Chapter 501: Volume 4: Storm Brewing Change

On the way back from Liverpool, Tang En remained silent. Everyone in the car was celebrating their first victory in four rounds, but Tang En remained silent. Some people thought the boss was angry again. Actually not, he was continuing to think about the inspiration he found in the game.

After Franck Ribery's explosion in the first two seasons, his characteristics have been thoroughly studied by his opponents, and he is almost transparent among the Premier League teams. Everyone knows that Tony Twain asked Ribery to break through from the wing. As long as the side corridor is stuck, Ribery's threat is gone.

Check out this season...

It stands to reason that Ribery should not only have such a little energy...

Dunn searched carefully in his memory. After the World Cup, Ribery went to Bayern Munich and quickly became a central figure. If a person can only play a role on the wing, how can he be the core of a giant team like Bayern Munich?

Twain seldom watched the broadcast of Bundesliga games, and he didn't care much about the news there. But he knew that Ribery would be able to succeed immediately in another place, and it must have something to do with his own strength. If he can be the core in Bayern Munich but is restricted in the Forest team, then he must have not done well here.

Before the match against Everton, Twain also thought about this question. Why did Ribéry's performance show an overall downward trend when the league entered its third season? There is definitely something wrong.

During the match against Everton, Twain thought he had found the problem - position.

A player like Franck Ribery should never be limited to activities on the wing. He is different from Ashley Young and Aaron Lennon. It was as if the galloping feet were put on shackles.

In the game against Everton, due to Gareth Bale's unexpectedly good form, he not only took on both offensive and defensive tasks by himself, but also squeezed Ribery into the middle. This was a helpless move, but it allowed the team to score the third goal.

What does this mean? There must be a reason for everything to happen, and this third goal will never come out for no reason.

What Tang En had to do was to connect these things.

Obviously, the goal was produced after Ribery went to the middle. On the wing, Ribery is more of a cross to assist, and less direct shots. He only has the best chance of shooting when he goes to the middle. Gareth Bale has grown up to take on more responsibilities out wide, so giving him the left flank frees up Ribery.

Therefore, as long as Ribery is placed in the middle, the role of both of them can be maximized. There is no doubt about it.

Ok, here comes the problem.

If everything in football was this simple, there wouldn't be so much unpredictability.

If Ribery goes to the middle... what about van der Vaart? What about Eastwood? What about Arteta?

You can't sacrifice the interests of other people in the middle in order to liberate Franck Ribery alone?

Therefore, directly changing the position is fine in theory, but the practical operability is very low.

This needs to be considered by the coach. Maximize the role of everyone without sacrificing the interests of the rest of the team.

Tang En remembered the tactics that Real Madrid used in the Bosque era. At that time, Real Madrid had midfield superstars like Figo and Zidane, but they didn't have an attacking midfielder. Spanish coach Bosque used a very strange method to solve the problem of too many superstars in Real Madrid.

Figo is still active on the right side that he is most familiar with, but the midfielder Zidane did not appear in the middle of the midfield. He went to the left side. Judging from the formation, he is a left midfielder. Actually? When the game started, people discovered that Zidane was playing as a midfielder on the left - he would keep running to the center, the left midfielder was just a fake, he did not play the role of a full-back, for Zidane Internally speaking, being a winger is too wasteful...

Therefore, the left midfielder in the lineup is still a midfielder in the actual game, which does not affect Zidane's performance, nor does it affect the performance of other midfielders. What about the left road? As we all know, Robert Carlos's assists on the left side are invincible. If Zidane is fixed on the left side, it is tantamount to abolishing Carlos' skills. Zidane moved to the middle, leaving the left corridor to Carlos. He was allowed to play since he was a child.

How is this situation similar to the current Forest team?

Although Gareth Bell is not as capable as Carlos, he is considered a leader among the younger generation. His assist ability is really good for a full-back. If he is just a full-back, it would be too wasteful.

And Ribery is even called the "new Zidane", and the two of them even have the same roles.

How about copying Real Madrid's tactics?

Tang En thought for a long time, and finally denied this idea.

Real Madrid at that time was still different from Nottingham Forest today. Zidane went to the center to give full play to Carlos' ability to assist on the side. At that time, Real Madrid's central attack relied on Zidane and Figo. Makelele was a defensive midfielder, very similar to Wood today.

But the Forest team still has van der Vaart, a real middle player. Ribery is here. What about the Dutchman? Originally, everyone performed their own duties, and the well water did not interfere with the river water, and there was nothing wrong with each other... If Ribery came to the middle, it would break the original balance, and then the entire midfield of the Forest team would have to be rebuilt.

Another change...

Change means an uncertain future and risks.

※ ※ ※

When the car drove to the Nottingham area, Tang En recovered from his contemplation and moved his stiff body.

