Since taking over at Millwall in the summer, Aldridge has been busy almost every day, completing a major team change in two months, tearing down and rebuilding a new team.

Since the start of the season, he has been working hard to train the first team, especially the tactical drills, and even at night, he will be immersed in the work of studying the opponent's information, but this is only the work of the first team, and he will also go to watch the home games of the reserve team and the youth team, which is a signal to the substitutes as his manager.

He didn't want the likes of Ballack, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Gattuso and others to mistakenly think that buying them at Millwall was just a recharge, so Aldridge's presence at the home games of the reserves and youth teams was just to show them how much the club valued them.

Usually after the end of the game, Aldridge will have a few words with the players according to their performance when the players are resting during training, and they will not talk at length, and they will stop and supervise on the spot.

It is this subtle effort that allows Aldridge to have a very clear position in the hearts of the players: the manager!

The next day was the day of the away league in midweek, and Aldridge was on the sidelines of the training pitch in a coach's sportswear to discuss matters.

"So serious? Six people recommend resting? ”

Jenson opened his mouth exaggeratedly, then pouted again, "Wouldn't it be too exaggerated?" Our players look in good shape and have been playing a little bit more lately, but if we grit our teeth and stick with it, we can play two more games in the next seven days and we will be able to rest for a week. ”

Aldridge looked at the players on the training ground with his arms in his arms and muttered: "Larsson came to the team after the World Cup, Trezeguet has been in England for less than two months, Lucas is not yet eighteen years old, Pire, Schneider and Makelele have all played the whole game in the last six rounds, and Dr. Sampson advised them to rest, I think it makes sense." You're right, gritting your teeth and persevering, you might be able to survive the next seven days and two games, but Dr. Sampson used an analogy to convince me. ”

"Huh? What metaphor? ”

"Springs. The body fatigue load is like a spring that is slowly pressed down, if you can't combine work and rest, and rest properly, then press the spring down little by little, when it reaches the limit, the force of the spring rebound explosion will be the destruction of the body, and every time the limit of the rebound burst, the spring will become fragile, so the next time you press down to the limit, the spring may be crushed. ”

After Aldrich finished speaking, Jenson opened his mouth slightly and said incredulously: "Is he alarmist?" ”

Aldridge bowed his head and smiled: "He is an expert in sports medicine, if you don't listen to him, who will you listen to?" And as I said, he's convinced me that in the long run, I want the players to have a healthier and longer career. ”

Jenson understood that Aldridge had made up his mind, and he frowned: "If the six main players don't play, the substitutes are fine, but Makelele's position, I'm afraid Vieira"

Jensen's mind is already spinning, the two forwards can be used on the bench Phillips and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the two wings have Glen Charles and Beckham, and the full-backs can go up Zambrotta, but the key defensive position of the midfield, whether it is Vieira or Gattuso, is unlikely to replace Makelele, who has performed steadily and efficiently.

"Don't think about it, instead of using a half-main and half-substitute lineup, I'd rather go to the full bench, the main eleven people stay in London for a holiday and rest, tomorrow we will take the substitute lineup to visit Tranmere, oh, if the substitute list is not enough, draw two or three people from the reserve team."

Jenson looked at Aldrich in surprise, this young marshal really acted unexpectedly!

A few main forces want to rest, so the main forces are simply gone!

However, Jensen's mind changed and he understood and agreed with Aldrich's approach.

The entire first-team players have only been training together for less than two months, and the main lineup and the substitute team are also very clearly divided in training, and there are different tacit understandings in group cooperation.

Having Patrick Vieira and Nedved suddenly combined into a new midfield is not necessarily equal to or greater than one plus one.

And Nedved, as an excessive bridge in the midfield, may not be able to form a tacit understanding with Beckham and Glenschal.

Rather than going to the away game with a series of uncertainties, it is better to let the bench team go to training, so as not to displease the remaining half of the substitute players with a large rotation.

When the time comes, the players will be depressed on the field, and if they can't win again, why bother asking for trouble?

Jensen deeply admired Aldrich's courage and ease, and every point in the league was contested, but Aldridge really didn't seem to value points.

Looking at Aldridge's back walking towards the training ground, Jenson sighed in his heart: Maybe as you said, after this group of players is cultivated and matured, the victory code will naturally be in their hands.

At the end of the morning's training, Aldridge came to the training ground and clapped his hands, beckoned the players in front of him, and watched the players sweat like rain, Aldridge spoke softly.

"The eleven players who started the last league game are not training in the afternoon, you stay in the hotel, Dr. Thompson will arrange for you to do recovery training in the afternoon, and tomorrow you will have a day off. The rest of the squad will be here as usual in the afternoon, and I will announce tomorrow's starting line-up and tactical arrangements in the afternoon. Have questions? ”

The players were a little confused.

