Suddenly, like a spring breeze, football has become the hottest topic on the planet recently. The World Cup is just around the corner, attracting global attention. Street tabloids and TV news are all related to football. Millwall's legendary seven-time crown has become history.
The England national team's Eastern Expedition has become the hottest topic in the country...
As Aldridge celebrates his 26th birthday, fans are counting how many honors the young coach has won in the past eight years, how many achievements he has achieved that many people dream of, and how many great achievements he has caught up with legendary coaches. In England fans
In my heart, this young commander has no
The one who cannot do it comes from the myth and is the savior that England has been waiting for for a long time. However, the England national team was cast in a shadow on the eve of the expedition. Even the most optimistic people cannot have higher expectations for England.
, it seems that God is making things difficult for England!
“Can David Beckham make it to the World Cup?!”
"Gary Neville is definitely out of the World Cup! Who can take over as England's main right back?"
"Steve Gerrard's old injury has relapsed, and Liverpool's medical team has been criticized! England has lost another general!"
"1 win, 2 draws and 2 losses! The England national team has only won one of the five warm-up matches this year. How can it conquer the world?"
...
Around the England national team, a continuous stream of negative news has poured out, and the public's confidence has been hit to the freezing point. It is difficult for a good woman to make a meal without rice. Everyone knows this truth. With a shortage of major generals and poor condition, why should the England national team go to Asia to win the championship?
Good results?
Today is the day to submit the final rosters of each participating team to the Korea-Japan World Cup Organizing Committee.
In the morning, Yiwen was on the phone at home, Bert and Earl were playing football in the backyard, and the two children were watching TV in the living room and forgot to turn it off. At this time, the TV was still playing a new program. The BBC compiled
A set of the highlights of Millwall's performance last season is playing the final ending. That is, Aldridge's post-match interview speech after winning the Champions League.
"Yes, we encountered difficulties during the game. Millwall took it lightly and almost gave Manchester United a chance to reverse the situation. I will not ignore the specific problems because of the victory. Millwall must improve this, but this job
, will focus on the next season, regarding the departure and stay of Pirlo, Gattuso and other players. It is not suitable to talk about this topic now. You said that they are already selling their houses in London. Maybe they want to move to a new house, haha...
..."
In the bedroom upstairs, Yiwen stood in front of the window, looking down at the two boys playing football in the backyard, and said to the phone: "Thank you for your kindness, Victoria, but I haven't been feeling well recently and it's not suitable for me to travel far.
The next time Aldrich goes to Asia, I don't plan to go with him."
"Really? That's a shame."
Yiwen said goodbye to Victoria on the other end of the phone and hung up.
Originally, they had nothing to do with each other. In real life, Aldrich and Beckham only had two meals a year at most. Most of them were related to each other through work, and they were both industry insiders in the football circle.
However, because of the national team and England's wives group, they had a certain status in it. Victoria, who was very communicative, invited Yiwen to go to Japan with a group of them to cheer for England.
Yi Wen knew that if she appeared in the stands with Victoria and other players' girlfriends or wives, it would definitely lead to a lot of right and wrong topics. She didn't want to distract Aldridge and cause him trouble. Besides, she said she wasn't feeling well.
It's not an excuse, it's just inappropriate wording.
Bert and Earl will still go to Japan with their grandparents, just as a tourist, and will not get involved with the English ladies.
At this moment, Aldridge and the England national team are at the training base in Millwall.
The Premier League ended at the beginning of the month, and other leagues in other countries also came to an end at about that time. What followed was the national team's warm-up match. When the Champions League final was underway, the national team was already gathering and preparing for the game, so when Millwall returned
After arriving in London for the grand celebration parade of the seven-time champion, two national team warm-up matches were immediately ushered in.
To be on the safe side, all the international players that Manchester United contacted were rested. In addition, due to the shortage of major generals, the national team played poorly in the two warm-up matches, with one draw and one loss, causing panic in Fleet Street.
In this national team training session, Aldrich recruited very few players. He wanted to avoid a situation that would happen. For example, if 30 people were recruited, then when the final roster is determined, you would have to notify 7 of them.
Tell them face to face: You cannot follow the team to Asia to participate in the World Cup.
