Godfather Of Champions

For a period, the results of Forest Team were very unstable. Ever since their painful victory against Reading FC, the team which had great hopes pinned on them prior to the beginning of the season, had gone through three matches without winning. In the eight rounds of the Premier League, they had had four wins, three losses, and one draw, totaling an accumulation of 13 points. They had already gone down to seventh place in the League rankings.

Only George Wood and Ashley Young were barred from matches. George Wood was barred for eight matches, while Young had been barred for one. The latter had already returned to playing. There was not much of a severe loss to the formation.

The true reason behind the unstable performance of the team was Tang En’s suspension from three matches.

As the main manager of the team, he was also the soul of the team. Forest players were already used to having Tony Twain on the sidelines to direct them during their matches. Suddenly, the manager standing on the sidelines changed, and they were very unused to it.

People were mysterious creatures. When Tang En was at the sidelines, all the players were particularly enthused in matches. The moment Tang En got penalized and sent to the spectators’ stand for a span of three matches, the players seemed unable to muster up any interest.

Everyone had gotten used to hearing Tang En’s thunder-like roar of anger whenever they were dispirited. His scolding would jolt them awake from their muddling state. And today, though Dunn was a very capable manager—he already had convinced everyone to put aside their biases of his nationality with his abilities—there was still something he was lacking as a main manager.

Dunn himself knew it in his heart. He and Tang En were such different characters that it created a sort of contrast. The main manager that everyone acknowledged was someone like Tang En. It was useless for him to try anything else.

The experience of being interim manager for the three matches made him deeply aware of this. Although it could be said that Tang En had robbed him of his body and position, the team today was, through and through, Tang En’s team. The team was in sync with his nature.

Dunn sighed in relief when the three matches came to an end. The Chinese media had high regards for him taking on the position of interim manager of the team. Initially, there were a continuous stream of reports showing immense pride and brimming with exaggerated praises. Dunn himself, however, was very lowkey. He did not seem realise Chinese football was rising to the level of Europe’s top-tier League.

Now that there was not a single victory in the last three matches, the strength of reporting in the domestic media also weakened significantly, the enthusiasm abruptly abating. These people were at a complete loss as to what to tell the domestic readers. The person whom they had had praised to the sky was leading the team with such poor results.

England’s media was not concerned with Dunn. The person they cared about was Tony Twain. After the match with Man City, Nottingham Evening Post very proudly published a huge title of, “Be wary, that man is coming back!”

It was evident how much the Nottinghamians trusted Tang En.

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Though their prospects in the Premier League were not bright, they were raking in victories on their path in the Champions League.

October 18th. The third round of the Champions League Group Stage. Nottingham won the away match against Bordeaux from France with a score of 1:0. Because of this, Nottingham Forest maintained a complete victory against all the other opponents in their group.

Experts were already sure that it would be no problem for Tang En’s football team to advance from the Group Stage. All that was left was for the three teams to fight for the second advancement slot still available.

In fact, there were already people starting to guess about which teams Forest would be meeting after advancing from the Group Stage. Tony Twain had too many enemies in the European football scene. There would be a good show no matter who they met with. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, Inter Milan…

These would be massive wars akin to the level of Mars colliding with Earth.

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But Tang En himself did not have the time to imagine the future alongside those people.

Their progress in the Champions League was smooth. The team was enthused whenever it came to the European battles. In this aspect, he did not need to worry too much. Now, he needed to put his energy into the domestic fights. They had already slipped to 7th in the Premier League, three positions from Tang En’s goal of being in the top four in the Premier League. If this continued, the situation would only be disadvantageous for Nottingham Forest.

October 22nd. 9th round of the Premier League. They were challenging Everton in an away match, and going up against their old friend, Moyes.

The media was immensely interested in Tang En’s return. Numerous reporters waited at the locker room of the away team with their cameras aimed inside. The players were currently changing in the room and preparing to leave for their warm-up. The main lead of the day, Tony Twain, had yet to arrive. He was probably stuck somewhere, held back by reporters.

