Carl Spicer fiercely attacked Tang En's new team policy in his column, believing that it was simply a fantasy for Tang En to rely on a bunch of kids to conquer the world.
His point of view was agreed by most of the media, so all kinds of criticism came out.
Some of the criticism was directed at him, some at the club, and some directly at the players.
"I don't believe Tony Tang En can achieve any good results this season."
"The club spent money to buy these youngsters, and the truth will soon prove that their investment was wrong."
"Nicolás Millán? Sorry, I've never heard of this name … "
"Tony Tang En is indulging in fantasy. Does he think that by gathering these youngsters with potential, they will become very capable? The truth is the complete opposite. He wants to replicate Manchester United's Class 92? In my eyes, this is simply a joke! "
…
Even the Nottingham Evening Post reporter, Pierce Brosnan, who had always supported Tang En, wrote an article expressing his concern about Tang En's large-scale purchase of young players.
He felt that placing all his bets on these seventeen to eighteen year old children was really worrying. He was not worried about Tang En's judgment, but there was always a process to nurture young people. Perhaps after a few seasons, they could see a group of talented youngsters mature, but could the Forest team's results in the past two seasons all depend on these people?
His wording was as tactful as possible, and his tone was as tactful as possible.
But he still angered the king here.
He received a call from Tang En, and the scolding came rushing at him like a tidal wave.
"What the hell are you writing? Mr. Reporter! Are you trying to sabotage me? Fortunately, I did not intend to publish my column in your newspaper. Otherwise, I would have become the biggest f * cking joke! Me scolding those media articles and your article questioning me appearing in the same issue of the newspaper … Hmm? "
"But … But, Mr. Tang En. I'm indeed doing this out of concern as a Forest fan … "
"Forest fan? Have you gone out to do interviews? Are those fans worried? Can you represent them? "
"As far as I understand the situation … It's like this, Mr. Tang En. They are all worried about the overly young lineup … "
"They have reason to be worried! But you don't have the right to announce it! Do you know what I do every day other than training? I'm instilling in the youngsters the football spirit of Nottingham Forest! I'm telling them that what the media says is bullsh * t. They're much stronger than what the reporters think! I kept instilling confidence in them … and you f * cking sabotaged me from behind? You know where you stand, Mr. Reporter! You are the local media in Nottingham, you represent the voice of Nottingham! You can't make things difficult for me like this! If we have internal strife, wouldn't we be a laughing stock to the people outside? "
"But I'm telling the truth …"
"To hell with the truth! It's fine as long as I'm clear about this fact! You have to give them confidence, confidence, confidence! I didn't allow you to obtain exclusive information about the club so that you could go against me! Are you a Nottingham Forest fan? Do you want Nottingham Forest to become better? Mr. Reporter! "
"Of course, of course I hope …"
"Then you just have to preach to me that these young people are the best in the world! The best! Even if you praise them to the skies, don't worry about them getting complacent. That's my job! Mr. Reporter. "
Brosnan felt wronged, but he could not continue arguing with Tang En over the phone. Thinking of Tang En's heart disease, he was worried that he would agitate Tang En to the point that he would be hospitalized again.
"Alright … I accept your suggestion, Mr. Tang."
Tang En's tone softened a little. "Remember, Mr. Reporter. You represent Nottingham and represent the voice of Nottingham Forest. No matter what happens, you have to stand by our side. I need a voice of support from you here. The media outside are questioning my team. At this time, you have to stand up and support us even more. What is a home atmosphere? Don't think that only the stands in the City Ground stadium have a home atmosphere. What the young people need is not the media's doubts, but praise! Don't bother with other things. If you do, you'll only be a hindrance to me. "
Two days later, the Nottingham Evening Post published an article. It was an interview with Pierce Brosnan about the young players in the Forest team. The interview highlighted the exuberant fighting spirit and confidence of these children. It showed the public a united and hopeful group of young people.
This was, of course, Tang En's incitement. He did not care about Pierce Brosnan's "standpoint as a reporter." He only knew what was good for him and what was bad for him.
※ ※ ※
Tang En's anger over Brosnan's previous article was completely understandable.
