After shaking hands with Manchester United at home, Nottingham Forest's young players received great encouragement. In the following matches, they used their actions to continuously slap the doubters in the face.
September 27th, Round 8: 1: 0 away win against Newcastle United.
October 3rd, Round 9: 2: 0 home win against last season's dark horse, Hull City.
October 17th, Round 10: 2: 1 home win against Portsmouth.
October 25th, Round 11: 3 away draw against Manchester City.
Starting from the fourth match on August 30th, Tony Twain's young players went undefeated for eight consecutive matches. They also jumped from second from the bottom to seventh in the rankings.
For a moment, the English Premier League was filled with slaps.
Now, other than Carl Spicer, who was as pessimistic about Nottingham Forest as usual, everyone else had already stopped talking.
The performances of the first years were also recognized by the public.
Chris Cohen had never been famous, but so far this season, his several key performances had brought the team at least seven points in the league. He was the type of non-star player who did not stand out on the football field and would not attract much attention, but he was very practical. Compared to Moke, who was demoted to the reserve team, his talent was not outstanding, nor was he fast. His passing was average, but he was more well-rounded. His skills were well-rounded, and his positions were more well-rounded. He could play as a left midfielder, or as a center midfielder. He was good at passing and crossing. He was also very honest, and did whatever Twain said. Whether he was a substitute or not on the main list, he never complained.
Chris Commons had already been sold by Twain for two million pounds, and now the left midfielder position was only left with Petrov and Cohen. Petrov was getting old, and Cohen could become a stable member of the Forest team in the next few years. He would be luckier than Commons, because the Forest team would not be able to come up with too much transfer funds to buy famous star players in the next few years, so he would get more opportunities to play. Unlike Commons, who could only play in the EFL Cup, FA Cup, and some garbage time.
Cohen's performance also attracted some attention. The league was not even halfway through, and there were already rumors that a certain club was interested in Cohen. A winger who was willing to chase back to defend and had an accurate pass was indeed a target for many teams.
Victor Moses' performance was also remarkable. So far, he had played a total of 340 minutes, scored two goals and assisted three times. This result was considered passable for an 18-year-old first-year player in the Premier League.
And it had not even been half a season. As long as Tang En continued to give him opportunities, he believed that he would continue to repay Tang En.
He embodied the qualities that a player of African descent should have. The only problem now was that his performance was inconsistent. His two goals and three assists came in three matches. However, instability could not be considered a shortcoming of young players. It was normal. All Twain had to do was to give him patience and encouragement.
Nicolás Millán was also a striker, but he had a lot of playing time because in addition to being a striker, he could also play as a midfielder. The technical characteristics of a South American player were on full display. He was a different kind of scenery in the Premier League because of his exquisite skills. His speed and skills ensured that he could pass through the tall defenders in the Premier League. This had one of the most obvious advantages — he could always fight for a set piece for the team in the front field. Then, Gareth Bale would have room to play.
Of course, this also brought about some bad reputation for himself, such as "The Chilean who is good at falling" and "The Diving Kid." Every time an opponent or the media attacked Millán like this, Tang En would scold those people in his column or in an interview with other media — "The referee said it's a foul, so it's a foul. If you're not convinced, please question the referee's standards and don't talk about my players!"
Although Millán had only scored one goal so far, his skills did enrich the Forest team's offensive routines in the front field.
His biggest problem now was that his body was slightly thin. Although he could create set pieces for the team. Although he could create set pieces for the team, no manager wanted his striker to play only to fight for free kicks and penalties. If he wanted to have greater development, he should work hard to improve his ability to fight. In the Premier League, if the body was not strong enough, no matter how good the skills were, it would be impossible to survive.
Even so, Nicolás Millán's performance was worthy of the title of "young genius." In Chile, his reputation was growing day by day. Because of him, many Chileans became Nottingham Forest fans. Every time there was a Nottingham Forest game, they looked forward to Manager Tony Twain to send out their "gem."
Among all the first years, only Joe Mattock had the least playing time. Of course, it was not that Tang En treated him differently. It was just that the rear defensive line was a very important position and could not be easily changed. Giving young people a chance would only be considered when there was a real shortage of people in the rear defensive line.
Tang En was worried about what Mattock would think and specially went to talk to him a few times, telling him that the current situation of the team was that the rear defensive line must be stable and the players on the offensive line could freely play. So, as a defender, Joe Mattock's playing opportunities were indeed less than his other first years.
But Tang En assured Mattock that he was still within his plans. He only hoped that Mattock could try out a few more positions, such as center back and right back.
In the Forest team, to get a chance to play, a player who could play in multiple positions at the same time had a slight advantage over a player who specialized in one position.
Joe Mattock accepted Tang En's advice and worked hard to adapt to the right back position.
The reason why he worked so hard was because everything he saw at Nottingham Forest told him that Tony Twain was indeed a manager worthy of entrusting his future to. Manager Pearce did not lie to him. Nottingham Forest was currently the most suitable team for him.
※ ※ ※
Although they had achieved an unbeaten streak of eight matches, it did not mean that the league tournament was smooth sailing.
In the following Round 12 of the league tournament, Nottingham Forest challenged Arsenal in an away game.
This match was considered by some English media as a "contest between young people." In the end, Arsenal won. Relying on their home advantage, they defeated Nottingham Forest 3: 2. It ended Forest's unbeaten streak of eight matches.
