After the game against Arsenal, it seemed to outsiders that Nottingham Forest had suddenly found the momentum to move forward. They won three and drew one in February, jumping up to eighth in the table, just two out of the top six.

When the team's results are good, people's brains are activated.

Evan. Every day, Dogetty looks at the calendar to see what the number is today and how long it is until the end of the season. Donn's words that he would quit at the end of the season have been echoing in his head, and the media knows it, and the fans know it. He repeated it again at the FIFA Awards Gala at the end of December. He seems determined to retire.

Ke Evan. Dogetty was reluctant to let Don go again. He had made a mistake when it came to Donn's stay, and this time he couldn't afford to make another mistake anyway.

He was thinking about it, after more than two months, did Donn's mind change?

Every day, Evan. Dogetty would come to Wilford's training base on time to observe Donne's performance in training to speculate on the man's inner world.

He saw Donn chatting intimately with his colleagues on the training ground, joking with the players, and even putting his arm around Bell and Wood to whisper to them.

He looks like he's in a good mood and he's enjoying football.

Evan. Dogty felt the time was ripe.

※※※ "Hey, Tony. I heard that your wife is back? "In between trainings, the players gather to talk and relax, and the coaches are the same, they are human beings and they need to rest.

And the coaches gossip more than the players.

Yesterday the British entertainment gossip magazine reported on Shania. When Don came to England, the old men went to the training ground to ask for the inside information about Shania's husband.

Don didn't have a problem with this group of old men who liked to gossip.

"yes, it was yesterday."

Several coaches glanced at each other and laughed: "It seems that we will win the next game!" Ha ha! ”

The big guys laughed along with them. It's an old joke. In the past, when Donn had not left the Forest team, as soon as Shania returned, the team's results were good and stable.

Don let them laugh, and there was nothing to be unhappy about. In his opinion, a harmonious team atmosphere is the key to good results. If the atmosphere is harmonious now, why would he go to sabotage?

After the training session, Donn walked to the head coach's office alone, and he had to tidy up a little before going home. Shania had prepared lunch at home and was waiting for him. Although there is a restaurant in the training base, most of the meals cooked are athletes' meals, which ordinary people basically can't eat. Don is not an athlete, so he naturally doesn't need to eat that kind of lunch that tastes like chewing wax.

Don put his training notes on the table, took out his car keys from the drawer, and prepared to leave. But when he looked up, he saw a man standing in the doorway.

"Evan!" Donn cried out, "You scared me. Standing silently in the doorway, like a ghost, do you know? ”

Seeing Donne's appearance, Evan. Dogetty laughed embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, I didn't call you because I saw you were busy." Ready to go home? He looked at the car keys in Donn's hand.

Don apparently noticed where his gaze was, so he shook the car keys, "yes, Shania is still waiting for me at home." ”

"Ah......" Evan regretted, "it doesn't look like this is a good time to talk." ”

Don thought it was strange and asked, "Is there something wrong with you?" Evan. ”

"Uh......" Evan hesitated, but still didn't say it. When will you have time, I want to talk to you alone, Tony. ”

Donn thought about the immediate future, then gave Evan a reply: "I'll have time after the away game this weekend. ”

Evan nodded: "Then I'll go to your room to find you then." Goodbye, Tony, I don't dare delay you too long, or your wife will blame me. ”

He was still a little self-aware, and he knew that he had a bad impression in Shania's mind.

Don watched the club's leader leave and didn't say anything further. This sixty-year-old man seems to have lost the arrogance of four years ago, and in front of himself, he is like an ordinary old man. And no matter how much the relationship between the two of them recovers in time, they can't go back to the original past. Once there is a crack on the smooth and clean mirror, how can it be as if nothing has happened?

Evan rarely jokes with himself now, and he doesn't go to his office to sit and chat when he's fine. The relationship between the two of them still seems to be harmonious on the surface, but from some small details, it can still be seen that it is different from before.

It's an indescribable feeling, and it can only be understood.

Actually, they all know it.

