Chapter 19 This season

There was silence in the locker room. Tang En stood among a group of players, looking at this and that. Everyone stared at him silently. He was the backbone of the team.

"You really don't want to lose?" Tang En asked, but he didn't expect those people to answer. He raised his hands to his chest and lowered his head to signal everyone not to speak.

"Very good.                                                                                                                             

"We must win this game, and the draw is not enough. We have to get a reward after putting our strength into it. So we don't consider the defensive counterattack..." Tang En wrote and painted on the tactical board. When he turned around, he saw that everyone was still standing, and quickly waved his hand to let them sit down.

"We refer to the previous game on defense. George, your task is very heavy. Freeze Fabregas completely so that he has no time to organize the attack. Arsenal will rely on him to dispatch the midfield. If he doesn't work, Arsenal's offensive threat is at least half weak. Don't wait, save the first point. Fernando, you are protecting the back."

Gago and Wood nodded at the same time.

"Your mission is not to cut off their balls, but to delay time, slow down Arsenal's pace, and buy time for Wood's return to defense. Remember, they want to pass the ball and let them pass. Don't follow them and guard the middle, and leave the other positions to your teammates."

Then Tang En drew two lines on the side of the tactical board.

"The requirements for the wing roads in the second half are very high, because you not only need to attack but also let go. The full-backs need to assist, and the full-backs need to defend. If the full-backs are not active in defense, then our defense is in danger. If the full-backs do not assist, we will not be able to win this game. You are the key to this game, guys."

This time it was Bell, Rafinia, Fernandez and Bentley nodded.

Don Eun looked at Pepe: "Pepe?"

Pepe knew what he was going to ask, shook his head and said, "I am fine with the boss. Don't worry about me."

Don pointed at him and smiled: "It was obvious that Arsenal regarded you as a key breakthrough in the last stage of the first half. Now let's make a bet. You said..." He blinked, "...Will Arsenal still think so in the second half?"

Pepe guessed what the boss wanted to do, and he asked, "Boss, do you mean they think Igor and I will have a big fight in the locker room and continue to perform miserably in the second half?"

Tang En shook his finger: "I just think there is such a possibility, and Arsenal also think there is such possibility. If I were Wenger, I would take everything into consideration. The conflict between you and Igor was so big in the first half, and it seemed like there was a grudge between you to kill your father and take your wife... Hey." Seeing the two people, Tang En laughed.

The two parties involved in the conflict lowered their heads a little embarrassedly. Now that they have completely calmed down, they are indeed ashamed of being angry in front of tens of thousands of viewers and live TV cameras in the first half. It’s really a wonder what is filled with their minds at that moment, and what sound is impacting their eardrums.

"I think Arsenal will try to break through from you in the second half. If they find that everything has not changed from the first half, they will concentrate all the offensive firepower on you. If I do the same, stabbing the wound and then sprinkling salt is my favorite thing to do." He said this, stabbing the knife and twisting it, which made the muscles on the players' faces twisted...

Tang En suddenly stopped talking.    The people who were focusing on listening to the teachings were all very surprised - what was the wind that the boss was sucking?

"Tony, what are you doing?" Chris Lark couldn't stand it anymore and asked.

"What a pity." Tang En shook his head and sighed, "The locker room at the Emirates Stadium is so clean. There is neither dirt nor dust... I wanted to dress you two." Tang En said to Pepe and Akinfeyev, "Your faces are too clean now, and you don't look like enemies who have just had a 'fight' battle'."

Some of the players first realized what the boss meant, and they burst into laughter.

Amid laughter, Akinfeyev was embarrassed to write again, but Pepe was in a state of sacrificing his head, and said with his head raised: "It's nothing, boss. Igor and I continued to stare at each other side." After that, he also made a special demonstration.

He stood next to Akinfeyev, but turned his head and glanced at the other person with his head raised, his muscles on both sides of his nose bulge slightly. The corners of his mouth were raised, but it was not a smile, but contempt and disdain, and disgust. It seemed that he really looked down on the teammate around him from the bottom of his heart.

Tang En clapped directly from the side. "The performance is so good. I recommend you to go to Hollywood to develop after retirement, Pepe!" Then he looked at Akinfeyev.

"I can't act so well, boss. I can only stop watching him." Akinfeyev turned his body and turned his back to Pepe.

The performance of the two people made the locker room laugh continuously.

Tang En snapped his fingers. The laughter gradually faded.

"When we defend, the most trouble is not how sharp the opponent's offense is, but where they will attack from." He said. The defensive players nodded, deeply in agreement. "Now the problem is solved." Tang En pointed at Pepe, and there was another burst of laughter in the crowd. "You performed a little poorly at the beginning of the second half. Don't worry, I won't scold you loudly on the sidelines, Pepe."

"Okay, boss." Pepe responded. How to deliberately show off without being in the state without making fatal mistakes is also a challenge for him.

"Pepe can be a little bit clumsy, you can't do it, Igor."

Akinfeyev nodded quickly: "I know, boss. I am the last line of defense."

