<h4>Chapter 324: Forward Line Problems Part 1</h4>
<strong>Trantor: </strong>Nyoi-Bo Studio <strong>Editor: </strong>Nyoi-Bo Studio
Two dayster, there was finally a piece of good news from the English Football Association. Tang En and the Forest Team heaved a sigh of relief. Brazilian yer Pepe was granted his work permit; he could sign with Forest and represent the team in variouspetitions. From this point on, Pepe truly became a member of Forest Team.
This was certainly fantastic news to Tang En. Like he was a piece of meat that had yet tond in his mouth, it was difficult not to be anxious about Pepe’s transfer. Now that the final obstruction to Pepe’s transfer to Forest was eliminated, the only thing left was for Forest to wire the transfer fee over to FC Porto’s bank ount. With that, Pepe would officially be a member of Forest Team. In truth, he had already joined the Forest Team for their training in Nottingham. The vacation period for Forest’s yers hade to its end, and everyone reassembled to prepare for the new season. They were also paying special attention to the uing qualifying match inte August on their home grounds for the Champions League. Their opponent was Virreal CF, whom they had lost to during the UEFA Europa League Group Stage.
After resolving Pepe’s work permit issue, Nottingham Forest again tried inquiring about the possibility for Martins’ transfer from Inter Mn. The inquiry ended the same way as Tang En expected it to. Inter Mn very resolutely turned down Forest’s asking price. On Martins’ side, he also epted an interview from ‘La Gazzetta dello Sport’ and expressed his loyalty to the team. He imed to only belong to Inter Mn, regardless of the interest of any club. He had been trained there as a youth, made his mark there, and stepped into the European tournaments from there. It was the ce where he had be a true, professional footballer. He did not think it would be possible for him to leave such a great club.
Seeing that interview, Tang En did not wish to make further remarks. He informed the club to cancel their offer for Martins, as well as other ns for the transfer. He had originally thought that he might be able to loan Martins even if a transfer were not possible. Since it was now evident that Martins wanted to express himself as a loyal subject of Inter Mn, Forest would give him that chance. Tang En just hoped that things would not develop the same way they had in his recollection: over the next year, Martins would continue to be loyal to a heartless Inter Mn.
Though it was already impossible for Martins to join Forest, Tang En still continued his pursuit of a speed-type forward.
An suggested that Tang En consider Ennd’s golden boy, Michael Owen, who had been rather unhappy in Real Madrid. From a timing perspective, it was doubtless a great opportunity to bring in Owen during the summer this year. From amercial perspective, Owen had incredible value. However, Tang En told An to dismiss the idea of having Owen join them unless the Forest Club owned a professional medical institution at the same level as the Mn Lab. Otherwise, spending over ten million on a ss man… Tang En did not want to be aughing stock.
With Martin’s deal falling through, Tang En’s substitution of choice was Darren Bent, the number one shooter from Ipswich, an English Premier League team in the previous season who had gotten relegated. Whether it was his price, ability, or potential, Darren Bent satisfied all of Tang En’s requirements. However, among the many clubs interested in him, Bent leaned heavily towards Charlton. Charlton’s manager, Curbishley, was the first person to see potential in him, constantly expressing his interest in recruiting Bent. To provide a main position on the team after his entry, Curbishley even let go of two of the team’s forwards, Jeffers and Lisbie.
Furthermore, on their team were two former teammates of Darren Bent from his time with Ipswich. When choosing which club to go to, he even called them for their opinions; they certainly would have pushed him towards joining their own team.
As a result, Darren Bent turned down Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur, Sundend, Aston Vi and several other clubs to join Charlton.
Currently, Forest was in an awkward position. On one hand, Forest had attained the qualification to participate in the season’s Champions League, bing a source of much allure to numerous football yers. On the other, Forest was still no powerhouse; in the eyes of many football stars, Forest would not be their first choice. In this way, the situation became one in which yers sought after by Tang En were not willing toe, while those who were keen were not within his considerations.
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But that was not all. While Forest was worrying over which forward to acquire, they were also faced with the problem of head hunters going after their yers.
Following Forest’s meteoric rise in the English Premier Leaguest season, several yers on the team were viewed as stars by various managers; George Wood especially was. If not for Forest’s new contract with him, there would probably be enough European clubsing for him to storm through the gates of Forest. Based on his outstanding performancest season, he was chosen as the Professional Footballers’ Association’s Young yer of the Year.
Several other young yers on Forest also performed brilliantly. Chimbonda, in his position as right back, yed through all the matches of the season. Although thed was not as eye-catching as Wood or Eastwood, his steady performance was something indispensable to Forest. While fans might not notice him, professional managers and scouts did. In the summer, Manchester United put in an inquiry to Forest about Chimbonda’s price. Of course, Tang En did not hesitate to stamp a “not-for-sale” tag onto Chimbonda.