Dunn walked over. He shook his head at the three layers of reporters surrounding the doors, and walked in.

Just as Dunn was about to enter, an outburst of noise came from the outside. He did not need to stretch his neck for a view to know who arrived.

Tang En saw the reporters surrounding the door and took the initiative to wave and greet them. He beamed. “Everyone, it’s been a while.”

Some of the reporters greeted him back.

“Thank you very much for your concern, but I hope you guys can make way…” He pointed to the door. It had been completely sealed off by the media.

“If you have any questions, you can ask after the match ends. My apologies, but I don’t have much time.” The reporters opened a path for him, and he strode into the locker room, closing the doors.

The reporters who had yet to disperse heard a burst of laughter from within the locker room.

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“Everyone. You’ve all missed me, haven’t you? I’ve missed you too. Do you know why I’m only here now? I’ll tell you. It’s because I nearly walked up to the spectators’ stand.”

The players burst into laughter.

“Fortunately, I was stopped by one of the field’s staff on my way there. He asked me very strangely, ‘Mr. Tony, have you been suspended again?'” Tang En mimicked the expression and tone of the other party remarkably.

The laughter grew even more uproarious.

“I have to thank the staff who boldly spoke up. And I’m sure at the same time, Everton’s people would be hopping mad hearing about it, because they’ve lost a chance to beat us.”

Tang En grinned as he watched everyone laugh.

“I’m back, everyone. It’s no big deal.”

Like a dose of tranquilizers, his words calmed the worry and anxiety in the players’ hearts. It was obvious from how they could still laugh carefreely before the start of the match.

The mainstay of their team was back. There was truly nothing to be afraid of now. So what if it was an away match? No matter what, they had their Head to back them up.

“We’ve already gotten no wins for three straight rounds in the League matches, with two losses and one draw. I think the situation can’t be any much worse, so there’s no need to worry. Just let go and play well. Today, play exactly how you normally would. It’s not at all important who our opponents are.”

Tang En’s confident smile made the team feel as if it were true; it truly did not matter who their opponents were. The low morale from the past few matches rose instantly, returning to the maximum in a blink of an eye.

Dunn quietly watched by the side. With his personality, it was impossible for him to do something like using words to encourage the team.

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Moyes greatly valued this match. Though his opponents were having a rough streak recently, he did not underestimate them. In fact, with Tony Twain’s suspension lifted and his return to the team, Moyes was even more alert.

This match was going to be a tough fight; Nottingham Forest was difficult to deal with. He knew all that. But, of course, knowing it and doing it were two different things. The same went for doing it and achieving the desired effect.

On their home field, Moyes sent out their strongest formation to welcome the battle against a Nottingham Forest without George Wood. Since George Wood’s suspension, Forest’s starting defensive midfielder had consistently been the Chinese, Sun Jihai. It was also the breaking point that gave Arsenal the win. Moyes also hoped to find an opportunity to gain a victory from there; their main offense was set in the middle to launch a strong assault against Sun Jihai.

Naturally, Tang En would not willingly allow the opponents to do that. Albertini donned his armor and entered battle, defending with Sun Jihai. Arteta and Rafael van der Vaart both did not start. Forest had placed two defensive midfielders in the center of their midfield. Their attacks were entirely dependent on the wings and occasional long passes from Albertini.

Pepe had yet to recover from his injury, so Kompany and Piqué partnered up as the center backs.

Tang En showed a defensive stance in the away field. It appeared he was gunning for a draw.

Everton’s lineup was not weak. They were considered to be a level of mid-to-upper tier strength within the English Premier. Their goalkeeper was Tim Howard, loaned from Manchester United; centerbacks were the strong Nigerian, Joseph Yobo, and Lescott, loaned from Wolverhampton Wanderers; rightback was Phil Neville, Gary Neville’s brother, who transferred from Manchester United; leftback was Nuno Valente, Portugal’s national team player; midfield-wise, their core players were Australian national team player Tim Cahill, former Netherlands’ national footballer Andy van der Meyde, Scotland’s national footballer James Mcfadden, as well as Ireland’s national player Lee Carsley; forwards were former South Hampton’s best shooter, “Saint” James Beattie, and Andrew Johnson, whose speed was considered incredible in the English Premier League.

