In the end, Tang En was unable to poach anyone from Germany or Italy. He chose Clemens, who had been England's goalkeeping coach for many years. He was an experienced goalkeeping coach. He had once played for England with former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Peter Shilton. He was recommended by Shilton himself. As someone from Nottingham Forest, it was only right for them to take care of each other.
As a fitness coach, Twain chose the person recommended by the English Football Association. He used to play for Manchester City and was now unemployed at home, Jon Weber.
As for coaching, the experienced Steve Wigley joined. He had played for Nottingham Forest for six seasons since 1980. When he retired, he returned to the Forest team as a youth coach and coach. Since then, he had been a coach, assistant coach, and head coach for many clubs. He understood English players very well and was capable.
The 64-year-old Tony Carr was the oldest coach in the coaching team. He had been West Ham United's youth coach since 1973 and later served as the team's coach. West Ham United's youth training standards were well-known in English football. Many geniuses came from there, and Tony Carr was the biggest contributor behind the scenes. He was also a loyal warrior who had only played for West Ham United until now. Now that he was old, the English Football Association urged him to come out and assist Tony Twain. Only then did he bid farewell to West Ham United and join Tony Twain's England coaching team.
The 55-year-old Steve Gatting, who used to be Arsenal's youth coach, was now appointed by the English Football Association to coach Tony Twain.
With the addition of the assistant manager, Des Walker, the coaching team was now basically formed. As for the psychologist, this was the first time that the profession had been introduced into the England team. Tang En had successfully poached the 46-year-old Emma from Nottingham Forest. This licensed psychologist would become the psychologist of the England team, responsible for solving the various psychological problems of the players.
This was a completely local coaching team, all English. Shaun Barclay was very satisfied with this. He had originally thought that with Twain's "uncomfortable" personality, he would most likely look down on the candidates he recommended. Now, it was just that the assistant manager was an outsider. Although Clemens was recommended by Hilton to Twain, he also had many years of cooperation with the English Football Association.
Overall, the team enjoyed a high reputation in the English football world, except for Des Walker, who was slightly less famous. However, he was also a member of the England national team, so his words carried some weight.
After the coaching team was formed, Tang En had to consider the players.
In fact, although the English Football Association told Tang En that the lineup for this match could follow the one from the World Cup, it was absolutely impossible to actually operate it. At this time, all the clubs and teams were preparing for the new season, especially those teams that had the strength to win the championship. At this time, it was impossible for them to let their main core players go to the national team to play an exhibition game. Not only would it disrupt the rhythm of the preparation, what if they got injured?
Therefore, if Tang En still wanted to gather players like Gerrard, Rooney, and Walcott, it would probably be very difficult.
As a result, Tang En planned to use this match as an observation. He would recruit more fringe players who were not usually selected for the national team, and then observe their performance to determine whether there would be a place for them in Twain's national team in the future. Although the fans in the City Ground stadium would definitely feel sorry for him if he became less of a celebrity, Tang En had never been the kind of person who would change himself for the sake of the audience.
This was a good opportunity. Such a match did not require results, and there was no pressure. Therefore, Tang En could freely recruit players who were usually unlikely to be selected for the national team. Some of them would even be wearing the national team's uniform for the first time in their lives.
As for the veteran players who often went in and out of the national team, Tang En would not even ask. He did not want to invite a snub on the premise that he knew the door would be shut in his face.
In just one day, Tang En announced the squad list for this match:
The three goalkeepers were Chris Kirkland, Stuart Taylor, and Andy Atkinson. Taylor and Atkinson were both being selected for the national team for the first time, and Kirkland was not much better than them. This was only his second time. They were truly fringe players.
In terms of the defenders. Although the versatile backfield player Dan Gosling, who played for Everton, had long made a name for himself at Everton and was once hailed as a new genius, his career in the national team was not as smooth sailing as it was in the club. Up until Tang En's call-up, he had only been selected for a total of four times in the national team.
Twenty-five-year-old Jack Cork, the son of former Wimbledon player Alan Cork, was once Chelsea's star of hope. However, he did not play well at Chelsea and eventually went to Southampton. Southampton had been fluctuating in the English Football League Championship, which affected his appearance in the national team. However, he had always been regarded as a player worth looking forward to. Tang En's recruitment this time was also in the hope of seeing if the rumors were true. This was his first time being selected for the national team.
Gary Cahill was already twenty-eight years old, but it was also his first time being selected for the England national team. He had played in many English teams, including Aston Villa. Later, he transferred to Lyon and had always been a main player for Lyon. However, because he played abroad and in the French Ligue 1, he did not attract the interest of the previous England manager, Capello. This time, Tang En's recruitment of him to the team perhaps indicated a signal — whether you played in England or abroad, as long as you had the ability, the door to the national team would be open for you.
Anton Ferdinand, twenty-eight years old, Rio Ferdinand's younger brother. He made his debut at West Ham and now played at Sunderland. Similarly, he had no experience playing for the national team.
David Wheater, Middlesbrough's main center back, had been selected for the England national team six times. However, under the shadow of Terry and the others, he had not gained much trust. His name had appeared on the substitute list six times, and he had only played once — as a substitute in the 87th minute. Standing at 1.96 meters, he was a center back with excellent defensive capabilities. Liverpool had once been very interested in him. Now that he was only twenty-seven years old, Tang En also hoped to see his ability. If he performed well, there would definitely be a place for him in the England national team in the future.
Paul Pepper, the newest product of Middlesbrough's youth camp. A young player in his twenties who had represented England's U19 and U21 teams in many matches and was the captain of the U21 team. A rising star with a bright future. When Tang En was still at Nottingham Forest, he had once been very interested in him and had wanted to bring him from Middlesbrough to the City Ground stadium. However, Middlesbrough had asked for fifteen million pounds and the deal had to be dropped. Today, he was already Middlesbrough's main left back. His specialty was his strong offensive ability, somewhat similar to Gareth Bale. This was also his first time being selected for the national team.
