When Nottingham Forest broke into the Champions League final for the second time in a row, the Nottingham Evening Post printed the headline "Athens" on their extra page to show their excitement. This time, the Nottingham Evening Post did not do so. The revelry had already been carried out on the night of the game. The league tournament would begin the next day, and it was really not the time to celebrate.
Last night, all the beer in the bars where Forest fans gathered in Nottingham were sold out. A large number of police stood guard on the streets and near the bars to guard against drunken fans causing trouble. Fortunately, other than a few small scale fights, most of the conflicts were stopped by the people who talked with them.
Because they were all supporters of the same team, their verbal conflicts were nothing more than who was the biggest contributor to the game. Some people said it was George Wood, some said it was Beckham who scored the goal, and some said it was Tony Twain. But no matter how they argued, after the sober people came out to smooth things over, everyone laughed, put their arms around each other's shoulders and drank.
"What's there to argue about? Aren't they all members of our Nottingham Forest? "
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The game between Nottingham Forest and Barcelona took place on the night of April 29th. Early the next morning, Twain dragged Dunn to London with him. Kerslake stayed behind to supervise the team's training, while the two of them went to Stamford Bridge to observe their opponents in the final. The Champions League semi-final battle of life and death between Manchester United and Chelsea unfolded.
Before the game, Chelsea had a slight advantage because they scored an away goal against Manchester United in the first leg and tied with Manchester United at 1: 1.
It was really unexpected that Grant's team could get to this point and force a tie with Manchester United at Old Trafford. Even Twain himself had to admit that Chelsea's results were something he did not expect when Grant came to power.
It was somewhat unfair to say that Grant relied on something left behind by Mourinho to break into the semi-final. After the game, Twain got to know the man he had once despised.
Chelsea and Manchester United tied at 1: 1 at home. The two sides could not decide the winner even after overtime, so they had to play a penalty shootout. Although Terry missed the penalty kick in the penalty shootout, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had performed well throughout the season, also missed the kick. Following that, the penalty shootout entered a single-round knockout system. Kalou did it in one go, and there were deafening cheers in the stadium. However, when Nani walked up with the ball, the cheers at Stamford Bridge immediately turned into boos, which put a huge amount of pressure and impact on the Manchester United players. Nani, who came on as a substitute for Rooney in overtime, pursued the angle too much and shot the ball wide.
Chelsea eliminated Manchester United in a penalty shootout and successfully advanced!
Tony Twain and Dunn were surrounded by Chelsea fans cheering and jumping with their arms raised high. The stands they were in were trembling slightly. Tang En had no intention of participating in his future enemy's celebration. He and Dunn put on their sunglasses and quietly left.
This result made him slightly disappointed.
In fact, he hoped that Manchester United would beat Chelsea to enter the Champions League final. That way, firstly, he would have one less opponent's information and targeted tactics to prepare, and his work efficiency would be higher. Secondly, Manchester United would inevitably be distracted. Anyway, he was already distracted. There was no reason for Manchester United not to be affected.
Now that Manchester United was eliminated, they would certainly not let Nottingham Forest off at Old Trafford with only the league title to win. Although they would not let Forest off even if they were not eliminated, they would now fight even harder than Tang En had thought. When that time came, if they suffered losses in the competition with Manchester United for the league title, would it not allow Chelsea to reap the benefits?
"I didn't like Grant from the beginning. Sure enough, there's a reason …" Tang En grumbled to Dunn on the way back to Nottingham.
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Disappointment was disappointment. Grumbling was grumbling. The game still had to be played. The 37th round of the league tournament was the last battle before the "decisive battle at the top of the Forbidden City." There were many possible outcomes in this round, but only one would have a decisive impact on the outcome — Nottingham Forest would lose to Aston Villa in an away game, and Manchester United would win the game. Then, Ferguson would win the title one round ahead of schedule.
Of course, Ferguson hoped that the team would immediately use the league title to appease people after being eliminated from the Champions League. But he could not make the decision on this matter. It depended on Forest and Aston Villa's performance. What Manchester United's supporters could look forward to a little was that Nottingham Forest was an away game. They had just fought several fierce battles in a row, and their stamina and form were not guaranteed. In addition, Aston Villa could not be considered weak.
Manchester United's home game against West Ham United was the first game of this round of the league tournament. The failure in the Champions League had turned all the Manchester United players into hungry wolves. Poor West Ham United had appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time. Of course, for Manchester United's pack of wolves, it was the right opponent in the right place at the right time.
