After the victory over Tottenham, Nottingham Forest continued their journey to London. In the sixth round of the league tournament in the middle of the week, they won a small away goal against Fulham to clinch their second consecutive win of the new season.
The criticism of the "boy scouts" in the outside media gradually subsided.
Other than a few stubborn "Twain haters," everyone else began to slowly accept the team.
"After all, they are young. Youth means more possibilities, doesn't it?" An expert in the newspaper said.
But they were about to usher in another test.
"… I think a young team has an advantage, which is that they are full of drive. However, in the face of a seasoned opponent, it would show its inexperience. Tony Twain and the other players in the team do not have this problem, but there are still some people who are the team's time bombs. Against a team like Manchester United, if I were Tony Twain, I would send out the 'old' players to deal with Ferguson. "
Yes, Nottingham Forest's seventh round opponent was the defending champion, Manchester United.
On September 20, 2009, Nottingham Forest would welcome the challenge of Manchester United at home.
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At the Wilford training ground, Dunn was announcing the 18-man squad for tomorrow's game against Manchester United (since the beginning of last season, the Premier League had begun to implement the "seven-substitute list system") and the starting list.
Just after the 18-man squad was announced, Twain stood up before Dunn continued to read the starting list.
"Before I announce the starting list, I have a question to ask you. What do you think of the pressure? "
The group of people looked at each other and did not understand why the boss suddenly asked this question.
Twain called out, "Millán, you tell us. What do you think of the pressure? When you represented the club's First Team in the league tournament at the age of 14, did you feel the pressure? "
Nicolás Millán hesitated for a moment before replying, "A little … But I felt fine, boss."
"Why did you feel fine?"
"I said to myself, it's just playing football with people a little older than me. It's no big deal. Even if I perform poorly, no one will say anything to me because I'm only 14 years old. It's normal. "
Twain nodded and turned his gaze to Bostock, "What about you, John?"
"Me?" Bostock smiled and shook his head, "I don't feel anything, boss. I'm a professional player. Since I'm a professional player, I'm bound to face all kinds of pressure. I'm used to it. " He was telling the truth. John Bostock was one of England's most highly-anticipated talented players. He had already caught the attention of major clubs and the media when he was just 16 years old. He had also represented England's national team at various age levels in international competitions. Therefore, for him, the pressure brought by professional football was not a big problem.
Tang En asked them one by one, but the people he chose were all young players who had just been transferred to the First Team this season.
He was satisfied with the results.
Of course, he had no way of knowing whether these answers were sincere or just to satisfy him, the manager. However, he had a way to verify its authenticity.
He shook his head at Dunn, indicating that he could continue to announce the starting list.
"Goalkeeper Akinfeev." After the new season, Edwin van der Sar had gradually withdrawn from the starting line-up. Even a fool could see Tang En's intention in promoting Akinfeev. Edwin van der Sar was also mentally prepared for his future of gradually fading out of the main lineup. After all, he was almost thirty-nine years old. The Dutch goalkeeper's contract expires next summer, and he will only be four months away from his fortieth birthday. He had long decided not to renew his contract with Nottingham Forest. Of course, he would not go anywhere else. He would directly announce his retirement after his contract expired.
"Defenders Gareth Bale, Pepe, Kompany and Rafinha." This defensive line was the Forest team's absolute main defensive line this season. Having played together for so many years, they had long cultivated enough tacit understanding. Woodgate, on the other hand, had only arrived last season and could only be a rotation player at the moment. The only problem with this defensive line was that it was somewhat heavy on offense and light on defense.
"The midfielders are George Wood, John Bostock, Chris Cohen and Lennon."
Bostock and Cohen, whose names were called, looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes. They had thought that the starting line-up would be George Wood, Şahin, Petrov and Lennon. This was also the midfield line-up that the Forest team used to win against Fulham in the last away game.
"Forwards Agbonlahor and Nicolás Millán."
Tang En looked at the puzzled players and smiled. "Use your actions to prove to me how you perform under pressure, guys."
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"Nottingham Forest's projected starting line-up should be goalkeeper Akinfeev, left back Gareth Bale, center backs Pepe and Kompany, and the right back will definitely be Rafinha. Midfielder George Wood will definitely be starting. As for his partner … it should be Şahin. If the Forest team wants to defend, it might be Tiago. On the front line … "
Ferguson was in the hotel room with his assistants calculating Tony Twain's starting line-up for tomorrow's game. That way, it would be convenient for them to study countermeasures.
