The clamor in the transfer market had nothing to do with the Forest team. The media had been looking forward to Tang En's return to the Forest team and his influence in the transfer market. In the end, he bought Chen Jian and let Silva go out of consideration to maintain the status quo.
The team's results in January were two wins, two draws and one loss. This result was not outstanding, but it was not bad either.
This was the current situation of the Forest team. Tang En's return had stabilized the team's morale, but the team's results did not immediately skyrocket to the top. The team was still hovering in the middle and lower reaches, although they were out of the relegation zone.
The media generally thought that Tang En's return was effective because the Forest team was immediately out of the relegation zone. However, this was not the result that Tang En wanted. He had not told the public about his goal. It did not matter if the media knew about it, because the media could not influence him. However, he had to find a suitable opportunity to tell his players about his goal. If the players did not know his thoughts, it would be impossible to achieve this goal if the general and manager were not united.
Why did he have to choose the right opportunity? Because this goal was a little distant for the current Forest team. Saying it rashly might not get the result he wanted. After all, the current group of players were not the previous Forest players. He was not sure how much they would respond to Tang En's goal.
※ ※ ※
The happiest thing for Tang En in January was Chen Jian's rapid integration into the team.
Perhaps it was because Chen Jian had played for the Forest team before, but he did not seem out of place with the Forest team at all. Or perhaps it was because his technical characteristics were similar to Wood's, and naturally, his tactical style was close to Nottingham Forest's. He did not need to break in much and could quickly operate normally.
At the same time, Chen Jian could speak fluent English. He had lived in Nottingham for three years, so he was not unfamiliar with the environment here. He would not feel uncomfortable because of the language barrier or the unfamiliar environment.
After staying in the hotel for a week, he moved out because his agent, Xia Yang, had found a house for him in the city. After buying it under Chen Jian's name, he moved in directly.
Now that they had a house, Xia Yang would temporarily stay here to cook for Chen Jian and take care of his daily needs. At the same time, he handled the matter of bringing Chen Jian's parents to Nottingham. When Chen Jian's parents came, he would be free.
"You won't find another agent like me in the whole world, Jian!" While making dinner for Chen Jian, Xia Yang emphasized his importance to Chen Jian, who was sitting in the dining room and playing with his mobile phone. "Help you earn money, buy you a house, buy you a car, buy you furniture, and even wash your hands and cook for you … Tsk tsk, I'm practically your nanny. Your Uncle Xia is an agent who manages hundreds of China players! "
Chen Jian was sending flirtatious text messages to a girl he met when he returned to China last year. Hearing Xia Yang's words, he raised his head and said, "An agent is a nanny. Haven't you heard this song, Uncle Xia?"
"What song?"
"I'll be her driver, her courier, and her ATM." Chen Jian scoffed.
"Hey!" Xia Yang rolled his eyes. "Did that girl ask you to do that?"
Chen Jian shook his head. "Cuicui is a very pure, kind, and sensible girl."
"Wow." Xia Yang laughed, "Indeed, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As long as it belongs to the beholder, everything is good."
Chen Jian knew that Xia Yang was teasing him, and he wasn't really dissatisfied with Cuicui. Therefore, he ignored Uncle Xia, lowered his head, and continued to use his phone to text his girlfriend, telling her how much he missed her.
In the open kitchen, the fragrance drifted into the dining room.
Without raising his head, Chen Jian suddenly said, "Put less salt in it, Uncle Xia."
"I'm making my share!" Xia Yang's voice floated out of the kitchen along with the fragrance.
Until now, Chen Jian had insisted on eating the athlete's diet because it helped to maintain his body and state. However, ordinary people couldn't eat this kind of food at all. Xia Yang once ate with Chen Jian out of curiosity, and he said it was "tasteless". Therefore, as long as Xia Yang lived with Chen Jian, he would make two meals for each meal. One was Chen Jian's "athlete's meal", and the other was Xia Yang's "food" for himself.
