"Indeed … it's a little like that," David Kerslake said when he saw Tang En shake his head again. "This reminds me of the game we played against Arsenal …"
"But they were more thorough and determined than we were then." "And their offense is much cruder than ours at that time. They just kick their feet forward and rely on two extremely fast wingers. How the f * ck is that football?" He abruptly stood up from his seat and pointed to the field as he spoke to Kerslake. "What's more, their offense is much cruder than ours at that time. "Look at their defense. Look at their movements. What is Wigan Town famous for? It's not football. It's rugby! This straightforward style of play, frequent body collisions in defense, and the 'running' speed of a rugby ball during the counterattack. It's clearly rugby! If you flip the blue stripes on their jerseys, that's the rugby team uniform! But! That's not the reason why I'm shaking my head … "
Tang En spun around in front of the technical area and waved his arms at Kerslake, agitated.
"What makes me angry is our own performance. Even if Wigan Town's performance exceeded all of our expectations, the game should not have been played like this. There's nothing we can do! There's nothing we can do against the opponent's defense! We're no longer the Nottingham Forest team that could only rely on defensive counterattacks to survive a year ago! Now we have to face the enemy using defensive counterattacks against us. Haven't we thought about this? What has the coaching staff been doing all summer? We've practiced the offensive routines of positional warfare many times in training. But in this game … "He turned around and pointed to the field." Those boys have all forgotten! "
Kerslake did not know how to face Tang En's anger. He could only sigh without saying a word.
After venting, Tang En sat down and crossed his legs. "Watch me take care of them during the halftime interval!"
※ ※ ※
"The referee blew the whistle to end the first half. The Wigan fans were very happy, and so were the players. At Nottingham Forest's home ground, they have yet to concede a goal. They have successfully contained the Forest team's two flanks. 0: 0! If this score holds until the end of the game, then Wigan Athletic will be the winner … "
Tang En was the last to enter the locker room. With a gloomy face, he slammed the door shut with a bang. Some of the players were so shocked that they almost jumped from the bench.
After the loud noise, the locker room was completely silent.
"You all know I'm very angry, right?" Twain smiled crookedly, but in the eyes of the players, no one would think that the smile was amiable. After working under him for a season, everyone knew the manager's temper. The brighter his smile was, the fiercer the storm would be.
"Does anyone need me to play the recording of the interview with the Wigan Athletic manager before the game? Let everyone listen carefully. It feels good to be worshiped and used as a role model. "Tang En pointed at the door of the locker room." Now you know how f * cking idiots we are! We underestimated the enemy, didn't we? Don't deny it … Look at your performance on the field. Do you only know how to score goals with long shots? Or do you think that you can win this match with the simplest method? He didn't need to put in any effort to move, didn't need to coordinate with his teammates, and didn't need to use his brain to create gaps. He just needed to stand in place and practice shooting, and he could win this damn game?! Which bastard hasn't woken up yet? Raise your hand! "
Of course, no one would raise their hand.
"It looks like you're still clear-headed." After the storm, Tang En's tone softened a little. "Remember, in the second half, there are two key points to winning. One, set pieces! Seize all set piece opportunities. That's the best way to break the deadlock. Two … "
Anelka had been sitting in the corner of the locker room. This was the first time he saw the Forest manager get angry. He scolded without holding back, and vulgarities poured out of his mouth.
Arsène Wenger would not reprimand his players in the locker room like that. If he wanted to reprimand, he would do it in another way. The Real Madrid manager, Vicente del Bosque, would not do so. He was a nice guy. Houllier? That capable softie … Ah, and Kevin Keegan, they're all the same.
He had never played for Manchester United. This was the first time he had seen such a wild performance from a manager in the locker room. He suddenly felt that a manager with such a performance would not say one thing on the surface and another, would he? He must have said what he had on his mind. Perhaps a straightforward character would be easier to get along with?
Just as he was in a daze, he vaguely heard Tang En call his name. Although he was unsure, he still looked up.
"Your task is to break through from the middle and look for opportunities to score," Tang En said, looking at Anelka.
Anelka was still a substitute in this match. He wondered why Tang En had suddenly assigned him a task, but he did not raise the question. He thought that perhaps he had let something slip just now. But who cares? If you want me to play, I'll play. If you want me to score, I'll score. I'll score a few more goals. Let's see if you can still put me on the bench.
"Their two center backs, Deziu and Henchoz, are older and slower in turning. Since they've blocked our flank, we'll open up a gap from the middle."
"Let me tell you, Wigan Athletic is just a small hurdle the size of a chair. If we can't even cross this hurdle, then don't even think about the Champions League or the Premier League title … Those are mountains! We'll just look up at the foot of the mountain. Go home and wash up and sleep. That means shower and change, go home and sleep! Are you willing to do that? "
"No …"
"No one is willing, Boss."
"I don't want to shower!"
"I don't want to sleep either!"
The voices of the players finally rang out in the locker room.