4: 0. West Ham United was powerless to fight back. Manchester United's star players, who had lost to Chelsea, vented on this weak opponent.
Then the Manchester United fans began to pay close attention to the game between Forest and Aston Villa.
Unlike the concern of the Manchester United fans, the Nottingham Forest fans did not care about the outcome on Manchester United's side. Because regardless of whether Manchester United won or lost, as long as their side won, the result would be the same. The final battle would be at the summit of Old Trafford in the 38th round.
Tang En also did not arrange for someone to be at Old Trafford to tip off Nottingham Forest at any time. There was really no need for that.
For this game, Tang En continued the lineup from the second round against Barcelona.
At Aston Villa's home stadium, Villa Park, Nottingham Forest cleanly defeated the home team with a 2: 0 score.
Bendtner scored two goals alone and became the Man of the Match.
※ ※ ※
"The Champions League final is May 21st. The last round of the league tournament is May 11th. "Tang En looked at the match schedule and then drew a red circle on the corresponding date on the calendar. After doing this, he threw down his pen and clapped his hands. He turned to Dunn and said, "The last two games of this season are the two games that will determine whether we become heroes or cowards."
"You're exaggerating, cowards …"
"That's the truth. There's nothing more shameful in this world than being a Double Runner-Up … No, there is. " He suddenly denied his own statement. "That's the Third Runner-Up, Fourth Runner-Up, Fifth Runner-Up, and Sixth Runner-Up." He held out three, four, five, and six fingers in succession.
Dunn grinned. Sometimes, his and Tang En's football philosophies were really different. However, he was always able to cooperate well with Tang En's work and suppress his own ideas deep in his heart. If there was no need, he would not take them out.
He felt that even if they could not win the championship, being the runner-up was not bad. It was better than failing at the beginning. Tang En's thinking was just the opposite. Entering the final meant winning the championship. If they were destined to fail, it would be better to be finished at the beginning. Allan Adams would definitely not approve of his crazy idea. Because even if they were the runner-up, whether it was the Champions League or the league tournament, their post-season bonus would be more than that of the lower-ranked teams. Not to mention the extra bonus for every additional game they played in the cup tournament.
"Not bad. There's a gap of ten days between the Champions League final and the last round of the league tournament. We still have plenty of time to prepare." Tang En turned on the television, intending to study the video of Manchester United's games with Dunn. Although as old rivals, it was inevitable that they understood each other, targeted observations could not be lacking.
"Brosnan just called. He wants you to express your opinion on the Champions League opponents …" Dunn reminded.
"Him?" Dunn shook his head. "There's either something wrong with his brain, or it's his boss's idea. There are still so many days before the Champions League final. What am I supposed to talk about? "
"Maybe it's because of some personal grudges between you and Grant …"
"Then all the more I can't talk about it. Not now, and not in the future. "Tang En continued to shake his head. This time, his attitude was more resolute than before. "Chelsea obtained the right to play in the Champions League finals despite being at a disadvantage in the league tournament and being questioned. Now their morale is high. The loss of not being able to participate in the Champions League next season is not even considered by anyone, and no one dares to mention it. At a time like this, I can't use words to provoke them. I won't do things like adding fuel to the fire, providing charcoal in snowy weather, or adding the icing on the cake. If I provoke them all to use PowerMAX, we'll be dumbfounded. So … "He looked at Dunn." Let's not mention them. No matter what hype is out there, let's not pay attention to it at all. At this time, doing our own things well is the top priority. "
When he finished speaking, he found Dunn looking at him and smiling.
"Is there any rice on my face that I didn't eat clean from dinner?"
"No." Dunn shook his head and laughed. "It's rare to hear you decide not to participate in a war of words. I'm just a little surprised."
"Hey, don't really think I'm a mad dog that bites anyone I see." Tang En rolled his eyes back at him.
※ ※ ※
The next day, Tang En returned a call to Pierce Brosnan. He told him that he did not intend to comment on Chelsea reaching the Champions League final. He did not repeat to Brosnan what he had said to Dunn. He only said that the team's and his own focus was on the league tournament. The Champions League final opponent could be put aside for now. As for after the league tournament, this issue was no longer a problem. If they won the league title, the whole city would be celebrating. Who would care about Chelsea? If they did not win the league title and Tang En was in a bad mood, who would dare to ask about this matter? Of course, Tang En himself did not want the second outcome to come true.
