Chapter 668: Money Versus No Money

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In fact, after the Nottingham Forest team had Beckham, the best money-making place to go was not China, a vast country with a large number of people and seemingly limitless market, but rather a small and narrow country like Japan.

The Japanese’s love and worship of Beckham had already reached the point of no reason. They would crazily pursued anything related to Beckham, and their pursuits were measured by real money. Although China’s market was vast, not many people would really pay for authentic goods due to the impact from the developed piracy industry. There was no such problem in Japan. If they liked Beckham, they would go to a regular store to buy authentic goods. In this way, the economic benefits that Nottingham Forest wanted to see were generated.

Saying this might the Chinese people uncomfortable, but it was indeed like this—Japan was an important money-making destination that many European clubs valued. There was so much money to be made that many people rushed to get there.

Nottingham Forest’s trip to Japan was no different from that in China, with the players as tired as ever. They were only a little more relaxed when they went shopping in Ginza, Tokyo, at night. But to Twain’s delight, there was no such silly organization like the Chinese Football Association here. He did not have to worry about how to play the game.

From their arrival in Tokyo till their departure from Tokyo, Nottingham Forest set off a red Forest craze in Japan for four days. The fans could be seen wearing the red Nottingham Forest jerseys on the streets everywhere.

Evan saw this scene and had to exclaim, “I’m afraid even if Chelsea were here, it would not be able to have that effect.”

“It’s all to David Beckham’s credit.” Allan was aware who the key figure was. He said, “His influence in Japan can only be described as ‘frightening.’”

Allan was right. In Tokyo, Japan, wherever Beckham appeared, the traffic would be jammed. Giant billboards with his head shots were erected at the top of tall buildings, and the goods associated with him were certain to be popular. Businesses did not need to advertise at all. The name “Beckham” was the best publicity.

In China, George Wood’s popularity could still match Beckham’s. However, even if the entire Nottingham Forest team combined, they were still not as popular as Beckham in Japan. Allan was well aware of this, so it was Beckham’s one-man show most of the time in Japan, while Nottingham Forest served as his background.

Here, Tony Twain had become a completely unknown staff member.

Twain would take this situation and joked with George Wood, “Go back and complain to your agent. He has made too little effort in Japan. Look at David!”

George Wood declined to comment on Twain’s joke.

On the last night, Nottingham Forest played against the local J1 League team, FC Tokyo at the Tokyo National Stadium. With two sets of lineups deployed, Nottingham Forest scored two goals in the first and second halves respectively to win 4:1 against FC Tokyo, which was currently ranked eighth in the J1 League.

After the game, the players did not get a good night’s sleep back at the hotel. They had to rush to Narita International Airport to fly directly to Hong Kong that night. Time was so tight that even an extra night of rest could not be squeezed out. They could only nap on the flight to make up for it.

Nottingham Forest was also warmly welcomed upon arrival in Hong Kong. As it was once a British colony, the English Premier League had a very solid base of masses in Hong Kong. Influenced by Hong Kong, the whole of Guangdong was also a loyal fan base of the Premier League. So, when Nottingham Forest was in Ningbo, the Guangdong fans who could not get there due to the distance, flocked to Hong Kong this time to catch a glimpse of the Double Winner.

For three days, not only did they play, Nottingham Forest also had a party with the stars of Hong Kong’s entertainment industry. The stars whom Twain could only previously see on the television were now Beckham’s or Forest fans. This sense of accomplishment made him feel very good.

At that party, he even played a prank on Andy Lau as he held his hand and said, “I like to listen to your songs. I can even sing Forget Love Potion!”

Then he laughed happily inside as he looked at Andy Lau’s intermingled stunned look and happy expression.

At the end of the party, the Hong Kong stars wore Nottingham Forest’s red jerseys and posed for photos with the players. This event not only appeared in the sports media but was also widely watched by the entertainment media. Allan Adams’ global outreach program was perfectly executed here in Hong Kong.

The Nottingham Forest team was known to anyone who loved football or did not care about it at all overnight in Hong Kong.

A game was certainly not forgotten. Nottingham Forest and Hong Kong Football Club played a friendly match in Hong Kong. Two sets of lineups were deployed to satisfy the audience and also to allow as many players as possible to get the opportunity to exercise. The only regret was that the Forest team’s performance in this game was clearly not as good as the first two games. The main lineup looked a little tired and out of form. The two sides ended up with a 3:3 draw, which the media promoted as a happy result.

But was that true?

