The Hall family, apart from Aldrich, were die-hard supporters of the England national football team, setting aside their club loyalties. In the 1950s, Arthur, accompanied by his father, witnessed Hungary's Golden Team sweep England at Wembley. From then on, for half a century, whenever England played at Wembley, members of the Hall family would always be there in person to cheer for the national team.
In modern times, whenever England played an official match, Arthur and Andrew would go together, whether it was a home game or away, never missing a single one.
Aldrich, on the other hand, would always come up with an excuse, either due to work or rest. Besides, if he went, he'd just end up being the center of attention in the stands.
One night, as Aldrich slept, Andrew called him from the venue of an England national team match, all the way from the southern hemisphere.
"Aldrich! F-u-c-k! Your curse came true! Damn it! These assholes, they were leading by two goals and still managed to lose the game!…"
Aldrich, half-asleep, held the phone, his mind slowly waking up as he was bombarded with Andrew's tirade about the England national team.
What could he do? The expectations were too high, the waiting too long, and reality was always cruel. Cursing was the least of it. Extreme England fans often threatened death; it wasn't that unusual, really.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm saying England lost to Portugal! The European Championship, the European Championship! It went from 2-0 to 2-3, what the fuck!"
"What does that have to do with me? Don't disturb my sleep. We're in different time zones."
"What does it have to do with you? You cursed England's defeat, damn it! I thought today would be a day to happily celebrate England beating Portugal, but no, fuck me, they lost despite leading 2-0. How the hell are they supposed to win the championship now?"
Aldrich hung up the phone and rolled over, pulling Yvonne close and cuddling against her soft body, going back to sleep.
For the first time in history, the European Championship was jointly hosted by two countries—Belgium and the Netherlands.
In the opening match, the England national team lost a two-goal lead against Portugal and suffered a reversal.
The Three Lions, under Keegan's leadership, had a disastrous start.
Aldrich didn't care much about the progress of the European Championship; international tournaments didn't concern him all that much.
But because Andrew would always wake him up in the early hours after every England game, Aldrich found himself the first to hear the news about the England national team during the group stage of the European Championship.
The first match against Portugal, England lost 2-3 after a two-goal lead.
In the second match against Germany, England managed a 1-0 win.
This victory sent the whole nation into a frenzy!
Holy hell.
Thirty years! Thirty years!
England, for the first time in a major tournament, finally ended their humiliation of never beating Germany!
Kevin Keegan managed to regain some public trust, and people began to think that this victory could be a turning point, a sign that England might go further in the European Championship.
After all, the first game was a reversal, and there were plenty of optimistic interpretations, such as the team becoming complacent after taking the lead.
But by the end of the third match in the group stage, England was back to their familiar pattern.
Expectations ran high, the draw for the group stage was unlucky, the matches were tough, and they were eliminated. Afterward, the search for scapegoats began.
2-3.
England lost to Romania in the final moments, missing out on a chance to progress to the knockout stage.
And in the final moments, when Phil Neville committed a foul inside the box, giving the opponent a penalty, he became the villain for England.
Every major tournament, there was always a scapegoat in the England squad. In the past, it was players like Pearce, Southgate, Beckham. Now, it was Phil Neville. Two years later, it would be Seaman, four years later, it would be Vassell, Beckham again, and six years later, it would be Rooney. Eight years later—no scapegoat. Sorry, England didn't even make it to the European Championship.
This pattern was one of the strangest phenomena in international football.
Aldrich planned to return to work after the European Championship, but with England out of the tournament, he didn't care about the domestic drama. All he wanted now was to enjoy his holiday.
London
Although Millwall had a grand and modern new stadium, their administrative offices were still in the old building.
In the past few days, the club's CEO, Adam, has looked visibly troubled.
His workload has been overwhelming. From negotiating new sponsorship deals to planning the team's pre-season tour in Asia, he's handling it all. Every detail of the itinerary and the promotional campaigns falls squarely on his shoulders. Add in the ongoing player contract renewals, and it's no wonder he's been completely swamped.
Southgate, Nedvěd, Larsson, Butt, Schneider, Ronaldinho, Materazzi, Zambrotta, Gattuso...
The club's official website updated daily with progress on contract renewals. The players' contracts were renewed, which lifted the fans' spirits and sent a clear message to outsiders: Don't bother trying to steal our players, they're staying at Millwall. Look, we've signed new contracts!
