champion godfather

Chapter 302 Volume [-] Red Forest League Cup Champion?
After Nottingham Forest showed a challenge to the top players above them, it looked like Liverpool would not be able to hold on in the first place.

On February 20th, in the seventh round of No.[-] League, Forest won the away game against Southampton, while Liverpool lost to Birmingham in the away game.When the European Champions Cup knockout round is about to kick off, the Liverpool people seem to be a little absent-minded.

The Forest team overtook Liverpool with a three-point advantage, ranking fifth with 46 points!
This is a remarkable result. What makes Tang En most happy is not the overtake of Liverpool, but the points gap with Everton - two points, one game can solve everything.Everton lost 0:1 to Chelsea at home in this round of the league.

In this way, the ranking and points of the top six in the league are Chelsea with 68 points, Manchester United with 59 points, Arsenal with 57 points, Everton with 48 points, Nottingham Forest with 46 points and Liverpool with 43 points.

After this round of the league, the Forest team will start preparing for the UEFA Cup, so this can be regarded as the end of a stage.The media in Nottingham sang praises for Tang En and his team.Everyone agreed that the young head coach Tony Twain was able to achieve this result.As a newly promoted Forest team, after halfway through the league, they actually ranked in the top five, ranking above Liverpool. This was something that most Forest team fans could not have imagined before the season.

"...This young Forest team reminds people of O'Reilly's Leeds United team. They are young, full of drive, and they are not afraid of anything. To be honest, I like Coach Tony Twain's team very much. They It has brought a breath of fresh air to the current Premier League, remember what we said after the end of last season, Mark?" Lineker praised the Forest team on the "Today's Match" program, "I said this It's going to be a very good season in the Premier League. As it turns out, I was right."

The Premier League this season is indeed different from previous years. The strong intervention of Mourinho, the weakness of traditional strong teams such as Liverpool and Manchester United, the rise of Everton, and the return of Nottingham Forest have made the Premier League in recent years extremely chaotic. But it is also very attractive-because there are more suspense, no longer like the previous seasons, everyone knows that the league championship is just a toy for Manchester United and Arsenal to compete with each other, Chelsea?Maybe it can cause some trouble, but it can't be a big tool.I dare not even think that Everton can be ranked fourth in the league and is very hopeful of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

Before the season, everyone was saying that Nottingham Forest's goal this season was relegation, but now I am afraid that no one will mention this topic anymore.

However, Tang En knew very well that the forest team's current results had a lot to do with them catching up with a good time.If it is the first few seasons, or wait for a season, when the new structure of the Premier League is basically formed, it will be difficult for the Forest team to get a place.And this season is Mourinho's first season at Stamford Bridge. His arrival has brought a great impact to the ball belts such as Arsenal and Manchester United. Arsenal have experienced a fantastic season, just like Climb to the top, now it's time for them to descend.And Manchester United's weakness seems to have a lot to do with Ferguson's aging - after the FA Cup, when Twain and Ferguson were drinking together, Ferguson vaguely mentioned that he wanted to leave Manchester United after the end of the season, He also asked Tang En in a joking tone if he wanted to come to Manchester United to coach, but Tang En declined in the same joking tone.

If it weren't for the chaotic situation in the Premier League this season, Twain's little experience would not be able to lead the Forest team to this point.Lineker said that the Forest team disrupted the inherent pattern of the Premier League and made this season's Premier League look good, with suspense abounding.But in fact, Tang En, who knew this period of history, understood that it wasn't the emergence of the Forest team that broke the original pattern of the Premier League. This pattern was about to be broken. Without the Forest team, there would be Mourinho's Chelsea.His appearance just made the already chaotic Premier League even more chaotic... Then he was able to fish in troubled waters and take advantage of the fire.

The forest team, which won No.5 in the league, had high morale and played well in the next UEFA Cup.

In the UEFA Cup round of 2, Nottingham Forest's opponent is the Austrian team Grazer_AK (Grazer_AK), which is not too strong.In the first round, the Forest team played away. In terms of strength, the Forest team was a head higher than the opponent, but Graz AK played at home. This is a favorable factor that cannot be ignored. In the end, the two sides drew 2:[-].Twain is very satisfied with this result. Scoring two goals in the away game means that most of their bodies have reached the top [-] of the UEFA Cup.

Back home, the Forest team defeated Graz AK 2-0 amidst the cheers of the fans, and successfully advanced to the top [-].

At this point, the European goals Tang En set for the Forest team before the season were basically completed. The Forest team not only broke into the knockout stage, but also reached the top [-]. As a team that has been absent from the European arena for eight years It is said that such a result is enough to announce their return.

The question that Twain needs to consider now is——do we want to continue?