Originally, the national team lineup was relatively stable under Aldridge. In addition, two or three players were deleted before, and now because of Gary Neville and Gerrard withdrawing due to injury, the problems faced by Aldridge are not other mainstream problems.
The problem of the coach of the national team of a powerful country.
Like Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, and Argentina, the head coach has a headache as to who to kick out!
The headache for Aldrich is who to choose to fill in!
The coaching staff gathered in the meeting to reorganize and analyze the season performance, status, field position, and characteristics of the national football candidates in order to provide suggestions to Aldridge and finalize the final World Cup roster.
Aldrich went about his job positively.
He outlined the framework of the main lineup, with a 23-man roster, 11 main players, plus two substitute goalkeepers, and there are 10 people left. Basically, just match up. There is a substitute for each position. If there is an excellent snake oil,
, that will definitely be given priority.
4321 formation.
There is no suspense about the three goalkeepers.
In the back four, Gary Neville is gone. According to Phil Neville's performance and position at Manchester United this season, he can replace him. At the same time, because he is Manchester United's contact, it is necessary to cooperate with Beckham, who is also the right midfielder.
Better than Mills.
Centre-back, Southgate plus Ferdinand.
Left back, Ashley Cole. Ashley Cole, who was loaned to Tottenham for a season, has become very mature. He and Lampard. Joe Cole just helped Tottenham, an old, weak and disabled team, win the championship.
Having reached a position in the upper reaches of the standings, Arsenal fans are deeply resentful, thinking that Millwall loaned three top players to Tottenham to disgust the Gunners.
There is no suspense about the three defensive midfielders, Beckham and Lampard. Beckham has recovered from his injury and recently participated in recovery training, although there is no game. However, Beckham’s fighting spirit and physical fitness are great. He was diagnosed at Millwall Medical Center
With better care and a scientific recovery plan, his timely comeback was faster than expected.
Bart was still the same Bart that Aldrich looked a little worried about. His ability was at the bottom of the class, and perhaps only his fighting spirit and experience could outweigh Hargreaves. After much thought, Aldrich decided to use Bart and Hager as the main candidates.
After all, Reeves has little experience in big scenes, and Bart is still connected with Mann, so he has an inherent advantage in terms of tacit understanding.
The frontcourt trio of Scholes, McManaman, and Irving have no injuries or illnesses, and are in good shape. No one is so bad that Aldrich will have another headache.
After determining the main lineup framework, Aldridge began to list alternative players for each position.
At right back we have Mills.
The central defenders include Campbell and Terry, but Brown was excluded from the squad. He spent most of last season recuperating from injuries, and his condition was not ideal after his return.
There is Bridge at left back.
The midfield is his biggest headache.
There is Hargreaves in Bart's place.
The positions of Lampard and Beckham used to be occupied by Gerrard, but now they are gone.
"For the positions of David and Frank, we need two candidates with different characteristics."
Aldrich knocked on the table and gave orders.
The coaching staff took action, and someone picked up a piece of information and said, "How is Barry? His defense is okay."
Aldridge took a look at Gareth Barry's information. To be honest, when he heard the name and the player's basic strength, he had a rough assessment in his mind. However, going to the World Cup also requires a fate, like Gerrard.
, there is no problem with his strength, but if he is injured, he cannot go, and the same goes for Gary Neville.
After reading Barry's information, Aldridge shook his head and said: "He didn't play many games last season, and he still played as a defender. I want a midfielder, not a defender."
In the future, Barry will play midfielder, but he is not now, so Aldrich rejected this candidate for the same reason as he rejected Carragher.
"How about Michael Carrick at Tottenham? The player we have developed."
When Aldrich heard Boas's suggestion, he suddenly thought of Carrick.
When he took over the national team, he asked the U21 echelon to focus on cultivating Carrick. Carrick's development trajectory after leaving Millwall was pretty good. Last season, Tottenham boss Levy personally visited Aldridge and loaned out three strong players.
, and then brought Carrick to Tottenham in the transfer market.
, I have to say that Levi, a Jew, has a very flexible mind. When he first arrived, he recognized Millwall's signature. Many of the players Millwall let go were indeed very popular. Of course, they were
In small clubs, the stars who are poached are naturally genuine.
Carrick and Lampard controlled the midfield for Tottenham last season and performed very well. They promoted each other and grew together, making Tottenham's performance improve by leaps and bounds.
