The Young Lion

Aldrich seldom reads newspapers. It’s not that there are no news in newspapers, but that there are too many news in newspapers. Although there are no professional football newspapers in the UK, the news about football in various big and small newspapers is very exciting. Dazzling, from the on-court to off-court lace news, from the explosive headlines in the club locker room that seem real or fake, to the guesswork about the future of the team's players, etc., it is dizzying and at the same time, it is impossible to determine the authenticity of the news.

Coupled with the low quality of professional ethics in the British media, Aldrich is naturally too lazy to read newspapers and periodicals. Most of the time, he reads BBC news every day during meals. The club has dedicated staff to collect and verify for him valuable information about football. .

Early in the morning of the third round of the FA Cup, Aldridge got up and dressed, and went downstairs to the dining room to have breakfast with his parents.

Although he is an adult, Aldrich still lives with his parents, probably because he has been away from home often in the past few years, so Arthur and Amelia are very happy, and the family atmosphere is always happy when they eat together every day .

But this morning, when Aldrich sat down at the table, the nanny at home poured him a cup of coffee. As soon as Aldridge picked up the cup, Arthur, who was potbellied and still in pajamas, threw the newspaper in his hand with a beard and a stare. He sat on the dinner table and snorted angrily: Graham, you bastard! His ass is not clean, and he is disgusting others! The shit that spewed out of his mouth, the Times actually published it in a big page, damn it , Ross, from this day on, there will be no subscription to The Times at home!

Ross is an employee of his elder brother Barnett Company, but he was appointed to be Arthur's assistant at Hall's house. He is in his thirties and is a reliable man. Arthur and Amelia travel and spend on weekdays, etc. He is in charge of everything, and he can be regarded as the manager who serves Arthur Hall around the clock. Every morning at seven o'clock, he will definitely come to the villa to wait for orders.

Having breakfast at Hall's had become a habit two years ago, Rose nodded lightly.

Arthur looked at Aldrich, still angry, and said: Son, we have to teach them a good lesson in today's game, especially that Graham, don't think that a few champions are great, Arsenal? Huh, don't say that. The Millwall of today, the Millwall of a few years ago, plays football better than them! The ungrateful fellow!

Aldrich nodded with a smile, and at the same time picked up the Times on the table.

Before reading the content, Aldrich first thought of George Graham.

The meritorious coach of Arsenal still has a relationship with Millwall, but it has nothing to do with the Millwall that Aldridge knew.

Before the arrival of Aldridge in 1986, Graham was the head coach of Millwall, who brought the team from the third tier league to the then League Two. In the 1985/86 season, Millwall stood firm in the League Two. He dropped his heels, and just after that season, he went to take up the reins at another team in London: Arsenal.

The ungrateful in Arthur's mouth is a bit exaggerated. After all, Graham's achievements in Millwall are not worth mentioning.

Graham, who entered Arsenal, helped Arsenal achieve a period of glory before the establishment of the Premier League. The extremely utilitarian practical football opened Arsenal's tactical formation of five defenders. Arsenal won several championship trophies under his hands. Last season he was crowned champion in the European Cup Winners' Cup, but Arsenal did not flourish under him, not to mention letting neutral fans recognize Arsenal, even Arsenal's own fans feel for Arsenal under Graham's coaching Despair, 1:0 doctrine is the main theme of Arsenal,

The defense that only conceded a record 18 goals in the championship season only makes people feel numb. Watching Arsenal's games is as sleepy as walking into a library.

Aldridge read the news carefully, with a tepid expression.

The ostensible source of Graham's outbursts is Millwall's upcoming squad for the FA Cup.

It is no secret that Millwall has two lineups. Pre-match predictions are also a boring thing for the media. Thomson of the Sun wrote an article looking forward to this game. Thomson, a reporter that Odd knows well, understands Millwall's current situation very well. Based on the Carling Cup game against Newcastle United as an example, he boldly predicted that Aldridge would still send a younger No. Two lineups to deal with Arsenal.

Compared to the thriving Newcastle United, Arsenal is going downhill. The achievements of that glorious Arsenal team last season are already at the end of their strength. Facing such an opponent, Aldridge should still use the strategy of using the second team in cup games. .”

Such words reached Graham's ears, and the opponent began to attack Millwall the day before the game.

It's not aimless.

For example, Aldridge's entry into Millwall forced the entire coaching staff to resign. All players from last season, except goalkeeper Keller and rookie Lucas, were abandoned.

Even Aldridge's huge spending on signings has become a target for his attacks.

Aldridge is a typical example of deviance in the relatively conservative English football at this stage.

After reading the cover headline published by The Times, Aldrich leisurely finished his breakfast, and then went to the club step by step.

The prediction of The Sun is correct. Aldridge does plan to use the second lineup to play the FA Cup. Maybe according to the current momentum, Aldridge has room to use the main lineup to compete for the FA Cup. But he dismissed such thoughts.

Although Millwall has 26 players in the first team, excluding two loanees from Manchester United, there are still 24 players, but if they are promoted to the Premier League next season, I am afraid that many young players will find it difficult to adapt to the Premier League. In this way, the Premier League and League One are separated by a line, but the intensity and level of competition are worlds apart.

He wants to let the young players grow up as soon as possible, which requires the players to play more games, and the occasional big scenes must be warmed up in advance, which is the most important thing.

