Stuart on vacation at home. Pierce picks up Tony. Done's phone.

He knew what Don was looking for him, and even though he had the answer, he listened politely to Don Den.

"I'm glad you called me, Tony. But I think the youth team needs me more. ”

Don felt so depressed, he didn't come to anyone, is it really so scary to be an assistant coach for himself?

"But I need you too, Stuart."

Stuart. Pierce's concern was that if he went to England's senior squad, he would have to give up his job at the youth team. And he has been working in the youth team for almost ten years, and he knows everything about the youth team, so everything here is inseparable from him. What will he do if Donn's contract expires? Coaching the England national team? He doesn't have much interest, and the media pressure for that kind of work is too much. It was also the youth team that suited him best.

"If you can convince the FA to agree that I am also the head coach of England's youth team, I will agree to be your assistant manager."

Pierce threw out his terms.

Don thought about it for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, I'll try." ”

He did go to Barclays, but no matter what he said, Barclays just didn't agree to let Pierce do both. Either you want to be Donn's assistant coach or you can be the director of the youth team, which is a multiple-choice question, not a multiple-choice question.

"Tony. We've recommended so many coaches to you, isn't there one who can be your assistant coach? You know, there are a lot of good coaches out there, and they're the best of their age......"

Don Enke, who was angry at the head, didn't give Barclay face at all, and he said very bluntly: "In my eyes, they are not good enough!" ”

Barclay's cultivation was better than Donn's, and he just shrugged his shoulders and motioned that if Don didn't like it, he should find it himself.

Donn left the FA's office with a black face. Looks like he's still on his own.

※※※

Des. Walker is on the training pitch showing his players what to do when facing one-on-one defence. The phone he kept in his trouser pocket suddenly vibrated and caused him to lose his center of gravity when he was dribbling the ball, and if it weren't for the quick eyes of the defenders who defended him, he would have made a fool of himself in front of him.

Walker patted the player who was holding him on the shoulder, "You should just break the ball instead of trying to pull me." ”

Then he winked at the assistant coach. The assistant coach stepped forward: "Twenty turnaround runs, all!" ”

There was a jolt in the team, but it was quickly suppressed by the coach. When one person makes a mistake, the whole team is penalized, that's Walker's training requirement. Although the player pulled the head coach out of kindness just now, his actions did not win the favor of the boss.

Seeing that the players were honestly punished in the end, Walker walked under the awning on the side of the training ground and pulled out the still vibrating mobile phone.

It's Tony. Don called.

"You rarely call me, Tony."

"Ha, usually we're all busy, and we're not in the same city anymore......" Don smiled a little reluctantly.

But Walker wasn't trying to make a fuss about it, he didn't care about the reason. "But as long as you call me, something must be wrong. Do you have anything to do with me? No! Just when Tang Enzheng didn't know how to tell him, he took care of himself to uncover the suspense. Let me guess...... You're looking for an assistant coach, right? ”

"We have a good understanding, Des." Don laughed from the bottom of his heart this time.

"But what's the use of you looking for me? I'm just a manager of a second division team. Walker said as he looked at the team that was training. He had long since gone with Ian. Bowyer was together. Bowyer was at home for a while after being sacked by Herford, while Dees. Walker, on the other hand, is actively looking for work, and he has changed teams three times, from academy director to assistant coach and now head coach. It can be regarded as a step-by-step approach, which is very down-to-earth.

It's just that the Oxford United team he currently works for is in the fourth tier of England, and its strength is only in the middle and lower reaches of the league, and the highest goal every year is relegation, and its reputation is not big. So he wondered why Don was calling him.

"I don't choose people based on fame. It's not like you don't know, Des. ”

"Are you really going to make me an assistant coach in England? Are you crazy, Tony? Donn's words were tantamount to acknowledging the purpose of his call, much to Walker's surprise. There are thousands of coaches in England who are better than me, why don't you go to them? ”

"For me, the best coach is not as good as the best coach for me. Dees, you're my first assistant coach since I became the head coach of Forest, we have a tacit understanding and you're the best fit for me. You're the one I need. Don said it very affectionately, and if someone who didn't understand the inside story came to listen to it, he would think he and Des. What is the ambiguity between Walker?

"Those coaches may be good, but they don't understand what I need, they don't know what I think. I also had to figure out what the whole coaching staff meant before I could figure it out, which was too painful and inefficient. So I need someone who can know what I'm going to do without me talking too much. Des, I can't think of anyone more suitable than you. ”

Walker was shocked by Donn's "affectionate confession", he didn't directly refuse like the previous ones, but was stunned for a while before stammering: "I, we already have, haven't cooperated for ten years, like that...... What's the tacit understanding in that way? ”

"But we're always connected, aren't we? Are you keeping an eye on me, Des? ”

Even though the question would have given the impression that Donn was narcissistic, Walker hummed.

"As long as we run in and lubricate it a little, the tacit understanding will naturally come back. You know what kind of person I am, I know what kind of person you are, you know what I need, and I know what you can do. And in the last ten years, you have definitely become more mature than before, you see you are a manager now...... Anyway, there's nothing to worry about, it's definitely easier for you to be my assistant coach than to be an assistant to other coaches. And I have you as an assistant, it must be easy. It's a win-win for both of us. Besides, think about your future. You have a 'former assistant coach for the England national team' on your resume, so whatever you have to do is easier than it is now, isn't it? ”

Tang Enxiao is emotional, if he can't get Walker anymore, then he may really be forced to accept the candidates recommended by the FA, and there are even people who don't have a good impression of him...... What can that combination bring to England? Only God knows.

