"The Crazy Gang is a very dangerous team, but this is a good opportunity to test the results of our training." In the locker room before the match, Tang En gave his players a final pep talk after they finished warming up. "Remember, fast, simple, direct, and efficient! That's all I ask of you! Get on the field, guys! "
Tang En had already replaced Walker as the leader of the locker room. Having clarified his tactical thinking style, Tang En, who had a better understanding of the team, no longer needed to hide behind the scenes.
Tang En returned to the manager's seat after his two-match ban ended. He was full of anticipation. He loved the feeling of directing the match from the sidelines. He loved it!
When the Forest players ran out of the players' tunnel, they heard the loud cheers from the home fans. Tang En turned to Walker and said, "If we can keep winning, we can keep hearing cheers like this, and even louder than this!"
"It's not easy to keep winning, Tony …" Walker shook his head.
"Wrong, it's very difficult. But why not give it a try? "Tang En joined the fans in applauding the players who came out.
That's right. If we can win this match, we have to win. If we can win every match, then we'll keep winning!
At the main entrance of the Wilford training base. Ian McDonald turned on the radio on time to listen to the 30th round of the league match at the City Ground. On the morning of every home match, Tang En would come to the training base and chat with Old MacDonald at the entrance. They talked about everything from the weather to the international situation. However, the topic they talked about the most was football and their own team.
In the last home match, Tang En promised to bring a victory to the supporters. Unfortunately, it ended in a regrettable draw. Tang En said the same thing again today. He told McDonald to wait by the radio to celebrate the victory and hope everything went smoothly this time.
The match had already been going on for more than 20 minutes. The Forest team was indeed moving everything from training to the field strictly according to Tang En's instructions. They were completely different from the previous Forest team that emphasized ball control and more delicate coordination. Not only could the fans see it, but even John Motson, who was in charge of the match, could also see it.
"Today's Forest team is a little strange. If I had to use a word to describe it … I'd use 'unfamiliar.' The people are still the same, but they're playing unfamiliar football. "
Nottingham Forest had been one of the representatives of English football since the time of Brian Clough, much earlier than Arsenal. At the time, Manager Clough had a famous saying that was used to express his disdain for the tradition of long passes in English football, "If God wants us to play football on the clouds, then he should also move the grass up."
Today's Nottingham Forest team, even though it was not a long pass, was very different from the Forest team's tradition of focusing on ball control. Twenty-five minutes into the game, the television screen displayed the ball possession ratio of both teams so far. The visiting Wimbledon team even surpassed the Forest team, 54% to 46%.
"It's really strange. In my impression of the Forest team, even if they lose, their rate of possession will be higher than their opponents. Although they didn't win the last game, they had 64% of the ball possession. " Motson had been commentating football games for thirty-one years. He had watched the Forest team rise from an unknown Serie B team to the European champion. He was familiar with the way the Forest team played.
The Forest team's method of quickly passing through the midfield was indeed carried out according to Tang En's requirements. However, this also made them lose the ball faster. Often, after a few passes, when the midfield passed the ball to the forwards, there would be a problem. The forwards would not be able to run properly, and the midfield would not be able to pass the ball properly. Fortunately, Michael Dawson's performance was outstanding, and he was able to resolve the crisis time and time again. Dawson, who had officially become the team's captain, made everyone's eyes light up. It was as if he had matured overnight.
Twenty-five minutes. There was no change in the score. However, Tang En could see many things. Just as he was about to discuss it with Walker, a familiar loud voice rang out from behind him.
"Tony Tang En! What are you doing? Is this the victory you promised us? "
Tang En turned his head and saw Michael's angry face, as well as the middle finger.
