From the first 30 minutes of the first half, the Forest team's performance did not seem to be any different from before. They did not play an offensive that could scare the visiting team. Instead, Rebrov's presence dragged down the entire team.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the Forest team's offense, Crystal Palace scored a goal in the 39th minute of the first half. The goal was scored by Andrew Johnson. He was Crystal Palace's top scorer. He had scored 16 goals in half a season and was ranked first in the overall goalscorer list.
"Oh! Andrew Johnson! This is his 17th goal of the season! Wes Morgan, who just entered the First Team from the youth team, is still too inexperienced. His mistake gave Crystal Palace the lead in the away game! "
When he saw his team score, in the VIP box above the stadium's stands, Simon Jordan jumped up abruptly, giving Evan a fright. He got carried away and celebrated the goal in front of the home team chairman, as if his team had already won the game.
Evan knew the man did it on purpose to humiliate him in front of him. How despicable!
But when Jordan finished his butt shaking dance, Evan suppressed his anger and extended his hand to him. "Congratulations, Mr. Jordan."
At the same time, he shouted in his heart, Tony, what are you doing?!
In the technical area, Tony only shook his head when he saw the goal concede and did not say anything. Morgan was too inexperienced. Of course, he knew that, but this was the price of using a young player. He had long been prepared to bear it.
Walker looked at him and asked, "Is everything like it was 11 months ago?"
"Hmm?" Tang En did not understand what Walker was talking about.
Walker pointed to the stands. "You did nothing in the first half, and then you opened everyone's eyes in the second half."
"You really know me, Des." Tang En smiled. "The second half will decide the winner!"
During the game, he had been trying to figure out a problem. In his memory, Rebrov had basically left the mainstream football circle after being abandoned by Tottenham Hotspur. As a Chinese fan, it was unlikely that he would hear much news about him. He even thought the man had retired. Tang En later saw Rebrov at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. At that time, he was very surprised that he was still in the Ukrainian national team, just like Pobowski was still in the Czech Republic national team.
He remembered that Shevchenko's forward partner in the Ukrainian national team was not Rebrov, but another player – Andriy Voronin, but Rebrov was also a main player. Since he wasn't playing as a striker, what position did he play?
Tang En did his best to search his memories. He had only paid attention to Shevchenko during the 2006 World Cup in Ukraine. He really did not pay much attention to Rebrov. When Crystal Palace's Andrew Johnson scored, he finally remembered. Midfield!
Rebrov was playing in the midfield!
After leaving Kiev Dynamo for a few years, he had turned from an assassin to a midfield playmaker. Was there a story behind this that he did not know? Could this story be related to Forest and Tang En?
At this point, Twain understood. He did not know who made Rebrov switch to midfield in his previous world. But he was now very clear that in today's world, if Ukraine could make it to the World Cup finals in Germany two and a half years later, Rebrov, who would be standing in the midfield position, would definitely be his!
At the end of the first half, Forest temporarily trailed Crystal Palace by a goal at home. Despite being behind in the score, the Forest fans in the stands were not the slightest bit discouraged. The previous situation of booing the coach and the players did not happen again. The fans believed that Tony Twain's team would not let them down.
Fat John stood in the stands and looked at the players walking back to the locker room with their heads down, and Tang En standing on the sidelines. He shrugged to the people around him. "We all know that guy likes to exert himself in the second half. Guys! Go drink a couple of beers to moisten your throats. We'll be busy in the second half! "
In the past, Tang En would always be the first to walk back to the locker room when the whistle sounded in the first half. But today, he stood on the sidelines, waiting for someone to come down.
Rebrov walked down the field with his head down. In his depressed mood, he did not see the team's manager walking towards him.
"Sergei Lebrov." Tang En called out to the Ukrainian, who was in a daze. "If you don't lift your head, you'll hit a telephone pole."
Rebrov raised his head in surprise. "There are no telephone poles on the field …" He saw Tang En's crooked smile and knew he had been fooled by his manager.
"Well, you still know that there are no telephone poles on the football field. Looks like you're clear-headed." Tang En nodded. "Don't be in a hurry to go back. I have something to tell you. I heard … you didn't get selected for the Ukrainian national team? "
This question was a stab to Rebrov's heart. He was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Manager, I hope the team can list me during the winter break or at the end of the season."
Tang En was not at all surprised by Rebrov's suggestion. "Why? Because you didn't get selected for the national team, so you want to change places and start from scratch? "
"I don't think I'm suited to English football. Coming to England to play football was a mistake in itself." Rebrov voiced out his thoughts.
