After Nottingham Forest showed a challenge to the strong teams ranked above them, it looked like Liverpool would be the first to fall.
On February 12th, Round 27 of the league tournament, Forest won against Southampton in an away game, while Liverpool lost to Birmingham City in an away game. As the UEFA Champions League knockout round was about to begin, the Liverpool people seemed to be a little distracted.
The Forest team overtook Liverpool by three points and ranked fifth with 46 points!
It was a remarkable result. What made Tang En most happy was not overtaking Liverpool, but the difference in points with Everton — two points. One game could solve everything. Everton lost to Chelsea at home in this round of the league tournament with 0: 1.
In this way, the ranking and points of the top six teams in the league tournament were Chelsea with 68 points, Manchester United with 59 points, Arsenal with 57 points, Everton with 48 points, Nottingham Forest with 46 points, and Liverpool with 43 points.
After this round of the league tournament, Forest would start preparing for the UEFA Europa League, so it was considered the end of a phase. Nottingham's media sang praises for Tang En and his team. Everyone agreed that the young manager, Tony Twain, had played a big part in achieving such a result. As a newly promoted team, Forest was ranked in the top five, above Liverpool, halfway through the league tournament. This was something most Forest fans did not even dare to think about before the season.
"This young Forest team reminds me of O 'Reilly's Leeds United. Young, full of drive, they're not afraid of anything. To be honest, I like Manager Tony Twain's team. They've brought a new wind to the Premier League. Do you remember what we said at the end of last season, Mark? " Lineker praised the Forest team on Match of the Day. "I said that this season's Premier League will be very interesting to watch. It turns out that I was right. "
This season's Premier League was indeed different from previous years. Mourinho's strong intervention, the weakness of traditionally strong teams such as Liverpool and Manchester United, the rise of Everton, and the return of Nottingham Forest had made the Premier League particularly chaotic in recent years, but it was also particularly attractive because there was more suspense. It was not like the previous seasons, when everyone knew that the league title was just a toy for Manchester United and Arsenal to compete with each other. Chelsea? Maybe they could cause some trouble, but they would not be able to make it big. He did not even dare to think that Everton would be ranked fourth in the league and had a good chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League.
Before the season, everyone said that Nottingham Forest's goal this season was to avoid relegation. Now, no one mentioned the topic again.
However, Tang En knew very well that Forest's current results had a lot to do with them catching on to a good time. If it had been a few seasons ago, or the following season, when the new structure of the Premier League was basically formed, it would have been difficult for the Forest team to get a foothold. This season was Mourinho's first at Stamford Bridge. His arrival had a huge impact on Arsenal and Manchester United. Arsenal had experienced a fantastic season. It was as if they had climbed to the top. Now it was time for them to go down the mountain. Manchester United's weakness seemed to have a lot to do with Ferguson's gradual aging. After the FA Cup, when Tang En and Ferguson were drinking together, Ferguson vaguely mentioned that he wanted to leave Manchester United at the end of the season. He even jokingly asked Tang En if he wanted to come to Manchester United to manage, but Tang En politely declined in the same joking tone.
If not for the chaos in the Premier League this season, Tang En would not have been able to lead the Forest team to this point with his little experience. Lineker said that the Forest team had disrupted the Premier League's inherent structure and made this season's Premier League more interesting and suspenseful. But in reality, Tang En, who knew this part of history, understood that it was not the Forest team's appearance that disrupted the Premier League's original structure. This structure was going to be broken anyway. Without the Forest team, there would still be Mourinho's Chelsea. His appearance only made the already chaotic Premier League even more chaotic. Then he could fish in troubled waters and loot the burning house.
The Forest team, which finished fifth in the league, had high morale and performed well in the following UEFA Europa League matches.
In the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 finals, Nottingham Forest's opponent was the not-so-strong Austrian team, Graz AK (Graz AK). In the first round, the Forest team played in an away game. In terms of strength, the Forest team was a notch higher than the opponent. However, Graz AK played on home ground, which was an advantage that could not be ignored. In the end, the two sides fought to a 2: 2 draw. Tang En was very satisfied with the result. Getting two goals in an away game meant that half of their body was already in the top 16 of the UEFA Europa League.
Returning to their home ground, the Forest team easily defeated Graz AK 2: 0 amidst the cheers of the fans and successfully advanced to the top 16.
At this point, the European goal that Tang En had set for the Forest team before the season was basically completed. The Forest team not only broke into the knockout stage, but also advanced to the top 16. As a team that had been away from the European arena for eight years, such a result was enough to announce their return.
The question that Tang En needed to consider now was: Should they continue?
He decided to ask Dunn for his opinion.
"I think the team now has the strength to go further in the UEFA Europa League, but I'm not sure if we should continue to go further." During dinner, Tang En raised his doubts at the dining table.
