Chapter 88 Cracked (Part 1)

Middlesbrough, who was forced away from the penalty area by Forest’s defense, could only try to open the Forest’s goal through long shots. This may be the best way to break the intensive defense. However, their team lacks a player with excellent long shot ability. Sometimes the shots may make Forest fans sweat, but they cannot threaten the safety of Forest’s goal.

Done was unmoved. He felt that the team's tactics were very good now, and it just restrained Middlesbrough's offensive style. As long as McLaren doesn't move, he doesn't need to adjust.

The two head coaches were sitting in their respective positions and thinking, but the fans in the stands felt that the final was boring. The first half was almost over, and the Forest had only one shot. Although Middlesbrough seemed to have a fierce offensive, there was no good chance. Most of the time, they could only pass the cross in front of the Forest's defense line, and if they moved forward, they would be cut off soon.

The defense of Nottingham Forest made Middlesbrough players helpless. The head coach did not have further instructions, so they could only play in the row before the game... However, the tactics arranged before the game were obviously not suitable for dealing with the current Forest team.

Only Tang Ning is still working very hard, this is the League Cup final. As Tang En said, this is his best chance to become famous as a young rookie and become famous with one goal. What are he waiting for if he doesn't perform at this time?

But he wanted to become famous and picked the wrong opponent.

The Forest team, which is densely defending and compressing space, is definitely not the best opponent for Downing to play his strengths. The two people who sang against him were the Forest team's right-back John Thompson, and the other was the right-back, but Ashley Young, who looked more like the right-back.

Ashley Yang is fast and flexible, and is not at a disadvantage with Downing one-on-one. Although John Thompson is far inferior to his opponent in personal ability, he has a good advantage. This advantage makes Down buy so many people during the winter transfer period, but he does not introduce a right back.

As Thompson, who has changed from a central defender to a fullback, his assisting ability cannot be compared with Leiden Barnes on the other side, and his personal skills cannot seem to be as bright as Ashley and Yang in front of him. But he is the main right back who cannot be played since Don Eun took over. Because he plays cleanly, he is very responsible as a defender. He is not accurate in crossing, he will not assist if he is not fast, and he will shoot with one kick if he is not good at skill. With him. The right side of the Forest is very safe, so Ashley and Yang can play several crosses in the game many times, because he knows that he has Thompson behind him.

In this game, because Ashley and Yang came back to participate in the defense, Thompson's position was closer to the middle of the penalty area, preventing the opponent's forward and offense from using this abruptly at home in the ribs.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

"Downing was killed by Ashley Young and John Thompson. Now, all Middlesbrough's offensive methods have lost their effect. What are McLaren's new plans?" Even Martin Taylor and Andy Gray in the commentary seat saw it. They believed that McLaren could not see it.

In fact, it is not difficult to see the problem. As long as you have watched it for a few more years, fans of the Earth can see it. The difficult thing is how to solve the problem. This is the job of the head coach.

"In fact, there are several ways to try to break the intensive defense. One is long shot, and the other is to let players with excellent skills come up, use personal breakthroughs to disrupt the forest team's defense and open up the gap..." Andy Gray gave McLaren advice in the commentary seat.

McLaren understands these principles, and they are also the head coach after all. The problem is... he knows that doing so may break the dense defense of the Forest team, but he has no player who can do so. The best skilled person in the team is Juninho, but he was pressed by George Wood on the court. He was completely out of shape despite his physical strength.

There is no player on the bench who can take on this heavy responsibility. Centen has a good breakthrough, but unfortunately he can only be on the wing and has to replace Downing. McLaren believes that Downing's role is not as good as Centen. If he is replaced by him, it will obviously waste a substitution.

Perhaps... If Juninho comes on the bench, the effect will be better than his starting lineup? When the Forests' defensive lineup has become accustomed to and adapted to Middlesbrough's starting lineup, he suddenly replaced a player with outstanding personal abilities and excellent foot skills. He can dribble and create opportunities for his companions by himself. He can completely break the balance on the court... Unfortunately, such a person can no longer be found on Middlesbrough's bench.

