The stands of the City Ground stadium were already full. At a glance, almost all of them were Nottingham Forest fans in red jerseys. There were only about 1,300 Bolton Wanderers fans who came to the away game to cheer for Bolton Wanderers.
The game had not yet started. The fans of both sides had just finished a round of "duet" and were now temporarily resting their drums, waiting for the start whistle to sound. The stadium broadcast began to play the popular songs that the Forest fans liked. Some were the latest and hottest, and some were "old songs" that were popular in the 1970s and 1980s. Those old songs had witnessed Nottingham Forest's first glory. Every time they rang over the City Ground stadium, the old fans would feel as if they had returned to 20 years ago. Their Forest team had defeated one opponent after another here, fearless and undefeatable. They were the English champions, they were … the kings of Europe!
Now, the old songs were still there, and the City Ground stadium was still there, but the people had changed.
This EFL Cup semi-final gave many fans anticipation — would we have a chance to witness the start of a new round of glory? The Forest team's eternal legend, Brian Clough, had led the team to three EFL Cup titles. Could Tony Twain, who was widely regarded as the most like Clough, prove his ability with an EFL Cup title?
Martin Taylor was a tall, white-haired old man. He looked no different from the old gentlemen in London. He wore a well-ironed suit, his hair was meticulous, and he had a peaceful and natural smile. But everyone familiar with English football knew what his status was in this circle. He was the top football commentator in the United Kingdom, the top football commentator in Europe, and the top football commentator in the world. His voice was known as "the best sports commentator in the world." His voice was crisp, enunciated clearly, and his commentary style was humorous and witty. He was calm and neutral, but there was no lack of passion. There were almost no flaws. He was the idol of many sports commentators in the world.
Andy Gray used to be a professional player and became a commentator after he retired. Unlike Martin Taylor, his voice was more passionate, especially when he scored a goal. The two of them were considered the "golden pair" in English sports commentary. They had provided commentary for several generations of the famous football game "FIFA" series. At the same time … they were also the most well-known English commentators in China.
If the two men appeared in the same stadium at the same time, there was only one reason — they were here to commentate on the game held here.
Gray looked at the man standing in front of them with a grin. "John, the EFL Cup is broadcast live by Sky TV. What are you doing here? Be careful not to be photographed by those tabloid reporters and then publicize that BBC's ace commentator, John Motson, plans to join Sky TV! "
Gray mimicked the reporters making a fuss and shouting.
Motson laughed. "Andy, why isn't it 'Sky TV's golden partners plan to betray their old employer and join BBC'?"
Football commentators relied on their glib tongues and quick-witted brains. When it came to bickering, none of them would lose to anyone else.
Martin Taylor clapped his hands. "Alright, you won't get anywhere even if you keep spitting at each other for three days. Motson, what are you doing here? "
Motson had been commentating football games for thirty-one years, and Martin Taylor was also quite experienced. Before the World Cup in Germany, he had commentated seven World Cup games in a row. This number was almost unprecedented in the commentary world.
"Watching football." Mortensen shrugged.
His answer surprised Taylor. "John, I remember you're not a Bolton Wanderers fan, are you?"
"I'm not here to watch Bolton Wanderers, Martin."
"But you're not a Forest fan either …" Gray added for Taylor. They really deserved to be called the Golden Pair.
"Can't I come to watch their game if I'm not a Forest fan, Andy?" Motson asked with a smile.
There was really no such thing … Gray scratched his head. Next to him, Taylor immediately followed up. "You're very interested in the Forest team, John. I've noticed that you've commentated almost all of the Forest team's recent games. What makes you value them so much? "
"Well, I'm not so interested in the Forest team as I am interested in their manager."
"Tony Twain?" Gray asked.
Motson nodded. "Martin, you've been commentating on the Premier League. You may not know much about this person. I suggest you pay more attention to him in the game later. You'll find him an interesting person. "
"Interesting? Which aspect do you mean? "Gray asked.
"All aspects." Motson smiled and waved goodbye. "Well, I think the game is about to start. I'm going to the stands."
He turned to leave the lounge and walked toward the tunnel leading to the stands.