※※※ Nottingham Forest take on Manchester City away at the weekend. The two sides did their best to play the strongest line-up, and in the end, the Forest relied on a somewhat controversial goal to beat the home team by one goal. After the game, the home team's media thought it was an offside goal and chattered at the press conference. And Don put all the blame on the referee: "...... I was in a bad position at the time, and I wasn't sure what happened at the moment when Chen Jian passed the ball. But since the referee thinks that the goal is valid, then the goal is valid...... It's not the processes that matter, it's the results. It turned out that we won and I'm happy. ”

The home team media had nothing to do with this scoundrel Donn, and could only watch him "steal" the victory that belonged to them. Of course, a bit of verbal criticism and cynicism in the media after the game is indispensable. But Don doesn't care about that, fifteen years of coaching, basically fifteen years of attack and ridicule between him and the media, he is not surprised to see this kind of thing.

The highlight of the weekend was not this game, but the hotel where the Forest team was staying after the game. Room 1102, to be exact, where Donn was.

This scene must feel familiar, and four and a half years ago, a similar show was played out in the same room where Donn was in a hotel in Madrid. It's just that there is one less leading actor today, and the dramas played are also different.

If it was a power plot drama four and a half years ago, then today it is a bitter love drama.

The protagonist of the bitterness is Evan. Dogety.

"You're talking to me about something, aren't you just trying to persuade me to stay in the Forest, Evan?" Donn sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Evan who was sitting on the couch opposite. Dogety.

"What else could it be? Tony, don't you believe me yet? ”

Evan. Dogety's expression was bitter now. He had just spent a lot of saliva expressing his desire for Don to stay in the Forest team, but it was Donn's rhetorical question that responded to him, could this not make him feel bitter?

Once the rift is there, it is really irreparable...... "Of course I believe you, Evan, otherwise I wouldn't have accepted your invitation to return to the team to coach." Don tilted his head to Evan.

However, this attitude can only make Evan feel more uncertain. In his opinion, such words were all perfunctory for Don.

So looking at Evan's expression, Don En laughed a little helplessly: "How do you want me to prove it to you, Evan?" I'm not trying to fool you......"

"Then stay, Tony."

Evan. Dogetty looked at Donn, but he didn't see anything in Donn's eyes.

"That's impossible, Evan. I have my family, and my body doesn't allow me to continue in this position. Don shook his head, once again rejecting Evan's plea.

"But...... You've never had a problem with your body in the past few months......"

Don stretched out his hand to interrupt Evan's words. "I know my body, Evan. I feel like I'm not as energetic as I used to be...... Besides, is it only when you faint on the edge of the arena and are sent to the hospital for 48 hours that you have a physical problem? I guess as my friend, you don't want me and my family to go through that kind of thing again, do you? ”

This is what Evan asked. Dogetty was speechless. He was in a hurry to keep Donne, and he really didn't think about it. If he is really for Don's good, then his health should not be put in danger.

There was no one in the room talking for a while, Evan. Dogotti kept his head down, not knowing what he was thinking, while Donn turned his gaze to the television, where the evening sports news was playing, just in time for Forest's match against Manchester City, which ended earlier. The focus of the news naturally focused on whether Mitchel's goal was offside.

At the press conference, Donn said he didn't see the situation and now he has a chance to take a closer look. The TV replayed footage from before Mitchel's goal, when he was parallel to City's backline, and then the moment Chen Jian hit the ball, the game froze. Donn saw it clearly this time, and Mitchel's upper body poked out...... Strictly speaking, this is really an offside, but whether it is judged or not is on the scale of the referee's own control. If he feels that this upper body leaning out has nothing to do with the overall situation, then he can not be offside. If he strictly follows the rules and is awarded offside...... It is estimated that it will be Donn's turn for those who chatter after the game.

The voice-over on TV said something different from Donne, who believed that Manchester City had lost at the feet of the referee this time, and strongly condemned and protested against the referee on duty. Don paid attention to the station sign and found that it was the local media in Manchester, no wonder...... Don wasn't interested in listening to what he said next, and he turned his attention back to Evan from the TV screen, and found that Evan was also watching the TV distractedly.

Tang En thought about it for a while, and then laughed: "I even have to help the referee to win the game, you see I'm really old." ”

When Evan heard him say this, he shook his head: "What does the referee's mistake have to do with you?" Besides, although we had less possession than Manchester City in the whole game, we had the advantage in the number of dangerous shots on goal, and we deserved to win, but we were not very lucky, and there were several dangerous shots without scoring......"

