No matter how loud the slogan was, no matter how tough Tang En's mouth was. Carl Spicer's analysis was not without reason.
With eight rounds left in the league, Nottingham Forest still had to compete on three fronts, which was a difficult task.
Their stamina would definitely be affected, and their form would also fluctuate. The team could only grit their teeth and persevere with the physical difficulties, and the adjustment of their form depended on the level of the coaches. It had to be said that the psychologists that Tang En hired for Şahin a few years ago were very useful at this time. Many players would go to the beautiful and gentle psychologists to chat for a while after training to relax their tense nerves.
March 22nd, Round 31 of the league tournament. Nottingham Forest challenged Aston Villa in an away game, with the final score being 3: 2. Nottingham Forest won, but it was a very difficult victory. Forest trailed 0: 2 in the first half, and overtook by 3: 2 in the second half. All three goals were scored in the last ten minutes. This match was the most exciting match in the Premier League that round. Both sides scored a total of five goals, and one goal was blown off by the referee. There was also a red card and six yellow cards. The transition between offense and defense was very fast, and both sides initiated a lot of mistakes. The scene looked very lively. But for Tang En's heart, it was not "exciting" … If he lost to an opponent like Aston Villa in an away game, then he could forget about talking about fighting for the championship title at the end of the season.
So when Cohen forced a breakthrough at the last moment and passed the ball to assist Şahin to break the goal, Tang En did not jump up from the manager's seat to celebrate wildly. Instead, he slumped in his chair, closed his eyes, and let out a long breath. His heart was beating very, very fast just now, making him think that his nuclear-powered heart was about to collapse.
Eastwood was initially hugging and celebrating with his teammates, and then he realized that there was one less person next to him. Turning around, he realized that the missing person was still sitting in his chair. He saw that Tang En's expression was a little off, lazy, tired, and not excited. He hurried over to ask, "What's wrong, Boss? Your heart? "
Tang En shook his head and laughed. "Hehe."
"What does' hehe 'mean?"
"I'm very happy. We've finally won …" Tang En reached out to Eastwood. The latter pulled him up and Tang En gave him a hug.
"It's good to win, Freddy."
Eastwood rolled his eyes and thought of the bet between the boss and Spicer. It would not look good if he lost that kind of bet … "Why do you have to do this, boss? Why did he have to make that kind of bet with others? You're the one who said that … Actually, Boss, I don't understand. Why do you like to make a bet that will be very embarrassing if you lose? "
"I'm very lazy, Freddy. If I don't give myself some pressure, I'm afraid I won't be able to walk. "Twain patted Eastwood's back and let him go.
Then he clenched his fists, opened his arms, and welcomed the others.
"Ah, David! Come on! Let's have a warm hug! Cohen and Şahin did a great job! "
Eastwood shook his head as he looked at his boss, who had suddenly regained his full firepower.
※ ※ ※
"Tony Twain escaped with his life … His luck is always so good. During the match, Aston Villa had a goal disallowed by the referee because they were offside. If the goal had not been offside … the final result would have been hard to say. A few days ago, he made a bold statement that he would fight for the Premier League title, and if he lost, he would eat a table. Now he's forced himself into a dead end. He can't even afford to lose a match … No, forget about losing, he can't even afford to draw. "
The football commentator on the television was analyzing the round of Premier League matches that had just ended for the audience. When talking about the match between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa, he said so.
"But it was so difficult to win this match that it makes people worry if his team has the ability to always turn the tables. I can say that the victory of this match was entirely due to Twain's good luck. But what about the next match? Will Tony Twain still have good luck in the next match against Chelsea? "
※ ※ ※
"Rijkaard's Chelsea has been playing beautiful football in recent years. I think they are a unique sight in the Premier League, like Wenger's Arsenal. But such beautiful football can't always win the championship … I think Mr. Abramovich must be very conflicted. What? You ask me what conflicted means? Imagine a man in luxurious clothes holding a golden rice bowl begging on the streets … "
Twain once again energetically fired the first shot in the psychological warfare against Chelsea in the media.
Rijkaard, who was familiar with Twain, ignored him. Seeing that the other side did not respond, Twain fired a second shot in the media.