"Then be more serious! This is the new season, the first match of the new season. Don't mess it up! Didn't Wigan Athletic want to be the second Nottingham Forest? Didn't they want to be the dark horse? Very well, let us personally teach them a lesson. Let us tell them that England's top league is not as simple as they think! "
Fifteen minutes into the second half, the Forest players worked very hard, but the situation on the field did not change much. Although Wigan Athletic's conservative tactics looked ugly in an away game, they were very practical.
Tony Twain called Anelka back from his warm-up once again and used him to replace Viduka, who was not in good condition.
Five minutes after Anelka came on, he changed the situation with three forceful breakthroughs.
Just as Tang En said, Wigan Athletic's defensive weakness was not on the flanks, but in the middle.
Anelka's forceful breakthroughs in the middle opened up a gap for the Forest team, catching Wigan Athletic off guard. Their rear defensive line was suddenly in chaos.
At that moment, Arteta seized the opportunity to pass the ball accurately to Bendtner, who was in front. The Danish kid relied on his body to lean Henchoz, who had returned to defend, behind him and volleyed the ball with great force. The ball flew past the fingers of the Wigan Athletic goalkeeper, Pollitt, and into the goal.
The deadlock on the field was finally broken.
The city gate that the blue-collared Wigan Athletic had held for sixty-five minutes was finally lost.
The Forest team's morale was greatly boosted after scoring a goal, and they continued to work hard. The person who scored the goal this time was Anelka, who had been substituted on. Without the ball, he deftly shook off De Zewu, who was defending him. Then, he received the ball from Arteta at the right time and shot a low shot into the goal.
2: 0. The Forest team set the tone for the match.
Although Jewell knew he had already lost the match, he still roared incessantly on the sidelines, telling the players not to give up. Even if they were to lose, they had to score a goal to save face.
This made Tang En look at him in a different light, and he had a good impression of him.
Perhaps Jewell's words were not entirely to confuse him. His Wigan Athletic team and his Nottingham Forest team from a year ago really had a lot in common.
A grassroots team that had held back its energy in the English Football League Championship and rushed to the English Premier League. After the excitement, after calming down and thinking about it, in a situation where the club's financial resources and the strength of the players were inferior to other teams, how could they survive? They could only rely on their unyielding spirit: We can lose, but we can't lose our pride. No matter how strong the opponent is, we have to face them head-on.
He liked this Wigan Athletic team, and he liked the manager who instilled such ideas into the team.
※ ※ ※
The match did not end as Jewell had hoped. Wigan Athletic was unable to score a goal against the Forest team in the end. Their offensive strength was still far from being able to match. However, the players still held on until the last second.
Once the final whistle blew, Tang En took the initiative to walk to the away team's technical area and shake hands with Jewell. He rarely took the initiative to shake hands. Most of the time, he would wait for others to come up and shake hands with him, or simply turn around and walk away. That was an extreme manifestation of his bad mood after losing a match that he should not have lost.
Kerslake understood this, so he was not at all surprised that Wigan Athletic, who had caused so much trouble for the Forest team and caused Tang En to fly into a rage in the locker room, was able to gain Tang En's favor in the end.
This was how this person was. He respected those who he thought were worthy of respect, and showed no mercy to those who he thought were not worthy of respect. The media could say that he was arrogant, that he was putting on airs, that he was ignorant and fearless. Kerslake knew that Tang En was just a person who made a clear distinction between what he liked and what he hated. Of course, his standards of love and hate were not constant.
In the post-match press conference, Jewell once again praised Tang En and his team, but at the same time, he was proud of his players. "They did their best. We lost in terms of overall strength. But I'm full of hope for the team. As long as we don't give up, we will definitely stay in the English Premier League by the end of the season! "
Tang En admitted that Wigan Athletic had caused a lot of trouble for his team in the first half and was optimistic about the team's future this season.
"Manager Jewell believes that his team can stay in the English Premier League by the end of the season. I don't quite agree with him …" At this point, he deliberately paused and then looked at everyone's reaction with anticipation. The result made him very satisfied. Everyone was surprised, thinking that he was going to say something shocking again. Jewell was also a little surprised. Then, Tang En finished his sentence with a smirk. "I believe that his team can achieve better results than he expected by the end of the season! Relegation? Mr. Jewell, you're underestimating yourselves. "
Everyone laughed. It was rare to see such a relaxed and cheerful post-match press conference when Tang En was present.
"I'll still say the same thing. It's not a big deal to lose this game. Just win it back in future games. Of course, I don't want Manager Jewell to win it back against the Forest team. "
The press conference erupted into a roar of laughter that was much louder than before. Amidst the laughter, Tang En stood up and shook hands with Jewell again.
"Thank you, Mr. Tang En." Jewell thanked him.
"Don't thank me. Thank your players, Mr. Jewell. They're good people, "Tang En said with a smile.
Now, he felt that it was not bad to be looked upon as a role model. It gave him even more motivation.
(To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. CMFU. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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