บท 239: Millwall's Youth Storm
As the reigning champions of the Premier League, Millwall's summer signings were naturally under the spotlight.
However, Lions fans are feeling numb judging by the club's announcements regarding transfer activity.
As Fleet Street claims, Millwall's signings this year feel like rubbish.
It was hard not to reminisce about the glorious days when Aldrich first took charge of the team. Millwall, then a League One side, became the highest-spending team in England that summer, splurging over ten million pounds, which really boosted morale.
But over the next two years, they either signed two or three players, or practically made zero investments in the transfer market. Now, as defending champions with a healthy budget—thanks to a significant increase in the new Premier League broadcasting deal and the anticipated additional income from competing in the Champions League—fans expected movements. After all, Stam and Phillips had left the club, contributing an impressive 18 million pounds to the coffers.
No one could have guessed that Millwall, with their deep pockets, would end up spending less than 3 million pounds on first-team transfers this summer!
There was free signing Duff, free transfer Gudjohnsen, another free acquisition in Van der Meyde, and a mere 100,000 pounds for Klose.
If Aldrich were the new head coach taking over this team, fans would have given him a hearty tongue-lashing.
Yet, it seemed that everyone had grown accustomed to this way of life. During street interviews, fans reacted with indifference to the club's recruitment efforts, neither expressing disappointment nor satisfaction. It was simply a matter of "let's wait and see."
At the press conference, reporters relentlessly grilled Aldrich, desperate for more news.
Richard from the Daily Mail asked bluntly, "Will Millwall sign any more players?"
In reality, Millwall had brought in quite a few players over the summer, but they were all for the youth team. Such acquisitions went unnoticed by Fleet Street; every English club reinforced their youth teams during the summer, bringing in a flurry of young faces—who could be bothered to care about those "kids"? Only the standout performers in that season's youth league and FA Youth Cup made it to the headlines.
Aldrich leaned back in his chair and calmly stated, "Millwall's transfer window has officially closed for the season. No players will leave, and there won't be any first-team signings."
At his words, the reporters exchanged looks of surprise.
They were anxious for Millwall!
Richard's voice carried a hint of worry, "Compared to the investments of other Premier League clubs, isn't Millwall concerned about their competitiveness for the new season? Honestly, their spending barely amounts to a fraction of what other top teams are investing."
Faced with this question, Aldrich fell into a moment of silence.
Manchester United, alongside signing Stam, had also brought in Sheringham, spending around 20 million pounds in total.
Liverpool's already strong squad underwent minor renovations, with around five players added for about 500,000 pounds, not counting free signings Friedel, Dundee, and Riedel, or the 150,000 transfer fee for Stoughton and Gudnason.
Most eye-catching were the London clubs, spending money like it was water.
Tottenham made a flurry of signings, bringing in Roman Vega, David Ginola, Les Ferdinand, and José Dominguez, spending about 8 million pounds just to take two first-team players from Newcastle United, bringing their summer total close to 15 million pounds.
Their rivals, Arsenal, were also making moves. Wenger had high hopes for his first full season in charge, and the board backed him generously in the summer transfer market. Besides a few young players signed for under a million, Wenger brought in Emmanuel Petit from his previous club, last season's Ligue 1 champions, Monaco, along with Luís Boa Morte from Lisbon. The biggest splash was the 7 million-pound signing of the young star Overmars from Ajax, totaling over 13 million pounds spent by Arsenal this summer.
Chelsea, Millwall's fiercest rival, has continued Bates's policy of heavily investing in the transfer market through borrowing. Besides spending less than a million pounds on smaller transfers, Chelsea acquired a young defender, Babayaro, from Belgium, alongside Dutch goalkeeper De Goey and French defender Leboeuf. They lured Poyet with an attractive salary and secured Norwegian striker Flo for a mere 300,000 pounds under the Bosman rule. The biggest signing, however, was bringing back Lescott from Blackburn; he had left four years earlier for 700,000 pounds and was re-signed for 7 million pounds. Chelsea's total expenditure for that summer was around 14 million pounds.
All three clubs have failed to recoup half of their transfer market spending through player sales. Especially Chelsea and Arsenal, whose net investment in the transfer market has exceeded 10 million pounds for two consecutive years, and now they are in urgent need of strong performance to increase their income.
As time goes by, Arsenal and Chelsea have both embarked on different paths: one has obtained the capital to restore its former glory, and the other is methodically accumulating strength in preparation for its rise.
