The successful signing of Mikel Arteta not only boosted the strength of Forest team in the midfield; it also had an unintentional side effect: Billy Woox’s anxiety.
After turning down his demands for an increase in George Wood’s salary, Forest rapidly brought in another midfielder who played the same position. It did not take much to make the connection.
Early morning on the day after, Tang En’s phone rang. A look at the incoming number told him that it was Billy Woox calling. Tang En chuckled to himself. He knew exactly why this person was in such a hurry to deal with the matter of increasing Wood’s salary. Clearly, it was because the two had just signed the agent contract and Woox hoped to produce some results to prove his capability.
Of course, there was also little need to question his immense enthusiasm in changing the treatment clauses for a player under his charge. Tang En doubted he was sincerely doing it for Wood’s good. In truth, the income of the agent was completely dependent on the players under him. FIFA-approved agents were only allowed to draw up to five percent of the total income generated by the footballer (this included income from salary, brand endorsement charges, fees from portrait rights, etc.), as well as 10 percent of the player’s transfer fee.
Wood’s current weekly salary was only 2,800 pounds. Five percent of that was 140 pounds. Furthermore, other than George Wood’s weekly salary as a consistent stream of income, he had no other sources. In other words, as Wood’s agent, Billy Woox could only receive up to 140 pounds of remuneration per week. That was indeed a little too shabby…
Tang En waited for four rings before picking up the call. He grumbled, sounding purposefully half-asleep. “I hope you know what time it is, Mr. Woox…”
“I’m very sorry, Mr. Tony. I didn’t think that you wouldn’t be up by now.” His tone of voice was as caustic as ever without a shred of remorse.
Tang En had wanted to tease his opponent but was unexpectedly made fun of. With a cough, his voice returned to normal. “What’s the matter, Mr. Woox?”
“Ah, of course. I hope we can begin a re-negotiation of George Wood’s terms of contract.”
Tang En interrupted him. “Is it still a weekly salary of 40 thousand?”
If it was still 40 thousand, there was no need for a discussion. He would put down the phone and have breakfast, continuing to coolly deal with this.
Naturally, Tang En understood that Wood’s salary at the moment was considered to be very little. However, he needed the other man to make an offer that was acceptable, and not one that was overly exorbitant. In other words, what he needed was a graceful retreat. Unfortunately, the Woox’s personality made him think too highly of himself. His excessive demand of “40 thousand per week” at a go discomforted Tang En enormously.
“If the club feels that it’s not a reasonable number, we can continue discussing.” Since Woox made a clear indication of taking a step back, Tang En followed his cue.
“Very well, Mr. Woox. Please come down to my office at 3:30 this afternoon. Let’s speak face-to-face.”
※※※
Currently, Forest was undergoing double the load of their usual training. They were preparing for the impending fourth round of the English FA Cup. They would be welcoming a strong foe on their home grounds, a team they had won not long ago, but still could not let their guard down against – Manchester United.
The afternoon training ended very early; it ended exactly at the time of Tang En’s appointment with Woox, at three-thirty.
Tang En stood within the halls of Building One, hidden in the shadows of the wall. He saw Billy Woox and George Wood discussing something as they walked in from the Training Grounds. The two of them had only just signed the agent contract, but they looked as if they had known each other for a long time.
Tang En pursed his lips and turned to walk back to his office.
Compared to the manager, the agent obviously had a closer, more intimate relationship with Wood. In the past, Tang En could still frequently chat with Wood. Now that there was Woox, the interactions between the two of them seemed to have reduced… Without Woox, if Wood was unhappy with his current income, he would have walked up directly to Tang En, telling him “I want a raise.”
But now, Wood said nothing about what he thought of his own pay. Instead, he handed everything over to Woox to manage. Even if this little bit of pay was no big deal, what about the future? In the future, they still needed to discuss many issues. Would their discussions all be done through this overly calculative agent?
Tang En suddenly felt that his prior encouragements to Wood to find an agent were silly. Now that Wood had found one, Tang En only felt upset.
As he stared out the window at the desolate training grounds in a daze, a knock sounded from behind him.
