Chapter 280: A New Contract, A New Player Part 1
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
While Tony Twain was still worrying about whether Wood would be able to find an agent whom he could be satisfied with, a man who called himself "George Wood's agent" appeared in front of him.
"Ah, Sir. Are you here to observe our training?" Twain again encountered the middle-aged man who was in close pursuit of George Wood at the gate of the training base. He looked down at his watch. "There's still quite a while before training starts, you've come too early. Or are you still getting ideas about George Wood?"
The tall man standing in front of him was indeed Billy Woox. He smilingly (yes, Twain was not mistaken, this man, who used to look at him with a frown, was smiling at him right now) said to Twain, "I'm sorry, neither is the case., Mr. Twain. You've guessed wrong."
"Oh?" Twain looked at the man. He could not understand why he was being so amiable with him.
"I came to discuss the new contract with you, Mr. Twain."
Twain cocked his ear to the side, thinking that he had heard wrong. "What did you say?"
"My apologies, I wasn't clear. I'll say it again: I would like to talk to you about the new contract between George Wood and Nottingham Forest, which is quite different from the one you signed a year ago. A new contract," Woox said solemnly, his smile gone.
"It's still three months away from April 1..." Twain thought that the man must be pulling his leg, and he did not want to waste his time at the gate with a delusional basket case. He turned to walk away.
He heard the sound of flapping paper behind him. "Mr. Twain, I think you might be interested to see this."
Twain admitted he was curious, so he stopped and turned around to see a piece of paper in the other man's hand, gently flapping in the morning breeze. He could not see it clearly. "What is it?"
"A copy of the contract signed between George Wood and myself. From now on, I am his only agent, in charge of all of his matters, including negotiations with the football club to improve the terms of his original contract." Woox self-importantly held the piece of paper, as though he were a Scotland Yard policeman showing his credentials.
Twain snatched the paper away in a flash and looked at it carefully. It was indeed an agent contract, and the signature below was undeniably Wood's handwriting and, of course, his fingerprint.
The contract clearly defined the role of this middle-aged man. Billy Woox and George Wood's relationship was one of a professional football agent and a professional football player. It also stipulated the power that Woox had as Wood's agent. It almost covered all aspects, from the inside to the outside of the field. He could not only act in charge of his finances; Woox could even be said to be Wood's advisor!
Twain shifted his gaze from the paper to Woox's face. His smile had returned, but he no longer concealed his smugness.
Tang En lowered his head and swore under his breath. How did it come to this?
I told George Wood to look for a trustworthy agent. I didn't ask him to find this man! Isn't this… Isn't this going against me?
Wait a minute!
He suddenly thought of something.
"Well... Mr. Woox, I remember you were a former showbiz agent, right?"
Woox certainly knew why Twain was asking this. In order to let him completely acquiesce to this, Woox took out his license from his bag. "The English Football Association recently issued me a professional football agent license. I'm a football agent now."
Twain took it and scrutinized it, but he could not find any fault with it. It was indeed issued by the FA, but it noted that Billy Woox had not been accredited by FIFA, which would have meant that he was qualified to act as the player's intermediary for the international transfers.
"You're just in England..."
"Of course. I've just become a football agent. I haven't had time to submit my information to FIFA. But that doesn't mean I can't be Wood's agent." Woox shrugged.
"But you don't have any prior experience as a sports agent."
Woox grinned. He could tell from that remark that Twain was stubbornly resisting. "As for how I became a football agent, that's not the point here. The important point is, I'm Wood's agent now, and there's nothing wrong with my credentials."
Twain wordlessly looked at the certificate that was stamped with the official seal of the Football Association.
A hand reached out in front of his eyes.
"If you don't mind, you'll give it back to me now, thank you."
Twain brusquely smacked the certificate into Woox's hands. He did not know what deception Woox had used to gain George and Sophia's trust. However, the facts, laid in front of him, could not be changed now.
When he saw that Twain was speechless, Woox revealed a triumphant smile. "Do you need me to repeat that, Mr. Twain? I came to see you today on behalf of George Wood and-"
Twain waved his hand to interrupt. "I get it, but not today. We'll make an appointment for another time."
Today really was not a good day. Twain's mind was a mess. It was impossible to discuss the contract with this shrewd man. First, he needed to calm himself down. Then, he needed to find Wood to understand the ins and outs of the matter. After that, he could deliberate on how to discuss Wood's new contract with Woox.
"Of course, I respect your decision. I have your number. In that case, we'll talk about it another day. I'll be in touch, Mr. Twain."
Twain grunted and turned to walk towards Field 1 on the training ground. He could not wait to see George Wood now to ask him, What the f**k is going on here?
※※※
Soon, Twain saw George Wood on the training ground. He looked the same as usual, and Twain called him to his side.
"George, have you found a new agent already?"
Wood nodded.
"Well... Can you tell me how you went about it?" Twain wanted to know how that man had become Wood's agent.
Therefore, Wood faithfully recounted what had happened the previous night.
When Twain heard his explanation, he suddenly felt astonished of "how is it so coincidental that whatever I said, he said the same."
Out of consideration for Wood, he had said those things to let Wood seriously look for an agent. He had not expected that that kind of "Mr. Five Percent" would also consider the perspective of the players, or say it so beautifully from the point of view that Wood cared about the most. But he still wanted to ask, "I think those things can be done by any agent. Why did you choose him?"
"He came to my house, and I thought he put it so well, so I signed it." Wood's deliberation was very simple on the matter. Since everyone is the same, then why should I call an agent whom I haven't even met? Meanwhile, this person in front of my eyes can be my agent. It might as well be him.
Wood did not know about the matter between Woox and Twain. Obviously, he did not know that Twain was dismayed that he had chosen Woox.
"What's the matter?"
Twain shook his head. "No, nothing. You can go for your training."
Wood turned and ran back to the training ground. Alone, Twain lowered his head and rubbed his temples. It looked like he would have to deal with that unpleasant guy for a long time to come.
※※※
In the days leading up to the 24th round of the league, Twain did not receive a call from Billy Woox. It seemed like the man knew that Twain was in a bad mood now.
Twain really was in a bad mood. Ever since he had found out that Woox was Wood's agent, questions that he had never worried about before had come to the surface. Would that agent be able to manipulate George Wood like a puppet? Would he alienate Twain?
Most important of all, would George Wood leave him someday?
The player that he had personally cultivated, breaking away from him and leaving to transfer to other teams… This was not just alarmist talk. Before his marriage, Beckham and Ferguson were like father and son. And after? The two men almost turned against each other.
Twain did not want things to go that way with Wood. However, now that there was such an antagonistic agent, the future was uncertain.
He was a territorial person. He liked the feeling of being in control. But the truth was that not everything in the world could go as he wished.
On January 22, Nottingham Forest challenged Norwich City in an away match. The league's sixth ranking team played against the second lowest ranked team. Unsurprisingly, the Forest team won 2:0 in a clean and decisive game.
The arrival of Edwin van der Sar had greatly reduced the Forest team's number of concessions. He was far better than Darren Ward in terms of both experience and skill. Twain was very glad that he had made a quick move while Manchester United was still wavering; otherwise, he would have missed a goalkeeper of such high caliber. He did not know what would have happened to the Forest team in the second half of the season.
Unquestionably, they still played well in this game and George Wood was as steady as ever. His performance was no different from that of any previous game. Nonetheless, it was not the same in Twain's view.
He knew that after this game, he was going to receive a call from Billy Woox.
As expected, when Twain returned to Nottingham the next day, his cell phone rang.