After getting a good start in the league, Aldridge never mentioned Peter Dawson again after the game. In his heart, even a proud and complacent guy had no interest in using an unknown person like Peter Dawson as a stepping stone.
After the first round, Millwall unexpectedly occupied the top spot in the league, followed closely by Sheffield United, Oldham, Middlesbrough and other strong teams with the potential to reach the top spot.
Aldridge gave the players a day off, but he worked until late at night when he returned home. The next day, he came to the hotel where the club was training and renegotiated the growth and training plan for young players with the entire coaching staff.
They first listed the schedule for the three echelons in the conference room.
Jenson pointed to the projection on the big screen and said: "Before the FIFA match day comes in mid-September, we have seven more games in the English League One. Our opponents are Sunderland, Derby County, Bolton, Reading, and West Ham.
Brown, Burnley, and Tranmere, two of the games are sandwiched in midweek, requiring the players to play double matches a week. There will also be the first round of the League Cup in the middle of next week. If they pass smoothly, then in
In the middle of the last week of August, we have to face the second round of the League Cup."
Aldridge looked at the first team schedule on the big screen and fell into thought.
The game against Sunderland at the weekend will not be too difficult, because the current Black Cat Sunderland does not have the strength to reach the Premier League. Last season, it was only ranked in the middle of the English League, and it is a team of the same level as Newcastle United. This summer
, Sunderland also has no strong signings. The team's strength is neither high nor low. It only depends on the performance on the spot.
But the next series of games will be a test for Millwall.
Derby County defeated Millwall 5:1 in the promotion play-offs last season.
In the summer, Bolton introduced many experienced veterans in an attempt to surpass the league.
Reading and West Brom, who took advantage of last season's promotion to the First Division, may not look strong, but they are familiar winning teams in the past season. Their comprehensive strength and occasional bursts of crazy momentum are not surprising.
underestimate.
In the period before the FIFA match day, Aldrich must ensure that the team's mentality is stable. It is difficult to win without being arrogant and not discouraged by defeat. Such training is not just based on the head coach's words.
explain.
He thought for a while and said: "The League Cup is left to the substitute lineup. The first team's starting lineup will only cope with the league this season, unless we can reach the final in the cup, but I think this possibility is very low. The season is very long, try to keep it as tight as possible
The main lineup plays one game a week, they are still young, and the amount of games must be moderate. In the next seven games, our goal is still the same: not to lose, and to concede as few goals as possible. Even if it is a draw in seven games, I
I’m also willing to accept it.”
Hearing Aldridge's "unambitious" goal, the other members of the coaching staff looked at each other. Jenson frowned and said: "Unbeaten in seven games? Isn't this a bit low? We won the last game 4:0. According to
I think, among the seven opponents, we can win at least two. If we only draw against opponents like Tranmere and Burnley, it will not mean much. Besides, seven draws are only seven league points. If we
If you can win three games, you will have at least nine points."
Jenson’s opinion was recognized by everyone, but Aldrich shook his head and said: “The second-placed promotion last season was Nottingham Forest with 83 points, and the first-placed Crystal Palace was with 90 points. There are 46 games in the league. We are in
There is room for losing points in the early stage, and I don’t want to put too much pressure on the team.
,At the same time, we must realize that yesterday’s win against Allianz at home was essentially due to the opponent’s tactical mistakes, rather than the overall strength gap of the team. What you said, Jenson, is very practical. We won 3 games and lost 4 games.
The points are also more than the seven points from seven draws, but I don’t think so.”
Members of the coaching staff frowned and stared at Aldridge, wanting to hear his thoughts.
"The average age of our starting 11 yesterday was about 21 years old. If we exclude the 25-year-old goalkeeper Keller, the average age of the other 10 people may be only 20 years old. They cannot bear failure, and we cannot bear failure. Failure comes with it.
What's more, doubts, distrust, disappointment, loss of motivation, players' brain focus will be distracted. In this critical stage of building confidence and mutual trust,
Losing is the biggest taboo! A draw, as a young team like ours, will not discourage us, and it can even be considered a victory. If we lose one goal, the players will feel regret or unwilling to accept it. If we lose two goals, it can be said that it is normal to comfort ourselves.
Yes, losing three goals is a blow, losing four goals will leave a huge shadow on the hearts of the players, and it will contaminate each other, spread throughout the team, and eventually collapse."
Aldridge's calm words shocked the entire coaching staff.
In fact, these coaches are also very young, and the most intuitive manifestation of their responsibility for the team is the league standings. Getting more points is almost the first work goal.
Aldridge knocked on the table and said softly: "Okay, from now on, we have to forget yesterday's victory and don't look at where we are in the standings. Our focus is how to build the current team into a good one."