As for whether to use a half-main and half-substitute lineup to get away with it, Aldridge has never had such an idea. The tacit understanding between the main force and the substitute will cause the team's tactical system to collapse.

At the pre-match press conference, Aldridge arrived as scheduled, and the number of reporters in the audience had exceeded 30. This game was a confrontation between the League One leader and one of England's traditional three giants, which naturally attracted attention.

Aldrich sat down calmly, smiled and said, Is there anything you want to ask?

Thomson of The Sun directly raised his hand and asked, Mr. Hall, can you tell us about the starting lineup for the game?

Aldridge said casually: Goalkeeper: Bout. Defenders: Neville, Richards, Materazzi, Zambrotta. Midfielders: Glenciel, Gattuso, Vieira, Ballack , Beckham. Forward: Solskjaer.

When Thomson heard Aldridge's announcement of the starting lineup, he was very happy at first. His article in the newspaper was indeed prescient, but he blushed again after hearing it.

According to Aldridge, Millwall is going to play 451, which is obviously very different from the 442 he predicted.

He quickly raised his hand and asked again: Mr. Hall, who is Gattuso? Also, where did Kevin Phillips go?

Aldridge replied casually: Phillips suffered some minor injuries during training. He will sit on the bench in this game. Gattuso is one of our young players. He is a midfielder. I think he has With a level that can be officially played, his performance in training has won the recognition of the entire coaching staff.

Gattuso had never appeared in an official game before. When the second lineup played, Vieira partnered Ballack in midfield.

Among the reporters present today, except for Thomson who wanted to get a chance to praise the article he wrote, most of the other reporters had malicious smiles on their faces.

The Daily Mail reporter Richard, who also had a good relationship with Aldridge, asked bluntly: Mr. Hall, have you read the newspaper today?

The hall fell silent for an instant.

All eyes were focused on Aldrich's face.

Aldridge blinked and said, What? Didn't Graham give you the news? What else do you want from me?

Richard was fledgling but he spoke unabashedly, and said with a smile: George Graham is diverting attention. He is now facing an investigation by the FA about his taking bribes in player transfers. Any fool can see that. The purpose of attacking Millwall is to make everyone forget about his lawsuit. Hehe, even if Arsenal met other teams today instead of Millwall, he would still criticize them. This kind of old-fashioned method can't even fool the readers. The few words he said were not news at all, more like poor performances.

It has to be said that Richard’s words made everyone in the industry agree. Only the reporter of The Times shook his head and smiled bitterly. Today’s headline on the cover did not increase sales. The fans are not idiots. Everyone knows that Graham has fallen into black money. The storm, attacking Millwall just wanted to reduce the negative impact.

Aldridge also laughed. He didn't want to say anything more. Graham was caught in a black money scandal and might face prosecution by the FA. The Arsenal club was also under pressure from inside and outside. He just wanted to be a spectator, but Graham If he wanted to drag him into the water, then Aldrich had no choice but to add insult to injury.

Originally, black-and-gold transactions have existed since the day English professional football was born. Famous coaches such as Bryan Clough have been pulled down, so what is Graham? Such a scandal in the future It will still appear continuously.

Aldrich cleared his throat, and said solemnly: Well, I understand. For the current media, a dog biting a man is no longer news, but a man biting a dog is something to watch, right?

The reporters in the audience leaned forward and back together happily.

Aldrich is always like this, polite and humorous at the same time, and always gives them some alternative news, this trip is worthwhile!

Graham was indeed like a mad dog losing his mind at the moment, biting whoever he saw.

Who is Aldridge?

Now he is the most famous young coach in English football!

Although not in the Premier League, his appearance has attracted widespread attention, and he has almost locked in the best coach of the LMA (English Football League Managers Association) this season.

Attacking Millwall and belittling Aldridge will only make Graham look inferior and humiliate himself.

Because it doesn't make sense, Millwall's record is shining, but Arsenal has slipped to the middle in the Premier League and is no longer as brilliant as it used to be.

Aldrich said with a tense face, Mr. Graham's evaluation of Millwall disappointed me. He even forgot that he was a member of Millwall back then.

His Arsenal is ugly!

He was able to turn a group of outstanding young players that came out of Arsenal in the late 80s into the best team in Europe, but what happened? Look at Arsenal now, I don't see the temperament of a champion in them, even I don’t even have the will to challenge for a championship.”

It is rumored that he took bribes, I will not comment, I only know that the rumors about him have hurt the Arsenal club, imagine that you are an Arsenal player, and the manager is disturbed by off-field troubles Under the premise, can you still concentrate on playing football?

I hate Arsenal? No, there is no war between Millwall and Arsenal, I also admire a few Arsenal players, such as Tony Adams, Seaman, etc., but they will never join Millwall, even if We will be promoted to the Premier League next season. For this, I can only say that I appreciate it, but it does not mean that I am envious. The Millwall players make me proud, and we still have a bright future. Now Arsenal, they have seen Not a ray of sunshine.

Aldridge, who has always used a gentle image to show others, fired at other clubs in front of the media for the first time in public.

And after the game, the major newspapers invariably carried out large-page reports, and the sales volume was astonishing!

Are you still watching dogs bite people? No, let's watch people bite dogs!