Piqué's departure made Tang En see the current situation clearly. He originally thought the team's weakness was the two full backs on the left and right, but now he suddenly found that his center back was a little stretched. The original team's main pairing was Pepe and Piqué, with Kompany and Ayala as the second plan. Now that Piqué was gone and Ayala was old, the ones who could really play were Pepe and Piqué. Morgan could only get a chance to play in games like the EFL Cup and the FA Cup. He could not count on important games.
So now the schedule of finding full backs had to be put aside and the center backs had to be dealt with first. The full backs could be a little weak, but the center backs could not be weak.
It was already August, less than half a month before the start of the new season. It was less than ten days before the FA Community Shield.
This summer, the team's recruitment progress was slow. This was due to a number of reasons. First of all, because of the success of the past two seasons, Tang En thought the team's structure was very reasonable and was unwilling to make too many adjustments, so it was destined not to buy a lot of new players this summer. Second, most of the players that Tang En was interested in were already taken and were unwilling to leave the new club. Third, the Nottingham Forest Football Club could not come up with too much money to support Tang En's actions in the transfer market. Not only that, but they also needed Tang En to come up with the money earned from selling players to "subsidize the family."
Nottingham Forest was the only UEFA Champions League champion to live like this.
In terms of defenders, Tang En had been salivating over a player four years ago. He thought it was a good time to make a move this summer, but he did not expect to be rejected again.
Manchester City's Micah Richards. He was tall and could play as both a center back and a right back, which was very much in line with Tang En's desire for players to be versatile.
When he looked to Stuart Pearce to buy a player a few years ago, he was bluntly rejected. He had no choice but to buy Sun Jihai. Now that Pearce had left Manchester City, the Manchester City Football Club was also in another crisis. Tang En thought it was a good time to buy Richards. With Nottingham Forest's reputation as a Double Winner, would it not be a piece of cake to summon Richards?
He was wrong.
The Manchester City Football Club did encounter some difficulties at the moment. The Thai government had issued an announcement to freeze Thaksin's assets. Thaksin, who had lost most of his property, found it difficult to keep the Manchester City Football Club running. Who would care about a small football club when he was in a terrible predicament? There were many rumors in the outside world that a consortium had taken a fancy to Manchester City and wanted to buy it. But Thaksin denied it himself. He admitted that the situation was not good, but the Manchester City club was still under his name and everything was under control.
Twain did not believe the Thai's words. There must be something wrong with the Manchester City club. If they were to buy people at this time, they might be able to move people who were usually untouchable, such as Richards.
The Manchester City Football Club did not even listen to his offer and directly rejected it — — "Richards is not for sale."
When he raised his offer, the same words awaited him — "Micah Richards is not for sale."
The third trip was slightly different this time. "We are not willing to sell Richards to a direct competitor."
These words made Tang En very angry. How dare Manchester City and my team claim to be "direct competitors"? Wasn't he overestimating himself?! My team is a Double Winner and has won the UEFA Champions League for two years in a row. Who does your little Manchester City think you are? I've always been the one to reject people so forcefully. That Mark Hughes also dared to be rude in front of me! (He had long forgotten the fact that Hughes was older than him …)
He did not make a fourth offer because doing so in front of the domineering Manchester City would make people think that Nottingham Forest was cheap. Tang En did not want to lower his head to anyone. You can sell whoever you want to sell! Even if it rots in your own mouths, it's none of my business!
Just like that, the seed of hatred for Manchester City was planted in Tang En's heart. The friendly relationship between the two clubs when Pearce was in charge became dead in name because of Richards.
That was why the media said that Tang En was a narrow-minded person. This was not wrong …
The deal was gone, and the favor was gone. Tang En could only continue to look for other candidates.
He wanted to buy Carvalho, but Scolari would not let him go. The reason was the same as Manchester City — — "We will not sell important players to direct competitors." Tang En was not angry at Chelsea's words because Chelsea was indeed Nottingham Forest's competitor.
The Argentine Garay was booked by Real Madrid; Juan Roma would not let him go; Naldo was unwilling to leave Bremen …
In the end, Tang En could only turn his gaze back to England.
This time, Tang En did not intend to buy any more young center backs. What was important in the rear defensive line was experience, and experience was often proportional to age. Therefore, Tang En intended to buy a center back who was slightly younger.
He set his sights on Jonathan Woodgate, who was still at Middlesbrough.
Due to frequent injuries when he was at Real Madrid, he only played nine games for Real Madrid in two years and was called the "English patient" by the Spanish media. For a time, he even became the model of a fragile man in the world of football. But in recent years, he had done well at Middlesbrough. His injuries seemed to have left him. Under the tutelage of Southgate, who was once a famous English center back, his level had also improved by leaps and bounds. He even became the captain of Middlesbrough. They would have at least two chances to play against each other every season. Tang En naturally paid close attention to the former Real Madrid player. After observing him for a few seasons, Tang En found that Woodgate was the candidate the team needed now. He decided to make a move.
