On the way back from Liverpool, Tang En was very quiet. Everyone in the car was celebrating their first victory in four rounds, but Tang En did not say a word. Some people even thought the Boss was angry again. Actually, it was not. He continued to think about the inspiration he found in the game.
After Ribéry experienced an explosion in the first two seasons, his characteristics had now been thoroughly studied by his opponents. He was almost invisible in the English Premier League teams. Everyone knew that Tony Twain wanted Ribéry to break through from the flank. As long as he blocked the flank corridor, Ribéry's threat would be gone.
Just look at this season …
Logically, Ribéry should not only have so little ability …
Tang En carefully searched in his memory. After the World Cup, Ribéry went to Bayern Munich and quickly became a core figure. If a person could only play a role in the flank, how could he become a core in a powerhouse team like Bayern Munich?
Tang En rarely watched Bundesliga matches and did not care much about the news there. But he knew that Ribéry's ability to immediately succeed in another place must have something to do with his ability. If he could become a core in Bayern Munich but was restricted in the Forest team, then it must be because he did not do well here.
Before the game against Everton, Tang En had also thought about this problem. Why did Ribéry's performance show an overall trend of decline in the third season of the Premier League? There must be something wrong.
In the game against Everton, Tang En thought he found the problem — his position.
A player like Ribéry should not be restricted to the flank. He was different from Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon. He was more well-rounded and had better awareness. Keeping him on the flank was like putting shackles on his flying feet.
In the game against Everton, due to Gareth Bale's unexpected good form, not only did he take on the two tasks of offense and defense, but he also squeezed Ribéry into the middle. It was a helpless move, but it allowed the team to score a third goal.
What did this mean? There must be a reason for everything to happen, and the third goal would not have appeared for no reason.
What Tang En had to do was to connect the dots.
Clearly, the goal was produced after Ribéry went to the middle. On the flank, Ribéry was more of an assist with passes and less time to shoot. Only by going to the middle would he have the best chance to shoot. Gareth Bale had grown up and could take on more responsibilities on the flank. Handing the left flank to him would free up Ribéry.
So, as long as Ribéry was placed in the middle, the two could maximize their roles. There was no doubt about it.
Well, here came the problem.
If everything on the football field was so simple, there would not be so many unpredictability.
If Ribéry went to the middle lane … What about van der Vaart? What about Eastwood? What about Arteta?
They couldn't sacrifice the benefits of everyone else in the middle lane just to free Ribéry, right?
Therefore, changing the position directly was not a problem in theory, but it was not practical.
This was something that the coach needed to consider. Under the premise of not sacrificing the interests of the rest of the team, they maximized the role of everyone.
Tang En recalled the tactics often used by Real Madrid during Vicente del Bosque's time. Back then, although Real Madrid had midfield superstars like Figo and Zidane, they did not have an attacking midfielder. The famous Spanish manager, Vicente del Bosque, used a strange method to solve the problem of Real Madrid having too many superstars.
Figo was still active on the right flank, which he was most familiar with. The attacking midfielder, Zidane, did not appear in the middle of the midfield. He went to the left flank. Judging from the formation, he was a left midfielder. In reality? When the game started, people discovered that Zidane played as the attacking midfielder in the left midfielder position. He would constantly run to the middle. The left midfielder was just a figurehead. He did not play the role of a side midfielder. For Zidane, being a side midfielder was too much of a waste.
So, being a left midfielder in the formation and an attacking midfielder in the game did not affect Zidane's play. It did not affect the play of the other midfielders. What about the left flank? As everyone knew, Robert Carlos's assists on the left flank were invincible. If Zidane was fixed on the left flank, it would be tantamount to crippling Carlos's skills. Zidane moved to the middle, leaving the left flank corridor to Carlos. He could play as he had since he was young. He could plug in when he wanted to attack and retreat when he wanted to defend. Anyway, the small Brazilian defender could run and was fast.
How similar was this situation to the current Forest team?
Although Gareth Bale was not as outstanding as Carlos, he was also considered one of the best of the younger generation. His ability to assist was really good for a full back. It would be a waste if he was just a full back.
Ribéry was even called the "new Zidane." Even their roles were the same.
How about copying Real Madrid's tactics?
Tang En thought for a long time and finally rejected the idea.
The Real Madrid of that time was still different from the Nottingham Forest of today. Zidane went to the middle to give full play to Carlos's ability to assist on the flank. At that time, Real Madrid's offense in the middle relied on Zidane and Figo. Makelele was a defensive midfielder, very similar to the current Wood.
But the Forest team still had van der Vaart, a genuine player in the middle. If Ribéry came over, what about the Dutchman? Originally, everyone did their jobs and minded their own business. If Ribéry came to the middle, it would be tantamount to breaking the original balance. In that case, the Forest team's entire midfield would have to be rebuilt.
It was another change.
