Thiago Silva had been feeling a little depressed recently. He had discovered that his position in the locker room was under serious threat. The threat did not come from his teammates, but from the manager who had made a strong comeback.
In just two days, Tang En had talked to many players individually, all of whom had joined the team after he left Forest. He was the only one who was not called. It was obvious that his position in Tang En's heart was at the bottom.
Apart from that, what made him feel uneasy was that the players who had been around him were leaving him one by one. He felt that he was no longer a central figure in the locker room.
As a center back, 33 years old was not considered too old to play. He had a wealth of experience and could rely on positioning, awareness, and anticipation to make up for his lack of physical fitness. But Silva could clearly sense that the new manager was giving him the cold shoulder. He did not intend to let him play in the starting lineup. Forest had lost to Aston Villa in an away game in the previous match. The focus of the media's attacks on Tang En was on the offense. They believed that the team had lost the match not because their defense line was inadequate, but because their offense was weak. This left him with no excuse to make things difficult for him, because it was the truth.
Silva still had two years left on his contract with the club. He had originally planned to retire after fulfilling his contract with the club. But now, it seemed that even if he wanted to stay in Forest, no one would want to keep him.
He wanted to remind Tang En of his position in the team, but he did not have a suitable excuse or reason. He decided to continue waiting and watch from the sidelines. As long as the manager did not perform well, the voices against him would definitely rise again, and he would step on them again.
He had just lost a game. If he lost the next home game, the day he wanted would not be far away.
In any case, he had not seen a champion in the past few seasons at Forest, but he had seen many new managers. He did not mind having a new manager.
※ ※ ※
"We've been practicing our defense for the whole week. Some players are worried that we will not be able to solve the problem of our lack of offense by the weekend's game." David Kerslake reported the players' concerns to Tang En.
"How is that possible? We still have offensive training in our daily training. "Tang En shrugged disapprovingly. "Well, I admit that our offense is much simpler than the previous ones. But in the current situation, the simpler it is, the more effective it is. They should be able to understand this in the next match. "
Tang En did not say anything more. He buried his head in the pile of information and continued to study his future opponents.
Kerslake shook his head at Eastwood. It seemed that they could only hope to win at home. Once they lost the game, they would be bombarded with overwhelming criticism. Tang En should be very clear about this, right?
Tang En studied it for a while and raised his head to see that the two assistant managers were still there. He seemed to have thought of something. So he took off his glasses and said, "Okay, I'll explain it to them personally in the afternoon tactical class."
Only then did the two assistant coaches feel relieved and took their leave.
Tang En looked at the backs of the two of them and found it a little funny. It seemed that there was a lot of pressure on his shoulders. Everyone who cared about him wanted him to win, and all those who hated him wanted him to lose at home …
So did he feel the burden of this pressure?
Tang En placed his hand on the left side of his chest. His heart was beating slightly faster there.
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In the afternoon tactical class, Tang En gathered the players together and began to explain to them the tactics to be used in the game the day after and the purpose of these few days' training.
"Some people think that our weak offense can't be changed because we've been practicing defense for a whole week? Is that so? "Tang En asked the players as he stood in front of the blackboard. But no one answered the question.
It was one thing to complain in private, but another to question the manager face to face.
"But in fact, we've also practiced our offensive routines." Tang En spread his hands. "Isn't Mario fixed in the position of the second striker? And the offensive routines on the flanks … Didn't you train seriously? "
"No, Boss!" Seeing Tang En frown, the old player knew that if he did not express his opinion, he would be in trouble. So, Bale hurriedly stood up to deny it.
"If that's the case, why do you still think our offense is weak?" Tang En asked again. He looked at Bale. Who asked the kid to stand up on his own?
Poor Bale could not continue like this. For a moment, he did not know what to say.
"This tactic is too simple. It's easy for our opponents to figure it out." Finally, someone answered Tang En's question. The person who spoke was not Bale, but somewhere behind him.
Tang En tilted his head. At the same time, Bale also tilted his body to the side and turned his head to look at the person who spoke.
Thiago Silva's face appeared in Tang En's sight.
Tang En was not surprised. He felt that the Brazilian would definitely find another opportunity to challenge his authority. This was a good opportunity for him.
Tang En looked at Silva and asked him, "Before me, your football was very complicated. You even played up to 70% of the ball possession rate at your highest. You had the upper hand on the field and your offensive routines were dazzling. May I ask how your results were?"
This question made Silva speechless. Their results before this were indeed terrible. Everyone knew that.
But the problem was, did their results improve after Tang En came? At least from this game, they did not. However, Silva could not continue to question Tang En in such a manner. After all, Tang En was now the team's manager. Unless Silva was mentally prepared to completely fall out with Tang En, now was not the time to continue pestering him.
Silva cleverly chose to shut up and wait and see. He was patiently waiting for the next opportunity.
"I admit that the offensive tactics you practiced this week looked too simple. But in the current situation, I don't think it's appropriate to play the offense like an acrobat. What we need is to score goals, not to pass the ball back and forth fifty times in front of the opponent's penalty area and then pass the ball to the opponent's goalkeeper. Simple and direct. This is what I want from you in the offense. Our front line has height, so I want you to pass the ball more from the flanks. Whether it's to let Mitchell form a shooting opportunity or let him return the ball to Balotelli and the other midfielders who plug in from behind, it's all good. I don't want our strikers to always have their backs to the direction of the attack and then compete with the opponent inch by inch. There's no need for that! "
Tang En waved his hand. "We have the advantage in the air. Why do we need to dawdle with them on the ground?"