After quietly listening to Tang En's question, Dunn asked, "How much further is further?"
"Uh, I don't know. Maybe further into the top eight, maybe the top four."
"If it's not the championship, then what's the difference between the top four and the top 16?" Dunn's question made Tang En speechless.
Yes, I want to go further. What's the reason? What's my goal after going further? It can't be that taking a step further is also the goal of victory, right?
"If you're not confident of winning the championship, I suggest giving up on the UEFA Europa League. If you … "
Tang En interrupted Dunn's analysis. "I've decided to give it a try. No matter what the result is, there's nothing wrong with giving it a try. "
"Giving up on the league tournament?"
"No. It's not really giving up. I'm just temporarily shifting the focus of my work. You know, it's a strategic adjustment." Tang En said it with some difficulty. Had he never thought of giving up on the league tournament?
The glory of being the UEFA Europa League champion was too tempting. Tang En did not dare to think about it half a season ago, but it did not mean that he still did not dare to think about it now. If I can lead the team to the UEFA Europa League title, I'll also be a manager with a European championship in hand.
At the thought of this, Tang En could not help himself.
This was his dream. Compared to this, there was no difference between the top four or the top six in the league tournament. Even if he could not get the top six in the league tournament and could not qualify for Europe next season, he would be willing.
"It's decided. The UEFA Europa League title is the Forest Team's goal this season." Tang En decided on the direction that the Forest Team would work hard for the next half of the season at the dining table, even though the way he held the knife and fork in his hand looked a little rash.
Hearing Tang En say so, Dunn, who was sitting opposite him, opened his mouth slightly as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he did not say anything.
※ ※ ※
During the training session the next day, Tang En told the coaching staff that he had decided to temporarily give up on the league tournament and focus on the UEFA Europa League. He did not receive unanimous support, and Kerslake was very worried about it. He had never had extravagant hopes for the UEFA Europa League title. To him, the domestic league tournament was fundamental and the most important thing.
The Forest Team's momentum in the league tournament had been very good. They had already surpassed Liverpool and were only two points away from Everton. As long as they continued to put pressure on Everton, they could replace them as the fourth team in the league tournament. Next, as long as they maintained this ranking, they would be able to participate in the next season's UEFA Champions League qualifiers by the end of the season.
Taking advantage of the time after the training ended, Kerslake stopped Tang En in his office, intending to ask him why he had suddenly developed such a great interest in the UEFA Europa League title overnight.
"Tony …" Before he entered the door, the voice reached Tang En's ears. He looked up and saw Kerslake hurrying in. He smiled.
"I know what you want to ask me. Have a seat, David." Tang En pointed to the chair.
Kerslake did not stand on ceremony. He sat down and asked, "Tony, I don't understand why you're suddenly so interested in the UEFA Europa League title."
Tang En casually sat at the corner of the table and said with a smile, "Isn't the pursuit of the championship something that every manager should be interested in?"
His words were not bad, but Kerslake had no intention of following along. He tried to persuade Tang En from another angle. "Tony, our current situation in the league tournament is very good. Why should we give up the league tournament to pursue the difficult UEFA Europa League title? Do you know who our opponent in the next round of the UEFA Europa League is? "
"Sporting Lisbon," Tang En said casually, as if he did not care about his opponent. "Don't worry. They don't have Figo or Cristiano Ronaldo now."
"Of course, the current Sporting Lisbon is not as strong as before, but they still have the strength to eliminate us."
"But it's not like we don't have a chance to beat them. David, I know what you're worried about. But isn't football supposed to be like this? We have to take some risks, don't we? No victory is certain to belong to us. Sometimes we need to take a gamble. It's boring to always go according to the plan. "Tang En shrugged, then looked up at the clear sky outside. "Recently, I've missed the moment when we won the EFL Cup title last season. It's very exciting … very exciting."
"But … isn't obtaining a ticket to next season's Champions League also an exciting thing?"
"Compared to the championship and the European Champions League, it's still a little lacking." Tang En said to Kerslake with a smile, as if he was not angry that his assistant manager insisted on a different view on this matter.
Hearing Tang En say so, Kerslake froze for a moment. Then he murmured, "Well … maybe it's because you have such ambition that you can lead this team. If you've made up your mind, then I'll help you. "
"Thank you, David." Tang En's gratitude was sincere. He was really lucky not to encounter the power struggle and farce of those powerhouse teams. Although a small club was not strong, there were benefits to being a small club. At the very least, the people here were simple and loved the team deeply. They all thought about the team wholeheartedly and did not have any bad intentions.
For example, David Kerslake, who had studied with him as a coach under Paul Hart and was now his assistant without the slightest complaint.
