In fact, the England national team's tactics were very similar to Nottingham Forest's, except that they did not blindly insist on defensive counterattack. The characteristics of attacking from the flanks, flying from both wings, and simply and quickly passing through the midfield were very consistent. The England team's ability to play positional warfare was not very good. Neither Eriksson, McClaren, nor Capello had completely solved this point.
After Capello took over, he tried to enrich the England team's tactics in positional warfare, but the effect was limited. Compared to the European Latin Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, and French players, the English players' footwork skills were crude. The English Premier League had flourished for so many years, but it had not changed this fact.
Now that Twain had taken over the England team, he was not in a hurry to show England's ability to play positional warfare in this game. The simplest and most effective way was to let the team go back to the old way — play high, fly from both wings, combine the flanks, and complement with long shots. Such a play would not look good, but the England fans did not care about it. After all, not all England fans were Arsenal fans at the same time.
The advantage of doing so was that the team was more familiar with each other, and Twain also had less to worry about. With the ability of the current England players, they might not be able to play out too complicated tactics. Nottingham Forest had a tacit understanding. Even with a change of manager, the team's strength did not suffer too much.
Twain responded to changes with consistency. The tactics that he developed before the start of the game made all the England players feel very familiar — these were the essence of the training they had received since they were young …
※ ※ ※
The Crimson Stadium was very different from the City Ground stadium. The players' locker room and tunnel at the City Ground stadium were very simple. Although it had been renovated in the 1990s for hosting the UEFA European Championship, it was still shabby compared to the modern Crimson Stadium after nearly 20 years.
Twain pushed open the locker room door and walked out. He had to appear on the field earlier than the players.
Walking in the wide and bright tunnel, he turned into the hall.
The hall was more than twice the size of the one at the City Ground stadium. The polished marble floor was like a mirror, reflecting everything that was on it. Twain looked down at himself at his feet and tilted his head for a while. Then he turned right and walked into the tunnel dedicated to the field.
The tunnel was wider than the one that came out of the locker room. In Twain's view, it could even fit two Hummer jeeps side by side. From this detail, it was no wonder that the Nottingham Forest Football Club had been plagued by a financial crisis — the budget to build such a good stadium was not a small amount.
The Nottingham Forest emblem was painted on the left wall of the tunnel — a large white oak tree on a red background. On the right side of the wall, there was a sentence: Apart from victory, there was still victory!
This was Tang En's suggestion back then. He hoped to use this phrase to motivate the Forest players. Before every home game, they would see this phrase as soon as they turned their heads from the stadium. It would make them firmly remember what Nottingham Forest's tradition was.
Unfortunately, he has already left the team and it is unknown whether this sentence will still be carried out.
Tang En stopped in the passageway and turned sideways to look at that sentence, lost in thought.
Above the players' tunnel at Anfield, there was a sentence: "This is Anfield." This phrase was the brainchild of the famous Reds Godfather Shankly. He hoped that every team that came here to play would understand who they were playing against and that this was their hell. Nowadays, many Liverpool players would raise their hands to pat this symbol before entering the stadium for good luck. It had almost become a tradition.
Tang En, who was still Forest's manager, also hoped to use this method to remind his players that the pursuit of victory would always be Nottingham Forest's tradition, whether it was during Clough's era or Tony Twain's.
Footsteps sounded behind him. Des Walker walked to Tang En's side and similarly discovered the words on the wall.
"It really has Tony Twain's style." He laughed.
Tang En ignored his teasing and just turned to walk to the stadium outside. "Let's go."
Before Tang En had walked out, he could already see the media gathered outside and waiting for a long time through the exit. The number of media today seemed to exceed the number of people a normal friendly match should have. Even if this was a publicity event deliberately arranged by the Forest Football Club, it was still too much.
Tang En obviously knew who these people were coming for. He suddenly slowed down his pace and let Des Walker, who was following closely beside him, overtake him.
Outside, all he could see were countless frenzied media. What else was waiting for him that he could not see?
His heartbeat suddenly sped up. It made him more nervous than playing in a Champions League final.
He could ignore the mockery and insults from his enemies, but he could not ignore how his supporters would treat him now.
But he could not always hide here and not go out. With so many media staring at him, he did not want them to see a weak side of him.
He rearranged the collar of his suit. This action seemed superfluous, as he was still dressed properly up until now.
Then he strode out.
When his figure appeared in the field of view of the reporters, the flashes of the cameras had already started working. And when he completely walked out of the tunnel and appeared in front of tens of thousands of people, the flashes were already connected, and the clicking sound of the shutter was endless.
Tang En was still able to maintain his composure in the face of the reporters. He walked towards the home team's technical area as if nothing had happened.
Des Walker saw this scene from next door and could not close his mouth after his mouth opened wide. He really wanted to remind Tony that he had walked in the wrong direction …
The fans in the stands who noticed this also let out a burst of laughter.
"Aha, what did we see? Tony Twain walked in the wrong place! Haha! This is too rare. Does he still think he is the manager of Nottingham Forest? "The commentator in charge of the game had a tone and tone as if he wanted the world to be in chaos.