On the flight to Thailand, Twain’s eyebrows were knitted. The adverse effects of commercial competitions and frequent commercial activities finally emerged. The fitness of the players had reached its limits. Whatever the parties on the Thailand and Malaysia sides had in mind, he had made up his mind to play the next two games with the reserves team and substitutes. His own players must be fully rested. Originally this year, the team’s training time was reduced due to UEFA European Championship. However, they had to travel to East Asia to make money now and the whole team together did not have a systematic physical training. Their performance simply maintained from last season, which was just a continued state. At the end of the day, the Nottingham Forest team’s condition continued from last season and were not in the new season yet.

This worried him a little.

The history and lessons of the predecessors told himself that such commercial games would inevitably affect the team’s performance in the new season. How could he minimize this effect? Twain had a severe headache.

Nottingham Forest was still warmly sought after in Southeast Asia, but there was less commercial activity here and the team could finally train systematically. But the whole summer had been disrupted by the European Championship, commercial games and Olympic Games. What was the use of this small amount of systematic training?

After their narrow victories against the local teams in Thailand and Malaysia, the team finally got on a flight back to the United Kingdom, ending a busy and arduous trip to Asia.

It was busy and hard for the team. But for Allan Adams, it was a very productive summer. Just from five games alone, the Forest team’s income was five million euros, an average of one million euros per game. One must know that when Real Madrid started a new wave of commercial competition spree in Asia since 2003, the appearance fee per game was two million euros. In addition to the “hidden income” from those direct income plus the free accommodation and food transportation provided by the organizers, Nottingham Forest made thirteen million euros in one summer. These thirteen million euros did not include a package of commercial partnerships that, if successful, were expected to generate at least thirty million euros for the Nottingham Forest Football Club over the next six years.

There were also some very long-term investments, such as the proposed construction of a Nottingham Forest football training base in Ningbo, dedicated to recruiting young players from China and nearby countries. The school would use the training materials, standards and programs of the English Professional Football Club to discover and nurture Asian talent. Like the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, the school was completely independent of the Chinese football environment and was closely linked to Nottingham Forest, sharing all the resources of Nottingham Forest. The outstanding young players would have the opportunity to go straight to England for more advanced training and were likely to sign with the Forest team. Then they would be on loan to train in the Forest team’s satellite clubs which certainly included the Chinese clubs.

Ningbo was chosen because of the strong support from the Ningbo municipal government. The city government’s leadership wanted to get rid of the long-standing image of Ningbo as an “economically strong but a weak football city”, so they hit it off with Allan Adams. Building a school here, Nottingham Forest could enjoy a number of preferential policies.

In addition to the new football school, Nottingham Forest planned to try to enter the property sector through building a new stadium in Nottingham. Allan saw China’s vast real estate market and decided to invest in China by starting a real estate company which was sole responsible for investing in the real estate business here.

Nottingham Forest’s licensing rights was also signed after a consultation with Nike. The Wenzhou-based factory had started producing a variety of souvenirs, jerseys, backpacks, scarves, water glasses, lighters, key chains, cup holders, cutlery, tents… Covering almost every aspect of life. The first specialty store would open for business in Shanghai and the second branch would open in Beijing after April. The goods sold here would be much cheaper than the other teams’ souvenir franchises. The Chinese fans did not need to spend half a month’s salary to buy an authentic jersey. Those small items were cheaper and well-made. Even those people who were not Forest fans, could also purchase and used them at home as they were also very practical and looked good. They could also be used as gifts for friends who were fans.

Not only that, Allan Adams was ambitious. The plan he gave Evan Doughty was not as simple as selling a few commemorative items. He wanted to sell more than just the Nottingham Forest brand. He wanted to sell a way of life and culture. From the most authentic English pub, the most quintessential English style, the most laid-back English country atmosphere, to the noble and elegant authentic English afternoon tea, he wanted the name of Nottingham Forest to appear in the lives of any ordinary Chinese.

This was all that he planned, and it sounded incredible. But maybe this was one of the factors of Allan Adams’s success. He always dared to come up with things that ordinary people dared not think of. No European professional football club had ever wanted to develop the Chinese and Asian markets like this…

“The Nottingham Forest team is not the sum of my business plan. It’s just a knock on the door and a key. After opening the door to this market, we can develop in whichever way we want. The team will not need to play in such an important role. In my view, this market is simply a virgin land without any trace of development. There are countless possibilities. It’s simply fantastic…”

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If anyone thought that in two and a half weeks in Asia, besides training the team, Twain’s days were spent participating in commercial activities everywhere and allowing people to take photos with him like a lifelike wax figurine, he would be wrong.

