Chapter 244: Newcastle and Shania Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Based on the results of the last ten years, Newcastle United was a strong team in the world of English football. This began when Kevin Keegan took the helm at St. James's Park. Tang En felt that the most brilliant years of Keegan's coaching career were at Newcastle, not later for the English national team.
Putting aside their decade in the Premier League, Newcastle United was still undeniably a traditional strong team in England. Although they had only won four league titles in the early part of last century, they had been six-time champions in the highest ranked FA Cup. Even in the early days of the Premier League, the FA Cup was still the most important tournament in the minds of the English people; that is, until the FA Cup gradually lost its status due to the influence of the Premier league and the UEFA Champions League.
What made Newcastle United unable to compare with Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool was that they had not left their mark in the English football history and had not continuously ruled the English football world. Consequently, they could only be considered a second-rate team, not one of the powerhouses.
Nottingham Forest was not a powerhouse club, but they had an advantage over Newcastle United: they had won the UEFA Champions League title.
Nonetheless, it was meaningless to bring up past successes. Newcastle United was still considered a second-tier team; compared to them, even though Nottingham Forest was ranked higher, the media still considered them inferior in strength to The Magpies.
What did Twain think of that evaluation?
"Newcastle United is a robust team, and Graeme Souness is an excellent senior..." He said this in an interview with The Northern Echo outside of the Newcastle airport; since when did Tony Twain use the term "senior" to address his opponents?
He had never used it on Arsène Wenger, and he had not used it on Ferguson either. He did not even address the Chief as "senior". Souness was certainly a senior, but his achievements were far less than those of the the three men above. Did saying that mean that Twain was going to admit defeat in this away match?
"An away game is always harder than a home game, and it's harder to play at the St. James' Park Stadium. So, if you ask me what the outcome of this game will be... I'm sorry, but I can't comment." Squeezing out of the crowd of reporters, Twain quickly got on the bus. Once the bus door closed behind him, it departed for the airport, leaving behind reporters with nothing to report.
As the bus drove into the city, the roof of St. James' Park stadium loomed over the banks of River Tyne; it would suddenly emerge from behind the buildings in the city and disappear again. Because this stadium was in the city center of Newcastle on the Tyne and it would be very congested on the day of the game, the Forest team stayed in a hotel in the vicinity of the stadium, which was only a ten-minute drive away if the traffic was smooth.
Newcastle had been England's golden football city for a long time because, compared to the other prosperous "derby" cities in England, Newcastle upon Tyne only had one team in its big city: Newcastle United. In a city of only 280,000 people, during every home game, the St James' Park Stadium would seat 50,000 people.
The roar from a 50,000-person packed grandstand was a scene that the Forest team had never experienced before. The biggest venue that they had played in before then was the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, but that was considered neutral ground. The St. James' Park stadium could be ranked second in terms of having the most explosive atmosphere in an English Premier League stadium.
Which stadium was ranked at the top? That stadium was not as big; it could even be said to be small. It accommodated less than 10,000 people, but was the most terrifying stadium for opponents because it was the home ground of "The Crazy Gang," Wimbledon FC.
Since their promotion to the Premier League, the Forest team had played in a lot of away games; still, Tang En believed that St James' Park was the best place to test the team's mettle.
Needless to say, everyone wanted to encounter an easy opponent; but this was essentially impossible. Nottingham Forest had played a total of ten rounds this season, and had fought against strong teams like Arsenal and Chelsea. In addition to that, their strongest opponent might have been Everton. They had achieved an unbeaten record of one win and two draws. But taking into account that the matches with Arsenal and Chelsea were on home ground, the Forest team had had a huge advantage.
Newcastle United was not weaker than Everton, and the Forest team was playing in an away game this time. The competition schedule was intensive and fierce. It was no wonder that the Newcastle local newspaper, The Northern Echo, had an optimistic analysis of the game and thought that Souness' team would obtain the three points effortlessly.