He decided to ask Don for his opinion.

"...I think the team now has the strength to go further in the UEFA Cup, but I'm not sure if it will continue to go forward..." During dinner, Tang En raised his doubts at the dinner table.

After quietly listening to Tang En's question, Tang asked back: "How far is farther?"

"Uh, I don't know...Maybe it's the final eight, maybe the final four..."

"If it's not the championship, then what's the difference between the top four and the top sixteen?" Tang En asked Tang En speechlessly.

Yes, I want to go further, why?What is the goal after going further?Isn't taking one more step the goal of victory?

"If you are not sure about winning the championship, I suggest giving up the UEFA Cup. If you..."

Tang En interrupted Tang's analysis, "I decided to give it a try. No matter what the result is, it's always right to try."

"Abandon the league?"

"No... It's not considered giving up, it's just a temporary transfer of the work center... You know, it's just a strategic adjustment..." Tang En himself said it with some reluctance. Did he ever think about giving up the league?

The glory of winning the UEFA Cup is too tempting. Twain didn't dare to think about it half a season ago, but it doesn't mean he still doesn't dare to think about it now.If I can lead the team to win the UEFA Cup, I will also be the head coach with the European champion in hand...

Thinking of this, Dunn couldn't help himself.

This is his dream... Compared with this, there is no difference between the top four or the top six in the league. Even if he can't get the top six in the league or the European qualification for next season, he is willing to do so.

"It's decided like this. The UEFA Cup championship is the goal of the Forest team this season." At the dinner table, Dunn decided on the direction of the Forest team's efforts for the next half season, even though he looked a little flippant with a knife and fork in his hand. ...

Hearing what Tang En said, Tang who was sitting opposite opened his mouth slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he still didn't say anything.

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In the second day's training session, Tang En told the coaching staff that he decided to temporarily give up the league and focus on the UEFA Cup.He didn't have unanimous support, which worried Chris Rucker.He has never expected to win the UEFA Cup. For him, the domestic league is the foundation and the top priority.

Originally, the forest team had a very good momentum in the league. They have surpassed Liverpool and are only two points away from Everton. As long as they continue to put pressure on Everton, they can replace them and become fourth in the league. At the end of the season, they will be able to participate in the European Champions Cup qualifiers next season.

Taking advantage of the time after the training was over, Chris Lack stopped him in Twain's office, intending to ask clearly why he suddenly became so interested in the UEFA Cup champion overnight?
"Tony..." The voice reached Tang En's ears before he entered the door.He looked up to see Chris Rucker who hurried in and smiled.

"I know what you want to ask me, sit down, David." Tang En pointed to the chair.

Chris Lark was also polite, and sat down and asked, "Tony, I don't understand why you are suddenly so interested in the UEFA Cup championship."

Tang En sat casually at a corner of the table, and said with a smile, "Isn't every coach interested in chasing championships?"

This is not bad, but Chris Lark didn't intend to continue with this idea. He persuaded Tang En from another angle: "Tony, we are in a very good league situation now, why should we give up the league to pursue that? The UEFA Cup champion? Do you know who our next UEFA Cup opponent is?"

"Sporting Lisbon." Dunn said lightly, as if he didn't take his opponent to heart. "Don't worry, now they don't have Figo and they don't have Cristiano Ronaldo."

"Of course, Sporting Lisbon is not as strong as it used to be, but they still have the quality ... to knock us out."

"But it's not like we don't have a chance to beat them. David, I know what you're worried about. But isn't that what football is supposed to be like? We always have to take risks, don't we? No victory is necessarily ours. Sometimes we need to gamble. It's so boring to always follow the set plan." Tang En shrugged, then looked up at the clear sky outside. "I've been thinking a lot lately when we won the Carabao Cup last season, it was exciting... exciting."

"But... isn't it exciting to get a ticket to the Champions League next season?"

"Compared to the champion and the European champion, it's still a little bit worse." Tang En said to Chris Lark with a smile, as if he was not angry that the assistant coach insisted on different views from himself on this matter.

Hearing what Tang En said, Chris Rack was stunned for a while, and then he murmured: "Well... maybe it is because you have such ambition that you can lead this team. If you make up your mind, then I will help you you."

"Thank you, David." Tang En's thanks were sincere. He was really lucky that he didn't encounter the power struggle scandals in those wealthy teams.Although the strength of the small club is not good, it also has the advantages of a small club. At least the people here are very simple, they all love this team deeply, and they all consider this team wholeheartedly, and there is no evil intention.

For example, this is for David Chrislake, who studied as a coach under Paul Hart with him and is now working as his assistant without any complaints.

