Godfather Of Champions

Chapter 782: Twain’s Christmas Tree

Aaron Mitchell’s promotion into the first team marked the official commencement of Žigić’s transfer work.

Allan picked a few clubs that had put in the highest bids for Žigić and accepted their offers.

As for Žigić, he had no special thoughts regarding his transfer. He was not one of those loyal subjects who would pledge his undying allegiance to Forest. If the other club is able to offer him an even better contract than the one he has at Forest currently, then he would certainly not reject their offer.

Additionally, he is well aware that the boss has no intentions of keeping him at the club, given Mitchell’s sudden promotion into the first team. It is meaningless for him to stay.

The three clubs whose bids had been accepted by Allan Adams were Premier League’s Newcastle, Bundesliga’s Hamburger SV, and La Liga’s Villarreal CF. All three clubs had put in a bid of 10 million pounds.

A bid of 10 million pounds is very attractive given the current circumstances. It is no wonder that Allan wanted to speak to Twain about it.

Negotiations for Žigić’s transfer proceeded smoothly. Eventually, Žigić chose to go to La Liga’s Villarreal CF, because the club offered him the best personal terms. In addition, they were also a team with the capability of fighting for Champions League spots in the league every season.

Three days later, both Nottingham Forest and Villarreal CF officially announced the completion of the transfer. Žigić has transferred over to the ‘Yellow Submarine’ for a transfer fee of 10 million pounds.

Twain had initially bought Žigić for 10 million euros. Now that Žigić was sold for 10 million pounds, it means that he was sold for 10.8 million euros. Given the current economic situation, being able to make a little bit of profit off a player was considered to be a good deal for the club.

At the very least, it was proof that Twain was spot on with his judgement of players, because the club did not suffer a loss on the players that he had bought.

Žigić’s number 9 shirt was left behind after his departure. Twain gave the shirt to Mitchell.

When he passed the shirt to Mitchell, he kept a long face and told him sternly, “The number doesn’t represent anything. The number 9 does not symbolize that you are a starting player in the team.”

Mitchell has gotten used to the way that his boss speaks and acts. He nodded his head and replied, “I know that, boss. I will do my best.”

Twain’s mouth parted slightly at his response, and he passed it off as a smile.

※※※

Žigić did not perform badly during his time at Nottingham Forest. In the two and half seasons that he played for Forest, he scored a total of 21 goals and provided 25 assists.

Sadly, the team went through its ‘darkest times’ during the two seasons where he was a player for Forest. They did not become the champions for any competition, and they also did not attain a single accolade. Žigić came and left empty-handed.

The Nottingham Forest fans do not regard Žigić to be on the same level as other center forwards in their team, such as van Nistelrooy or Eastwood. Žigić left the team without leaving behind any sort of memorable moment that others would still think about in years to come.

Not too long after Žigić’s transfer had been finalized, John Bostock also accepted Fulham’s loan offer.

Twain specially added a clause in Bostock’s contract which states that, ‘Bostock is not allowed to play in any games between Fulham and Nottingham Forest’.

It is not rare for such a clause to appear in the contracts of players playing for La Liga. In contrast, such a clause is rarely included by Premier League clubs. It was quite ‘shameless’ of Twain to include the clause, but he did not want Forest to be defeated at the hands of a player that they have groomed. The ‘tragedy’ that happened at Real Madrid when they faced RCD Mallorca and Samuel Eto’o should never befall Nottingham Forest.

Ex-Real Madrid player Pablo Garcia once talked about the clause, and he called it a ‘sh*t clause’. One can tell how much he despised the clause.

Twain did not care about the reputation surrounding the clause. Everything of use to him was good!

Fulham did not care about the inclusion of the clause either. They were already halfway through the season, and they would only face Forest once in the remaining games. It was not anything big to not play Bostock for just one game.

However, Bostock was slightly upset about the inclusion of the clause, because he had hoped to get the chance to show off his skills before Twain during the match against Forest, which would then attract Twain’s attention and help him earn a spot in the starting team in the following season.

That was the situation that Twain feared the most. He was afraid that the players he had loaned out to other clubs would play with a desire of proving their worth to their parent club, and they would then perform exceptionally well during the games against Forest and become the star player who defeated his team. This is why he needed to completely eliminate the possibility of such a situation happening before it is too late.

