After achieving a crucial victory in the Champions League semi-finals, Nottingham Forest's morale was high. Although it was a week of two matches, everyone's condition was maintained very well. Twain used a rotation system for the rest of the league tournament, changing out more than half of the starting lineup. Wood also got a chance to rest. Even though he did not need to rest at all, Twain considered that he wanted to give the other players more opportunities, so he let him go to the stands to accompany his mother.
Sun Jihai replaced Wood and appeared in the defensive midfielder position. The Chinese player had now thoroughly solidified his name as a "jack of all trades." In an interview with a Chinese reporter, he jokingly called himself "a brick of socialism, moving it wherever it's needed."
On the forward line, Anelka, who rarely played, also got a chance to start. He formed a partnership with Bendtner. As the season neared its end, rumors about Anelka's transfer were flying around every day. Many clubs had expressed strong interest in Anelka. It was said that the closest to leaving was Juventus, who was about to return to Serie A. After Trezeguet's departure, they lacked a strong and experienced striker.
Everyone believed that the French striker's days at the City Ground stadium were numbered.
In the midfield, Sun Jihai's partner in the middle was the Spanish midfielder, Arteta. The left midfielder was replaced by Petrov. Due to Ashley Young's injury, Aaron Lennon would be the only option for a while on the right midfielder. Of course, Ribéry could also occasionally make a cameo appearance.
The center back, Wes Morgan, also got a chance to start. His partner was the veteran Ayala. It was a little cruel for Ayala to not be able to represent Forest in the Champions League. He could only use all his energy on the Premier League. Since he came on loan, his performance in the Premier League was stable. He used his experience to help Forest stabilize their young defensive line.
Gareth Bale, who scored the winning goal in the Champions League semi-finals, replaced Leighton Baines.
Such a big rotation was made only because Forest's opponents in the Premier League were too weak. Twain did not want to injure one or two more players before a crucial match.
Forest's opponent in the 36th round was Watford, a team that had been relegated early. Moreover, Forest was playing at home. Twain was not worried that his team would lose the game at home. The tactics he gave the team in this game were offense, offense, and use offense to suppress the opponent.
The facts proved that he was right.
Nottingham Forest defeated Watford 4: 0 amidst the shouts and cheers of nearly 30,000 fans in the City Ground stadium.
Poor Watford had wanted to show their unyielding fighting spirit. After the start of the game, several attacks created some threats to the absent-minded Forest team.
But their desperate struggle infuriated Nottingham Forest. The originally absent-minded players seemed to have suddenly woken up.
In the 27th minute, Gareth Bale crossed the ball after breaking through from the flank. Bendtner grabbed the ball in the middle and with a powerful header, he headed the ball into Watford's goal. 1: 0.
The trailing Watford still did not give up. They still wanted to take advantage of the gap behind the Forest team to fight back.
Three minutes later, Watford, who wanted to hit the Forest team's defensive counterattack, was hit back by the Forest team. While they were attacking, Arteta directly passed a long pass from the backfield to the front. After Anelka received the ball, he dribbled the ball to break through alone. Faced with the Watford goalkeeper who was attacking, he still had the leisure to dribble past his opponent before shooting at the goal. The football rolled into the empty goal without any suspense. 2: 0.
The goal completely destroyed Watford's fighting spirit. After conceding two goals in three minutes, the Watford players no longer had the confidence to equalize the score. Now, their idea was to "win by losing less."
During the halftime interval, Tang En praised the team's performance and told them to keep up the good work in the second half. He was not satisfied with the 2: 0 score. If they could still score a goal, they should go ahead and not think about doing something as boring as giving the opponent face. Anyway, the opponent was a team that was going to be relegated.
In the second half, the team carried out his words seriously. With a devastating attack, they turned Watford's rear defensive line into a sieve. Tang En was happy to use this opportunity to let the team practice various offensive routines. So, his second-half substitutions were all offensive adjustments. No one on the defensive line moved. He had no intention of adjusting the rear defensive line.
The Forest team relied on Bendtner and Petrov to each score a goal in the second half and finally locked the score at 4: 0.
