Middlesbrough, who were forced away from the box by Forest's defence, could only try to blast Forest's door open with a long-range shot, which was perhaps the best way to break down the dense defence. However, they lack a player with excellent long-range shooting ability, and sometimes the shot may make the Forest fans break out in a cold sweat, but it does not threaten the safety of the Forest goal.

Donn was unmoved, he felt that the team's current tactics were very good, and they just restrained Middlesbrough's attacking play. As long as McLaren doesn't move, he doesn't have to adjust.

The two managers sat in their respective positions and pondered, but the fans in the stands found the final boring. The first half was almost over, with Forest having only one shot on goal, and Middlesbrough, although they looked ferocious, did not have a good chance, more often than not, they could only cross in front of the Forest defence and fall to the ground, if they went forward, they were quickly cut off.

Nottingham Forest's defence made Middlesbrough's players frustrated. The manager gave no further instructions, so they had to follow the pre-match row...... However, the tactics arranged before the game are clearly not suitable for the current Forest team.

Only Downing is still working hard, and it was the League Cup final. As Donn said, this is his best chance as a young rookie to make a name for himself and make a name for himself with one goal. What are he waiting for if he doesn't behave at this time?

But he wanted to become famous, but he picked the wrong opponent.

The Forest team, which is dense defense and compresses space, is definitely not the best opponent for Downing to play his strengths. The two people who played against him were Forest right-back John Brown. Thompson, one is a right-sided midfielder, but looks more like right-back Ashley. Poplar.

Ashley. Yang is fast, his body is flexible, and he is not at a disadvantage at all when he is one-on-one with Tang Ning. And John. Although Thompson is far inferior to his opponents in terms of individual ability, he has a good advantage that has led Donn to buy so many people in the winter transfer window, that is, he did not bring in a right-back.

As a centre-back turned full-back, Thompson's assist ability cannot match that of Leighton on the other side. Barnes can't compare his individual skills to Ashley in front of him. Yangby, it seems that he doesn't seem to have any shining points. But he has been Forest's main right-back since Donn took over. Because he plays cleanly and he does his duty as a defender. The cross is not accurate, if the speed is not fast, he will not go up to assist, and if the technique is not good, he will kick the ball. With him, the right side of the Forest team is safe, so Ashley. Yang has played several crosses in the game many times, because he knows that there is Thompson behind the ball after conceding the ball.

This game because of Ashley. Young came back to defend, with Thompson positioned closer to the middle of the box, preventing opposition forwards on the ribs and attacking home to take advantage of the gap. Of course, he's actually here to add depth to the wide defence, and Downing's individual ability is outstanding, and Done knows Ashley. Young, a temporary cameo defender, couldn't afford him, so Thompson was arranged to be the second gate here. When Downing comes up with the ball, Thompson goes to help Ashley. Young defends. In the face of this right-back who is dedicated and never drags his defensive moves, Downing really has no good way.

"Downing was replaced by Ashley. Yang and John. Thompson teamed up to see death, and at this point, all of Middlesbrough's offensive means were useless. What's new for McLaren? "Even Martin in the commentary box. Taylor and Andy. Gray saw it, and they believed that McLaren couldn't have seen it.

In fact, it is not difficult to see the problem, as long as the fans who have watched the ball for a few more years can see it. The hard part is how to solve the problem, that's the manager's job.

"In fact, there are a few ways to break down the dense defense. One is a long-range shot, the other is to bring up players with very good skills at their feet, and use individual breakthroughs to disrupt the Forest's defense and open up the ....... Gray gives McLaren advice from the commentary bench.

McLaren understands all these truths, and he is also a head coach. Here's the problem...... He knew he might be able to break down Forest's dense defence, but he didn't have the players to do so. The best player on the team was Juninho, who was beaten by George on the field. Wood's ferocious close-to-hand pressing, regardless of physical strength, was completely out of shape.

And there were no players on the bench who could do that. Cenden has a hand in the breakthrough, but unfortunately he can only be on the wing, and he has to replace Downing. McLaren believes that Downing's role is incomparable to Cendon's, and if he replaces Downing, it will obviously be a waste of a substitution.

