When the Nottingham Forest squad flew back to London from Lisbon, the smiles on the players' faces weren't yet there. It's also an away defeat, which is completely different from losing away to Villarreal. Either way, they knew it wouldn't stop them from qualifying from the group stage, so after one night, the players quickly regained their usual vigor and chatted and laughed on the plane.

This time is different.

To lose to Sporting Lisbon is to lose the UEFA Cup this season. A championship this season...... There is no hope. So no one can laugh on the plane.

There are a lot of youngsters in the Forest squad today, and some of them are playing in the top flight for the first time, and they are playing in European competitions for the first time. Such a team has the advantage of being impressed by a defeat. They don't take it seriously, and such failures will continue to affect them later.

Don also kept a straight face. He's not like the players, not entirely because he lost a game or a League Cup, but because he felt stupid. A little tailwind makes me flutter, I don't know why. Want to win the UEFA Cup...... I don't look at the current team and my own strength. Thinking about it now, I feel how ridiculous it was to brag about myself in front of Tang at that time, and I don't know if Tang thinks so too.

In his opinion, it's not that the players didn't do a good job, but that he, as a head coach, found the wrong direction, and he didn't know that the sky was high.

Don was in a bad mood, so no one wanted to deal with him. Chris Rac next to him looked at him several times, wanted to speak and stopped, and finally could only sigh and say nothing.

It was in this silence that the team flew back to England and back to Nottingham.

Their European competitions this season are all over.

When the team arrived in Nottingham, Donn announced that he would disband on the spot, and the whole team would have a half-day holiday, and then resume training the next morning. Even though there was a league game in three days, Donn was in no hurry to get the team together for training right away. After a big fight, he wanted to give the players a little more rest and recuperate.

Of course, there is one reason, and another reason...... Donn himself needs to think about where the Forest will go for the rest of the season...... In the past, when Donn was thinking about this kind of thing, he went back to the bar and thought about it while drinking. Later, after Don came, he had someone to talk to, and Don was more willing to discuss with Tang at home.

This time was no exception.

Tang listened quietly to Tang En's doubts, and then asked, "How many points does the forest team have now?" ”

"Forty-seven, Liverpool forty-four." Don remembers these data very well. "But they have one less game."

Don nodded, he had spoken much more now than he had when he first arrived in England. Don was relieved that he was able to change a person, even if it was just a little. "What about Everton?"

"Fifty-one points, four points away from us. Third in the league is Arsenal, with 61 points, and there is also a 10-point gap with Everton. ”

"The top four in the league qualify for the Champions Cup." Don said, "A four-point gap isn't too much for you, is it?" ”

Tang En looked down and thought for a while, then nodded: "I understand." The next nine league games are between us and Liverpool and Everton. ”

"Don't forget Charlton, Middlesbrough, ......," Don reminded Don waving his hand: "They...... I haven't taken it yet. ”

Tang pursed his lips and smiled.

Don stared at him strangely, "What are you laughing at?" ”

"Nothing." Don shook his head, the smile on his face gone. But Don didn't give up, continued to stare at his face, and finally Tang raised his hand in surrender, "I just thought that you just lost an important game, and now you are so confident......"

Hearing Don say this, Don scratched his head: "I thought about it for a long time on the plane...... No, to be exact, since I lost the game, I've been thinking about it for a long time in my hotel bed. You were right, Don. But you didn't continue to persuade me, did you want me to do this myself? ”

Tang's lips squirmed, but he still didn't say anything.

"When I think about it now, I was stupid, but luckily, we lost early. If I lose in the semi-finals, I'll be empty-handed this season. Don sat at the table, looking at the knife and fork in his hand, the silver metal glittering in the light. Then he looked up and found that Don had been looking at him, smiling self-deprecatingly, "What do you say?" It's not too late to make amends. ”

Tang nodded in understanding, and then shook his head again: "There is something you said that is very right. Football can't be planned. ”

Donn tried his best to show confidence, but in the next 30th round of the league, the exhausted Forest team was completely out of shape, losing 0-2 to Tottenham Hotspur. He lost a great opportunity to reap the benefits of a fisherman...... In this round, Tony? Don's two rivals had a direct conversation. The Liverpool derby kicks off at Anfield.

