The New Captain of the Three Lions
The New Captain of the Three Lions
On the other hand, the media outlets associated with Stamford Bridge were much more concerned about whether their player, John Terry, would be able to retain his captaincy on the England national team.
Usually, every new national team manager would announce who the captain for the team was after all the national team players had gathered. Some managers would choose to go with the player who was named captain in the previous year as a way of stabilizing the team, but there were quite a few managers who had selected another player whom they thought are more suitable or whom they had a preference for as the new captain of the team.
After Beckham left the national team, Terry was named captain of the England national team, and Gerrard was named as the vice-captain.
The media outlets associated with Liverpool were also concerned about who would end up with the captain's armband. They hoped that Twain would promote Gerrard from vice-captain to captain.
Similarly, the media outlets associated with Nottingham Forest were also crying for Twain to pick George Wood as the captain.
However, George Wood paled in comparison to both Terry and Gerrard in terms of experience and influence. Most of the media outlets believed that the captaincy and vice-captaincy should still be given to both Terry and Gerrard respectively. They felt that Twain should not change the captain and vice-captain of the national team if he wanted to maintain stability in the team.
Twain was cautious with his selection of the captain. Terry and Gerrard were both players who were quite influential in England's footballing scene, and he could stir up chaos if he was not careful.
He decided to discuss the issue with both Terry and Gerrard.
Both players expressed their desire to either continue being the captain or to become the captain of the team. They both felt that it would be a great honor to be able to wear the captain's armband on their sleeves.
Twain understood where they were coming from, but he could not agree with their thoughts.
He had wanted to rebuild the entire England national team after being appointed as the new manager. This meant that every single aspect related to the old England national team had to be discarded, and this included the previous captain and vice-captain of the team.
In simpler words, Twain wanted a complete overhaul of the England national team.
Changing the captain would be the first necessary step for Twain to establish a new system within the team.
He conveyed his thoughts to the two senior players and told them bluntly that he found the two of them to be slightly old. He wanted a captain who could remain captain of the team for a long time.
Terry and Gerrard immediately understood what the new manager was intent on doing.
They were upset to be stripped of their captain armbands, but the manager had always been regarded as the biggest and most influential person in every single England football team. Nobody dared to defy the manager's words, and things were not different on the national team either. In fact, it was more common to see scenes of players congregating around their managers to go against the Football Association in England.
If this had been any other country however, Twain's actions would have led to him being fired from the job. It did not matter how good his track record as a football manager was. He would never have been given the job as the manager of the national football team.
Terry and Gerrard were both senior players of the national team. Twain hoped that the two of them would be able to act as role models to the other players and help to stabilize the team as a whole.
What could either Terry or Gerrard do besides to agree to Twain's arrangement after hearing what he had to say? They could not possibly leave the national team in a fit of rage.
The two of them did not have many years left to play for the national team, and neither of them wished to leave the team without accomplishing anything. Tony Twain was a man who had the capability to lead his team to become champions. They both hoped that they could win something under the guidance of a manager who seemed to have an affinity for trophies, given how England had failed to attain a single trophy for many years.
Tony Twain was a man who managed to achieve 12 trophies in 11 years. He had the right to be pushy.
Both Terry and Gerrard agreed to the manager's arrangement.
Twain heaved a sigh of relief at their responses. The biggest obstacle was out of his way now.
He would not even have gone through all this trouble if it hadn't been for the fact that he had to maintain stability within the team.
He did not care about what he had to say to the media regarding the change of captains. All he cared about was that the players understood the rationale behind his decision.
※※※
The England national team players came together for the very first time during the afternoon practice session.
Twain was going to announce the new captain and vice-captain of the team before training commenced.
The expressions on both Terry and Gerrard's face were off. Their eyes kept swimming, and they evaded eye contact with their teammates. The two already knew that they were going to be stripped of their captaincy.
George Wood, who knew nothing about Tony's decision to announce the new captain, got called over by the assistant manager after finishing his warm-ups. He then went over to Twain who gave a pep talk before the training session began.
It was a sunny afternoon. Twain appeared before the players with his Ray-Ban sunglasses on.
"Good afternoon, lads. I hope you all slept well yesterday because our practice session today is going to be tough." Twain raised his hand to wave at everyone before he walked into the middle of the crowd.
"I'm going to announce the captain and vice-captain of the team this year before the practice session begins, just like how things were done in the previous years."
The Chelsea players all turned their heads to look at Terry, while the Liverpool players looked at Gerrard. Similarly, the Forest players all turned to look at Wood.
The players from other football clubs did not show any particular interest in who the captain was going to be. It was not like they would get picked to become the captain anyway.
