Trailing at home, Sunderland was unwilling to accept defeat. They pressed forward in the last ten minutes of the game, hoping to equalize the score. Twain removed the exhausted Rebrov from the field and let the Australian midfielder, Jacob Burns, play. This was not a substitution of the defensive midfielder replacing the attacking midfielder, but the attacking midfielder replacing the attacking midfielder. After taking the lead, Tang En changed the passive position of being pressured by the home team for the previous seventy minutes. He used offense to prevent Sunderland from pressing forward. Jacob Burns's passing organization was better than Rebrov's. With him on the field, Forest's midfield was easier to control.
As time passed, Sunderland became more and more impatient. The empty space in the backfield was almost as wide as the craters on the moon. Tang En knew that as long as he scored one more goal, he would definitely win.
Very soon, his wish was fulfilled.
Taking advantage of the opportunity when the opponent pressed forward without a care for anything, Forest successfully intercepted the ball at the front of the penalty area and quickly counterattacked. Burns sent out a wonderful pass from the midfield. Eastwood plugged in from the side, received the ball, and went one on one with the opponent's goalkeeper. Then, he calmly and calmly scored the ball into the bottom right corner.
At that moment, the time on the big screen stopped at ninety minutes. The Stadium of Light was dead silent. There was no longer any sound.
Tang En turned his head to look at Walker and smiled. "Des, we've won again."
Walker waved his fist at the field and said to Tang En, "That's right. I can't wait to see what the media will say tomorrow!"
"Freddy Eastwood! He's the star of this game! " Motson shouted excitedly in the commentator's box. It felt good to see an ordinary player achieve success and recognition with his own eyes!
This goal completely destroyed Sunderland's fighting spirit and confidence. They were defeated by an amateur player who had broken his leg for the first time on the field.
The final score of the game was 2: 0. Nottingham Forest defeated fourth-placed Sunderland in the away game with the help of Eastwood, who came out of nowhere, and got three precious points.
That night, after the last game ended, the latest league rankings were released.
Sunderland still had forty-four points because of their loss to Nottingham Forest. But what worried the "Black Cats" fans was that the gap between them and the teams behind them was getting closer. Preston won, and their points rose from forty to forty-three. Their ranking also rose to fifth in the league tournament.
Because the sixth and seventh teams in the league were tied, the difference between the seventh and fourth teams was only one point. Three forty-three, one forty-four …
Such a close score was the result that Tang En liked to see the most apart from his own team winning.
Because of the win, Nottingham Forest's points rose from 31 to 34, and their ranking rose from 18th to 15th. They were only one point behind the fourteenth ranked Walsall. The points of the teams above the Forest team, from lowest to highest, were thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight …
Of course, the Forest team's own position was not necessarily secure, because below them with 34 points, there were three teams with 33 points and another team with 32 points.
It would only take one round of the League Tournament for such a ranking to undergo a drastic change.
Seven days later, Tang En's team would welcome their opponent in the 28th round of the League Tournament at home, Reading, who was ranked tenth with 39 points — another "must-win" category.
Five days after the game, on the 22nd of January, Nottingham Forest continued to hold the fort at home. This time, it was a truly tough battle — the first leg of the EFL Cup semifinals. Their opponent was the English Premier League team, Bolton Wanderers. In the previous round, they had narrowly defeated Blackburn Rovers by 4: 3.
After the home game, on the 28th of January, the Forest team visited the Reebok Stadium. This was the second leg of the EFL Cup semifinals.
The competition schedule was not tight, with basically one game a week. But these three games were tough battles for the Forest team. Tang En did not want the team to be in the First Division next season. At the same time, he had personally promised to qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
Such a problem troubled him for two consecutive days — should he give up on a League game and let his competitors catch up to him again, then fight for the EFL Cup, which was highly contingent?
Because the latest schedule for the EFL Cup was out, the schedule for the League Tournament had to be adjusted accordingly. In the 29th round of the League Tournament, which was originally scheduled for the 31st of January, Nottingham Forest's away game against Cardiff City was postponed to the 7th of April.
This was considered good news for Tang En, because he could make up for the missed League Tournament after sprinting for the EFL Cup with all his might. Even if his points were temporarily behind the other teams, it was only because he had one game less. It was like putting victory and three points in the future, and taking them out when the time came.