The other media outlets had the same idea as Tang En. The Champions League had not yet begun. At present, the most interesting topic was undoubtedly the fierce competition for the league title.
BBC Five News and Sky Sports were doing special projects on the final battle, hoping to attract television viewers.
The other media outlets stayed at the two teams' training bases all day, racking their brains to try to trigger a war of words between the two teams.
Everyone knew that Ferguson was a veteran of psychological warfare, and Tony Twain was a rising star in this area. If the two men had a brilliant war of words before the game, it would certainly be a selling point.
However, the biggest selling point this time was not the two managers, but a player named "David Beckham."
The last time Nottingham Forest faced Manchester United at home in the league tournament, Beckham was absent due to injury. So, this was his first time directly facing his old team in the English Premier League. At the same time, it was also his first time returning to Old Trafford as an opponent.
He had just scored a crucial goal in the Champions League semi-finals to help Nottingham Forest break into the Champions League final. Compared to Manchester United, who had been eliminated by Chelsea on the other side, it was natural for some Manchester United fans to have some dissatisfaction in their hearts.
The game was far from beginning, and all kinds of voices about him were flying around.
Some people said they wanted to warmly welcome Beckham back to Old Trafford, while others said they wanted to "show" Beckham in the stands during the game. Some people were grateful for his loyalty to Manchester United, while others thought he was worse than Judas because he did not mean what he said. On the surface, he said how loyal he was to Manchester United, but in reality? He joined Nottingham Forest!
Even when Ferguson was interviewed at the regular press conference, he was surrounded by many reporters asking questions about Beckham.
Everyone knew for whom Beckham left Manchester United. Now that the two enemies were reunited, what kind of sparks would be created?
Ferguson said with a deadpan expression, "I wish him good luck."
"Sir Alex Ferguson, Beckham helped the Forest team break into the Champions League final, while Manchester United was eliminated by Chelsea. Do you regret not recalling David back then?" A reporter asked so bluntly.
"Why should I regret it? Manchester United now has so many good and more promising players. As for the people who have left Manchester United, they have left. I will not dwell on the past. Otherwise, Manchester United would not have won so many titles. "Ferguson's face became not very good.
In fact, what he said was the truth and also very reasonable. But in the ears of Beckham's supporters, it did not sound so good. It was no wonder that there were still people who thought Ferguson and Beckham were enemies who would be jealous when they met.
What about Beckham?
※ ※ ※
"Mr. Twain. The media wants Beckham to attend today's regular press conference. " Miss Barbara Lucy reminded Twain that as the head of the public relations department, she also thought it was better to have Beckham attend. However, the name list that Tang En gave her was George Wood and himself.
"Why?" Twain pretended to be surprised.
"Mr. Twain, you know the reason …" Miss Lucy smiled. She did not fall for Twain's trick.
"All right. But there's no way. "Twain simply rejected the other party's request." Let David go up for questioning? I don't want to affect the state of my main players because of these boring flies before an important game. "
Twain had the final say on such matters. Barbara Lucy had no decision-making power other than to make suggestions. Since Twain did not agree, she could only forget about it. She nodded and left.
Back on the training ground, Twain observed Beckham for a while. On the surface, there was nothing unusual at all. But was that really the case? Twain did not think so. Beckham's heart must be in turmoil at this moment.
In his four years at Real Madrid, he had never returned to Old Trafford as an opponent, nor had he directly made an enemy of Manchester United. So, today's experience was his first experience.
In the first half of the season, Beckham had some injuries before the home game against Manchester United. Twain just happened to put him off the squad list to avoid this embarrassment. Now that Beckham was not injured and in good condition, he had no reason to exclude him.
Then …
Although the two had already considered such a situation when they signed the contract, it was not imminent after all. Twain had suggested Beckham not to play against Manchester United in the contract, but Beckham had refused. Such a thing went against his professional ethics. It did not mean that he would be happy to return to Old Trafford as an opponent, an enemy …
During a break in training, the players gathered together to chat and joke. Beckham walked up to Twain alone.
"Can we have a chat?" he said.
Twain nodded, not at all surprised that Beckham had come to him.
The two men found a slightly quieter corner. The others were watching this side from the corner of their eyes because they all knew who the real focus of this game was.