Carrick played as a defensive midfielder at Tottenham, while Lampard played as a central midfielder.
Aldrich thought for a while and decided: "Let him go, there is still one left, one with different characteristics from Carrick."
Boas, a data collection madman, immediately picked up another piece of information and threw it in front of Aldrich's desk. They were not so polite when working and always focused on efficiency. It was common for them to lose things in public.
"Newcastle United's Kieron Dyer is a bit risky, but there is really nothing better!"
After Boas finished speaking, Aldrich opened the document and took a look.
The English genius cultivated by Robson.
Kieron Dyer, although there are exaggerated facts, in the football circle, just flattering will not last long, you have to have some real ability.
Dyer, how did the British media brag about him?
He is faster than Zidane. He can do everything Zidane can do!
This is obviously bullshit!
However, under Robson's leadership, Newcastle United's record has soared in recent years, which is inseparable from the outstanding performance of the core midfielder Dyer.
Aldridge has known about Dyer for a long time, but he has never been recruited into the national team. In the past, he had plenty of manpower. He was not willing to use Dyer, a player who was constantly having troubles off the court and played in and out of games. He thought it was possible.
It's a waste of effort. You can't count on it at the critical moment. Why? It's hurt.
However, after looking at Dyer's performance data in the second half of the league, and currently short of major generals, Aldridge can only give him one chance, and speaking of characteristics, Dyer and Carrick are really different. When studying Newcastle United
, Aldrich knew that this "genius" was almost omnipotent in the midfield and frontcourt, and his style of play was also good at distributing the ball after a breakthrough, which opened up the situation. Coupled with the impact that his speed can bring, it was worth a gamble.
After all, he is a substitute, so he is prepared for any emergencies and may even be used as a surprise weapon.
"Okay, that's him. Joe Cole, Alan Smith..."
When talking about Alan Smith, Aldridge fell silent. Last season, Alan Smith was withdrawn from the striker at Leeds United and moved closer to the midfield. Aldridge felt that Alan Smith was born in the wrong era. If he was born late,
Ten years ago, when the defensive forward also began to become a style, Alan Smith could be better than now, stalking the defender and never
Stopped running, started to defend from the first line, and successfully attacked the opponent's defense line immediately when he succeeded in partial defense. In addition, he has the awareness and ability to play the ball. It's a pity that he was born in the wrong era and in the wrong place. In England, this
In this place, the forward must be tall and fast, but he is not tall and fast, and he is not absolutely fast. He cannot be counted on to fight alone. If you want to play ball, you must first be able to hold the ball, especially the high-altitude ball.
After much thought, Aldridge decided to give Smith a chance, but his consideration of using him had been changed from forward to attacking midfielder.
"There's another striker, Husky, Husky, Husky..."
Aldrich stroked his forehead. He didn't know why, but when he mentioned Husky, he felt very heavy.
Perhaps it was the opponent's poor number of goals that really made him a little desperate.
In the meeting room, the other coaches felt that the work was done. Yes, the final roster, including Husky, had enough substitutes for each position, and the 23-man roster was finalized!
But their expressions were strange, and they found Aldrich frowning, mumbling to himself, and repeating Husky's name.
"Besides Heskey, do we have any other forwards to choose from?"
The other coaches looked at each other, looked at the list of candidates, and named them one after another.
Sheringham?
Fowler?
Cole?
Crouch?
Vassell?
Aldrich shook his head, these were either very old or very small, so there was no hope for them at all.
He didn't want to take Heskey with him. In theory, Heskey was good at everything, but Aldrich remembered that Heskey's scoring efficiency in the national team was terrible. It was estimated that it would take 8 or 9 games to score one goal!
Taking him with him, Aldridge may choose to let him go up when he has no choice, and then the England team will hit the ball and cross the ball from the wing.
But then I thought about it, England originally played a very mature passing tactic. In a very mature technical and tactical system, Heskey could only score so many goals. How could Aldridge let him take him at the critical moment?
Send him to gamble? Moreover, having such a player on the bench will also affect the head coach's thinking in a different way. Why not just send him to gamble, and then, if he loses, whose responsibility will it be?
After much thought, Aldrich decided that instead of gambling with luck, it would be better to simply cut off his own escape route.
If anything goes wrong with Irving, I will use a no-edge strategy! (To be continued...)