Glen Johnson, thirty years old, was a regular in the national team. However, he did not participate in this summer's World Cup in Brazil. Because he had suffered a serious injury two months before the tournament, he had been sidelined for three months and had only just recovered from his injury. Aston Villa had agreed to let him play for the national team because he wanted him to find some match form.
Ashley Cole, perhaps the most famous member of the national team's rear defensive line. However, at the age of thirty-three, he had gradually lost his main position in Chelsea. That was why Chelsea had agreed to let him play for the national team. He himself also hoped to use his performance in this match to regain his position in the club.
In the midfield, Tang En recruited seven players into the team.
Fabian Delph, twenty-four years old, was Leeds United's most successful youth product in recent years. However, he was now a member of Tottenham Hotspur. He had been selected for the national team three times. This was his fourth time wearing the national team jersey. He played as a right midfielder.
Mark Noble, twenty-seven years old midfielder for West Ham United. After Gareth Barry moved to Liverpool, he became the core of West Ham United's midfield. This was his tenth time being selected for the national team.
Michael Johnson, a midfielder who used to play for Manchester City and was now a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur. If not for George Wood, he might have been able to play as a main player for the national team. He was a very capable player and had been selected for the England national team eleven times. In addition, he also participated in this summer's World Cup in Brazil and made one substitute appearance.
James Milner, thirteen years ago, made his debut at Leeds United. When Leeds was on the verge of bankruptcy, he was sold by the team to Newcastle for 3.6 million pounds in order to ease the club's financial situation. Later, he also went to Aston Villa. He used to be the youngest goalscorer in England. In the end, he went to Chelsea and played for them until now. Before that, he had played for the national team fifteen times.
Matt Derbyshire, twenty-eight years old, was an attacking midfielder for Blackburn Rovers. He could also play as a striker. This was also his first time being selected for the national team.
Joseph Baxter, another star of tomorrow that Everton had cultivated after Rooney and Vaughan. He was only twenty-two years old this year and had already been selected for the national team once. He could play on both sides of the midfield and as a striker.
Joe Cole was the most famous star in the midfield. After playing for Chelsea for many years, he had just transferred to Manchester City this summer. There was no doubt about his strength, but his frequent injuries had affected his form. The reason why Twain recruited him was that he hoped his skills could bring more changes to England's midfield.
This time, Twain chose five strikers to enter the national team for inspection. Stars like Rooney were not on this list.
Joseph Baxter's senior, James Vaughan, was selected for this national team's squad list. Now he was Everton's main striker. Twain and Moyes's personal relationship played a role in Everton's decision to let him come. Moreover, Twain promised Moyes that Vaughan would only play in the first half at most, which was why Moyes agreed to Twain's request.
Twenty-six years old, Fraizer Campbell, an outstanding product of Manchester United's youth training, could only play as a substitute at Manchester United. After Mourinho took over at Old Trafford, he did not know if it was a blessing or a curse for him. However, he might be able to use this opportunity of being called up by the national team to prove his strength to Mourinho.
Danny Welbeck, 23 years old, also came from Manchester United's youth training. However, he and Campbell took a different path. Campbell was still struggling in Manchester United's powerhouse club, fighting for a main position. Welbeck had long left Manchester United and transferred to Sunderland. Now that he was playing in a match at Sunderland and performed well, he was also selected for this national team.
The once high-profile Charlton striker, Darren Bent, did not show his talent after his transfer to Tottenham Hotspur, but this did not affect Twain's call up to the national team. In any case, compared to the three mentioned before, he was still considered experienced.
The last person was Aston Villa's 23 years old young player, Nathan Delfouneso. Although he was not outstanding in height, only 1.81 meters, he was good at headers and had good physical fitness. This was also his first time being selected for the national team.
The above 23 players were included in Twain's observation scope, and at the same time, the club was willing to let them go. Almost none of those famous star players came, and Twain did not even call them. And Nottingham Forest also did not have anyone on this list, because they were opponents.
This list received widespread attention from many English media. After all, this was Tony Twain's first national team list. Countless people wanted to see something from it.
Some people thought that Twain was planning to go the younger route, otherwise why would he recruit so many young people? Similarly, there were many veterans among the fringe players in the national team.
There were also people who felt that this was the first opportunity for Tony Twain to show his iron fist. He used the actions of recruiting a large number of marginal characters to "declare war" on those big stars: In my team, it doesn't matter how famous you are, I only care about your attitude.
Another group of people simply thought that Twain had no choice — the big clubs did not let them go, and England's main players were all with the team to prepare for the new season. It was not easy for him to find these 23 players, so why would he care about the quality?
No matter how the media interpreted this list, the players on this list all received call-up calls from the English Football Association.
Some were surprised, some were calm, but everyone had their own thoughts. For those players who were still with the clubs to prepare for the new season, they could take the opportunity to work with the new manager first, and they could take the opportunity to understand what kind of person the new manager was. This was beneficial for them to occupy a place in the new national team.
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"Don't expect to see anything in this game, Tony," Assistant Manager Des Walker said to Twain, and several other coaches also had the same opinion. This was a meeting the day before the team's gathering. They had to discuss together, the team's tactics, the opponent's tactics, and so on.
"We don't even have time for training. The team gathers tomorrow, and we go to the game the day after. It's like an exhibition game. Everyone is afraid of getting hurt, they are afraid, our people are afraid too, "Coach Steve Wigley said.
Twain looked at everyone, but laughed, "They are afraid, but we are not."
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