Millwall are on the road to the third tier of the title race, and the atmosphere in the team is good, with more and more opportunities for substitutes to show their faces in the league, and the main players are also preparing for the rest of the crucial battles.

Aldridge is still working hard in training during this time, he is very happy to see the state of the team, and feels that this is really a relatively simple era, the players do not have so many fancy intestines, and they are fully focused on football, but I don't know when this beautiful time will end.

The player who cares Aldridge the most in training is a player who has been out of the fan eye for almost a year: Lucas Neal.

In March, Neil finally returned to the training ground, and as the manager, Aldridge felt a lot of regret and apology for him.

It took a year to recuperate from the injury, and the time Neil lost was the most precious for the player, not only did his skills not improve, but even his physical fitness regressed.

Fate is impermanent, and sometimes I have to sigh that creation makes people.

A year ago, he was the team's main full-back, and a year later, it seems that he can't even play as a substitute.

Capdevilla quickly grew into the main position, Zambrotta shared the opportunity to play with him, and the competition between the two was very fierce, Aldridge would treat the two differently according to the tactical requirements when using the two, focusing on attacking and using more delicate footwork, with a stronger sense of Capdevilla, and focusing on defense with a stronger Zambrotta.

On the right wing-back, Schneider firmly occupies the main position, and Mills' strong and weak attack cannot shake Schneider's main position.

Either way, the four full-backs were clearly better than Neil, who was recovering from a serious injury.

Therefore, Aldridge will be more patient and attentive to Neil in training, and also design a special training plan for him.

But Aldridge still owes something. Neil's comeback was a bit late. Even if he is given a chance to play in the rest of the league this season. It is also not enough to win the championship medal and issue the required number of games.

Privately, Aldridge has discussed with Neil that he will let him come off the bench for each of the last eight league games, play 10 to 20 minutes, and then when the Premier League is over, apply for a medal from the FA and give him a winner's medal as well.

To Aldrich's surprise, Neil refused.

This Australian lad after suffering a serious injury. It seems that he has matured a lot in the past year, and the scenes of laughing and playing with his teammates in the past are no longer visible, and at the age of nineteen, he began to grow his beard and beard, looking more like a young man in his twenties.

The serious injury ruined his youth, delayed the improvement of his skills, and strengthened his physical fitness, but allowed him to hone a strong willpower that ordinary people can't imagine.

He was the first player to come to the training ground and the last to leave, so if he couldn't be seen on the training ground, he went to the gym. Surely he can find him, he is silently chasing after the passing time. Use sweat to make up for the gaps of the past year.

Aldridge has visited him at least twice a month for the past year, and has been working on a light training schedule for him six months ago, so Neil has been able to talk to Aldridge about everything.

He said frankly: This year's Millwall championship has nothing to do with me, I don't deserve a championship medal!

Objectively speaking, his words are fair.

Judging by the outside world, it is natural that Neil will not think that Neil has contributed to Millwall's league title in the slightest.

Aldridge's offer is just a human touch, and he can't be as ruthless as a bystander, especially with his own players.

Knell thanked Aldrich for his care, but also had his own self-esteem.

He even retorted with Aldrich's initial rhetoric: I'm not here to mix up titles.

Like David Barty, who played for Blackburn Rovers two years ago, he refused to receive a Premier League winner's medal because he was injured and did not play for most of the time, which is a good accolade, but the strong self-esteem of the players makes them want to get the honour that belongs to them above board.

Aldridge could only continue to encourage and support Neil, while also warning him not to overtrain and overload his body.

Aldridge admired Neil's strong will, and before the weekend's league game, Aldridge was in his office thinking about plans for a summer contract extension.

It is imperative that veterans and absolute main players in the team such as Larsson, Nedved, Southgate, Makelele, Schneider, Trezeguet and others increase their contracts.

At the same time, Pirlo, Shevchenko, Capdevilla and other players who have established themselves this season will also have to renew their contracts, and their salaries will also be in the third tier of the team.

Aldridge has a pyramid-like structure for the team's salary structure.

At the top are Southgate, Nedved and Larsson.

One is the status of the team, the other is that he will not only value the offensive players, there are representatives in all three lines, and the third is that they have been with the longest time, which is the team's seniority, and the time they play reflects their sense of belonging to the team, which is a loyalty reward to some extent, and Aldridge also intends to add loyalty clauses to each player in the new contract.

For example, if Nedved has been with the club for more than five years, he will be rewarded with a million pounds per season from the sixth year onwards, and if he has been with the club for more than ten years, then he will be awarded a million pounds a year after that, and if he retires from the club, Millwall is willing to pay a loyalty bonus of five million pounds on the day he retires!

Although it is very vulgar to talk about money, the capitalization trend of football has been reflected, and the rapidly growing football bubble is the best proof of this.