Maybe...... If Juninho were to come off the bench, would it be better than if he had started? Once the Forest defence has become accustomed to starting Middlesbrough, it can completely upset the balance of the pitch by suddenly bringing on a player who has outstanding individual ability, excellent skill at his feet, and can dribble through several others to create opportunities for his teammates...... It's a pity that such a person can no longer be found on the bench at Middlesbrough.

The depth of Middlesbrough's bench was the biggest constraint on their rise to the Premier League rankings, and in this important final, it was unexpectedly a dilemma for McLaren.

McLaren is now beginning to regret his decision. The idea of coming up and attacking with the intention of breaking the deadlock as soon as possible and setting the tone of the game has now been proven to be wrong. He didn't expect Tony. Coach Donn is such a difficult person. Bolton Wanderers boss Sam Allardyce should have been a wake-up call, but the First Division, South Dressing Room ...... The mess made him lose his vigilance. He overestimated himself and Middlesbrough and underestimated Tony. Nottingham Forest, where Donn and young lads are the majority.

The first half passed without a shock, except for the die-hard fans of both sides, I believe that no one will be satisfied with this first half. What kind of game did they look forward to seeing? There were no great shots, let alone thrilling goals. Middlesbrough tried their best, but could not attack; Nottingham Forest was conservative and passive, did not dare to attack, and just consumed 45 minutes like this, and the referee did not give a second of stoppage time, and the whistle ended the first half.

※※※ Forest players who returned to the locker room except for George Brown. Wood, everyone else, without exception, was gasping for air. The first 45 minutes of the first half were really tiring for them, running non-stop, sprinting, tackles, and then getting up and continuing to repeat the series of actions just now.

This set of tactics is very demanding on the physical fitness of the players, so Donne's training intensity this week is not small at all, and in addition to tactical training every day, physical training is essential.

You know, it's easy to play 45 minutes like this, but to play 120 minutes like this, it's not as easy as you think.

Looking at these tired players, Donn smiled: "How's it going?" How did it feel in the first half, guys? ”

"Not bad, sir. They don't stand a chance! "Wes. Mogan replied panting, in high spirits. This reassured Donn.

"I can see that they don't have a chance. I don't think McLaren thought we'd play them like this in this game, they thought we'd press out and fight them – that's a fool's job. Donn shrugged, "If you keep playing like this in the second half, they'll get more and more impatient." Guys, you've all seen it...... Super teams are no more than that. Nothing to worry about, listen to me, we can win the first championship! We will have many more champions in the future! Do you believe me? ”

"Believe it, boss!" The players replied in unison.

"Good." Don nodded, "Now free to move around, rest well." After that, the race was tougher. ”

It's rare that he didn't make any adjustments at half-time, tactical set-ups and anything like that. Because the team is in good shape right now, there is no need to adjust. Leaving time for the players at this time will help them relax. Sometimes the coach needs to keep talking, and sometimes the coach better keep his mouth shut.

It's time to talk about it...... Maybe it's the one next door.

McClaren looked at the group of players in front of him with a gloomy face, and the team encountered stubborn resistance from Nottingham Forest, which no one expected before the game. Some even thought it would be the easiest Carabao Cup final. Does anyone still think that way now?

Like the Nottingham Forest players, Middlesbrough are also out of breath, but in fact their fatigue is more due to psychological burden. The gap with the pre-game fantasy is too big, the opponent's stubborn resistance, and the crisis of not being able to score goals for a long time...... This pressure grows over time.

It's incredible, why is there more pressure on a team with a dominant field than a team at a disadvantage? But this is football, and there are a lot of things on the pitch that can't be analyzed with common sense.

McLaren would love to take the pressure off the team if he could. But it's not possible, and now the team is already tense up at a critical moment when you say to the players, "Hey, guys! Don't be so nervous, it doesn't matter if you can't win this game, even if we lose, as long as we do our best. Don't worry about the result and enjoy the football! ”

So it's not about decompressing the team, it's about opening the floodgates to deflate the team. What coach would say to a player in an important final: "It doesn't matter if you win or lose, enjoy football"? Then he must be an idiot. If you do this often, it will also make the players feel that the manager lacks the best to win, and has no confidence in the players, and over time, his position in the team will come to an end.

(To be continued)