Tony Twain's Nottingham Forest also achieved a historic breakthrough by advancing into the top eight of the Champions League. They made it past the quarterfinals and advanced to the semifinals. This was Twain's best result in the FA Cup since he took charge of the team.
But when the FA Cup entered the sixth round, Twain had already given up the strategy of having half of the First Team and half of the Youth Team form a team and sent out the full First Team lineup. This change had never happened in previous seasons, so much so that their sixth round opponent, the English Premier League team Manchester City, was surprised and eventually lost the game. This change also indicated Twain's emphasis on the FA Cup this season. In the past, Nottingham Forest had always been eliminated early and became spectators. This time, they wanted to be the main characters who had the last laugh in the FA Cup.
But this way, the team's stamina and condition would inevitably be affected as they competed in three tournaments. In the league tournament, Forest's ranking always hovered between fifth and third place, looking a little far from the first place in the league tournament.
In the middle of March, the media had already analyzed that Nottingham Forest's goal this season was not to defend their title, but to strive for at least one title in the Champions League and FA Cup.
"I think the Champions League can be counted as Tony Twain's traditional advantage. At his most glorious time, he once led Forest to win this competition for two consecutive seasons. He also became famous because he led the team back to the Champions League for the first time and reached the final, almost dragging Barcelona down. It has been nearly six years since he last won this competition. If he still claims to be a successful manager, then he must not be willing to let this six-year gap continue to be extended … "
An expert analyzed seriously on television. It looked like what he said made sense and people could not help but nod in agreement.
"So, for the sake of the Champions League, Manager Twain will give up the league tournament. As long as they can get the top four in the league tournament and guarantee a spot in the Champions League next season, it will be fine."
But would Twain really give up the league tournament?
On March 16th, Nottingham Forest tied 0: 0 with Manchester United in an away game. After the game, a reporter brought up this question.
Twain laughed when he heard the question at the press conference. He did not directly answer the other party's question. Instead, he smiled and asked, "Do you want to bet with me? Bet that Nottingham Forest can win the league tournament. "
The reporter shook his head. "I'm not interested in betting, Mr. Twain. Your team is six points behind the league's top team, Arsenal … "
Before he could finish, the other man raised his arm and stood up. "I'm willing to bet!"
Everyone present turned to look at this person. After seeing clearly who he was, they all laughed knowingly.
"I'm willing to bet with you, Mr. Twain."
"So it's Mr. Carl Spicer. What? Haven't you lost enough hair the last time? "Tang En saw Spicer's big bald head at a glance.
Spicer did not mind. He rubbed his bald head and shrugged. "I made a mistake the last time. Now that I think about it, 20 goals in a season is really too little … But it's different this time. Your team is six points behind Arsenal and there are three teams between you and Arsenal. In addition, you plan to compete in three tournaments. If you can still win the league title like that, I …"
"Are you going to eat the table?" Tang En suddenly interrupted, causing everyone to burst into laughter.
Spicer did not expect Tang En to say that. He froze for a moment, then laughed along with the people beside him. "You can always come up with such strange ideas, Mr. Twain. But I think it's very interesting. If I lose, I'll eat the table. What if you lose, you'll eat the table too? "
Tang En spread his hands. "Of course. If I lose, I'll eat the table. I guarantee it'll be broadcast live on television. There's no joking."
The Manchester United manager, Martin O 'Neill, was a little surprised. He thought Tang En was only joking with him. He even wanted to remind Tang En to pay attention to every word he said.
There was also a commotion among the reporters. Eat the table? Was this something that humans could do? Some reporters wanted to smooth things over. For example, Pierce Brosnan wanted to divert everyone's attention by asking questions. But Tang En smiled and looked at Carl Spicer. He ignored Brosnan's raised hand.
"Very well, I accept this bet." Carl Spicer seemed to think he would never have the chance to eat the table, so he nodded and agreed.
Tang En snapped his fingers. "That's great. Prepare whatever table you want to eat, Mr. Spicer. "
Spicer's mouth was not to be outdone. "I think you should consider what excuse you'll find to reject the bet of eating the table when the time comes."
"You don't have to worry about that, Mr. Spicer." Tang En gestured for him to take a seat.
The reporters were already in a mess. They did not care about this dull 0: 0 match. Their questions to O 'Neill were more like routine business. Everyone wanted to end this useless press conference as soon as possible and rush back to the newspaper office to publish this "unprecedented bet since the establishment of the English Premier League."
There was no lack of bets in the English Premier League. But betting on eating the table was indeed something that had never happened before. How could a table be eaten? Whether it was made of wood, stone, glass, stainless steel, or aluminum alloy … there was no way to eat it.
Therefore, everyone was more willing to believe that this bet would evolve into the loser thinking of ways to deny the bet in the end. Or they would simply shut up and not mention it. As for the winner's side, they would think of ways to make a fool of the loser. This table must be eaten! And if you don't eat it, I'll send you a table and help you contact the media …
The two of them going head to head with each other would eventually evolve into this. Anyway, everyone had news to write and money to earn, and the readers had something fun to watch. Everyone was happy, so why not?
As for what would happen to Tony Twain and Carl Spicer, they were both smart people. They would definitely have a way to get past it. There was no need for everyone to worry about it …
※ ※ ※
In fact, there was no need for the media to help with the publicity. Carl Spicer had already exaggerated the matter on his show that night. The cameraman he brought along filmed the entire process. He also filmed the reactions of the others present when they heard about the matter. Through editing, it was like the most commonly used montage technique in movies. It made the audience not feel like they were watching the news, but more like they were watching a suspenseful movie.