The other media outside scolded his players. Tang En was actually only pretending to be angry, but he was actually secretly delighted. He could use this opportunity to unite the young people together, boost their fighting spirit, and help them build confidence. Because these young people happened to be at the age of rebellion. He just had to tell them, "Oh, the outside world is not optimistic about you guys now, guys." Then he would lead their emotions to the opposite side of the media. Then he would tell them, "I, Tony Twain, am on your side. I will always believe in you. You are the best!"
Then, the group of young people would clamor and eagerly want to prove their abilities.
Next would be Tang En's ability to train them. Whether in the face of failure or victory, he was not worried that these young people would break away from his control.
Brosnan just had to jump out to show that he was more clear-headed than the others, that he stood higher and saw further. All along, the Nottingham Evening Post had appeared in front of the public as Tony Twain's exclusive spokesperson. People outside of Nottingham would scold the newspaper for having no principled stance when it came to the Forest team. But the Nottingham Forest fans did not see it that way. They just liked to see the newspaper articles praising the Forest team. The Nottingham Forest players themselves would also pay attention to the Evening Post's reports. No one liked to hear bad things said.
It made people feel uncomfortable when the media, which had always supported them, voiced doubts.
※ ※ ※
Before the new season, Nottingham Forest did not run to Asia to make a fortune, nor did they go on a trip to North America. They did not even leave the United Kingdom. They just trained locally and then warmed up with a few British teams. The number of warm-ups arranged this summer was more than in previous years. Tang En hoped to integrate the team through more games and let the new young people adapt to the team's style of play faster.
At the same time, he observed which players could really enter the team's plans. After all, it was impossible to see through training alone. The test of a player's ability still had to rely on actual combat.
In the few warm-ups they had already played, Tang En felt that the performance of Adriano Moke, who had been heavily recommended by Greenwood, had disappointed him.
His constitution, which was easily injured, put him at a disadvantage in physical confrontations with his opponents. How could he be good at dribbling and overtaking people but be unable to engage in physical confrontations with his opponents? There was no football match in this world that did not involve physical contact. If a player was not good at physical confrontations, Tang En would not want such a player, no matter how good his skills were.
Instead, it was Chris Cohen, who had been unremarkable for a few years in the reserve team, that made Tang En's eyes light up. His performance on the left wing was remarkable. His speed and skills were not as outstanding as Moke's, but he was more balanced and well-rounded than Moke. Another important point was that he was different from Moke, who always liked to fight alone. He preferred to work with a team. Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that he was not fast or explosive, and could not easily break through by himself. In the warm-ups, he had also made a few threatening passes. His passes from the flanks were also quite threatening.
Tang En decided to focus on grooming Cohen in the new season.
As for Moke … he would either loan him out or directly sell him.
Bostock and Milan's performances were in line with Tang En's expectations. They had also played quite a few matches in the youth team. Milan even had a record of representing the First Team at the age of 14, so playing in the First Team matches was not foreign to them.
Şahin's performance was also remarkable. At the very least, he showed his superior ability in the warm-ups. His skills were outstanding for an English player. Tang En's return to the team also seemed to have strengthened his confidence.
The left-back, Joe Mattock's performance was average. He would occasionally shine, but most of the time, he did not show a side that could surpass Leighton Baines and Gareth Bale. Tang En felt that for him, who had always played in England's third division, it was still a little difficult for him to play in the English Premier League. Mattock might be talented, but he still needed time to hone his skills.
Victor Moses's performance was not bad. His body and speed gave him an advantage in the match. Relying on his speed to force a breakthrough and leaning on the defender in front of the goal to shoot, he did quite well and could enter the rotation lineup.
If nothing unexpected happened, Nottingham Forest's forward list for the new season would include Žigić, Eastwood, Agbonlahor, Nicolás Milan and Victor Moses. The first three were the players that Tang En mainly relied on. The latter two would be in the reserves and the First Team, accumulating experience and making progress through matches. What position they could eventually occupy in Forest's First Team would depend on their own performance.
Agbonlahor, who had spent the most money on Tang En this summer, did not let him down. The kid's speed and impact on the frontline was indeed a very sharp dagger. He was in the starting lineup for all four warm-ups and played a full game. He scored a total of six goals. In addition, Tang En also tried to let him play as a winger. In the end, he also handed in results that satisfied Tang En in this position. Whether it was a breakthrough, a pass, or a shot, they were all excellent.
