Losing the FA Cup match did not affect Tang En's mood, nor did it affect the team's overall atmosphere. Everyone knew what they needed to work towards this season.
It was now February. Although the Forest team was eliminated from the FA Cup, they did not stop moving forward. Manchester United helped Forest get rid of a heavy burden, and Forest went into battle with light equipment.
On February 1, 2005, Nottingham Forest faced Crystal Palace at home. Tang En was lucky to meet such an opponent after losing the FA Cup. Forest could use such a weak team to adjust their condition and mentality. Amidst the cheers of nearly 30,000 fans in the City Ground, Nottingham Forest easily defeated the visiting team, Crystal Palace, 2: 0.
After 25 rounds of the league tournament, they had accumulated 40 points, still in sixth place below Liverpool.
If Nottingham Forest wanted to raise their ranking, Liverpool, who was above them, was their first enemy. Currently, both teams had accumulated 40 points. As long as Liverpool made a small mistake, Forest could replace them.
It was almost impossible for Liverpool not to make mistakes. This season, they had to put more energy into the Champions League. A team's energy was limited. To focus on the Champions League would mean giving up on the league tournament. That would be Forest's chance.
What Tang En needed to do now was to win all the matches he could win, and then quietly lurk behind Liverpool, waiting for them to fall from exhaustion before surpassing them.
Even if Liverpool did not make any mistakes, it did not matter. Nottingham Forest still had a match against Liverpool. This time, it was a home game. Tang En would not allow the team to fail again.
Of course, before the decisive battle with Liverpool, the Forest team could not fall behind. Twain did not want to see the team slowly unable to keep up with the main force and be left behind after working hard for most of the season.
During training, Tang En strengthened the team's defensive practice to quickly let Edwin van der Sar and the rear defensive line develop sufficient chemistry. One of the reasons for losing to Manchester United in the FA Cup was the lack of coordination between the goalkeeper and the rear defensive line.
In addition, Arteta's integration with the team after joining was already fixed. This was also something that Tang En needed to worry about.
When Forest bought Arteta, some people were worried that Tang En would not be able to arrange Forest's midfield. Because the coordination between Wood and Albertini had been proven successful in the first half of the season, the manager had no reason to break up the pair because of a new player.
But in Tang En's eyes, this was not a problem at all.
The pace of the English Premier League was the fastest among the four top leagues in Europe (excluding the French Ligue 1, which used to be one of the five major leagues). The speed of the transition between offense and defense was fast, the speed of the attack was fast, the speed of the pass was fast, and the pace of the scramble was fast … In short, everything was fast. The pace of the game was very demanding on the players' stamina. After all, Albertini was already a 33-year-old veteran. His stamina could not support him to be a starter for the entire season and play the full 90 minutes of each game. He needed a substitute player, and Arteta was the most suitable candidate.
In Tang En's memory, Arteta, who could summon wind and rain at Everton and held a core position, was different. The current Arteta belonged to the type of player who had yet to prove himself at Real Sociedad, so he had no right to act like a big shot. He was neither the core of Forest Team's midfield, nor was he one of Forest Team's big-name star players. This could be seen from his value of three million euros. Converted to pounds, it was only about 1.5 million, which was pitifully small.
Arteta entered Nottingham Forest very quietly. From the first day he came to the team, Tang En very frankly told the RCD Espanyol that he still could not become Forest Team's main force, but he would be Albertini's first substitute. That was because, other than Albertini, he was the player with the best ability to organize the offense in the midfield. As long as he performed well, he similarly had the chance to change from a bench player to a starting main force. Of course, if he did not mind playing on the flanks of the midfield, he would have more opportunities to play.
Arteta accepted Tang En's suggestion. He considered trying to play in multiple positions in the midfield. He also wanted to prove that his ability was not as bad as it was at Real Sociedad. In order to leave a good impression on the new manager, he was willing to play as a utility player.
Tang En had not bought those big-name star players up until now because of this consideration. He was so young. Could he manage those players who were very famous? If there were too many big-name star players in the team and none of them obeyed the manager's instructions, then the team would have no combat power to speak of. Tang En would rather find some ordinary players who were not famous but were not weak. He would never look for those star players who had been famous for a long time. To put it nicely, it would be "no one can be above the team as a whole." To put it more arrogantly, it would be "no one can be above him, Tony Twain."