In the past, Xia Yang often tempted Chen Jian to eat at the same table with these various delicacies, but Chen Jian was not moved at all and just ate his athlete's meal. This made Xia Yang feel very frustrated. He could only complain that Chen Jian didn't know how to enjoy life. He made so much money but didn't buy a mansion. Except for buying a good house for his parents in Sichuan, he didn't ask for a place to live. Secondly, he didn't buy a luxury car. Thirdly, he didn't chase after celebrities and beauties … Now he didn't even enjoy food. Why did he make so much money?
Chen Jian ignored his complaints and continued to do his own thing.
But Xia Yang was also very proud, because these were the "secrets" that allowed Chen Jian to succeed in Europe. As for those domestic players who didn't amount to anything, it was no wonder that they were frogs at the bottom of a well in China all their lives. Xia Yang would not praise Chen Jian in front of him, but he always used Chen Jian as an example to his young players, telling them that this was the way to success.
If a professional player wanted to succeed and extend his professional life, a regular life and diet were essential. This was why Tang En was very confident in Chen Jian even though he was Asian. He would rather bring him back to the Forest team as a key player in the future "Tang Era". It was reasonable to say that the peak period of a Asian player's career was relatively short, which was related to their physique. After the age of 30, their physiology began to go downhill. If they didn't pay attention, it would basically be a diving decline.
Such a situation would never happen to Chen Jian.
Xia Yang first brought Chen Jian's dinner to the table, and then went back to get his own Twice Cooked Pork with Rice.
After eating, Xia Yang asked Chen Jian with rice in his mouth, "Will you be in the starting lineup for this weekend's game?"
Chen Jian put down his knife and fork and thought for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't know."
"Hey, can't you tell whether Tang En values you or not?"
"I should be in the starting lineup based on my training performance … But I can't guess the boss."
In fact, except for the first two games when Chen Jian played as a substitute, Chen Jian had always been in the starting lineup for the following games. According to this trend, Chen Jian should also be in the starting lineup for the next game, unless he was injured before the game.
But just as Chen Jian said, Xia Yang also couldn't guess Tang En.
※ ※ ※
Not to mention Xia Yang and Chen Jian, even the media couldn't guess Tony Twain.
This weekend was the game between Nottingham Forest and Arsenal. Old Wenger and Tony Twain were confronting each other again. This game was highly anticipated, otherwise Xia Yang wouldn't have asked Chen Jian whether he could be in the starting lineup during dinner, because this game would be broadcast live in China, which was a great opportunity for Chen Jian to consolidate his position as the number one star in China.
Before this game, the media finally saw a scene that they hadn't seen for a long time — Tang En initiated a war of words.
In an interview, he claimed that although Arsenal was currently ranked third, his team was fully confident of beating Arsenal in the away game.
The current situation was that everyone knew Nottingham Forest's strength and results were not good. In the first half of the season, Forest was humiliated by Arsenal at home by 1: 4, which was the real gap between the two teams.
"We all know that Tang En wants revenge, but it's really a bit difficult …" That was what the media said. "Arsenal is not Middlesbrough, it will be very difficult for Forest to beat them."
"This is really a scene that I haven't seen for a long time, but I also know what Tang En is playing at. He just wants to provoke Arsenal, make them lose their calm judgment, and then he can take advantage of it. But now it won't work. Wenger is astute and astute, he won't fall for this. "
"He must be talking big. In fact, he doesn't necessarily want to beat his opponent, but to bring confidence to his players."
※ ※ ※
"Just a few words can make you so confident? That's ridiculous! "
In Villefort, there were still two days before the match. Tang En was giving his players the last set of tactical lessons here. The lesson would be held in a hotel in North London the next day.
Tang En's tactics lessons would not always only talk about tactics.
"Does anyone have any doubts these few days?" Tang En asked as he looked at the players sitting below.