To be more combative, it is not only the growth of individual players, but also the shaping of the team's temperament and spirit. This is what we should focus on. When we do these things well, I think victory will come naturally."
call
The coaches on the coaching staff sighed and looked at each other with smiles. They suddenly felt that Aldridge did not look like an 18-year-old head coach. Even though they all had the idea of quick success and quick gain, Aldridge was surprisingly calm at this time.
No one knew that Aldrich actually had more than forty years of experience.
Barb suddenly said worriedly: "Patrick made a mistake in yesterday's game. Although he has calmed down, I am worried that it will put him under pressure. I suggest that he start by getting familiar with English football and let him go."
He can play in youth team games or reserve team games, but don’t let him go directly to the league stage easily.”
Aldrich nodded in agreement and said: "This is exactly the focus of my meeting today. We have many young players on the team who have no previous professional league experience, and some have only played at the youth team level.
, Therefore, I would like to study the schedule of the reserve team and youth team with you, so that these young players can be trained step by step."
In the past, Millwall did not participate in the reserve team league. There was only a youth team league to play in the echelon, but it only trained young players. In recent years, it has achieved little results. After Aldridge took over the team, the first team could not be sold or was
Players who were still young and thought they had hope were all transferred to the reserve team. The number of players was enough to form a team, so they signed up to participate in the reserve league this season.
Jenson took out two schedules, one for the reserve team and one for the youth team.
Aldrich said: "Call the coaches of the reserve team and the youth team and ask them to bring the team player information. We not only want the players to participate in the reserve team and youth team games, but also design and coordinate with the first-line team.
The team's consistent tactics and letting other players serve the growth of these players."
To put it bluntly, we want other players who have no hope in Aldrich's eyes to study with the prince.
This kind of thing is tacitly understood in English clubs. Even Manchester United is doing it. The outstanding star of hope is surrounded by some unknown young players to train with him. There was even a lawsuit, but in the end it was settled.
.
Now that Millwall is being torn down and rebuilt, the youth team and reserve team are more like decorations, so it is understandable that Aldridge directly participates in the plans of these two teams.
For two consecutive days, Aldrich and the entire coaching staff studied the technical characteristics of the players on the team, designed tactics to allow the young players to get more training, and instilled them in the coaches of the youth team and reserve team.
On Wednesday, Aldridge began to study the intelligence of the weekend opponent Black Cat Sunderland. The entire coaching staff hardly had a day off. They usually supervised the players' training. When the players rested, they got together to prepare for the weekend game.
Although he gets up early and stays late every day, Aldrich does not feel tired at all. Instead, he feels that his life is very fulfilling. He goes out early and comes back late. When he comes home, he has no extra time to deal with other things except sleeping.
During the preparation meeting before the game on Friday, Aldridge found that the first-team players were more serious than at this time last week, with meticulous expressions. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Aldridge, and their ears were perked up, ready to listen to his tactics.
Seeing this scene, Aldridge understood clearly. He had already established a foundation of mutual trust with his players by winning the last game against Allianz with four goals.
This is good, just listen to me, I’m sure it’s right!
Jenson began to write and draw on the tactical board, and Aldridge said calmly to the players: "Our next league opponent is Sunderland. This team was in the middle of the league last season, and their characteristics are not the same."
Not obvious, it’s the fewest goals scored among the top 12 teams
The team also ranks in the middle of the pack in the number of goals conceded. Judging from their away draw with Bristol City, which has a weak attack power, in the last round, they still put more energy on defense this season, but after all, it is their home court.
Therefore, we must be careful about the accident of capsizing in the away game."
Aldridge patiently analyzed the opponent's offensive routines for the team and what the team needed to pay attention to in defense. Then he combined the formation pattern on the tactical board and said: "The opponent's defense line shrinks near the penalty area most of the time. It will not
Give us too much space, so during the offense, our two forwards need to keep moving to open up the passing space. Robert and Bernd, your passing
The line is to cooperate with the forward on the corresponding side, and hit the ball to that side when the forward moves diagonally into the ribs. After receiving the ball, the forwards can pass across the penalty area, or they can knock back outside the penalty area, where Bernd and Robert are coming.
In response, Pavel can step forward appropriately to connect the attacks in the frontcourt to ensure that the ball is constantly moving and should not stay too much on one side or at the feet of a certain player. Remember?"
The players who listened carefully said in unison: "Remember, boss!"
Aldrich clapped his hands and said: "Very good, the meeting is over, we will play a beautiful game tomorrow, but we must remember not to treat our opponents as Allianz, and treat every game as your most important game."
