The Carabao Cup exit did not have a morale impact on Millwall's preparations for the upcoming games.

The main players are also used to it, especially in England, the influence of the FA Cup and the League Cup is declining, the contempt of the League Cup by the giants is well known, the FA Cup depends on the situation, if the conditions are relaxed, it is no problem to impact the championship of the oldest Cup, but if it is at a critical time, the necessary focus on the key battles is unavoidable, and the FA Cup is at the end of the year before the Premier League teams participate, in the second half of the game, the strong teams will either compete for the league title, or will be distracted by the European knockout round.

These two cup matches have always had a very high probability of upset, which is directly related to the attitude of the strong teams.

Millwall will be a guest at Stamford Bridge at the weekend and the atmosphere on the training ground will be relaxed during the build-up to the game.

But in the midst of the ease, the players are very serious and committed.

During the break, Aldridge saw the players sitting together and chatting, and he walked over to listen to what they were talking about.

"I'm betting on Henrik."

"I'm betting on Pavel."

"I'm betting on Thierry."

"I bet"

Hearing their words, Aldrich was suspicious.

Are these guys gambling?

It doesn't sound like that.

"Hey, what are you talking about?"

Aldrich asked curiously.

Materazzi, who has resumed training, smiled: "We are guessing who will win the Ballon d'Or this year. ”

Aldrich suddenly realized, I see.

Lately he's been working hard and the players are motivated to train. The work attitude is simply exemplary.

Plainly. It is also their selfishness.

Millwall have a number of players in the squad who have been shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or. In addition to the main forward trident, there is also Nedved, last year's runner-up, Andrea Pirlo was nominated for the first time, and Schneider.

Last season's Champions League semi-finals, league title and FA Cup title made Millwall unable to defend the Champions League, but it was enough to put themselves in the spotlight in European football, especially since the start of the new season. It is a lot of points for them.

The Golden Globe Awards are just around the corner, and Millwall's explosive form in the last two months or so is the best publicity offensive.

These players also understand that only by maintaining such excellent form and results can they get a higher rating when they hit the Ballon d'Or selection.

Aldrich smiled and walked away, not bothering them to continue their "gambling".

"What are they talking about?"

Villas-Boas was also very curious about what the players were talking about.

Aldrich told the truth.

"This year's favourites are Rivaldo, Manchester United's David Beckham, our team with Larsson, Nedved, Thierry Henry, all have chances. It's a pity for Ronaldinho, he is not as popular in the national team as Rivaldo. ”

Villas-Boas appears to be concerned about the Ballon d'Or selection.

He came to the team last year. It was uncomfortable to witness that Nedved could only be relegated to second place.

He objectively assessed that if Zidane had not performed against the sky in the World Cup final, then the Ballon d'Or should go to Nedved, a player who has not only been in stable form, has consistently scored goals, and helped the team win the Champions League.

Aldridge's enthusiasm for the Ballon d'Or has begun to fade.

Previously, clubs needed the influence of the Ballon d'Or to serve the club's development.

Now that half of Millwall's main players are in the Ballon d'Or shortlist, the club really can't come forward to support one player, and such a favoritism could cause rifts in this united team.

"David Beckham doesn't have any advantage, apart from the Champions League winners, there is nothing else to team honours, Rivaldo has an advantage over our players, nothing more than the Copa America winner, the top scorer, the best player, he scored 24 league goals in La Liga, Millwall really didn't have any player who scored more league goals than him last season, but so what? Where has Barcelona gone in the Champions League? What about Barcelona's performance in the league in the last two months? Vilas, in fact, even if the Ballon d'Or is not given to Millwall's players, I don't think it's a big deal. ”

"For what?"

Boas looked puzzled, isn't it good to have one more Mr. Golden Ball in the club?

Aldridge smiled: "Because we are already a phenomenal team in European football, the whole of Europe is watching to see what we do next, in the eyes of the outside world, Millwall is a whole, a team, and the football is shocking and continuous. If the Ballon d'Or can make a player go down in history, then what I want to do is make my players a team that will go down in history. ”

Boas was stunned for a moment, then nodded with a smile.

In fact, the most intuitive influence brought by the Ballon d'Or is attention, when Millwall has become the most watched team in European football, Aldridge does not care how many Mr. Ballon d'Or there are in the team, and everyone is happy, and nothing is ignored.

However, the public relations work that needs to be done still needs to be done, but the focus can no longer be tilted on a certain player, whether it is the manager or the owner of the club, Aldridge still has to put the overall interests of the club first.

Chelsea have been high-profile over the past few years, both in terms of signings and Premier League ambitions, but this season's Chelsea side was quiet ahead of Millwall at Stamford Bridge, with a hint of unrivalled fear.

At the end of the 5-0 thrashing of Manchester United in the tenth round, Chelsea were at the top of the table but were quickly knocked down.

In the last three rounds, they lost to Liverpool away, Arsenal at home, and lost to Derby County away in the last round.

