champion godfather

Chapter 693 Volume Six

Piqué's departure made Twain see clearly the current situation - he originally thought that the team's weak points were the left and right full backs, but now he suddenly realized that his central defenders were already a bit stretched.It turned out that the team's main match was Pepe and Piqué, and Kompany and Ayala made the second plan.Now that Piqué is gone and Ayala is old, the only ones who can really play are Pepe and Piqué. Morgan can only get chances to play in competitions such as the League Cup and the FA Cup, and important games cannot be counted on.

So now the schedule of finding a full-back must be put aside, and the center-back should be given priority.The full-backs can be a little weaker, but the central defenders must not be weak.

The time has entered August, and the opening of the new season is less than half a month away.The Charity Shield is less than ten days away.

This summer, the team's signings progressed slowly.This is caused by many reasons.First of all, due to the success of these two seasons, Tang En believed that the structure of the team was very reasonable and he was unwilling to make too many adjustments, so it was doomed not to buy a large number of new players this summer.Secondly, most of the players that Twain favored were "famous and famous", and they were not willing to leave the new club.Thirdly, Nottingham Forest Club couldn't afford much money to support Twain's actions in the transfer market. Not only that, they also needed Twain to use the money he earned from selling players to "supplement their family".

The life of the European champions is like this, and Nottingham Forest is the only one.

In terms of defenders, Tang En had been drooling over someone four years ago. He thought it was a good time to make a move this summer, but he never expected to be rejected again.

Micha Richards of Manchester City.He is tall and big, and he can play both central defender and right back, which is very in line with Tang En's requirements for players to specialize in multiple skills.

A few years ago, when he approached Stuart Pierce to buy someone, he was rejected outright.In desperation, he had no choice but to buy Sun Jihai.Now that Pierce has left Manchester City, the Manchester City club has also fallen into another crisis.Tang En thinks that this is a good time to buy Richards. Isn't summoning Richards just like playing with the reputation of Nottingham Forest's double crown?
He was wrong.

The Manchester City club is indeed encountering some difficulties at present.The Thai government has issued a notice to freeze Thaksin's property.Thaksin, who has lost most of his property, will find it difficult to maintain the operation of the Manchester City club. Who cares about a small football club under the desperation?There are many rumors in the outside world that a certain consortium has taken a fancy to Manchester City and wants to acquire it.But Thaksin himself denied it all. He admitted that the current situation is not good, but the Manchester City club is still under his name, and everything is under control.

Twain didn't believe what this Thai said. There must be something wrong with the Manchester City club.So if you go to buy people at this time, you might be able to pry people who can't be moved normally, such as Richards.

He was full of joy in the offer, and the Manchester City club refused to listen to it-"Richards is not for sale."

After raising the offer, the same sentence was still waiting for him—"Micha Richards is not for sale."

The third time I went, this time it was a little different. "We are reluctant to sell Richards to a direct competitor."

These words made Dunn very angry.Manchester City and my team dare to call themselves "direct competitors"?Do you think too highly of yourself? !Lao Tzu's team is a double champion and has won the European Champions Cup for two consecutive years. How old is your little Manchester City?I have never been the only one who refuses people so strongly, and that Mark Hughes dares to cross in front of me! (He had long forgotten the fact that Hughes was older than him...)
He didn't make a fourth offer because it would make Nottingham Forest look cheap in front of a domineering Manchester City.Tang En didn't want to bow his head to anyone.Sell ​​whoever you like!Even if it rots in your own mouth, it's none of my business!
In this way, the seeds of hatred towards Manchester City were planted in Tang En's heart.The friendly relationship between the two clubs during Pierce's tenure became in name only because of one Richards.

So some media said that Tang En is a narrow-minded person, which is absolutely true...

With no business or favor, Tang En could only continue to look for other candidates.

He wanted to buy Carvalho, but Scolari would not let him go.The reason was the same as that of Manchester City - "We will not sell important players to direct competitors." Twain wasn't angry at all when Chelsea said that, because Chelsea were indeed Nottingham Forest's competitors.

Argentine Garay is booked by Real Madrid; Juan Roma won't let him go; Naldo is reluctant to leave Werder Bremen...

In the end, Tang En had no choice but to turn his gaze back to England.

This time, Tang En did not intend to buy any young central defenders.The most important thing in the defense is experience, and experience is often directly proportional to age.Therefore, Tang En planned to ask for a central defender who was a little younger.

He set his sights on Jonathan Woodgate, who was still at Middlesbrough.

Although in Real Madrid due to frequent injuries, he only played nine games for Real Madrid in two years, and was called the "British patient" by the Spanish media, and even became a model of the glass man in world football for a while.But in recent years, he has done a good job in Middlesbrough, and the injury seems to have gone away from him. Under the training of Southgate, the former famous defender in England, his level has also made great progress. He became the captain of Middlesbrough.There will be at least two chances to play against each other every season. Tang En is naturally very concerned about this former Real Madrid player. After observing for several seasons, Tang En found that Woodgate is the candidate that the team needs now.He decided to make a move.