In the end, Bostock accepted the inclusion of the clause. What could he do even if he did not agree to its inclusion? The only two choices for him were to either accept the inclusion of the clause, or to spend the remaining season on the bench.

There are certain times where Twain is your closest friend, but most of the time, he is a despicable demon.

Two players left Nottingham Forest during the winter transfer window, but the club did not bring in any new players. Twain believed that his current line-up was enough to deal with the remaining matches of the season.

※※※

On 16th January, Nottingham Forest faced Everton in an away game. It was the game where Twain was going to unveil his new formation for the very first time.

Moyes had studied Forest’s recent performances in their past few games. He figured that Twain would still insist on playing an attacking style football, but he never expected Twain to change his formation.

Twain might have changed the way his team played football from time to time, but all this while, there were certain things that Twain insisted on and never changed. One, he always placed a strong emphasis on defense. Two, he always made use of the flanks to attack. Three, he always employed two center forwards. Four, he always made use of a defensive midfielder.

4-2-3-1.

That was the formation that Forest was going to use during the match against Everton.

Joe Mattock, Pepe, Jonathan Woodgate and Nicolas Nkoulou make up the back four. Such an arrangement was not surprising. What was surprising was the fact that Twain did not put a defensive midfielder in place!

It was not that George Wood would not be playing in the game. How could he possibly not play in a game when he is in good form, is not sick or injured and has not been banned from playing?

It was just that there were some slight modifications to the position that he would be playing at.

He was not going to play as a defensive midfielder for the match. Both his and his partner Tiago’s positions have been moved forward. They were no longer defensive midfielders but rather central midfielders.

Don’t underestimate this shift. The responsibilities of a defensive midfielder differs from that of a central midfielder’s. A defensive midfielder primarily focuses on defense, whereas a central midfielder typically acts as the bridge between the team’s offense and defense. They are required to play a larger role during the team’s offense.

Forest’s coaching staff have actually been working on developing George Wood’s offensive abilities since a few seasons ago. However, due to the fact that he has always played as a defensive midfielder, only his defensive abilities have been tested thus far.

With this change in position, Wood would be able to unshackle himself and focus more on attacking. It signified a rare breakthrough for both Wood and Forest.

Wood and Tiago were in charge of organizing the team’s offense in the midfield. In addition, they also have to take on the important task of defending. They were the busiest players in their entire team.

The ‘3’ players playing in front of them were Chris Cohen, Matías Fernández and Gabriel Agbonlahor. Cohen and Agbonlahor were positioned at the left and right flanks, while Fernández was positioned in the middle. His central position would allow him to make good use of his long shots to either provide the final pass needed for his team’s attacks, or to score a goal.

Fernández was playing as a playmaker, but he was not playing as playmaker who would organize the team’s attacks. He was playing as a playmaker who would score goals.

Fernández’s ability to score is one of the reasons why Twain chose to use him over Şahin. Şahin’s ability to score goals paled in comparison to Fernández.

It was not surprising that Agbonlahor was playing on the right flank, because he had played at that position numerous times during his time at Aston Villa. It was also not his first time playing as a right winger for Forest.

The center-forward positioned at the very front was Ibišević.

Additionally, Twain has also requested his two full backs to actively participate in the team’s offense, which is a complete change to how he rarely allowed his full backs to go forward and join the offense in the past. It was evident that Twain had really set his heart on playing an attacking style football at Everton’s home ground.

The coaching staff might have gotten Wood to play as the central midfielder during training numerous times before, but it was his first time playing in that position in an actual match, which is why the Nottingham Forest’s coaching staff were all nervously watching how the match played out. They wanted to see if Wood would be able to perform as he did during their training sessions.

Wood did not get used to his new position initially. He kept wanting to run back and play as the defensive midfielder. This forced Twain to chastise him loudly from the side of the pitch, and he made Wood return to his position as a central midfielder.

Retreating backwards was permissible for central midfielders, since their role also involves defense. However, it was not permissible to retreat backwards and not move back up afterwards.

Tiago took on the responsibility of organizing the team’s offense while Wood struggled to get used to his new role. He used to play in this position in the past, so he did not need to get used to it, and was able to get into the role straight away.

