The Young Lion

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The fans in the stands couldn’t laugh or cry. Many of them were skeptical about Shevchenko’s appearance a second ago. They hoped that the substitute player Phillips would play and perform a magical scoring performance, but Shevchenko played for less than a day. The deadlock was broken in minutes, and the fans just swarmed and waved their arms and shouted wildly, but saw Shevchenko hit the goalpost and fell on the grass, and was carried off by a stretcher.

What happened to Millwall?

It seems that there is a layer of debut curse on their players.

The scene of Vieira's red card on his debut last season is still vivid. This season's new striker was injured and left the field after only one minute of playing.

Of course, this is just an unexpected incident that deepened the impression. The central defender Elguera, who signed in the summer and made his debut this season, performed well.

Anyway, at least the lad had an even more amazing show.

Fans applauded him and prayed for him that his injury was not too serious.

Millwall succeeded in breaking the ice. Aldridge immediately replaced Shevchenko who was injured and left the field with Vieira. With more than 20 minutes left in the game, Nottingham Forest is now behind and will naturally attack wildly.

Clarke was very unwilling. He lost a general in the summer. Collymore was poached by Liverpool, which brought great trouble to his formation. an acceptable result.

Now that the team is behind, he doesn't dare to let the team press hard. Liverpool's midfield creativity is obvious to all, but the defense is not particularly strong. After pressing up, Millwall's defense has reached a sieve. Go up, there is no guarantee that you will not continue to lose the ball.

But there is always something wrong with giving it a go.

Nottingham Forest began to invest in the frontcourt. They also played ground pass and cut cooperation, so Aldridge sent Vieira to strengthen the midfield and vertical interception.

The game became stalemate, the two teams fought each other in the midfield, and no one organized an effective offensive. Until the last five minutes of the game, Clark had to make a final effort. With a big wave of his hand, the players in the midfield also started. Pressing forward, success or failure is desperate.

Aldridge saw the change in the situation on the sidelines and was not surprised but delighted.

Millwall's football style needs space to play. The whole team is like a spring. The more pressure the opponent puts on, they can shrink back. Once the ball is transferred to Millwall's side, the power of the spring will also explode. It's even bigger.

This is also the game rhythm of many strong teams in the future. The most difficult thing to play against opponents who are weaker than yourself is always the first goal. Once the first goal appears, the weak team cannot keep it. One after another, but if the strong team is attacked first, then the weak team's defense will be more firm, and the outcome of the game will be unpredictable.

Nottingham Forest's offensive was destroyed by Stam on the penalty area line, and a counterattack was launched on the spot.

From the second half, Nedved in the front midfielder, Pires and Schneider on both sides, plus the striker Arrow Larsson, the four began to run forward in a structured way. Thuram made a two-for-one quick advance, and a ground ball was passed diagonally near the center circle, and the ball was accurately passed to Pires.

Pires didn't stop the ball, and crossed the ball across the middle. In front of Nedved, Nottingham Forest's defense line hastily retreated.

Looking up, it was all loopholes. He calmly put the ball straight into the penalty area. Larson succeeded in anti-offside. in the gate.

Larson scored his seventh league goal of the season. The striker has shown the quality of a top striker. His calmness on the ball is amazing. The perfect killer! Nottingham Forest is hopeless, the game Immediately into stoppage time, they are two goals behind, Aldridge's team has an unshakable dominance at home!

After scoring the goal, Larson turned around and hugged his teammates. Aldridge persuaded him to stay. Part of the reason was that Aldridge relied on and cultivated him, and the other part was that he played in Millwall. Yun Xiao, very happy, with these teammates behind him, Schneider, Nedved, Pires, and his striker partner Trezeguet, Larson feels that with these teammates, not only can he give full play to his striker power, Moreover, as a team, they play football very easily, and everyone does not need to communicate too much, and the tacit understanding on the court is simply a tacit understanding.

Clarke's determination and courage to fight to the death disappeared without a trace after this goal. He waited for the end of the game, there was nothing to say, and the game was lost without complaint.

Stoppage time quickly ran out and the game was over, with the Lions Den fans accustomed to giving their teams a standing ovation after games.

Last season, Millwall played 23 home games in League One, with 20 wins and 3 draws. This terrifying momentum allowed the fans to enjoy the home games to the fullest, so they developed a habit. While accepting the players' thanks, they also cheered. And applause back to the team.

Last season, the best head coach in League One and the best head coach in the Premier League, Aldridge and Clark, came together after the game to shake hands and exchanged a few pleasantries.

