Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 206: The List For First Team

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Goal keeper: Darren Ward (1), Barry Roche (12), Paul Gerrard (25).

Full Back: Davy Oyen (2), John Thompson (3), Clint Hill (16), Wes Morgan (5), Leighton Baines (22), Pascal Chimbonda (23), Gerard Piqué (24), Matthew Upson (33), and Fernando Hierro (6).

Midfielder – George Wood (13), Demetrio Albertini (4), Brynjar Gunnarsson (8), Eugen Bopp (31), Kris Commons (20), Ashley Young (18), Aaron Lennon (17), and Franck Ribéry (7).

Forward: Freddy Eastwood (11), Nicklas Bendtner (21), Peter Crouch (9), Mark Viduka (10), and David Johnson (30).

Above is the final list for Nottingham Forest this season, with their jersey numbers inside the parentheses. When the list was announced, everyone was focused on Franck Ribéry. This youth, who had not even managed to play in the Championnat National and had been at risk of losing his career, was actually wearing jersey number seven for Nottingham Forest!

Everyone knows that that the lower the player number in a team, the more likely they are considered for main positions. What did it mean for Tang En to give Ribéry number 7? It meant he valued scarface. Tony Twain never disappointed when it came to his judgment. Was there indeed something amazing about Ribéry?

Outsiders were sceptical of Ribéry because they did not understand his ability. However, internally, the team had no objections to the number arrangement. Since the first day he had come to the team for training, Ribéry showed immense ability in the wings. His dribbling and speed were weapons he could use to dominate the wings. Beyond that, his shooting was good as well. After a week of training with him, even his direct competitor, Kris Commons, had to admit that the French guy was better than him.

"Do all players at the Championnat National play this well?" he asked.

Tang En smiled. "No, Franck is an exception."

When Scarface had first entered the team, he was always quiet and did not like talking. He seemed worried that his teammates would mock his appearance. But the truth was that although they were surprised by the scars on his face, the team did not mock or shame him at all. That was not something that would happen on Tony Twain's team.

In the locker room, after Tang En intentionally got Ribéry to talk about how his scars came about, everyone became sympathetic for him.

Upon realising that his teammates did not look down on him because of his scars, Ribéry finally let go of his anxiety. He gradually started talking more, quickly returning to his lively self. Although he still could not speak English, he worked hard at learning in the hopes of assimilating as quickly as possible to the team.

Ribéry knew how difficult it was to get this job. Not everyone had the experience of living with an allowance of only 150 Euros and being unable to afford rent. Precisely because he knew how hard his life had been, he developed a special attitude towards money. Now, his weekly salary was 6500 pounds. This wasn't a particularly high salary within the team. At most, it was mid-range. But to Ribéry, who had had enough of being poor, it was much more than what he gotten from any other club he had played for. He also knew that if he performed well, even greater rewards awaited him. The better he played on the field, the faster that day would come.

He was valued by the manager, was treated well, and had good relationships with his teammates. A new environment, a new league… What was there to worry about? Right now, he only wished for the Premier League to start quickly, and for him to prove to everyone that though he, Franck, from the Championnat National, was worth every penny he was paid, and was worth the trust of his manager!

Although Tang En did not know Ribéry's thoughts, he could tell that the Frenchman always worked hard during trainings. He remembered seeing such zeal before in George Woods. Those who had been through poverty would especially cherish any opportunity to earn money. They had no right to any slack.

There are many successful people, but there is only one quality that is shared by all of them: a successful person is always a thousand times more diligent than someone who fails. This is regardless of where that diligence stems from; whether it is from their own willingness or from forced circumstances in life.

George Woods had succeeded, and his debut had scorched the people with a deep impression. Tang En believed that Ribéry could be the same.

He's no joke. During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, France's national team manager Domenech will definitely try to recruit him from us!

With the advancement of England's media, Ribéry would certainly become famous even earlier than when he had played in France. Now, Tang En could only hope that Ribéry would still remember where his heart was even after becoming famous.

After confirming the First Team's formation, Tang En cleared some of the members who were not needed on the team. They could choose to join the Reserve Team or be either loaned or sold to other interested clubs.

This was different from the achievement he felt from buying players. Tang En still harboured great affection for the team that he had led for half a year. Faced with the departure of players who had fought with him for the championship and promotion rights, he still had no choice. The team had to improve, so those who could not keep up had to be eliminated. The original formation for Forest had many players with limited skills who were already unsuitable for the Premier League. Forest could not afford to let them goof around on the team and pay them for nothing.

