<h4>Chapter 459: A New Potential Change in the yers</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Nyoi-Bo Studio <strong>Editor: </strong>Nyoi-Bo Studio


    During the duration of the World Cup, Dunn observed numerous yers. His sights were mainly focused on yers who were of little renown and inexpensive. But he was only in charge of providing such a name list. The final decision maker was still Tang En.


    Based on thest two seasons, Tang En clearly understood the weakness of the team and which positions they needed to add more yers to or sell some for.


    For example, in the fight for the Champions League against Barcelona, he deeply felt ack of capable substitutes on his own team.


    First, an analysis of the team’s starting line-up.


    In most situations, Forest’s starting formation would be 442, the two forwards being Viduka and Anelka. Between the two, Anelka was doubtless of a world-ss standard. Meanwhile, Viduka was already gradually unable to catch up with the steps of Nottingham Forest’s development. In any mid-tier English Premier Team, the Australian forward was certainly able to y as a core yer and the attacking core. However, when they were up against even stronger opponents, he would reveal ack in his individual capabilities. For the bench line-up, he would be above parpared to the others. However, as a core yer in the formation… Tang En felt that it still required consideration.


    The majority of the time, Forest’s midfield stood in a t back four. George Wood and Arteta were in the center, with one leaning towards a defensive focus and the other leaning towards the offensive. Franck Ribéry and Ashley Young were positioned on the two sides, left and right. Their remarkable speed and assists were Forest’s main attacking strategy.


    In Germany’s World Cup, Ribéry yed as France’s core yer. He was a key yer in helping the team sessfully advance from the group stage. His abilities needed no further boration.


    While Ashley Young was a substitute, it should be taken into consideration that the right-hand position of the side midfielder was taken by Ennd’s captain, Beckham. So, Young’s abilities should not be doubted either.


    The set of yers for the core line-up would certainly rank in the top five in the Premier League.


    Now, a look at the rear defenders and goalkeeper:


    Nottingham Forest’s defensive line was very young. The oldest of them was the 26-year-old Chimbonda. Piqué and Pepe were both young but outstanding yers. At times, however, they stillcked experience, often the most crucial aspect of a defensive line.


    Leighton Baines and Chimbonda were the left and right fullbacks of the team. Their performances in their respective positions were extremely assiduous.


    The goalkeeper was the main goalkeeper in Nethend’s National Team that everyone was familiar with, Edwin van der Sar. As the number one guardian god on the Forest Team, his performance has been spectacr, so much that his substitute goalie, Paul Gerrard, had no opportunity to y in matches to maintain his condition.


    This core yer line-up was certainly in the top five of the EPL.


    So, bing the runners-up in the Leaguest season was a true reflection of their abilities.


    Getting runner-up in the Champions League in itself was already an incredible result, one worthy of pride. But thereiny the question: why were they only the League’s runners-up, but not the League’s champions?


    Inparison with the pompously rich Chelsea, or Manchester United and Arsenal with their deep foundations and many years of nurturing, Forest’s performance in these two years make them seem like Nouveau riche. They depended on their opponent’sck of understanding of them, underestimation, as well as their own drive and enterprising spirit to rush up to their high position in a single breath.


    If Tang En was already satisfied, such a line-up would allow him to survive in the EPL. Preventing relegation would not be a problem, and if they yed a little better in each season, they could even take part in the Europeanpetitions.


    But was that what Tang En wanted?


    It was not.


    He wanted to get number one, to be the champions and be a champion manager. He did not want to only get by in the nation with his familiar face as a famed general.


    What was he going to do if he hoped for the team’s results to rise even a level higher? Other than adjusting the formation of the core team, what was more important was to stockpile the bench with substitutes of stronger capabilities.


    The experience of the countless people ahead of them proved an indisputable truth – any team which suddenly erupted into sess was certain to have an admirable core line-up formation. However, when the Nouveau riche sailed across the sky of the international football scene like a shooting star, what made their rapid sess and downfall was their strong core formation, and the tragic reserve line-up buried beneath.


    Earlier, it was mentioned that Nottingham Forest’s current core formation was enough to rank in the top five of the EPL. That said, inparison with such a glorious core formation of immense strength, their reserves were unjustifiable.