"Tony?" Tang, who had been paying attention to him, asked quickly when he saw Tang En's reaction.

"Ah——" Tang En didn't answer Tang Da's news. He stretched his hands and moved his stiff body in the car.

"Are you asleep, Tony? I see you turning your head away and not making a sound." David Chrislak also asked with concern.

"I'm not Zhang Fei..." Tang En muttered.

"Who is Zhang Fei?" Chris Lark was at a loss.

Tang next to him explained to him: "A very powerful general in ancient China, it is said that he sleeps with his eyes open."

"Oh, it looks like this...then what are you thinking?"

"Go back and tell you guys." Looking at the night scene outside the window, Tang En became more and more familiar, and was about to enter Nottingham City. "You two will stay after the team disbands."

Seeing that Tang En said so formally, the two of them also nodded.

The bus bypassed the brightly lit city center and drove directly into the Wilford training base, where the players disbanded and went home, or went to other places for entertainment. It was already night, bars and certain red light places business is going well.

Twain didn't ask what the players were going to do, but just reminded them when they were disbanded that they would come here for training on time tomorrow afternoon.

After everyone left, Dunn walked back to his office with the two assistant coaches.

Turning on the light, Tang En took the videotape of the game from Tang - the forest team will record every game, which is different from the live broadcast of the TV station. They don't consider the feelings of the audience, they only shoot what they need. At this time, the game filmed from the perspective of the coach is definitely not for ordinary fans.

Put the tape into the video recorder, and after a short wait, the picture of the game appeared on the TV screen.

"There's nothing to see ahead." Dunn said while pressing the fast forward button on the remote control.

He didn't let go of his hand until he saw Ribery score a goal that completely sealed the victory, and then fell back.

"Here, look carefully."

He played the goal several times and asked, "What do you guys think?"

Don stared at the TV screen and said nothing. Chris Lak opened his mouth several times, but finally said nothing.

"We didn't let Ribery go to the middle before the game, did we?" Twain asked back. He doesn't like to make things clear when he comes up, he likes to be persuasive and let the other party speak out by themselves.

Chris Rack shook his head: "No. The tactics of this game are no different from what we used before."

"Bell's performance is entirely due to his excellent personal condition." Tang added on the side.

"The little monkey has been training very well for the past few days." Chris Lak added, "Because you are back."

Tang En responded with a smile at the last sentence. Bell admired him immensely, and he knew that.

"Bale's performance was better than I expected." Tang En said, "As a result, his overactivity caused Ribery to lose his position on the wing and was forced to go to the center."

The two assistant coaches nodded in agreement, and they did see it.

"I thought it was not good for Ribery to go in the middle of the road in desperation, but I didn't expect..." Dunn pointed to the frozen picture on the TV screen and said, "Bale assisted Ribery to score a goal. Goals can explain a lot of things, why? Come on, why in this position, why does Bale assist Ribery instead of Van Nistelrooy or Eastwood?"

Tang En threw these questions to the two partners.

Tang fell into deep thought again, and Chris Lark also stared at the TV screen. Although the picture was still, the whole process of the goal had already been imprinted in their minds, and they could clearly understand it without watching the video again.

"Think of Ribéry's decline after this season... Do you have any thoughts?"

Tang En raised his head when he heard Tang En say this: "Both Ribery and Bell have been liberated."

Tang En clapped his hands and laughed loudly: "Tang is smarter. That's right, that's what I mean..." Afterwards, he explained everything he had thought about in the car.

He talked about the pros and cons of doing so.

Chris Lark, who had heard the benefits before, was still very excited and wanted to put this idea into practice. But after hearing the bad news, he seemed to have been splashed with cold water, and fell silent all of a sudden.

"This is a double-edged sword. I think it's time for the Forest team's tactics to change. We can no longer stick to the previous set-our strengths and goals at that time were different from what we are now, and our tactical thinking is naturally different. It's different. Flying with both wings is good, but if we only rely on both wings, we will never be able to get out of England." Dunn said, "Why did we lose to Fulham? Because our wings were restricted, and the center The offense is very immature, and there is no other way to face the opponent's dense defense... Fortunately, it is only Fulham. If we face a strong European team and lose in a key game in the Champions League... you and me It's going to be hard for everyone."

These words caused the two people on the opposite side to nod frequently.

"I used to think that too much ball possession was useless, and now I have to make changes. At that time, we were a weak team, and the opponents were stronger than us. When we played against them, we often defended and then scored goals through counterattacks. Too much possession in this situation will only slow down our attacking progress, which is not conducive to the counterattack. Now the situation is completely reversed... look at Fulham and our game." For the first game of the new season Defeat, Twain takes it very seriously. He will use that match as an example to illustrate the problem. "It's ironic that our opponents are hunkered down and waiting to hit us in the back, while we're all over the place and we've got absolute possession of the ball. Isn't that ironic?"