Tang En shook his head. "Do you think you've finally found the cause of your poor performance? You really disappoint me … If you want to leave, I won't stop you. But do you think there will still be teams that will accept you now? Oh, or there are clubs in League Two that would be very happy to have you. Are you willing to go to those kinds of places? "
Rebrov did not speak because he was not sure if everything would be better if he left. He was just taking a gamble.
"I will agree to put you on the transfer market, but not during the winter break. Instead, it will be at the end of the season. Before that, I will give you another forty-five minutes of opportunity. "
Rebrov raised his head to look at him. He did not understand what this new manager planned to do.
"If you want to prove your ability to the other clubs, the second half of this game is your last chance. If your performance still doesn't improve, you can only sit on the bench for the rest of the season. Don't think I'm threatening you. You can only rely on yourself to fight for better treatment and more interested teams. In the second half, you'll play as the attacking midfielder. "Having said that, Tang En turned and left the field. Rebrov looked at his back. His last sentence left him deep in thought.
During the halftime break, Tang En did not criticize the team's performance in the locker room. He only made changes in the players. The defensive midfielder, Eugen Bopp, replaced the center midfielder, Jacob Burns, who did not perform well. It was a very normal change. However, Tang En's following decision surprised everyone, including Walker. He did not replace Rebrov, who continued to be in a poor state. Instead, he let the Ukrainian retreat to the midfield and play as the attacking midfielder!
Tang En's request to Rebrov was to use his skills to create opportunities for his teammates. If there was a better opportunity, he would go up and shoot. If he felt that he was not confident in shooting, then he would pass it to his teammates in other positions. In short, it was more passing than shooting.
After arranging the team's tactical adjustments for the second half, Tang En's phone rang. He looked at the number. It was actually Evan.
"Des." He pointed outside the door.
Walker nodded, indicating that he understood.
Tang En walked out and closed the door before answering the call.
"Tony!" The moment the call connected, Evan's angry voice rushed out.
"What's wrong, Evan?"
"Can we win this match?"
"Uh, I can't promise you anything before the match ends." Tang En looked at the field outside. The substitutes were warming up. He planned to equalize the score in the second half. After all, Rebrov needed time to adapt to his new position. Moreover, this was his first match after taking over the team. It was unrealistic to ask for too much.
"No! We must win, we must win! "Evan roared through the phone.
Tang En found it strange. "Hey, Evan, does the boss of Crystal Palace owe you a lot of money?"
"No … But I hate that person!" Hearing this, Tang En could completely imagine how angry Evan must be as he roared into the phone and waved his arms vigorously. "I hate him very, very much! That bastard dares to look down on me … and our team! Tony, didn't you say that you only pursue victory? Here's a chance to defeat him and humiliate him! "
He did not think that the usually amiable Evan would have a moment where he would fly into a rage. It seemed that the boss of Crystal Palace must have done something very overboard …
Tang En smacked his lips and said, "Alright, I'll strive to defeat Crystal Palace."
"No, not strive. Definitely! Definitely! "Evan corrected him.
"Alright, alright, I'll definitely strive to defeat Crystal Palace … definitely, definitely."
Tang En, who had returned to the locker room, looked at the players and suddenly decided to tell them about what had happened. Perhaps it would be of some use.
"Does anyone want to know who called me just now?" He took out his phone and waved it around.
No one nodded, but no one shook their heads either.
"It's the club chairman."
Everyone's gaze was focused on Tang En, wanting to hear what he had to say next.
"Well … He's very angry with the team's performance in the first half because the boss of Crystal Palace looked down on us in the box. He thinks that it's reasonable for us to fall behind his team and even more so for us to lose to them after the match ends. This made Mr. Evan Doughty, who loves the team, very angry. He can't tolerate his favorite team being wantonly insulted by others. Do you mind being looked down upon by a team ranked below us? "Tang En asked expressionlessly.
The players were already dissatisfied with the attitude of the Crystal Palace chairman. Someone yelled, "Of course I mind!"
"I mind it very much too. That's why we used the victory in the second half to tell them that if they're ranked lower than us, they better f * cking behave!" Tony Twain, who had seemed uninvolved just now, suddenly erupted like a volcano.
"That's right!"
"Shut that idiot up!" Tang En waved his arm forcefully.
"That's right!"
"Let him … eat his … own … f * cking … fruit!" Tang En roared, syllable by syllable.
"That's — right —!!!"
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