Thanks to Britain's highly developed media and paparazzi, Tang En's bet with England's famous BBC football commentator, Mark Lawrenson, using his hair in his newspaper column quickly became a national topic.
Such an interesting manager would always attract the attention of the public. The Nottingham Evening Post had made a very good deal.
Since Manager Tang En had publicly announced his bet with Lawrenson, Lineker also highlighted the matter in the next episode of Match of the Day. Amid Lineker and Alan Hansen's malicious laughter, Lawrenson publicly responded to Tony Twain's invitation to a bet on the show. He agreed to a bet with Tony Twain. If Forest Team did not stay in League One as he had said and were promoted to the English Premier League, he would shave off the beard that he was most proud of.
The next day, Tang En quickly responded in his column. Tang En praised Lawrenson's courage and enthusiastically recommended to him which brand of razor was better to use. From traditional ones to electric vibrating ones, there were all kinds of models and prices, and everything that one could wish for.
The bet attracted the attention of many people, including the Forest Club's own people.
Even the old guard, Ian McDonald, would loudly ask Tang En when he was working at the training ground, "Hey, Tony! We all hope that Lawrenson shaves off his beard. You're confident you can beat him, right? "
"Of course I am, Ian. I have no intention of changing my hairstyle. "Then the two looked at each other and laughed.
Of course, not everyone supported Tang En. There were also many who thought Tang En was just bluffing. There were still a few months before the season ended. How could he be so sure that his team would be promoted to the English Premier League?
No matter how one looked at it, what Mark Lawrenson said was not wrong. Although winning the EFL Cup was something that the Forest people could be proud of, there was no reason for them to be so arrogant as to think that Forest could have the last laugh in the long English Premier League. Currently, Forest was only ranked 17th in the English Premier League. Of course, this ranking was also because they had played two rounds less than the other teams.
Skeptics and critics could not understand one question: Where did Tony Twain get his confidence from? He was not coaching the world's strongest team, but an ordinary League One team, Nottingham Forest.
Twain was not interested in explaining the matter to them. He put all his energy into work. The EFL Cup was over and the team's goals and plans had to be changed. The coaching staff had to come up with a new plan.
In March, there were still two months before the end of the league tournament. In eight weeks, the Forest team had to play sixteen rounds of the league tournament. On average, there were two games a week. Considering that they had to make way for the national team and the FA Cup competition at the same time, such a density was astounding, which was the main reason why Lawrenson and the others were not optimistic about the Forest team's success in promotion.
Tang En knew very well that he had already memorized the Premier League matchup by heart. He could almost recite it.
After the training and observation of the EFL Cup, Tang En already had a plan for the main lineup in his mind. Two months had passed, and the team's run-in period had gradually passed. He felt that there was no need to put more effort into tactics. Starting from March, the team's training curriculum focused on stamina and physical training. The training volume increased to pull up the players' stamina. In order to cope with the intense competition.
Physical fitness. This was what Tang En repeatedly emphasized. In modern football, without stamina, everything else was useless. This was the foundation of all techniques and tactics.
The advantage was that the team's morale was high, and the atmosphere in the locker room was good. Tang En did not have to worry about off-field issues.
The EFL Cup was an intermediate goal, and the final Premier League was another intermediate goal.
Before one goal was achieved and the other continued, Tang En felt that it was necessary to gather the team and give them an "ideological and political lesson." Of course, this was a joke. The main thing was that the Premier League was about to enter its final sprint. At such a critical moment, it was necessary to unify the team's internal thinking, clarify everyone's goals, boost morale, lift their spirits, and go all out.
Although training and tactical factors were important, Tang En believed that a real master-level manager must be an expert in psychological regulation. They were all good at mobilizing the team's atmosphere and solving the players' psychological problems. There was a saying that he forgot where he had seen it from, but it left a deep impression on him and he agreed with it.
A third-rate manager looks at the players, a second-rate manager looks at tactics, and a first-rate manager looks at psychology.
The more important the moment, the more important the psychological aspect was. Think about the China national team in 2001. The players were still the same, but they eventually made it to the World Cup finals. In the past 44 years, there had been countless more favorable situations than that one, but the China team had failed without exception. Only the 2002 World Cup was a success. What changed the China team, which had always liked to "capsize in the gutter" and "advance to the next round with a draw but would definitely lose?" Milutinović's tactics were not too impressive, but his level of psychological regulation was definitely world-class. He emerged one after another, and his magic-like psychological regulation changed the mental outlook of the China national team, inspired their fighting spirit, improved their abilities, and created a miracle that had never been done before. Yes, it was a miracle. Since then, the scene of the whole country celebrating on October 7, 2001, where the ground was covered in red overnight never happened again.
