Lennon's performance still did not impress him because he received too little playing time.
After the game, Tang En and Lennon met.
Facing his mentor, Lennon poured out all the bitterness in his heart.
He was bought at Mourinho's request because Mourinho had a strong "winger complex." But after Zola came up, she was not optimistic about the injured Englishman, Lennon. If he could not play for a long time, he would not be able to guarantee his form. Even if Tang En stayed in Milan, he would not be able to see Lennon's best performance.
Tang En also told Lennon very seriously that if he still wanted to go to Spain, he had to work hard to fight for a chance to play. If he really could not get such an opportunity in Inter Milan, then it was better to choose a loan or a transfer.
If it was someone else who said this to him, Lennon would rather die than admit his failure in Italy. But facing Tang En, his former boss, he could only nod and accept the suggestion. He seriously considered whether he still wanted to waste his time in Inter Milan.
Perhaps English players were really not suited to play in a place like Italy. Not only Italy, but other countries as well. After the English players left their homeland, the number of successful players could be counted on one hand. Although the media always trumpeted them as one of the best star players in the world, reality proved that at least their ability to adapt was not good.
Then think about the only major international championship that the England team had won so far, the 1966 World Cup, which was held in England. Perhaps even the national team was the same. Outside of England, they did not know how to play football.
Tang En wanted to break this fate. It was not because he had surging patriotism in him, but because he wanted to prove that he was a truly outstanding manager who could lead such a lousy team to win the championship.
※ ※ ※
Lennon did not bring Tang En any surprises, but Tang En's former assistant manager made him look at him in a different light.
Tang En spent Christmas with his assistant, Des Walker, on the plane. But he did not feel depressed, because Nottingham Forest's performance made him very spirited, and he had a lot more to talk about with Walker.
It was not only Tang En and Walker who talked about the new Nottingham Forest manager during the trip. Now, all the media in England were paying attention to him.
When he took over the Forest team and became the team's interim manager, no one was optimistic about his future in the club. Some people even heard his full name for the first time … It couldn't be helped. Who asked Tony Twain to shine so brightly before? Being with him was like a star hidden behind the brilliant sun. Even if it was a first-class star, as long as it was close to the sun, humans would not be able to see its existence with the naked eye.
It was such a person who led the seemingly exhausted Nottingham Forest to three consecutive victories in the tightest devil's schedule at Christmas!
Moreover, the opponents they defeated weren't low-ranking fish, but mid-top opponents.
The seemingly unremarkable man pulled the Forest team out of the quagmire that continued to slide. Then he washed off the dirt on his body, readjusted his direction, and strode forward.
Even Twain had to admit in his conversation with Walker that Kerslake's performance was beyond his expectations. He had always been most optimistic about his colleague, Dunn, from China. He did not expect Kerslake to have quietly grown so much.
He could not stay still when he was directing the match, standing at the side of the field and whistling and gesturing. He looked like a passionate person, but he was very humble when he was being interviewed. He thought that the consecutive victories were all due to the players, and that he had only reignited the players' desire for victory.
To be honest, this Forest team had lost interest in winning after so many Trebles and experiencing so many twists and turns. To these people, as players of the club, they had obtained all the glory that could be obtained. So what reason did they have to continue to run forward as hard as they could? They were already standing at the top of the world, where else could they go?
If Tang En was still here, he would have told them that even though they were already standing at the top of the world, they had to continuously defeat the challengers that climbed up from below to push them down from the top if they wanted to fight forever. The challengers were as numerous as ants, and it was impossible to kill them all, so they could not stop for even a moment.
However, Flores only wanted to get rid of Tang En's influence and rebuild their glory. Such a reason was too unconvincing. Everyone was already glorious enough, shining with golden light from head to toe. If every champion had a ring to wear, they would have to use their toes to put on all the rings … Why would they fight to the death to restore glory with him?
As an outsider, Flores was helpless when faced with the Nottingham Forest locker room, and he would never be able to truly enter the core of this team.
However, Kerslake was different. He could reignite the players' desire for victory because he was a Forest person, and it was easier for him to gain the trust of the players. He was familiar with this group of players and knew what they wanted. They might not want to rebuild their glory, but they wanted to protect this glory. No one wanted to be the joke of winning the Treble last season, but not even being able to participate in the UEFA Europa League next season.
