400 If They Want War, We’ll Give Them War Part 2 (1/2)

Nevertheless, Gary Lineker hit the nail on the head with an evaluation of Nottingham Forest he had made a long time ago:

This is a young team, dynamic and energetic. So, they are not afraid of any opponents and display a strength beyond any of our expectations when they play against strong opponents. But because they are young, their performance is very unstable. Therefore, when you want to have high hopes for Manager Twain's team, they are likely to disappoint you. And when you no longer have any hope for them, they can surprise you. So… don't believe any bookmaker's analysis of the team before the game. That's all nonsense.

After winning their first game of February, everyone agreed that Twain's team should continue to close the gap on Chelsea and that it was time to put pressure on them. Instead, they lost to Arsenal in the 25th round on the February 4 home game.

In the previous round, the difference between both teams was only three points because Chelsea had tied with Aston Villa in their away game. However, in this round, Chelsea beat the strong team, Liverpool, by 2:0 at their home ground, whereas the Forest team lost to Arsenal at home.

The three-point gap between the two teams had widened to six.

At this juncture, Twain's team did not have the ability to press on Chelsea. When the Champions League began again, they would be powerless to try and catch up to Chelsea in the league.

The focus of the team was not constant; it could change at any time. Now, they were focused on the league. In time, the Champions League would obviously be more important than the league tournament.

Wenger turned the tables on Twain in their match. His team beat Nottingham Forest with their eight-game winning streak in the City Ground stadium and ended Nottingham Forest's eleven consecutive unbeaten rounds after they had lost to Newcastle United in the away game last November 19th. Simultaneously, this victory also allowed Arsenal's ranking to return to the top five in the league. They were only one point away from the league's fourth-ranked Liverpool.

Therefore, when Twain shook hands with Wenger with a worried frown after the game, Wenger teased him. ”This isn't too bad. Ferguson's team is still twelve points behind your team!”

”They haven't played the game in this round yet,” said Twain as he shook his head.

He was not worried about Manchester United. He was just upset that he had failed to seize the opportunity to catch up with Chelsea time after time.

Manchester United's game was over the next day. With their bad luck last year continuing in this year, Manchester United finally won their home game by 4:2, defeating Fulham. They narrowed the gap between them and the league's second-ranked Nottingham Forest by nine points. This might be good news for Manchester United, as it let them see some hope. However, for Nottingham Forest, it was a wake-up call.

Unfortunately, Tony Twain did not see it. The nine points were still within the safety zone for him. He focused all his energy on the preparations for the Champions League round 16.

On February 11th, in the league's 26th round, with their winning streak recently ended, the Forest team regained another victory. They defeated Blackburn Rovers at home with a score of 3:1. But the game was not as easy as the score. The Forest team only ensured their victory at the last minute of the game. After the score reached 2:1, they were constantly in the position of having to deal with Blackburn Rovers' counterattacks.

The Nottingham Forest supporters definitely would say it was because Twain had deployed nearly half of the substitutes to preserve their strength for the Champions League round 16. However, it was true that the young Nottingham Forest already showed signs of fatigue from competing on three fronts simultaneously.

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On the evening of February 22nd, visiting Glasgow, the capital city of Scotland, Nottingham Forest ushered in the first round of their Champions League round 16.

Football in the city of Glasgow was always linked to religion and politics, which was related to their particular environment. Every year, the ”Old Firm”—represented by the Protestant Rangers Football Club and the Catholic Celtic F.C.—waged battle in their city with a highly regarded derby.

Although the Scottish Premiership could only rank as second-rate in Europe, the Rangers and Celtic teams were still strong teams, not to be underestimated.

Twain had made very detailed arrangements for the game before he set out.

Fortunately, this game was just an ordinary Champions League round 16, and not the derby between the ”Old Firm”, Celtic and the Rangers. Twain's team did not represent any religious groups or interests, so he did not have to worry about being stabbed from behind by the fanatical Rangers fans after he got off the bus.