It was also from the time he met Milutinović that Tang En, a fan, saw the psychological effect in football as particularly important. Because the team in front of him was a living example. They were able to train the Chinese team, which was a team that could not be helped, into a united team that persevered and did not hesitate to fight. Wasn't this evidence strong enough?
Now, as a coach, Tang En had many opportunities to practice the role of psychological factors in football.
Thus, on the first day of the implementation of the new schedule, on a sunny morning, Tang En appeared at the training ground before the start of the training session. He spent half an hour talking to the players, while Des Walker and the members of the coaching staff stood behind him and listened.
"How does it feel to be the EFL Cup champion, guys?" Standing in front of the players, Tang En asked them as if they were friends greeting each other.
"Very good, Boss!"
"Awesome, Boss!"
"I couldn't sleep for a few nights! Every time I closed my eyes, it was that day's final … "someone complained.
"Hahahaha!"
Tang En laughed with the players, but did not stop them from indulging themselves on the training ground.
"Not bad. It looks like you're all in a good mood," Tang En continued when everyone had finished laughing. "But now I have to start worrying about another problem." Speaking of this, Tang En paused for a moment, deliberately mystifying things to attract the players' interest.
"Some of you must be thinking: What problem can make me worry? Thank God, our team has no serious injuries, no consecutive defeats, and low morale. What other problems can there be? Well, to be honest, I'm a little worried now if you're still as motivated as a month ago. We just won the EFL Cup. No matter what our final ranking is this season, we can definitely participate in the UEFA Europa League next season. You have the opportunity to show your talents in front of all of Europe … Oh no, the world. That's a very, very exciting thing! Am I right? "
Some of the players nodded.
"So, I'm now worried that you'll lose the motivation to move forward after winning a championship. You'll regard the remaining 16 rounds of the league tournament as' garbage time 'and think that all of our goals for this season have been achieved. You can breathe a sigh of relief and relax! Is that right? " As Tang En said this, he had already seen many people shaking their heads, and some people were repeating the sound of "no" in a low voice. So, he asked loudly at the end of his speech.
As expected, everyone replied in the same loud voice, "No! Not like that! "
"The wind is too strong, I can't hear clearly …" Tang En tilted his ear and said.
"No one thinks that way! Boss! "This time, the players were practically shouting. "No one —!!"
Tang En let the group of boys go and nodded in satisfaction. "You're very loud. It looks like you're sufficiently sincere. Then, can someone tell me, since we've already won the EFL Cup and booked a place in next season's European competition, why do we still have to train and compete so hard in the next two months? What's our goal? Wes, you tell us. "Tang En called out Morgan's name.
"For promotion, Boss! We want to go to the Premier League. We should have gone at the end of last season! " Morgan's answer was resolute and decisive. The painful experience of losing in the play-offs last season had left a deep impression on him.
This answer was exactly what Tang En wanted. However, when he turned his head and saw the silent George Wood, he suddenly called out, "George! Tell us, why do we still have to compete so hard in the next two months to achieve victory? "
When everyone heard Tang En call out Wood's name, they were also curious as to what kind of reason this usually taciturn teammate would give at this time. They all turned their heads to look at Wood at the back.
George Wood raised his head to look at Tang En and did not answer his question. He seemed to not like to open his mouth and speak his mind in front of so many people.
Tang En did not let it go and continued to look at him. The two stared at each other in front of everyone until one side could not hold on and was defeated.
Wood lost. He lowered his head and said, "Only by winning the competition will we get the prize money."
After holding it in for a long time to say this, his teammates around him all laughed. Tang En also laughed along, but after laughing, he said to the others very seriously, "George is right. You've all seen the prize money for the EFL Cup champions. Our chairman is not stingy at all. "He was speaking the truth. After winning the EFL Cup, in the locker room at the Millennium Stadium, the excited chairman, Evan Doughty, promised everyone — including the players and coaches — a prize of five thousand pounds on the spot. Two days later, the money was in everyone's hands. Not only the players and coaches who participated in the final, but everyone in the club also received the championship prize money. The only difference was the amount.