Don didn't interrupt Evan, just tilted his head and listened to Evan's eloquent conversation quietly, and then the corners of his mouth slowly hooked unconsciously.

Evan. Dogetty also noticed the change in Donn's expression, and then he realized that he had said too much. Hurriedly stopped his mouth and looked at Don.

"Hah!" Don En laughed, "When I think about the person who couldn't even distinguish between 'coach' and 'manager' at the beginning, but now he can analyze the head of the Tao, I think it's really funny." You see, we're all changing. I don't want to do it for a few more years. I'm fifty years old, Evan, and I'm still a guy with heart problems. I have a sense of crisis that I will die before Shania, so I want to cherish the time I have alive and spend more time with her and Teresa...... You're also a family man, can you understand my thoughts? ”

Evan nodded, could he still shake his head?

"But ......," but he was still unwilling to be persuaded by Don like this.

'I'm sure now you're really thinking about the club, really, I've always believed in you, Evan. But I don't fit Nottingham Forest anymore, we're all changing, and Nottingham Forest is changing. "There is no undefeated team in this world, and there is no team that always wins championships. The teams that have created an era and a dynasty have had their ups and downs. The same goes for Nottingham Forest......"

Don walked away as he spoke.

Chapman has long since led Arsenal to England football; Sir Busby, who led Manchester United to its first European Champions Cup, has long since passed away; Shankley, who shaped Liverpool into a generation of giants and profoundly influenced the future development of Liverpool football, has also become a term; Clough, who competed with the Reds in Liverpool's most powerful era and joined forces to create the "Red Era of England" in European football, is now just a bronze statue standing in the middle of Nottingham City Square; After entering the Premier League era, Ferguson has now become an old man who basks in the sun in the yard of his home every day, and can't even watch his favorite racehorses; And Arsene Wenger, the godfather of Arsenal who once stood alongside Ferguson, is also 70 years old this year, and retirement is imminent...... The once glorious names have been buried in the dust of time one after another, and the past can only be recalled. I believe that in a few years, I will be the same with the former Nottingham Forest. Just like children born today won't know Michael when they grow up. How great Jackson is, Ronaldo's fans won't know how good Maradona is, Maradona's fans can't see Pele play with their own eyes, Pele's fans are so new to Di Stefano...... The same. The past will eventually pass, after so many things, what else is there that can't be looked down on?

"I can't sit in this position all the time, and I shouldn't. What Nottingham Forest needs is a long-term plan, which is to develop slowly, and an arrogant person like me is eager for quick success, which is not suitable for the future development of Nottingham Forest. ”

Evan seemed to want to stop Don from deprecating himself so much, but Don preemptively answered, "You still don't understand, Evan? Why did the results of the Forest team start to decline as soon as I left the Forest team, and no matter how many quality managers you change, it doesn't help? I don't want Nottingham Forest to become 'Tony'. Donn's Nottingham Forest'. In that way, no matter how many championships you win, it will be a castle in the air. Ordinary people can't even live to be 100 years old in a lifetime, but now there are many century-old teams in world football, and for a team to be truly strong, it is not enough to rely on one person. Why are Liverpool giants? They were nothing before Shankly, but it's not that that that matters, it's that they won five European Cups after Shankly. ”

Don leaned out and looked at Evan.

"Some media have compared me to Shankly at Nottingham Forest, but do you know what the most correct thing Shankly has done in his life?"

Watching Evan's expression change from confusion to abruptness to distress and helplessness, Don laughed.

"It was he who suddenly announced his resignation and left Liverpool from then on."

When Donne was a football fan, Shankly's story was no stranger to him, and he knew the story of Shankly's successor, Pasley. But it was unclear why Shankly had resigned abruptly and left the club when Liverpool was doing well. It stands to reason that he should continue to do something earth-shattering, such as leading Liverpool to their first European Champions League in the club's history – and Donn and everyone else believe that if Shankly can do it, he will be able to do it.

Now he's clear, completely clear.

This sentence completely puts Evan. Dogotti froze, he unconsciously opened his mouth, sat on the sofa in a daze, and did not make a sound for a long time.

(To be continued)