Many problems could be found during training, and these problems could definitely be seen through by a television commentator or bystander.
For example, what surprised him was that Balotelli showed no signs of slacking off. Instead, Balotelli was very active in training. Previously, Twain thought that Balotelli would definitely go against him, but his current performance surprised him. He originally wanted to keep an eye on Balotelli, waiting to catch him off guard, and then make an example out of him.
It seemed that he did not understand the hearts of the players at all, and it was indeed troublesome.
Twain was not worried about Thiago Silva. A 33-year-old center back, did he still want to be the main force? Just put him on the bench, and with Twain and Eastwood in the locker room, what else could he do? As for the Foreign Legion, it was enough to implement the strategy of disintegration.
The formation of the Foreign Legion had something to do with the lack of a sufficiently dominant manager in the locker room. Because they could not find a core that they could trust, they attached themselves to the people they thought were strong, and gradually formed small groups. Now that there was a strong figure in the Nottingham Forest locker room, those people would have to reconsider their choices.
Twain decided to look for Eastwood to understand Balotelli's situation. After all, Kerslake had only been in the team for a short time, and there was no way for him to understand everyone's situation. Eastwood had been in the Forest team for five seasons, and it could be said that he knew the players who joined the team after Twain left like the back of his hand.
"Balotelli?" When Eastwood heard Twain ask about this person, he frowned. Twain noticed his subconscious small movement.
"He is indeed very talented …" Eastwood muttered as he deliberated over his words. "But this person is somewhat arrogant, and always wants to leave the team, so he is not very popular in the team."
"I can see that." Twain recalled the situation of the past two days of training. During the training break, basically no one would take the initiative to chat with Balotelli, and during the group training, not many people were willing to be in the same group as him. But what he wanted to ask was another question: "Was he this enthusiastic in training before?"
Eastwood thought about it, and then shook his head. "No."
"Well …" Twain then fell into silence. He did not continue to consult Eastwood because he had a rough idea in his heart.
"Do you want to sell Balotelli, boss?" Eastwood was trying to guess why Twain was asking him about the Italian.
However, Tang En shook his head. Now that the team needs people, I just don't have enough people, how can I sell people? I won't sell anyone during this winter transfer window. "
After that, Twain went to look for a few other coaches to understand Balotelli's situation. He really didn't want to sell Balotelli, unless the two of them completely fell out, just like how he and Anelka had completely lost trust in each other. As Eastwood had said, the kid was a genius. For the current Forest team, they needed his strength.
So, not only did Tang En not think of firing him, but he also hoped that he could use him for himself.
However, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of just talking to the coaches. It seemed that he had to have a private talk with Balotelli. However, he probably didn't have the time to do that now.
He took over the team in the middle of the week, and it was almost the weekend of the league tournament.
※ ※ ※
Nottingham Forest's away game against Aston Villa was not the highlight of a clash between two powerhouses. However, the BBC television station had chosen to broadcast this match for free nationwide at the last minute. The reason was simple — this was Tony Twain's first match since his return to the Forest team. It deserved to be taken seriously.
A few days before the game, the media began to hype up this game. Many Premier League team managers were asked during interviews what they thought of the retired Tony Twain's return to Forest.
Everyone's answers were varied. Some expressed support, some expressed indifference, and some thought that Twain's return was a mistake because he would never be able to reach his previous heights.
"If I were him, I would obediently stay at home." Mourinho did not show any joy at meeting his match. "He's already outdated." When faced with the reporters' questions, his expression was cold, as if he didn't know Tony Twain at all.
"I welcome Tony Twain's return. Personally, I think it's a very brave decision." The words of Everton's manager, Moyes, seemed to make people think that he and Twain were in the same trench. However, what he said next made Twain's supporters unhappy. "But it's best that we don't have any hopes for his results. It's already a victory for him to be able to come back."
"I think it's boring to hype up this topic. It's just the return of a manager. "There were also people who disagreed with Twain. The person who said this was John Robertson, the current manager of Aston Villa. His team was about to meet Twain's team, and he certainly didn't want the media's crazy hype to affect his team. "He can't change the current Forest team overnight, nor can he make Forest the main character of this season. What's there to hype up? "
Of course, there were also people who thought highly of Twain.
"I don't think that the so-called Tony Twain's return is just for show. I know him. If he decided to come back, then it must have been after careful consideration. He must think that he can do his current job before he nodded. "Leeds United's manager, Des Walker, evaluated during an interview. He and Twain were the golden partners of the England national team. He indeed knew the current Twain better than anyone else. "So I don't think he came back to hype up Forest's reputation. In any case, I want to remind everyone to be careful of him. "
Twain remained silent in response to these remarks. He neither retorted nor agreed with them. Because he had been busy straightening out the internal relations of the team these days, he had no time to cooperate with the media's hype.
As if to prove the previous pessimistic remarks, Tony Twain suffered a defeat in his first game back. At Aston Villa's home stadium, Villa Park, Nottingham Forest lost 1: 2 to the home team and fell to 17th place.
Many people who knew Twain could not understand this game. For example, Motson, who was in charge of the match commentary, shook his head many times during the game. "I don't understand what Twain is thinking …"
No matter what situation the team faced, he just sat in the manager's seat and did not get up. Throughout the game, he did not get up to make any active adjustments. Some people even mocked that the real Tony Twain did not return to Nottingham Forest to coach at all. The one who came back was just a wax figure of Twain borrowed from Lady Windsor's Wax Museum.