Sitting in the home team's technical area, David Kerslake saw Tang En walk straight over and looked a little embarrassed. Eastwood, on the other hand, continued to observe with interest. He wanted to see how the boss would resolve this crisis.
In fact, the moment Tang En turned, he knew he had walked in the wrong direction. He had habitually walked towards the home team's technical area at Nottingham Forest's home ground, but he had forgotten his current identity. But he did not immediately turn back. That would be too obvious. He continued to walk forward and thought of a countermeasure.
When he was still far away from Martin O 'Neill, Tang En had already taken the initiative to extend his hand. This was a gesture to shake hands with the other party.
Seeing this, O 'Neill also got up and walked towards Tang En. The two men shook hands in front of the swarming media.
"So it's just a handshake." The commentator was very disappointed.
The laughter disappeared when they saw Tang En and O 'Neill holding hands. Perhaps the crowd waiting to watch the show also felt that this result was too boring.
But the reporters had other ideas. Was this considered an official handover between the new and old Forest managers? They had even helped the two of them design their lines.
Tang En: I'm handing the team over to you. Don't let me down.
O 'Neill: Don't worry. Our goal is still to be champions!
But the two men did not say anything. They just shook hands. Then O 'Neill gave up the technical area behind him. He knew that Tang En was not only greeting him.
Sure enough, after Tang En let go of O 'Neill's hand, he walked towards the assistant manager, Kerslake.
Kerslake also wanted to shake hands with Tang En like O 'Neill did, but he did not expect Tang En to hug him.
Tang En, who was hugging Kerslake, still did not say anything. He just patted his hand hard. Then he let go of Kerslake, who had yet to recover, and walked towards Eastwood.
Eastwood was not as wooden as Kerslake. He smiled and hugged Tang En. He even whispered in Tang En's ear, "Good luck, Boss."
Tang En shook hands and hugged everyone in the Nottingham Forest coaching staff. The media followed the whole process and filmed the scene.
"He looks more like the owner here than Martin O 'Neill. Look at how calm he is …" John muttered to himself in the stands.
"He won't be calm in a while!" Bill screamed at the side.
John ignored him. He stood in the new stands and applauded Tang En.
There were not many people in the stadium who could still be like John. More people, like Bill, booed.
They clearly could not forget what Tang En had done two months ago.
After Tang En hugged and shook hands with all the Forest coaches, he walked towards the away team's technical area surrounded by reporters. At this time, the fans' boos became more intense and obvious.
Just like that, Tang En came to his seat under the overwhelming boos.
Kerslake looked at Tang En worriedly, and then looked around. He had imagined the scene of Tang En's return, but he did not expect the Forest team to dare to love and hate to this extent.
The commentator was also a little dazed. He muttered, "Listen to the boos. They're all for the same person …"
The television broadcast gave Tang En a very long close-up. On the screen, Tang En kept his lips tightly pursed. He did not raise his head to look at the fans in the stands. His gaze seemed to be unfocused as it fell into the distance.
"How pitiful. This is how the former Forest King received his welcome. Ha! "Carl Spicer mocked from the stands. His program at night had another topic to talk about.
Some of the more radical fans not only booed Tang En, but also gave him the middle finger and scolded.
Tang En's face was expressionless. Beside him, Walker looked at him worriedly, afraid that his heart could not take such a blow. But Tang En did not suddenly collapse. He stood where he was, allowing the boos to ring above his head and the reporters to surround and take pictures of him.
"I bet he must be regretting in his heart that he did not wear sunglasses when he came out." Spicer glanced at the television next to him, which was showing a close-up of Tang En's face.
Dunn, who saw this scene from the stands, sighed softly.
※ ※ ※
The boos did not stop. The players waiting in the tunnel, ready to come out, could hear it clearly. They gathered in twos and threes to discuss it.
"What's going on outside?"
"Who knows?"
"Cough … Well, it's all because of the boss."
"Booing him? It can't be? "The Forest players were very surprised. To hear boos directed at Tony Twain at Nottingham Forest's home ground was comparable to the orbital period of Comet Hale-Bopp, which only visited Earth once every 3,000 years.
The Forest players were surprised, and the discussion gradually grew louder. The England players next to them also heard it clearly, and they also became interested. The teams that had maintained the two lines of formation mixed together. They could not be blamed. The boos outside were too spectacular.
When the Forest team played in the City Ground stadium, the stands, which could only accommodate up to 30,000 people, once the collective boos erupted, the momentum was enough to make every visiting team feel a huge psychological pressure. Now that it was the Crimson Stadium, the capacity of 60,000 people did not just double the volume of the boos.
If a team was here as a guest, the boos from 60,000 people would be shared among 11 players. Now that all the boos were borne by one person, the pressure could be imagined. These players could not imagine how long they could last under such a high volume of boos if they were in Twain's shoes.
※ ※ ※
Tang En still stood motionless in front of the technical area.
