool." He shook his head and said, "Shania can rest assured."

The TV narrator was shouting, "Freddy Eastwood! The Key of Nottingham Forest! He saved the team's effort scoring a season three minutes before the end, and Tony Twain's heart! Tony Twain really should have a hard kiss on his shoes! It was the Gypsy's 23rd league goal of the season! He ranks third in the league! This season, he's been in great form, which had a lot to do with not having frequent injuries…"

※※※

Stamford Bridge spent the final seconds of the game in a strange silence. There was no love on the pitch on either side. When the referee blew the final whistle, the Chelsea players on the pitch ran to the bench to ask for information about the game at Nottingham Forest. They were greeted by a dejected face from their teammates.

※※※

As soon as the game was over, Twain did not even have time to run to celebrate the victory with the players before he was surrounded at the coach's chair by reporters.

"Ninth place last season and fourth place this time. Coach Tony Twain, as someone with a heart condition, you have achieved something very brilliant. Congratulations! What do you have to say?"

"Tell the guys in Europe that your old friends are back," he said, laughing and pointing at the camera lens. "Mourinho, we'll repay the debt from when you kicked my team out last season!"

Gary Lineker turned around to see Tony Twain being interviewed on the big screen. On the screen, the English footballer said to the camera, "Tony Twain challenges the whole of Europe. Yes, he's back."