This was so similar to the deceased Clough …
In terms of adapting to the style of English football, Arteta did not have any problems. Albertini had even adapted for a period of time when he first came to Forest Team. Arteta did not have to worry about this at all because he had once played in Scotland and was completely used to the style of football in the British Isles. Adaptation was not the same as assimilation. He could adapt to English football while still retaining his exquisite footwork skills and outstanding imagination. He did not lack any of the strong points of a Spanish player. Such a player was the dream of all managers. He could bring something new to the team and would make the team unique in the entire league.
Tang En was very optimistic about Arteta and hoped to groom him into the core of Forest Team's midfield. When that time came, George Wood would protect Arteta just like he protected Albertini and Rebrov.
Therefore, during training, Tang En would often arrange for Wood and Arteta to be in the same group. From then on, he would slowly cultivate their tacit understanding.
※ ※ ※
On February 5th, Round 26 of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest continued their away trip. This time, their opponent was Aston Villa.
At the start of the English Premier League season, Forest Team had forced a draw with Aston Villa at home thanks to an own goal from the opponent. That was Forest Team's first point in the Premier League. Since then, Forest Team had been undefeated for ten consecutive rounds in the Premier League!
Even though the players were still the same, the current Forest Team was a completely different team from then.
After half a season of running-in and experience, the current Forest Team was more mature and stronger. To be able to maintain in the top six was not something that could be achieved by luck alone.
Even though it was an away game, Forest Team still defeated Villa.
The player who performed well in this tough away game and helped the team achieve the final victory was Freddy Eastwood.
The Romani had not appeared in the headlines of the sports section of the newspaper for some time. Recently, due to the club's needs, they had been promoting his teammate and "enemy" George Wood in a high-profile manner. Who knew how he would feel when he saw those reports. Fortunately, it did not affect Eastwood's performance. Perhaps he was not the most dazzling star player on Forest Team. Other than scoring goals on the field, he was so low-key outside the field that it was as if he had disappeared. Occasionally, he would return to London to visit his father, but most of the time, he would stay in the caravan to take care of his wife and the child she was pregnant with.
Eastwood had yet to find an agent. Someone had once approached him in hopes of becoming his agent, but he had rejected them all. So, other than playing football, he did not have any business activities. Naturally, his chances of being exposed in the newspapers were greatly reduced.
But this time, he was in the headlines, and not only in the local Nottingham media. He was the most popular figure in London's Fleet Street that week.
There might be many people who shone brightly at Villa Park. The striker, Ángel, who scored the first goal for Aston Villa, the veteran Ecuadorian player, Ulises de la Cruz, who scored the second goal for the home team and sent the fans into a frenzy, the Dutch goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, who remained calm despite conceding two goals, the veteran Hierro, who rebuilt the defense and no longer gave the opponent any chances, Viduka, who created opportunities for his teammates to attract the opponent's defensive attention, Arteta, who represented the Forest team for the first time in the English Premier League as a substitute for Albertini … But there was only one person who shone the brightest, and that was the low-key Romani, Freddy Eastwood.
Even though the game had only started twenty minutes ago, the home team had scored two goals with a quick attack. The fans at Villa Park must have thought that the Forest team had been beaten senseless and they could start celebrating the victory seventy minutes early. At this time, Eastwood came forward to tell the Villa fans how foolish it was to celebrate so early.
His powerful long shot from outside the penalty area hit the leg of a Villa player and bounced high. It changed from a powerful volley to a long-range lob shot, which just went over the head of the Villa team's goalkeeper. Thomas Sorensen, who had fallen to the ground after being deceived by the first shot, looked up to see the football fly over his head and then fall into the empty goal …
After the goal, Eastwood's performance became more and more active. With Viduka at the front to help him attract energy, he had more freedom. Eastwood was not the kind of center forward who waited for the ball in front of the opponent's goal. He was the second striker and preferred to move freely behind his teammates. Even though Villa's manager, David O 'Leary, had strengthened the defense at the front of the penalty area, it was still a headache for the striker who moved erratically.
He sometimes appeared in the middle and hid behind Viduka to look for a direct shot. During the defensive counterattack, he was at the front and dribbled the ball for a surprise attack. When you put the defensive focus on the middle, he pulled to the side to pass the ball …
Towards the end of the first half, Eastwood seized a fleeting opportunity in the penalty area. He suddenly rushed out from the gap between two tall center backs and headed Ashley Young's pass into the goal. 2: 2! The Forest team had equalized the score!
(To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. COM for more chapters. Support the author and support the original reading!)
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