Change meant an uncertain future. It meant risk.
※ ※ ※
As the car drove to the Nottingham area, Tang En snapped out of his thoughts and moved his stiff body.
"Tony?" Dunn, who had been paying attention to him, hurriedly asked when he saw Tang En's reaction.
"Ah …" Tang En did not answer Dunn's question. He raised his hands and stretched, moving his stiff body in the car.
"Were you asleep, Tony? I saw you turning your head away and not saying a word. "David Kerslake also asked with concern.
"I'm not Zhang Fei …" Tang En muttered.
"Who's Zhang Fei?" Kerslake was confused.
Dunn explained to him, "He was a very powerful general in ancient China. Legend has it that he slept with his eyes open."
"Oh, I see … Then what are you thinking about?"
"I'll tell you when we get back." Tang En looked at the night view outside the window. It was getting more and more familiar. They were about to enter the city of Nottingham. "After the team disbands, the two of you stay behind."
Seeing how formal Tang En was, the two of them nodded.
The bus bypassed the brightly lit city center and drove directly into the Wilford training base. Here, the players would be dismissed to go home or go somewhere else to have fun. It was already night time, and the bars and red-light spots were doing well.
Tang En did not ask what the players were going to do. He only reminded them when they were dismissed to come here on time tomorrow afternoon for training.
When everyone had left, Tang En walked back to his office with the two assistant managers.
Turning on the lights, Tang En took the video tape of the match from Dunn's hands. The Forest team would record every match. It was different from the live broadcast on television. They did not consider the audience's feelings and only recorded what they needed. The match filmed from the coach's point of view was definitely not meant for the ordinary fans to see.
After putting the video tape into the video recorder, the scene of the match appeared on the television screen after a short wait.
"There's nothing to see in front," Tang En said as he pressed the fast forward button on the remote control.
It wasn't until he saw Ribéry score the winning goal that he let go of his hand and stepped back.
"Here, look carefully."
He replayed the goal several times and then asked, "What do you think?"
Dunn stared at the television screen and did not boast. Kerslake opened his mouth several times but did not say anything in the end.
"We didn't let Ribéry go to the middle before the match, did we?" Tang En asked. He did not like to make things clear right from the start. He liked to guide the conversation slowly and let the other party speak on their own.
Kerslake shook his head. "No. The tactics for this match were no different from what we used before. "
"Bale's performance was completely due to his good personal condition," Dunn added.
"The little monkey has been in good condition for the past few days," Kerslake added. "Because you're back."
Tang En responded to the last sentence with a smile. Bale worshipped him immensely. He was very clear about that.
"Bale's performance was better than I expected," Tang En said. "As a result, his overactivity caused Ribéry to lose his position on the flanks and was forced to go to the middle."
The two assistant managers nodded in agreement. They could see that.
"I thought it would be bad for Ribéry to go to the middle. I didn't expect …" Tang En pointed to the frozen image on the television screen. "Bale assisted Ribéry to score the goal. The goal can explain a lot of things. Why did it go in? Why did he do it in this position? Why did Bale assist Ribéry and not van Nistelrooy or Eastwood? "
Tang En threw these questions to his two partners.
Dunn fell into deep thought again. Kerslake also stared at the television screen. Although the image had stopped, the entire process of the goal had long been imprinted in their minds. They could understand it clearly without watching the video.
"Think about Ribéry's declining form after this season … Do you have any ideas?"
Dunn heard Tang En say this and looked up. "Ribéry and Bale have been freed."
Tang En clapped and laughed. "Dunn is smarter. That's right, that's what I mean … "Then, he laid out the problems he had considered in the car.
He spoke of the pros and cons of doing so.
Kerslake, who had heard the pros, was very excited and wanted to put the idea into practice. But after hearing the cons, it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him and he fell silent.
"It's a double-edged sword. I think it's time for the Forest team's tactics to change. We can't stick to the previous set. At that time, our strength and goals were different from now. Naturally, our tactical thinking would be different as well. It's good to fly on both wings, but if we only rely on both wings, we won't be able to get out of England in our lifetime, "Tang En said." Why did we lose to Fulham? Because our flanks were restricted, and our offense in the middle was immature. We had no other way to face the opponent's dense defense. Fortunately, it was just Fulham. If we had faced a strong European team and lost in a crucial Champions League game, you and I would have had a hard time. "
His words made the two men on the opposite side nod repeatedly.
"I used to think that too much ball control was useless. Now, I have to make a change. At that time, we were a weak team. Our opponents were stronger than us. When we played against them, we often hid in defense and scored goals through counterattacks. Under such circumstances, too much ball control would only slow down our offense and not be conducive to counterattacks. Now, the situation is completely reversed. Look at the match between Fulham and us. " Tang En took the first defeat of the new season very seriously. Many times, he would use that match as an example to illustrate the problem. "Our opponent hid in defense and waited for an opportunity to attack behind us. Meanwhile, we pressed forward with a large army and controlled absolute ball control. Isn't that ironic? "
At this point, he suddenly stopped. His eyes stared at the television screen in a daze.