Don En knew that the Russian goalkeeper was a smart man, so he wouldn't continue. He turned to the team: "Now Arsenal's main attack direction is clear, but don't think we can win this way. Our opponents are living people, not bronze statues outside the court or computer data, they will adjust according to our changes. Once they find that Pepe is just a trap, they will make changes immediately, or they will also make plans... So. In fact, there are very few opportunities left for us. I ask you not to rush to counterattack after successful defense, and to ensure success rate. I repeat: I don't want to see

After you cut the ball, you will be able to move forward with your big foot. Try to control the ball on our side, and don’t easily return the ball to Arsenal. If you lose the ball, you will fight back on the spot, don’t rush back to defense. Remember, we don’t have many opportunities to deceive Arsenal. You should treat every time you take the ball as our only offensive! One ball!" He raised his right index finger, "As long as one ball, we can break the deadlock on the court. And disrupt Arsenal’s tactics. So we must seize this opportunity! This is on the away game, everyone outside is our enemy, and we have not wasted the power of opportunity! Wasting opportunities is to return to the retribution!"

"On the offense, you have to keep running, all opportunities appear in the running. Don't expect football to be sent to your feet if you stay lazy and stay ahead. Pull the Arsenal's defense line, their full-backs also like assists. Take advantage of this and hit their sidelines! Ibi, you have to be tougher! Let them take care of themselves. This will also reduce our defensive pressure."

After everyone understood what they should do, Don was silent for a while. Chris Lark was looking at his watch, and there was not much time left for the halftime break. This halftime break seemed particularly short.

Tang En remained silent for a while before continuing to speak, "I know that everyone is very tired recently, but I am actually very tired, and everyone here is tired." He pointed to the coaches around him. "You are not the players who are fighting in the sprint stage. We are the same. You are physically tired, we are tired in our hearts. Anyway, they are all tired, and they are almost exhausted." Tang En said a lot of "tired" in one breath, as if he was emphasizing this feeling.

"But now is the 34th round of the league." Don said to his players with his fingers. "There are four games left before the end of the season... no, three and a half. We are still six points away from Arsenal. The difference between two games, and there is still one and a half left. If they win in this game, then it will be a three-game gap. Even if we win all the last three league rounds and Arsenal lose all of them, we will also score the same points with them, but because the goal difference is less than them, we still can't win the championship."

"I'm telling you all this. It's not to relieve stress from you, not to make you feel that 'thing is still in control'. I hope you know 'Fuck, things are so bad! If you don't work hard, we will all play!' Three and a half games! We don't even have a chance to make mistakes for a second, just like life. If you lose, you lose, and you won't have a chance to do it again. So now I'm very grateful for this schedule!" Tang En gritted his teeth and said with a grim face, "Thank you". "It gives us a chance to take our destiny into our own hands, although this is the last chance."

Tang En raised his index finger and was trembling slightly. That was a sign of excessive force.

"The last chance. If we can't grasp it, we can really announce our renunciation. Even if there are three rounds left before the end of the league, we are not qualified to win the championship! We are not qualified to laugh at the losers because we are the biggest losers! So, for me, for you, for all of us, this season actually... has the last forty-five minutes left. If we can't win Arsenal, we can't win the league championship! If we lose to Arsenal here, we can't win the Champions League in three days! That's the fact that you are tripped by the same stone and you will be tripped by that stone for the rest of your life. You can't get up, that stone is simply a mountain that can't be seen for you on the ground! So don't believe in such ignorant nonsense as 'Although we lose the league, we still have the Champions League'!"

Tang En's face became rosy again. This time it was not anger, but excitement.

"How many times have you encountered opportunities like this season in your career? League, Champions League, and FA Cup, we have three championships to fight for. We can become the 'triple crown' that thousands of people admire! Since the founding of the Premier League, only one Manchester United has done it! We had the opportunity to be the second in these 22 years, but today we will be gone! Who knows what the future will be like? Who can guarantee that we can still have a triple crown next season? Anyway, I can't guarantee." Tang En spread his hands. "If such an opportunity is not worth the whole team's gritting their teeth and fighting!" He waved his arms vigorously and shouted loudly. "Then what else is there in this world that we are fighting for? What else?!"

The players who had originally watched him silently had changed their eyes, and balls of hot flames were burning in their eyes. Some even trembled with excitement, clenched their fists and shivered all over. They wished they could rush to the court to fight for Arsenal now.

But Tang En hasn't finished speaking yet, this fire is not strong enough!

"You are tired, I know! You are under great pressure, I know! But why are you tired, why are you stressed? For this, the only treble champion in fifteen years since 1999! I'm tired, grit my teeth and hold my teeth! I'm stressed, grit my teeth and hold me up!" Tang En gritted his teeth, clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "Still it until May 23. At that time, let's use three championship trophys to prove that the previous gritting teeth and persistence is valuable! We don't do useless work, and every effort and persistence we will definitely pay off. Our Nottingham Forest... is equal to the champion!"

"Champion!!" The players who could not suppress their excitement finally yelled out.

"That day, everyone bows down! The head! The minister!!" Tang En waved his fist hard, as if he wanted to smash the air out of the pit.

A group of people followed him and the air in the entire locker room made him feel hot, making him dry and eager to find an outlet for the raging fire deep in his heart.

The time has been over, and the staff came to knock on the door of the visiting team's locker room to remind the Forest to play. Arsenal had been waiting for them on the court for nearly two minutes, and there were already dissatisfied booing sounds on the stands. The security guards were really worried that if the Forest team did not come out again, the fans of Emirates Stadium would start to tear off their chairs and smash the visiting team's coach's seat.

But when he knocked on the door, the group of people who rushed out almost knocked him to the ground.

He staggered to the side and looked in surprise at the Nottingham Forest players with their eyes, red-faced and thick necks rushed to the court.

Then he saw the last one who came out. Tang En also saw him. The two of them had their eyes intertwined, and Tang En walked towards the stadium with a smile.
Chapter completed!