With a ding, there was a dense sound of footsteps in the direction of the elevator, and Tang En, who was sitting by the window in the lobby drinking tea, turned his head.

The players who had taken a short break were coming out of the elevator, and some were still yawning. Des. Walker walked briskly out of the players, then turned to look at the elevator and shouted, "Hurry, hurry!" Don't look like you haven't woken up, it's not tea time! ”

Since setting the goals and direction of the team's efforts this season, the man has also regained his passion for work overnight.

Don looked down at the watch on his wrist, thirteen fifty-five, the team set off at this time, the time was just right. He put the teacup back on the table, folded the newspaper on his lap and put it back on the newsstand next to his seat, then got up and walked towards the hotel door.

It's almost two o'clock in the afternoon on December 17, and they are at the Scotton Hotel in South London, where a red bus with the words "Nottingham Forest" and the Forest logo on its body is quietly parked in the door, waiting to take them to their destination, Newden Stadium.

Seeing the head coach standing by the door without saying a word, the players unconsciously trotted up and hurried to get on the bus. Some players don't understand why the manager is upset when they have just beaten relegation rivals Crystal Palace in the league.

Since training on the second day of the game, almost no one has seen Tony. Coach Donn smiled.

As everyone got into the car, Walker walked up to Donn and said, "Tony, everyone's here." ”

"Hmm. What about the people on the coaching staff? ”

"They went first, with their equipment."

Don nodded: "Okay, let's go too." ”

Just as he was about to step out of the car door, he suddenly heard someone calling behind him. "Mr. Donn! Wait a minute! Mr. Donn, wait! ”

"Ah, Bruce." Don turned his head to see Nottingham Evening Post reporter Pierce Pierce running out of the lobby out of the lobby with a small black leather case in his hand. Bruce. "What's the matter?"

Bruce ran up to him in one go, his hands on his knees, hunched over and gasping for air, and after a moment he got up and looked at the bus, and said to Don intermittently, "It's ...... Sorry, can't you give me a ride? ”

This request surprised Don a little. "Let the reporter get on the team's bus...... Bruce, what a request you make...... Larger than life. ”

"I'm really, I'm sorry...... I slept and my colleagues were gone. He...... They must have thought I had set off first. Bruce explained awkwardly.

"You can call a taxi." Donn gestured to the street outside.

"I ...... I put my wallet in my bag and was taken by my colleagues......" Bruce said with a red face.

Don sighed, looked at the poor unfortunate bastard, and thought that he had said a lot of good things for himself in the newspaper. Now he has a problem, and he can't talk about it if he doesn't help.

Walker got into the car and found that Donn hadn't followed, and the players were all turning their heads to look out the window again, so he jumped out of the car again. "What's wrong? Tony ...... "He saw the Corriere della Posta reporter standing next to Donne. "Bruce, this is not the time for an interview."

"Mr. Walker, I'm not an interview ......"

Donn interrupted him and said to Walker, "He's a wretched ghost who was abandoned by his companions because he overslept, and now he's going to hitchhike." ”

Then he waved to Bruce: "Get in the car!" You have to be glad you're not a woman......"

There are some taboos in professional football that cannot be ignored in any country, such as the absolute prohibition of women and players from sharing the same bus. That would be seen as a bad omen for failure. That's why Don said that. If Bruce were a female journalist, the rest of the team would have been adamant against letting a woman get in the car and go with them to Newden Stadium if Don had agreed to do so - everyone would have become sensitive and superstitious before an important game.

"Thank you so much, Mr. Donne! And Mr. Walker, thank you......" Bruce thanked the two coaches gratefully, and wanted to come up to shake hands, but Donn slapped him into the car.

"Stop talking nonsense! We've been delayed long enough, so if you want to thank you, keep saying good things about us in the newspaper! ”

"It must be ......," Bruce stumbled into the car and waved a little embarrassed at the sight of a group of players looking at him with curious eyes. Hello everyone...... I, uh, I ......"

Just when he didn't know what to say about his shame, Donn came up from behind, pointed his finger at the players and shouted to the players: "This guy is an unlucky Corriere Posta reporter who has overslept and is penniless!" ”

"Uhhh

"Mr. Reporter, the front page headline of tomorrow's Nottingham Evening Post must not be the news that we have qualified for the semi-finals of the League Cup, but you!" Some players shouted loudly, which provoked even more laughter from the players. Even Don had a smile on his face, and he patted Bruce on the shoulder, motioning for him to sit down next to him.

"It doesn't matter what you see or hear in this car. I don't want to see it in the next day's paper. I'm just giving you a ride, not giving you an interview. ”

Bruce nodded, "Don't worry, Mr. Donn." I know what I should say and what I shouldn't say. ”

"That's good, I let you ride because I trusted you." After saying that, Don stood up and raised his arms and shouted, "Drive!" Let's go to Millwall's home turf and fuck those bastards! ”

"Oh!!" The players clashed their fists in unison, and the drowsiness that had just gotten out of bed was swept away.

Bruce secretly wiped his sweat, no wonder Don didn't let him poke what he saw and heard in the newspaper...... These things may only come later when he retires and plans to write a book about Nottingham Forest or Tony. Donne, or perhaps his own private biography, will be revealed.

※※※Red buses travel through the congested traffic on London's roads, and any road leading to Newden Field is expected to have high traffic at this time. Others didn't take the game seriously, but the Millwall fans who live nearby did, flocking to Newden Stadium from far and wide to watch the Carabao Cup quarter-finals. Millwall are still in the middle of the league table after half a season, and it is super difficult to get promoted this season, so they have pinned more expectations on the League Cup and FA Cup, which are "hotbeds of underdogs".