Speaking of this, Tang En suddenly remembered the time when he was in Kenny Burns' bar, talking endlessly to Des Walker and Ian Bowyer about his theory of "the futility of ball control."
At that time, he was still an unlucky person who had just transmigrated. Faced with an unknown fate, he could only take one step at a time. He had impulsively pitched his new theory to people in the bar. Now that he thought about it, he did not seem to have considered what to do if his proposal was not accepted. His luck was surprisingly good. Everyone accepted it.
Real coaches like Des Walker and Ian Bowyer were so impressed by their own ability to speak that they did not think too much about the details.
What real ability did he have back then? Bullsh * t! Other than having a mouth that could spout nonsense, he was just a hardcore fan who had nothing better to do while watching the game. Before carefully studying the notes that Dunn had left behind, he did not understand anything. He only knew how to bury his head and barge his way through, yet he still managed to break through.
Should he say that he had a good life?
Life, oh, life …
A hothead could also become a professional team's manager. A teenager with a bright future could lose his life in a fan riot. If such a thing as fate really existed, it must be rotten to the core.
He could still clearly recall Michael's answer to his question in the bar. It was just that he was gone. He had left the country that made him sad. He was far away from the sport that he once loved so much but had hurt him the most.
"What the f * ck are you talking about, Mr. Tang? Of course we like to win. We also like the team to return to the Premier League after this season. We like to become the damn Premier League champions next season. The season after that, we'll be the king of Europe! "
Other than not winning the Premier League title, we almost became the f * cking king of Europe. Did you see all this, Michael?
※ ※ ※
"Tony?" Kerslake called out when he saw Tang En suddenly in a daze.
"Ah … Sorry, where were we?" Tang En came back to his senses and saw the two men's concerned gazes.
"You said we have a lot of ball possession in the game now," Dunn reminded him.
"Well, yes. Now is the time for us to surpass our opponents in ball possession. Although we are unwilling, we have to accept this reality. In the Premier League, we are already treated as a strong team by our opponents. We can't expect them to go up against strong teams. So we have to change some things from the past: concepts, tactics … It's time to re-emphasize ball possession. "
Their status had changed, and their mentality had changed. Naturally, their thinking had also changed.
The theory that ball possession was useless no longer applied to the current Nottingham Forest. Previously, under the guidance of Tang En's tactical thinking, Nottingham Forest was used to a fast-paced fighting style. Even their mistakes were fast-paced mistakes. But now they had to learn to slow down the pace. When they were dragged into a quagmire by their opponents and could not speed up, they had to have a solution. Otherwise, Nottingham Forest would always be a dark horse and a disruptor.
How to control the ball, how to use their own ball control to mobilize the opponent's defense, and how to make the opponent play according to their own wishes were all new topics for Tang En's Forest Team.
Hearing Tang En's words, the two assistant managers looked at each other. They both knew what this decision meant. The training guidelines that the team had always adhered to had to be revised. This was not something as simple as standing in front of the team and saying a few words to boost morale. The price of playing a smooth and beautiful offensive coordination in a game was repeated countless times on the training ground. Behind this was the hard work of all the members of the coaching staff.
Forest's coaching staff had long been used to letting Tang En set the general guidelines, and then they would specifically refine and implement the working model.
Dunn nodded. "I also think it's time for the team to make changes."
Kerslake also expressed his agreement. "Ribéry's position is just a trigger. This is a big reform that the whole team has to follow."
"But there's no need to be too anxious." Seeing that his two partners had agreed with his idea, Tang En waved his hands. "This kind of big change has to be done slowly. It can't be rushed. I don't want the price of the reform to be a big shock to the team. There will definitely be ups and downs in the results, and that's nothing. But we must ensure that we don't lose the Champions League — whether it's the qualification for next season or this season's championship! "He clenched his fist.
"OK, I'm really sorry for taking up so much of your time. Come back tomorrow morning and discuss with our colleagues in the coaching staff to see how we should change. Go home, don't let your wife wait. "He stood up and patted Kerslake on the shoulder.
※ ※ ※
On the way back, Dunn, who was walking with Tang En, suddenly asked, "What were you thinking about when you were in a daze just now?"
"I was thinking about the days when I first came here." Tang En did not use a clumsy excuse like "nothing much." It was not a period of time that he was ashamed to meet people.
"Is it very unbearable to look back on?" Dunn recalled that Tang En was immersed in his memories at that time, and his expression was a frown.
Hearing Dunn's question, Tang En turned to look at him and smiled. "No, to me … there might not be a better memory than those days …"
"Even if we win more championships …"
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