Having said this, he stopped suddenly. Staring at the TV screen in a daze.

As soon as this was mentioned, Tang En suddenly remembered the time when he was in Kenny Burns' bar, talking about his "ball possession is useless" to Des Walker and Ian Bowyer. past.

At that time, he was still an unlucky guy who had just traveled through time and could only take one step at a time in the face of an unknown fate. He sells his new theory to people in impulsive bars. Thinking about it now, I didn’t seem to think about what I would do if the proposal wasn’t accepted at that time. The luck was amazing...everyone accepted it.

Real coaches such as Des Walker and Ian Bowyer were completely overwhelmed by their superior oratory skills, and didn't think too much about the minutiae.

What kind of real talents did you have at that time? No bullshit! Except for a mouth that can talk nonsense, it is nothing to think about as a die-hard fan while watching the game. He didn't understand anything until he pored over the notes Don had left behind. All he knew was that he buried his head and rushed forward, and let him rush over just like that.

Should I say my life is good?

Life, life...

A stunned young man can become the head coach of a professional team, but a boy with a bright future is killed in a fan riot... If fate really exists, it must be a rotten thing.

Michael's answer to his question in the bar back then can still be clearly recalled now. It’s just that he has already left, the country that made him sad, and the sport that he once loved but hurt him the most.

"What the hell are you talking about, Mr. Twain? Of course we like to win, and we also like the team to return to the Super League after this season. We like to become the goddamn league champion next season, and next season We are the kings of Europe!"

Besides not winning the league title, we almost became the kings of fucking Europe, did you see that, Michael?

※ ※ ※

"Tony?" Chris Rack called out when Tang En suddenly became dazed.

"Ah...Sorry, where did we talk just now?" Tang En came back to his senses and saw the concerned eyes of the two people.

"You said that now we have a lot of ball possession in the game." Tang reminded.

"Well, yes. Now is the time for us to overtake the opponent. Although we don't want to, we must accept this reality-in the league, we have been treated as a strong team by the opponent. You can't expect them to compete with the strong team. Counterattack. So we have to change some things in the past: concept, tactics... It's time to re-emphasize possession of the ball."

The status has changed, the mentality has changed, and the thinking has naturally changed.

The theory that ball possession is useless no longer applies to Nottingham Forest. Under the guidance of Twain's tactical thinking, Nottingham Forest was used to fast-paced combat before, and even mistakes were fast-paced mistakes... But now they must learn to slow down the pace. When you are in a quagmire, when you can't get up soon, there must be a solution. Otherwise Nottingham Forest will always be a dark horse and a spoiler.

How to control the ball, how to use your own ball control to mobilize the opponent's defense, and let the opponent play as you wish, these are all new topics for Twain's forest team.

Hearing what Tang En said, the two assistant coaches looked at each other, they both knew what this decision meant. The training policy that the team has always insisted on must be revised. This is not as simple as standing in front of the team and saying a word or two to boost morale. To play a smooth and beautiful offensive coordination in the game, the price is to practice countless times on the training ground, and behind this is the hard work of all members of the coaching staff.

The forest team's coaching staff has long been accustomed to the work mode of letting Tang En specify the general policy, and then let them refine and implement it in detail.

Tang nodded: "I also think it's time for the team to make a change."

Chris Lack also agreed: "Franck Ribery's position is just a fuse. This is a major reform that the whole team must follow."

"But don't worry too much." Seeing that the two partners agreed with him, Tang En waved his hand, "This kind of big change must be done slowly, not too hastily. I don't want the cost of the reform to be a shock to the team." There will definitely be ups and downs in performance, and that’s okay. But the Champions League must not be lost—whether it’s the qualification for next season or the championship this season!" He clenched his fists.

"OK, I'm sorry for taking you so long. Come back tomorrow morning and discuss with the coaching staff to see how we should change. Go home and don't keep your wife waiting." He stood up and patted Chris Lark's shoulders.

※ ※ ※

On the way back, stepping into the night, Tang En, who was walking with Tang En, suddenly asked: "What were you thinking about when you were in a trance just now?"

"Thinking of the days when I first came here." Tang En didn't use the clumsy excuse of "nothing". It wasn't anything to be ashamed of in person during that time.

"Is it unbearable to look back on?" Tang En recalled that Tang En was immersed in the memory, and the expression on his face was frowning.

Hearing Tang's question, Tang En turned to look at him, then said with a smile: "No. For me... there may be no better memories than those days..."

"Even if you win more championships..."

"It's not as good as it." Tang En shook his head resolutely, "Tang, if you want to get the champion, you can have as many as you want, until your hands are soft. But there are some things, some people... once you lose them, you can buy them again." It’s impossible to come back.” He looked up at the bright moon in the night sky.