Chapter 99

After turning the game around against Grimsby in midweek, the League Cup progressed smoothly. On the second day of training, Aldridge apologized to the team again. His sudden absence had indeed had a negative impact on the team, and there was no need to elaborate on the importance of a head coach to a team.

Aldridge was not someone who would dwell on the past, so he took the self-examination and self-blame seriously but did not spend too much time on it.

With a tight schedule, Millwall had only been back in London for two days before they had to travel to the northwest of England. The match against defending champions Blackburn Rovers became the focus of this round, with the hype even surpassing the clash between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest at home.

Blackburn, nominally a city, was more like a town, with a population of just over 100,000. After winning their first Premier League title last season, Blackburn retained their main squad, with no significant player departures. However, their head coach changed. The experienced Kenny Dalglish stepped down, taking a ceremonial role and enjoying adoration with a high salary of £300,000 per year. Blackburn then welcomed a new head coach: Ray Harford.

This head coach, over 50 years old, had played as a center-back during his career. A coach's playing experience greatly influenced his coaching style. For example, Kevin Keegan, an attacking player, coached teams that played fluid attacking football but had poor defense. Harford's style was more defensive, but Blackburn was not known for their defense. They won the Premier League title last season due to their formidable attack, scoring 3 more goals than Manchester United, while conceding 11 more.

The mismatch between the head coach and the team's style led to inconsistent performances. In the first three rounds of the Premier League, Blackburn narrowly beat a weak team, then suffered two consecutive losses. The media commented that Blackburn was focusing on the Champions League, where they had a favorable draw, facing Spartak Moscow, Rosenborg, and Legia Warsaw.

However, as a head coach, Aldridge could see that Blackburn's problem was not about the focus of the season. Their performance in the Champions League was extremely "impressive," as the favorites to advance from the group, they ended up finishing last, even engaging in a notorious internal conflict, embarrassing themselves worldwide.

Before coming to this quiet, traditional small town, Aldridge spoke diplomatically at a press conference: "Blackburn are the defending champions, and Millwall are the promoted team. Playing away at Ewood Park is a challenge for us."

A challenge?

The media thought Aldridge was being typically low-key, but he was speaking the truth.

Because of this match, he rested his main squad and made rotations.

Letting the substitutes face the pressure of the defending champions was a risky move, but Aldridge felt he should try it. He wanted the substitutes to grow quickly and adapt to the Premier League's pace, which would help Millwall become stronger in the future.

Harford was under pressure, with two consecutive league losses, especially the home loss to Manchester United. This match against Millwall was crucial for him.

The old coach earnestly urged the players to tighten their defense and play cautiously before attacking. The players had to listen to the head coach to avoid being labeled as rebels.

In the fourth round of the Premier League at Ewood Park, Aldridge, as usual, supervised the game from the sidelines, and Harford was also vigilant, constantly instructing the players to strengthen their defense.

Aldridge lined up in a 4-3-3 formation, with Gattuso, Vieira, and Ballack providing defensive solidity in midfield. Due to Matri's five-game suspension from last season and his red card, he would not return until mid-September. The center-backs were Richards and Hierro, with Zambrotta and Mills as full-backs. The attacking trio was Glenoar, Phillips, and Solskjaer.

Blackburn's lineup was almost the same as last season.

The SAS forward line: Shearer and Sutton.

The midfield was composed of Sherwood, Batty, Wilcox, and Ripley.

The defense was Les Ferdinand, Hendley, Coleman, and Berg, with Flowers in goal.

This lineup was strong, though a bit top-heavy. If Aldridge had Blackburn's transfer budget, he wouldn't have bought these players. It wasn't that he lacked foresight; rather, Blackburn had signed experienced players who could perform immediately, and with a bit of polishing, they could produce results.

However, such players were already well-known and hard to manage due to their strong personalities. They lacked a sense of belonging to the club, acting more like mercenaries.

Aldridge's team-building philosophy was to bring in young players when they were unknown. Even if they left, the club would have nurtured them, allowing them to leave with pride and honor, which helped in managing the team and retaining players.

The Blackburn squad, with the SAS combination, would be poached in a few years, and other players would join Chelsea, Tottenham, and Manchester United. They were mercenaries, earning money and honors here, and when the team's performance declined, they would naturally move on.

This highly anticipated match did not live up to expectations, being rather tame.

The three midfielders effectively disrupted Blackburn's positional attacks, and the center-back pairing of Hierro and Richards performed confidently.

Aldridge looked around the stands, musing: Perhaps the atmosphere here is not as passionate as at Anfield or Old Trafford, and there's not much pressure.

As a result, Millwall's young players were not intimidated by the defending champions. Elgera, playing his first game in England, stood out, successfully intercepting attempts by Sutton and Shearer to break through, and handling the ball calmly and decisively.

Millwall's attack left Aldridge speechless.

Ballack passed the ball to Phillips, who turned and dribbled past Sherwood, then took a long-range shot from 30 yards out!

The shot was of high quality but was saved by the goalkeeper Flowers.

Aldridge sat back down on the bench, turning to Jensen and asking, "Has he not changed his playing habits after a year?"

Jensen shrugged, "Didn't he just show it? But he has a knack for scoring."

They were talking about Kevin Phillips. Aldridge was not entirely satisfied with Phillips, but he always scored in limited playing time, even outperforming Solskjaer in terms of time efficiency.

However, before taking the long-range shot, both Glenoar and Solskjaer had run into good positions on the wings, but Phillips chose to shoot himself.

He was a tricky player!

He excelled in positioning, long-range shooting, and sudden strikes, with excellent shooting technique.

But he didn't fit well with team play.

Aldridge needed a forward who could link up play, but Phillips played more like a traditional English "fast" forward, appearing in the most threatening positions and taking the final shot.

Despite this, he could score, and Aldridge had talked to him several times, but Phillips continued to play his familiar style.

As a substitute, Aldridge couldn't be too demanding, and there were benefits to having a tricky player. While he didn't fit the mainstream, he could be incredibly powerful when used correctly, but not as a starter.

Rubbing his forehead in frustration, Aldridge didn't know what to do when Phillips demanded a starting position. The more he scored, the more he wanted to start, which was obvious.

But he wasn't the type of forward Millwall needed in the future.

He could be a substitute, but not a starter.

While Aldridge was distracted, Blackburn launched a counter-attack, relying on individual skills to suppress Millwall. Shearer used his footwork to deceive the young and somewhat inexperienced Gattuso, then took a long-range shot from outside the box. Butt saved the ball, but Sutton, who had entered the box, beat Richards to the rebound and scored.

Blackburn led 1-0 at home.

Seeing the goal, Aldridge stood up and shouted to the players to stay focused. Such a goal was not unacceptable, but it was a lesson for the goalkeeper and defenders, who needed to avoid making the same mistakes as they improved their skills and awareness.

With a goal in the first half, Blackburn became overconfident in the second half, boldly attacking and leaving more space in their defense.

At 73 minutes, Vieira and Ballack pushed forward, organizing an effective counter-attack. Glenoar assisted Phillips, who completed the equalizer.

After equalizing, the game became chaotic, with both teams wanting to win. The initial caution was forgotten, and they engaged in a fierce battle.

The game was intense and exciting, but no more goals were scored, and the teams drew.

Aldridge's Millwall achieved two wins and two draws in the challenging early season schedule, a good record, but they were 4 points behind the league leaders.

What caught everyone off guard was that Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United won all four of their opening games, leading the league by a wide margin.

PS: Thank you to "Nanxi Gonggong" for the support!

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