Middlesbrough’s bench thickness. The biggest factor restricting them from improving their rankings in the Premier League. In this important final, it unexpectedly became the problem that made McLaren dilemma.

McLaren is now beginning to regret his initial decision. He attacked hard and planned to break the deadlock as soon as possible and set the tone of the game, but now he is proven to be a mistake. He did not expect that Coach Tony Donne was so difficult to be alone. Bolton coach Allardyce's experience should have sounded a wake-up call for him, but the A-level team, the South locker room... these messy things made him lose his vigilance. He overestimated himself and Middlesbrough, and underestimated Nottingham Forest, where Tony Donne and young men are mostly young.

The first half passed in a calm manner. Except for the hard-core fans of both sides, I believe no one would be satisfied with the first half. What kind of game did they see with anticipation? There was no exciting shot, let alone exciting goals. Middlesbrough tried his best to attack; Nottingham Forest was conservative and passive and dared not attack, so he spent 45 minutes, and the referee did not give a second of stoppage time, and the whistle ended the first half.

The Forest players who returned to the locker room were gasping for breath without exception. The forty-five minutes of the first half were really too tired for them. They kept running, sprinting, shoveling, and then got up to continue repeating the series of movements just now.

This set of tactics requires a lot of physical fitness for players, so Tang En's training intensity this week is not small at all. In addition to tactical training, physical fitness training is indispensable every day.

You know, it is easy to play for forty-five minutes like this, but it is not as simple as imagined to play for forty-five minutes like this.

Looking at these tired players, Don Eun smiled: "How is it? How does the first half feel, guys?"

"It's not bad, boss. They don't have a chance!" Weiss Mogan replied gasping for breath, feeling very high. This reassuring Tang En.

"I also see that they don't have a chance. I think McLaren certainly didn't expect that we would play with them like this in this game. They must have thought we would push them out and fight them - that's something that fools do." Done shrugged, "Continue to play like this in the second half, and they will become more and more impatient. Guys, you all saw... the super team is just like this. There's nothing to worry about. Listen to me, we can win the first championship! We will have more and more championships in the future! Do you believe me?"

"Believe, boss!" the players replied in unison.

"Very good." Tang En nodded, "Now you are free to move, have a good rest. The competition will be more difficult afterwards."

It is rare for him to not make any adjustments or tactical arrangements during the halftime break.    Because the team is in good condition now, there is no need to adjust.                                                                                                       

Now I should keep talking... Maybe it's the one next door.

McLaren looked at the group of players in front of him with a dark face. The team encountered the tenacious resistance of Nottingham Forest, which no one expected before the game. Some people even thought it would be the easiest League Cup final. Will anyone think so now?

Like Nottingham Forest players, Middlesbrough are also out of breath. In fact, their fatigue is more due to the excessive psychological burden. The gap with the fantasy before the game is too large, the opponent's tenacious resistance, and the crisis of being unable to score goals... As time goes by, this pressure becomes greater and greater.

It makes people feel incredible. Why are teams with superior scenes more stressed than teams at disadvantages? But this is football. There are many things on the court that cannot be analyzed based on common sense.

If possible, McLaren would like to relieve the pressure on the team. But this is impossible. Now the team is already nervous at a critical moment, you say to the players: "Hey, guys! Don't be so nervous. It doesn't matter if you can't win this game. Even if you lose, just try your best. Don't care about the results, enjoy football!"

So this is not to relieve the pressure on the team, it is to open the floodgates to deflate the team. Which coach would say to the players in important finals: "It doesn't matter if you win or lose, enjoy football"? Then he must be an idiot. If you do this often, the players will feel that the head coach lacks the desire to win and has no confidence in the players. Over time, his days as the coach of the team will come to an end.
Chapter completed!