※ ※ ※

The assistant coaches have no objections, and the coaching staff has basically unified their thinking.Currently, the forest team's top priority is to defeat the Portuguese powerhouse Sporting Lisbon in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals, and then launch their low-key assault on the UEFA Cup championship -- Twain's plan to win the UEFA Cup is unknown to the media. Naturally, no one is hyping this topic.

Just finished the match against the Graz AK team, two days later the Forest team ushered in the No.20 eight-round opponent Blackburn at home.Due to the continuous battles in this game, Dunn adopted a rotation system. The appearance of a large number of substitute players did not weaken the strength of the Forest team too much. Those hungry players worked extra hard to gain a better impression in front of the head coach. The tired Forest team was forced to a 2:2 tie at home.

For this score, everyone's reaction is - "normal".Having played so many games in a row, in both the league and the European competition, it is already very good not to lose.No one thinks that the Forest team has shifted its focus. Even Moyes is still having a headache for the aggressive Forest team. He has not noticed that his main competitor has not taken the league seriously.

The time has entered March, and there are still more than two months before the end of the league. The Forest team is ranked fifth, and Liverpool, which is ranked sixth, has one game less and still has 43 points. In order to get rid of Forest behind them, Moyes' Everton With the team's entanglement and desperate efforts, 28 points have been accumulated after 51 league rounds.It seems that the point gap between them and the Forest team has been widened to four points, but Moyes cannot be completely relieved in his heart, because he is also very aware of the situation of his team. Without Gravesen, the winter break has not been successful. Introducing Arteta and seeing the wonderful performance of the Spaniard after he came off the bench in the No.20 [-]-round league, Moyes felt sorry—if he had been more resolute at the beginning, if he had directly offered to buy instead of renting out , maybe before Twain intervened, he had already negotiated personal treatment with Arteta.Arteta is not someone who picks the team. At that time, he couldn't wait to absorb the outline to get rid of the quagmire of Real Sociedad. No matter which team came to him, he would probably nod in agreement.

Moyes' Everton is gritting its teeth, hoping to widen the point gap with the Forest team when the Forest team is now fighting on two lines and the schedule is intensive, so that there will be more room for maneuver in the future.

League No.20 nine rounds, on March [-], Nottingham Forest challenged Middlesbrough away.

This time, the Forest team still sent out the same lineup as in a league game.

Lost to Forest in the League Cup final, and also lost to Forest in the first half of the league. McLaren finally got the chance to take revenge this time.Middlesbrough took advantage of the right time, place and people, and defeated Nottingham Forest, where half of the main players played and half of the main players rested 2:0.

The media finally noticed that something was wrong. The UEFA Cup game would have to wait until six days later, and now it was not a double match a week. There was really no reason for the Forest team to implement rotation in this game.What was even more wrong, after losing the game, facing the complacent McLaren, Tony Twain's performance turned out to be extraordinarily calm!

This was unbelievable. Ever since the League Cup final, the media knew that Dunn and McLaren didn't like each other.In the first half of the league, after the Forest team defeated Middlesbrough 2:1 at home, Twain was very happy at the press conference, it was beyond words, while McLaren always had a gloomy face, and also expressed disappointment. Put it on your face for everyone to see.

Now, after McLaren and Tony Twain switched roles in the first half of the season, not only was there no cloud over Twain's face, but it was calm...

This is not in line with Twain's character. In the past, after he lost to the most despised McLaren, he might read the post-match summary as scripted, and then get up and leave the press conference early.Now he actually sits there and listens to McLaren praising Middlesbrough's excellent performance, how he suppressed the Forest team's offense, how he defended a powerful center like Viduka, and how he made Albertini fall into the defensive quagmire. get away...

He didn't refute at all, and waited for McLaren to finish these words.He said slowly that he was satisfied with the team's performance, because "young players and players who usually don't get too many opportunities to play have got enough opportunities to play, which is extremely important for their growth."

Does he regard the league as a place to train new players?Confused?How can the league be placed in this position?To train a rookie, he should be in the League Cup or FA Cup, not the league!
Is this person arrogant or ignorant?

Even McLaren, who was originally very happy sitting beside him, had to squint at Tang En, thinking that he must be deliberately slapping his face to make himself fat, and wanted to anger himself.But... I'm sorry, Mr. Tony Twain, I'm not an uncircumcised child.

Tang En stood up, stretched out his hand to McLaren, and said with a smile, "Good luck, Mr. McLaren."

"Good luck to you too, Mr. Tang En." McLaren replied with the same smile.
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I'm sorry, I'm not feeling well, and I only got up in the afternoon. (To be continued, if you want to know what happens next, please visit www.CMFU.COM, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
(End of this chapter)