The Young Lion

After Henry's interview was broadcast, at least he won the hearts of Wild Lions fans.

It is also crucial to the image of the Millwall club.

loyalty?

It's really easy to say, but it's never difficult to kiss the team badge and say a few words to never leave.

But it is commendable to really choose to persevere in the face of temptation and use actions to show loyalty.

Millwall has loyal players, but those who left over the years are far more than those who stayed!

Aldrich said not to sell, not to sell, not to sell!

That's his attitude, and he has the right to say so.

But what about the players?

Whether a player wants to play for this club is the criterion for measuring the attractiveness of a club.

Henry made a public statement to stay and firmly stated that he would accompany Millwall to become a great club. At his current level, this interview is a signal, telling the outside world that Millwall is not only a club that will not sell stars. After making money, the top players themselves are willing to pledge allegiance to this club.

With the development of the club, Millwall itself has to start to adjust the strategy and thinking of team building.

In the past, the top stars trained by Millwall were always able to retain a small number, so Aldridge would often prepare replacement candidates in advance, and he had to make precautions in the short term. This cycle is very short.

Now, Millwall has conquered the country and has changed from an entrepreneur to an established player. It remains intact and can at least maintain the strength of a top team for two years. Therefore, Aldrich is extremely resolute in his attitude towards Henry's transfer. Even a little irritated.

He's tired of making wedding dresses for other people all the time, why can't I enjoy myself?

Cultivate one. Sell ​​one. Cultivate one. sell a...

During this period, he was exhausted, even worried, how much pressure did he have?

In the past, it was forced by the situation.

Millwall has no money, the club is small, they can't keep their minds, and they can't satisfy the players in terms of treatment.

Even now there is still a gap between the salaries they can offer with Serie A clubs,

Like Anelka, the salary of the initial agreement with Lazio in 1999 was a weekly salary of more than 60,000 pounds!

can now. After all, Millwall has the confidence to keep the master.

Aldridge is much more relaxed, there is not so much pressure on his shoulders, there is no need to rebuild the team's tactical system, and there is no need to worry too much about the lineup. There are a group of meritorious veterans to support the team and support young players, forming an ideal cycle. and development routines.

He can sit still and enjoy it all.

The team has reduced the pressure of being poached, and it is Millwall's turn to take the initiative, and if the players leave. It's that they don't need it, it's not that the players go to the famous family and fly away.

Millwall's summer first team has no official signings!

Only one third goalkeeper was promoted from the youth team to the first team: Chris Kirkland.

But for them. This team's brilliant team has a young lineup, the age group is very reasonable, and the old is not too old. In the starting lineup, only Southgate is a 30-year-old veteran, and Larson is 29 years old. The eight-year-old Nedved has a reasonable combination of the old, middle and young generations. He has both experience and the drive of young people to intensify the competition.

Renewing the contract is Millwall's achievement this summer. Leaving a heavyweight star caught in a scandal is equivalent to an important signing.

At the same time, the transfer work of other Premier League teams is in full swing.

Manchester United also kept the mainstay of the team without much change in the lineup. Bosnich exhausted Ferguson's patience. The Australian goalkeeper and Manchester United had been at odds. The criticized back line has also been reformed. Irwin retreated to the second line, Sylvester took over, and the young Brown was promoted to form a central defender with Stam.

Arsenal seems to spend a lot of money, recruiting French striker Wiltord and Cameroon full-back Lauren. These two alone cost more than 20 million pounds, but considering that Petit and Overmars left the Nou Camp , The Gunners actually don't invest much.

In addition to spending 8 million pounds to buy Jin, England's highly anticipated central defender from Millwall, Tottenham also made a big deal. They bought Rebrov from Dynamo Kyiv for 11 million pounds, plus the Crazy gang used 5 million pounds to take away Thatcher and other transactions, and North London was really rich.

Chelsea, with internal and external troubles, began to shrink their money. Let alone who they bought, they sold a lot of people first. Didier Deschamps, who played for a short period of one year, left Spain in anger. Go, Brazilian defender Tomei moved to Sunderland for 4.5 million pounds, Petrescu was purged, and he left Stamford Bridge for 1 million pounds. A year ago, the tens of millions of strikers Sutton only scored once for Chelsea all season. The ball was sent to the Celtics at a discounted price of 6 million pounds. More than ten years later, the outside world laughed at Torres who was an iron man. In fact, in 2000, Sutton was the well-known Premier League striker who turned into an iron guard. Also at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea must have made money from this series of sales. Flo alone earned almost 10 million yuan, and Deschamps also got back the transfer fee income.

The sale made some money, and Chelsea bought another person, which seemed to be a big investment.

Hasselbaink was bought for 15 million pounds. Stanich and Gudjohnsen spent more than 10 million pounds in total. As for the free transfer from Barcelona to Bogarde, that is a joke. Chelsea played a total of 12 times, including 8 times as a substitute, and received a weekly salary of 40,000 pounds. At Chelsea, he became the public enemy of Stamford Bridge. He just left after the contract period was exhausted...

Compared with other clubs that have more or less strong support and supplements, Liverpool looks a bit shabby. Last year, the net investment in the transfer market exceeded 25 million pounds. This year, it is not even 10 million pounds. , This year is the second year of complete coaching, and it is reasonable that there will be no major changes.

