The next day, they visited Tranmere and Aldridge's team suffered their first defeat in the league!
Before coming, Aldrich and the entire coaching staff had a very relaxed mentality.
In the plan, from the second to eighth rounds of the league, that is, the seven games before the FIFA match day, Aldridge's goal is to be undefeated in at least seven games, and he will be satisfied if he can score seven points.
In the past five league rounds, Millwall has achieved three wins and two draws, earning 11 points.
The most important thing is that in the first six rounds of the league, Millwall did not concede a goal. The team's defensive system framework has been successfully established. As for the substitute lineup in this round, Aldridge does not value the result of the game, as long as the substitute players can get
Training and being able to see the progress of the players is enough.
However, in this round of away games, Millwall met Tranmere, the home team in League One.
Aldridge really made a mistake in his pre-season outlook.
He did not regard Tranmere as a rival for overtaking, but Tranmere's performance in the first six rounds of the four home games this season was extremely terrifying, winning all four games!
They lost both away games.
Tranmere's combat effectiveness at home made Aldridge quite fearful in his formation. He even played in a 4411 formation in the away game, with Solskjaer dropping back as a second striker and two full-backs Beckham.
The first task with Grenchar is to defend, with Ballack as the central midfielder and Vieira as the deep back.
It was such a defensive formation that faced a turbulent Tranmere team at home and suffered a storm of attacks.
Tranmere had 25 shots on goal in the game, 10 of which were inside the goal. Millwall had less than half as many shots as its opponent.
The final result was 2:1, Millwall suffered its first league defeat!
Aldrich was not disappointed, but felt that it was expected.
To be fair, Gronchard, Gianluca Zambrotta, Ballack, Beckham, Neville, Vieira, and even Solskjaer and Bute did not have much professional league experience before this year.
If a group of young guys with only talent and no experience can defeat the English League One home team Dragons, then the professional league will be too unchallenging.
Two consecutive wins in the League Cup were due to factors such as the opponent not paying attention, including the fact that the opponent did not play with all their main players, Millwall had the home advantage, and other factors.
They only lost to Tranmere by one goal in the away game. Aldridge felt that the purpose of the training was achieved, allowing these players to feel the atmosphere of the stadium and become familiar with the rhythm of the game. Although they lost, they gained valuable experience.
But after the game, the visiting team's locker room was smashed to pieces by Materazzi...
It was the first time he put on the captain's armband and played a game, but he failed to win in the end, not even a draw. The grumpy Materazzi did not blame his teammates, but was very unwilling to accept it. After the game, he returned to the locker room and endured.
The visiting team's locker room, which was already shabby, turned into a ruin.
Aldridge was interviewed after the game in the mixed zone, and reporters who were watching the show gave him a hard time in every possible way.
"Millwall came here with the substitutes to challenge Tranmere. Did you underestimate the opponent? Did your unbeaten streak in the first six games make you think you can win all the games easily?"
"Tranmere accused Millwall of playing dirty and Materazzi should have been sent off in the first half. Do you agree with this view?"
...
After losing the game, Aldridge did not get angry when faced with the reporters' insulting interview. He just smiled and said that Tranmere is very strong at home and is the best team in English League One at home.
Regarding his own team, he never mentioned anything, but as to whether Materazzi's fierce defensive actions during the game should be sent off, he replied nonchalantly: "This is England, and I think Materazzi's performance is in line with the situation."
According to the standards of an English defender, if every action he makes is a foul, then a Premier League center back can only play a dozen times per season, and he should be suspended for the rest of the time."
The reporters who added fuel to the fire did not make Aldridge angry, and even after losing the game, he still maintained his demeanor.
What else could we do?
After losing the ball and losing face and dignity, Aldridge would not engage in such a loss-making business.
After hastily finishing the interview, Aldrich returned to the visiting team's locker room to lead the team away, but found that the players and coaches had already left, leaving only Materazzi sitting on the bench in a daze.
Looking at the smashed door in the visiting team's locker room and the debris of wooden boards falling on the ground, Aldridge slowly walked over and sat down next to Materazzi.
