If the Premier League is divided into factions according to China's custom, then Tony. Donn is obviously with Stuart. Pierce is from the same trench. Because they're all Brian. Clough's descendants and apprentices belong to the "Clough faction".

Stuart. Pearce is known as a tough guy in English football, and he even earned the nickname "The Madman" for his tough style and surname, a nickname that has followed him for almost his entire career. The media in England once described him as having the "heart of an oak tree", which is known for its hardness of wood.

Why did Pierce be mentioned in the match against Manchester City?

Although the current manager of Manchester City is still Kevin. Keegan, but Donn knew in his heart that after this year, Keegan would be out of class, and the person who would take over this position at that time would be his assistant coach, Keegan's most important Stuart. Pierce. And it's not just Donn who pays attention to this man, but the local media in Nottingham also pays attention to him.

Because Pierce was, and still is, a god in the hearts of Nottingham Forest fans. Twelve years at Forest, 522 appearances and 88 goals, a statistic as a left-back is terrifying.

Tony. There is no one in Donn's current Forest squad who has been able to match Pierce's current status and influence in the hearts of Forest fans, and that has been paid for time and loyalty. When Forest dropped to the First Division in 1992, the rest of the team, including Keane, left the team, with the exception of Pierce, who was wanted to be recruited by Manchester United and other giants at the time, but he turned down the offers, and the legendary captain led the team back to the Premier League a season later. This story is comparable to Batistuta's experience in Florence, except that in the world, Pierce is not as famous as Batistuta.

Pierce was the one he had met, and it was in Burns's pub in the first half of the year at a reception to celebrate Forest's 25th anniversary of winning the European Champions Cup, but the two had just a brief conversation and did not talk deeply. Despite his lack of contact, Don was able to get a general idea of what kind of person Pierce was. Even when drinking and chatting, this person's eyes are very determined, and there are few times when he wanders. If he talks to you, he'll look at you instead of glancing at the ceiling and looking down at his toes.

There wasn't much contact, but Don had a good impression of this man, perhaps because of his sincere attitude.

It wasn't the first time Pearce had returned to the City Stadium since leaving Forest, as City were relegated to the First Division (now the Championship) when he was still a player at Manchester City, where he visited the City Stadium to challenge fellow relegated Nottingham Forest. Before the start of the game, Pierce stood on the sidelines and bowed to the Forest fans in the stands, and when the game began, he continued to defend the Forest players relentlessly, but he received the most applause from the home fans.

Four years later, Pierce is once again on the turf of the City Stadium, but this time he has taken off his jersey and changed into a suit.

Before the game started, the players on both sides were taking pictures on the sidelines, Donn stood in front of the dugout, watching the reporters gather in the away team's dugout, and their focus was only one person, not head coach Kevin. Keegan, but sat next to him Stuart. Pierce.

Forest fans in the stands unfurled huge signs that said, "Welcome home, madman!" ”

There is no higher treatment that an opponent can enjoy.

Don was drawn to all his attention by such a scene. He didn't know if he would be with the Forest for the rest of his life, maybe not...... Who knows what the future holds? If you leave this team and come back to the stadium as an opponent, will you see a sign like this - "Welcome home, Tony"?

It doesn't look like a league game where everybody wants to win, it's a memorial game for someone to go home.

There was a cheer from the stands, and they shouted Pierce's name. In the face of such an enthusiastic Forest fans, Pierce also had to step out of the Manchester City dugout, walk under the stands where the Forest fans are most concentrated, bow and wave to them, and then he received even more cheers and applause.

Even Done supporters like John the Fat and Bill the Skinny stood at the front of the crowd, applauding Pierce with tears in their eyes. Seeing this man reminds them of the old days, when they were with Michael, excited about football, drinking happily, and they were both very young. There is no responsibility for a husband, and there is no need to worry about football hooligans hurting their own children...... Pierce walked from the visitors' dugout to the home team's dugout and waved to the fans. Like the fans, there are some of his most cherished memories here, and he didn't expect to be welcomed back again, with tears in his eyes. It was a rare moment of warmth before the game.