They all believed that Terry, Gerrard, and Wood were the most qualified to become the captain of the team. Terry had been the captain of the England national team ever since 2008. His performances over the past eight years had not gone unnoticed by his teammates. Gerrard had always been the vice-captain of the team, and he would wear the captain's armband whenever Terry was not playing. He was regarded as a footballer who possessed the best leadership skills among all the England footballers. The media outlets associated with Liverpool had always believed that he should have been named the captain of the national team over Terry. As for George Wood, he had been the most successful captain in England for the past few years. He was widely regarded as the toughest footballer in England, and he was a role model to all other England footballers.
However, George Wood had something that would give him an edge over the other two players. It was age. He was only 28 years old this year. He was much younger than the other two players and was in his prime.
Twain observed how the players reacted to his words. They behaved just as he had expected them to.
If he had not discussed this matter with both Terry and Gerrard earlier, then it would have been a risk to announce his new captains, and he would have had to bear the possible consequences of his announcement. But, Twain had nothing to fear now because he knew that the two players were behind his decision.
"George Wood and John Terry would become the captain and vice-captain respectively," Twain announced his captains in a straightforward and clear manner.
A small commotion broke out within the team. The Liverpool players clearly looked crestfallen, whereas the Chelsea players looked surprised because their captain had been demoted to vice-captain.
The Nottingham Forest players were the first to applaud Wood for becoming the captain of the team.
Everyone else also began applauding to congratulate both George Wood and John Terry on their captaincy shortly after, regardless of how they felt at the moment.
Gerrard was a little despondent after hearing Twain's announcement because he had not even managed to retain his vice-captaincy. However, it was to be expected, given how he was the oldest of the three. He was already 34 years old, whereas Terry was only going to turn 34 at the end of the year. Center-backs are always able to play football for a longer time as compared to midfielders. It did not matter if the center-backs were old and unable to run as consistently any longer. Managers would still play them because they wanted to rely on their experience. Take Fabio Cannavaro for example. How long did he play football in Italy? He was still able to represent the Italian national football team in the Africa World Cup despite being 37 years of age! In contrast, it was very difficult to even find a midfielder aged 35 or above who would still be picked for football teams.
Gerrard had been trying his best to stay in shape and maintain his fitness levels because he did not want to be kicked out of the national team too quickly. He was well aware that there were numerous talented footballers chasing after his position in the national team, and George Wood was one of them.
Gerrard was not jealous of the fact that Wood got the captain's armband instead of him. The two had developed a special sense of respect for each other having battled each other numerous times in the Premier League for the past few years. Wood was definitely a talented player worthy of the armband.
The only player who was shocked by Twain's announcement was Wood. The expression on his face visibly changed, which was a rare occurrence. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was agape. He stared at Twain in disbelief.
Twain grinned at Wood. It was the first time that he was seeing a genuine display of emotions from Wood, and he felt happy to be able to witness it.
"George," he called Wood's name and signaled for him to walk forward to accept his captain's armband.
Wood walked forward slowly. He was still reeling in shock. The Forest players patted him on the back and whistled to cheer for him.
Twain pulled Wood over to his side, then turned to speak to the other players. "I have to explain to everyone why I chose Wood as the captain. During the previous summer transfer window, rumors of George Wood's transfer were widespread throughout the whole of England. Forest was put into a difficult situation because their best player was being enticed by numerous big clubs. But, in the end, George chose to stay with Forest, and he used his actions to prove that loyalty still exists in modern football."
Twain's voice was calm when he spoke about matters involving Nottingham Forest. It was as though he was talking about something that had nothing to do with him.
"He is a player who has been the captain of Nottingham Forest for the past seven years. I believe that he has the capacity and the qualifications to become the captain of the England national team. I'd like to thank Terry and Gerrard for all that they've done over the past few years, and I'd also like to thank them for being understanding." Twain looked at Terry and Gerrard. The Chelsea and Liverpool players understood through his gaze that he had already settled things with both Terry and Gerrard previously.
Both Terry and Gerrard forced a smile. They both lost the captain's armband, but what could they do about it? Wood was the one who spent the most time with Twain among them, and Twain thought highly of Wood. Also, many people described Tony Twain as George Wood's father. Now that the father had become the manager of the national team, how could the son not get a bit of preferential treatment?
In truth, Twain's action of naming Wood as the captain only piled pressure onto Wood's shoulders. Everyone knew that the two of them were close, even though there might have been reports of tension between them recently. Thus, everyone would naturally speculate that Wood was only able to become the captain of the England national team because he was close to Twain, and Twain could not do anything to stop any of those speculations.
However, Twain believed in Wood's ability to handle stress. After all, the stress that he had gone through as the captain of the Forest team was just as immense as the stress that would ride on his shoulders from here on out as the captain of the England national team. Additionally, Wood was nicknamed 'St. George' by many of the British football fans, and Twain believed that all these different factors would make Wood a good captain for the team.