    Of the three lines, the ability of the reserves for the forward line was likely to be the strongest. Denmark’s youth prodigy Nics Bendtner’s talent was without doubt. However, he was still much too tender currently. Meanwhile, due to Eastwood’s severe injury in the season before thest, he had not been fielded very much in the previous season. Even after recovery from his injury, he appeared on the field mostly as a substitute.


    The capabilities of the two were without question. They onlycked a method of proof.


    The reserves’ abilities for the midfield showed the beginning of a downtrend.


    George Wood never had a suitable substitute. The number of times d yer, Gunnarsson was fielded in a season could be counted on one hand. Pinning hopes on him to strengthen the team’s capabilities was an impossible task. The two most secure positions in Nottingham Forest were the goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar, and their defensive midfielder, George Wood.


    Regarding the other midfielder, Arteta, he and Albertini’s situation were unique. Originally, Albertini was not supposed to be a substitute. However, it could not be helped that the one injury he sustained before the season triggered a massive activation of all the chronic problems that he had umted in his professional career. With his body declining day by day, he was unable to finish an entire season in such a highly challenging and highlypact league. As a result, the Spaniard who had only been in the team for half a season, Mikel Arteta, was pushed up by Tang En at thest minute, bing Wood’s most frequent midfield partner in the Premier League.


    In this manner, even with Albertini’s recovery and return to the team, it was unavoidable for him to y as a substitute because it was impossible for Tang En to split the new midfield partners who were beginning to have a better tacit understanding of each other and who worked well together.


    The two, Albertini and Eastwood, were proof of Tang En’s rule about “not personal preferences, but only yer conditions and performances” when it came to the deployment.


    Albertini was an outstanding and qualified substitute. His experience and technique were immensely helpful to the team. The man, depending on his brain in ying football, was able toprehensivelyplete the missions given to him by the manager in a limited time. It was a great loss for Tony Twain that such a brilliant yer could only represent Forest in battle for another season. He could always spend more money to get good yers, but experience was priceless.


    Strictly speaking, Ribéry’s substitute was Kris Commons. However, his abilities, despite his passionate love for Forest Team, were at best mid to bottom tier of the English Premier League. Despite this, Tang En did not intend to get rid of him. The team needed such loyal people. The fans also approved of Commons with his hardworking and uining attitude, as well as his devoted loyalty to the team. However, letting him be Ribéry’s substitute was not very reassuring.


    Other than searching for a substitute for Ribéry on the transfer market to solve this, another simple solution would be to change Gareth Bale into a left midfielder instead of a fullback on the left wing. Bale was still young; it would aid him in gaining experience if he yed a few more years as a substitute.


    Ashley Young’s substitute was the young champion, Aaron Lennon. In the limited chances he got to be in the field in thest season, Lennon had shown his talent, delighting Tang En. His situation was different from the other midfield substitutes. What Tang En fretted over was not ack of ability from Lennon. Instead, it was how he could satisfy Lennon’s hopes of getting to y in more matches,k how he could strike a bnce in the rtionship between two outstanding yers. Tang En believed that with Forest going all out in the new season, it would be no problem for Lennon to gain more opportunities to be fielded.


    For the substitutes on the defensive line, both the right and left fullbacks were extremely capable. Although Sun Jihai’s appearances on the field in the previous season were not as frequent as Chimbonda’s, he was not someone the team could simply dispense with. His ability to take on diverse roles made him an excellent utility yer whenever Tang En was faced with an urgentck of yers.


    Gareth Bale, who was earlier mentioned regarding midfield substitutions, could y as a fullback on the left or as a left midfielder. If he was changed into ying as a left midfielder, there would then be no substitution left for the left fullback… Tang En’s initial conceptualization was to make Bale a well-rounded talent on the entire corridor of the left wing; to be able to y both midfield and fullback. In that way, no matter which position it was that needed to be filled, he could do the job. They could use one person as two. This might even gain him more opportunities to be fielded.


    The reserves for center back were Matthew Upson and Wes Morgan. Both belonged to the category of yerscking ability. The difference between the two was that Matthew Upson was a purchase after the team’s rush into the English Premier League, whereas Wes Morgan was a yer nurtured from the team’s own Youth Training Camp. Thetter’s situation was simr to that of Commons. Even if Morgan’s abilities made it certain that he would never be able to y as a core yer within the team, and even ying as a substitute might render assaults from critics, Tang En would not consider selling him away unless he himself asked for a transfer. Even then, Tang En would do his best to convince him to stay.