※ ※ ※
The assistant manager did not have any objections, and the coaching team basically had a unified mind. At present, the Forest team's top priority was to defeat the Portuguese powerhouse Sporting Lisbon in the EFL Cup Round of 16, and then launch their low-key attack on the EFL Cup title. The media did not know about Tang En's plan to win the EFL Cup, so naturally, no one hyped up the topic.
Having just finished the match against Graz AK, the Forest team welcomed their Round 28 opponent, Blackburn Rovers, at home two days later. Because of the consecutive battles in this match, Tang En used a rotation system. The appearance of a large number of substitute players did not overly weaken the Forest team's strength. Instead, the thirsty players worked extra hard to fight for a better impression in front of the manager. Despite being so exhausted, the Forest team was still forced to a 2: 2 draw at home.
Everyone's reaction to this score was: "Normal." After playing so many matches in a row, including the League Tournament and the European Championship, it was already very good that they did not lose. No one felt that the Forest team had shifted its focus. Even Moyes was still having a headache over the aggressive Forest team. He did not realize that his main competitor no longer cared about the League Tournament.
Entering March, there were still more than two months before the end of the League Tournament. The Forest team's ranking was stable at fifth place, while the sixth-placed Liverpool had one less match and still had 43 points. In order to shake off the Forest team's entanglement, Moyes' Everton exerted themselves desperately. After 28 rounds of League Tournament matches, they had accumulated 51 points. It looked like their point gap with the Forest team had widened to four points. However, Moyes could not be completely at ease because he was well aware of his team's situation. Without Gravesen, they did not succeed in bringing in Arteta during the winter break. Looking at the Spaniard's spectacular performance after coming on as a substitute in Round 26 of the League Tournament, Moyes felt it was a pity. If only he had been a little more resolute back then. If he had directly offered a price to buy him instead of loaning him, perhaps he would have already negotiated his personal treatment with Arteta before Tang En intervened. Arteta was not someone who picked teams. At that time, he could not wait to absorb the essence of Real Sociedad. No matter which team came to him, he reckoned that he would have nodded in agreement.
Moyes' Everton gritted their teeth and held on, hoping to widen the point gap with the Forest team when they were fighting on two fronts and the schedule was dense. That way, there would be more room for maneuver in the future.
In Round 29 of the League Tournament, on March 5th, Nottingham Forest challenged Middlesbrough in an away game.
This time, the Forest team still sent out the same lineup as in the previous League Tournament match.
Having lost to the Forest team in the EFL Cup final and in the first half of the League Tournament, McClaren finally had a chance for revenge this time. Middlesbrough had the right time, location, and players to win 2: 0 against Nottingham Forest, which had half of its main force playing and the other half resting.
The media finally sensed that something was wrong. The UEFA Europa League match was six days later, and it was not like there were two matches a week. The Forest team really had no reason to implement a rotation in this match. What was even more strange was that after losing the match, Tony Twain's performance was unusually calm in the face of the smug McClaren!
This was unbelievable. Ever since the EFL Cup final, the media knew that Twain and McClaren did not see eye to eye with each other. In the first half of the League Tournament, after the Forest team defeated Middlesbrough 2: 1 at home, Twain was very happy at the press conference. It was practically overflowing with words. McClaren, on the other hand, had a gloomy expression on his face from start to finish. Similarly, he had a disappointed expression on his face for everyone to see.
Now that McClaren had swapped roles with Tony Twain in the first half of the season, Twain's face was not overcast. Instead, it was calm.
This was not in line with Twain's character. In the past, after he lost to McClaren, whom he looked down on the most, he might have recited the post-match summary and gotten up to leave the press conference early. Now, he actually sat there as if there was no one else around and listened to McClaren praise Middlesbrough's outstanding performance, how they had suppressed the Forest team's offense, how they had defended against a strong center forward like Viduka, and how they had trapped Albertini in a defensive quagmire.
He did not refute at all and waited for McClaren to finish saying all these things. Only then did he unhurriedly express that he was very satisfied with the team's performance because "the young players and the players who usually don't get many chances to play have all gotten enough opportunities to play. This is especially important for their growth."
Does he think of the League Tournament as a place to train the newcomers? Is he muddle-headed? Who would put the League Tournament in such a position? To train the newcomers, he should do it in the EFL Cup or the FA Cup, not the League Tournament!
Is this person arrogant or ignorant?
Even McClaren, who was originally very happy sitting beside him, could not help but glance at Twain from the corner of his eyes. In his heart, he thought that Twain must be deliberately putting on an act to make him angry. But … I'm sorry, Mr. Tony Twain. I'm not an uncircumcised child.
Twain stood up and took the initiative to extend his hand to McClaren. With a smile, he said, "Good luck, Mr. McClaren."
"Good luck to you too, Mr. Twain," McClaren replied with the same smile.
Sorry, I'm not feeling well. In the end, I only got up in the afternoon. (To be continued, if you want to know what happened next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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