No one said yes, but in fact, they did have doubts, and they were not small ones. Since Tang En started coaching the team, they had never seen the boss take the initiative to provoke the opponent.
In fact, the old players who had followed Tang En for a long time were not surprised.
"I'll say this in advance, I'm definitely not bluffing or trying to give you some bullsh * t confidence."
Tang En could not help but swear again.
"When I say we want to beat Arsenal, I mean to beat Arsenal."
His words caused quite a reaction among the players. Arsenal was currently ranked third in the league, only one point away from second place, and only three points away from Manchester United in first place. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest was ranked 13th, 15 points away from Arsenal. The huge gap in the rankings was, in fact, the difference in strength between Forest and Arsenal.
In the first half of the season, they had just suffered a crushing defeat at home to Arsenal. These people did not have much confidence in beating this strong opponent.
Tang En saw the hesitation and lack of confidence in their eyes.
He grinned and said, "What? A mere Arsenal scared you out of your wits? Look at you guys. Actually, ever since I took over the team, I've always had an idea, but I've been hesitating whether to tell you, or whether to make it a reality. "
His words had already whetted the appetite of many people. What idea could make the boss so hesitant?
"I didn't hold a press conference when I came back, so no one asked me what kind of future I wanted to bring to Forest." Tang En saw that everyone was interested in his words and knew the time was ripe. "But I think most people think we've successfully avoided relegation?" He spread his hands. "If that's the case, I think we've already completed the task ahead of time. So, what else do we have to work hard for in the next half of the season? "
Once he said that, everyone felt that it was the case. If it was just to avoid relegation, it should not be a problem based on the team's current performance.
"So, my goal is not to avoid relegation. It was never to avoid relegation from the start. My goal is to return to Europe. "Tang En very calmly stated his true goal. The players below were not calm.
Immediately, the room was filled with surprised discussions. No one thought their manager's ambition was so great!
In fact, returning to Europe was not a distant goal. In the first half of this season, they had even participated in the Europa League (formerly the UEFA Europa League). They had also participated in the UEFA Champions League and the Europa League in the previous few seasons. But why did it sound like they had not appeared in Europe for a very long time today?
When the discussion became a little quieter, Tang En continued, "So, our lowest goal for this season is the Europa League. Is there anyone who doesn't like to participate in European competitions? "
"No!" This time, many people answered.
"That's good. Looks like we've found a common topic." Tang En laughed. "I like challenges and I like to win. If this season ended like this, it would be a little boring. Now, I want to confirm one thing — "Tang En paused.
"How many other people have such lofty ambitions?"
After he asked this question, he looked straight at everyone in the room.
He tried to take in everyone's reaction.
Some were excited, some were confused, and some were confused.
"Do you know why I said we can beat Arsenal?" Tang En continued after observing everyone's reaction.
"If you still have doubts about this, then there's no way to return to Europe. I want you to find the confidence that you've lost for a long time. This confidence is not the arrogance and conceit you showed when you faced Notts County! It's the fearlessness that doesn't change even in the face of a strong opponent! "
Tang En clenched his fist in front of the players.
"If you can only be arrogant when you face a weak opponent and give up when you face a strong opponent, then that's not confidence. That's inferiority! It's inferiority that runs deep into your bones! "
"When I say we're going to beat Arsenal, some people are scared out of their wits. How can this be? You're going to Europe in the future and face many stronger opponents. Why don't you just stop playing? "Tang En looked at them and spread his hands." This is really sad. Four years ago, Nottingham Forest dared to snatch Real Madrid's Champions League in front of 80,000 home fans at the Bernabéu Stadium. Do you have the guts to do that now? "
No one answered him because too many of them had never experienced such a scene. And those who had … were flushed and had their heads lowered. How could they speak?
Why was Nottingham Forest unable to recover and getting worse year after year?
Ever since the man with the nuclear-powered heart left, they also lost the heart of a champion …
※ ※ ※
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