In the show, Spicer proudly analyzed to everyone the reason why he dared to accept such a bet. "… Tony Twain's team is now six points behind the first-placed Arsenal. It looks like the six points are about the same, but in the last eight rounds of the league tournament, Forest still has to face strong teams like Chelsea and Arsenal. In addition, two of the eight opponents are teams that are on the brink of relegation. Do you know what this means? Chelsea needs to fight to qualify for the Champions League. Now that they are fifth, they won't let Nottingham Forest off easily at home. And Arsenal is first. Wenger has no reason to give Twain a chance to 'win six points in one match.' We often say that in the final stages of the league tournament, the most dangerous opponents are not the contenders for the title, but the teams that are trying to avoid relegation. Fighting for the title is just for glory, while avoiding relegation is for survival. Those teams that are fighting for survival can always explode with unexpected energy at the most crucial moment … Does Tony Twain think his team can easily beat the seventeenth-placed Portsmouth and eighteenth-placed Sunderland in the league tournament? In comparison, Arsenal's last eight opponents are much weaker. Poor Nottingham Forest needs to fight on three fronts in the final sprint … Actually, what I want to see the most is Nottingham Forest make it to the finals of the FA Cup and Champions League, but lose them all. They also only get fifth place in the league tournament due to their physical collapse — to play in the UEFA Europa League next season. This will be a great help to Tony Twain. Didn't he only win the FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League? This is a good opportunity. For Mr. Twain's team, such an opportunity is not something they can always come across … "
"Then, I'll order a table of the best quality from IKEA for Mr. Twain. I hope he likes it."
※ ※ ※
Twain did not participate in the war of words. His column only wrote about the match against Manchester United and wished Martin O 'Neill a happy time at Old Trafford. Manchester United's current poor results were not the manager's responsibility for not being able to rank first. Any team with an excellent tradition would experience a short or long period of pain after a change of manager. Manchester United was still in this period.
Twain sent his blessings to Manchester United, and Manchester United's former manager also sent his blessings. Ferguson, who had retired at home, spoke about the bet between Twain and Spicer in an interview a few days ago. He expressed his support for Twain.
"… I have nothing to say. Think about Carl Spicer's hair and Mark Lawrenson's beard …"
The implication was that Tony Twain would win every bet he made.
The matter of "betting to eat a table" had even been spread overseas by the developed media network. A certain Italian television program also talked about Twain and Spicer's bet to eat a table. One of the guests even talked about Twain's bet with the Italian media.
"He bet that if they lost the Champions League final, he would jump into the Aegean Sea. I have to say, it's a good thing that no one from our side came out to bet with him that if Forest won, he would jump into the Aegean Sea. "
The host laughed. "That's a pity. We've lost a very creative and executable live broadcast."
On China's online forums, there were also people who expressed their views on the matter and won the approval and praise of many. He said, "I think it's a taboo to say to Tony Twain, 'Do you dare to bet with me?' It's like someone in those hot-blooded cartoons suddenly saying, 'After this battle, I'm going back to my hometown to get married.' It's definitely not to be mentioned. Spicer will definitely be unlucky. I'll post this as proof! "
The group of Forest fans who replied to the post below shouted, "F * ck you, the original poster! Spicer, that big idiot, I've long found him an eyesore! Let's see how he's going to eat a table in front of us! "
The Arsenal fans, on the other hand, were a little conflicted. "Aiya, although I really don't like Spicer, I really want to see Uncle Tony eat a table … Alright, I admit that I actually don't want my team to lose the championship because of a table. That's simply too embarrassing!!"
"Manchester United fans send their congratulations. This matter has nothing to do with us … "
"Kop sightseeing group left their names. No matter who eats a table, we'll be happy. "
"The Blues fans have come to visit! If I remember correctly, there's still a match between Forest and Chelsea, right? At that time, hehe … "
"Eat, eat. If there's not enough tables, there's still chairs. If the chairs are eaten, there's still the sofa and floor … Anyway, I'm an AC Milan fan. Internal strife in the English Premier League is the best. I've long been unhappy with the English Premier League dominating the Champions League all these years!"
"AC Milan fans, don't get involved here. This is the English Premier League forum. It has nothing to do with Serie A! Besides, I support Twain eating a table! I've long been unhappy with this arrogant idiot! "
"Cousin next door, don't mess around. Manners, mind your manners …"
"Who told you I'm an Inter Milan fan? I'm a Barça fan! "
"Yo, so it's Barça. Since this is the English Premier League forum, why are you from La Liga here?"
"Yellow dog, don't come out and embarrass yourself!"
The OP finally showed up. "F * ck, this post is crooked. I'm in tears …"
…
Well, this was just a small episode, a small episode …
Such arguments happened countless times on the Internet in China, but it did not affect the United Kingdom, which was thousands of miles away.
Betting on eating a table was just a topic of conversation. Even within the Forest team, Kerslake would talk about it. Kerslake would even joke about it with Twain, but no one was affected by it at work. Because they were all influenced by Twain's confidence. When the players were interviewed, they even thought it was a disguised form of encouragement from the boss.
"Betting on eating a table? Anyway, the boss has never lost. I'm not worried … "Bale shook his head.
"This is actually a form of encouragement … A gap of six points is nothing. We never said we were going to give up on the league title. Why would we give up if there's a chance to win? Now is not the time to give up. There are still eight rounds of the league. I think we have a chance to win the title. "The defensive general, Pepe, appeared very confident.
"In order to let Mr. Spicer eat a table as he wishes, we will also work hard to win the league title," Eastwood said politely with a smile on his face.
George Wood said, "We will win the championship even if we don't bet on it. Our goal is to win the championship. "He said what the whole team was thinking.
The next day, the Nottingham Evening Post published this headline: "We Win the Championship, Carl Eats a Table." Concisely and comprehensively expressed the Forest team's confidence in winning the championship.
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