"Although the team will officially move into the new stadium next season, I still prefer this old stadium. Why? Because it's small enough to allow the fans' voices to reach the players on the field to the greatest extent possible. Naturally, it will also bring great psychological pressure to the visiting team. We still have four home games at the City Ground stadium. I hope we can bid farewell to the City Ground stadium with four victories and a championship trophy. "
Rijkaard still did not express any opinion.
"I don't mind turning this match into a rugby match. Within the scope of the rules, I will ask the team to try to put pressure on the opposing players. Rough? No, no, no, I don't think so. This is just a normal tactic … "
The third shot.
Twain was such a detestable person. He would always think of ways to hover in front of you, provoke you, and annoy you. When you were really enraged, he would win.
Before the match, Twain talked about the tactics he would use to deal with Chelsea. He was not afraid that it would make the other side prepared in advance. He knew Rijkaard's characteristics, so even if he knew, he was not afraid. Rijkaard would stick to his style of football at the City Ground stadium, and Twain would also stick to his style.
As the saying goes, everything has its vanquisher. Tony Twain was Rijkaard's natural enemy there.
※ ※ ※
In the noisy City Ground stadium, a fierce Premier League match was underway.
"Forest, Forest! Nottingham Forest! Lalalalala — we are invincible, we are invincible! We are the best team in the world! Lalalalala — "
The stands at the City Ground stadium, which could accommodate up to 30,000 people, were full. The Forest fans in red jerseys were singing and cheering for their team.
The score displayed on the scoreboard was 0: 0. Nottingham Forest and Chelsea were tied for the time being.
Twain stood on the sidelines, attentively and nervously observing every detail of the match.
Wood had just tackled Chelsea's striker, Obasi, and he had been given a verbal warning by the referee. Now, he was gesturing to his teammates to indicate that everything was normal and to continue doing as the boss said.
Twain had studied the characteristics of the referee when he was formulating the tactics before the match. The referee in charge of this match, Phil Dowd, had refereed nine Premier League matches this season. He had shown a total of 20 yellow cards and not a single red card. He was a referee who tended to be soft on whistling. So, he worked on this point and asked the entire team to make bigger movements.
Wood's foul this time was actually a test of the referee's standards in this game.
He had tackled Obasi head-on, but he had only received a verbal warning. Twain laughed from below. It looked like this old Dowd was really soft.
That was a relief.
Subsequently, the match officially entered Nottingham Forest's orbit. The Chelsea players repeatedly lost the ball in "physical contact" with the Forest players, but the referee did not think it was a foul. It was just a "reasonable collision." This made the Chelsea players somewhat dissatisfied, and their mentality on the field was unbalanced. Even their manager, Rijkaard, was angry with the referee's several decisions. He rushed to the fourth official several times to protest the Forest players' rough actions.
He even said, "Before the game, Tony Twain said he was going to use rough tactics to deal with us, and now he's getting his wish! Don't you have any opinions? "
The fourth official shook his head to indicate that the referee was the only standard to grasp the standards of the match. If he thought the Forest players did not commit a foul, then there was no foul.
It was not until the 31st minute of the match that Bale received a yellow card after a series of vicious fouls. Rijkaard was so angry that he applauded the referee's decision on the field. As a result, he received a cordial greeting from the fourth official. "Mr. Rijkaard, you'd better watch your words and actions."
Rijkaard was not Tony Twain, who dared to go against the referees to the end. After being warned, he retreated to the technical area. He just angrily punched the side baffle of the technical area. In the end …
With a crash, the hard plastic baffle broke off from the frame and fell to the ground.
Rijkaard did not care. He was furious. What was the big deal about smashing a baffle? Or maybe he did not see the scene at all. Anyway, he did not look at the "accident" happening next to him and continued to grumble endlessly in the technical area.
Beside him, Tang En clapped his hands and laughed when he saw the scene. "That's great! After the match, send a bill to Mr. Rijkaard personally in the name of the club and let him be responsible for the compensation. "
Kerslake nodded next to him to show that he remembered.
Not long after the yellow card, the Forest team took the lead. Gago scored a goal with a long shot. Čech could not save in time and could only look at the "ball" and sigh.
"YES!" Tang En shouted excitedly with his fists clenched on the sidelines.
