Mourinho said after the game that he was very regretful that Nottingham Forest did not lose, which made some sense. Tang En said that he was very dissatisfied with not winning the game, but it sounded a little stubborn.
Under the current circumstances, a draw at home was actually a good result. After all, they had to put more energy into the Champions League.
After the end of the league match against Chelsea, Nottingham Forest was ranked sixth in the league with 18 points. Immediately after, it was another Champions League group stage match.
At the City Ground stadium, the Forest team would welcome Bordeaux from France.
They were not a powerful opponent, and it was on the Forest team's home ground.
Tang En expected that as the away team, Bordeaux would definitely shrink their defense at the City Ground stadium and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack. So, he took the opportunity to see how the emphasis on ball control worked.
The Champions League group stage was used by Tang En as a warm-up game for training the team. If the opponent knew about this, Bordeaux would definitely think that they had suffered a great humiliation.
The course of the game was as Tang En had guessed. Bordeaux did indeed shrink their defense at the Forest team's home ground. It was very obvious that they were defending and counterattacking, and the Forest team's ball possession rate was as high as 68%. The ball possession rate went up, but the chances created did not increase. They surrounded the opponent and attacked, but still could not find a chance to send the football to the danger zone to form a shot.
The Nottingham Forest players were already used to the previous game mode of others attacking while they defended and counterattacked. It was difficult for them to change in a short time.
It was impossible to immediately turn the imagined tactics into reality.
Tang En sighed in the manager's seat. It looked like he and the coaching team still had a long way to go.
In the end, the Forest team only won 1: 0 at home against Bordeaux. The goal was scored by van Nistelrooy. If they had stuck to their previous tactics, they would have won by at least two goals.
When training resumed the next day, Tang En gathered the team as usual and watched the video of yesterday's game together. At the same time, he and Dunn analyzed every detail of the game for everyone. The Forest team had rarely tried to play with ball control. Now that they had decided to go down this path, Tang En naturally wanted everyone to see what path they were going to take. Dunn was a master of tactics. With him explaining from the side, everyone stood on the sidelines and re-analyzed the game from the perspective of a bystander. They could clearly see where they did well, where they did not do well, where the problems were, what the specific problems were, and how to avoid them.
After every match, there would be such a "training" to review the match and solve the problem by watching the video. Ever since Dunn had been promoted to the First Team, he had been in charge of the specific analysis work. Tang En was only responsible for supplementing.
The whole morning was spent watching the match videos over and over again. No one thought it was a waste of time, because the players often only knew to act according to their instincts during the game. Now that they were re-watching the game they had played from the perspective of a bystander, coupled with Dunn's analysis, as long as they were not fools, they would feel that they had benefited a lot.
In the past, very few people had done this kind of training mode. Of course, they had watched the videos of the matches, but Tang En was probably the first to insist on making it a separate training mode.
Tang En's thinking was very simple: Football was not only a sport that competed with the body, but also used the brain.
※ ※ ※
After a period of setbacks and lows, Nottingham Forest entered a stable period in the league tournament and their results were neither good nor bad. However, compared with the Forest team's consecutive victories at the beginning of last season's league tournament, the difference was still obvious.
After the match against Chelsea, the Forest team first defeated Newcastle 1: 0 in an away game, and then defeated Bolton Wanderers 2: 0 at home. Following that, just when everyone thought that the Forest team was going to advance at high speed, they lost 1: 2 to Manchester United at home.
Although they had lost, Tang En was not unhappy at all.
Because George Wood was back.
Ending his eight-match ban, George Wood was like a demon returning from hell. With his cold expression, he returned to the top league tournament.
"What did you learn in the reserve team?" Tang En asked George Wood, who had just walked out of the locker room at the side of the First Team's training ground.
"The coach told me to attack," Wood answered honestly.
Tang En smiled. It looked like McParland had done his job well.
"How do you feel?"
"Not very fast." He did not expect Wood to frown and shake his head, unsatisfied with his performance.
"Oh? Why? "
"The opponent was too weak."
Tang En laughed heartily.
