The Young Lion

John Hendry's thick long legs suddenly came into Keller's sight, making Keller feel like a bolt from the blue!

He could only watch Hendy hit the ball with his toes, and then slid and shoveled the ball into the goal.

John Hendry! John Hendry! You couldn't see him for almost the entire first half, but at this moment, he and Fleming who assisted him completed a beautiful cooperation. He broke through Mill Wall's defense, then stretched out a kick and sent the ball into the goal of Millwall, Middlesbrough equalized the score! Millwall's clean sheet defense declared in front of Middlesbrough Record broken!

Since the start of the league, Thuram-Stam-Southgate-Neil Keller, the five-man defensive combination including the goalkeeper in the defense, tasted the feeling of being broken into the goal for the first time.

The crowd cheered at the Ayersume Park Stadium, and the Middlesbrough players gathered in a group to celebrate wantonly, and then walked towards the backcourt with their heads held high, as if it was expected to equalize the score, and their mature game Experience is their greatest reliance.

Apart from clenching his fists and waving after seeing the goal, Bryan Robson didn't do anything else, but he was calm and composed.

Aldridge clapped his hands calmly towards the court, telling the players not to lose heart and take ten thousand steps back, the game is just back to the starting point.

But this conceded the ball, Aldridge felt speechless, and he knew in his heart that Robson taught him a lesson.

Millwall's conceded goal has nothing to do with personal ability, nor is it a player error. It is entirely due to the effectiveness of Middlesbrough's tactics.

Tactics pay attention to winning by surprise.

If Middlesbrough let the two full-backs step forward to assist at the beginning of the game, then Aldridge believes that the two sides of Middlesbrough will not do anything in the whole game, at least Thuram will definitely In this way, in terms of defensive ability, wide players who can break through Thuram head-on, at least in the League One arena are rare.

At this moment, Aldrich suddenly realized that Middlesbrough's previous conservatism was just a tactic to paralyze the opponent.

The defensive 532 formation deceived everyone, and the slow pace of the game created a fog of illusion for Millwall's defense. When Millwall's defensive players were habitually full of confidence, Middlesbrough The full-back suddenly stepped forward at high speed and caught Millwall's defense by surprise.

Tactically, the effect of winning by surprise was achieved. This kind of sudden acceleration from slow to fast rhythm did not even occur to Aldridge.

Aldrich thought to himself: Brian Robson, who is watching the food, has a trick.

But he is not discouraged in his heart. Now this Millwall team has not yet fully formed. The rhythm of the game and the flexible use of tactics are still in its infancy. Delsburg is already a very mature team, and it is difficult to improve.

The middle circle kicked off again. Millwall's defense learned the lesson just now. Not only were the two full-backs paying special attention to the opponent's side attack, but Pires and Schneider also started long-distance retreat defense on the defensive end.

Seeing the Millwall players quickly adjusting themselves on the field, Robson, who originally wanted to take advantage of the victory and chase after the opponent before he recovered, shook his head, and made a calm gesture to the players, signaling that they should not take the risk of attacking. .

The first half was coming to an end, and Aldridge was very calm when he saw that the opponent played the slow-paced conservative tactics again.

Millwall's defense will not be crushed by a conceded goal, this is a defense he has spent so much effort on shaping.

The referee blew the whistle for the end of the first half, and Aldridge left the field first and returned to the locker room.

Morale is such an ethereal thing that is wonderful.

If Millwall had conceded the ball first and then leveled, there would have been momentum.

But Millwall scored first and was equalized, so the players felt a little depressed.

Obviously the score is 1:1, but there will always be a weird feeling of something being snatched away.

This is human nature, and Aldrich more or less felt this way in his heart.

It is precisely this kind of emotional change that Aldridge is very afraid of losing in the early stage of building the team, let alone being reversed, that is simply a big taboo!

It takes time to cultivate the team's calm mentality and get rid of the mentality of worrying about gains and losses. It is a long way to go to temper a strong heart that is not surprised by honor or disgrace in big scenes.

The players who returned to the locker room were silent, sitting on the bench panting heavily, the atmosphere was a bit oppressive, as if the air had been frozen.

Aldridge didn't want them to bear the pressure. When the pressure could not bear, it would lead to a series of negative emotions, so he shrugged and smiled lightly: Robert, you should practice shooting well when you go back.

The players were taken aback for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Pires smiled bitterly: Boss, can you forget about that goal? Give me a hundred more chances, and I won't slip.

He knew that the weird goal in the first half was bound to become a joke among his teammates.