Originally, Ramos wanted to bring the former England's main central defender to White Hart Lane in January this year, but Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough did not agree on the transfer fee. Before closing, the two sides announced that the transfer had officially broken down.So Woodgate stayed on in Middlesbrough.

The "British patient" who has stepped out of the shadow of Real Madrid has regained his confidence in Middlesbrough, and now it is time to look forward to a new future.Not being able to join Tottenham Hotspur, which is aiming to qualify for the Champions League, made Woodgate a little frustrated, but it doesn't matter, he will soon know the meaning of the Chinese idiom "Lost East, Gain Sangyu".

Nottingham Forest have offered Middlesbrough £800m in the hope of taking Woodgate away.Anyway, if the money is not spent, it will be returned to the club. Twain doesn't care about the 100 million or 200 million less at this time - Tottenham Hotspur reported 650 million to Middlesbrough, and finally added it to 700 million. Life and death refused to add.

800 million is the price Middlesbrough wants.And Southgate has already made one thing clear, that is-Woodgate's heart is no longer at the Riverside Stadium.He was very happy when Tottenham wanted to acquire him. Now that he has changed to a higher-level Nottingham Forest, how could the 28-year-old central defender not be tempted?
Soon the head coach of Middlesbrough saw Woodgate's speech in the newspaper when he was interviewed by Nottingham's local media: "...I think it's time to pursue my dream on a bigger stage..."

Although a bit reluctant, Southgate knows what to do with his identity, and Middlesbrough will definitely not be able to keep players who are favored by big teams.

In the end, Woodgate joined Nottingham Forest for 800 million pounds. The two parties signed a three-year contract. The details of the treatment were not disclosed to the outside world, but it is said that it must be higher than when he was in Middlesbrough.

His joining was dubbed by the English media as "Nottingham Forest has become a veritable forest, and the team has piles of wood." It means George Wood (Wood) and Freddie Eastwood (Eastwood) in the team, And just joined Jonathan. Woodgate (Woodgate).And it is a coincidence that these three "woods" just form the central axis of the team in their positions-forwards, central midfielders and central defenders.

The Chinese media even explained this interesting coincidence in their own way: "Two trees make a forest, and three trees make a forest. When there is a 'forest', there is also a 'forest'. Nottingham Forest is finally worthy of being called a 'forest'."

Tang En, who solved the problem of the central defender, was in a good mood. He also joked to the reporters at the press conference welcoming Woodgate to join: "If the player has 'Wood' in his name, then congratulations to that person, he will have a great chance of joining. We are Nottingham Forest!"

Woodgate also expressed his position: "I am very happy to join Nottingham Forest. I don't mind people making fun of my name, which shows that I have a tacit understanding with Nottingham Forest. I hope to help the team win more championships here. Injuries? That's a thing of the past..."

While these words were still echoing in everyone's ears, Woodgate was injured and left the field the next day after joining the team...

Fortunately, the post-match inspection is only a minor injury and will not affect the new season.It's just that multiple injuries made Woodgate a little sensitive.

Tang En let out a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, otherwise I would be the laughing stock of England."

"It was a gamble. Woodgate was never a strong centre-back," Tang said. "If you decide to buy him, you must be prepared to bear the psychological pressure he will bring to you after his injury."

"Anyway, we rotate." Dunn shrugged.

※ ※ ※

Four days after Woodgate arrived at Nottingham Forest, the team ushered in the first game of the new season-the Charity Shield with FA Cup champions Portsmouth at the new Wembley Stadium.

Although this was the first time Tang En and his team participated in the Charity Shield Cup, they showed the momentum of defending both the league and the Champions Cup.Portsmouth simply couldn't resist.

And the rotation of the new season has been implemented since this game.

The newly joined team Thiago replaced George Wood in the team's starting lineup.Woodgate and Shaheen sat in the stands, they were not selected for the big list.

Shaheen is still receiving psychological treatment, while Woodgate is because of the injury on the second day of joining.

Petrov replaced Ribery's starting position, van der Vaart is still on the front midfielder, and a young Lennon is on the right.The forwards are Bendtner and Arshavin.Starting from this season, Twain will continue to increase Bendtner's chances to play, so that he will gradually become the team's top center forward.

Ayala and Kompany are combined at the central defender position, and Pepe, who has lost his regular partner, sits on the bench.The left back is Bell, and the right back is Sun Jihai.The goalkeeper was replaced by Akinfeev.

From the beginning of this season, the English league has made a major reform.For many years, the bench in the English league has only been allowed to have five people at most, which has caused many players to lose the opportunity to enter the big list and look forward to coming off the bench.To some extent, this rule is not suitable for the development of English football level, because two less positions means two less opportunities to train players.Last season, Ferguson proposed that the FA add bench positions to the internationally accepted seven players. His suggestion was immediately responded by the seven clubs.And Tony Twain was the first coach to stand up and express his approval and support.Even Ferguson's mortal enemy Arsene Wenger stood in the same trench as Ferguson this time.