Southgate wondered: "Boss, are we not going to play away tomorrow?" Don't even go to the scene? ”

Aldridge smiled: "Well, Dr. Thompson suggested that you be allowed to rest, and I will give you a vacation, you can spend time with your family, you can find friends to go shopping, but I hope you understand that the holiday is to let you recover from physical fatigue, not to let you indulge, we still have a league in five days, if any of you are not in physical condition to the extent that Dr. Sampson is satisfied, then please go to the bench." ”

Earlier, when I heard that I was going to the hotel to find Dr. Thompson in the afternoon, the main eleven people were secretly happy.

They love Dr. Thompson because the doctor will arrange for the masseur to give them muscle massages, which makes them feel very comfortable, and the ability to take a bath or swim in the hotel is really pleasant.

In the hotel where the team is staying, the only thing that dissatisfies the players is probably the bland and tasteless diet.

However, hearing that tomorrow will be a holiday, the main eleven were reflexively shocked, thinking that Aldridge was unhappy with their difficult victory in the past three games.

But after listening to Aldrich's words, they suddenly realized that this was a combination of work and rest.

Although the main goalkeeper Keller, midfielders Nedved and Gareth Southgate and others all feel that their fitness is fine, but when you think about the schedule of the 46th round of League One, they have also accepted Aldridge's arrangement.

As for the players who were originally substitutes, they were ecstatic, there were no games in the midweek reserve team and the youth team, they could only train harder, but they didn't expect the happiness to come too suddenly, tomorrow they are going to play an official League One match!

Although they have played in both rounds of the League Cup, but the opponents are all third and fourth tier teams, in terms of strength, or the opponents of League One are more challenging, they are eager to try, but also want to show in League One, tell the manager that they are no worse than the main eleven, and have the quality to occupy a place in League One.

After the team disbanded, they went back to the hotel en masse, had lunch and took a nap, and after arriving at the training ground in the afternoon, Aldridge was reminded by Jenson that he had overlooked.

Going to an away game tomorrow, who is Millwall's captain?

Aldridge then remembered: the team's three captains are all in the main lineup.

In the previous two rounds of the Carabao Cup, Millwall's captain was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, at least he was a substitute in the main team, and no one in the seniority of the substitute squad can doubt it.

But the cup is different from the league after all, and with this set of substitutes, it is likely that they will be back in League One in the future with a tight schedule, and they need a captain who is different from the temporary one, a real team leader.

Only 15 first-team players arrived at the training ground in the afternoon, with the other 11 staying in the hotel.

They stood on the training ground full of vigor, waiting for Aldridge to arrange the afternoon training, and more importantly, they still expected Aldridge to arrange tactics for tomorrow's game.

But they found the manager pacing back and forth in front of them when he came to the training ground.

The players' eyes flickered from left to right, and from right to left, and their eyes were full of fire!

Aldrich was pacing back and forth endlessly, bowing his head slightly, as if thinking about military affairs.

Of the eleven, the first-team substitutes were first ruled out by Aldridge, Dean Richards, Zambrotta, Bout, Ballack, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Phillips, Glen Shire.

Because these substitutes are likely to be filled in the main squad due to injury, they may not be on the field when the substitute is rotated for the game.

There are not many options left, Beckham and Neville are ruled out outright, then Vieira and Materazzi are left.

Aldrich suddenly stopped, took the captain's armband out of his pocket, and walked up to the tall Materazzi, who threw the captain's armband to him under the other party's unexplained eyes.

Materazzi took the captain's armband in surprise and said in a daze: "Boss? Well? ”

He looked at Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the same time, in the previous League Cup, the captain was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, why is it in his own hands now?

Aldridge said casually: "If any of the main strikers are injured or suspended, Ole will definitely be the first choice to replace them, so, as a substitute, you need a new captain, Marko, from today onwards, you are the fourth captain of the team, I don't ask you if you are competent, you just tell me, are you willing, can you perform the duties of captain?" ”

The young Materazzi has very distinctive characteristics, fierce and irritable, the physical quality of the central defender has nothing to say, plus he started training in the Italian regional league at a very young age, and climbed up step by step, and his strength is also obvious to all, the only drawback, I am afraid is temper and speed.

Aldridge hopes that Materazzi, who will become the captain, will be able to stabilize his momentum, as long as he has the idea of teamwork in his head, it will be a good help for his development.

Materazzi grinned, unceremoniously put the captain's armband in his pocket, and smiled at his teammates around him: "From today on, I will be the captain, if you are lazy in training and don't work the field, I will beat him!" ”

There was laughter all around, and Aldridge laughed too.

PS: Thanks for the tip from "idcub"!