Aldridge spread his hands and said: No, no, if I give you a hundred chances, it doesn't matter if you slip a hundred times, just kick the ball in for me, even if you shoot with your hip, I will applaud you .”

Ha ha ha ha......

The atmosphere in the locker room suddenly became cheerful, and most of the haze caused by the conceded goal at the end of the first half dissipated.

After laughing, Aldrich pressed his hand, and everyone put away their smiles and listened to his tactical arrangement.

When it was time to be serious, Aldridge was never ambiguous, and he never thought that just mobilizing the enthusiasm of the players would make the team win the game.

In front of the tactical board, Aldridge drew the positions of the opponent's defensive players, and said softly: Middlesbrough's defense line was near the penalty area for most of the first half, and they rarely took risks to press forward, and they never tried to make a move. Offside, this is the reason why we couldn't penetrate the offense in the first half. What you have to do in the second half is very simple. We need to attract their defense line and force them to make room in the penalty area for our offensive players to advance. Robert, Bernd, Henrik, the three of you can move around the front of the penalty area, take the ball and take long shots when you have time, there is no need to pursue the angle, the key is the number of kicks and the range of the goal, David, you support the front in the second half The offense of your teammates should serve as the fulcrum of the center forward's offense, and once the opponent's defense line presses forward and compresses our long-range shooting space, you must always be ready to counter-offside, understand?

The players nodded earnestly.

Aldridge reminded a few more defensive issues, and then let the players rest for a while to prepare for the second half.

He has confidence in this back line, he will not fall twice in the same pit, and the sudden wing was pierced like in the first half, and it will never happen again.

In fact, Aldridge would also like to thank Brian Robson. The conceded goal also allowed Millwall players to improve their defensive awareness, which is the accumulation of experience.

Experience is by no means learned or practiced. For defense, it is engraved in the mind after getting up from failure.

Back on the sidelines, Aldridge was still standing. The second half of the match soon began, and the cheers and cheers from fans of both sides filled every corner of the Aiyasumi Park Stadium.

Aldridge was very focused on observing Middlesbrough's tactical changes in the second half. After watching football all over Europe for many years, he seemed to have developed a subconscious habit. He always simulated the opponent's overall formation changes when overlooking the pitch in his mind. .

On the basis of solid defense, Millwall started frequent long-range shots, threatening Middlesbrough's goal several times, which made the fans on both sides very nervous, and Brian Clough responded quickly. Instead of letting the defensive line press forward, he let the frontcourt players recover. Except for John Hendry swimming around in the frontcourt, the other players returned to the halfcourt, forming a situation of more grabs and less.

After winning the ball, Middlesbrough's counterattack also used the width of the court to transfer a wide range of long passes, but the effect was not obvious. Their full backs stepped forward to participate in the support, and they would all be returned to the Millwall wing. Players entangled every step of the way.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, the game became stalemate. The ball was running back and forth between the penalty areas in the two halves. It was almost difficult for both sides to get a shot.

By this time, Aldridge was able to fully see Bryan Robson's tactical setup.

It is neither a defensive 532 nor a winger full defense 352. To be more precise, it is an asymmetrical 442. Although such a formation is visually weird, the formation itself does not explain any problems. A combination of ball styles.

The two full-backs of Middlesbrough have a tacit understanding when they step forward to assist. There will never be two wide players at the same time. There will never be a numerical disadvantage on the defensive end.

However, the miraculous effect of the two wingers taking turns advancing forward often catches the opponent by surprise.

Aldridge was deeply impressed. No wonder Middlesbrough had a turbulent summer, and the team's overall strength did not improve significantly, but they played a good record in the first nine rounds of League One.

Bryan Robson still has some skills to build the team into such a powerful team with limited resources, but this is only in the League One.

What surprised Aldridge even more was that when England was still being poisoned by Charles Hughes' famous POMO theory in the 1970s and 1980s, Middlesbrough's style of play was biased towards ground attack and would not swarm Accumulate offensive players in the frontcourt and directly press the penalty area.

In this era, teams that can counter the long pass and maximum positional opportunity POMO theory and play ground offensive cooperation are unique in England. Because of this, Nottingham Forest won the European title twice back then. Lauf's outstanding achievements have been pushed to the altar of greatness. The Nottingham Forest he coached is using short passes on the ground to cooperate with the offensive tactics.

Aldridge was hesitant. At the moment the situation on the court was deadlocked. If his team could take away a point here, it would do more good than harm for the whole season. Delsburg, it's vital to the morale and psychological impact of the players.

Whether to use risky tactics to win a victory, or to hold a tie, just as Aldridge hesitated, the situation on the field changed suddenly!