Nottingham's local media's view was quite the opposite of Newcastle's. The Nottingham Evening Post believed that the Forest team was currently in its best state. Having won consecutively, the Forest team would at the very least score one point at St James' Park.
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After the team had checked into the hotel where they were staying and had had a simple lunch and a break, Twain asked Kerslake to gather the team and go to St James' Park to train and familiarize themselves with the venue.
Since they were only training to prepare themselves before the match, there were not many reporters following them, and the media did not have the permission to enter the stadium for interviews. They could only be stationed outside to shoot the scene of the Forest team's bus going into the stadium. However, after the adaptability training was over, the league would arrange a pre-match press conference where both managers would be present to answer some of the media's questions and concerns.
This included the disagreement between Alan Shearer and Graeme Souness and the gossip around Patrick Kluivert's partying. They could also expect an amazing, arrogant quote from Tony Twain.
By that time, lots of media would have arrived.
At that moment, there were not many reporters there, but there were many Forest fans who followed the team from Nottingham to Newcastle. They wore eye-catching red jerseys and waited outside of the St James Park stadium, hoping to see their idols. The requirements of the fans were as simple as that.
Twain saw them from the bus and said to Kerslake, "Later, inform the players that I'll only give them ten minutes to shower and change after training. After that, they'll come out and sign autographs for the fans."
David also noticed the fans and nodded. "Got it."
Looking away from the fans, Tang En began to think about how they would beat Newcastle United in this game. But he completely missed the little green dot in the sea of red.
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The adaptability training was very simple; it mainly allowed the players to adapt to the field, do a few set pieces, and finally shoot at the goal to relax before completion. The plan was fully arranged before they arrived, and the coaching team was responsible for this specific training. Twain and Kerslake paced back and forth on the field as though they were taking a stroll. But in reality, they were using their feet to personally check the quality of the turf.
"It feels a little soft; will it rain tomorrow?" Twain gazed at the sky, somewhat worried. It was overcast, and he could feel the dampness in the air just through his breathing.
"There's a good chance of rain." said David Kerslake, walking beside him.
"Damn it!" Twain swore under his breath. "Let me think. From what I recall, the Forest team has played a few games on sunny afternoons this season, right? Fortunately, there are no hurricanes on the North Sea..."
Kerslake chuckled quietly. "I remember that youth team game when you used the hose to dampen the field and create trouble for Arsenal."
Upon hearing Kerslake say that, Twain squatted down to stroke the turf with his hands, and found that it was wet. "Damn it! They also sprinkled a lot of water!"
Kerslake burst into laughter, "It looks like everyone's using that trick. I rarely hear you complain about the weather, Tony. What are you worried about?"
Twain looked around at the empty stands in St. James' Park. A day from then, they would be filled with countless fervent Newcastle fans. They would be constantly jeering and singing to put pressure on the Forest team. The Forest team had only lost one game this season, during the first round of the league tournament in an away game against Blackburn Rovers. Playing in an away game and playing on home ground were two completely different feelings.
He was indeed worried, but he could not tell Kerslake.
"No, I'm not worried about anything. We have nothing to worry about."
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After the adaptability training was done, Twain met Souness in the stadium press room. The gray-haired Scotsman looked a bit severe. He had just taken over as manager from his predecessor, Robson, in September, and had already won Newcastle two consecutive victories. His performance was quite good, and he was currently flushed with success. Twain's addressing him as "senior" seemed to make him take on the air of a senior. His smile on his face was almost nonexistent when he shook hands with Twain in front of the reporters.
In truth, this was the scene which the reporters wanted to see the most. They looked forward to Twain's counterattack, but Twain had let them down. After simply answering a few questions until the conference was over, Twain did not have any exchange with Souness again.
At the end of the press conference, the Forest players also came out of the locker room and went to the parking lot to sign autographs for the fans. This was what the manager wanted, and everyone had to follow. Twain left the press room and walked straight out to the parking lot, where the coaches had already gotten on the bus. Twain stood outside and chatted with Kerslake while casually watching the players' behaviors. He was happy to see that no one showed any impatience with the eager fans.