Gray looked at his back and shook his head. Then he asked Taylor, "Martin, what do you think? It's so unusual that Motson would actually come to watch a game that he doesn't support when he's not working. It's just because that Tony Twain is interesting! "
Taylor smiled. "We'll see for ourselves how it is. I've also learned about Tony Twain, but that's for the sake of commentating this game. I want to see it in person to help us deepen our impression. Let's go, Andy. Work's about to start. "
※ ※ ※
John Motson sat in the third row of the stands, just like the ordinary fans around him. No one knew that this gray-haired man in an inconspicuous gray coat was the commentator who gave them passionate voices every weekend.
His position was very close to the Forest team's technical area. As long as he got up, he could see Tony Twain standing on the sidelines. The man had just come out of the locker room, and his team was already on the field preparing for the game.
This was not the first time Tony Twain had led a team to play against a Premier League team. Motson still remembered the FA Cup on January 4 last year, when the Forest team faced West Ham United in this stadium. Two days ago, he had laughed at Twain's clumsy first appearance on the live television broadcast, but on that day, he was attracted to the second half.
The FA Cup … seemed to be the place where Tony Twain became famous.
Last time it was the FA Cup, this time it was the EFL Cup. What kind of game would this man bring to him?
A crisp whistle sounded, but it was quickly drowned out by the loud cheers — the game had begun!
※ ※ ※
What kind of team was Bolton Wanderers? They were by no means the current popular technical or quasi-technical style of play. They played a very traditional English style of play. The team had a tough style, a fierce defense in the middle and back fields, and then used long passes to attack the opponent's rear defensive line.
Just look at the two starting strikers in their forward line for this game. Kevin Davis, although only 1.83 meters tall, was extremely good at headers. The other was the Dane, Henrik Petersen. His technique was rough, but he was tall and strong, a typical Nordic player.
The impact of these two together could not be underestimated.
For Twain, the main problem with this forward line was Kevin Davis' injury and the lack of offensive methods.
Even a fool would know how Bolton Wanderers would play — a long pass to send the ball from the air to the front of the Forest team's goal, and then rely on Davis' and Petersen's ability to head the ball. Even if they could not form a shot, they could still cause chaos in the penalty area.
Therefore, Twain lined up the center-back combination of Wes Morgan and Robert Huth. The two were not fast, but they were strong and had excellent headers. They were the only suitable combination to defend against Bolton Wanderers' forwards. As for Clint Hill, he was on standby on the substitutes' bench. Of the two full-backs, John Thompson was still on the right, and Twain replaced the original David Oyer with the younger Leighton Baines on the left. Baines' stamina and speed were better. At the same time, he also had the ability to take powerful long shots and free kicks.
In the midfield, Bolton Wanderers' starting lineup was the youngster Kevin Nolan and Ivan Campo in the middle, with Okocha on the left and Jonakopoulos on the right. Other than the Nigerian, the other three were good at running and intercepting, reducing the opponent's attacking space. It was as if they had set up an iron fence in the midfield, preventing the opponent's attacks from easily passing through.
In response to this, Twain did not let Rebrov play in the midfield. Instead, he deployed a personnel configuration in the midfield that was very similar to Bolton Wanderers'. The two defensive midfielders in the middle were Gunnarsson and George Wood. On the left was McPhail, on loan from Leeds United, and on the right was the newly joined team, Ashley Young.
He hoped to use the two defensive midfielders to stabilize the defense. At the same time, without the organization of the midfield, the team's offense mainly relied on the two sides. McPhail and Ashley Young were the kind of players who could dribble the ball and break through, then pass and shoot. They had outstanding individual skills and strong individual combat ability.
Twain's strategy for this game was still defensive counterattack — defensive counterattack on their own home ground. After all, Bolton Wanderers was a Premier League team and could not be underestimated.
Twain believed that there was an unbreakable truth on the football field: victory in a game must be built on a solid foundation of defense. Without defense, there was no need to talk about anything else.
McPhail and Ashley Young displayed extremely strong individual abilities and excellent form during training. In the tactical arrangements before the game, Twain told the two of them that the team might not give them too much offensive support in the game, but they would not ask them to return too much to defend either. They had to rely on themselves in the offense. Twain encouraged them not to rush to pass the ball out after they got the ball. They had to be brave enough to break through and be brave enough to go one-on-one. They were not afraid of losing the ball, and they could snatch it back on the spot. There was still Wood and the others behind. The key was to believe that their own skills were very useful against an old defensive line like Bolton Wanderers.
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