"We're playing a defensive counterattack, not a full-on attack. Most of the time, when we get a chance to counterattack, there may only be two or three players in the front field. Under such circumstances, using the fastest passing to tear apart the opponent's defense, find an opening and form a shooting opportunity is what you should do. "
In the current Forest team, there were not many people who had experienced the first time Tang En coached the Forest team. At that time, defensive counterattack was the Forest team's trademark. If it was still the same group of old players, then Tang En would not have the opportunity to stand here and talk so much, because for them, it was all nonsense.
Now the situation was different. There were too many new players, and they had to accept Tang En's method. Otherwise, when they went on the field, they would hesitate and be unable to unify their tactical ideas, and naturally lose the game …
"If one pass can score a goal, why do we still need to pass the ball back three times? If three passes can form a threatening shot, why do we still need to pass the ball back for more than twenty times? My football is full of efficiency. Anything that will delay the pace of the game and delay the opportunity to fight will not work here. So, I hope you can change the style of play that you're used to. I can't accommodate you. Here, only you can adapt to my path! "Tang En pointed to his feet.
Although he had only been coaching for more than a week, he behaved more like the owner than the players who had played here for four years.
He was indeed the former King of Wilford. Here, it was like he was in his own backyard.
Tang En waited for a while after he finished speaking. He observed the players' performance, and no one stood up to refute his words. This made him very satisfied.
"Since no one has a different opinion, then I'll talk in detail about the tactics we'll be using in the next game — long passes …"
※ ※ ※
Many people thought it was impossible for Tang En's team to win the game at the Crimson Stadium. At most, they could get a draw. The local media in Nottingham were already promoting the argument that "even if it was just a draw, it would be a precious victory for Nottingham Forest."
Tony Twain's staunchest ally, the Nottingham Evening Post, seemed to be a little unaccustomed after experiencing a vacuum of four and a half years. They did not know how to keep up with Tang En's pace.
"Even if it's just a draw, it would be a precious victory for the current Nottingham Forest team." Such an argument came from Pierce Brosnan.
In fact, after the article he wrote was published, Brosnan was anxiously waiting for Tang En to call and scold him. But he did not receive a call until the day of the game.
He thought Tang En must have been too busy and did not see the article, which made him a little disappointed.
In fact, it was not that Tang En did not see it. On the contrary, he read it three times. If it were a few years ago, he would have picked up the phone at hand and called Brosnan. Then, he would have scolded him over the phone and told him that he had to keep up with his team. But now, Tang En did not do so. On the one hand, his mentality had changed after experiencing so many things. On the other hand, the future of the team belonged to Dunn. Why should he, as a temporary manager, go against the local media?
Nottingham Forest's local media was more biased towards Tang En's side. What they said was still acceptable. On the other hand, the foreign media did not care about the consequences. They threw all the nasty words they could think of at Tang En. Then, they waited to see Tang En make a fool of himself at home.
"I can foresee what kind of cheers Tang En will receive when he returns to the Crimson Stadium. It must be shocking. But when I think about how he will be treated after 90 minutes, I think it's very interesting, "Carl Spicer said in his program before the game. "Just like how most sequels to classic movies suck, the return of a legendary figure usually doesn't have a good ending. Huh? Did I just say he's a legendary figure? Well, since he led the team to win the World Cup and is about to be honored by the Queen, he is worthy of being called a "legendary figure." But that's not important. His achievements are in the past. Other than helping him stabilize the locker room and bringing more attention, his reputation cannot guarantee the team's victory. When he loses again and again, his current reputation will only be the last straw that breaks his back. I'm definitely not being an alarmist. I believe Mr. Tang En agrees with me? Ha! "
Spicer was one of the more representative and sharp-tongued people who opposed Tang En.
The other voices of doubt reached a climax before the Forest team's home game against Middlesbrough, overwhelming Nottingham Forest. These were all clichés. It was nothing more than "The Nottingham Forest of today is no longer the Nottingham Forest of the past. The Tony Twain of today is no longer the Tony Twain of the past.", "Nottingham Forest fans should not blindly worship a person and should not give him too much hope.", "Middlesbrough's ranking is higher than Nottingham Forest. Although it is a home game, the Forest team's priority should be not to lose and not to win."
"Analyzing it with common sense, they're all right." There was still half a day before the afternoon game started. The team was resting in the hotel where the team was staying. Kerslake and Tang En were drinking coffee and chatting to kill time. This was what Kerslake had to say about the media's pessimism.
"That's right. Analyzing it with common sense." Tang En nodded. "But that's the thinking of mortals. Do you know why some of them are just failed managers and some can only rely on their glib tongues to survive? "
Kerslake did not react for a moment.
Tang En continued, "Before the game starts, those who think we can only tie and will definitely lose. Those who think we're going to lose before the game will lose until they don't even have their underwear left. Mortals? Heh, too bad I'm not! "
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