A Shift in Strategy

In the same round of fixtures, Manchester United clinched a 2-0 victory at home against Everton. Ferguson must be raising a toast to Arsenal for taking down the reigning champions. As a result, United extended their lead over Millwall to nine points, while Arsenal, despite their win, still lagged ten points behind United. We saw this scenario unfold around the same time last year; only this time, the positions of United and Millwall were switched, with an even more despairing 16-point gap separating the second place from the leaders. Let's hope Millwall can swiftly regain their form; otherwise, they might watch Manchester United celebrate their championship at home in the final round. Hall once mentioned that if given the chance, he would have his team line up to welcome the soon-to-be crowned champions, but I believe he would do everything possible to avoid such a scenario.

After the loss, Aldrich approached Wenger to shake hands. At that moment, he could probably relate to Wenger's previous feelings. After the handshake, he didn't rush to leave; instead, he took a moment to greet every player on the pitch. Some were noticeably downcast and reluctant to speak, so Aldrich offered a few words of encouragement, giving them a reassuring pat on the shoulder before being the last to head down the tunnel.

The post-match press conference was charged with tension. While there was no purposeful reprimand, many questions were remarkably pointed.

Aldrich staunchly defended his players, particularly Ballack.

He dismissed the idea that Lampard would have performed better than Ballack had he played, but it was undeniable that the German had a poor showing in this match. The goals they conceded came from his mistakes during counterattacks, with Vieira seizing the chance to counter, causing Millwall to lose their grip on even a draw.

Capdevila's return from injury also raised concerns about Millwall's squad depth. Aldrich tried to interpret the team's issues with a calm mindset. He believed losing was part and parcel of football—no team goes unbeaten throughout the season. Especially with such a tight schedule, if the team isn't in good form, they need to identify the problems and remedy them. Stepping back onto the right path would take time unless they faced an unstoppable downward spiral, which would be a real concern.

Just prior to their losses against Manchester United and Arsenal, Millwall had several undefeated matches and had performed well. However, public patience was thin. The previous season's glory had made Millwall the target of scrutiny. Many observers were waiting to see them stumble, tired of their ongoing success, relishing the thought of the reigning champions faltering. 

The next two weeks were dedicated to cup competitions, with Millwall set to play two matches: one in the FA Cup and the semi-finals of the League Cup against Middlesbrough.

After returning to the club, Aldrich held a coaches' meeting.

During his reflections on the match against Arsenal, he noted how Arsenal's defensive stance stifled their attacking opportunities. They had often encountered this challenge during the first half of the season.

"Parking the bus" had been a common tactic they faced over the past months. However, against a more organized side like Arsenal, it posed a different challenge, as their counterattacking approach was systematic and well-planned. Aldrich's reflections stemmed from recognizing that this version of Arsenal resembled Millwall's own early days.

In their first year after promotion to the Premier League, Millwall had played a 4-4-2 formation, with Larsson dropping back like Bergkamp, utilizing their speedy wingers for breakthroughs while defending to create attacking opportunities. This fundamental approach had once been the bedrock of Millwall's playstyle, yet they rarely employed it effectively in the Premier League anymore, even if it still defined their play in the Champions League, albeit with a different formation.

The struggle to establish this style in the Premier League was primarily due to opponents' defensive strategies. As reigning champions, opposing teams were more than happy to kill time for a draw, with both sides walking away with a point.

Mentally, Millwall was perceived as the stronger team, leading new recruits and younger players to feel overconfident.

Aldrich and his coaching staff emphasized the development of several new players over the past six months and ultimately uncovered a disheartening truth. Aside from improvements in training techniques and physical attributes, their tactical knowledge—particularly understanding Millwall's football philosophy—was lacking.

Aldrich attributed this critical shortcoming to the match against Arsenal.

He noticed that Gudjohnsen had large gaps in his defensive play. Against weaker teams, these issues went unnoticed since their attacking firepower was limited, but Arsenal's wingers, Pires and Overmars, posed tremendous threats.

A mere second's hesitation from Gudjohnsen would lead to significant defensive lapses.

Offensively, whether it was Gudjohnsen, Duff, or Van der Meyde, their performance was lackluster. In their limited playing time, they repeatedly faced the same issues: attack, attack, attack...

In the Premier League, where physicality is paramount, simply having technical skills wasn't enough. When their physical confrontations didn't even achieve parity, the arduous battle would feel like hell for them.

In the meeting room, Benitez continued to point out players' positional errors on the large TV screen. The other coaches watched intently since a significant part of their roles involved addressing these mistakes in training to enhance their skills.

Aldrich, however, seemed to be in another world. After some time, he suddenly tapped on the table, drawing everyone's attention.