Twain did not deny that he was thinking of forming a new England national team with Wood as the core. Letting Wood become the new captain of the team was only the first step of his plan, which he would continue implementing in the matches to come.
It was time for a complete overhaul of the England national team. Many of the players in the current England national team would be slowly kicked out and replaced by new talent.
Twain wanted to build an England national team that belonged solely to him. He was going to get rid of any marks that had been left behind by others on his team, and he was also going to get the team to listen to his every word and to play for him.
All these things needed to happen first before he could be confident in the team's ability to become champions of the UEFA European Championship.
After he finished explaining his rationale to the other players, Twain personally put the captain's armband onto Wood's left sleeve. He then patted Wood's left arm when he was done.
"I must remind you of one thing, George. This armband is not without an expiration date. I will not hesitate to strip you of this the moment your performance falls short of my expectations or when you are not able to fulfill your role as the captain of the team." Twain pointed at the armband.
Wood did not respond to his words.
"Everyone, get started with your training!"
Twain retreated to the side and allowed the assistant managers and coaches to get started with the training session.
Wood's Forest teammates went up to congratulate him, but his response to their words was rather flat. Both Terry and Gerrard also went up to congratulate him, and so everyone else in the national team followed suit and walked up to pat Wood either on the shoulder or his head. Everyone seemed to be getting along well with one another.
Twain knew that Wood's captaincy was a challenge both for Wood and for himself.
Wood was able to cement his position as the captain of the Forest team due to Albertini's teachings and Twain's favor. The way in which he spoke through his actions rather than words had endeared him to his Forest teammates. They all came to accept him as their captain wholeheartedly after interacting with him for a long time.
However, things were different now that he was the captain of the England national team. Most of the players on the national team were players who came from different football clubs, and many of them would not have interacted with Wood for a long time previously, thus they would not be able to accept him as their captain straight away.
Not only that, the impression that most players had of Wood was that he was reticent and did not fit well into the group. Given how Twain had suddenly forced the title of captain onto someone like him whom the others did not have a very good impression of, Wood had to perform even better than he had in the past so as to prove that he was worthy of his position as the captain.
Wood did not appear to be as happy at becoming the captain as others had expected him to be. He accepted the words of congratulations from his teammates with a stoic expression on his face the whole time.
He did not seem to be in high spirits during training either.
However, Twain noticed something during training. Wood was more serious than any other player towards training, and he also put in the most hard work during each and every training segment as well. In fact, he performed even better than he had on the Forest team.
The corner of Twain's mouth curved up at the sight.
※※※
After the afternoon training session concluded, Twain stood in the middle of everyone and analyzed the pros and cons that he had observed during the session. He commended a few players and also criticized a few.
Thereafter, everyone but Wood was dismissed.
This seemed like a normal gesture from the manager. The new manager had to communicate with the new captain so as to better manage the team.
However, Wood knew why Twain had asked him to stay behind. He just knew based on instinct.
The Colney Training Center was basked in the orange glow of the setting sun after everyone left the premises. The trees in the distance swayed gently in the breeze, and their movements seemed to have carried a sense of coolness into the training center. The weather felt less hot than it had in the afternoon as a result.
The cool weather seemed to make people feel much more relaxed and comfortable.
The training center was very quiet. Only the chirping sounds of birds in the distant forest could be picked up.
Wood stood on the pitch and Twain stood at the sidelines. Approximately 20 meters separated the two of them from each other.
Twain took one step forward.
Wood took one step back.
Twain thought it was just a coincidence. He stopped in his tracks for a moment before he took one step forward. Then another. And another.
Wood swiftly took one step backward. Then another. And another.
Twain understood what was going on. He stood still, threw out his hands and asked loudly, "What's this? Like charges repelling each other?"
Wood stood wordlessly on the pitch that was bathed in the orange hue of the setting sun.
Twain took several strides forward quickly, and Wood retreated backward quickly.
Twain began running forward, and Wood turned around to flee.
Thereafter, a chase began on the pitch, and it looked just like a hunt that was taking place on the African savanna.
By right, the prey should be in front and the predator should be at the back. But, the scene then was the opposite as the prey chased the predator… The rabbit was panting heavily, whereas the cheetah still had the luxury to look backward here and there to see how far behind the rabbit was.
The two had barely run around half of the pitch when the 46-year-old Twain threw in the towel. He could not continue running anymore. He bent over and pressed both his hands on his knees as he panted heavily.
Wood stopped running when he noticed that Twain had stopped in his tracks. He then stared at Twain from a distance.
Twain suddenly straightened his back. Wood thought he was going to continue the chase, so he turned around and was about to continue running when Twain scolded him angrily, "Stop running for god's sake!"