Walker was silent for a moment, then asked with some hesitation, "But I'm not famous...... he euphemistically expressed his concern about whether he would be able to command the big players of the national team.

"You're an assistant coach, Dees. The assistant coach looks at his own strength, and it has nothing to do with fame. When Venables was assistant coach to McLaren, England still had to listen to McLaren, at least on the surface. Don also expressed his opinion in a tactful way: "I'm the one who runs the locker room, so don't be fooled."

Walker looked up at the training ground, where the team had finished twenty switchbacks and was resting for the next training session.

He knew that time was running out here today, and he couldn't tell. And after all, this is an important choice in his life, and he doesn't want to make a hasty decision.

"My players are still waiting for me, Tony. You tell me to think about it again, and then I'll give you an answer. ”

Don readily agreed: "Okay, no problem. Des, for your call, I don't turn off the phone twenty-four hours a day, you can call anytime. ”

But at the same time, Donn's heart was shouting, "What are you waiting for, Des? Isn't that more promising than your second-division manager? Oxford United have already brought you to the second division to their full potential, and now they have no room to grow, and you are just a waste of time to stay there! ”

Although this is the truth, if Don dares to say this, I'm afraid Des. Instead of thinking about it for a few days, Walker rejected him to his face. After all, no one can allow the rest of them to dictate their own careers.

As Walker put his phone back into the wide pocket of his athletic pants and walked back to the training ground. His assistant coach began urging the resting players to continue training.

He also has a tacit understanding with his assistant coach.

Do you want to abandon the current tacit understanding for the sake of a tacit agreement ten years ago?

Which tacit understanding is more important?

Des. Walker was a little undecided.

※※※

Donn called Walker, but he didn't have any of it. Because Walker has a saying that hits his weakness - "We haven't worked together for ten years, what tacit understanding is there?" ”

What is the concept of ten years?

It may be difficult for those who have not experienced it to appreciate the passage of time.

Ten years ago, they just entered high school, young and lively, full of longing for the future but unwilling to grow up, young boys and girls have already entered the palace of marriage as soon as they turn around, and even become fathers and mothers.

Ten years ago, the young man who was full of enthusiasm and full of ambition to step into the threshold of society and hoped to pursue his ideals was already a middle-aged strange uncle who ate and waited for death every day in the blink of an eye, and his edges and corners were smoothed by the torrent of society.

No matter how strong a person is, he can't beat time, even Tony. An arrogant person like Don has to bow down in the face of time.

He's no longer the rookie he was ten years ago when he didn't know anything and needed Walker to help take care of everything. And Walker is no longer the assistant coach who just turned from a player to a coach a decade ago, with little experience and all his enthusiasm to be motivated.

Both of them have experienced the most changing ten years in their lives, do they really have a tacit understanding together?

You don't need too many words, just a gesture and a look can make the other person understand their thoughts?

There is a saying in China that "things are people", can this idiom be applied to the two of them?

※※※

Des. Walker was lying on the couch in a daze, and his wife called him three times in the dining room without getting a response, and finally simply ran out and stood in front of him and stared at him cross-legged.

"Huh? What's up? It took Walker a moment to realize that there was an extra person in front of him.

His wife put aside for a moment the reason why she was here to stare at him, and asked strangely, "What's wrong with you?" ”

"Nothing ......," Walker prevaricated.

"What's the trouble at work?" His wife simply sat down next to him and took his hand.

Walker felt the warmth of his wife in the palm of his hand, and he gently rubbed his wife's small hands, which were no longer soft and delicate. "Tony called me today."

"Tony? Tony. Dawn? "As Walker's wife, it's not easy to remember that man.

"Which other Tony could there be besides that Tony?" Walker laughed.

"Surely he didn't look for you to catch up, did he?"

"He wants to introduce me to a new job, and I'm hesitating about it." Walker looked at the ceiling, his eyes wandering. "I don't know if I should promise him, I always feel that this is a gamble, and the gamble is quite big......"

"The coach of England?" As the wife of a former player and current coach, women are not ignorant of football.

"It's an assistant coach, my dear." Walker gave his wife a smile.

The wife looked at her husband with some disbelief. As a wife, she is clearly aware of her husband's abilities.

'I told him I didn't think I could be an assistant coach in England, but he said it didn't matter, I could do it. The husband also knows what his wife is thinking.

"You're tempted?"

Walker was silent for a moment and nodded, "Honestly...... Somewhat. ”

"If you go to England, you have to give up your job here at Oxford."

Walker continued to nod.

"Des, I don't have a problem. You can go if you want to, and refuse him if you don't want to go. "The wife has always taken very little care of men's work, and over the years her husband has changed several jobs and moved from one place to another, and she just follows him. Anyway, there is a team that wants her husband to be a coach, so she has nothing to worry about. As a husband, just talk to his wife, and he doesn't really want his wife to come up with any ideas. Especially now that the children are older, there is no need to consult the wife.

"Let's eat, I'm here to get you to dinner, Des."

The wife stood up and lifted Walkra to his feet.

After Walker stood up and confided in his wife what was on his mind, he already had an idea in his heart.

At best, it's just another adventure, just like when I decided to leave Nottingham Forest and go to Herford. He got used to this kind of life, changing from one place to another, from job to job. Maybe by the time he's 50, he'll be able to gain enough experience to settle down in a Championship or even a Premier League club and start drawing his blueprints.

Before that, he still needs to learn and accumulate with different people.

Tony is a good student to study...... How to manage players.

He was also looking forward to seeing how Done would manage the big names in England who had been spoiled by the media.

(To be continued)