At the end of the game, the City Ground stadium erupted in huge cheers, cheering for their heroes. After every home victory, this was a "reserved program." There would be no difference because of the score or the strength of the opponent. In the eyes of these fans, as long as it was a victory, it was worth celebrating. They had been suppressed for 24 years. That desire for victory could not be released with one or two victories.
The Forest players ran to the stands hand in hand to thank the fans. This was also the team's "reserved program." It was stipulated in the team rules by Tang En and must be implemented after every home game. The team and the fans had a harmonious relationship, so he had no worries.
The players thanked the fans in the stands, and Tang En also raised his arms and applauded in the stands. As he applauded, he walked to the tunnel. At the entrance, he was stopped by Fat John.
"Tony, another victory!" John leaned on the railing of the stands and leaned out to wave at Tang En. "Is there another victory in four days?"
"You're talking nonsense, John." Tang En grinned. "We …"
"Of course we'll win!" The fans in the stands answered in unison.
"Bingo!" Tang En pointed to the group of cute fans and laughed.
"Goodbye, everyone. We'll see you in Athens then. "Tang En waved and walked to the mixed zone. Behind him, the fans kept shouting.
"Athens! Athens! Athens! "
Amidst the roars of the fans, Tang En walked to the mixed zone and waited to be interviewed.
"Manager Tang En, you really have a high place in the hearts of the fans." Tang Jing appeared in front of Tang En with a reporter's badge hanging on her chest.
Tang En had no intention of being modest or polite to this compliment. He nodded. "That's because my team's results are good. There's no free lunch in this world. To make them like it, there must be a reason. "
Tang Jing was used to his shameless boasting. She laughed. "Everyone says that Nottingham Forest is a team with a '1: 0 doctrine,' and that Tony Tang En is a conservative manager. But in this game, we saw a Forest team that constantly attacked."
"I don't care what tactics are used. As long as the team can achieve victory, it doesn't matter to me whether it's defensive counterattack or full offense."
"Regarding Anelka, there are a lot of rumors about his transfer …"
"Ah … This, I still stand by what I said. As long as there's a team that can give us a satisfactory price, it's not a problem."
"Then, is it convenient to reveal what price you can accept?"
"Depends on my mood." Tang En smiled slyly. "Well, I have to go. I'll see you in Athens, Reporter Tang. "
"There's still one round left in the semi-finals!" Tang Jing shouted from behind.
Tang En turned back to look at her. "Want to bet?"
Tang Jing thought for a moment and shook her head.
Tang En laughed heartily and walked away.
※ ※ ※
Not long after the game ended, news from the other two venues came at the same time. Due to the influence of the Champions League, Chelsea and Manchester United's Round 35 match was delayed to May 10th. As a result, the two teams now had one less match than Forest. In Round 36, both teams were forced into a draw by their respective opponents.
"A draw?!" When Tang En heard the news from Kerslake's mouth, his eyes widened. He could not believe the news he had heard.
"That's right, a draw!" Kerslake nodded excitedly. "Chelsea drew 0: 0 with Newcastle United at home, and Manchester United was forced into a 1: 1 draw by Middlesbrough! Both teams did not send out all their main players. Like us, they rotated extensively. "
After getting a definite answer, Tang En was not happy at all. Instead, he frowned tightly.
For him, was this good news or bad news? He could not be sure now.
Want to know why Kerslake was so excited?
Let's flip through the current league table.
After a 2: 0 win over Manchester United in Round 33, Nottingham Forest accumulated 70 points, Chelsea accumulated 76 points, and Manchester United 78 points.
It was this game that made Manchester United feel that the league title was in jeopardy. It also made Chelsea see the hope of defending the league title again. It made Abramovich's heart begin to ripple.
This was a situation that Tang En had desperately set up. It was to make Chelsea and Manchester United fight for the league title until they were badly battered and bloodied, so that they would not have time to care about the Champions League. As the saying went, "When the crane and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits."
Judging from the first round of the Champions League semi-finals, he had succeeded.
