Once Aldrich's interview was broadcast, it had a positive impact on the people of England.
As the panic of entering the group of death gradually subsided, fans thought Aldridge was right.
England went to the World Cup not to travel, but to fight for the ultimate pinnacle of world football.
Argentina, Sweden, Nigeria, what do they have to fear?
If they can't win, England should go home as soon as possible. Only if they win can they be qualified to challenge the supreme throne of the gods in football!
Fleet Street took advantage of the situation and immediately sang praises to the young commander of the Three Lions Army, and their tone became arrogant.
"The Sun": The team of death? England is the terminator that brings death to the other three teams!
...
Probably due to the influence of the group draws of the World Cup in South Korea and Japan, the focus battle between Millwall and Manchester United hardly caused any waves of public opinion before the game.
Aldridge was not on the media platform to fight with Ferguson from a distance, so Ferguson also stayed away. Even if Millwall was about to attack, he still tried to face it in a low profile.
Old Trafford is in a precarious situation, shrouded in the gloom of a wave of three consecutive defeats and the arrival of strong opponents.
Many Red Devils fans are already chanting for Ferguson to be fired!
They have been runner-up in the league for five consecutive years, and despite winning the Champions League during this period, the Red Devils' patience is running out.
And this season, Ferguson sold Stam before the season, and the problems exposed in the defense were simply terrible. Every team in the Premier League seems to be able to score a goal in front of the Red Devils, and many irrational Red Devils fans think it is.
Ferguson single-handedly caused this situation to happen. If Stam had not been sold, why would Manchester United be in this situation?
The three-game losing streak in November brought the fans' resentment to its peak.
For no other reason, the championship failed!
After 15 rounds, Manchester United has 7 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses!
What's the gap between us and Millwall? No more, no less, just 15 points in five games!
Christmas is not far away, and Red Devils fans may not be very happy this New Year.
In such a situation of internal and external troubles for Manchester United, the board of directors and team management have shown a very subtle connection.
Although at the end of August, a tabloid broke the news that Sir Charlton was dissatisfied with Ferguson bypassing the board of directors and directly selling Stam. However, when a fan organization issued a slogan calling for Ferguson to be fired, the Manchester United board of directors supported Ferguson.
Little Edwards even came forward in person and said with a relaxed smile: "We gave Alex 7 years, and he rewarded us with a period of glory. Yes, we have not won the league championship in the past five years.
But it is only one step away, and we also won the Champions League three years ago. This gives us sufficient confidence. We firmly believe that Alex can restore Manchester United's dominance in English football and give full trust to the coach. This is Manchester United's
The tradition is also the philosophy of our success.”
Dissatisfied fans accused Edwards of collaborating with Ferguson!
Ferguson was speechless.
The Edwards family is disliked by the vast majority of Manchester United fans, and some protests occur every season. Because the Edwards family only cares about money, these pork sellers are running the Manchester United club as a business, and Ferguson is the one who coordinates the two.
Mediator of client relationships.
Now, fans protest against the Edwards family, Ferguson steps in to mediate, fans protest against Ferguson, Edwards steps up to support Ferguson...
How much patience does Edwards have and how much trust does he have in Ferguson?
It's hard to say, because Aldrich learned some inside information from Andrew.
After Manchester United lost to Chelsea, Edwards was furious in private and asked a question that the entire Manchester United board could not answer.
"If Ferguson is sacked, who should we bring in to restore Manchester United to their status as kings?"
No one can answer this question, and no one dares to answer it.
What if Edwards really listens and fires Ferguson, and then invites the person he mentioned, and if Manchester United is still unable to overturn Millwall's rule, who will bear this responsibility?
Moreover, looking at Europe, which famous coach dares to say that he can take the throne from Millwall when he comes to the Premier League?
For the Edwards family, the core issue is not whether they dare to fire Ferguson, but what to do after firing Ferguson?
In particular, Ferguson's dominance over the dressing room is too strong. If he leaves, more than half of Manchester United's stars will go their separate ways immediately!
In that case, Manchester United's market value would depreciate to such an extent that Edwards would have a heart attack.
...
Aldridge led the team to Old Trafford. When he walked into the stadium, it was rare that in a stadium that he was already very familiar with, he stood on the sidelines and looked around the stadium with a thoughtful expression.
The atmosphere of the stadium has changed!
Although there are fans in the stands who are cheering for the Red Devils unswervingly, the rhythm is not consistent. At the same time, it is clearly visible that many fans are holding their arms and looking on with a cold eye.
It seems that the unique aura of Old Trafford is weakening bit by bit.
