The Young Lion

Serie A is the most prosperous European league. In addition to the top three in the north, other teams have also become rich due to commercial income from sponsors, broadcasting fees, etc. Even relegation teams can recruit some international stars to join. The team's poaching also gave Aldrich a headache.

Because La Liga has two TV stations competing for broadcast contracts this summer, the La Liga teams have a lot of money to expand their army, so many teams in the middle and upper reaches of La Liga have also started an arms race. Most of the players who look down on the Premier League, and the talented players that have emerged in England in recent years have also ended dismally when they went abroad, such as Gascoigne and Rush.

The Premier League has also begun to recover steadily after easing the financial austerity caused by the suspension of European games and the huge financial pressure of building new stadiums or renovating stadiums. to sweetness.

Although Manchester United won the Premier League last season, Ferguson is not satisfied with the lineup. After missing Ronaldo and Shearer one after another, he can comfort himself that at least he brought Solskjaer and the introduction of substitute goalkeeper Van der Gould Last season, the substitute goalkeeper introduced by Manchester United moved to Sunderland in the winter. Then, it brought Manchester United the amazing performance of the Czech national team. Poborski, and the baby-faced compatriot Johansen also came to Old Trafford. Ford, in the end, Manchester United also took Cruyff Jr. into the network account. The latter was originally involved in the Ronaldo deal in Barcelona, ​​but the latter obviously had a strong self-esteem and refused to be a part of the deal, and then put on the Red Devils jersey.

Arsenal's summer was very turbulent, and there were rumors throughout London that Rioch would be dismissed, but the head coach named Arsene Wenger was not familiar with Fleet Street, and Arsenal had completed a heavyweight signing. Rega Vieira, the former is regarded as the hope of Arsenal's revival. The latter is not the main force in Millwall, so it can only be expected.

Liverpool has successively introduced many capable players and invested more than ten million pounds. Under the management of Betts, Chelsea has set its sights on late superstars. Veteran Vialli, who won the Champions League at Juventus last season, spent ten million dollars on Chelsea. Stamford Bridge.

Compared with the recruitment of other Premier League teams, some even wantonly expand their troops.

Millwall have been quiet in the transfer market. In addition to selling people is selling people.

Vieira, Pires, Solskjaer, Thuram, the transfer of the four brought Millwall an income of nearly 30 million pounds, excluding the purchase and wage expenses in the past two years. Millwall netted over £20m!

This made Marshal Aldridge praised by the outside world as a manager with business acumen, but it also made the outside world criticize Millwall for lack of initiative.

After selling two main players and two main substitutes, it is clear that Millwall's strength has not increased but has declined in the new season. They have to face Manchester United, which has improved to a higher level.

The competition of Newcastle United, Liverpool, Arsenal and other strong teams, there is no doubt that their attitude in the transfer market has shown that they are behind.

Aldrich has been very busy recently, too busy to take time off.

Tomorrow is the day when the players return to the team for training. But he had a secret conversation with people in the box of the Ritz Hotel.

There were four people in the box, all dressed in suits and ties. Next to Aldrich sat Club Adam. Opposite them were FA Chairman Wiseman and CEO Kelly.

After the meal was almost finished, Aldridge said straight to the point: Mr. Chairman, rent Wembley. It's not a plan I came up with hastily. On the contrary, I made up my mind to make this request to the FA after careful consideration.

Wiseman and Kelly remained calm, and Mr. Chairman nodded slightly. Signal Aldrich to go on.

First of all, Millwall's stadium is small, with a capacity of less than 20,000. We are going to compete in the European Cup Winners' Cup in the new season. I don't know if UEFA can pass our stadium audit, but it doesn't matter. I think Millwall is Representing English football in Europe involves an image problem. Secondly, if Millwall can win the Premier League title in the new season, next season, our stadium will definitely not be able to pass UEFA's review for home games in the Champions League. At that time, I will still come to you to make the same request.

Last season, Millwall won two championships and one Asian championship, and won tickets to the European War. In this era, the influence of the three major European cups is the Champions League, followed by the European Cup Winners' Cup, and finally the UEFA Cup.

The UEFA Champions League is the stage for national champions, the European Cup Winners' Cup is the stage for national cup champions, and the rest of the UEFA Cup, the participating teams have strengths, but most of them do not have championship titles, and the flavor of exchanges and exchanges is stronger.

Therefore, in the new season, Millwall will fight on three fronts to compete for the championships of four important events. The Cup Winners Cup is the stage for the king of cups, but Aldridge does not value it. He has only one goal in the new season: the Premier League championship!

And he thinks further, if Millwall plays in the Champions League next season, after all, the Champions League is about to usher in expansion, then I am afraid they will not be able to play home games at the Lion's Den Stadium, because of the capacity of the stadium, UEFA will definitely not allow it The game is played at the Lions Den Stadium.

The UEFA Champions League is a gold-lettered signboard created by UEFA. Without the UEFA Champions League, UEFA would be nothing. Therefore, the threshold for the UEFA Champions League is naturally high. In addition to the strength of the team, the hard power of the club is also one of the standards that cannot be lowered.

Aldridge needs to plan ahead. It is impossible for Millwall to build a high-standard new stadium within a year. Once they can win the Premier League title in the new season, they will have to rent someone else's stadium to play in the Champions League next season. was disqualified.