※※※

It was obvious from the start of the match that it was the very first time that Forest had employed such a formation and tactic in an actual match, because all the players were trying to get used to the new playing style…

Moyes could not comprehend why Twain would suddenly employ a set of tactics and formation that his players have clearly not gotten used to. However, he did not dwell on things he could not understand.

Since Forest has yet to find their momentum for the match, I’m going to go ahead and take full advantage of this situation!

He instructed his team to start attacking Forest’s goalpost ferociously.

Eventually, on the 17th minute of the match, their genius forward, James Vaughan, displayed his gift right outside Forest’s penalty box.

He initially wanted to make his way into the penalty box after receiving a pass from his team mate, but he faced Tiago’s interception outside the penalty box. Tiago’s tackle did not stop Vaughan completely. He wobbled a little, but was able to regain his composure quickly. He then raised his feet and shot for goal before Wood came over to tackle him. The ball flew over the tip of Akinfeev’s fingers like an artillery shell and flew into the back of the net!

“A worldie!” The commentator roared excitedly. “When Wayne Rooney was still at Everton, he too scored a nearly identical goal in the match against Arsenal! Everton’s fans have all forgotten about Wayne Rooney with how Vaughan has been performing lately! He has already scored 11 goals for the team as Everton’s first choice forward this season! The future ahead of him is very promising!”

The goal set the audience at Goodison Park on fire. Everton’s fans began doing waves at the stands to celebrate. They were like a sea that had just been hit by a storm.

Twain felt a little crestfallen.

This was the difference between a genius player and an ordinary player… An ordinary player would choose to give up when he has to deal with interceptions from both Tiago and Wood, whereas a genius player would grasp at the fleeting chance and send the ball into the net through a small gap between players…

The blame is definitely not on him as the manager…

Now that his team is trailing behind, should he revert back to the 4-4-2 formation that they are used to?

It was not impossible to make the changes based on their current line-up. Agbonlahor could be moved into the center-forward position, and Cohen could take over on the right flank.

However, Twain adamantly said, ‘No!’ to the idea.

He has to stick with the 4-2-3-1 formation. He firmly believes that it would be Everton’s turn to be down in luck once his team gets used to the new playing style!

The might of the 4-2-3-1 formation has already been shown during training. The problem right now was how to successfully display that same might during an actual match.

The key to solving the problem lies with George Wood. If he is not able to get into his new role, then it will affect the team’s performance as a whole.

Twain believes that Wood’s sense for football is not that terrible. After all, he is a player that Demetrio Albertini thinks highly of. Albertini is a man whom people call the ‘commander of the midfield’. He is known for having a keen sense for football!

George Wood finally started getting used to playing in his new position after struggling for 20 minutes on the pitch. However, he had his own insights on how to play in his new position. He did not only anchor himself at the position of the central midfielder. He was more flexible, and the way he played was akin to how the traditional box-to box midfielders used to play in England. His playing style allows him to actively put in good performances in both the team’s offense and defense.

Players who adopt such a playing style have to cover a large area on the pitch, and it is very physically demanding. However, stamina is Wood’s forte, so he did not need to worry about being drained out in the later stages of the match due to him running back and forth constantly throughout the match. It was a playing style that suited Wood nicely.

Twain smiled after seeing how Wood was playing his new role as the central midfielder. It was not what Twain had put in place for him, but Wood’s way of doing things was actually much better.

Let him find a way to play that suits him the most. Maybe he would play in a way that exceeds all our expectations.

Wood began his performance of sprinting back and forth from one penalty box to the other.

He stopped Everton’s attacks. He organized Forest’s offense. He kept appearing at every single place where he was needed. He was so full of energy that it made him seem like a superman.

“George Wood tackles away Vaughan’s ball! Did he foul him? No, it was a clean tackle!”

“George Wood’s through ball! Brilliant! It went past all the Everton defenders! But sadly there’s no one who could receive it… He kicked it too hard…”

“He tries to do a long shot! But the ball goes over the bar!”

“Ohhhhh! George Wood! He has stopped Everton’s counterattack once again!”

Nottingham Forest’s two central midfielders make up the core of their new tactic. George Wood is the key player between the two central midfielders, and his performance is pivotal to the team’s success. If Wood performs well, then the whole team performs well.

