In the English football scene, there were some small rules, or perhaps a small curse. It was just like how one could not win a match by using the south changing room at the Millennium Stadium … Of course, this had already been broken by Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest. Arsenal had used the south changing room for today's match. Another little curse was that teams that won the Community Shield at the beginning of the season were bound to lose the league title. The 2000 Community Shield was won by Chelsea. They only finished sixth that season, and the league title was won by Manchester United. The glorious Quintuple Champion Liverpool in 2001 lost all four titles after winning the new season's Community Shield. In 2002, Arsenal's worst was when they won the Community Shield, but they were reversed by Manchester United after leading for more than half of the league. The 2003 Community Shield belonged to the Red Devils, Manchester United. But this season, Arsenal was unstoppable. They won the title with a magnificent record of 38 matches without losing. Manchester United even lost to Chelsea at the last minute and only finished third.
As for the 2004 Community Shield, Tang En remembered very clearly what happened to them in the end.
After hearing the Manchester United fan's endless complaints and self-mockery, he could not help but laugh. "That's hard to say. Maybe this season's league title will be Chelsea!"
The fat man looked at Tang En in surprise. He then waved his hand. "Don't joke around. How can that mercenary team be our match? Don't think they can get first this season just because they got second last season. Hey, do you know anything about football? "
It looked like his words had angered the man. Tang En did not want to argue with the fans who were losing their minds. He and David Kerslake quickly left the Millennium Stadium.
On the way back, Kerslake also talked about this issue. He felt that Arsenal's current form was very good. Their consecutive unbeaten streak had not declined because of the long summer.
"Why can't Wenger's team break the curse of the Community Shield champions not winning the league title? You mean Chelsea? I'm not optimistic. They're like us. In the summer, they brought in too many new players, from the team manager to the players. The team's running-in will take up a lot of their time. I don't think they can pose any threat to Arsenal and Manchester United this season. I'm more optimistic about them next season. "
Tang En did not want to bet with Kerslake. It was not that he was not sure if the future would be the same as he remembered, but because they had already joined in. "If they want to win the title, this year is Chelsea's best chance," he said, shaking his head.
"Why?" Kerslake didn't understand.
"Because …" Tang En turned his head to look at his partner and chuckled. "Starting from next season, we'll be joining them."
※ ※ ※
The Community Shield was the outpost of the English Premier League, which meant that the Premier League would kick off in a week's time.
During this week, Tang En and Forest accepted an interview with Sky TV. This was a special video feature produced before every season by Sky TV, which was in charge of broadcasting the English Premier League. It allowed the audience to accept the 20 teams in the new season. Other than the favorites to win the title, the most important team in the program was the newly promoted teams. That was because, for most viewers, the three newly promoted teams were brand new and unfamiliar. At the same time, because the Forest team was the most special of the three promoted teams, they received more attention.
As a newly promoted team that had just been promoted to the Premier League and was about to participate in the European competition, the media's main concern was what the Forest team's goal was this season. Almost all the newly promoted teams' goal in their first season in the English Premier League was to avoid relegation. That was because going from League One to the English Premier League was a complete leap in quality. Many teams that could summon wind and rain in League One were beaten to a pulp in the English Premier League.
Tang En naturally did not like such a thing to happen to him. However, he did not explicitly state his exact goal. He only said to "win all the matches that he felt it was necessary to win." This was the Forest team's goal.
The Sky TV reporter analyzed other meanings from this sentence, so he followed up with some excitement. "For example, last season's Arsenal …"
This was a dangerous sign. Reporters always liked to use this sort of self-talk, yet inquisitive tone to bait you into taking the bait. Tang En shook his head very firmly. "Arsenal is Arsenal. Nottingham Forest is Nottingham Forest. I don't intend to repeat the path that others have taken. "
The disappointed reporter thought of another related question. "The longest unbeaten record in England's top league is held by the Forest team, 42 consecutive matches …"
"The past record has nothing to do with the current Forest team. Just like how no one would think that the Forest team is the European champion now. "
Tang En's answer was not at all cooperative, but the Sky TV reporter did not give up. He rolled his eyes and suddenly thought of a very exciting topic. "According to the match schedule, the Forest team will face Arsenal at home on August 26th."
Tang En nodded, not knowing what this slightly annoying reporter was going to say.
"If Arsenal wins the first two rounds of the league tournament, Mr. Tang, do you know? The third round of the league tournament between Arsenal and the Forest team will be Arsenal's 43rd match after 42 consecutive unbeaten matches. Do you know this … "
Hearing the reporter say so, Tang En was also stunned for a moment. When he first paid attention to the match schedule, his baldy's head hurt that he had encountered such a strong team right from the start. He did not expect there to be another layer of meaning in it …
Tang En was a little impatient with the reporter's endless pestering over a record. He frowned and said, "Once a record is set, it's meant to be broken by future generations. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Also, I think I need to remind you, Mr. Reporter, are you sure you're not filming Arsenal today? "
The reporter, who was embarrassed by Tang En's rhetorical question, could only change to something very ordinary. It was destined to be a topic without any juicy news or things readers would like to see. Tang En responded with a few words, then left the camera crew behind and ran to the training ground to pay attention to the team's training.
For the current him, appearing on television could no longer satisfy his sense of achievement and vanity. He cared more about the team's victory and final glory. Also, it felt terrible to be looked down upon by this damned reporter. Now that Arsenal had won the Community Shield, all of England was concerned about when that record would be broken by Wenger's team. As a result, the Forest team that had once created this record was also pulled out of the dust of history and used as a backdrop to set off Arsenal's glory.
This feeling of being a supporting character for others made Tang En very uncomfortable.
When would those damned media and fans discuss the Forest team as the main character and not a supporting character?
It looked like there was still a long way to go!
When the new English Premier League season was about to begin, the lower leagues had long ignited the flames of war. The opponents that Tang En was once familiar with were still struggling in a completely different world, and he himself had long since wanted to go back.
Incidentally, because the English Premier League had found a new sponsor, it had changed its name from this season to the English Champions League. The lower leagues had changed their names in turn. The name "Champions League" sounded flashy, but in reality, it was still the same. It was just a change in form without a change in content.
After being promoted to the Premier League, Tang En no longer cared about the chores of the lower leagues. It was just that the matter of the league changing its name made him feel a little emotional.
Perhaps … the Forest team's Hall of Glory would never have an additional "English Champions League Trophy."
(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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