Forest's tactics for this game were not much different from before. The only difference was that Balotelli returned to the front line and partnered with Mitchell. George Wood continued to play in the middle, and Gago was next to him to help. People also did not see Forest's incisive attacks from the flanks. The team's attacks were still concentrated in the middle, causing a huge congestion in the middle.
Villa was also happy to see Forest focus their attacks on the heavily defended middle. This way, the game would be much easier for them.
Twain used up three substitutions in the game, but it did not have any effect. Mitchell was replaced by Agbonlahor. Balotelli stayed on the field for the full 90 minutes of the game. Alex Teixeira replaced Gago and went up to play as the attacking midfielder. Cohen replaced Wijnaldum and continued to strengthen the offense. After Cohen and Wijnaldum went up, Forest's attacks on the flanks improved a little, but it was too late. At that time, the score was 0: 2, and Forest was behind.
As soon as the game ended, the reporters waited at the press conference, excitedly looking forward to Twain's comments on the defeat of this game. He would definitely not be able to get around this.
Twain sat on the stage and looked at the gloating reporters. He knew what they were waiting for. Of course, he could not just leave in a huff. That would only leave the media with an excuse to attack him.
"Aston Villa played very well, so they won the game. We played very badly, so we lost the game. That's all. "His post-game comments were really" concise and to the point. "
The reporters did not let it go. "Can you explain in detail how badly they played?"
Faced with such provocation, Twain did not fly into a rage. Instead, he very seriously analyzed the problems with the team's tactics. This surprised the reporters who were waiting for a good show.
"Our attacks were all piled up in the middle. It was too crowded." Twain spread his hands. He noticed the change in the expressions of some of the reporters. This was the effect he wanted. I'll let you guys watch a joke. I won't let you get what you want!
The entire press conference lasted for 15 minutes. The loser, Tony Twain, became the focal point. Aston Villa's manager, Robertson, was very depressed. He realized that even if he won against Twain, he could not become the main character.
Twain handled the situation with ease on the stage. The media could not get hold of too many weaknesses on him. After the press conference ended, there were still people who were indignant. They felt that Twain was too cunning. They could not get used to his low profile. But John Robertson was the one who felt indignant. As the winner, he was only asked two questions before the limelight was snatched away by Twain.
Even though Forest scored a goal before the end of the game, it only saved some face. Or rather, it did not save any face at all. Twain and his Forest team still became the target of ridicule and criticism by the media after this round of the league tournament.
"You see, I've said it before. Don't hold any illusions about his results."
"After being away from the football world for more than four months, Twain still needs time to get used to his new job."
"The main point of this match is not the score. I think it's the process. From the process, there's nothing good about this match! "
"I've discovered a problem. Faced with so many people in the coaching world questioning his coaching ability, Tony Twain did not fight back like he usually did. This is really illogical. Linking this to Twain's attitude at the press conference after the match ended, it can't be denied that Tony Twain had predicted this match's failure before the match even started. To put it more broadly, he might not even have the confidence to face the matter of returning to Forest. "
※ ※ ※
"This group of media really guessed one thing right," Twain said as he gathered with the coaches for a meeting. "Before the start of the last round of the league tournament, I really didn't think we could win. Through this match, everyone should have realized that going down the middle is not going to work. We have to get the Forest team back on track. "
"Now we have a week's time. Let's abandon our previous tactics and start from scratch."
"From now on, we'll adjust the focus of our training. Increase the intensity of our defensive training and strengthen the practice of our set-piece offensive tactics. Before January, we'll have to rely on these two moves to stabilize the team's downward trend."
The coaches had no objections to Twain's plan. They were all professionals and knew that grasping defense and set-pieces was the most effective thing right now. Revamp the offense? Take it slow. First, they had to restore the team's confidence and morale. Only then could a sharp offense appear.
After the routine tactical meeting ended, David Kerslake and Freddy Eastwood stayed behind.
"Tony, you're really patient." Kerslake shook his head. "The media outside is just short of saying you're a liar fishing for fame."
Twain laughed disdainfully. "It's just a match. The media is always like this. You have to understand them, David. They're more surprised than they are. "
Next to him, Eastwood frowned as he considered another matter. "The next match is our home ground, Boss. We can't lose this match … "
It was normal for him to be so worried. Losing an away match was nothing. But at home, the Forest fans had very high expectations of Tony Twain. They did not care about the objective rules of "the head coach has just taken over the team and still needs time to familiarize himself with the team." They only knew that Tony Twain was the team's savior. As long as he sat in the manager's seat, no matter how difficult the situation was, they would be able to win. This might not sound human, but in the hearts of the Forest fans, Tony Twain had long been equivalent to a god.
Eastwood thought of this. If the Forest team lost the game at home, Twain's road would be difficult to walk. The fans' doubts and disappointment and the team's internal disintegration would only drag the team into the abyss.
Although the opponent in this match was not strong, it was very crucial to Twain and could not be sloppy.
Twain clearly knew the importance of this match. The tactical issues had been handed over to the coaches. He did not need to worry too much about implementing them in daily training.
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