Recalling that around 2000 years ago, Arsenal rented Wembley to play home games in the Champions League, so Aldridge took the lead and began to rent this season until the new stadium was built.

The advantage of renting in advance is obvious. Players can get familiar with Wembley earlier and minimize the negative impact of not having home court advantage.

Secondly, Wembley has a large capacity, which means more ticket revenue.

At the same time, it can also benefit Millwall's publicity and increase its influence.

Wiseman and Kelly exchanged whispers, and then Wiseman sighed: Aldrich, I really want to help you, but your plan is not a long-term solution. If Millwall has been performing well, then Wen Has Bree been lent to you all the time? I heard that Millwall’s new stadium plan was shelved after the Hall family took over, and it was converted into a youth training base. You must have your own big stadium after all.

Aldrich nodded approvingly. In fact, Adam sitting next to him was terrified. If Millwall really invested in the construction of the new stadium, it would definitely be his dereliction of duty!

The capacity of the new stadium is only 25,000, and it does not meet UEFA's Champions League standards after it is built. It is hard to say whether the expansion will be possible at that time. If the money is in vain, Adam will definitely resign, and he will become a laughing stock in the circle.

Can't help but look at Aldrich, this young boss still has vision and courage.

Aldridge took out a document and handed it to Wiseman, saying: This is our new stadium plan. The investment budget is between £100 million and £150 million, and my brother is doing it for me. Customers, Millwall invested 20 million pounds in the early stage, and all the rest of the loan, the land will be finalized before the end of this year and construction will start, and it will be completed within five years.

Suddenly, more than 100 million pounds of funds are needed to build the stadium. Even the Hall family does not have such a large amount of liquidity. And the Millwall club itself is not worth much, but the players they have are!

A year or two ago, it was impossible for Millwall to borrow more than 100 million pounds. Even if Barnett came forward, unless his company was used as collateral, the major banks would only refuse.

But this summer is different. The entire Millwall team has already been valued at more than 50 million pounds. With Barnett coming forward as a lobbyist, Millwall can also invest 20 million pounds in the early stage. The bank is willing to sign an agreement, and then according to the progress of the project If there is an accident in the middle of Millwall and the inability to repay the loan, the subsequent allocation will be terminated. Aldrich will also lose everything and can only file for bankruptcy.

With this decision, Aldridge bet everything on himself.

He can't do without building a new stadium, and it's cheaper to build it earlier than later. Get results faster.

If Millwall encounters the financial pressure of building a stadium when the Premier League has completely entered the era of capital, I am afraid that Millwall will no longer be able to turn around.

Where does the income come from?

In addition to the club's commercial development, it can only be selling players.

This year, the income from selling players has reached nearly 30 million, of which 20 million has been invested in the preliminary construction of the new stadium.

Next summer, it will be Stam who will definitely leave. As long as he does not suffer from injuries and cannot transfer, then Millwall can start to repay at least the income of next summer. In addition, the broadcast share of the Premier League is getting higher and higher. Millwall also strives to enter the Champions League every year to obtain new benefits, which must be based on the team's record. Therefore, Aldridge is not easy at all, but it is this kind of pressure that makes him think about the future. Long hours of work filled with drive and passion.

Wiseman and Kelly discussed for a while, and the final focus of the argument was on interests.

The rotten organization of the FA is full of political struggles, and Kelly, who can sit in the executive position, is often the target of criticism, because since the establishment of the Premier League and out of the control of the FA, the FA's debts It's getting higher and higher. Kelly's role in the FA is to make money.

In this regard, Aldridge does not want to argue with the opponent bit by bit. After all, a team like Millwall has taken a huge advantage in renting Wembley, whether it is income or image.

In the end, the two sides negotiated the conditions. In addition to Millwall having to pay Wembley venue maintenance fees after each match day when the venue is rented, the FA will get 15% of the profit from ticket sales as Millwall’s rental fee.

15% doesn’t sound like much, but Wembley can accommodate more than 60,000 people, even if there are only 30,000 fans in Millwall. Each game earns at least 100,000 pounds. After a season, if Millwall can go further, the FA's income of nearly one million pounds will not be a problem. This income is already a lot for the FA.

Wiseman reached a verbal agreement with Aldridge, but he has to go back and unify with the FA. Before the Community Shield game starts in the new season, he will give Aldridge an accurate answer.

Aldridge smiled, shook hands with Wiseman and Kelly, and then took a step ahead with Adam.

Tomorrow, the team's training camp will begin, and Millwall's transfer door has also been closed.

The club signed a lot of new sponsorship contracts in the summer, plus the 9 million pounds added to the club's account from the transfer market, Millwall's finances for the 96-97 season were at least secure.

Now Aldridge's headache is how to face a team that has hardly rested in the summer to face the new season.

Attached is the club's first-team list for the 96-97 season of Millwall.

Goalkeepers: Bout, Keller, Wright.

Defenders: Schneider, Mills, Materazzi, Richards, Stam, Southgate, Elguera, Ferdinand, Capdevila, Zambrotta, Neal (severe injury for one year , came back in March 1997, did not play the whole season.)

Midfield: Makelele, Gattuso, Pirlo, Lampard, Nedved, Ballack.

Forwards: Larsson, Trezeguet, Shevchenko, Phillips, Van Nistelrooy, Glenshire, Toni.

A total of 27 people. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile phone users, please go to m. to read.) (m)