Chapter 14 Two woods form forest, three woods form forest

Pique's departure made Tang En see a clear view of the current situation - he originally thought that the team's weak spot was on the left and right full-backs, but now he suddenly realized that his central defender was a little stretched. It turned out that the team's main team was Pepe and Pique, Kompani and Ayala made the second plan. Now Pique is gone, Ayala is old, and the real ones can play are Pepe and Pique. Mogan can only get a chance to play in League Cup and FA Cup games, and important games cannot be expected.

Then the schedule for finding full-backs should be put aside now, and the central defenders should be given priority. Fullbacks can be slightly weak, but central defenders must not be weak.

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

This summer, the team's signing progress is slow. This is caused by many reasons. First, due to the success of these two seasons, Tang En believes that the team's structure is very reasonable and he is unwilling to adjust too much, so he is destined to not buy a large number of new players this summer. Secondly, most of the players who are favored by Tang En are "famous flowers and have their own names" and they are not willing to leave the new club. Third, Nottingham Forest Club cannot afford much money to support Tang En's actions in the transfer market. Not only that, they also need Tang En to use the money earned by selling the players to "supplement the family income."

Nottingham Forest is the only one who lives a European champion.

As for the defender, Tang En was drooling at a person four years ago. This summer he thought it was a good time to start, but he didn't expect to be turned away again.

Manchester City's Micha Richards. He is tall and powerful, and can play both a central defender and a right back, which is very consistent with Don't want the players to be versatile.

A few years ago, when he was buying a person with Stuart Pierce, he was simply rejected. He had no choice but to buy Sun Jihai. Now that Pierce has left Manchester City, the Manchester City club is in another crisis. Don't he thinks this is a good time to buy Richards. With the reputation of Nottingham Forest's double champion, summoning Richards is just like playing?

He was wrong.

Manchester City club is indeed facing some difficulties. The Thai government has issued an announcement. Freeze Thaksin's property. Thaksin, who has lost most of its property, will find it difficult to maintain the operation of Manchester City club. He is in a panic and has a storm. Who can care about a small football club? There are many rumors outside that a certain consortium has taken a fancy to Manchester City and wants to acquire it. But all of them were denied by Thaksin himself. He admitted that the situation is not good now, but the Manchester City club is still under his name, and everything is under control.

If Tang Encai doesn't believe this Thai, there must be something wrong with Manchester City club. Then buy people at this time. Maybe you can move people who can't move, such as Richards.

His happy offer was rejected by Manchester City Club without even listening to it - "Richards is not a seller."

I went up the offer before going, but the same sentence was waiting for him - "Micha Richards is not a seller."

The third time I went, this time was a little different. “We are unwilling to sell Richards to direct competitors.”

This made Tang En very angry. Manchester City and my team dare to claim to be "direct competitors"? They look down on themselves too much, right?! My team is the double champion, and they won the European Championship for two consecutive years. Who are you, little Manchester City? I have always been the only one who refuses people as tough as me, and that Mark Hughes dares to stand in front of me! (He has long forgotten the fact that Hughes is older than his qualifications...)

He no longer offers the fourth time. Because in front of the arrogant Manchester City, doing this will make people feel that Nottingham Forest is very cheap. Don Eun doesn't want to bow to anyone. Whoever you like to sell will sell you! Even if it's rotten in your own mouth, it's not my business!

In this way, Donn planted the seeds of hatred for Manchester City in his heart. When Pierce was in power, the friendly relationship between the two clubs became dead because of one Richards.

So some media say that Tang En is a petty person, and that's right...

The business is not related to the favor and no favors are gone. Tang En can only continue to look for other candidates.

He wanted to buy Carvalho, but Scolari refused to let go. The reason was the same as Manchester City - "We will not sell important players to direct competitors." Chelsea said this and Don was not angry at all, because Chelsea is indeed a competitor of Nottingham Forest.

Argentine Gare was booked by Real Madrid; Juan Roma refused to let anyone go; Naldo was unwilling to leave Bremen...

In the end, Don Eun had to turn his gaze back to England.

This time, Tang En does not plan to buy young central defenders anymore. What is important in the defense line is experience. Experience is often proportional to age. Therefore, Tang En plans to have a central defender who is slightly less old.

He turned his attention to Jonathan Woodgate, who was still in Middlesbrough.