The best thing was that Agbonlahor publicly expressed his belief in Tony Twain's ability more than once. He expressed that he would not regret the matter of switching from Aston Villa to Nottingham Forest. He believed that sooner or later, he would reach the pinnacle with Tang En.
Such an attitude made Tang En overjoyed. The players who stayed behind when the team had problems were worthy of his attention, and the players who deliberately switched when the team was in trouble were even more worthy of his attention.
※ ※ ※
In Wilford, this summer seemed to belong to the youngsters.
Just as Tang En was preparing for the new season with the First Team. North Wilford also welcomed a new batch of U18 players.
Every summer, a batch of players would be selected from all over the country and sent to North Wilford. They would receive the most formal training there, with the goal of becoming a professional player or a Nottingham Forest First Team player. Among them, there were those with average qualifications, and there were also those who were brimming with talent. However, the difference in talent would only make the coaches look at them a few more times. It would not have any impact on their future. To determine whether a player could really succeed, to a large extent, did not actually depend on talent, but on hard work and training.
Every year, the youth training director would give the First Team manager an updated list of young players, which highlighted a few talented players that needed to be paid attention to. However, how many of these players eventually became members of the First Team? It was simply pitifully few. Only a few of the youngsters trained by Nottingham Forest could eventually play for Nottingham Forest. This season, Tang En concentrated on transferring four young players to the First Team, which became a big topic of discussion in North Wilford.
The youngsters who were training in North Wilford saw hope.
Greenwood saw the new group of children on the training ground. Some of them had grown up in Nottingham, and only stood out after going through layers of training from teams of different ages. Some were good seedlings that the scouts had poached from other places. They had agreed to join the Forest youth team and receive training in Nottingham.
The former's representative and goal was George Wood. The latter's goal was Gareth Bale.
Most of the players from the previous batch of youth team had already left. Some joined the reserve team, while the luckier ones joined the Forest First Team. The rest … were either sold to teams in other leagues, or terminated their contracts with the club and found their own way out.
"First of all, welcome to North Wilford." Greenwood stood in front of the children with the youth team's coaches.
"Secondly, your goal is not to stay here for the rest of your lives. Your goal is in the south …" He pointed to the south. "That is the training base of Nottingham Forest First Team. The glorious team that has won the Champions League four times is waiting for you there! But, I hope you understand that the door there is not as easy to enter as it is here. Every year, we eliminate a lot of people. Even if you enter the reserve team, it does not mean that you are in the First Team. Other than training hard here and giving your best performance to impress me and the First Team manager, don't think about anything else! "
"I've looked at your resumes. I understand all of your information. I'm sure that you are the best among your peers. But you still need to prove it to me with your actions! You did not come here for a hobby, did you? I don't want to tell you the story of George Wood's success here. It has been told too many times by the media. I just want you to understand the hard work behind his success! From today onwards, you will have the honor of experiencing this hardship personally! It will not make you happy, but I promise that when you succeed, you will find that everything you have experienced here is not meaningless! "Greenwood waved his arms vigorously.
Chen Jian stood among the group of newcomers. Although he had already started training in the previous youth team, he was still included in the new youth team. From today onwards, he was an official member of this youth team. He came from China and was no longer the "visitor" who was pushed by a commercial talent show to participate in training but had no right to represent the team in matches. He had a clear goal for all the hard work he had put in. His outstanding performance in matches would not become a futile effort that could not change the outcome.
He wanted to become a professional footballer!
No matter how much sweat and hardship he had to put in, no matter how many twists and turns the road under his feet. This goal would not change. He would bet everything and give it his all to become a professional footballer.
He was a pawn who had crossed the river. There was no way back. He could not even look back. He could only move forward. Other than moving forward, he still had to move forward.
Until the end … General!
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Tang En received the new Youth Team name list that Greenwood had given him. A few of the 30 names were ticked off with a red pen.
It meant that Greenwood thought highly of them. They might have the potential to succeed and needed to be focused on their growth.
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