"You can't watch the reserve team's match so soon?" He tilted his head and looked at Wood, his eyes full of amusement. "But it doesn't matter. You can come back to participate in high-level matches now. When the time comes, you can show off what you've learned in front of those powerful opponents. I guarantee that you'll give them a shock! But … of course, don't be so impulsive. Look, you've been suspended. The team's results are not stable, and you didn't get any benefits. "
The team's results were not stable, but it was not entirely because of Wood's suspension. Tang En said this because he hoped that Wood would consider the cost of doing something before doing it in the future, and whether it matched the benefits.
Wood nodded. "I got it, Boss."
"Go train." Tang En waved his hand at the training ground, and Wood ran over.
"Hey, George! How do you feel after holding back for eight matches?! "Ribéry shouted loudly, eliciting laughter from his teammates around him.
George did not reply. He ran up and gave Ribéry a slap on his shoulder. Ribéry also gritted his teeth and lowered his body. "Hey, be gentle!"
Tang En was very happy to see Wood getting along with everyone, even though he still appeared a little reserved. But this was much better than when he first appeared in the First Team.
"How's George doing in the reserve team, Boss?" Albertini's voice came from behind.
Tang En turned back to look at him. He had just come out of the locker room after changing into his training clothes.
"He's over there. The coach has him mainly participate in the offense. But … he says he hasn't improved much. "
"Because the opponents aren't strong enough?" Albertini quickly guessed the core of the problem.
Tang En nodded. "This kid's standards are pretty high."
"High-level matches are the hotbed of improvement for young players," Albertini said.
Tang En looked at the Italian veteran and felt that he was really a good helper. He had the most prestige among the players, was in charge of the communication between the coaching staff and the locker room, comforted the disappointed players, and helped guide the new players. He did all of this work. He was a little reluctant to let this man go.
"Hey, Demi."
"What's the matter, Boss?"
"You've been performing very well in the last few matches."
"Thanks for the compliment, Boss."
"Do you want to … reconsider your decision to retire?" Dunn planned to persuade Albertini to give up the idea of retiring at the end of this season. He knew the chances were slim, but he had to give it a try.
Albertini shook his head without hesitation and rejected Tang En's suggestion. "Give me a break, Boss. I was 32 when I first came to Nottingham Forest, and now I'm 35. I'm old and tired. "
"Please, don't say that, Demi. Think about our original goal … Have you forgotten? Let me tell you, Forest has a very big goal. The UEFA Europa League is just a starting point. "Tang En was still making one last effort.
Albertini smiled and shook his head. "Of course I haven't forgotten, Boss. I've never doubted your goal. Look at the team now. It's completely different from when I first came. They're all very good lads. "He looked at his teammates who were playing around on the training ground." The Forest team's goal is to become champions. But I don't think I can wait until … "
He stopped abruptly in the middle of his sentence. Perhaps he felt that it was inappropriate to say it. Did Forest need a long time to become champions?
"Are you afraid you can't wait until that day?" Tang En helped him say it.
Albertini did not reply, but his silence was equivalent to a tacit agreement.
"All right, Demi. I've given up on trying to persuade you to stay. "Tang En spread his hands." But I have to give you a parting gift. "
"What is it?"
"It's a secret." Tang En played a child's game.
Albertini did not expect Tang En to say that. He was stunned for a moment before he laughed again. "All right, Boss. I'll wait for your gift. "
※ ※ ※
After Wood returned, Nottingham Forest's lineup was finally no longer incomplete. The team's performance in the league tournament also slowly and steadily picked up.
George Wood even began to take the initiative to actively participate in the offense in the game. Although his main task was still defense, his contribution to the offense was no longer zero.
There was no suspense in the Champions League group stage. Forest, who maintained a clean sweep, had already advanced ahead of schedule after their 1: 0 home win over Bordeaux. For the remaining two matches in the group stage, Tang En made a large number of rotations, almost changing the entire lineup. He wanted to give more players the opportunity to come into contact with high-level competitions. The day before the training, the troops were put to use.
What happened last season could not happen again.
In the blink of an eye, it was getting closer to the end of the year.
During this period, many things happened in the international football scene. Some things were familiar to Tang En, which were not much different from what he knew. Some things were different because of Tang En's arrival.
Among these things, Tang En did not care about some, but he was very concerned about some.