I think back to when Millwall first came here for the first time in the Premier League. The first game in the Premier League was an away game against the ever-popular Red Devils Manchester United.
At that time, Old Trafford was so prestigious that the Red Devils fans greeted the Lions with their unique arrogance.
Although Manchester United was counterattacked by Blackburn Rovers the previous season, that same season, the Lions collapsed at the end of the season and the Red Devils quickly regained their throne.
That is to say, since then, for five consecutive seasons, Manchester United has been inferior to others in the league!
Red Devils fans noticed Aldridge standing on the sidelines and looking around the court, while fans in the nearby stands looked indifferent.
In their eyes, that young boy brought a group of unknown people to Old Trafford six years ago, and an earth-shattering 5:5 kicked off the Lions’ campaign in the Premier League. Six years later, the Lions ruled
In Europe, Aldrich, who doesn’t know the fame of the crazy lion marshal?
Aldridge held his head high and walked slowly to the visiting team's coaching bench, stepping on the Old Trafford turf, step by step, step by step, as if stepping on the history, a short distance, spanning time, dreaming back to these six years.
distance.
Millwall overthrew Manchester United's dominance and knocked Manchester United off the altar.
There is only one king in England now, and his name is the Mad Lion!
Aldridge walked to the visiting team's coach's bench and stood still. Ferguson had no intention of shaking hands with him before the game, so he did not look at him. At this time, the opponent could not protect himself. It was when the dragon was trapped in shallow water that Millwall came with a strong attack.
The purpose is very clear, which is to rub salt into Manchester United's wounds and step into the abyss!
The current situation in England has also convinced Aldridge to step down as head coach after next year's World Cup.
Because Manchester United's kingly spirit has been exhausted in the past five years. Without the stimulation of the championship, the players' fighting spirit, fans' mentality, club influence, football status, etc. will all decline significantly. And Millwall is in full swing, as long as they complete four consecutive league championships this season. Aldridge believes that Millwall's strong team heritage and spiritual temperament will also take shape. He will have completed the most difficult work, and then, he can Enjoy life as a club owner.
The starting players from both sides walked out of the tunnel and entered the field.
"The focus of this round of the Premier League is at Old Trafford. The leader Millwall has achieved a brilliant record of 12 wins and 3 draws in the first 15 rounds. It is far ahead in the standings with 39 points, while Manchester United, playing at home, has After being defeated by Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea in succession, they only had 7 wins, 3 draws and 5 losses and accumulated 24 points. The gap with Millwall is too big. With a full 15 points, it may be that at the end of the half of the Premier League this season The suspense of the championship will be lost again.”
"Martin, Manchester United's problem is obvious. Defense is one aspect. Attack is another aspect. This season, Manchester United has conceded more than 3 goals in more than 5 games. In the last three rounds, it has conceded three goals in each game. Tottenham, Newcastle United have scored more than 3 goals against Manchester United, and Manchester United also lost the game against Newcastle United. And what about the offense? This is the key aspect of Ferguson's transformation this season, because the previous season, Manchester United failed to achieve the goal in the entire season. Scored 97 goals, but only 79 last season, but Ferguson bought Veron to replace Scholes. This is puzzling because there is an 18-year difference in the number of goals between the previous season and last season. , which is almost 0.5 per game, is obviously caused by Yorke's decline in form, that is, there is a problem with the forward. Originally, this problem would be improved after Ruud van Nistelrooy replaced Yorke, but Ferguson bought Veron. , from August to now December, Veron's adaptation period has passed, right? But now we can't see that he has a clear advantage over Scholes. On the contrary, in some games, his disappearance is very prominent. , in particular, he does not have the defensive ability of Scholes, which is one of the reasons why Manchester United's defense is so miserable."
"Now when we talk about Manchester United, there are always endless problems. However, their opponent today, Millwall, has shown terrifying stability. It can be said that Millwall has completely changed the conditions for the Premier League title. In the Premier League, the title challenge is not only It relies on direct competition between competitors, and at the same time, it is also a confrontation with one's own ultimate ability. Only if you don't make mistakes can you have a chance to compete for the championship!"
"Yes, that's right. You have to know that Millwall has not lost a single defeat on all fronts this season, and it still has five consecutive victories in the Champions League. Okay, let's take a look at the starting lineups of both sides.
Manchester United, starting 442.
Goalkeeper: Barthez.
Defenders: Phil Neville, Gary Neville, Blanc, Sylvester.
Aldridge looked thoughtful after seeing Manchester United's starting lineup.
Just looking at the starting lineup, no matter how they are arranged, whether it is 442 or 433, or other playing styles, it seems that offense is stronger than defense. In other words, Manchester United does not face the game with a defensive attitude today.