※ ※ ※
Returning victorious from Sunderland with three points, Tang En heard good news from the transfer market. The Forest team had bought the main center back of the Division Two team, Oldham, for 300,000 pounds. But Tang En was still worried about the rear defensive line. After Dawson left, the only true center back in the team was Wes Morgan. His current partner, Chris Doig, was not a pure center back. It was not safe to rely on Morgan and the newly joined Hill as the center back. Tang En might be able to make do in other positions, but he would not be careless in the rear defensive line.
This time, he focused his attention on Chelsea.
Due to the arrival of the Russian owner, Chelsea inevitably had the temperament of a nouveau riche after they became rich. Ranieri was also not a manager with strong opinions and personality, so Chelsea bought nine new players in a frenzy this summer. In the center back position, there was the veteran Desailly holding the fort, the youngster Terry who was becoming more mature, and William Gallas who could play in any position in the rear defensive line. Even a player like Glen Johnson had been put in the center back position by Ranieri to play a few games, not to mention players like Geremi and Melchiot who had to be versatile in order to get on the field. With the tinker Ranieri, they really had to be able to play in any position.
Therefore, in such a competitive environment, the German youngster, the only 18-year-old Robert Huth, could only play in the reserve team matches in the club. Tang En had wanted to buy directly. It should have been settled for just over two million pounds, but Chelsea valued Huth very much and believed that he would become the club's future center back partner with Terry, so they were unwilling to let him go. Therefore, Tang En could only settle for the next best thing — a loan.
Ranieri thought that loaning Huth out to train was a very good idea. The rich and imposing Chelsea would not ask the Forest team to bear the player's salary like Leeds. This time, Tang En could get the future main substitute center back for the German national team without spending a single cent.
After consecutively acquiring Clint Hill and Robert Huth, the vacancy in the center back left by Michael Dawson's departure was finally filled.
Tang En's request to Evan was that the team's signings must be basically completed before the start of the EFL Cup semi-finals. That way, he could have a complete team and formulate perfect tactics. Only then could the whole team practice together.
Therefore, the Forest team sped up their work in the transfer market. After taking down Clint Hill, Moore brought Twain some news that satisfied him. Kris Commons' level was completely in line with the Forest team's requirements, and he himself was very happy to join the Forest team. Even though he was a player groomed by Stoke City, his favorite team was Nottingham Forest, which was managed by Tang En. The player was happy, and the Forest team also expressed sufficient sincerity in their offer. In the end, the deal was completed at a price of 300,000 pounds. For a young player who had just played a match in the First Team, the Forest team's offer was already very generous.
However, the team offered 300,000 pounds to buy Commons, but became "stingy" when it came to loaning Steve McPhail. The Forest team proposed a loan request to Leeds United, but Leeds insisted that the Forest team pay 90% of the player's weekly salary. Whether it was Tang En or Evan, or even Allan Adams, who was even more "stingy" than them, none of them agreed to this proposal.
At this time, the benefits of the team buying Commons became apparent. Tang En began to speak frequently in front of the media, claiming that he was very satisfied with the addition of Commons. "Even though Reed has left the team, we still have Commons. The fans can look forward to Commons' performance just like they look forward to Eastwood." After the team's consecutive victories, Tang En also lifted the ban on the media. With their relationship eased, Commons' performance on the training ground naturally spread through the media.
The 1.68m short man had the most classic height on the football field. Even though speed was not his forte, his outstanding skills made up for his physical shortcomings. Whether it was passing or shooting, he proved that the Forest team's 300,000 pounds was not spent in vain.
Then, Allan, who was in charge of player transfer negotiations, told Leeds at the negotiating table, "See that? The Forest team's newly signed left midfielder is also very outstanding. There's no need for us to fork out so much money to loan your player. The Forest team is only responsible for 50% of McPhail's salary. This is the last offer. If your club doesn't agree, then forget it. We have Chris Commons anyway. "
Deeply in the midst of a financial crisis, Leeds could no longer hold it in. They agreed to reduce the standard weekly salary to 60%, hoping that the Forest team would understand their current difficulties. Allan stopped while he was ahead. With a salary of 6,000 pounds per week, he brought back the Steve McPhail that Tang En wanted. And McPhail, who could not play in matches at Leeds United, was also happy to go on loan to the Forest team to maintain his form.
(To be continued, if you wish to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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