With this lineup, it would be no problem for them to fight for the qualifications of the Champions League. On the League rankings, Tang En’s Nottingham Forest was currently sitting right above Everton—Forest Team was ranked seventh and Everton was ranked eighth. They had the same number of accumulated points. If Everton beat Nottingham Forest in the match, Moyes’ team would surpass Forest. Furthermore, if Arsenal and Aston Villa stumbled in this round, it was very possible for Moyes to shoot up and become the fifth in the League rankings.

Tang En had the same idea.

Wood could not play, so he made the entire team work to make up for the defense of his position. Their offense was entirely dependent on counterattacking. Tang En iced Anelka on the bench, but there was no real loss to Forest’s attacking speed. The speed of the two flanks continued to be terrifying.

Forest’s attacks were still dependent on launches from the two wings for this match. However, Ashley Young was not the starter for the match. The starter for the right wing was Lennon, who was equally quick and also excelled at dribbling and breakthroughs; he had outstanding control over the ball.

Tang En’s intentions were for every offensive player to have the chance of barging into the opponent’s penalty zone with the ball and threatening them, or shooting and scoring, all without the support of the team. Currently, the team did not have that much energy to support them, so the offense could only depend on individual capabilities.

Ruud van Nistelrooy was also on the field. His mission, rather than shooting and scoring, was more about providing support for Ribéry, Lennon, and Eastwood, who would all be cutting forward from behind, by attracting the defensive firepower away from the three.

In the 27th minute of the first half, Everton’s strategy of forcefully attacking through the middle finally reaped some rewards. Andrew Johnson successfully reversed the offside and received a direct pass from Cahill. Getting past Edwin van der Sar, he shot the football into the empty goal.

“Andrew Johnson—in this moment, he is the hero of Goodison Park!”

Huge waves emerged from the sea of blue on the spectators’ stand, as if they were trying to extinguish the red flames squeezed in a corner.

Even faced with a ball loss, Tang En was not mad. He did nothing. He didn’t need to worry about some things with Albertini on the field.

Captain Albertini picked up the ball from the goal net. He smacked their faces and drummed up the team’s morale. “It’s no big deal! Let’s return the favor!”

After placing the football in the center circle, he ran to Ribéry, Lennon, Eastwood, and Ruud van Nistelrooy one by one and directly instructed them, “You guys focus on running forward. Don’t be concerned about if you can receive the ball. Passing is the responsibility of the guys behind. Scoring goals, that’s your job!”

The four nodded. They believed in their captain just as they believed in their teammates.

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“Nottingham Forest kicks off again. Van Nistelrooy kicks the ball out, and he’s now running forward. The ball has been passed to Albertini. He’s looking around to observe the situation. Cahill comes forward! Oh! He’s been passed! Long pass! Albertini suddenly makes a long pass! Lennon has gone all out to chase the ball, beautiful! He stops… and passes center! Van Nistelrooy lets the ball drop forward instead! Freddy…. EASTWOOOOOOOOD!!”

“A brilliant combination! The ball is in! Thirty seconds after kick-off, Nottingham Forest equalizes the score! This is incredible! Look at the faces of Everton’s players; they are still immersed in their joy of taking the lead!”

Seeing Eastwood head the ball into the net from the drop point further back, Tang En jumped up in excitement. His players were really making him proud!

“This is Eastwood’s fifth goal in the current season! After being absent previously for half a season, due to his injury, his condition finally recovered. With Ruud van Nistelrooy protecting him in front, his forward cut from the back made it impossible for his opponent’s defensive line to guard against!