“Enter.” Tang En turned and calmly watched Billy Woox enter the room. Compared with his own untamed appearance, the man before him seemed to be ever so meticulous. Tang En had never seen Woox with a single strand of hair out of place, or a wrinkle in his shirt or pants.
What a man of detail.
Tang En made such an appraisal of Woox in his heart.
“Please sit, Mr. Woox.” Tang En indicated to the sofa in front of his desk.
A knock came again at the door just as Woox took his seat. Miss Barbara Lucy walked in holding a steaming cup of black tea and gently placed it before him. Woox thanked her.
After doing so, Miss Barbara left the room. Tang En and Woox then began their discussion.
“Mr. Woox, let’s begin the discussion immediately. I don’t like to make small talk.”
Woox nodded in reply. “Me too, Mr. Tony.”
“Let me first say this. The previous demand you made for a weekly salary of 40 thousand pounds is completely impossible. The highest-paid player on Nottingham Forest receives that amount. It’s impossible for George Wood to attain the same pay as they do.”
“Why not? As far as I know, Mr. Twain, George is not any less effective than Edwin van der Sar or Viduka.”
Tang En looked at Woox. “Let me ask you a question, Mr. Woox. How much do you know about football?”
“Not much,” Woox answered honestly.
“Do you watch at least a match every weekend?”
Billy Woox shook his head.
“In other words, in the world of football, I have a greater right to speak.” Tang En laughed. “To give a young defender who has not even played for two years a weekly salary of 40 thousand pounds; what do you think the other players in the team would think? You can look up your own information. Look and see for yourself if you can find any such case in the football scene.”
Billy Woox fell silent as if seriously considering what Tang En was saying.
Tang En knew that a new contract was well overdue. Wood’s current salary was one of the lowest on the team, yet his contributions were near the top. There would inevitably be problems if the input and output were unbalanced. He could not possibly expect someone to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. It was no use to have even better relations with Wood and his mother. Giving Wood a higher remuneration was also showing him due respect.
Sometimes, everyone needed to take a step back. No matter how much he hated this man, he was Wood’s agent. In the future, they would still need to cooperate in many ways; it would not be beneficial for them to have a soured relationship. To a very large degree, agents could influence the thoughts of their players. Wouldn’t he be driving Wood away if he went against his agent?
Tang En coughed and said, “I know that George’s current salary is low. I also planned on signing a new contract with him.” He took out a drafted contract from his drawer and passed it to Billy.
Woox perused it. While doing so, he made no sound or change in his expression, making it impossible for Tang En to guess at his thoughts about it.
He finally looked up at Tang En and said, “A weekly salary of 10 thousand?”
“Is there a problem?”
“I just think if the Forest Club truly values George as a premium youth player to groom, there should be a sufficient show of sincerity.”
“Are you saying that that’s too low?” Tang En took back the contract and pointed to the terms, saying, “In the whole of England, there are no more than five clubs who would be willing to give a youth, who has represented the First Team for only a season, a weekly salary of 10 thousand pounds. Forest is not the richest club around. I hope you understand that, Mr. Woox.”
“Of course, I understand. But I don’t think that has anything to do with my demands. I think the Forest team should give us more confidence in your offer to retain talents. To be honest, I think this number is patronizing. According to what I know, the ones who have this pay on Forest are not in the minority. This is slightly below the average pay. And George Wood’s function is most definitely not beneath average.”
Tang En gritted his teeth. This man was so difficult to deal with!
“Furthermore, I think an eight-year contract is unreasonable. A contract of such length will restrict the freedom of the player. If I bring this up to FIFA, the Forest team will be the one deemed unreasonable.”
Clearly, Woox had come prepared this time. Tang En acknowledged that their original contract of eight years with Wood made use of loopholes. Their aim was to make Wood stay with Forest for a longer period at a smaller price. When Wood had had no manager, no one had raised such queries. Wood could continue playing happily while Tang En enjoyed the victories. But after the addition of such a brilliant manager next to Wood, Tang En’s troubles started increasing.
“Of course, I’m here to negotiate with you, Mr. Tony. There are some things we don’t have to let others know. I can accept a five-year-contract, but certainly not one for eight years.”
Tang En leaned forward on his desk and did not reply, but only looked at Woox, who spoke plainly and directly. Tang En waited for him to finish what he had to say.