Eastwood and George Wood, the two blocks of wood, met on the training ground that day. As the teammates had all seen the demeanor of their new teammate at the gate, they did not seem so unfamiliar with each other. Those who were in a good mood would even joke about Eastwood's horse. The Romani always had a very pleasant smile on his face and did not mind the jokes.
Only when he saw the silent George Wood did the smile on his face disappear. He did not greet Wood, shake hands or make any other gesture to show friendliness. Wood did the same. But do not think that Wood was like the other person because he bore a grudge. It was just that he usually had this expression when he saw strangers. He had long forgotten what the player whose leg had been broken after he had committed a rash foul looked like and what his name was.
Tang En saw this scene from the side and did not "kindly" remind George that his new teammate's leg had been broken by him before. The personal grudges between the players could only be resolved at the right time.
For now … let's leave it at that for now.
Eastwood was naturally outgoing, optimistic and cheerful. This could be seen from how he could continue to play football and maintain a smile after his leg was broken. Tang En was not the least bit worried about his integration into the team.
But … would he play in the FA Cup?
Nottingham Forest's opponent in the third round of the FA Cup was West Bromwich Albion, also in the First Division. West Bromwich Albion was currently in a good position in the Premier League. After 26 rounds of matches, they were ranked second with 47 points, five points behind Norwich City. But the gap between them and the teams below them was very close. From sixth to second in the Premier League, there was only a gap of five points. One piece of news that was very beneficial to Tang En's goal of surpassing next season was that from 18th to 14th in the Premier League, there was only a gap of two points, to 12th was only a gap of three points, and between 12th and ninth in the Premier League was also only a gap of three points. The points difference between the mid-tier teams was not large. There were three teams with 33 points, two teams with 35 points, and two teams with 36 points.
As long as Forest won a few key matches and did not make any big mistakes in the Premier League, they would be able to steadily improve their ranking and return to the top. When their ranking rose to within the top ten, they could officially sprint for promotion.
Nottingham Forest currently has 31 points and is ranked 18th in the league.
It was precisely because of such a close score that Twain dared to say such "big words" about returning to the Super League at the end of the season. This was not an inconceivable miracle. Those who believed that it was a miracle simply lacked sufficient understanding and analysis of the situation.
For Tang En, January and February were the most crucial months. If the team dropped the ball at this time, then they would basically have to count on a "miracle" to catch up.
Tang En had to win two consecutive EFL Cup finals at the end of January.
After much consideration, Tang En still decided to give up on the FA Cup. He hoped that West Bromwich Albion would go further and further on the road to the FA Cup. If possible, he hoped that they could directly break into the final … That way, they could divert the second-ranked team's energy even more and allow the Forest team to pull them down … Then, West Bromwich Albion, who had made it to the FA Cup final, hoped that they could magnificently create the "proud record" of a second-division team entering the UEFA Europa League! As for the English Premier League spot, let the Forest team "reluctantly" replace you!
Tang En, who had come up with this plan, told the coaching staff that the training arrangements were mainly targeted towards Nottingham Forest's next opponent in the league tournament — Sunderland. This was an away game, and Sunderland was ranked fourth in the league tournament.
For Tang En, this was in the category of "no matter what, no matter what means, we have to win the game." And this category included all the teams currently ranked ahead of Nottingham Forest.
For the away game, Tang En still insisted on a defense-oriented strategy. Sunderland's home results were quite good, with seven wins, five draws, and only one loss. They could be considered a home dragon. It was indeed difficult to challenge such an opponent. The only thing that Tang En could take advantage of was that this team's rear defensive line was terrible. The number of goals they had conceded was the highest among the top six — 38 goals. It must be noted that Bradford, who was ranked second from the bottom, had only conceded 39 goals.
Therefore, the coaching staff followed the league tournament training plan, with Rebrov overseeing the midfield and Gareth Taylor at the forefront. These two players had been the team's biggest investment this season. No coach would rashly leave them on the bench. Tang En had sent Taylor to the reserve team to play two games, which was enough of a character. If they were to encounter a good-natured manager like Ranieri, who no one dared to offend, the team would be in chaos. Because of this, Chelsea's performance this season had made the new boss, Abramovich, somewhat unable to continue watching.
The topic had strayed too far.
The player that Tang En focused on during the training was the newcomer, Freddy Eastwood. After two days of training, all the members of the coaching staff were completely at ease with the player who had once broken his leg. In terms of ability, there was no problem with him.