What Kerslake said in the interview was right. The main framework of this team was still present, and their ability was not to be underestimated. Losing consecutively was not due to a lack of ability, but a psychological problem. After following Tang En for so many years, he had learned Tang En's method of psychological adjustment, and it had an immediate effect on the Forest team.
While watching the match elsewhere, Tang En was also asked by the reporters what he thought of the Forest team's recent performance.
Although he was a man of few words about the Forest team in the past, now that his former assistant had become the acting manager of the Forest team and was performing rather well, Tang En had to praise Kerslake no matter what.
"He's doing very well. I hope he can continue doing this for a long time, and not just as an 'acting manager'. He has the ability to lead the Forest team out of this predicament … That's how I see it. David is a humble person, and good results are the best reward for him … "Of course, Tang En did not forget his current identity. To prevent others from thinking that he was too concerned about the Forest team, he added," I'm also very happy that the Forest national footballers can play in a stable environment. This is beneficial for them to maintain their form. "
Despite what he said, the media still knew that he paid the most attention to Nottingham Forest among all the English Premier League teams. They knew this from the many times he went to watch the Forest team live.
This person appointed people through favoritism. If his actions could bring glory to the England team, then so be it. If the England team failed in the UEFA European Championship, he would become the target of public criticism, and the Nottingham Forest England national footballers would be buried with him.
It was really hard to guess. In the past, he always appeared in front of everyone as a "protector of the young" and never passed the pressure on to the players. Instead, he chose to bear it alone, not caring if he had a sudden heart attack because of it. Why was it that after he became the manager of the national team, everything he did and said pushed the Forest national footballers into the teeth of the storm?
Was it true that they were bound together for good or ill?
What a madman's thinking.
※ ※ ※
The significance of Christmas and New Year to Tang En had become less and less. Every day was work anyway, and there was even more work during these two holidays. Without Shania by his side, there was no point in having a holiday or not. He might as well use crazy work to dilute the loneliness brought about by the longing.
Time passed very quickly. By the time Tang En finally built up a complete three-dimensional information about the English Premier League in his mind, it was already June 2015.
During this period, the national team played another three games, a friendly match against Israel and two UEFA European Championship qualifiers.
England achieved a complete victory in all of them.
A 3: 0 home win over Israel.
A 2: 0 away win over Ireland.
A 4: 0 home win over the weakest team in the group, Armenia.
Tony Twain's England team had not lost a game since its inception. The "Treble Winner" and "Godfather of Champions" halos on top of his head were shining brightly, making the media feel less disgusted by his arrogance and conceit a lot less.
The football world was such a reality. With results, you were a god. Without results, you were not even a human.
Of course, there were also people who disagreed with this. Tony Twain's staunch opponent, Mr. Carl Spicer, questioned the results Tang En had achieved so far on his show —
"Macedonia, Armenia, Australia, Ireland, Israel and Wales are not considered strong teams. They are all in the camp of 'weak teams.' And Serbia and Denmark, which Tang En thought were strong teams, are just so-so in my opinion. Our draw in the qualifiers was very good. Although this group has the most games out of all the groups, our opponents are very weak. Against a weak team, wasn't it normal for them to win the match easily? Why are there still so many people cheering for Tang En? If he can't even win against such a team, then he should be in the headlines. If you ask me, if you want to brag that Tony Twain will lead the England team to glory now, you should wait until he meets a really strong team … "
What is a really strong team?
"… At least a team like France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Brazil, Argentina …"
※ ※ ※
June was a harvest season. The major league tournaments were coming to an end. The clubs who had worked hard for a season should already know their final fate at this time. Those who fought to win the title, hoped to enter next season's European competitions, and fought to avoid relegation … June was the month of judgment.
In the past, this was often the time when Tang En's psychological pressure was the greatest. It was also the time when he was the busiest and most tired. Now, he could cross his arms in the stands and watch the tigers fight. The league championship, the cup championship, and the relegation spot that countless people fought for were not even worth mentioning in his eyes at the moment. He enjoyed the climax of every season's drama with the mood to watch a show.
