766 Strategies Against Manchester United (1/2)

Tony Twain had personally confirmed his future at Nottingham Forest. He would not leave Nottingham, much to the relief of the Forest fans. The media rumors that he might leave City Ground stadium did not immediately disappear. The Times had declared that Twain would leave City Ground stadium in four years and seek a better job. At that time, his contract would have expired, and he would be free to leave. He did not have to bear a high penalty cost. It was believed that countless big clubs would compete for him when the time came.

Twain was not going to Manchester United, but Manchester United had not stopped looking for Ferguson's successor. Ferguson was determined to retire at the end of the season. That piece of news had not yet been officially announced. Most people would rather think that it was just a moment of confusion for the old manager and that he would find that he could not really leave football and Manchester United at the end of the season. He would recant his decision and decide to stay at Old Trafford. In this way, many people could breathe a sigh of relief, except for his archrivals. Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.

Both Twain and Ferguson confirmed their futures, but the story between the two of them did not end there. It was just beginning.

After playing the last game of the Champions League group stage, both teams finished first in their respective groups. There would be a big game three days later—Nottingham Forest's away game against Manchester United.

It was a match of the titans in that round of the league tournament, and it would be a national broadcast of the live game. The game was in the spotlight due to the recent interesting sidelights of Ferguson's successor. Coupled with a two-point gap between the two teams, a win or loss in the game would determine the two teams' rankings in the league table. It was not to be missed.

After the game against the Celtic team, Twain resumed his campaign against Ferguson at a press conference. He declared that he had no interest in becoming someone else's successor with the intention to provoke Ferguson.

Undeterred, Ferguson immediately shot back. ”When he has been in this business for 20 years, his wish will come true.”

From the war of words between the two men, outsiders really could not tell that their personal relationship was more harmonious. These two men were typical examples of where one stands depends on where one sits. They would speak and behave from their positions.

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The managers could not always be the main characters in a confrontation between the two teams. The players on both teams were also the targets of the myriad of people.

Cristiano Ronaldo had said numerous times that he wanted to leave, but he always ended up staying at Manchester United. He would be Ferguson's sharpshooter against Nottingham Forest. The reporters went to interview him and wanted to hear what he thought of the game.

Ronaldo appeared to play it down and said, ”It's just a regular league game.”

Although he told the truth that the game held no special meaning, the media was so dissatisfied that they went to ask Rooney, who was a little fiery than Ronaldo.

”We will beat Nottingham Forest at home. I can't imagine we will lose at our home ground.” Rooney seemed proud and arrogant.

”Who do you think is the biggest threat in the opposing team?” the reporter asked.

”The entire team is not a threat,” he replied.

His comments angered the Forest players. Pepe was the first to step forward to express his displeasure with Rooney, saying, ”I hope he has a chance to play. I'll show him what a threat is at that time.”

Eastwood said, ”I'm glad their team feels this way, just like how everyone hopes their opponent to be an idiot.” He beat around the bush to scold Rooney as an idiot.

George Wood was not a man who wanted to incite a war of words with others. He preferred to shut the opponent up with a ferocious foul. When he was pestered by the reporters, he could only say, ”You'll find out during the game.”

Find out about what? He did not say, but it was believed that the media assumed George Wood was going to teach those assh*les who looked down on them, a lesson.

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The managers' war of words, the players' war of words, and the war of words between the supporters on both sides breeding like flies were a special scene of professional football. All of it was laid out for the climax of the final game.

Three days flew by quickly. After Nottingham Forest returned from Rangers Football Club, they only spent one day in Nottingham before leaving for Manchester. It was not a good thing for the team preparing to compete to run around so often. The team was unable to continue their systematic preparation training. Fortunately, because they finalized their advancement ahead of schedule, the Forest team had in fact prepared for the game against Manchester United since the last round of the league tournament. The team had made detailed arrangements during training to target several of Manchester United's main attacking points. The way the team would operate its offensive was also carried out during training.

The only thing to worry about traveling to two away games within three days was the team's fitness.

Numerous pre-match expert fans had analyzed that Nottingham Forest would play the defensive counterattack tactic that they were best at in Old Trafford. After all, no team dared to play offense against Manchester United there. The outcome was that they would be crushed without exception...

Twain decided to do the very opposite again. He was going to play the game in a way that no one could anticipate.

At the tactical preparation meeting the day before the game, Twain bluntly said, ”We will attack. I bet Ferguson won't think we have the guts to do that, so I'm asking you all to fully press and attack. The moment the game starts, we gain the upper hand by a show of strength. The sooner we score, the better it will be for us.” He snapped his fingers.

”Boss, what if we don't manage to score in the opening?” Eastwood asked.

”Slow down the pace, stabilize the defense, and continue to attack.” Twain seemed determined to conquer The Theatre of Dreams with offensive play.

Since they needed to attack, Şahin replaced Tiago to start in the game. Nottingham Forest's formation had also changed from the parallel layout of 4-4-2 to the diamond shape 4-4-2. The two wingers would be frequently involved in the attack. When the two sides were in a deadlock, the two fullbacks would remain in the backfield to participate in the defense with few assists in the front. Meanwhile, George Wood would take on a defensive role in the game. The offensive work was left to his teammates in the front field.

Even though he had stated that they were playing offense, Twain had not forgotten that defense was the foundation. So, it was almost impossible to see Twain's team completely disregard the defense. Maybe in the last five minutes of the game, when his team was still one goal behind, he would have done so.