Tang En, who regarded himself as a manager in his heart, had originally wanted to make a name for himself in the transfer market. When he first played the football manager game, what he looked forward to the most were the two transfer periods before and during each season. He could chase after the players he was interested in and pretend to speak about them. Then, he could watch the other side be "flattered" and "upset," causing the other side's manager to "fly into a rage." It was really a different kind of enjoyment. In the end, he could win those players over to his account and make them listen to his arrangements. He even said that he was most looking forward to playing under Tang En. However, Chairman Doughty very cruelly extinguished Tang En's dream. He told his manager that the club had just recovered from the financial crisis and could not give him extra funds to invest in the transfer market. So, even though it was the winter transfer period, he could only watch other people bustle like it was the New Year.
Fortunately, the lineup that Paul Hart left for him was not too bad. Other than a few minor problems with the lineup, it could still be used with minor fixes and supplements. Tang En sighed. In the end, he was just a tinker like Ranieri. Even tinkers did not have a good ending. Ranieri was fired by Abramović after he lost the Champions League in an extremely stupid way. He then transferred to Valencia but did not achieve any results. Later, he heard that he went to Serie A to coach Parma and seemed to have successfully avoided relegation. After that, Tang En had transmigrated. He did not know where Ranieri would be next.
Speaking of Ranieri, Tang En carefully thought about the time he was in. He realized that his memory of this period in the world of football was so distant, as if it had been a long, long time ago. In fact, it was only four years since 2007.
Tang En began to pay attention to relevant news from newspapers, magazines, and radio and television. He wanted to make sure that the era he was in was not much different from what he remembered. The incident of Bowyer brawling with his teammates during the match had a much smaller impact due to his "rape scandal," but it still gave Tang En a reminder: he was worried that the future would be completely different from what he remembered. If that happened, his transmigration would be meaningless.
Even though it had only been four years, Tang En still called the present "history" to make it easier to distinguish. During this period of time, Abramović's Ruble Army had not fully invaded English football. You could not see the overwhelming reports of "who is Abramović", "how much money Abramović has", and "who is Chelsea's next target" in the newspapers. The Leeds United Youth Guards, who had shocked European football last season, had not yet gone bankrupt or relegated. Although a few players had been sold, people were still willing to believe that the team, which had brought a youthful wind to English football, would perform well this season and in the seasons to come. The darling of Manchester, David Beckham, had not yet left for Madrid, Spain. However, the conflict between him and Ferguson had deepened. The battle between Victoria, the hot girl, and Sir Alex Ferguson for Beckham had reached its climax. It was also something that Tang En was very concerned about. He reckoned that after some time, there would be a good show of "Kicking the shoes off in a fit of rage when he soared to the Champions League, and no regrets in breaking the relationship between master and disciple." He had to see if Beckham would really go to Real Madrid when the summer came. In addition, should he write an anonymous letter to some newspapers that wished for the world to be in chaos and reveal the "fact" that Beckham was going to Real Madrid as an insider? He had found another way to make a living. If he was really fired by the chairman because of a poor performance, he could still rely on those tabloids to sell gossip for a living, even though he could only do it for four and a half years.
His "rape scandal" and Bowyer's stadium brawl were both minor incidents that were not enough to affect the direction of the river of time. It was not a big deal for such incidents to happen one or two more times. If, six months later, Tang En turned on the television, newspapers, or radio and heard the news that Abramovich had bought Tottenham Hotspur, he would seriously consider whether the ideas in his head that were four years ahead of the world were still useful. Although the Russian was indeed very, very close to Tottenham, to the point that the Tottenham Hotspur boss made an offer, it was a pity that the Tottenham boss, Daniele Levy, had misjudged the situation. His asking price was too high. He offered a price of 150 million pounds for 22.9% of the club's shares, when his own estimate was only 50 million. In the end, the Russian chose Chelsea, which had a lower price and a more reasonable distribution of assets. The rest of the story was known by everyone on Earth.
When Tang En gradually recovered from the shock of his transmigration, he discovered that there were many interesting things in this period. He examined and pondered with the mentality of someone who had been through it all, looking forward to it as he looked forward to the next season of Prison Break. It felt good.