So the English Football Association followed suit and increased the number of bench positions from five to seven at the beginning of the new season.

Nottingham Forest's bench now has Van der Sar, Pepe, Barnes, George Wood, Ribery, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Beckham.In the last season, this is the absolute main force of the team.

Half a season ago, when Twain challenged Portsmouth with a starting lineup that was almost the same as the current starting lineup, the Portsmouth people thought they were insulted, and Nottingham Forest was too arrogant, and now they will no longer Will look at it that way.Because they have learned a very profound lesson...

So in this game, Portsmouth's new coach Tony Adams put on a defensive posture, trying to put Nottingham Forest into a hard fight.

This summer, Tony Twain was letting the team practice how to face the enemy's dense defensive attacks, especially the attacking routine in the middle.He didn't feel too surprised by Portsmouth's approach.Today's Nottingham Forest is the target of public criticism. When facing them, any team will not rush forward to attack them foolishly. That will only make them die faster.

Standing firm and counterattack is the kingly way.Win like Nottingham Forest...

But they picked the wrong opponent.

Twain asked the team to strengthen long-range shooting and cooperation in the middle, and continue to attack the middle. This may not be able to score immediately, but it can cause huge psychological pressure on the opponent and make them mess up.In the No.201 minute, his arrangement paid off: Nottingham Forest's high-pressure policy made the Portsmouth people dizzy, French defender Distin scored an own goal, and Nottingham Forest led 1:0.

For Nottingham Forest, the game will be easier after leading.The opponent must press out to fight, so that the Forest team can reclaim the opponent's counterattack.This is what gives their opponents the most headaches...

The backward Portsmouth were helpless in the face of Nottingham Forest, which recovered their defense and waited for their counterattack. With the current strength of Portsmouth, it is really difficult to break through the iron wall of the Forest team... This has become a paradox. If you don't attack, you can't score, you can't equalize the score, and you can't equalize the score, you will lose the game ; But the offense may continue to lose the ball, so it will still lose the game.If you don't dare to invest in the attack because you are worried about losing the ball, you will lose, then you will lose if you invest in the attack...

Unlike the conflicted Portsmouth, it was much easier to drag the game into their familiar track after leading the Nottingham Forest.Until the end of the first half, Portsmouth did not get out of this paradox, so Nottingham Forest led 1:0 and ended the first half.

During the intermission in the second half, Coach Adams asked the whole team to show courage in the locker room, don't worry about this or that, and let's equalize the score first.What's more, Thiago just joined the Forest team not long ago, and there are still problems with the team's cooperation. Ayala is not as old as before, and his physical fitness has plummeted... As long as the Portsmouth players are willing to rush, they will definitely be able to start from the forest. A breakthrough was found in these two people!
Portsmouth, who had been reinvigorated with fighting spirit and confidence, returned to the field, intending to equalize with high spirits.This time they found that the person standing in front of them had changed.Thiago, who did not cooperate well with the team, was replaced by captain George Wood, and Ayala, who was too old to keep up with the rhythm, was replaced by the strong Pepe...

When George Wood stared at the Portsmouth players with his cold eyes, the Pompeii Army's spine was chilled.

In the final stage of the game, Portsmouth launched a suicidal attack. There was heroism, but there was no pathos.Nottingham Forest, who had been waiting for the whole game, finally got the best chance to counterattack.George Wood made a long pass from the backcourt. Bendtner leaned on the only central defender to stop the ball and broke into the penalty area to force a shot. After being saved by the goalkeeper, Arshavin followed up with a supplementary shot, 2:0!Nottingham Forest completely sealed the victory and won their first championship of the new season.

"It seems that Nottingham Forest continued their good form last season, and the rhythm of the whole game was under the control of Nottingham Forest. Poor Portsmouth, the gap in strength and experience made them lose this game Contest……"

That's how the TV commentator summed up the game.

※ ※ ※

Apart from being another new trophy that Twain won, this championship has another meaning.He let the newly joined players see the style and tradition of this Nottingham Forest - defensive counterattack and championship trophies.

This will help them integrate into the team quickly and play their role early.

In fact, the Charity Shield championship is not a big deal. In the early years, it was considered a terrible "curse"-whoever won the Charity Shield this season must lose the league championship.Now that the curse has been broken, no one takes this champion too seriously.

Just like what Tony Twain showed in this game - using half of the main force and half of the substitutes to play the rotation, the taste of training is very strong, as if this is still a summer warm-up match.Only a lackluster Portsmouth would be so hot to actually play this game as a final.It's a pity that their strength is slightly inferior, so they have to return with hatred.

For Nottingham Forest fans who have seen many major championships in the past two years, the Charity Shield is really a small championship.But it gave them a good reason to get together and drink and party.

No matter how low the champion's status is, he still has to raise his glass and shout:
"To endless champions! To annoying Tony! To our dearest Nottingham Forest... Cheers!!"

(End of this chapter)