Ramos had originally wanted to bring the former England main center back to White Hart Lane in January this year, but Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough could not agree on the transfer fee. Before the winter transfer window closed, both sides announced that the transfer had officially broken down. Therefore, Woodgate continued to stay at Middlesbrough.
Having walked out of the shadow of Real Madrid, the "English patient" had regained his confidence at Middlesbrough. Now it was time to look forward to a new future. Not being able to join Tottenham Hotspur, who aspired to qualify for the Champions League, made Woodgate a little depressed. But it was okay. He would soon understand the meaning of the Chinese idiom, "Lose on the swings, gain on the mules."
Nottingham Forest offered eight million pounds to Middlesbrough, hoping to bring Woodgate away. Since the money had to be returned to the club even if it was not spent, Tang En did not care about losing a million or two at this time. Tottenham Hotspur's offer to Middlesbrough was six and a half million. In the end, they increased it to seven million and refused to increase it no matter what.
Eight million was the price that Middlesbrough wanted. And Southgate was already clear about one thing. Woodgate's heart was no longer at the Riverside Stadium. Initially, he was very happy when Tottenham Hotspur wanted to buy him. Now that it was the higher-level Nottingham Forest, how could the 28-year-old center back not be tempted?
Soon, the Middlesbrough manager saw Woodgate's statement in an interview with Nottingham's local media in the newspaper. "… I think it's time to pursue my dreams on a bigger stage …"
Although he was somewhat reluctant, Southgate knew what his status meant. Middlesbrough would never be able to keep a player who was fancied by a big team.
In the end, Woodgate joined Nottingham Forest for eight million pounds. Both parties signed a three-year contract. The details of his treatment were not disclosed to the outside world, but it was said that it was definitely higher than when he was at Middlesbrough.
His joining was jokingly referred to by the English media as "Nottingham Forest has become a veritable forest with piles of wood in the team." It referred to the team's George Wood, Freddy Eastwood, and the newly joined Jonathan Woodgate. And it was very coincidental that these three "pieces of wood" were positioned to form the team's central axis — the striker, the center midfielder, and the center back.
The Chinese media used their own way to explain this interesting coincidence. "Two trees make a forest, three trees make a forest. There's a 'forest' and a 'forest.' Nottingham Forest is finally worthy of being called a 'forest.' "
Tang En, who had solved the center back problem, was in a good mood. At the press conference to welcome Woodgate's addition, he joked to the reporters. "If there's a 'Wood' in the player's name, then congratulations to that person. He has a high chance of joining our Nottingham Forest!"
Woodgate also expressed his stance. "I'm very happy to be able to join Nottingham Forest. I don't mind people joking about my name. This shows that I have a tacit understanding with Nottingham Forest. I came here hoping to help the team win more championships. Injuries? That's already in the past … "
While these words were still echoing in everyone's ears, Woodgate left the field with an injury during training the day after joining the team …
Fortunately, it was only a minor injury after the game and would not affect the new season. It was just that the repeated injuries made Woodgate a little sensitive.
Only then did Tang En let out a long sigh. "Luckily, otherwise I'd have become the laughing stock of England."
"This was originally a gamble. Woodgate has never been a strong center back." Dunn said. "Since you've decided to buy him, you have to be prepared to bear the psychological pressure that his injuries will bring to you."
"We'll rotate anyway." Tang En shrugged.
※ ※ ※
Four days after Woodgate arrived at Nottingham Forest, the team welcomed the first game of the new season — the FA Shield against the FA Cup champion, Portsmouth, at the new Wembley Stadium.
Although this was the first time Tang En and his team had participated in the FA Shield, they showed the momentum of the defending champions of the Premier League and Champions League. Portsmouth could not resist at all.
Moreover, the rotation for the new season had already been implemented from the start of this game.
The newly joined team, Tiago, replaced George Wood in the team's starting lineup. Woodgate and Şahin sat in the stands. They were not included in the squad list.
Şahin was still undergoing psychological treatment, while Woodgate suffered an injury on the second day after joining.
Petrov replaced Ribéry in the starting position. The attacking midfielder was still van der Vaart, and the young Lennon was on the right. The strikers were Bendtner and Arshavin. From the start of this season, Tang En would continue to increase Bendtner's opportunities to play and let him gradually become the team's top center forward.
The center back position was the combination of Ayala and Kompany. Pepe, who had lost his regular partner, sat on the bench. The left back was Bale and the right back was Sun Jihai. The goalkeeper was changed to Akinfeev.
From the start of this season, the English League made a major reform. For many years, the bench in the English League was only allowed to have a maximum of five players, causing many players to lose the chance to make the squad list and look forward to playing as a substitute. To some extent, this rule was not suitable for the development of English football, because two fewer positions meant two fewer opportunities to train the players. Ferguson proposed last season that the Football Association increase the number of substitute seats to the international standard of seven players. His proposal was immediately responded to by the seven clubs. And Tony Twain was the first manager to stand up and express his approval and support. Even Ferguson's nemesis, Wenger, stood in the same trench as Ferguson this time.