The door was pushed open, and the assistant manager, Mike Phelan, walked in with a piece of paper.
"Boss, Nottingham Forest has announced their starting line-up for tomorrow's game." As he spoke, the expression on his face was a little strange.
Ferguson raised his head and looked at his assistant, who had only taken up the position last season.
"This is the line-up." He handed the paper in his hand to Ferguson.
After Ferguson glanced at it, his expression was exactly the same as Phelan's.
"Is Tony crazy?"
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"I'm not crazy. I just want the youngsters to be trained in such games as soon as possible. Lose? I'm not afraid. Anyway, we don't have to hope for a championship this season. I think it's worth it to use a season to train the youngsters. "Twain answered Kerslake's question about the starting line-up. Of course, this happened before they announced the starting line-up.
Twain convinced the other managers that he would try to use inexperienced youngsters as much as possible for the main event against Manchester United. He put the results of the game aside. His goal was to train these youngsters. As long as he could achieve the goal of training the newcomers, he would not fly into a rage even if they really lost the game.
To him, the games against the strong teams now were a rare practical exercise …
Whether it was Ferguson's Manchester United, Wenger's Arsenal, Benítez's Liverpool, or Scolari's Chelsea, they were all NPCs that allowed his players to accumulate experience and become stronger.
He did not care about losing a few games. As long as those young players could learn something useful from it. Failure was the mother of success. If they lost a few more games this season, they could just win it all back in future seasons.
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The day of the game.
"Tony Twain announced their starting line-up for this game the day before. This line-up is really surprising. Against a strong team like Manchester United, Twain actually sent a veritable 'boy scouts.' Agbonlahor's recent performance has been good, but Miklas Millán … he has played for a total of 110 minutes so far this season, and his performance is very average. And there's Bostock and Cohen. Their performances are completely without the two points to speak of. I don't understand why Manager Tony Twain suddenly put these young players in the game against Manchester United. Petrov, Eastwood, and Žigić's form is fine, and there are no problems with injuries. The team doesn't need to save energy for multiple matches … "The commentator, Motson, was puzzled by Twain's line-up.
Like him, Manchester United's manager, Ferguson, did not understand what Tony Twain wanted to do.
Until the start of the game, he did not understand what the smiling man was thinking. He could only let Manchester United play the game the way they were used to and control the pace of the game in their own hands.
What happened next … was up to the players themselves.
At the start of the game, things did not go beyond what most people expected. Manchester United completely gained the upper hand in the game through their veteran experience and superb skills, as well as the tacit cooperation between the players.
Although Nottingham Forest also had experienced "battlefield veterans" such as George Wood, Bale, and Pepe, they were all defensive players. They could only ensure that their goal would not be easily breached by Manchester United and could not pose any threat to Manchester United's goal.
Agbonlahor's performance was as good as ever, but it was a pity that he was alone.
He lacked effective support from his teammates. More often than not, he had to run back to the backfield to participate in the defense.
In the away game, Manchester United completely turned the tables and launched a barrage around the Forest team's half of the field.
Motson said worriedly, "If this goes on, Ferguson will get the result he wants …"
But Ferguson was worried — he was too familiar with Nottingham Forest's stance. After studying this opponent for four years, he had reached the point where he knew what they were going to do when the other side lifted their butts. Was this not preparing to defend and counterattack?
Agbonlahor and Lennon were fast. Milan was not bad either. The only one who was slow was probably Cohen.
He thought about how this team's first victory of the season came …
Should he withdraw the formation now? Slowly contend with the Forest team?
No!
In the face of such a Nottingham Forest team, Manchester United actually wanted to aim for a draw. It really made Ferguson feel ashamed. In any case, it was the best way to continue to strengthen the attack and then score early to drag the game into their own orbit.
Ferguson did not wait long before Manchester United scored.
After Berbatov received Nani's pass in the penalty area, he cleverly blocked Kompany behind him and immediately raised his leg to shoot. The football passed under Pepe, who rushed to defend, bypassed Akinfeev's ten fingers and drilled into the goal.
The visiting Manchester United fans at the City Ground stadium cheered and celebrated the goal.
Ferguson also stood up and applauded to express his joy.
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But the Manchester United people's excitement did not last long. Then the Forest team took advantage of the kickoff. When Bostock dribbled the ball to force a breakthrough to the front of the penalty area, he was tripped by Hargreaves. The referee whistled to give Nottingham Forest a free kick.