If the situation continued to develop like this, it would not take long for Nottingham Forest, the "fisherman," to reap great benefits.
Yet …
Looking at the results of the two games, Tang En murmured, "Did Mourinho and Ferguson discuss this?"
After 36 rounds, Chelsea and Manchester United each had 80 and 82 points, one game less. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, had 79 points after consecutive victories over Charlton Athletic, West Ham United, and Watford.
Was "A Tale of Two Cities" going to become "Romance of the Three Kingdoms"?
Originally, after this game's victory, the fourth-ranked Liverpool and fifth-ranked Arsenal were nine and eleven points away from the Forest team. Tang En was prepared to use all the substitutes in the last two rounds and let the main players rest to fully prepare for the Champions League. In this way, even if he still wanted the team to rest, would the club's higher-ups, coaching staff, and the players themselves agree?
Kerslake was excitedly discussing the two games that had just ended with the other coaches sitting next to him. Tang En's cell phone rang in his pocket.
Looking at the caller's name on the screen, Tang En sighed and picked up the phone.
"Mr. Chairman."
"What's wrong? You don't sound too happy, Tony. Haha! "Evan Doughty's excited voice came from the other end. "Do you know the latest results of the games?"
Of course, Tang En knew what games he was talking about. "I know. Chelsea and Manchester United have both been forced into a draw." He tried to keep his voice low, not wanting to attract the attention of the others in the car.
"We're only two points away from first place in the league. This is an unexpectedly good situation!"
"But Manchester United and Chelsea have played one game less than us, Mr. Chairman."
"Of course I know. But the game they've played less is a fight between the two sides — Chelsea's home game against Manchester United. This season is finally starting to get interesting. Do you know what my first thought was when I found out about the points situation? "
"The league title." Tang En said the word in a very calm tone.
He heard Evan snap his fingers on the other end of the phone. "That's right! Tony, it's been four seasons. We've never been so close to the league title as we are today. Don't you want to do something? "
Tang En looked at the people around him. Everyone was excitedly discussing the two games that had just ended between Chelsea and Manchester United. Even the players knew about it, and they were all beaming with joy.
"Mr. Chairman, it's not convenient to talk about it now. When we get to Nottingham, I'll look for you specifically."
"Alright. Come to my house tomorrow morning. I'll get the driver to pick you up at 9: 30."
After hanging up, Tang En realized that Dunn had unknowingly sat beside him.
"Chairman, do you want to win the league title?" he asked.
Tang En nodded.
"What do you think? You don't seem to be in high spirits. Don't you want to win the championship? "
"Of course I do. I dream of it. But the timing is terrible. I don't want to be distracted before the crucial Champions League, "Tang En said in a low voice.
"I thought you'd be arrogant and conceited, promising to win all the championship titles," Dunn said.
"Are you praising me or belittling me?"
"I'm just a little surprised."
"Dunn, you should be very clear. Even if we win the last two rounds, as long as our opponents also win, we'll still be behind when they have one game less. " Tang En did not know who Manchester United and Chelsea's opponents were in the last two rounds, but he thought that the possibility of these two teams losing in the last two rounds was too low. After all, this was a crucial moment. Both Chelsea and Manchester United would take it seriously. "Then, in the round with one game less, Chelsea and Manchester United will face off. No matter what the result is, we won't be able to win the final championship. If Chelsea wins, Chelsea wins. If Manchester United wins, Manchester United becomes the champion. If both sides tie, Manchester United becomes the champion and Chelsea is the runner-up. Nothing will change. "
Dunn nodded and did not speak. He felt that what Tang En said made sense. It was beautiful to look forward to it, but things were not as simple as they looked forward to.
"If that's the case … that's a pity." Suddenly, Kerslake's voice rang out. He leaned on the back of the seat and smacked his lips. "The championship title is right in front of us, but we can't get it."
Dunn shrugged. "How can there be perfect things in this world?"
The players were still excitedly discussing the probability of the team winning the league title, but the coaching staff were silent. Tang En's analysis poured a bucket of cold water over the coaches' heads.
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