In this match, Jack Wilshere, who scored one goal and assisted two goals, was named the Man of the Match. This talented 17-year-old almost overshadowed the entire Nottingham Forest team. During the match, the commentator could not stop chanting his name, as if he had already become Wilshere's fan. Every time he took the ball, he would draw thunderous cheers from the Emirates Stadium.
In this match, his limelight even surpassed that of the team captain, Fàbregas.
Şahin, John Bostock, Nicolás Millán and Cohen, as well as the substitute Victor Moses, were not worth mentioning in front of Wilshere's performance.
"He's a true genius!"
"Jack came out of nowhere! Capello is sitting in the box at the Emirates Stadium. He must have remembered all of Wilshere's performances in his heart. Perhaps we can see this 17-year-old's name in the next England training squad … "
"He's another gem that Arsenal has dedicated to us!"
"When Walcott was still on the bench, we could already start to look forward to the day when Wilshere would become the leader of the English Premier League!"
…
After the match, all sorts of praises flew towards Jack Wilshere. Although this was not his first season in the Premier League, with him being named the Man of the Match in this match, it was as if he had come out of nowhere and made a name for himself during the match against Nottingham Forest.
In the hearts of the Arsenal fans, this match was such a suitable stage — — Nottingham Forest, who had performed wildly in recent years, had become Wilshere's sole backing. It was truly the best opponent.
However, Tang En had a different opinion on this.
In an interview the day after the match, a reporter asked him to comment on Wilshere's performance in yesterday's match. He smiled and said, "I think Jack Wilshere is a fully deserving talent. I started paying attention to him a year ago. At that time, I even wanted to ask Wenger for a loan. Unfortunately, he rejected me. He's very talented and very capable. I have no doubt that he will be successful in the future. But … "Twain changed the topic and shrugged." I'm not surprised that a player suddenly becomes famous after performing well in a game. It doesn't surprise me that this happened to Wilshere. But it's a pity that his opponent is us. In my opinion, it's a bit of a fluke … You know, George did not play in yesterday's match. "
The subtext of his words was, "If George Wood had played, it's uncertain whether Wilshere would still be able to become the focal point of the match against Forest."
His words would definitely make the Arsenal fans unhappy. But what he said was also the truth.
Before this match, George Wood was suspended for one match due to accumulating five yellow cards. It just so happened that he missed the match against Arsenal. There was no need for Tang En to say anything more about George Wood's defensive ability in England. Everyone knew it. So if George Wood was not suspended, would Wilshere, who was in the opposite position, still be able to perform so well?
One had to know that in the match, Wilshere was almost unstoppable. Tiago could not keep up with the child's pace at all. It looked like the younger one was bullying the older one …
But a lot of people believed that if Tiago was replaced by George Wood. Wilshere would have become well-behaved within the first 15 minutes of the match due to Wood's continuous attacks.
In fact, Wenger had officially taken note of the fact that George Wood was suspended. That was why he arranged for Wilshere to be in the starting lineup for this match and boldly handed the responsibility of organizing the front field to him.
His gamble paid off. Arsenal and Wilshere both achieved success.
Only Tang En was a little depressed. He wanted to comfort his first years after the match, telling them that winning and losing were common in a war, and that losing to Arsenal was not an unacceptable result … Then he would use words to pressure George Wood during training. "Look, George. You're not in a match, and now even an underage child can stand out. "
Thus, George Wood would use his usual tone and say very seriously, "I hope that the next time we meet, that person can still be in the starting lineup."
Tang En chuckled at the side. They had lost, but he was not angry. Unlike the previous two seasons where they could not lose a single match, his mentality now seemed to be a little more relaxed.
Yes, he led a group of players whose average age did not exceed 25 years old. Among them were a few first years who were not looked upon favorably by others. The club's financial situation was not too good. Their days were tight, but there was no pressure.
The days where they had to grit their teeth and endure every day from last season seemed to have become a distant memory.
Now, even if they lost, it was normal. A team needed time to mature again. It was not something that could be done in a day from the first years to the second years.
In addition, Tang En himself did not want to put too much pressure on his heart. He was mainly worried that Shania would not be able to take it. Actually, he was fine.
Having quit smoking and drinking, the only way for him to relieve his stress was to go shopping with Shania. In this era of tight economic environment, many stores were having huge sales and were offering discounts and promotions. Now was a good time to go shopping. Or he could go to the Forest Bar to order a glass of juice and chat with his old buddies. Or he could have a war of words with Carl Spicer in the media. A spat every day was beneficial to his body and mind.
In any case, his days were very comfortable.
Allan was flying around outside all day, busily pulling in sponsorship funds for the new stadium's construction plan. Just this matter alone was enough to make him battered and exhausted. Tang En, on the other hand, could very leisurely block out all these annoying things and let Evan and Allan worry about them. He only cared about leading the team to play in the match. He did not even think about who to buy for the time being. As long as the club could still afford everyone's salary, he did not have to worry.
Just like that, the team occasionally won and occasionally did not win under his leadership. Their performance fluctuated, but they slowly progressed towards the new year.
Half a season was about to pass, and it was another year of Christmas.
※ ※ ※
Shania spent her first Christmas as a newlywed, as usual, on the runway all over the world. Tang En also finished his Christmas Eve dinner with Dunn at Wood's house as usual. Every winter, Sophia's face would be exceptionally pale. Tang En knew that the cold winter was the hardest period of time for people who were ill to get through. When the flowers bloomed next spring, her body would probably slowly improve — at least that was what he believed.
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