Tang En knew very well what kind of manager Capello was. Tang En also knew very well what kind of team Real Madrid was. When Real Madrid's rebellious superstars met Capello, who ruled with an iron fist, Tang En knew very well what kind of situation it would be.
Ronaldo was on Capello's purge list. It was said that he was very close to AC Milan. There were also people who said that Moratti wanted Ronaldo to return to Inter Milan on account of old affection. Ronaldo, who had been kicked out by Real Madrid, was still a popular player in the transfer market no matter how down he was. Even Forest's marketing manager, Allan Adams, had asked Tang En excitedly if he wanted to try to contact Real Madrid. Now that they were in a hurry to sell Ronaldo, and Ronaldo was also in a hurry to escape the hell of Bernabéu, the transfer fee should not be high.
Tang En agreed with Allan's analysis of the transfer price, but he refused to bring in the Brazilian striker. It was very simple. He did not like players who could not be controlled. Ronaldo was clearly not a good kid who could obediently listen to him. So, Tang En told Allan that no matter how famous Ronaldo was, how talented he was, or how many goals he could score, he did not want him.
Do you want Ronaldo to fight with me for the boss? I'm bored out of my mind.
There was another person that Tang En was very concerned about. It was David Beckham. They had originally only met once, but because of Shania, a young girl active in the modeling and fashion world, they became friends. The world was very strange. With this additional layer of relationship, Tang En was even more concerned about this person.
Everything seemed to be developing according to a written script. No matter how hard Beckham worked in training, he could not gain Capello's favor. Capello did not like the star players whose commercial influence was greater than their football influence. For example, Ronaldo. He believed that Beckham's appearance in Real Madrid was only to help the club sell more jerseys.
Ever since Beckham married the hot girl Victoria, there were more and more people in the world who saw him that way.
Tang En did not think that Beckham and Capello were at fault in this matter. The fault did not lie with either side, but with a third party.
The Spanish media had always looked down on Beckham since he came to Madrid, thinking that he was there to sell jerseys. They even said that Real Madrid's situation of being empty for the past few years was caused by Beckham alone. Tang En wanted to laugh when he heard such ignorant comments, whether it was in the past or now.
If there were no third-party media adding fuel to the fire, would Capello's misunderstanding of Beckham be so deep? In the second half of the league tournament, didn't Capello also realize his mistake and trust Beckham again? Then, Real Madrid's results began to pick up and press hard against Barcelona?
However, Capello only got to know Beckham in the second half of the league tournament. Not only Capello, but Tang En believed that many people got to know Beckham again at that time. Tang En suddenly felt that he still had a chance. He could not persuade Beckham the last time they met because David still had some hope for his future in Real Madrid. Now the situation was different. He was worried about his future.
Capello had put Beckham on the bench for many games in a row. His attitude was already clear. He was waiting for an excuse to get rid of him.
The whole world knew that Beckham was certain to leave Real Madrid. Even the club chairman, Calderón, did not deny the "rumor." The only suspense was where Beckham would choose to stay after leaving Real Madrid.
Return to Manchester United? But Ferguson would not want it.
Or Arsenal? It sounded more like a joke.
Chelsea? The possibility was high, but it was only a possibility.
AC Milan? Inter Milan? Major League Soccer?
There were too many transfer rumors, and it was a dazzling sight. Perhaps even Beckham himself did not know where he was going.
If Tang En did nothing, he believed Beckham would go to the United States. Victoria, the woman who was by his side all day, had a great influence on him. Everyone knew that the woman yearned for the colorful world of Hollywood and hoped that her husband could develop in the entertainment industry after retiring. She should have made arrangements for Beckham's future a long time ago.
She could not let this happen. Tang En decided to give Beckham a call.
When he dialed the number, it indicated that the number he dialed was switched off.
Was his luck that bad?
Tang En was not satisfied. After ten minutes, he dialed again. This time, it went through.
“Hello！ Tony. " Beckham's voice was a little loud. It was not because he was in high spirits, but because his surroundings were noisy.
Tang En could not help but frown as he listened to the real roar of the motor coming from the earpiece. "Hello, David. Where are you? Why is it so noisy? "
"Airport, America. I just got off the plane …"
"America!" Tang En could not help but shout.
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Happy May Day, everyone!
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