As a result, the English Football Association readily accepted the suggestion and increased the number of substitute seats from five to seven at the start of the new season.
Now Nottingham Forest's bench sat Edwin van der Sar, Pepe, Baines, George Wood, Ribéry, Van Nistelrooy, and Beckham. Last season, this was the team's absolute main force.
More than half a season ago, when Twain challenged Portsmouth with a lineup that was almost the same as the current starting lineup, the Portsmouth people thought they were insulted and that Nottingham Forest was too arrogant. Now, they would never see it that way again. Because they had learned a very profound lesson …
Therefore, in this game, Portsmouth's new manager, Tony Adams, put on a defensive stance, wanting to put Nottingham Forest into a tough fight.
This summer, Tony Twain had the team practice how to face the enemy's intensive defensive attack, especially the routine of the attack in the middle. He wasn't too surprised by Portsmouth's actions. Today's Nottingham Forest was the target of public criticism. No team would foolishly rush up to attack when facing them. That would only make them die faster.
Steady defense and counterattack were the way to go. Just like how Nottingham Forest won …
But they picked the wrong opponent.
Twain asked the team to strengthen their long shots and coordination in the middle and continue to attack the middle. This might not be able to score immediately, but it could create a huge psychological pressure on the opponent and make them panic. In the 21st minute, his arrangements paid off: Nottingham Forest's high-pressure policy made the Portsmouth people dizzy. The French defender, Distin, scored an own goal and Nottingham Forest led 1: 0.
For Nottingham Forest, the game was easy after they took the lead. The opponent had to press out to fight, so that the Forest team could retreat and hit the opponent's counterattack. This was the most headache-inducing part for their opponent …
Trailing, Portsmouth was at a loss when faced with Nottingham Forest, who retreated back to defend and waited for their counterattack — they certainly could not invest too many troops in the offense because they had to guard against the Forest team's counterattack; but if they did not increase the intensity of the attack, it would be difficult to break through the Forest team's iron wall with Portsmouth's current strength … This became a paradox. If they did not attack, they could not score a goal and equalize the score. If they could not equalize the score, they would lose the game. But if they attacked, they might continue to concede goals and lose the game. If they did not dare to invest troops to attack because they were worried that they would continue to concede goals, then investing troops to attack would also result in a loss …
Unlike the contradictory Portsmouth, Nottingham Forest, who dragged the game into their familiar track after taking the lead, was much more relaxed. Until the end of the first half, Portsmouth did not come out of this paradox, so Nottingham Forest ended the first half with a 1: 0 lead.
During the halftime interval in the second half, Manager Adams asked the team in the locker room to show courage and not worry about this and that. They should first equalize the score. Not to mention that Tiago had just arrived at the Forest team and still had problems with the team. Ayala was old and his reaction was not as good as before. His physical fitness had plummeted … As long as the Portsmouth players were willing to charge, they could definitely find a breakthrough from these two players!
Portsmouth, whose fighting spirit and confidence were reinvigorated, returned to the field and were in high spirits to equalize the score. This time they found that the people standing in front of them had changed. Tiago, who did not have a good rapport with the team, was replaced by the captain, George Wood. Ayala, who was old and could not keep up with the rhythm, was replaced by the strong Pepe …
When George Wood stared at the Portsmouth players with his cold eyes, the Pompey players felt a chill down their spines.
In the final stages of the game, Portsmouth launched a suicidal attack. There was heroism, but there was no escaping the tragedy. Nottingham Forest, who had waited for the whole game, finally seized the best opportunity to fight back. George Wood did a long pass in the backfield. Bendtner leaned on the only center back to stop the ball and break into the penalty area to force a shot. After it was saved by the goalkeeper, Arshavin followed up with a follow-up shot. 2: 0! Nottingham Forest completely sealed the victory and won their first title of the new season.
"It looks like Nottingham Forest has continued their good form from last season. The pace of the whole game was under Nottingham Forest's control. Poor Portsmouth, the gap in strength and experience caused them to lose this game … "
The television commentator summed up the game in this way.
※ ※ ※
Other than being a new trophy for Tang En, this championship title also had another meaning. He let the new players see the style and tradition of this Nottingham Forest team — defensive counterattack and the championship trophy.
This would help them integrate into the team quickly and play their role early.
In fact, the FA Community Shield title was not a big deal. In the early years, it was considered a terrible "curse" — whoever won the FA Community Shield this season was bound to lose the league title. Now that the curse had been broken, no one took the championship title too seriously.
Just like Tony Twain's performance in this game — he used half of the main force and half of the substitutes to play a rotation. The feeling of training was very strong, as if this was still a summer warm-up game. Only Portsmouth, who lacked honor, would be so enthusiastic to really play this game as if it were a final. Unfortunately, they were slightly weaker and could only return with regrets.
For the Nottingham Forest fans, who had seen many major championships in the past two years, the FA Community Shield was really a small championship. But it gave them a good reason to gather together to drink and party.
No matter how low the status of the championship title was, they still had to raise their wine glasses and shout at the top of their voices:
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