On the 40th minute of the first half, Wood intercepted Tim Cahill’s ball and then passed it over to Tiago. Tiago subsequently passed the ball over to Cohen, who was positioned at the right flank.

Cohen passed the ball into the middle. Everton’s goalkeeper, Tim Howard, made an error in his judgement when he came out to try and keep the ball away. He failed to touch the ball and allowed it to fly over his head!

How could Ibišević possibly miss out on such a good chance? He broke free from Joseph Yobo who was marking him and jumped up. He then headed the ball into the net!

This is the advantage of playing two central midfielders. The team is able to snatch the ball from their opponents and go on the counterattack instantly. There is no delay when they make the switch, and it also doesn’t give their opponents a chance to snatch the ball back in the midfield.

※※※

During half time, Twain acknowledged his players’ performance in the latter part of the first half. He told them to keep playing in the same way in the second half. Everton is incapable of stopping Forest when they go all out in their offense.

It was just like Twain said.

In the second half, Everton put up a resistance for a short period of time, but Nottingham Forest was able to seize complete control of the game thereafter.

Playing five midfielders was not just for show. It was a tactic that will allow Forest to control the midfield and stop the opponents’ attacks in the midfield. In addition, it will also allow the team to pressure the opponent’s defense and gain the upper hand in the game. Once the team gains the upper hand, they can then turn this advantage into a victory.

Twain had deliberately chosen Everton to be the club that he tried his new tactic and formation on. He was afraid that something would go wrong if he tried them against a strong opponent, and there was also no point in trying them out on weak teams.

Therefore, Everton, being a mid-table team who has been performing consistently, and who also has the ability to fight for the qualifying spots to get into the Champions League, was the best candidate for Twain to try his new tactic and formation on.

Poor Moyes…

On the 80th minute of the match, Nottingham Forest’s domination in the game finally paid off.

What happened this time round was that Matías Fernández first created space by running off the ball. Tiago then passed the ball directly into the empty space and Ibišević was onside to score his 14th goal of the season in the Premier League. He has now scored a total of 16 goals in all competitions.

Ibišević only has to score four more goals in order for Twain to win his bet with Carl Spicer. To the current Ibišević, scoring four goals was not a problem at all.

Ultimately, Nottingham Forest defeated Everton with the two goals from Ibišević. However, in actuality, the true reason behind why the team was able to win Everton was because of Twain’s ‘Christmas Tree’.

As everyone knows, AC Milan’s 4-3-2-1 formation is known as the ‘Christmas Tree Formation’. Similarly, Twain’s 4-2-3-1 formation also looks like a Christmas Tree, which is why Twain addresses his formation as his own ‘Christmas Tree’. It is ‘unique’ and ‘the one and only tree in the whole world’. To Twain, ‘Other 4-2-3-1 formations cannot be called as a Christmas Tree formation. Only my 4-2-3-1 is a Christmas Tree.’

The statistics for the match highlighted the reason why Everton lost. Nottingham Forest had 59% possession. Their pass accuracy was 79%, and their rate of successful interceptions was 89%. They made a total of 14 shots in the game and 10 of them were on target. In comparison, Everton only made six shots in the game, and only three were on target. They were clearly inferior throughout the game.

During the post-match press conference, Moyes grudgingly admitted to the fact that his team was inferior, “They completely controlled the flow of the match. They deserved to win…”

On the other hand, Twain was very proud of the result. “I am very happy to see such a scene. We won convincingly.”

A reporter asked him for the reason behind why he chose to give up on using the 4-4-2 formation that he had always been using for the past few seasons.

Twain threw out his hands. “Why? Does the 2:1 score and 3 points not answer your question?”

“But hasn’t your style of football always been to defend and counterattack, as well as to employ a 4-4-2 formation?”

“That’s what you think. My style of football has always been the same. It comes in the form of victory and becoming champions. Everything else is nothing more than the means that I use to achieve them. As long as I can win and become the champions, I don’t care if it’s to defend and counterattack, or to go all out in either attack or defense. I also don’t care if it’s a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1 formation.”

Twain smiled as he threw out his well-known phrase,

“I will do anything to win and to become champions.”