Half a week after Tang En and Dunn arrived in Germany, the much-anticipated World Cup finally began.
Other than staying in two rooms next to each other in the same hotel, Tang En and Dunn did not move around together most of the time. Whether it was eating or traveling, they were always separated. Tang En moved around with the people from BBC television, while Dunn was alone. The focus of their work was also different.
Because of his contract, Tang En had to travel to various cities with the people from BBC5. He was mainly a guest commentator for the England national team's matches. Other than his old acquaintance, John Motson, the commentator, there was also the former England captain and the best striker in the English Premier League for the past decade, Alan Shearer.
Tang En was already familiar with the legendary figure in English football. However, he had only seen the man's elegance on the field at that time. It gave Tang En a very special feeling to be able to sit in the broadcast room and comment on the match together.
Dunn moved alone and did not follow the television broadcast plan. He mainly went to the matches that were not watched in England, especially the weaker teams. He hoped to be able to dig out the pearls and raw stones that Tang En needed. He still did not know what Forest's transfer budget for the new season would be, so he could only start looking from the most affordable candidates.
Tang En had complete trust in Dunn's judgment and ability. After all, the only player he had truly nurtured during his tenure was George Wood. As for Michael Dowse, Andy Reid, and other outstanding players of the same age, they had all been nurtured by Dunn himself.
Tang En believed that the stage for him to perform to the fullest was not a scout, assistant manager, or youth team manager. It was not to discover and nurture new players, but to lead a team to the throne of the championship. Dunn could complement him very well. His fastidious attention to details would make him an outstanding assistant. When the time came, he would be in charge of the specific operations during the team's daily training, while Tang En would only be responsible for setting the general direction and route. The two of them working together would allow them to perform to their best in the areas that they were most familiar with.
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BBC5's invitation to Tang En to be a special commentator during this World Cup might have been because of his current popularity. Because of the continuous incidents that had been hyped up by the media, Tony Twain, as a football manager, could be said to be extremely popular this season. And this star-like situation reached a peak after the UEFA Champions League final. After the game, he publicly criticized the referee who refereed the game as stupid and brainless. He also embarrassed the UEFA in public at the award ceremony, putting the heads in charge of the European football world in a difficult position.
Ever since BBC5 announced that they would be inviting Tang En as a special guest commentator during the World Cup, it immediately attracted the attention of other major media outlets. Before Tang En had even started working, he had already attracted enough attention for his temporary employer.
People were looking forward to what kind of sparks would be ignited between the Englishman and John Motson, who was famous for his passionate commentary, in his first televised commentary.
"I didn't expect us to work together in this way." At the World Cup in Germany, Motson took the initiative to extend his hand after seeing Twain.
Twain knew the commentator in front of him and knew that he was a supporter of him. Although he was harsh when he criticized him, he was also a harsh person, so the two of them felt that they were kindred spirits.
"I think Eriksson is going to be out of luck." Twain smiled and shook hands.
Motson laughed. "I was afraid you'd be nervous and wanted to enlighten you. You'll commentate the game the way you usually deal with the reporters … Looks like there's no need for that."
Twain laughed along with him.
Alan Shearer, who was a serious person, seemed a bit strange next to him.
This was a small episode behind the scenes before the live broadcast of the game. Twain was looking forward to his first televised commentary job and had done his homework seriously. He specifically went to understand the current situation of England's opponent, Paraguay, as if he was studying the opponent as the England manager.
BBC5's arrangement was also very reasonable and classic. John Motson was a veteran sports commentator in England. His sharp words and passionate commentary style were very liked by those who liked him, and extremely hated by those who hated him. He would be the connection and overall coordinator of the game commentary, similar to the host of an entertainment program. Alan Shearer was a current Newcastle player, as well as a former England's main striker and captain. He would commentate the game from the players' point of view during the game. As the manager, Tony Twain would naturally analyze the game from the perspective of the tactical adjustments of the two managers.
In this way, the audience could understand the game from all aspects.
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England's group stage match against Paraguay was the third game of this World Cup.
Twain was already unwilling to think about the outcome of the game that took place in another space at the same time. Because it was meaningless to this game. Would knowing the score of this game in another space help England's performance in this game? Could it ensure that England would not repeat their old mistakes?
Twain was not optimistic about England's prospects in the World Cup at all. This had nothing to do with what he knew about England's performance in this World Cup. The problem with English football was a chronic disease that was passed down from generation to generation. Even the previous him, who had not transmigrated, had never been optimistic about England's prospects in international competitions.
This was a team that had become self-deceiving after being overly publicized by the developed domestic media.
Apart from winning a World Cup at their own doorstep in 1966, as the originator of modern football, what other achievements did the England team have that could be praised? Nothing.
The prosperity of the English Premier League made people feel that the England national team should also be very strong. Although Twain agreed that the Premier League was the foundation of a country's football level, he did not agree with the brainless approach of directly equating the Premier League level with the national team level. Moreover, the prosperity of the Premier League was mostly exaggerated by the media …
Why were England's domestic football stars always more expensive than the football stars of the same level in other European countries? Why were there so many young talents in England, but so few who played in the end?
It was all thanks to their developed media.
The unbridled hype and a series of mature publicity systems made it easier for England's players to be shaped into great "football stars" in the eyes of the public. This was related to England's national character, and it also had roots in their once glorious history as an empire where the sun never set.
Their own was always the best …
This was the true thought in Twain's heart. He believed that the low level of English football — in the eyes of the English, this was a temporary low — had nothing to do with the level of the manager, the true strength of the players, the food cooked by the chef, and the nature of alcoholism … This was purely a national problem, and it was simply unsolvable. Perhaps they might perform very well in one of the big competitions, and with a little better luck, they could win the championship, but the improvement to their overall level would still be zero.