After greeting the fans, Pierce turned to see Don standing next to him, and he walked over and extended his hand to Donn. After all, the two of them have a bit of a friendship, and Tang En did not refuse each other's request to shake hands.

Just shook hands, no one spoke. After the handshake, Pierce turned back to the Manchester City dugout and sat down next to Keegan. Donn saw Keegan turn his head and say something to Pierce, but he couldn't hear it.

The interaction between Pierce and the fans was a pre-match hiccup, and when the game officially began, Forest fans would not applaud Manchester City for being the team from which Pierce retired. Forest fans and Tony. Don is the same, love and hate very clearly!

Although many Chinese fans do not know much about the past and present of this club, it does not prevent everyone from becoming familiar with its name, because Chinese player Sun Jihai plays for this team.

Tang En knows a little about this team, and it is also related to Sun Jihai. Of course, after coming here, he knows more, this time not out of interest, but because his work requires him to know more about his future opponents.

It's an old habit to get to know a team from their head coach. Kevin. Keegan, by Donn's standards, is not a successful coach. Maybe Newcastle fans won't agree with Done's assessment, and others who like Keegan won't either, but Done insists on it. What is a "success coach"? Can a manager who can't lead a team to glory be considered a success?

In addition to the coach with the familiar name, there are now several players in the Manchester City team that Donn is more familiar with - striker Robbie, who started the game. Fowler (robbie_fowww.xstxt.orgills), who was also a member of the England national team at the World Cup in South Korea, and later became famous as one of the eight people involved in the Premier League forceful annihilation case. Sinclair (trevor_sinclair), England international David. James (david_james), Steve, who has played for Liverpool and Real Madrid. McMaraman (steve_mcmanaman), a former France international and goalscorer who has also played for several big clubs, is Niklas. Anelka...... Just by saying these names, it can scare a lot of people.

Of course, there is also the Chinese player Sun Jihai, who is most familiar to Donne, who is also in the starting list of Manchester City.

Since the start of the season, Manchester City have only one win, one draw and two defeats, and for a Manchester City team with those scary names above, 10th place is not a place to be happy with. News have rumoured that the club are already on the verge of finding former Southampton manager Strachan to take Keegan's place. Although Donn understands that Keegan only resigned voluntarily in April of the following year, he cannot deny that if he wins Manchester City, it will be the straw that breaks the camel's back...... Last season's poor backline at Manchester City took their toll and Keegan has been working to revamp the backline since the start of the season, with Dunn and Distin being key figures, but their performances have been up and down, and they have been inconsistent at all.

Sun Jihai's defensive performance does not seem to be outstanding in attack, coupled with the injury and absence of the main midfielder Barton, the bad luck is all in one piece.

Donn has carefully studied the current Manchester City team, and the defense is still the team's biggest hole. Needless to say, Al Neka has scored three goals in four league games. Wright-Phillips has firmly occupied the position of the team's main right midfielder, and this small man, who was once considered to have no future in Nottingham Forest's youth team, has attracted the attention of countless giants. With the addition of the experienced "God" Fowler, McMalaman, who partnered with Fowler in Liverpool, such an attacking lineup, at least in terms of fame, completely overwhelmed the Forest team.

After the big game against Arsenal in the last round, Donn believes that the current Premier League teams will pay more attention to Forest, and Keegan may not underestimate this opponent at Forest's home stadium. The heart of the enemy will definitely be put away a lot.

Donn's tactic is to pinch out Anelka and Fowler when defending, and then use his wing attack to suppress Wright. Phillips and McMallaman. Scoring will be the key word in this game, and since coach Keegan cares so much about Manchester City's poor backline, Done has made his belief in revamping the backline a little stronger......

(To be continued)