Six days after the 18th, on January 25th, Nottingham Forest welcomed Preston North End, who was ranked 18th in the league, at their home ground. Preston also had one match less, and they currently had only 31 points. This was a 28 round make-up match.
Speaking of Preston, Tang En was very unfamiliar. But speaking of another person, Tang En was very familiar. That person was Preston North End's former manager, David Moyes, who had resigned in March of the previous season to coach at Goodison Park. Moyes had played for Preston North End for five years as a player. When he retired from Preston North End, he had brought the team to League One as manager in the 1999-2000 season. Later, he went to Everton and was a complete success. He became a famous young manager in English football, and there were even rumors that he would take over Ferguson's position to rule Manchester United. Later, when the England national team chose a manager after the World Cup in Germany, his name was also on the list of candidates.
This person was not the one who discovered and nurtured Rooney, but he was the one who made Rooney known to the whole of England. He contributed a treasure to England.
After he left, Preston North End also fell back to the bottom. Now, their goal every year was to stay in League One.
Tang En sighed, "What a small world." He could encounter and be familiar with all sorts of things even in the lower leagues. The previous opponent had shown him the current situation of the former Liverpool's quintuple champion, and this match allowed him to encounter Moyes' first stop in the manager's seat. It felt great to be able to hear these familiar names in an unfamiliar place like England. It also made him feel a lot closer to this strange country.
No matter what, Preston North End could not be considered a strong team. They were very weak, and it was an away game. Before the match, the Nottingham Evening Post predicted that even without the manager directing the match from the sidelines, Nottingham Evening Post predicted that Forest could easily win the match. The fans were also full of anticipation for the victory. Tang En, who was sitting in the VIP box with the two members of the Disciplinary Committee, was also looking forward to his first victory since coming here.
What was the result?
In the opening 16 minutes, David Johansen had taken the lead for Forest. The City Ground Stadium was in jubilation. But just 14 minutes later, Preston North End's defensive midfielder, Lee Cartwright, equalized the score with a corner kick. It was his first goal of the season.
The singing in the City Ground Stadium was cut off by his goal, and then it started again. Then, Forest's players courageously advanced under the fans' cheers, bombarding Preston North End's goal. The poor away team manager changed three defensive players in a row, swearing to get a point in this away game. Seventy minutes later, he got what he wanted.
Forest had the upper hand in the entire match. Their ball possession rate was even as high as 64%. They shot 14 times, seven corner kicks, and nine attacking free kicks. This was a statistic that could not be described as "offensive football." In the end, they only scored one goal. On the contrary, Preston North End only had a pitiful four shots and 36% ball possession rate. The only thing they surpassed Forest in was the number of fouls they committed — 29. No matter how badly they were booed by the Forest fans on the field, and no matter how the fans humiliated them as "turtles who dare not show their heads," they were the victors in the end. They obtained a precious point on the road to avoiding relegation, and left Nottingham with a smile.
This result made many fans very disappointed. Tang En was equally disappointed, but he did not curse in the box. His attention had already been attracted by another matter.
After the match ended, he heard sporadic boos from the stands. This was a warning. If the results did not improve, he would lose the support of the people as a manager. Looking at the fans leaving the field, he frowned. He did not even shake hands with his "partner" who had accompanied him for two matches to say goodbye. It was Doughty who came out to help them stand stupidly with his hands outstretched.
At the end of the makeup match, Forest had accumulated 40 points from all 29 matches. They had the same number of points as the thirteenth-placed Millwall, and were ranked twelfth based on their goal difference. Halfway through the season, such a result did not satisfy Tang En. He hoped to leave something to prove himself in the first season. Nothing was more suitable for a manager than victory and results.
He decided to tell Walker what was on his mind. So, he invited Walker to Burns' Forest Bar on the night of the match for a drink and a chat.
Walker agreed.
Now, Forest Bar had become the only designated place for Tang En to invite people for drinks and gatherings. Because it had the best alcohol in Nottingham.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