He performed well today, which Aldrich recognized.
The defense was repeatedly penetrated by Tranmere, mostly through space on the wings of Neville and Gianluca Zambrotta. Coupled with the reduced intensity of interceptions in the backcourt, the responsibility for the passiveness of the defense did not lie with the two centre-backs.
"You lost, aren't you happy?"
"Should I be happy?"
Materazzi looked unwilling and his voice was very low.
Aldridge said softly: "I'm very happy. Because I have seen the results of these two months of training. Marco, for your performance today, I will give you a nine out of ten score. This is professional football, not a game.
You can't expect a team with an average age of less than 20 years to become invincible in less than three months of formation. On the way to becoming the strongest team, there will inevitably be failures, but as long as you do
Every failure is a better failure, and that means we are making progress."
Materazzi felt a little better and nodded slightly.
"I know why you are unhappy. Losing is part of it, and part of it is pride and face. After all, you are the captain. But, you are the captain, so you can't be depressed like this. You have to stand up and tell the truth with your actions.
Teammates: We lost today, and we did not lose unjustly, but next time, we will win with dignity."
Aldridge spoke in an understated tone, without the airs of a coach at all. It was more like he was chatting with a friend, enlightening and persuading Materazzi.
Materazzi sneered, turned to look at Aldridge and asked: "Boss, I scored nine points today, where are the others?"
Aldrich curled his lips and said: "Richards has eight points, Bute has nine points, the two forwards have seven points, the two full-backs have six points, the two midfielders have seven points, and the two full-backs have seven points."
Except for the performance of Beckham and Glenchar, which Aldridge was barely satisfied with, the progress of others was very obvious, and it is reasonable for Aldridge to give a slightly better evaluation.
Materazzi spread his hands and said: "Boss, aren't you happy? Why doesn't anyone get full marks?"
Aldrich stood up and stretched, turned around and smiled slyly: "I'm only telling you, no one will ever get a perfect ten from me, which means I will never be satisfied with your performance.
There is always room for improvement. In order to achieve perfect scores, no matter how good your performance is, you should continue to work hard for me."
Materazzi's eyes widened and he shouted: "Are you a fox?"
Aldridge smiled and waved his hands: "It doesn't matter what I am, what matters is what you are. I hope you are like the lion on the Millwall team logo! Okay, stop being a bitch, get up and go, don't you
Still want to live here?”
Materazzi picked up his coat and put it on, and hesitantly glanced at the messy visiting team's dressing room before walking out. The Tranmere staff outside the door stared at him with gloomy eyes.
"Boss, this?"
Aldridge waved his hand without looking back and said: "Don't worry, if Tranmere wants compensation, wait until they fax the compensation list to the club. Hundreds of thousands of pounds will be deducted from your weekly salary. We will
They are all men. If you break it, you will break it. Don’t worry about compensating some money."
Materazzi laughed when he heard this, and raised his eyebrows enthusiastically at the blushing Tranmere Club staff member in the corridor.
Tranmere club staff have their noses twisted with anger!
Oh shit!
Seeing that the young coach looked like a gentleman in a suit and leather shoes, he didn't expect that he would allow the players to smash the visiting team's locker room!
An aboveboard gangster!
What they are even more confused about is whether to fax a compensation list to Millwall Club.
A door and cabinets and chairs in the visiting team's locker room are not worth much.
Do you really want to ask for hundreds of pounds?
Who is stingy?
Whose person is missing?
well!
Several staff members watched Materazzi and Aldrich leave, saying in unison: Get out of here!
After boarding the departing bus, Materazzi solemnly apologized to his teammates in public. His behavior in the locker room just now was a bit excessive. People who don't know him might think that he is dissatisfied with his teammates.
Aldrich did not take this matter to heart, and applauded the players as soon as he got on the bus, expressing his satisfaction with their performance today.
Losing is not a big deal, and you don’t have to scold the players head-on when losing.
They are on the road to progress. No one is lazy or violates tactics on the field, and that is enough.
Returning to East London, Aldridge put this defeat behind him and started working on the next round of games, facing Burnley at home.