Two flowers bloom, each representing a branch.

Millwall's trip to Asia did not go alone. Originally, an invitation was sent to the members of g14, but because Millwall let go of pigeons once before. There is a lack of mutual trust in cooperation. Such as Bayern. Inter Milan has already booked their summer preparations in advance, so as not to be cheated by Millwall again.

Fortunately, Millwall has a good gimmick, and the sponsors are very enthusiastic. They hope that they will go to Asia to perform, so as to increase brand awareness, expand influence, and expand the market.

Asian trip. If the Millwall club went alone, Aldridge would refuse, because the meaning and effect of preparing for the match against the Asian team are very low!

Even if the friendly match is relaxed and happy, but the difference in strength is too strong, it almost becomes a game, so what is it called preparation?

Even though this kind of preseason game has become a kind of show, Aldridge still hopes that the team can make money from the show and at the same time be beneficial to the new season.

Ajax, Celtic. monaco.

A joint effort between the sponsors and Millwall brought in three interested clubs. Travel to Asia with Millwall.

There are three stops in Millwall's Asian tour. The first stop is Singapore, where they play a friendly match with Ajax. The second stop is China-Hong Kong, where the friendly opponent is Celtic. The last stop is China-Shanghai. The opponent is last season's Ligue 1 champion Monaco.

After the three rounds, they will return to London. The penultimate game of the pre-season warm-up match will be the stadium opener at the Lion King Stadium. The invited opponent is Milan. The last warm-up match is before the start of the new season. Charity Shield.

In this trip to Asia, Millwall did not go to Japan or South Korea, because in the second half of the year, they will go to Tokyo again after two years to participate in the Toyota Cup.

From the moment Millwall arrived in Singapore, the spotlight was everywhere they went, setting off a football frenzy.

In the hot summer, Aldridge didn’t have a suit or leather shoes to make trouble for this trip. Instead, he wore a casual T-shirt with the club’s logo printed on it. When he got off the plane, he was put on a bright garland around his neck. The players were no exception. They were like The VIPs have arrived in the desert lands of football.

The players are very relaxed. The most abnormal person is Ronaldinho, who is serious in wearing sunglasses. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that this kid is acting cool!

Three days before the start of the friendly match, Millwall had an open training session in Singapore, and one day he also participated in commercial activities. The stars of the team collectively attended the promotional activities arranged by the sponsors.

On the day of the friendly match, at the press conference, Aldridge faced most of the Asian faces on the scene, smiling and waiting for questions.

It was originally a routine, a friendly match, what else is there to talk about? But since it's for a show, it must increase the exposure rate.

As a result, the reporters in Asia really gave Aldrich a fucking problem!

FIFA is considering moving the 2002 World Cup ahead of schedule in May. Most European coaches and clubs have strongly opposed it. As the most successful football coach in Europe, Mr. Hall, what do you think?

There was silence.

Aldrich smiled wryly in his heart, I came to make money, but you dug a hole and waited for me, it's not kind!

Organizations such as FIFA and UEFA often make some jokes, and there is nothing surprising about it. Sometimes some weird proposals that ordinary people find unbelievable can be put on the table.

The World Cup is held in Asia for the first time. Taking into account climate factors, FIFA proposed to advance the World Cup to May.

One stone stirs up waves, all European clubs are against it!

Aldrich never got involved in this kind of thing, he thought it was meaningless, anyway, he was not the decision maker.

Asian reporters must hope that Aldridge can say something nice about the World Cup in Asia.

After thinking for a while, Aldridge smiled and said: First of all, to correct your slip of the tongue, I am not the most successful head coach in Europe, there are many more successful head coaches than me. Well, on the issue of the World Cup, is my opinion important? I don't think my opinion can affect the FIFA decision?

Crows are black all over the world, and the reporters on the scene are still asking, anyway, Aldrich needs to express his opinion, whether to support or not!

Aldridge was depressed to death.

Support FIFA, offend Europe? Support Europe? offend?

After he thought about it, anyway, so many coaches and clubs in Europe have publicly stated that they are against him. He is not the only one, so let's follow the trend!

I think this proposal is ill-advised. If the World Cup is held in May, the mainstream European leagues will have to change the schedule. Otherwise, the European leagues will not end in mid-May, especially the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup finals. There are more than 50 national team internationals, and at least 20 players who will appear in the World Cup. If the schedule is not changed, the players end the European league and go to the World Cup immediately. There is no doubt that the viewing of the World Cup will plummet and the players will be tired. , There is no time for the national team to prepare for training. If the schedule is changed, the time is too late, which means that next year's league will start at least one month earlier, and the summer rest time will suddenly decrease. This is a chain reaction. Therefore, I think If it affects the whole body, the World Cup will be held ahead of time, and the lives of countless players, clubs, leagues, and fans will be disrupted, so it’s better to proceed step by step.”

Aldridge is young and gentle, and the press conference went very well. Some sharp issues, such as Henry's transfer, the agent's shady situation, etc., Aldridge mostly mentioned it in one sentence. There is no need to publicize negative things to become focus. (To be continued..)