"Can you bring me along for the regular press conference in the afternoon?" Beckham went straight to the point. Tang En was a little surprised by his request.
"You know what? I just turned down Miss Barbara Lucy's decision to arrange for you to appear at the press conference. "
Beckham nodded. He was not surprised by Twain's decision, but he still insisted on his decision. "I know what you think, Tony. But I still want to go. "
"To be repeatedly asked by a swarm of flies: 'What do you think about returning to Old Trafford and making an enemy of your old team?'"
"If I don't give an answer, I'm afraid there will be more rumors outside."
"You really want to go?" Twain looked at Beckham.
"I really want to go." Beckham also looked at Twain.
"Well, you'll go with me and George in the afternoon." Since the player himself was willing, there was no need for him to stop him. But he still added, "If the situation gets out of control, I'll have to make a move."
Beckham smiled at him.
※ ※ ※
The media attending the press conference had already learned that Beckham would not be attending the press conference. They were planning to leave the venue together after Twain arrived to embarrass him. But then, they saw Twain appear in front of everyone with George Wood and … David Beckham.
"I know I'm not the main character today." Tony Twain said as he looked at the excited faces below. He then sat down and did not speak again. He allowed the media to target Beckham.
In fact, most of the questions were nothing new, just like what Twain had said to Beckham in the morning. But anyway, everyone did not care about how the questions were asked. They only cared about how the person answering the questions would respond.
But so far, Beckham had answered fluently, taking care of the feelings of the Forest fans and the mood of the vast majority of Manchester United fans. He was not as embarrassed as Twain had imagined. After all, he was a big star. He had faced all kinds of difficult questions.
Someone threw out the question of whether he would take the initiative to apply to avoid the game. Beckham smiled slightly. "I don't have any problems. If the manager needs me, then I'll go. If he doesn't need me, I can accept being a substitute. "
In this way, he shifted the anger of the die-hard Manchester United fans toward him. And this was done at Twain's behest. Before coming, Twain had repeatedly warned Beckham that if he encountered any tricky problems, he should push them all to him as the manager.
So, Twain stood up at the right time. "Regarding the squad list and the starting lineup, it's not convenient to make it public before the game." His words shut up the mouths of the reporters who had just turned their heads to ask him.
If they were allowed, these reporters would have collectively booed Tony Twain. Now they did not continue to tangle with Twain. Instead, they turned to ask Beckham all kinds of questions about facing his old club.
"Have you thought about what kind of treatment you'll receive when you return to Old Trafford, David?"
"I don't know." Beckham shook his head. "I'm just a little uneasy."
"Do you still hold a grudge against Ferguson?"
"He's a manager I respect very much." Beckham did not want to talk about this topic.
"How does he compare to Tony Twain?" The reporters did not want to let him go.
Beckham wanted to open his mouth, but Twain snatched the question away. "This question is obviously for me to ask. We each have our own merits. "
Evaluating the new and old managers was a very dangerous thing for a player. No matter what he said, it would offend people. So, Twain did not let Beckham speak.
As if it was a signal, the media's questions became more and more specific and demanding.
"If you score a goal against Manchester United, will you celebrate?"
"I don't know … I'm not brushing you off. It's a complicated feeling. I don't know what to do before it really comes, so I can only say 'I don't know.' "
"If you help Nottingham Forest beat Manchester United and snatch the league title from Manchester United, will you celebrate? Do you think the Manchester United fans will accept it? "
"I don't know …"
Twain stood up. "Okay. Remember your profession. You're reporters, not Scotland Yard police. Today's press conference ends here! "
"We're not done asking …"
"By the time you're done asking questions, England and the European continent will be connected." Twain mocked unceremoniously. He could not stand a group of reporters surrounding his players and interrogating them like they were interrogating criminals. He turned around to leave with his men.
One by one, the reporters stood up from their seats. They did not care about the rule that they could only ask questions when called. One by one, they raised their hands and fought to be the first to throw out the questions they had not remembered to ask.
"David! I still have a question … "
"David, David … There are rumors that your return to Old Trafford may affect your form. If you play, will it shake the Forest team's morale? Will it lead to a more serious … uh. "
This sentence made the three men stop in their tracks and turn to look at the person who asked.
Tony Twain said, "David Beckham is now wearing the red jersey of Nottingham Forest."
George Wood said, "Shake the team's morale? We're not idiots. "
David Beckham said, "I'm a professional player."
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