Clarke asked about the transfer possibility of several young players in the Millwall team. The main player Millwall would definitely not sell, and even if he sold, Nottingham Forest would not be able to afford a big price.

Clark asked Vieira, and Phillips on the bench.

Aldridge smiled and regretted that all Millwall players are not for sale.

There is no strong team that does not need a substitute. To become a strong team, the thickness of the bench is one of the key factors. Sometimes fans marvel at the luxury of the top team's bench lineup, which also explains the top team from the side. Why can it be successful repeatedly.

Walking back to the locker room, Aldridge praised the boys for their performance today, and then he went to the medical department to ask about Shevchenko's condition.

Although the Ukrainian nuclear warhead looked scary with bloody head, it was actually just a traumatic injury. Before he was sent for an examination, he was conscious. Although the examination results had not yet come out, the doctors of the medical department said that there should be no serious problems. Acupuncture, rest for ten days and half a month to recover.

Aldridge was finally happy now.

He returned to the office, took out a poster with the trophy, then walked into the locker room, and pasted the poster on the wall of the locker room.

The players who changed their clothes after rinsing naturally found the poster on the wall, and everyone smiled heartily.

The trophy on it is the English League Cup trophy.

Next, they are going to play the League Cup.

Fortunately, they played Wolves at home, and they were also old opponents. They met in League One last year.

Going home from get off work, when Aldrich was walking out of the club, someone behind him stopped him.

Hey boss.

Aldridge looked back and saw that it was the club CEO Adam.

What's up?

During the game, Andrew came over. He asked me to tell you that Mr. Puskas's transfer procedures have been completed, and he will be picked up from Budapest to London next Tuesday.

Andrew used to have a false job in Millwall, and he had known Adam for a long time. Aldrich's mobile phone was on silent mode during the game, and he didn't take it out to look at it, so Andrew had to let Adam be a mouthpiece.

Oh, I see.

Boss, with all due respect, is that really Puskas? I mean, that Puskas!

Aldrich probably guessed what the other party was going to say, frowned and said, Adam, that's Puskas.

Adam looked happy, and whispered: Boss, if we can disclose our relationship with Mr. Puskas, take a few photos as...

Stop! Adam, do you have someone you respect from the bottom of your heart?

Adam was stunned, and then replied: Yes, Professor Smith of the Business School is the person I respect the most, and I will never forget his teachings.

Okay, imagine that Professor Smith is seriously ill, and whether you will use him to make money, if your answer is: yes, then please put the resignation letter on my desk. Goodbye.

Aldridge turned and left, Adam raised his brows and shrugged his shoulders, then smiled self-deprecatingly.

Four days later, Millwall played against Wolves at home. Aldridge sent all the main players he could dispatch to the field. Wolves obviously still had to work hard to upgrade to the Premier League, so they didn't value the cup game. Millwall easily won at home. Wolves advance to the next round.

Before the FIFA match day came, the sixth round of the Premier League kicked off. Millwall continued to sit at home and ushered in a familiar opponent: Middlesbrough.

Bryan Robson led Middlesbrough this season. The team's style of play is very pragmatic. They drew with Arsenal and Bolton as a guest, and beat Chelsea and Coventry at home, only losing to Newcastle United, which is in bad shape in the new season.

Both are newly promoted, but their strength is not what it used to be.

Brian Robson's formation is more conservative and thorough than that of Nottingham Forest. Last season, their formation looked like 532. This time they faced Millwall as a guest, and they directly set up a formation of 541, except for leaving a striker in front. Apart from the harassment, the other players all returned to defend inside and outside the penalty area, building two dense defensive lines.

The Wild Lions completed 27 shots in the 90 minutes of the game, but only six shots were on target. Middlesbrough did not take a shot in the game, and their possession rate was less than 30%. In the end, the two teams 0:0 handshake and peace.

Aldridge faced Robson after the game and could only shake hands with the opponent with a wry smile.

He has no resentment in his heart, and the opponent did not use means beyond the rules. Football is like this. You can't win if you are strong, especially when the opponent doesn't want to win or lose.

As the FIFA international match day approached, Aldridge faced a team that lacked a lot of main players. He continued to train on weekdays, and occasionally played two teaching games with the youth team. Stay at home and watch Hungary away to Turkey.

There was no suspense in the game. Turkey defeated Hungary 2:0, completely shattering Hungary's hope of qualifying for the European Cup.