Regardless of the results and rankings of these two teams in the league, those things are of no reference to the Liverpool derby.

After 90 minutes of fierce fighting, Benitez's Reds prevailed against David Moyes' Everton.

Everton, who sold Graveson and had not made much progress in the winter, were no match for Liverpool on the road, and were beaten 2-0 in the first half. Everton launched a frantic comeback in the second half, and they may no longer care if the game was so fierce that it would affect the whole season. For derby opponents, this game is much higher than a league game in a season.

Red and blue are two of the most traditional colours in English football, and they are rivals in almost any city, such as Manchester United in red and Manchester City in blue, Arsenal in red and Chelsea in blue, Liverpool in red and Everton in blue.

Don't look at the brilliant results of Liverpool FC, in fact, in the city of Liverpool, Everton's history is even earlier than Liverpool FC. Everton are naturally unwilling to lose to Liverpool, even on the road.

In the second half, Everton launched a frantic comeback that even Liverpudlian found a little unbearable. He scored a goal in the middle of the game, but he was unlucky enough to hit the crossbar with a late shot that bounced off the crossbar.

When the referee blew the final whistle, the score on the electronic screen was fixed at 2:1, and Liverpool won at home.

As a result, the points gap between Forest and Everton did not change, and Liverpool caught up with Forest, with 47 points, and then relied on a slim goal difference to overwhelm Forest to fifth, with Forest falling to sixth.

Charlton Athletic, who finished seventh, is at 43 points and four points clear of Forest.

This is actually a situation where three teams are fighting for a Champions Cup spot.

※※※ The match against Tottenham is a little earlier than the Liverpool derby. When the Liverpool derby result came out, Donn was depressed. Because he knew he had missed a great opportunity. If Forest can beat Tottenham at home, they will now be just one point away from Everton and still maintain a three-point advantage over Liverpool, even if Liverpool win the replays. This may be crucial for the final rounds of the sprint.

It's too late to say anything now, and it's another chance to let go. Besides, the team's state is really not good, and there is no way to fight with Tottenham Hotspur, who are waiting for work...... The loss of this game made the media start to hype the theme of "the end of the young coach" again. The sports media is perhaps the most ruthless and utilitarian of all the media in the world. Because sports competitions themselves are about winning or losing. If you behave well, everyone will praise you, and they can buckle you on the head no matter how nice it is. But once you lose, no matter how good you have performed before, there will definitely be a lot of people who will stand up and accuse you and devalue you.

This world is so cruel - winning is winning, losing is losing, and a draw is the most inconspicuous result and the most meaningless.

This kind of thing happened to Tang En a lot in the media two years ago, the winner is king, and the loser is Kou. When he's been a manager and he's been through these things firsthand, he's not going to be indignant about it. On the contrary, he can also use the media to achieve some of his goals.

Like this one...... Forest's elimination from the League Cup, two consecutive league defeats and a three-game winless run have been portrayed as the end of the road for the Forest in the lives of journalists.

Don surprisingly didn't write back against these "bullshit" remarks in his column.

There are twelve days between the next round of the league, during which the national team matches are held. For big clubs, it's a time for the FIFA virus to spread, but for smaller clubs like Nottingham Forest, it's a good time to recuperate and make a preemptive move.

Compared to Liverpool and even Everton, there are few internationals in the Forest team. Van der Sar remains the main goalkeeper for the Dutch national team, with whom he will play in next year's World Cup qualifiers. The four main players in the backline, Hierro has long retired from the national team, Matthew? Epson and Leighton? Barnes was also not selected for the England squad, not to mention Zim Bonda, and there is no place for him in the French national team.

(To be continued, if you want to know what will happen next, please log in, more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!) )

(To be continued)