Although he was frequently injured in Real Madrid, he only played nine games for Real Madrid in two years and was called a "British patient" by the Spanish media, and even became a model of glass people in the world for a while. But in recent years, he has done well in Middlesbrough, and his injuries seem to have gone far away from him. Under the training of Southgate, a famous defender in England, his level has also improved greatly. He has become the captain of Middlesbrough. There are at least two opportunities to fight each season. Donne is naturally very concerned about this former Real Madrid player. After observing several seasons, Donne found that Woodgate is the candidate needed by the team now. He decided to take action.

Originally, Ramos was going to take the former England main central defender to White Hart Lane in January this year, but Tottenham and Middlesbrough did not agree on the transfer fee. Before the winter transfer window was closed, both sides announced that the transfer had officially broken down. So Woodgate continued to stay in Middlesbrough.

The "British Patient" who walked out of the shadow of Real Madrid has regained his confidence in Middlesbrough. Now it is time to look forward to a new future. Tottenham Hotspur, who is determined to be a champion of the Champions League, disappointed Woodgate, but it doesn't matter, he will soon know the meaning of the Chinese idiom "lost the east corner. Received the sun".

Nottingham Forest offered Middlesbrough an offer of 8 million pounds. Hope to take Woodgate away. Anyway, the money would have to be returned to the club without spending. Don't care about a 1 million or 2 million less at this time - Tottenham Hotspurs reported 6.5 million to Middlesbrough. In the end, it increased to 7 million. He refused to add it.

Eight million is the price Middlesbrough wants. And Southgate already knows one thing, that is, the center of Woodgate is no longer at the Riverside Stadium. He was very happy when Tottenham Hotspur wanted to acquire him. Now that he has changed to the higher-level Nottingham Forest, how could this 28-year-old central defender not be moved?

Soon Middlesbrough’s head coach saw Woodgate’s speech in an interview with Nottingham local media: “…I think it’s time to go to a bigger stage to pursue your dreams…”

Although he was reluctant to let it go, Southgate knew what his identity was and what he did. Middlesbrough would definitely not be able to keep the players he was attracted to by the big team.

In the end, Woodgate joined Nottingham Forest for 8 million pounds. The two sides signed a three-year contract, and 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, "Nottingham Forest has become a veritable forest, with wood in the team. "It means George Wood, Freddy Eastwood, and Jonathan Woodgate who just joined. And coincidentally, these three "woods" just formed the team's central axis in position - forward, central advance and central defender.

Chinese media even used their methods to explain this interesting coincidence: "Two trees form forests, and three trees form forests. There is a 'forest' and a 'forest', and the Nottingham Forest is finally worthy of being a 'forest'."

Don Eun, who solved the problem of central defender, was in a good mood and joked to reporters at the press conference that welcomed Woodgate to join: "If there is 'wood' in the player's name, then congratulations to that person. He has a high chance of joining our Nottingham Forest!"

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

While this was still echoing in everyone's ears, Woodgate left the field after joining the team the next day after he was injured during training...

Fortunately, the post-match examination was just a minor injury and did not affect the new season. It was just that many injuries made Woodgate a little sensitive.

Tang En then breathed a sigh of relief: "Luckily. Otherwise, I will make England laugh."

"This was a gambling, and Woodgate has never been a strong central defender." Tang said. "If you decide to buy him, you have to bear the psychological pressure that he has brought to you after he is injured."

"We'll rotate anyway." Tang En shrugged.

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

Although this is the first time that Don and his team have participated in the Charity Shield Cup, they have shown the momentum of defending the champions of the league and the Champions League. Portsmouth can't resist it at all.

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

Thiago, who has joined the team, replaced George Wood. Wood appeared in the team's starting lineup. Woodgate and Shahin sat in the stands, and they were not included in the roster.

Shahin is still receiving psychotherapy, while Woodgate is injured after joining the franchise.

Petrov replaced Ribery's starting position, while Van der Fate was still on the front midfielder, and young Lennon on the right was. The forwards were Bentner and Al Shavin. From this season, Donn will continue to increase Bentner's chances of playing, so that he will gradually become the team's top center.

In the center back position, Ayala and Kompani are combined, and Pepe, who has lost his fixed partner, sits on the bench. The left back is Bale, and the right back is Sun Jihai. The goalkeeper is replaced by Akinfeyev.

Since the beginning of this season, the English League has made a major reform. For many years, the English League's bench is only allowed to be five at most, which has caused many players to lose the opportunity to enter the roster and look forward to playing as a substitute. To some extent, this rule is not suitable for the development of English football at the level, because missing two positions means two less opportunities to train players. Ferguson proposed last season that the FA hoped that the FA would increase the bench position to seven internationally. His suggestion was responded to by seven clubs at the first time. And Tony Donn was the first coach to stand up and express his approval and support. Even Ferguson's archenemy Wenger stood in the same trench with Ferguson this time.