"When did you change over? What's the rush? Isn't this still a draw? "
"But look at it yourself. What kind of football is your team playing? It's not our Forest team's football at all! The Forest team's football tradition is to control the ball! Control the ball! "
Another f * cking tradition … Tang En felt very unhappy. Ever since he came here, there were always people reminding him of the "tradition." However, he did not feel that adhering to the tradition would bring him any benefits. Could he win by adhering to the tradition? So, he shouted back at the top of his lungs, "Shut up, Michael! As long as we can win, I don't f * cking care how we win! The match has only been 25 minutes. What are you shouting for? If you shout again, I'll get the security to chase you out! "
Michael shut his mouth. He was indeed a little anxious. However, seeing his team's offense not improving after so long, which fan would not be anxious and angry?
Tang En sat back down and realized that Walker was laughing at him. "Tony, I remember the second time you sat in this position, Michael and the others scolded you. You didn't even dare to reply."
Tang En shook his head and smiled bitterly. "You still have the mood to make fun of me when the team can't win?"
"I don't think the situation is too bad." He did not expect Walker to reply in such a way. This made Tang En look at him in a different light. "We were indeed in a mess for the first 10 minutes. However, up until now, the team has basically played the way they were trained. The mistakes are decreasing, and the chances are slowly increasing. Tony, that tactic of yours might really be useful. "
"Des, I see you in a different light now. I didn't expect you to be able to see this. That's right, our situation is slowly getting better. The reason we can't score goals so far is because we haven't trained the forwards and midfielders together. The forwards are still not familiar with the way the midfielders play, and their coordination is not good enough. "
Walker nodded. "I think it's better not to have too high of an expectation for this match. Perhaps we still have to wait for a while before we can achieve success …"
Tang En stood up from his seat. "No, Des. I can't wait for another match. I need to win. We must win this match. "With that, he walked to the side of the field, took a deep breath, and roared into the field.
"Ma — Long!!"
The sound even drowned out the noise in the stands in an instant.
Hearing his manager call his name, Malone Hailwood hurriedly turned his gaze to the side of the field. He saw his manager baring his fangs and brandishing his claws as he roared at him.
"What are you doing?! Did you not sleep last night, or did you not eat lunch today? "
Hailwood shrugged and pointed at himself, not understanding why his manager said that.
"Run! Run non-stop! " Tang En waved his arms like he was spinning a windmill. "Think of a way to get a pass from Andy and the others, and then shoot! If you can't do it, I'll bring you off! "
After roaring, Tang En turned around and returned to the technical area. Hailwood froze for a moment, then reacted. His manager was dissatisfied with his performance …
Even though they had worked together for some time, Walker still felt that Tang En's performance was unbelievable. He had never seen a manager direct a match like this …
"Tony, calm down … This is just a match, not a war."
Tang En gritted his teeth and said to Walker, "No, this is a war!"
If I can't win, I might lose my job. If this isn't a war of life and death, what is it?
"Also, I'm very calm. I'm as calm as a f * cking iceberg, "Tang En said casually as he sat back in his seat. Walker shook his head. Who would believe that?
Although Tang En's method was rough, it was also very direct. The lack of coordination between the forwards and midfielders was a side effect of the new style of play. To completely eradicate it, more training and matches were needed. But now, he clearly did not have that much time. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Since they could not receive a pass from each other, they would run without regard for their energy. They would eventually be able to reach the point. As long as they succeeded once, it would be an opportunity.
In fact, although Nottingham Forest's football was unsatisfactory, they also had many problems. But the person who should be complaining the most was the Wimbledon manager. At this moment, he really wanted to curse out loud. Before the match, he had spent a lot of effort to study Forest's tactics and formation, hoping to defeat the opponent in the away game. He did not expect to find himself facing a completely unfamiliar Nottingham Forest team at the start of the match. The targeted training and arrangements for the week before the match were all useless. How could it not be infuriating?
Seeing Forest's manager bellowing at the sidelines, he also decided to do something. So, he got up and walked to the sidelines, indicating for his team to press forward a little more. Since Forest's condition was not good and they made frequent mistakes, it gave his team many opportunities to counterattack. There was also no need for him to cling to the defensive counterattack strategy arranged before the match. Under the premise of the overall formation being appropriate, he could exert more pressure on the opponent. Perhaps there would be unexpected results.
Yes, unexpected … results.
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