When Bale stood in front of the football, the City Ground stadium rang with Bale's praises. They sang, "Little Monkey Bale, he's our number one free kick master! The football at his feet is as precise as if he were controlling it with his hands! It draws an arc and bypasses the human wall. No matter how far it is, it can hit the bull's eye directly … Tenth ring! You're already dead! "
Every time it was Bale who took a free kick, the home ground would ring with such a song. Even when Beckham came, the lyrics never changed. Bale was once asked about this song in an interview. At the time, he said very modestly, "Actually, I'm not that good anymore …" In fact, he was secretly very happy.
Ben Foster nervously directed the formation of the human wall. Bale stood in front of the ball and watched it all coldly. It was only at this time that his focused expression would make people forget his actual age.
The human wall was set up, and the referee whistled to start.
Bale ran up and raised his leg!
The football streaked past the human wall, skimmed over the penalty area at a low altitude, and drilled into the top left corner of the goal!
Ben Foster was still standing in the same place, staring blankly at the football that rolled up the net behind him …
"Half a minute later, they equalized the score!" Motson shouted loudly. Thunderous cheers and singing responded to him at the City Ground stadium.
"Tenth ring! Tenth ring! You're already dead! "
This time, it was Tang En's turn to be happy. He high-fived everyone around him off the field in celebration.
"This is a crucial goal!" He laughed as he high-fived Dunn.
※ ※ ※
Yes, this was a crucial goal. The Forest team's young players were encouraged by this goal, and their morale was greatly boosted. Bale used his own free kick to tell his rookie teammates that even if it was the defending champion, Manchester United, there was nothing to be afraid of!
Manchester United's first goal did not bring them any benefits. Instead, it inspired the Forest players' determination and fighting spirit to win in another way.
The benefits of being young were undoubtedly reflected here — everyone was full of drive to tangle with the Manchester United players. Every time they fought, they had to use all their strength. The vigor of counterattacking in the front field deeply surprised the Manchester United players.
In terms of experience, this Forest team was indeed slightly inferior to Manchester United. But in terms of fighting spirit, Manchester United was not as good as this Forest team.
In the first half, the two sides were tied at 1: 1. During the halftime interval, Tang En did nothing but encourage. He fully affirmed the performance of several young players in the first half — even though not everyone's performance was worthy of his praise.
Next, he asked the team to continue to maintain this form and launch a full-court press against Manchester United in the second half. They began to snatch from the opponent's entry line, forcing the opponent to panic and creating opportunities for their own attack at the same time.
After the second half began, the two sides continued to tangle in every corner of the field. The fitness displayed by Nottingham Forest surprised many Manchester United fans. But the Nottingham Forest fans knew that this was Nottingham Forest under normal conditions — Tony Twain always emphasized and valued the team's physical construction. Last season's situation was a special case that could not be used as a reference.
Nottingham Forest's full-court press paid off. They scored another goal in the 27th minute of the second half. Nicolás Millán broke through with the ball and assisted Agbonlahor to score.
The City Ground stadium was almost in a frenzy. The defending champion was about to be taken down by them!
Some Forest fans even yelled at the Manchester United fans in another section of the stands, "You won the championship last season when we weren't here! It's no big deal. Now we're back! "
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Unfortunately, in the end, they did not leave the glory of the defending champion in the City Ground stadium. Ferguson deployed his players and finally equalized the score before the end of the game and retreated with pride.
Although the Nottingham Forest fans might be disappointed with the result, the Nottingham Forest players would also be disappointed with the score. But only Twain was happy. The first year players performed very bravely against the defending champion. This was a reward more valuable than three points.
This was also the first time that New Forest did not lose against a strong team this season.
This was a Forest team that he felt familiar with — no matter what kind of opponent they faced, they would not feel fear or awe. Newborn calves are not afraid of tigers. Youth is the capital to be arrogant and proud …
Although they did not win today, it does not matter. There is still a lot of time. We still have a lot of opportunities to be arrogant.
The media was more concerned about —
"The defending champion almost lost to Tony Twain's' Boy Scouts'!"
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PS: Corrected an error in the previous article. Because both teams were from Liverpool City, it was a mistake for a moment. In the third round, Nottingham Forest should have lost to Everton's arch-rival, Liverpool …
Thank you to my friends who pointed out this mistake for me!
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