Along the way, you can see the cars carrying Millwall fans passing by the Forest team, and those wearing blue and white Millwall jerseys will poke their heads out of the windows of the red Forest bus, waving their fists at them with porcelain teeth, raising their middle fingers, and shouting foul words that can be understood just by looking at the shape of their mouths.

When you see these people, Don thinks of Mark. Hodge. The middle-aged man, who usually looked amiable, turned into an abominable beast as soon as he arrived in the stands, once he was dipped in alcohol. But even so, he is far from being compared to Millwall's football hooligans.

After Gavin's accident, Donn never heard the man's name again, and he never went to the Robin Hood pub where the football hooligans hung out. Maybe Hodge has left football, like Michael; Maybe he is still active in the stands, but as an ordinary fan; Or maybe he's leading his men in a corner of the London metropolis where neither the cameras nor the police can take care of them, fighting the Millwall football hooligans who beat them on the "battlefield" last season for their glory...... These people are not just footballers, but also dark spots in British society as a whole, which are almost impossible to eradicate. No matter how the political axe strikes them, the football hooligans who come from the grassroots and take root here will always accompany the development of the sport, like a shadow under our feet. Maybe some people will sympathize with them and understand them, just like their original selves. There will even be people who support, envy, and want to join them and become the new football hooligans, waving their fists and fighting for the honor of their club and team.

Since the turn of the 21st century, there have been signs of a resurgence in domestic football, as they have learned to assemble teams on the Internet to discuss tactics to fight rival societies and routes to their destinations, which has left the police on guard. Don was not a saint who loved all things in the world, and he was powerless to stop these young men with their brains full of muscles and alcohol mixtures. He just hoped that a tragedy like Gavin's would not happen to him again, and last time he regretted not stopping that brawl in time. Now he doesn't allow anyone to hurt his friends anymore, and everyone in his life.

Coming back from his contemplation, Don suddenly noticed that what he saw outside the window hadn't changed in a while, and he turned his head strangely to look ahead, and then to the back.

The car stopped, and there were cars all around that stopped like them.

"Des, what's going on?" He asked Walker in front.

Walker shrugged back at him, "I didn't know, we're stuck here." ”

Donn stood up and looked inside the carriage, the players didn't seem to notice anything unusual, they were all busy with their own business. Listen to music, close your eyes, make phone calls, or chat with your teammates.

So he sat down again. He didn't know what was going on in front of him, in short, there was a traffic jam, and now there was nothing he could do but wait patiently. Hopefully, it's only temporary, just don't delay the start of the game for a while.

He looked back out the window, and there was no end in sight in front of the traffic, and no end in sight behind him. There were cars in front of him, left and right, and even if he wanted the driver to turn the car out, he couldn't find another way out.

The restless car horns outside the car sounded more and more frequently, and Don was disturbed by these sharp and shrill sounds. A sense of foreboding suddenly floated in his heart, like the dark clouds in the sky, accumulating more and more.

When the driver of the bus couldn't help but press the horn irritably, the players in the bus gradually began to notice the situation outside. Some people stood up and looked around, some took off their headphones and pointed out the window to talk to others, and some people opened their eyes from a nap and looked strangely at the stagnant traffic outside the window. Don noticed a small tickle in the carriage, he looked back, then waved his hand down, and said loudly, "Sit down and get on with your business!" ”

Silence returned to the carriage, but the puzzled expressions on the players' faces could not be erased.

And the dark clouds in his own heart were gradually gathering because of the continuous car horns outside, and the traffic that showed no signs of moving forward.

He looked down at his watch, and it was half past two.

The kick-off time of the game is three o'clock sharp!

At that moment, Walker's cell phone and Bruce's cell phone rang at the same time.

Walker looked at the number, said to Donn, "It was the coaching staff who brought the ......" and pressed the answer button.

Bruce also looked down at the number, and said apologetically to Donne, "It's my colleague......" and then he got up and walked to the front of the car to answer the phone.

"Hello? You've all arrived...... We? We're still on the road......" Walker looked up at the motionless street scene outside the car window. "There was a traffic jam...... It's serious! Yes, how? They're all starting to warm up? His voice grew anxious as he looked at Don.

Donn looked down at his watch again, and a minute had passed, and there were only twenty-nine minutes left before the game began!

What a fucking damn thing! He cursed in his heart.

On the other side, at the front of the car, Bruce's voice changed from small to loud: "...... Yes yes, sorry Mr. Robson, I slept ...... Am I now? I'm in a car with the Forest team now, and I took their team car...... No, I think we're stuck in traffic. What the? Car accident!? Bruce couldn't help but scream, and then he turned his head to look at Don apologetically, hoping he wasn't angry. Are you sure, Mr. Robson? Are you sure...... Uh, I don't know if I can ...... more" He looked at the players who were all on their feet and didn't continue.

The players in the car could no longer be quiet at this time, and they stood up in a little panic, looked around, and whispered.

Don no longer asked them to be quiet, and in fact he couldn't ask for that. He turned his head to look out the window, and the sound of a horn in his ears was even more restless. He forced himself to calm down in this environment. At this time, everyone in the team turned their eyes to themselves, hoping that it was all on themselves, he was the head coach of the team, and he was the person that everyone would choose to trust in an emergency, and he must not show the slightest panic.

Suddenly, he saw a building on the street ahead, resembling an underground pedestrian tunnel entrance.

He got up from his seat and walked over to the driver. "How far are we from the pitch?" ”

"About five miles, sir." The driver looked at the map displayed by the GPS satellite locator on the car and replied.

Don nodded: "Please open the car door!" ”

Then he turned to the overwhelmed players in the car and said, "Good news, guys: you don't have to warm up on the pitch later." He pointed to the open door, "There's bad news, too: leave all the bits and pieces you have on you and run them all down for me!" Let's take the subway! ”

(To be continued)