Even in as far afield as Asia, Twain was still keeping an eye on every move in the transfer market. Two players had left the Forest team so far in the new season, but no one had been signed yet. This was clearly not in line with Twain’s plans at the end of last season.

Although Kompany was training to a part-time defensive midfielder, Twain could not guarantee the result since he switched to a position he was not trained for. Therefore, there was still a need to keep looking for George Wood’s replacement—not as a substitute, but the replacement. After he met with several rebuffs in a row, he was interested in Tiago Mendes who was unhappy at Juventus.

Tiago moved to Chelsea from the Portuguese team, Benfica in 2004 and became part of Mourinho’s “Portuguese gang.” He won the Premier League title as a Chelsea player in the 04-05 season. But after only one season, he had to clear his position for Essien’s arrival. He transferred to Lyon in the summer of 2005 for a fee of 6.5 million pounds and helped Lyon win two France Ligue 1 titles in the following two seasons. He then transferred to Serie A’s Juventus.

Judging from this achievement, his career had been brilliant. But his experience at Juventus was a failure. Juventus spent and brought in Tiago for thirteen million euros, making him the chief transfer target for Juventus that summer. But just four months later, the Italian media gave him the title of “the top failed transfer of the season.” Ranieri who was originally bullish on him, also gave him a death sentence.

It was not that Tiago’s strength was not good. It was that he could not adapt to the pace of the Serie A competition and Ranieri’s tactics.

Tiago was an excellent defensive midfielder, but he was better suited to play his part in the triangular pass in the 4-3-3 formation, which meant he should play as a defensive midfielder alone rather than as a center forward parallel in the 4-4-2 formation, as Ranieri did. This could only make him lose his way and lose his position.

Tiago himself said that he always tried to intercept the ball during the games and then handed the football to his teammates. A defensive midfielder’s position leaning to the back was more suitable for him.

Ranieri certainly would not change his overall tactics and formation for Tiago alone. But Tiago’s characteristic was well suited to Twain’s requirements.

In January, there was news of Tiago’s desire for a transfer, but it never came to fruition. Tiago was reluctant to move to a second-tier league. The only option before him now seemed to be to return to Portugal, to Benfica or Porto, so he would be at the heart of European football…and Nottingham Forest came forward in time to save his career.

While Tony Twain’s team was still having a good time in Hong Kong, the people from the Forest team was already in contact with Tiago’s agent. Would Tiago have any objections to joining the UEFA Champions League and Premier League champions? The only problem was that Tiago knew George Wood. He was afraid that he would only sit on the bench with George Wood around. Twain immediately called to personally assure him that in the new season, the Forest team would carry out a large-scale rotation. George Wood was definitely not the immoveable main force in this position. As the Forest team would play more games and the summer preparations were not finished yet, the players’ fitness would certainly not be as vigorous as they were in the previous two seasons.

The manager’s personal assurance dispelled the one last doubt in Tiago’s mind, and he agreed to join Nottingham Forest.

Juventus could not wait to get rid of this useless baggage. With this link, Nottingham Forest could beat down the transfer price. After several rounds of negotiations, Tiago, whom Juventus had originally spent thirteen million euros on, eventually joined Nottingham Forest for six million euros and became the first player to join the Forest team this summer.

In this regard, the player who could jointly serve as the defensive midfielder as George Wood, had been finalized. Kompany certainly would not suspend his training as a defensive midfielder. Every player must know that it was ideal to be able to adapt to multiple positions at the same time to have enough opportunities to play at Nottingham Forest.

This season, Evan had given Twain a transfer budget of thirty million euros and asked him to save as much as possible, with the best result being there would be money left from the twenty-five million euros. A portion of the revenue from the sale of the players would be added to the transfer budget, while the other portion would go directly into the club’s accounts.

Nottingham Forest had now sold Grosso and Sidwell for 15.2 million euros. Adding five million to the transfer budget, six million had been used out of the thirty-five million, and twenty-nine million euros were left. Twain also needed to go after at least one attacking midfielder and two defenders in the transfer market. This amount of money would not accomplish much, so he had to give up the talented players who had been snapped up by the powerhouse teams or the long-time star players and instead poached those “low-profile players” who appeared unknown but had good abilities.

It was tough to be poor. When could Tony Twain realize his dream of snapping up players all over the world by brandishing a checkbook?

When we have the money, we will buy four Kakas! One for the game, one on the bench, one in the stands, one in the stands, and one on loan to a Premier League team to exercise!

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