"They poached my players!" Hydward said.

"Yes, Ward." The messenger Richards' voice was full of exhaustion, and a button was missing from the chest of his beautiful black suit.

Our frontcourt, Tom thought. He took a sip of his wine and said nothing, thinking to himself Sensibile, the new Vera director with a frog face who always liked to sit at the end of the table, wearing an Adidas black training jacket and a pair of gold-trimmed glasses, every decision Ward had made, he nodded yes whether it was right or wrong, Tom had looked at that "ugly face" carefully, remembered how he had pushed Portsmouth to the edge of the cliff, and then said it himself: "Didn't I warn you not to trust me a long time ago!" ”

Members of Ward's coaching staff and transfer department quieted down as Richards detailed what had happened. The hotel hall is large and airy, with only the clock ticking on the wall.

After a long flight, the thought of taking a break in his hotel room was only one night, but Tom was still very excited. Ward ordered the club to conduct a thorough investigation, but the result was still a heavy loss. Moments ago, he was upstairs, lying on a large soft and comfortable bed, but the club's staff rushed to shake him awake and reported that Richards had brought important news from England to the club. He immediately understood that Ward had been busy this time, and that the players... I'm afraid that last year's efforts and this year's achievements are all in vain. Sensibile had done everything he had to do when Ward went to the European Championships a few weeks ago.

"How is this possible?" Assistant coach Walker groaned, "How is that possible? What the hell was Sensibile thinking? How could you do such a thing as betraying the club? He's a good guy, he should know what the risks are, right? ”

He knows a lot better than you brainless fool, Tom thought to himself. Even if Sensibile betrayed the club, he still has some admiration in his heart, former Portsmouth goalkeeper Ashtang is a brazen sycophant, and his greatest achievement in this life was to climb Ward's lap after retirement to stay as a coach, and the Italian removed him from the coaching team with almost no hesitation. In terms of the role of director of football, there are few people in Portsmouth's history who have done it as well.

The director of football is simply the HR (human resources) of the club, and Ward has given Sensibile the enormous authority to recruit players and recruit staff transfers, and there is certainly reason to be surprised in return.

"I'd do the same," Tom replied, "Walker, you never knew Sensibile. Before he came to England, he was just a small clerk in Milan City, Milan was turbulent, he became the leader of the group, and then Parma, Genoa, Cesena, Real Sociedad in Spain, Getafe, he went around for decades, those clubs were turbulent, chaotic, who do you think brought it? ”

"Guys," Tom stood up, "I found that you have not figured out one thing, the struggle of football is by no means limited to the field, and the fight outside the field is even more cruel, what should I do if I want to buy it and sell it if I can't leave?" Managers don't sit at home and send you a fax asking if you're willing to sell a player, there aren't that many Gerrard, Totti in this world, they will do everything they can to reach out to the players, to the agent, to the players' parents, their wives and children, and to get everyone to get the club in the end. Sensibile just did what he had to do, he was a professional manager, he had to satisfy his own interests, his agent's interests and finally the interests of the club. ”

"In the same way, he has to climb up, he has no power and no power, the players are his weight, stir up chaos, provoke fights, chaos is not an abyss for him, chaos is a ladder. A lot of people want to climb up, but they fail, and they never get a chance to try again, they fall and die, and some people have a chance to climb," Tom looked at Ward, "but they refused, they held on to their kingdom, they kept their love, they kept their faith—all illusions. ”

"Only the ladder is real, and climbing is the whole of life."

Hydward's face changed, and he turned his head to look at Tom continuously, and he saw the golden light in the coach's eyes, but he couldn't tell whether it was approval or disgust. Ward was usually reticent in meetings, preferring to listen to others before speaking, a habit that Tom had been keen to emulate since he had known him.

However, even Ward was unusually silent, and he didn't even take a sip of water.

"Richards, you just said that Villa took Vardy and them by activating the liquidated damages?"

Richards nodded tiredly, "Three people are about more than 20 million euros." ”

"God forbid." Walker said.

"The money is going to be used to repay the loan this year, what do the players say?"

Richards just shook his head and looked at Ward, "Mahrez invited me for a drink, he just said that Villa's salary is higher, and he wants the boss to forgive." Jamie and Drinkwater are largely in the same situation. ”

"It's still a matter of money." Tom's tone was not only not angry, but also not surprised, "They are not Mane or Kante, people who fight for money will only fight for their own pockets." ”

Ward's index finger was crossed against his chin, his eyes moving as he listened, and the short golden whiskers on his cheeks enclosed an immovable face, like a mask, but Tom noticed the fine beads of sweat on the manager's forehead.

"Richards, tell them for me that Portsmouth can't forgive everything, but we can forgive all of them," Tom said, "and Icardi?" ”

'Icardi's situation is different from none of them, Lazio sent an offer of 12 million euros, Sensibile agreed, it's hard to have such a bid in the transfer market, that's what he said before leaving.

"Ridiculous!" Walker wailed again, "We've lost two strikers, if we're losing Icardi...... It's a catastrophe! ”

Campbell stood up: "Mr. Walker, we're grateful that you've pointed out the obvious, but the immediate priority, what do we do next?" ”

"What else? Lazio has no official announcement, so naturally there is still room for maneuver, modify the offer contract, and prevent this transfer! ”

"Huh?" Tom shook his glass thoughtfully and drank it down, "I'm afraid this deal won't stand a chance since Anthony took Icardi to Rome, maybe everyone's medical examination has been completed, and we are completely at a disadvantage." ”

"Always give it a try!" Walker continued, "The outcome of a battle does not determine the success or failure of the entire war, and we should look for other possibilities." ”

"We don't have a new loan of 30 million euros, which is more than enough to buy a whole team," Van der Sar suggested in the position.

"Ward has to sign Vardy's deal, or we won't get a point," Tom looked at Hydward, paused, and then said, "There's no point in dragging it out like that." ”

"Then sign it," Walker said hopefully, "and with this money, we will be able to buy something better." ”

Van der Sar shook his head and sighed: "It's not that easy to see, Jamie has been training with us for a year, new players, new system......"

"Well, presumably our old friends in the Premier League would be happy to offer players, loan or anything," Campbell said, "and time is of the essence, now is the time to start a new project. ”

The conference room was in a mess, and at this time, Hydward got up with a sigh, "They poached my players!" He repeated, his voice piercing through the crowd like a sharp sword cutting through paper, and after a while, he regained his composure, "Let's go, let's all go!" ”

The meeting room was like seven or eight players who were accustomed to following orders, so they got up and walked out, but Ward glanced at Tom, "No, Tom, you stay, Campbell, you too." ”