    This person was their own. Ennd’s teams strongly valued their own. No matter how their abilities were, so long as they were their own, they would be able to attain preferential treatment and the fans’ favor.


    Ending the discussion on the defensive line and moving on to the goalkeepers, the number one reserve was naturally Paul Gerrard, who had substituted in during the finals of the Champions League. Reserve number two for the goalkeeping position was Barry Roche.


    This position was both crucial and awkward at the same time.


    The position of a goalkeeper was unique. After determining the main goalkeeper, it would not be easily changed unless he got injured or was suspended from matches.


    A core goalkeeper only needed to have the ability and maintenance of a stable condition to be able to stand in front of the goal gates for many seasons in a row. It was always the core goalkeepers who people remembered from sessful teams. How many people know of Schmeichel’s substitute goalkeeper in Manchester United? About Casis’ sub in Real Madrid? Or the name of Buffon’s substitute in Juventus?


    Choosing a substitute goalkeeper was as difficult as searching for a sub for George Wood. On one hand, they needed to have the ability, so they could not be too weak. On the other, they had to be able to withstand the loneliness and be willing to be a substitute. Where would they find such a yer? Who was willing to only be a reserve? Who did not desire to be a core yer? If one had the ability to be a core goalkeeper on another team, why would they choose toe here to be a substitute instead?


    After the finals of the Champions League, Tang En began considering the candidates for a substitute goalkeeper. In the end, after having taken a trip to China and with the World Cup ended, there was still no suitable candidate that he had in mind.


    A name shed across in his mind once, “Wang Dalei”. But he immediately dismissed it. It was not that he was afraid to buy Chinese yers. Furthermore, Wang Dalei at this point was someone with much potential and talent; no matter how, he was evaluated by FIFA to be among the “five most anticipated new stars.” The crucial issue was not Wang Dalei’s abilities, but that he simply did not have the qualifications to y in the English Premier; he had never managed to get a 75% representation for China’s National Team in any senior international matches. Even if Forest really bought him, they would not be able to get a work permit for him. And going to the lengths of especially activating the “Exceptional Talent use” was much too wasteful for a substitute goalkeeper.


    This was the current situation of Nottingham Forest’s main and reserves formation.


    Nottingham Forest’s root in getting a foothold within the English Premier League was based on defense and counterattacking. ording to reason, Forest’s defense should already be extremelyprehensive with no need for further improvements. However, Tang En still chose to begin his work from the defense this time; to improve on the abilities of the defense substitutes and raise the internalpetitiveness within the team.


    He did not want the group of boys to think that their holds over the core positions were stable.


    So, in summer, the team would be bringing in support beginning from the defensive line, but he would notment more on the goalkeeping position. The center back position also required reinforcing. Both Pepe and Piqué were still young, so Tang En was leaning towards finding a capable fullback who was a bit older and more experienced on the transfer market to make up for theirck of experience.


    And then he had to figure out a way to get a substitute for Wood. Otherwise, it might be a breaking point in a crucial match when Wood got suspended from matches because of umted yellow cards or a red card. Just think about the Champions League’s finals… If George Wood were there, Tang En would not feel that his team had had one yer fewer than Barcelona even if Edwin van der Sar were to be fouled out.


    If they had had a qualified substitute, Tang En could change them out with Wood during the end stages of the match with Arsenal, minimizing his risks.


    Tang En’s n wasmendable, but he had not managed to implement it in time.


    Just as he was about to begin adjusting the team, beginning from the defensive line, a fact was set before him, telling him that he needed to change his ns and adjust beginning from the forward line instead.


    “Our reporters have gotten pictures of Anelka’s brothers walking out of a hotel with Benítez… This Spanish restaurant is Benítez’s favorite ce to eat at in Liverpool. The question is, what were Anelka’s agents doing there?”


    If not for Tang En’s decision on a whim to switch on the television to watch the sportingpetitions, he might not have seen that news report at all. He would have been left in the dark until the other party revealed their cards.


    So, it was not hard to imagine what he had felt when he saw the news.


    He felt that he had been deceived.


    He still remembered what he had once told Anelka: “When you want to leave, be certain to let me know.”


    But now?


    If he had not watched the sporting news, he would not have even realized that the two damned brothers of Anelka secretlymunicating with Liverpool!