David Kerslake had already proved that he could be an excellent manager. Although Nottingham Forest did not win the league tournament under his leadership, they returned to the UEFA Champions League. Thinking about what the Forest team had been doing in the summer before this season, it was already a very remarkable achievement.
Ranked fourth in the league tournament, the previous season's UEFA Champions League this summer needed to fight for the UEFA Champions League qualification. However, no one felt that it was an insult to them. The local media in Nottingham were glad for this result.
The turbulent Forest team had experienced an unforgettable season. They changed managers midway, were eliminated from the FA Cup and EFL Cup early, were ranked outside the top ten in the league tournament, and were eliminated after barely making it into the top 16 of the UEFA Champions League. Under such circumstances, Kerslake could still lead the team to fourth place in the league tournament, which was enough to prove his ability.
It was said that Evan Doughty was already considering giving Kerslake a long term contract. In Tang En's view, this was the only correct decision after a muddled season.
Kerslake did not have an illustrious past record or reputation to support him, but as a member of Nottingham Forest, he did not need to rely on these false reputations to manage the locker room. He had his own way of doing things, and he could easily get along with most of the players. They were familiar with each other, and there were no barriers in communication.
To Evan Doughty, Kerslake was also a very suitable candidate. Now, he must be very regretful. Why didn't he notice such an outstanding talent right under his nose? People who always looked far away would not care about the stones under their feet, so it was natural that they would trip and fall flat on their faces.
Kerslake was not the kind of manager with an endless unique personality. He would not always contradict his superiors, even if they were furious with him. Looking at how he served Tony Twain, one would know what kind of temper he had. Kerslake, the "good guy", would naturally not make irresponsible remarks about the club chairman's interference. This was his greatest strength. He loved Forest more than Tony Twain. Even if he was treated unfairly, he would not wash his hands of the matter like Twain did. It was said that Twain had once tried to poach him to be an assistant manager in England, but was rejected. It was hard to find such a loyal and obedient manager who could lead the team to victory.
The chairman had regained his confidence after going through a series of setbacks — Nottingham Forest's fans would definitely forget Tony Twain's name in just one more season. Eleven years ago, he used Manchester United as his role model. Now, this idea of his could no longer keep up with the times. His new idol was the club chairman of Real Madrid, Mr. Perez Florentino, who could cover the truth with one hand and was known as the "Godfather of Real Madrid" by others.
In Evan's eyes, as a club chairman, he would only be considered successful if he could do what he did.
Now, he had long forgotten the cold shoulder and humiliation he suffered at Bernabéu a year ago. Because even if they lost the Champions League title at home, Real Madrid was still the most influential team in the world. Their various transfer news would always easily occupy the headlines of major media outlets and attract the attention of fans from all over the world. They would cause a storm wherever they went and become the object of thousands of people's pursuit. They could make a country go crazy.
This kind of influence was the realm that Evan Doughty dreamed of.
After Tang En left Forest, Evan Doughty once reflected on why his team was not as influential as Arsenal on a global scale despite having won so many championships. In the end, he believed that it was Tony Twain who caused the team to not have many international superstars. Because the biggest star was himself, how could he allow others to snatch the glory that belonged to him? Every time Evan hoped that the team would buy one or two influential stars in the transfer market, Twain would always say that his team's structure was perfect and that he did not need those superstars to come in and ruin the atmosphere in the team's locker room. Now that he thought about it, he had lost so many opportunities …
Looking at Real Madrid's crazy "grab" of money in the commercial competitions in Asia, Evan Doughty could only sigh. So what if they could not win the championship? They had money and power!
Forest finally found their new captain, and Manchester United, under the leadership of Mourinho, regained the league title that they had lost for many years. Mourinho was also using results to prove that he was not worse than Tony Twain. He was also a manager who could bring the team a championship.
The UEFA Champions League also came to an end in Milan, Italy. Real Madrid, who lost to Nottingham Forest last season, finally defeated the Serie A powerhouse Juventus at San Siro Stadium and picked up the 10th UEFA Champions League title in their history.
For this Champions League title, the people of Real Madrid had waited for a full 13 years. From "nine" to "ten", they had also completed the transformation from quantitative to qualitative change. Winning ten Champions League titles in the UEFA Champions League, they had accomplished an unprecedented feat.
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