When the game was over, Chelsea’s fans were in an okay mood. The players thanked the fans for their support on the field. They were getting closer and closer to the league title. There were only rounds thirty-six, thirty-seven, and thirty-eight left league; Chelsea was now ahead of Arsenal, which was short a game, by eleven points. They had essentially locked in the league title. If Abramovich wanted to, he could have handed out the championship bonuses to his players that evening.
Only the team manager, Mourinho, was sullen. He pursed his lips and left without even shaking hands with Twain. Twain looked at Mourinho’s back and smiled mischievously. He was not annoyed at Mourinho’s ungraciousness because he could fully understand the Portuguese man’s mood. He had lost to a person whom he did not want to lose to; a draw was considered a loss for Mourinho. If he had been able to come up with a smile and shake hands with him, he would not have been Mourinho.
The Chelsea players were happy because they had the league championship title in the bag. This would be the second Premier League title in the history for the Chelsea Football Club and also the first in fifty years.
Twain was in a good mood because the Forest team, which had played one more game, had already widened its gap with Everton by four points. Even if Everton unexpectedly beat Arsenal in the away game, they would still be one point behind the Forest team. Provided that the Forest team did not make any mistakes in the next three rounds, they would be eligible for the Champions League next season.
He knew clearly that ever since Everton had tied the game with Manchester City in the away game, the goal that Everton had worked hard to hold on to the entire season had begun to crumble. Moyes always used the Champions League qualification to encourage his men. Now that they were overtaken by the Forest team, suddenly there was a sense of exhaustion. What had they gotten after trying so hard? Nothing.
No team was afraid of conceding a goal. They feared to feel at a loss after the loss of their target. A minor version of it would be a game, but it could be as major as a season. A team must have a goal so that the coaching team and players could have a direction for their efforts. And Everton’s current situation was that they were gradually losing their goal.
What was the point of striving so hard to continue their fight when the qualification for the Champions League had been granted to others?
※※※
On April 30, Nottingham Forest challenged Arsenal in an away game. Although the Premier League title was almost certainly Chelsea’s, Arsenal had not given up their quest for victory in the tournament because they were now only four points ahead of Manchester United, who was in third place. Wenger did not feel secure with only a four-point gap in the final three rounds.
He wanted to win, and Twain did not want to lose.
However, after continuous battles with many strong teams and a tight schedule on top of that, the Forest team was finally overcome and lost by 0:2 to Arsenal in the away game. Initially, they only conceded one goal; but in the last moments of the game, the Forest players were sluggish. Only Wood could still run, but he could not do much on his own. Arsenal seized the chance due to the Forest players’ exhaustion. At the 90th minute, the Brazilian midfielder Edu Gaspar scored a goal that completely sealed their victory.
After the game, Wenger was in good spirits. He shook Twain’s hand and chatted with him for a few moments. This time, he asked about Mikel Arteta and Ribéry. Twain knew what the Frenchman had in mind.
“Arsène, would you like me to repeat my answer for the Chelsea Football Club?” Twain was referring to his response to the rumor that Chelsea wanted to buy Wood.
Wenger knew, and he smiled. “Well, I admire your judgment. But since you’re not willing to sell to Arsenal, don’t sell to Manchester United either.”
Upon hearing the Frenchman, Twain burst into laughter. Wenger said goodbye to him while he laughed and turned to leave.
“I won’t sell to anyone,” he said in his heart after laughing.
Next to him, Kerslake’s attention was caught by Twain’s laughter. He asked in puzzlement, “Are you still so happy even though we lost?”
Twain smiled and nodded. “You should try it too. Smile.”
Kerslake forced a smile but did not mean to laugh.
“There are still two rounds left in the league, and we’ve lost. We still have no idea about the outcome of the Everton game. They started half a match later than us. At this point, there’s more need for us to smile, not to put pressure on the players. They’ve done very well. They won against Manchester United and Liverpool and tied with Chelsea. It’s ok to lose one game. It’s just a matter of adjusting our mindsets. I think the players are in good spirits, so let’s not scare them with a straight face.”
After he heard Twain’s explanation, Kerslake smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
On the bus from London back to Nottingham, Twain thought about asking the driver to turn on the radio and tune into the channel that was broadcasting the Everton game so that everyone could listen. He knew that the players were also concerned about that game.
When they heard the game, it was already the second half. When the commentator reported the score, everyone cheered inside the bus. Everton was trailing behind Fulham by 0:2.
In the 76th minute, the Fulham’s main midfielder, Papa Bouba Diop, was sent off by a red card; the Forest players were worried that Everton, with its advantage in numbers, would completely reverse the situation. It was not until the end of the game that Everton, dominant in numbers, showed the slightest intention of trying to equalize the score.
Cheers and whistles rang inside the bus. They knew that this score meant that the Forest team now maintained a four-point advantage over Everton.
Twain turned to look at Kerslake sitting next to him. Like the players, he laughed happily.
“Tony! Do you know how I’m feeling now?” he asked.
Twain nodded, “Of course I know.”
“The UEFA Champions League… Just the thought of it… I can’t control my emotions. Since the Chief, the Forest team hasn’t been able to enter the UEFA Champions League. In the 140-year history of Nottingham Forest, we’re the second Forest team to enter the UEFA Champions League!”
“Hey, David. We aren’t sure if we can enter the Champions League next season. Even if we can be in the Premier League’s top four, we still have to play in the qualifying round and win to qualify so that we can properly enter the Champions League.”
Kerslake interrupted Twain. “I believe you, Tony. I believe you can do it. So what if it’s a qualifying round? Before this season, who would have thought that a newly promoted team could reach this level? The UEFA Europa League’s round 16, fourth in the Premier League, and a UEFA Champions League qualifier! No one thought we could, but we did it.” He clenched his fist and suddenly jumped to his feet. He shouted to the players in the compartment who were still cheering for Fulham. “Boys! Tony is worried that we won’t even pass the UEFA Champions League qualifying round next season!”
The players were stunned at first. Then they whistled and booed their assistant manager. “Come on, coach! Today isn’t April Fool’s Day. Do you really believe that?”
Kerslake was not annoyed at all. He looked down at Twain, chuckling in his seat.
Twain stood up and cleared his voice, “I’ll say, It’s a little early for you boys to be happy. There are still two rounds left in the league. Everton still has three games to play and they’re only four points behind us. All right,” Twain waved his hand. “Don’t give Everton a chance!”