Although there is kindness within professional football, most of it remains cruel. When you are unable to satisfy demands, no one pities you. Only your own lack of ability is to blame.

The good thing as that everyone knows about this; no one had unrealistic expectations about staying on the team. After seeing Forest's signings over the summer, everyone knew their situation; Forest had no place for some of them. Rather than staying with the team and only playing in Reserve Team Competitions, scrapping up whatever status or fame they had left, they might as well take this time to look for another road out while they still had worth.

Rebrov, Eoin Jess, Gareth Taylor, Chris Doig, Matthew Lewis Rang, and George Robertson were all gone. Danny Sonner was loaned out, and Gareth Williams left too. The team was no longer the same one that Tang En had taken over.

The people who should be there had come, and the people who should have left were gone. With their team stabilised, Tang En and David Kerslake could finally dive into tactical training. He had realised his ideas from the UEFA European Championship.

The success of the Greek National Team had stirred him up. Even though Nottingham looked like a high-profile team on the transfer market, Tang En knew that defense was the key to getting a firm footing in the Premier League. If there were no surprises, Nottingham should be retaining the same configuration for the midfield, with two defending midfielders and two side midfielders with outstanding abilities. The main mission of the defending midfielders was defense: to build a wall in front of the Defensive Line, and pay little heed to attacking. Meanwhile, Tang En expected more from the two side midfielders. Not only did they have to actively defend, they also had to be able to switch to offense at any point. In addition, they also had to go one-on-one with opponents; in these moments, their technical ability would become exceedingly important. They were not merely side midfielders who passed the ball to support the offense; they were also wingers who had the ability to score and create a decisive win.

Kris Commons, Franck Ribéry, Ashley Young, and Aaron Lennon; Tang En believed that the four of them would be able to match up to his demands, or he would not have needed to buy them in the first place.

This was different from the finals of the EFL against Middlesbrough. Tang En's defense emphasised the importance of midfield control and would not easily yield the midfield to their opponents. That ran the risk of letting the opponents lay siege to Nottingham's goal, which was too dangerous.

Whether it be offense or defense, the midfield is territory that Tang En needed to claim. A chain reaction resulting from a loss of control in the midfield was terrifying. This was also why Tang En put in so much effort into the midfield compared to the forward line.

George Wood and Albertini should both be starting midfielders. Defense was entrusted to Wood, who was young and exceptionally strong. While supporting Wood in defense, Albertini would mainly be using his experience and passing to facilitate movements in the midfield. He had done the same for Italy's national team and AC Milan. Tang En trusted that he would have no problems with it at Nottingham.

On the defensive line, one of the main positions was sure to go to Hierro. Despite being already 36, Tang En had no doubt that Hierro would be able to take up the role. His experience was what he team needed most on the field. For all his slowness in turning and his other weaknesses, Wood would be there. What was there to be afraid of?

Hierro's partner should have been Matthew Upson. Wes Morgan and Piqué were still too unskilled. Clint Hill's problem with defensive positioning resulted in him only being able to play as a substitute. The good news for Piqué was that although the center back is unable to act as the main force, Tang En intended to let him try out being a right back instead. In Tang En's recollection of history, when Piqué was initially on loan to Real Zaragoza FC, he was unable to be fielded at all. It was only when Diogo got injured that Piqué was arranged to play as a right back. He ended up performing well in the new position.

At the beginning of that season, to make up for the 20 matches for Piqué under competition regulations, Real Zaragoza FC wasted no time in casting Piqué as a jack-of-all-trades. He played as center back, side back, and even Defending Midfielder. In all of those positions, Piqué did well. From that, Tang En realised Piqué's ability as an all-rounder. Although he would not intentionally push Piqué to be a jack-of-all-trades simply to fulfil the promise he had made, any manager would love to have a few all-rounders on their team.

Whenever the team is down a member because of injury or sickness, having one more well-rounded player means having another option and some buffer time. Of course, Tang En's focus for Piqué would still be the Center Back position. This was both his favourite and best position.

Before and after their summer training, they played a number of friendly matches. Most of their opponents were teams from England, since Nottingham was still not well-known enough to be invited overseas for friendly matches.

