The FA's fine was issued quickly, and there was a tendency to cut through the mess and calm things down as soon as possible.

Aldridge, Jensen, and Craig are suspended for two games.

Southgate was suspended for three straight red cards and four additional penalties, for a total of seven suspensions.

Doe was suspended for three games with an immediate red card, with six additional games, for a total of nine suspensions.

In addition, Millwall Stadium management was negligent, and the stands rioted, and a fine of 180,000 pounds was imposed.

The biggest fan riot in the stadium since the Premier League's inception in 92 came to an end soon after, with another FA ticket yet to be announced, which was for fans on both sides of the game, as police officers were also injured in the clashes, and even police officers on horseback stormed the pitch during the more than 15-minute pause.

The FA cracks down on football hooliganism, and Millwall and West Ham United are the cradles of football hooligans, and it is a good opportunity to take a heavy hand to clean up, and the yet-to-be-released list is rumored to have more than 400 fans on the list, and if they are caught physically altering with the police, they will be sentenced to death by the FA. In fact, he will never be able to set foot in the stadium of a match organized by the FA for the rest of his life.

Fans who have hurt others will also face prosecution.

Aldridge and his two aides were so disrespectful to the refereeing staff that the FA only suspended him for two games, in fact because Millwall's cooperation in the fight against football hooligans made the FA hold high.

In any case, in the final sprint of the Premier League title, if Millwall is given too harsh penalties, it is easy to end up in favor of Manchester United or Newcastle United, which will only provoke greater dissatisfaction among Lions fans.

Barry Knight, who was at the centre of the maelstrom, was immediately protected by the FA and relegated him to the lower leagues to enforce the law. Even if he returns to the Premier League in the future, it is estimated that it will be difficult to step into the Millwall playing field.

The suspension rules in England are very different from those in other European leagues. That is, the suspension is in effect for domestic competitions, not for the separation of league and cup competitions. As a result, Millwall travelled to Newcastle United in midweek to play the FA Cup quarter-finals, with Aldridge unable to direct the team from the sidelines.

Newcastle United have just lost to Liverpool in the league, closing the gap between Manchester United and Millwall to within a goal of a goal.

Even with Aldridge suspended, a major player in the squad seriously injured and the captain suspended, Kevin Keegan still fielded most of the substitutes at home and he had to prepare for the last five games of the league.

Millwall, on the other hand, had not yet come out with a bad breath in his heart, and Aldridge asked Elgra to replace Southgate. Zambrotta replaced Neil and played extremely unrestrained at St James' Park.

Aldridge sat in the stands and watched Millwall's 2-1 win at Newcastle United in the company of FA officials to advance to the FA Cup semi-finals.

Kevin Keegan didn't mind losing this FA Cup, he was even a little happy in his heart, because in the FA Cup semi-final, Millwall did meet Manchester United, no matter what. Millwall and Manchester United have a do-or-die battle for a ticket to the final, which will benefit Newcastle United for the Premier League title with five games remaining in the end.

Aldridge didn't look happy on his team's way home from victory.

Reaching the semi-finals is not the same as winning the championship. Nothing to be happy about.

With the European Championship coming up this summer, and right on English soil, England have high expectations for the national team. Hoping to win the trophy on home turf, so in order to give the national team players more time to prepare. At the same time, the host country has arranged the stadium in advance to welcome the arrival of the national teams, so the English league will be all over in early May. It is more than half a month earlier than in odd-numbered years, so the schedule in April this season is very dense.

May 3 is the Premier League's final game.

That means Millwall have four Premier League games and one FA Cup semi-final in the next 20 days.

Aldridge returns to London to give his side a day off for a weekend league trip at home to Aston Villa, and he will field a substitute for a regular FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United in midweek.

Because of Neil's serious injury and the fan riots, Aldridge returned home and sat on the couch, seemingly wanting nothing to do.

Ding dong

The doorbell rang.

Aldrich got up to open the door, and outside stood a tired man who seemed to be more depressed than him.

He was a little fat, about the same height as Aldrich, wearing a shirt and trousers, with a bright head and a little head on his head.

"Raphael?"

Aldridge looked at the night visitor in amazement.

He never imagined that one day he would see this man on his doorstep, and it was expected that their next meeting would be in the Premier League, he was blue and the other was red.

The person who came was 36-year-old Rafael Benitez.

Benitez, who had already begun to bow his head, looked at the living room with a tired face, and said, "Won't you invite me in and sit?" ”

Aldrich raised his eyebrows and moved out of the way, stretching out his hand and asking, "Sit casually, what do you drink?" Coffee or tea? Or water? ”

"Is there any wine?"