John looked at the stubborn figure, and then looked around. The people who were desperately booing were the majority. He knew what he was doing would not be welcomed, but he still had to do it. Otherwise, he would feel sorry for his own conscience.
He called over a few of his companions who were in the same position as him, took out a red cloth from his backpack, handed one end to his companions, and held the other end himself.
The two men separated and pulled a certain distance apart. With a shake of their hands, a banner appeared in the stands.
Welcome home, Tony!
"Hey, John!" Bill looked angrily at his friend. What he did was equivalent to tearing down his own stage.
"Don't mind me, Bill. You boo your stuff, I'll do mine. Let's not get in each other's way. "John ignored Bill's threatening gaze and continued to hold the banner as he stood in his seat.
The director of the television broadcast also noticed the new banner that appeared in the stands. It was different from the surrounding slogans that insulted and ridiculed Tang En. This one was filled with warmth and was very eye-catching.
It was not known if Tang En saw it, but the camera first cut over.
"Looks like he's not completely isolated," the commentator said after seeing the banner.
"Tony." Walker, who noticed the banner, nudged Tang En to let him see.
Tang En turned his head and saw the banner that John and the others had raised. The corner of his mouth crooked, and for the first time, there was a clear change in his expression. This time, he smiled.
Then, he no longer cared about the reporters surrounding him and taking pictures. He turned around and sat back in the technical area.
※ ※ ※
When the players came out of the tunnel, the boos directed at Tang En finally stopped.
As this was a game to celebrate the opening of Forest's new stadium, the arrangements for the appearance of the players were different from normal games. The England team came out first, followed by Nottingham Forest's players. When each player came out, the broadcast would loudly announce his name, eliciting a warm response from the fans.
The Forest fans dedicated their cheers to the glorious Treble winning team. Every Forest player who came out received deafening cheers.
As the team captain, George Wood received the loudest cheers. However, he still maintained his cool characteristics and did not respond to the fans' cheers.
The last to run out was the center back, Pepe. He was paired with the Brazilian center back, Thiago Silva, in the starting lineup. The fans also gave him applause and cheers. However, he did not wave and greet like his teammates before him. Instead, he ran out with his head held high.
Before he ran onto the field to gather with his teammates, he made a turn midway and ran straight to the away team's technical area.
Then, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he did something that no one expected — he opened his arms and gave the unprepared Tony Twain a bear hug.
The cheers stopped abruptly. The huge Crimson Stadium suddenly fell into an awkward silence.
"… Pepe gave Tony Twain an unexpected hug. He seemed to be saying something in Twain's ear …" The commentator could not figure out what was going on with Pepe. As long as one was not a fool, they could see the hatred the Forest fans had for Twain. So, as a Forest player, why would he risk offending all the fans to express his affection to Twain? Could it be that he did not want to continue being a part of this team?
On the television screen, Twain was equally surprised. He was not surprised because of Pepe's action, but because of the words Pepe said in his ear.
"I'm sorry, Boss." Pepe whispered in his ear. At this time, the stadium was quiet, and his voice could be clearly heard by Twain. "I've decided to leave here. After playing this game, I'm going to Milan, Italy. AC Milan, that's my next stop … "
Hearing Pepe's words, Twain suddenly felt that the Champions League final two months ago was like a dream …
"I know why you left the team, so I don't want to continue staying here. Thank you, Boss. Thank you. The years I played under you were my most valuable asset. "
After Pepe finished speaking, he gave Twain another strong hug before letting go of him and running back to the field. This time, there were no cheers. If one listened carefully, they could hear some sporadic boos.
Twain was still sitting on the leather seat, staring blankly at Pepe, who had returned to the team.
"Pepe! You really did it! "Gareth Bale stared wide-eyed at the center back running back.
"Hehe, did you think I was joking?" Pepe smiled proudly as he returned. "I'm a man of my word!"
While Pepe was bragging about his "feat" to his teammates, Evan Doughty, who was on the podium, stared at his back with a gloomy expression. This was the first time someone in the team had openly challenged his authority. This was a dangerous signal. Originally, he had not intended to consider the offers the powerhouse teams would give Pepe. After all, he was the core of Forest's defense. But now, he had to change his mind. Having just won the Treble, the 31-year-old Pepe could still be sold for a good price. If he was a year late, he might not be able to sell even if he wanted to.
Twain did not need to look back to know what expression Evan Doughty, the chairman, had at that moment. The fans at the stadium collectively booed him, which must have made Evan very happy, because it meant that the fans did not aim their hatred at the club, but at him. That way, the pressure on him would be gone. But Pepe's actions showed that there were people within the team who were dissatisfied with the club's top management. This was a very dangerous sign. The locker room began to split up.
The photographers surrounding Twain all dispersed. Now, their target was the players. Thanks to them, Tang En could see Forest's players from his seat.
Those people were lining up for a group photo. This was not the kind of official family photo that every club would take before the season, but it was very likely to be the last relatively complete family photo in Tony Twain's era.
What could be more heart-wrenching than to watch the dynasty that he had built with his own hands gradually collapse from the side?
Twain thought for a long time but could not find it.
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