Tang En lifted his eyes to scan the stands. Even though George Wood was currently suspended and training with the reserves, Tang En still requested for him to watch the matches live as much as possible. There was a lot he could learn from them.

Hey, George. Did you see that? Did you see everything that happened before the goal? That is your goal. When Demi retires, you have to be like him, sending out precise passes to your teammates at crucial moments and helping them break through to score.

Wood was sitting on the stands. Assistant manager Kerslake, who was still suspended from matches, was next to him. He was currently talking to Wood about the goal.

“Because the position of a defensive midfielder is closer to the back, their viewpoint is broader than their teammates in other positions,” Kerslake said, clenching his fists. “The more they can see, the more spots they can come up with. Sometimes, you’ll be able to see and think of positions that your teammates can’t. You only need to pass precisely, and you can send the football to any corner of the football field. Did you know that? Any corner! As long as you want to, you can pass it to a spot that is completely beyond the opponent’s imagination. And then, you can deal a fatal blow!”

Wood did not answer him. He was in a daze looking at Albertini in the field, celebrating the goal with his teammates. Out of all that Kerslake said, only one sentence moved him: “You can send the football to any corner of the football field.” He had to admit, the feeling of being able to think about something and achieve exactly that was incredible.

※※※

The speedy equalization of the score boosted the morale of Nottingham Forest tremendously, and at the same time, dealt a massive blow to Everton’s morale.

After that, Forest Team almost managed to overtake the score before the end of the first half. If not for Phil Neville hooking the ball out when it got on the goal line, Nottingham Forest would have brought a score of 2:1 with them into the locker room.

However, what Forest Team did not achieve in the first half, they accomplished in the second.

Seventeen minutes into the second half, Nottingham Forest used a beautiful direct free kick to pierce through the ten-fingered gates of US’s national goalkeeper, Tim Howard. The scorer was the youngest player on the team, Gareth Bale. He played as a starter in this match, and continuously assisted in the offensive efforts from the left wing, so much so that he squeezed Ribéry into the middle. He had finally managed to score a goal. To him, that was the greatest praise and honor he could receive.

The match was not over yet. After scoring, Bale was even more excited. His assists from the left wing became sharper and sharper. Nearing the end of the match, when Everton was trying to equalize the score and pressed forward, Bale took the opportunity to do a combination with Ribéry on the flank. His remarkable breakthrough and pass to the center found Ribéry, who had cut into the middle, a fantastic opportunity to shoot at the goal. It was the third time Forest sent the ball into Howard’s goal.

Originally, Moyes had made very meticulous defense arrangements to ward against Forest’s attacks from the flanks. The arrangements ranged from retreating for defense to using the offense to suppress them. However, he did not expect Bale’s activeness to squeeze Ribéry out into the middle. With that, his strategy, which was highly specialized, lost its target.

Though Ribéry’s movement to the middle was done out of helplessness, it sparked a magical effect. Bale sprung to life, getting one assist and scoring one goal. Ribéry regained his liveliness as well. Without being constrained to the flanks, he became more threatening. Moving from the wings to the middle, he managed to score a goal.

Everyone around cheered for their victory. Tang En however, sat in the manager’s seat, rubbing his chin in contemplation of something he had thought of.

Until the final moments of the match, he sat there in a stupor. No one knew what Tang En was thinking about.

He only refocused when Dunn abruptly made contact with his arm.

“It’s time to shake hands with Moyes.” He pointed to the left. Moyes had already gotten up from his seat in the technical area.

“The match is over?” Tang En was surprised.

“What were you thinking about, Tony?” Dunn was taken aback as well.

Tang En chuckled in delight. “I’ll tell you when we get back. You’ll be interested.”

He stood up and walked towards Moyes with an outstretched hand, ignoring the mystified Dunn.

“I’m really sorry, but we’ve won again, David.” He winked.

“Looking at your face, I really have the urge to punch it,” Moyes, the losing party, said helplessly.

“Haha! There are too many people who want to punch me. You’ll have to get in line, David.”