So the FA went on to be good. At the beginning of the new season, the bench position increased from five to seven.

Now Van der Sar, Pepe, Barnes, George Wood, Ribery, Van Nystruey, and Beckham are sitting on the bench of Nottingham Forest. Last season, this is the team's absolute main force.

Most of the season ago. When Donn challenged Portsmouth with a lineup that was almost the same as the current starting lineup, the Portsmouth people thought they were insulted. Nottingham Forest was too arrogant and they would never see this again. Because they had learned a very profound lesson...

So in this game. Portsmouth's new coach Tony Adams put on a stance of defending his life, trying to put Nottingham Forest into a tough battle.

This summer, Tony Donn has been asking the team to practice how to face the enemy's intensive defensive attack, especially the middle-lane attack routine. He was not surprised by Portsmouth's approach. Today's Nottingham Forest is the target of public criticism. Any team will not rush up to attack when facing them, as that will only make them die faster.

Stable counterattack is the king. Just like Nottingham Forest wins...

But they picked the wrong opponent.

Donn asked the team to strengthen long-range shooting and mid-range cooperation and continue to attack the middle. This may not be able to score a goal immediately, but it can cause huge psychological pressure to the opponent and make them lose their position. He arranged for the 21st minute and received a reward: Nottingham Forest's high-pressure policy made the Portsmouth people dizzy, French defender Distin scored his own own, Nottingham Forest led 1:0.

For Nottingham Forest, the game will be easier after leading. The opponent must push it out and play so that the forest team can recycle the opponent's counterattack. This is the most troublesome thing for their opponents...

The backward Portsmouth is at a loss when facing Nottingham Forest, which is recovering its defense and waiting to fight back - they will definitely not be able to invest too much force in the offense because they have to be wary of the Forest's counterattack; but if they do not increase the attack, they will rely on Portsmouth's current strength. It is really difficult to break through the Forest's iron wall... This becomes a paradox. If you don't attack, you can't score the ball, you can't equalize the score, and you can't equalize the score, you will lose the game; but you may continue to lose the ball when you attack, and you will still lose the game. If you dare not invest in the offense because you are worried about continuing to lose the ball, you will lose the game when you attack...

Unlike the contradictory Portsmouth, it was much easier to drag the game into their familiar tracks after leading. Nottingham Forest was much better than that of the paradox until the end of the first half. So Nottingham Forest led 1:0 and ended the first half.

During the second half, Coach Adams asked the whole team to take courage in the locker room, don't worry about this and that, and equalize the score first. What's more, Thiago just came to the Forest team not long ago, and his cooperation with the team was still problematic. Ayala's reaction was not as good as before when she was older, and her physical fitness plummeted... As long as Portsmouth's players are willing to rush, they can definitely find a breakthrough from these two people!

Portsmouth, who was reinvigorated with fighting spirit and confidence, returned to the court, and planned to equalize the score with high morale. This time they found that the person standing in front of them had changed. He did not cooperate with the team and replaced him with captain George Wood. Ayala was replaced by the strong Pepe...

When George Wood stared at the Portsmouth players with his cold eyes, the back of the Pompeii army was cold.

In the final stage of the game, Portsmouth launched a suicide attack. The heroic spirit was there, and there was no tragedy. Nottingham Forest, who had been waiting for the whole game, finally seized the best counterattack opportunity. George Wood made a long pass from the backcourt, and Bentner leaned against the only central defender to stop the ball and broke into the penalty area and forced a shot. After being saved by the goalkeeper, Al Shavin followed up with a supplementary shot, 2:0! Nottingham Forest completely secured the victory and won their first championship in 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..."

The TV commentator summarized the game in this way.

In addition to another new trophy that Donn won, this championship also has another meaning. He allowed the players who joined the team to see the style and tradition of this Nottingham Forest - defensive counterattack and championship trophy.

This will help them integrate quickly into the team 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" - anyone who wins this season's Charity Shield Cup must lose the league championship. Now that the curse has been broken, no one takes this championship too seriously.

Just like Tony Donn showed in this game - using half of the main players and half of the substitutes to rotate, the training tastes very strong, as if it was a summer warm-up match. Only Portsmouth, who lacks honor, will be very hot and really play this game as the final. Unfortunately, they are slightly inferior and have to return home with hatred.

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

No matter how low the championship status is, you still have to hold up the wine glass and shout at the top of your voice:
Chapter completed!