Nearby, Rijkaard wanted to hit the baffle next to him again, but this time he hit empty air and almost sprained his waist. Only then did he notice that the baffle next to him was gone. "F * ck …" Looking at the empty frame and the baffle below, he could not help but curse.
The game commentator also noticed this small detail. Looking at Rijkaard's surprised and unhappy expression, he laughed. "It looks like the City Ground stadium, which has been in service for a hundred and fifteen years, should really be retired. Even the baffle of the visiting team's technical area is so weak that it fell off with a light hit from Rijkaard … Ha!"
After taking the lead, the singing in the City Ground stadium became louder. The fans took turns singing the songs they often sang in the stands. There was Nottingham Forest's team song, "The World in Our Hands," George Wood's song, "He's Our Saint George," Tony Twain's song, "Long Live Tony," Bale's song, "Little Monkey," Mitchell's song, "The Seven-Foot Zidane," Ibišević's song, "Super Ibi," Gago's song, "He's Our Redondo," and of course, Eastwood's song, "Robin Hood Forever." Any popular player would have a fan's song, which was not unique to Nottingham Forest. It was a feature of all English teams. Therefore, to see a player's status in the Premier League club, one only had to listen to whether the fans sang the song they made up for him during the game.
The Forest team gradually took the initiative on the field during the fans' concert and led Mitchell by the nose.
The Chelsea team during Mourinho's era was a very tough team. Twain would not have used the current tactics to deal with the Chelsea team at that time, because it would only have resulted in a lose-lose situation. But after Rijkaard's "hard work" over the past few years, the current Chelsea team had thrown away its former "blue-collar temperament" and transformed into a "high-class white-collar." The new generation of Chelsea players focused on technique. They played like the former Barcelona, paying attention to ball control and playing with exquisite teamwork. The star players could also put on a gorgeous performance. But they had lost the "fighting spirit" that Mourinho had always emphasized.
This was also the reason why Rijkaard's Chelsea was one of the teams that played the most beautifully in the Premier League, but always missed out on the title. He could turn Chelsea into another Barcelona, but the Premier League was not La Liga.
Tony Twain was not afraid of a Chelsea team that only had a bright appearance and no fighting spirit. In the second half, with Twain's encouragement during the halftime break, the team continued to work hard and continued to use rough tactics to limit Chelsea's offense. The referee's whistle was indeed soft. In the end, Nottingham Forest committed 27 fouls, but only received four yellow cards and no red card.
The Forest team relied on rough fouls and quick and fierce counterattacks to score another goal in the second half. In the end, they cleanly defeated their first strong opponent on the road to the title, Chelsea, with a score of 2: 0 at home.
After the game, Rijkaard was indignant about the failure of the game. He believed that the referee's many key decisions were in favor of Nottingham Forest, which was a key factor in his loss.
Twain responded sarcastically, "I fully understand Mr. Rijkaard's dissatisfaction because he smashed our visiting team's technical area."
There was a burst of laughter among the reporters. That incident became the highlight of the game and was replayed many times during the game's live broadcast.
"But I won't make any comments on the referee for this game. I believe the referee has his reasons for every decision he makes. As a team, we just have to obey. "
He would not say such a thing when his team was treated unfairly by the referee.
Rijkaard had wanted to refute, but he suddenly remembered that the person sitting next to him was Tony Twain, not Wenger, Benítez or anyone else. So, he closed his mouth again.
He admitted that he was unlucky.
※ ※ ※
A day later, just as Rijkaard led the team back to London, he found a bill from Nottingham Wilford in his home mailbox.
It was sent to him by the Nottingham Forest Football Club, asking him to compensate for the damage to the visiting team's technical area during the game.
There was also a short letter attached to the bill. The letter hoped that he could compensate for the damage. The tone was respectful, but it made Rijkaard grit his teeth. Not only did he lead the team to lose to the Forest team, but he also had to fork out money to compensate for the damage to the visiting team's technical area. How could there be such an unlucky manager like him?
At that moment, he was so angry that he crumpled the bill in his hands into a ball. But immediately after, he unfolded it and looked at it again helplessly.
He had to pay for it, because he had indeed damaged their things …
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