Despite Chimbonda’s excellent performance, he was not considered Forest’s most sessful transfer of the season. After the season ended, his Frenchrade, Franck Ribéry, was widely regarded by the media to be the best transfer in Ennd for the 04-05 season. Comments by the media were as follows:
Manager Tony Twain has a pair of eyes that warrant our inquisition. He did not only find yers like George Wood and Chimbonda; the most exciting transfer in thest season was the young man he brought back from Ligue 2: Franck Ribéry. It was a free transfer that did not cost Forest a single penny. Now, a conservative estimation of his value has already risen to ten million euros. Assists, scoring, as well as the speed and demeanour he disys when he takes the ball on a breakthrough in the wings; those are the qualities that ced Ribéry on the same star-yer level of discussion as Giggs in the Premier League. When Forest qualified for the Champions League, Manager Mourinhomented that Forest and their manager had ridiculous luck. But looking at it now, is it mere luck to be able to gather up so many young yers with such potential?
After Arsène Wenger, we now have another manager to look out for during the yearly transfer market. In this year’s summer transfer, Tony Twain pulled out all the stops, activating the “Exceptional yer use” to bring Brazilian center back Pepe in. What kind of yer will he be? No one has heard of him before, but he will surely show us something new in the uing season. Why? Because he’s valued by Tony Twain.
Rumour has it that SI, who has a cooperative rtionship with the Forest Club, would consult Tony Twain on some of the yers’ abilities and potential in the making of the FM game series! This is astonishing. Everyone knows that SI has around 2500 data researchers gathering information on various yers. This is truly a marrying of the strong.
It was a glorious time for Ribéry. Ashley Young, on the other side of the wings, also received amendable evaluation. Although he had only scored three goals throughout the entire season, including the EFL Cup matches, his total passes to the center took first ce on the team. Compared to scoring goals, it seemed that he preferred assisting.
A few other young men like Piqué and Bendtner performed in a less striking manner, but were still simrly remarkable. Piqué did not showcase any spectacr performances, conforming to the norms and expectations and instead disying the most important quality of a defensive yer: stability. He performed and grew steadily, with much anticipation apanying each of his steps.
Bendtner’s performance mid-season was brilliant. Following that, his appearance on the field was reduced due to Forest’s strategic requirements; among the four forwards, he wasst in line. However, the five goals he scored, his incredible physique, and his exquisite technique revealed his unlimited potential.
With so many outstanding yers, it was natural for them to attract the attention of wolves.
Ribéry, Chimbonda, George Wood, Bendtner, Ashley Young, Crouch… All of them received invitations from other teams.
Among them, Liverpool’s reported offer of 7.5 million pounds to buy Peter Crouch came within Tang En’s expectations. In his memory, it was this summer that Liverpool ended up purchasing Crouch. Crouch’s performance in thest three months of the league had managed to capture Benítez’s attention; after Eastwood’s injury, Crouch had managed to score several crucial goals. However, this was not the real reason behind Benítez’s resolution to buy him.
Just like Tang En had, he saw value in Crouch because he was a tall center-forward who possessed top-notch footwork. With that, his presence could greatly enrich the strategy of the team. He was essential to enabling greater variation in a team’s offense. Liverpool wascking exactly such a center-forward. After bing the recent victors of the Champions League, The Reds hoped to be even better in the new season; such a center-forward was indispensable to their goal.
Forest’s initial purchase of Crouch had cost 1.8 million pounds. After a single season, his value had risen to 7.5 million! However, that increase was unable to satisfy Tang En. He rejected Liverpool’s offer. After the rejection, he immediately contacted Nottingham Evening Post’s reporter, Pierce Brosnan, for an interview. In the interview, the two naturally segued into a conversation regarding recent news of Crouch’s transfer. Tang En then made a big ssh about the unique abilities of Crouch. He made it sound as if all of Ennd’s clubs required such a “tall, technically outstanding, and selfless yer who could pass to his teammates as well as score goals on his own.” Finally, after listing out Crouch’s various positive attributes, Tang En stated that the yer was an important member of the Forest Team. Under the situation where Forest had to y in multiple leagues, Tang En was not prepared to give up a yer with such unique abilities.
But honestly? Upon receiving Liverpool’s first offer, Tang En had already decided to sell the towering yer. On one hand, Evan was no Abramovich, and Nottingham Forest was no Chelsea. The finances of the club could not possibly be only incurring losses without any profit. After purchasing so many yers two years in a row and hardly selling any of them, Forest needed to adequately cost-save through such sales.
On the other, Tang En was also aware that he had too many tall center-forwards on the team: Viduka, Bendtner, and Crouch. Having all three of them was a bit excessive. The best way to resolve that was to sell one. In the current transfer market, there were not many parties interested in Viduka. Bendtner was a yer Tang En absolutely refused to sell because of his youth; he could still represent Forest for a very long time. Crouch was the only suitable candidate.
Tang En was just a little disdainful about Liverpool’s offer of 7.5 million.