Millwall can't pay the Premier League maximum salary to players now, but Aldridge is still a little cautious in the contract, and the loyalty clause can be counted as one, for example, if Nedved stays in the team, then in 2000, in addition to the salary, he can get an additional bonus of one million pounds, which is simply not worth mentioning, because as long as he transfers, other teams may give him a signing fee that exceeds this figure, and the salary can skyrocket, but now, Aldridge joins this clause, It is undoubtedly very tempting.

Although it makes him look like a philistine businessman, how can the great game of football rack his brains to win over players with money? Isn't that tarnishing Nedved's loyalty?

But Aldrich can't help it. He can only overdraft the future of the club. And. He also doesn't want to treat the players badly, if as a businessman of the philistine, he will want every player under his command to take the initiative to renew the contract without raising the salary, but that is too chilling, how to attract more excellent players here?

Players in the second tier of the team's salary will be based on the length of time they have played and their status in the team, such as Makelele, Bout, Schneider, Trezeguet and others. The gap between their salaries and the first tier is not too big.

In the third pot, there are excellent young players and main substitutes who have emerged, such as Elgra, Materazzi, Pirlo, Shevchenko, Capdevilla and others.

And then there are the other players.

Aldridge wants to build a healthy salary structure, as there are grades where players can move up the ladder through their performances on the pitch and loyalty to the club.

He adjusted Neil's contract to the third tier, which must have been at the bottom according to Neil's current strength and state. But Neil is a veteran of Millwall, even if he's not very old. The qualifications are there, he is not gnawing at the club, on the contrary, he is actively recovering and improving his strength, he is still an important member of the club's future plans, Aldridge can't chill his heart, but also let other players see how Millwall treats players who have been seriously injured for a year, and never give up!

When Aldridge had a clear picture of the team's salary structure, he printed out the documents and prepared to give them to Adam, and the specific contract content should be handled by someone else.

It was at this time that Dr. Thompson, the head of the medical department, knocked on his office door.

Aldrich looked at the time, it was already 7:40 p.m., he forgot the time for work, and he didn't expect that there was still anyone left.

"Doctor, aren't you gone yet?"

Aldrich is now accustomed to calling each other DR directly, which is an honorific title in the UK, because there are not many people who can obtain the title of Doctor, and it can even be said that if you want to become a doctor, it is a hundred times more difficult than getting a diploma from a prestigious school.

Thompson sat down with a report in his hand and looked embarrassed, and he never said a word, and Aldrich's heart sank.

The doctor runs in front of you and his face is not good-looking, and ordinary people will have a hunch that what will happen next will definitely not be a happy event.

Thompson stroked his glasses and said with difficulty: "Mr. Hall, I'm sorry that one of the players has a physical problem, but we can't find the reason. ”

Aldridge raised his hand to ask for the report in the other party's hand, and after Thompson delivered the report to him, Aldrich opened it and looked at it, and his face suddenly sank like dead water.

Dean Richards.

The centre-back also played a few games in the first half of the year but has not been able to play since the New Year because he was feeling unwell in training and Aldridge gave him a break out of caution while he went for a check-up.

The medical department has not sent his examination report for a long time, and every time Aldrich asks the medical department, he does not get an accurate answer, but he only says: The detailed examination report has not yet come out.

"What the hell is going on?"

Thompson said abruptly: "We don't know what to do, originally he was just a little dizzy, and he recovered after a short rest, but for the sake of caution, we did a detailed examination and found that he had an abnormality in the brain, especially after strenuous exercise, I thought it was caused by too many headers, but it didn't seem to be, because in the past three months, he only felt unwell after two trainings, and the symptoms were dizziness and vomiting, which basically did not affect his training and games, but it was impossible to predict when he would have this symptom next time." ”

Aldridge frowned and thought about it, he brought in Richards at the beginning, because in his memory, Richards was a central defender who played for Tottenham, and he was brave, but then, gradually disappeared from view, where he went, Aldridge didn't care, after all, as a fan in his previous life, his attention was on the top league.

"Can't find the reason?"

Thompson shook his head in embarrassment, feeling it was a dereliction of duty.

"Although we can't find the cause yet, our advice is that he should no longer do strenuous exercise, because if the root cause of the disease is not found, this abnormal physiological condition may endanger his health if it is exacerbated."

Aldridge propped his chin into deep thought, and Thompson continued: "Mr. Hall, I know that the club paid for Richards and gave him a good salary, but he is a man first and then a player, and if the club insists on playing the fierce sport of football, which ultimately leads to irreparable consequences, then this is an unforgivable act by the whole society. ”

Aldridge waved his hand and said: "I know, I'm just thinking about how to tell him, I don't want to be an executioner, it's just that you may not understand that for many players, playing football is their life, even if it has nothing to do with ideals, it is also about survival." ”

Thompson was stunned, then nodded and said, "I'm relieved that you can think like this." In addition, I hope that the club will keep Richards in the medical department, and we will follow his strange illness as much as possible, and if we can't find a cure, at least let him get the best care possible. ”

Aldridge let out a long sigh and agreed, and when Thompson left, he felt heavier than a mountain with the medical report in his hand. (To be continued......)