Chelsea, who have suffered three defeats in a row, are showing signs of infighting.

In Vialli's second year in charge, the Chelsea dressing room entered a turbulent period, and there was no way, who let Chelsea keep bringing in old players? These veterans have achieved fame, Vialli as a player, everyone is just on an equal footing, he is the head coach, there is no immediate achievement, what can be used to convince the public?

This is exactly why Aldridge has been reluctant to buy established stars in the past few years, but he is still young and still in this area of managerial life. There are not many people who can question him anymore. Authority within the team is also fully erected. It's just that he doesn't have to spend a lot of money to buy stars now.

Leboeuf was relentless in his criticism of Vialli's coaching skills, and Didier Deschamps, who had just arrived in the team, was also very unhappy, with one negative report after another forming a haze over Stamford Bridge.

Bookmakers have adjusted the odds for a manager to be sacked at the end of the Premier League season, with Chelsea boss Gianlucas Vialli at the top of the list.

Chelsea, who have lost three in a row, and Millwall, who have won thirteen consecutive league games, do not need to guess who to look forward to, even if Millwall is the visiting side.

At the pre-match press conference, Fleet Street thought Chelsea wasn't messy enough and wanted Aldridge to fan the flames. Aldridge, however, declined to comment on any issues relating to the club's internal affairs.

It is true that Millwall and Chelsea are mortal enemies, but Aldridge's duty as a manager cannot be lost, and the bottom line cannot be lost.

Just like the sputum that Smith spat at him, it looked like it stained Aldrich's clothes, but the audience saw, how many people would applaud Smith?

On Sunday, Arsenal's north London derby with Tottenham Hotspur was brought into play. Aldridge was informed of the result while he was waiting for the game to start at Stamford Bridge.

After listening to the radio broadcast, Babu told everyone the results of the score over there.

2:1

Tottenham 2, Arsenal 1.

Arsenal played Millwall for 120 minutes in midweek. Lost this derby between the guests of White Hart Lane and the dead.

How can you have both?

Arsene Wenger won the Carabao Cup and saved some face for Arsenal in front of Millwall, but then suffered a defeat in front of arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur, and then he had to worry about the Champions League.

Aldridge didn't think much of it when he learned the score, and he stood on the sidelines of Stamford Bridge to direct the game.

Chelsea, Chelsea, who has invested heavily in successive years, Bates may be dripping blood in the stands.

It's not enough to have good players, especially a group of excellent players who have been recognized, they need honors, they need trophies, they need a bigger stage, but once Chelsea can't give them it, then the contradiction will be like a torrent, and it can't be stopped!

Vialli was also standing on the sidelines, looking lonely.

Chelsea, who have lost three in a row, are demoralized, and they also know that the road against Millwall, who have won thirteen consecutive victories, is more auspicious, and the home game is to lower its profile and build a fence.

Chelsea still spent a lot of money in the transfer market in the summer, but in front of Aldridge's eyes, they are all familiar faces.

For example, Mr. Sutton, who has scored only one goal so far, was the icing on the cake in the slaughter of Manchester United, and for the rest of the time, he left people with suspense: Will you still score?

There is also the world champion captain Didier Deschamps, whom Millwall met against Juventus in the past, and met again today at Stamford Bridge, giving people the impression that he is older, but his style is still the same.

Chelsea successfully defended for 64 minutes in the second half, and was breached by Thierry Henry in the 65th minute, and then, they suddenly seemed to be deflated, the blow of the recent three consecutive defeats was too heavy, coupled with the discord between the generals, the dressing room and other factors, it was okay not to concede, and once the goal was conceded, the mental outlook of the whole team seemed to change.

From 65 minutes to 80 minutes, Millwall scored three goals in 15 minutes, and in the last 10 minutes, they mastered the rhythm to lure the opponent to attack.

But Chelsea really didn't attack.

Even their own players have lost confidence in Sutton, attacking a fart, attacking a striker is useless, Zola is stared at to death, the midfield is pressed too high, and it is not counterattacked by the opponent!

"Four defeats in a row, in 20 days, Chelsea lost four in a row in the Premier League, they need to adjust their form in time, there are many problems to solve, the first is the problem of strikers not being able to score, Sutton, the striker who spent 10 million pounds to buy the club in the summer, disappointed all Chelsea fans, Millwall's Thierry Henry also spent 10 million pounds on a transfer to the club last year, but Henry is now the top scorer list, He is averaging close to 1.1 goals per game, Sutton, 1 in 14 league games, and if Chelsea can't solve the problem of the lack of strikers, it will be almost impossible to achieve a better position this season than last season if they rely on Gianfranco Zola. Meanwhile, congratulations to Millwall, who have won 14 consecutive league games this season, and if you count last season's closing four, they have now won 18 consecutive league games across the season, which equals their record for winning their first top-flight title in 96/97, which is also the record for consecutive wins in Europe's top five leagues, and we can now expect them to break the record they once set themselves! (To be continued......)