"So, if we can be promoted to the Premier League at the end of this season, I think Mr. Chairman will be very happy to fork out another sum of money. As for how much each of us can get, that will depend on our performance in the next two months! "
Hearing that there was money, the players let out a cheer.
Tang En was very satisfied with the players' reaction. No matter who it was, this move was the most effective. Who did not like money? Who did not want more money? From this point of view, George Wood's answer was what Tang En wanted the most.
"Very good. Now I believe that you have enough motivation to move forward!" So, he said with a shrug.
The players laughed. Even Walker and the others, who were standing behind Tang En, laughed along with him. There were very few managers who could joke with the players like this. Most managers always hoped that they could maintain enough dignity in front of the players with a face so that the kids would be afraid of them and not dare to refute any of their words. They used high-handed methods to establish their authority in the team.
But Tony Twain was different. He was very young, and he was familiar with the thinking of many young people. He knew which of them liked to listen to Oasis's songs and liked to sneak to the bar for a drink or two. As long as it was not particularly serious, Tang En would not look into it too deeply. He only gave them a reminder. He treated the players honestly. He did not call them "players" but "buddies." He never deliberately showed his authority, but everyone listened to him. He rarely got angry, but everyone was afraid that he would get angry. They were afraid that he would call them to play against the reserve team, and the reason would be "because you play better than the Third Team."
The players treated him like a friend. Such a relationship would sometimes make them ignore the difference in status between them. But when Tang En needed them to work for him, these people would not have the slightest complaint.
This manager … With such a team, it was no wonder he could lead the team to win the EFL Cup. Collymore was too indulgent with the players. He did not get the support of the players. And Paul Hart was more serious. Even though Tang En was Hart's student, he had long surpassed his teacher.
Because he had his own unique things.
"Buddies, do you like me?" Tang En suddenly asked.
"Yes!" This was the expected answer.
"That's great! You all know about the bet I made with that Lawrenson, right? I say … Everyone doesn't want me to be shaved bald, right? "Tang En asked, full of anticipation.
"No, boss!" Eastwood answered loudly. His answer made Tang En very happy. He was about to praise the Romani. He did not expect Eastwood to immediately add with a grin, "In fact, boss, we all think it's not bad if you change your hairstyle!"
"Ah … You bastards!" Tang En cursed helplessly as he looked at the laughing players. "Chat time is over! All of you, go back to the field and train! I'm going to drill you hard! Ravage you! I'll make you not have the strength to think of such bad ideas! For the next week, physical training. Increase the intensity. Twice a day! "
"Wah!!" The players wailed.
"You have to understand your situation, boys!" Tang En smiled sinisterly.
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Two days later, at the City Ground stadium. Loud cheers from the stands resounded through Nottingham's night sky. The song "The World in Our Hands" was sung repeatedly, and the applause lasted for a long time. Twenty-seven thousand fans at the scene once again witnessed a victory that made their hearts surge with emotion.
"… The referee blew the whistle at the end of the match! 2: 0! Tony Twain's team has played a wonderful game at the City Ground stadium. They have convincingly taken three points from Gillingham! Including the 34th round of the league tournament three days ago, Nottingham Forest has won two consecutive games after three consecutive draws! What's even more incredible is that after experiencing the fierce battles in the EFL Cup semi-finals and finals, Tony Twain's team has not lost a single game in the league tournament since he took over! " John Motson's passionate voice rang out again from the television. While he was influenced by Tang En, he had unknowingly become the Forest fans' favorite commentator — because he always said good things about the Forest team.
"The Amazing Manager — Tony Twain!" After the game, the Nottingham Evening Post also published Pierce Brosnan's praises, which almost made Tang En the spokesperson of victory. Brosnan recounted to the Forest fans every victory Tang En had achieved since he took over, and every one of them was exciting. Of course, the climax was the EFL Cup title, but Brosnan did not forget to tell the fans that they could continue to look forward to it. The Forest team's season was not over yet. By the end of the season, they could still enter the first group and become one of the three teams participating in the English Premier League next season.
From March 6th, after the 35th round of the league tournament, there was an additional piece of paper in the home team's locker room at the City Ground stadium. It was pasted in the most eye-catching position on the wall, and it read: "Nottingham Forest's special train, arriving at the next station — English Premier League! Time of arrival: May 9th! Estimated — may arrive ahead of schedule! "
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Because I have something to do tomorrow morning, I'm sending out tomorrow morning's copy as well. I hope everyone will continue to support me!
(To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. COM. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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