Benitez's mental state was slightly decadent, and he asked in a deep voice as he sat down.

Aldrich went to get two bottles of beer, one for each person, and after sitting down on the sofa, Benitez looked at the beer in his hand and said with a wry smile: "Aren't you a rich kid?" Why do you invite me to a beer? ”

Aldrich was not interested in talking and laughing, and said casually: "What do you want to drink, go to the kitchen and see for yourself, there is a thermostat cabinet next to the refrigerator, there is red wine in it, aren't you working as an assistant for Bosque?" ”

Aldridge didn't meet any big names in Spain a few years ago, but he met Benitez, who was the coach of Real Madrid's B team, and his friendship was not bad, and he hit it off at first sight, probably because both of them attached great importance to tactics.

Benitez took a sip of wine and leaned back on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling, and said softly, "Didn't you watch the news?" Bosque was acting manager for two months and I stopped working at Real Madrid for a long time. ”

"And what team are you coaching now?"

Aldridge knows that Benitez will coach Valencia and Liverpool in the future, but it is really unclear where this goods will be at the moment.

Before returning to London in '94. Benitez is in charge of Real Madrid's B team and has an excellent record.

Benitez said in a somewhat bleak tone: "Valladolid asked me to coach. I went, and I was fired. ”

"Not a good record?"

"It's not undesirable. It's very bad, more than half of the league, the team is bottom of La Liga. ”

Benitez took another sip of wine, as if he had come to drink it today.

Aldrich held his chin and asked, "So you're unemployed now?" Nowhere to go? ”

Benitez replied: "Yes, I have a couple of invitations from the La Liga team. ”

"Oh, so you're here in London for a holiday? Going back to Spain in the summer to take over the team? ”

Benitez suddenly straightened his chest and stared at Aldridge with his eyes, making Aldrich a little hairy.

"I have a question I don't understand."

"What's the problem?"

"Aldrich, more tactically. I don't think I'm going to lose to you, I should have an advantage over you in terms of age and seniority, but why are you so successful in coaching the team? My team is terrible? I even felt that the players I coached were not as good as the boys of Real Madrid's B team, they couldn't understand what I was saying, and it was harder to get them to execute tactics than to let the cow fly into the sky. However, Millwall's overall coordination is so fluid, and there is not much emphasis on individual ability, what can you do with your tactics in the team? Is it because you bought a bunch of obedient kids? ”

Aldrich laughed. Leaning back on the couch and starting to drink.

"What are you laughing at?"

"It's nothing, it feels like you're just frustrated, mentally hit, maybe waiting for you to calm down. You'll find out why. ”

"You'd better tell me."

Benitez stared at Aldrich, his eyes blazing.

Aldridge asked with little interest: "How many years have you been at Real Madrid?" ”

"Player or coach?"

"Coach."

"Eight years."

"yes, you've been at Real Madrid for eight years. First he coached the U19 team and then the B team. A lot of the players in the team know you and respect you. Whatever you say, the players listen to you, you also understand the characteristics of the players, it is not a problem to polish the team, and the players can certainly implement your tactical philosophy, so you can lead the B team to play well in the second league. But you go to a new team, who are those players who bird you? People originally had a set of play, I think you will go directly to the reform, not to mention whether the characteristics of the players can adapt to your tactics, I think as long as the team encounters difficulties, no matter what you say, play back to the set they are familiar with, and then there will definitely be conflicts between you and the players, and the team's record can be imagined. ”

Benitez's eyes widened and he asked, "Are you also following La Liga?" ”

Aldridge pouted: "I don't have time to that idleness, what attracts me to La Liga?" Oh, I'll take a look at the Spanish national derby, the rest, I'm not interested. ”

Benitez touched the top of his half-bald head and sighed, "You're basically right. I don't understand, as long as the players implement my tactical ideas, I also know that their ability is like that, but at least relegation is not a problem, how did they achieve the bottom of the league? I'm doing it for their good. ”

"I think you're too idealistic, let's put it this way, the most advanced tactics don't work for all teams, S-tier teams can use the best tactics, A-tier teams may not be able to use them, and B-tier teams can't use them. Some teams can only play with both wings, some teams can only play defensive counterattacks, and some teams can only play long passes and rushes. The right tactics, the right players, the combination of the two is the best, and basically the latter determines the former, you can only develop tactics according to the players, not use tactics to transform most players, unless you don't have the pressure of points, but also have absolute authority in the team, even so, you need the cooperation of the players. ”

Aldrich's understatement made Beniteston feel empowered, and his brow furrowed as he looked down in contemplation. (To be continued......)