Of course, this sounded a little like China's football, but no matter how low it was, it was still better than the true "zero" of China's football.
However, Twain would not say his thoughts in the game commentary. The English would not allow others to easily say bad things about them, especially when it was a sensitive topic like national character. Twain did not want to become a public enemy.
Motson wanted him to comment on the game from the manager's point of view, so Twain kept targeting Eriksson during the live broadcast of the game.
The main focus of his criticism of Eriksson was on the use of the "Two Virtues."
Lampard and Gerrard were both the core midfielders of their respective teams. They performed very well in their respective clubs, and it was reasonable to say that there was no problem at all for them to play as the main force in the national team at the same time. However, a problem had arisen. Lampard and Gerrard, who performed very well in Chelsea and Liverpool, were bound to perform poorly in the England national team as long as they were on the field at the same time, or both of them would perform poorly.
Even a fool could see that the positions and styles of the two men on the field were completely overlapping. Playing at the same time was not as simple as a waste of time. It was a little similar to the meaning of "two extremes repel each other." They interfered with each other, and as a result, neither performed well.
Why did Eriksson still insist on starting both of them at the same time? Could he not see the problem? Twain certainly would not criticize Eriksson for being stupid. What he criticized was that the Swede was too indulgent of his big-name star players.
This was a direct conflict between the two coaching philosophies. Twain was the type where the team was above everything else. In his team, it was enough as long as he, the manager, was an authority and a star player. The players had to listen to him, and he would never sacrifice his own tactics just to accommodate a star player.
Eriksson, on the other hand, was more indulgent of the star players. He relied on the big-name players to decide the game, and was a little partial to the "star effect." This allowed him to mingle with the players, and his position in the players' hearts was not low. When he was repeatedly involved in a no-confidence case with the Football Association, the players were on his side. In a sense, this could also be considered a kind of "love." But the price of his hot relationship with the players was the sacrifice of England's competitiveness in the World Cup.
In the game against Paraguay, Eriksson's team played drowsily under the hot afternoon sun in Frankfurt.
"… I can't see any hope of England winning this game. I don't even know if Eriksson wants to win … Of course he wants to win, but if he doesn't prove it, I'll think he doesn't want to win … Owen has returned from injury and is completely out of form. Why let him and Rooney start? Crouch is perfect in such a game. I've coached Gao Ge before, and I know his ability … Look, I'm right. Eriksson has made a substitution. Crouch is on, replacing Owen … Simple and crude, without any technical content … I'm sorry, I want to take a nap. Wake me up when the goal is scored … "
This was an excerpt from Twain's commentary during the game.
The game was drowsy. Paraguay did not have any threatening attacks, and neither did England. Neither side seemed to want to take a more active approach to score goals, and so they just wasted time under the hot sun. The audience watched drowsily, and it was extremely boring.
So, when Beckham used his signature free kick to turn the ball over the head of Paraguay's Zhang Gamarra and into the goal, Twain finally "woke up" with Motson's roar.
"Yo, the ball went in? And it's an own goal! That's great! Eriksson can breathe a sigh of relief. "
England won the game with great difficulty thanks to the opponent's own goal.
After the game, Twain spent a lot of space in his post-match commentary article for the Nottingham Evening Post and China's Titan Sports to describe an interesting incident he discovered during the game — England's goalkeeper, David Robinson, kicked the ball directly into the big television screen hanging above the middle of the field when he kicked off the ball, and it almost did not come down …
This incident made Twain laugh for a long time in the commentary room at the time, and he was still repeatedly telling his two partners about it during the halftime interval. When he was commentating, he joked that it was a pity the ball still fell in the end. He really hoped to see the ball not fall, then the game would not be so dull and boring.
In this game, George Wood, who was selected for England for the first time and participated in the World Cup, had been shuttling back and forth between the substitutes' bench and the warm-up area, and did not get even a minute of playing time. This was normal. After all, England's midfield was now hoarded with too many star players. Gerrard and Lampard had to be on the field at the same time, plus the captain, Beckham, Joe Cole, Hargreaves … There was no room for the rookie Wood to play.
The problem in this game was not the midfield defense, but the organization of the offense. Wood's appearance would not help the team. Twain did not criticize Eriksson for this decision. It showed that he was not someone who would throw mud at everything.
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After the live broadcast of the game ended, BBC5 received many feedback calls from the audience, most of which criticized Twain's commentary style. They felt that Twain was not suitable to be a guest commentator because his words were too offensive and carried obvious personal feelings. Some even suspected that Twain was using this job opportunity to vent his personal resentment.
Twain's response to this was to shrug. He did not want to explain too much. He was a guest commentator, not a commentator who needed to maintain an objective and neutral position at all times. Did he not come to express his personal opinion? Others might be afraid of offending people, but Tony Twain was not.
Of course, he did have the intention of using this opportunity to vent his personal anger … because he had never liked Eriksson as a manager. He felt that Eriksson was too weak. This was a personality conflict that could not be easily changed.
BBC also supported him. They knew that no matter how many people hated Twain's commentary style, the ratings for the next game would definitely improve. Because those people wanted to see what new arguments Twain had to throw out this time, so that they could continue to nitpick and call to complain.
Those who liked him would continue to support him, watching him laugh and scold in front of the television. Those who hated him would also pay attention to him, collecting "evidence" of his crimes in preparation to bring him down.
In short, this was a character that, regardless of whether you liked or hated him, you could not ignore him.
BBC5 had signed a very good deal. (To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log on to WWW. QIDIAN. com. More chapters. Support the author. Support original reading!)
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