There were both wins and losses. At that point, Tang En did not really care about the results. Friendly matches were not designed for the pursuit of victory. To managers, there were usually two main functions of friendly matches: To check the physical conditions and forms of the players upon their return to the team after the rest period (this way, any issues discovered would be quickly resolved), and to allow the manager to observe any difficulties between old and new players, test tactical strategies and their actual results in implementation, find the most suitable strategy for the current team and make progress with it, etc.

Friendly matches belong to the classic trope of "the process is more important than the result." In such matches, Tang En would be most concerned about the performance of the new players and how well they were assimilating into the team. Then, based on how they did, Tang En would decide if he should give them more opportunities right from the beginning of the League.

Although Nottingham would participate in multiple leagues, Tang En had no intention of using a rotation system. The stability of the formation was more important than anything else. Additionally, his team did not have the luxury of doing that. Tang En needed to determine the main formation for the new season through the friendly matches and then do further adjustments.

It would be impossible for Hierro to hold out through the entire season. Though he would be part of the main force in the beginning, Tang En was considering gradually giving more playing opportunities to Piqué. The future still depended on the young.

In Albertini's case, things were different. From his age and condition, it would not be too difficult for him to be one of the main midfielders throughout the season… Unless he got injured. Tang En intended to stabilise the center of the midfield, which fell to the partners George Wood and Albertini. Throughout training, he nurtured their ability to work together. Even though one spoke Italian and the other English, they still had the common language of football.

The feedback Tang En received from training filled him with confidence in his plan. Albertini and Hierro were both amazing players and great older brothers. As Tang En hoped, they did their best to guide the children on the team.

Even though Piqué came from Barcelona and Hierro from Real Madrid, they were both Forest players with red Forest jerseys now. Several times, Tang En witnessed Hierro taking the initiative to stay back and lead Piqué through additional training, and to share his own successful experiences in learning when he should take opportunities to advance, when he should pull back, and how he should box out his opponents.

And Albertini and George Wood were a match made in heaven. George Wood was a little quiet, but had a kind of arrogance along with his low self-esteem. Such a character is not usually well-liked, yet Albertini was able to get along well with the unsociable person. Tang En even made the effort of casually asking Albertini his thoughts about his little partner in the midfield. Albertini liked Wood very much as he felt that Wood was serious, hard-working, and not at all lazy.

Even when Albertini had been in the renowned AC Milan, he had not liked much publicity. Rather, he was approachable and helpful, winning the respect of his teammates. Otherwise, how could he have become the vice-captain of AC Milan? Understanding that, Tang En chose to give the Captain's armband to Albertini on his second day after joining the team. To make someone who had only been on the team for two days, and who did not even know how to speak English, the captain of the team—the media was incredulous. But Tang En stuck to his guns, and the results were not bad at all.

After putting on the Captain's armband, Albertini seemed even more motivated. He was always taking the initiative to help out members of the team, regardless of if they were old players or new. He did not seem at all hesitant about whether or not was appropriate to do as a new member himself. Perhaps this was what it was like for a born leader.

When Tang En asked Wood to learn more from Albertini, he asked, "What should I learn?"

At first, Tang En wanted to list out Albertini's strengths for Wood to take note of, but after thinking about it, he realised it would be too cumbersome to list them out one by one. There were simply too many. Instead, Tang En replied, "Learn everything about him, whether it is on the field, or off."

Since that was what Tony Twain had said, George Wood naturally did it.

Although Tang En only had only intended to look for an experienced veteran for the team to strengthen the deployment in the midfield, he had unexpectedly found a great teacher for Wood. It was fantastic. Tang En then decided to develop George Wood's leadership ability.

As the manager, he also needed to nurture a supporter. Otherwise, in times of crisis, who would willingly stand up for him?

With George Wood brought into professional football by Tang En himself, he was the best candidate.

While Tang En led the First Team in their final preparations before the new season, Dunn's work in the Youth team also took off slowly. Unlike Tang En, Dunn still was not trusted by the rest of his colleagues on the youth team. But soon, through his hard work, he would make them look at him differently. After all, this work was all too familiar to him.

He spoke fluent English and was familiar with everything in this country. He was as familiar with Nottingham as with his own house. He almost knew all the names of those on the Youth team… After he was brought back to Nottingham Forest, he could feel memories sleeping somewhere deep inside of him begin to stir.

To be brought back to Forest by Tang En was a great opportunity for him. His passion for football and dream of being an extraordinary manager had never died. The Youth team was only his first step.