The reason for Aldrich's silence lay in his clear understanding of reality.
While other teams were getting stronger, was Millwall simply going to stand still?
Of course not. Just looking at the first-team roster, even though they lost Stam, the remaining players were still growing and improving. In terms of experience, skills, and team chemistry, Millwall's starting eleven should be stronger than last season's, having been through the trials of becoming champions.
A successful team is made up of more than just 11 starters; it also needs bench players who can produce a surprise impact.
Millwall have some shortcomings in this regard. Aldridge realizes that players like VanderMeyde and Duff aren't expected to perform much if they play. Their role is primarily for the future of the team rather than for the present, so it's unfair to put any pressure on them to get results - they don't actually have enough ability at the moment.
With a sigh, Aldrich spread his hands and said, "Alright, since you all think Millwall's transfer work is poor, help me out. I have 10 million pounds here—tell me, who should I buy? I hope this is a professional discussion, not just a haphazard filled with nonsense. Offer me names of players who can set our team apart or ones who can quickly integrate into Millwall's tactical system."
At Aldrich's prompt, the reporters fell silent, unable to respond.
They could criticize Millwall's transfer failures but offered no substantial suggestions in return.
Most had a peculiar feeling— even if Overmars were offered to Millwall, that individual talent might not fit into the team as seamlessly as hoped. Even bringing in a high-profile player like Ronaldo to replace Trezeguet didn't guarantee that Millwall would automatically become a stronger side.
This issue boiled down to the combination of player styles with the team's tactical system, unrelated to individual skills; it was a matter of completing the larger puzzle.
Because Millwall's tactical philosophy was distinctive, Aldrich's team style widely differed from the mainstream, directly implying that the players he needed had very specific skill requirements.
Take Overmars as an example—was he strong? Aldrich would say, "Absolutely!"
Yet, even if Aldrich were offered an Overmars for free, he would view it as a hot potato.
How long would it take to change his habit of playing along the baseline? How long before he could adapt to the tactical framework, focusing on passing rather than excessive dribbling, and enhance his ability for the cutting runs needed in front of goal?
Half a season? A full season? Or possibly longer?
Aldrich didn't know, especially since such players had already achieved star status.
It was like giving compliments in romantic relationships: "You're great, but we're simply not compatible."
This was precisely why Aldrich felt troubled. He found it hard to identify game-ready substitutes and felt compelled to give young players more opportunities. After all, bringing in other seemingly skilled players would also require a significant adjustment period.
So he was unlikely to consider players over twenty-three; most players beyond that age had already solidified their technical abilities and playing habits, with training merely maintaining their conditions. Any improvement came primarily from enhanced experience and awareness.
The reporters sat up with furrowed brows as they prepared to leave.
One by one, they appeared heavy-hearted, all pondering the same question.
Was Millwall truly a weird anomaly?
Were there really no famous stars outside the club who could fit into their system?
How uniquely specialized was Aldrich's tactical framework...
The four rookie players were left in shock, realizing that they had just witnessed an unforgettable press conference.
Their coach had managed to leave the reporters dumbfounded.
Though it wasn't a combative exchange of words like a heated debate, the reporters left high-spirited but with heavy hearts, as if they had undergone a profound intellectual cleansing, and Aldrich's image in the eyes of the four players seemed to clear up a bit more.
The next day at the Leo Training Ground.
After expansion, there was a brand new building, almost double the size of the training hotel where they had stayed for the past three years.
Members of the first team emerged from the building in training kits, chatting joyfully among themselves.
Aldrich was chatting on the sidelines with several coaches.
Meulensteen and Moniz are especially excited today. They had just returned from a holiday in the Netherlands and were pleased to find that the club had many promising young players.
Take Vicente, for example—his speed and footwork at the age of sixteen were already exceptional, making it apparent to coaches that he was a player with great potential.
This kept Meulensteen, the technical director, and Moniz, the technical coach, incredibly busy. They needed to devise different training plans based on the players' characteristics, so after discussing matters with Aldrich, they rushed off to observe the youth team, needing some time for assessment before determining the right technical development programs.
"Hey, hold on a minute! You guys should come this way first; we have four players that need your special focus!"
Meulensteen turned around while jogging halfway and chuckled, "Okay, we'll swing by shortly."
With that, he and Moniz continued their bouncy run toward the youth team...
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