Even Walker could not help but admire Tang En's foresight once again. He really did not know how Tang En had discovered this person who had never played in any First Team matches, who had been abandoned by his old team because of his broken leg, and who had run off to play in the amateur league.
Of course, Tang En could not tell him that he had seen a video of him playing football three years later, in 2007, and had even used him in a football manager game. He simply did not give any explanation and allowed his colleagues to look at him with adoration. This was actually not bad. It would help him continue to establish his position and authority.
You can't show everything, even if it's your best work partner or friend. In particular, a manager who needed a charismatic personality must have a sense of mystery that others could not understand. Just like Brian Clough. Back then, England's national goalkeeper, Nottingham Forest's main player who had won two Champions League titles, Peter Shilton, had once said, "Managers like Shankly, Ramsey, and Stern are all great. They have halos and magic, but Clough also has a mysterious X-factor."
Therefore, it was proven that maintaining an appropriate sense of mystery and unapproachability in front of others would instead help to enhance one's reputation and prestige in the team.
※ ※ ※
On the 3rd of January, at the City Ground Stadium, the Forest team faced West Bromwich Albion in the third round of the FA Cup. Before the game, Tang En had Eastwood appear in the middle of the stadium, wearing the Forest team's jersey to meet the fans. The fans' reaction to this unfamiliar fellow was a little cold. There was no welcoming scene like the cheers that shook the City Ground Stadium.
The meeting itself was also very simple. Eastwood went up and waved, holding a Nottingham Forest scarf as he stood on the sidelines for the reporters to take pictures. In less than five minutes, he came down from the field, took off his jersey, dressed neatly, and sat in the stands box to watch the game — he was not even on the squad list for the game.
In this game, the Forest team lost to West Bromwich Albion 1: 2 at home and was eliminated from the FA Cup. The fans were a little disappointed, but they still gave the team a round of applause after the game. After all, the team had already made it to the EFL Cup semi-finals. They should not be too greedy.
Instead, Eastwood, who appeared before the game, quickly became the focus of the media's attention. It was very simple, because the media discovered that Eastwood had just broken his leg and had been playing in an amateur team. He had no experience of playing in a professional team's first team.
Although the deal only cost the club 100,000 pounds, the media, who liked to make a fuss, still made a big deal out of it. Many of the media questioned Tang En's judgment of people, and at the same time, questioned Eastwood's ability.
The media did not know how to get hold of the dramatic scene that Eastwood caused when he first arrived at the Forest team. They exaggerated what happened that day and did their best to ridicule Eastwood. In the end, they sarcastically asserted in the report: "A Gypsy who lives in a caravan, brings horses into the training base to report as if living a primitive life, can only play in an amateur team after breaking his leg, and usually helps his father sell used cars … Tony Twain's frontline knife? Nottingham Forest's hope? This world must be crazy! "
In fact, Brosnan was also a little worried about the newcomer's ability, but out of trust in Tang En, he did not publish any articles that were unfavorable to Eastwood in the newspaper. He only cautiously expressed his pessimism about Eastwood's prospects and chose his words carefully. But the other media could not care so much. The Forest team and Millwall did not fight, and they were a little dissatisfied. Now that they had caught a good opportunity, how could they let it go so easily?
"… I've seen professional players who work as painters, I've also seen professional players who work as plumbers and electricians, and I've also seen professional players who do odd jobs in restaurants … But I've never seen a professional player who brings his family and lives in a caravan, living the life of a vagrant!"
"According to our understanding, when Freddy Eastwood played for the West Ham youth team, he was once seriously violated by a Nottingham Forest player in a youth league match, and his leg was broken. Could it be that Mr. Tony Twain signed such a player who has not proven his ability out of the mentality of paying off his debt? Hey, Mr. Twain, are you planning to become a philanthropist? "
"Charlton Football Club once almost became the club that Freddy Eastwood played for. At that time, Eastwood hoped to go to the south London team for a trial. But after the club found out that he had once broken his leg, they did not hesitate to reject him. "
Of course, not all of them were doubters. There were still people who stood up to speak up for Tang En and Eastwood, even though there was only one person — Mr. Stimson, the head coach of the team that Eastwood had played for previously, Grays Athletic Club. He was furious at the media for ridiculing Eastwood, and he also believed that the player whom he had persuaded to return to the field would definitely surprise everyone with his performance. "When he played for my team, he often scored five to six goals in a match!" But who would care about the evaluation of an amateur team's manager? His words were quickly used by the media as a new excuse to ridicule — "A player who had received formal youth training from a professional team running to an amateur game to score five or six goals. What's there to brag about?"
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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