"I think our rotation strategy for the first half of the season was flawed."

"Aldrich, are you suggesting that we should have our first-choice lineup go all out to close the gap in the league? That's dangerous. Whether in the league or the Champions League, these tournaments span more than six months. You need to ensure the team's overall sustainability. If we misallocate our physical resources, we might find ourselves struggling in the last 13-14 game stretch when we need to be pushing the hardest!" 

Janson frowned and expressed his views.

Craig supported Janson, saying, "Our rotation strategy has worked for the past three seasons. It's guaranteed results while allowing younger players to develop."

Aldrich waved a hand, saying, "No, I'm not saying that rotation itself is the issue, but rather, uh, that we miscalibrated our rotation based on our opponents."

Everyone looked puzzled, unsure of what he meant.

Aldrich stood up and walked to the blank board, writing a series of numbers.

He pointed to 1-14, stating, "Before the season, based on the congestion of fixtures and injury impacts, we planned to have our first-choice lineup face the top two tiers of teams—those we classified as upper and mid-tier teams, sitting roughly between positions 1-14. The remaining teams, 15 and below, would be handled by the substitutes, right?"

Everyone nodded.

Aldrich continued, "Conventional wisdom suggests that teams ranked 15 and below are weaker than those in 1-14. Thus, it seems logical to have our lesser substitutes play against these weaker Premier League teams. However, we overlooked a critical fact: we are the Premier League champions! Even teams ranked 15 and lower are desperate for points, and they'll adopt a conservative tactic just to secure a draw. Our substitutes lack the capability for these grinding battles. What is the result? Players like Van der Meyde and Duff, who possess speed and skills, are unable to showcase their strengths, failing to develop defensive awareness because they rarely face intense opposition. They remain stuck in an endless attacking cycle, unable to defend, which is a huge issue! We made a miscalibration in our strategy!"

The coaches exchanged glances, surprised by the dilemmas Aldrich had raised.

In any elite club, when it comes to rotation, it's common practice to have substitutes face weaker opponents. Isn't that standard?

However, many elite teams have lost matches they should have won due to underestimating the opposition. 

Millwall's first half of the season had been an example of this.

Benitez, with a serious expression, asked, "So, what do you suggest we should do to adjust?"

Aldrich wiped his tactical board clean and wrote down another series of numbers.

"We should assign teams ranked 1-8 and those ranked 15 and below—representing the strongest and weakest in the Premier League—to our first-choice squad. The top-tier teams provide high-stakes competition, while the bottom teams make it easier for our main players to secure points. The 9 to 14-ranked teams should be handled by the substitutes!"

"However, this means that our substitute squad would not hold an advantage against these teams and might even be at a complete disadvantage."

Aldrich replied firmly, "That's why we need to adjust our tactics. When the substitutes play, we must adopt a conservative approach, allowing the opponent to attack. This will give our newcomers necessary defensive experience and build their team defensive awareness. At the same time, by focusing on counterattacks, they can gradually find confidence in their game."

"But what if the opponent is also defensive? Like when we sent a substitute squad to play against Spurs at White Hart Lane, yet they were satisfied with just holding on for a draw."

Aldridge spread his hands, "That's why we need to let them know that we are going to field a young team. Before the game, we have to spread this message; this will be my psychological war with the opponent."

Benitez, intrigued, asked, "And how do you plan to do this?"

"Just as I mentioned, we should reveal the starting lineup early and see how the opponents react. Sending in a squad they perceive as a bunch of kids—will they really still go all out defensively? The teams ranked 9-14 in the Premier League are in a comfortable position; they don't face heavy relegation pressure, and their ambitions for European competition are hampered by their limitations. They're just dreaming of making it further in domestic cup tournaments, so in league matches, they really won't be willing to give up their dignity! With an average player age of under 23, do they really think they can afford to play it safe? Would their fans be okay with that? The flaw in our previous strategic direction lies in underestimating the so-called weakest teams; they are actually the ones most willing to give up everything to survive in the Premier League. Hence, we need to focus on securing points while also nurturing our young talents, which necessitates a strategic shift."

The coaches exchanged looks, nodding in agreement. They had to admit Aldrich's perspective had merit.

Mid-table teams playing against Millwall's substitutes had nothing to gain from parking the bus. On the other hand, if they were up against Millwall's first team, it would be fully justifiable for them to defend with all they had due to the significant difference in strength. But if they faced the substitutes and still chose to defend, that would raise serious questions about their commitment, leading to substantial media pressure.

The coaches began rewriting the rotation strategy based on Aldrich's insights just as the winter transfer market set off more waves!