While renewing contracts didn't necessarily guarantee the players would stay, it was certainly better than not renewing them, especially when most players had contracts that were only two years from expiry.
But recently, Adam had run into difficulties with Henry, as Henry was with the French national team for the European Championship. When Adam called Henry about the renewal, discussing terms and benefits, Henry, being a player, naturally deferred to his agent. So, Adam had to negotiate with Henry's agent, who came in with a hefty demand—£75,000 per week!
The agent's reasons were solid.
Henry had scored 49 goals last season.
Premier League Golden Boot, European Golden Boot.
Henry scored more goals in the league than Manchester United's Yorke and Cole combined!
Why shouldn't Henry earn as much as, or more than, players like Southgate, Nedvěd, and Larsson, who had fewer goals and contributions?
Henry should be Millwall's biggest star, earning the most money and holding the highest status within the team!
Although Adam entered this industry as an outsider, six years had passed, and at the very least, he understood that a football club doesn't pay the most to the player who scores the most goals.
Southgate, Larsson, and Nedvěd arrived at the club when it was at its lowest, contributed their youth, and stood by the team as it grew to where it was today. Their respect among the fans was unmatched. Henry was a new arrival—he might be the club's darling, but his Millwall jersey didn't carry the same weight as the jerseys of Nedvěd and the others.
At least for now, Henry couldn't "usurp" their place in terms of salary or status in the locker room. As long as the veteran players like Nedvěd didn't have any problems, Henry would have to wait—wait for time to pass, for the older players to age, and then, naturally, for him to take over as the king. That was the reality.
Millwall offered a weekly wage of £50,000, while Henry's agent demanded £75,000—a £25,000 difference, a 50% gap!
Thus, the negotiations had reached an impasse.
Adam repeatedly contacted Henry's agent by phone, hoping that the agent would calm down and engage in a rational discussion.
However, Henry's agent remained firm, refusing to meet his conditions. If they didn't agree, they wouldn't sign the contract.
When the soft approach failed, Adam resorted to a harsher tactic, telling the agent that the club wouldn't Henry and that if he didn't renew the contract, it would affect Henry's position in the team for the new season.
His words were indirect, but it was essentially a threat.
Henry's agent wasn't fooled, and the conversation ended on a sour note.
Adam was frustrated. He couldn't explain this to Aldrich—it was a reflection of his failure to complete the task.
After a flawless performance last season, Henry found himself in the midst of rumors at the end of the season.
Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Juventus—these four clubs were all waving pounds around!
After Real Madrid's president Sanz bought Makelele, he pushed further, and as an insider, he naturally heard the news that Millwall's contract renewal with Henry was hitting a wall.
To gain more leverage in his election, Sanz planned to make a deal that would kill two birds with one stone.
Real Madrid submitted an offer of £20 million, along with Nicolas Anelka, in exchange for Thierry Henry.
Anelka had joined Real Madrid from Arsenal last year for over £20 million, but his time at the Bernabéu had been far from successful. The fans remained unconvinced, and his unsettled nature compounded the club's poor league performance. Madrid, eager to cut their losses, believed their offer was reasonable. Club president Lorenzo Sanz assured Millwall that Anelka had proven his worth in the Premier League, arguing that the striker, combined with £20 million, was a fair deal for Henry's valuation of over £40 million.
But Adam dismissed the offer without a second thought.
Anelka's agent, his brother, came to London offering his services, but was also turned away.
Adam's mood was miserable. His boss had asked him to renew Henry's contract and keep him at the club, but transfer rumors were swirling, especially with Anelka's agent causing a scene in London. The public was buzzing with speculation that Henry was about to leave, even if it wasn't to Real Madrid—it could be to another club.
Barcelona's situation was similar to Real Madrid's, facing presidential elections in July. The club needed star signings to boost their election campaigns. Louis van Gaal had already chosen a Dutch contingent before leaving, but his resignation, along with a public spat with the media, complicated things. Barcelona wanted to sign a star that would energize their fans and secretly inquired about Henry.
Adam didn't even bother to respond.
Inter Milan, with their deep pockets, made a direct offer of £30 million. Moratti wasn't just joining the fray—he genuinely needed a forward, a star striker!
Ronaldo, the Brazilian phenomenon, had returned from injury toward the end of last season. But in the Italian Cup final, he suffered a mysterious injury after an innocuous fall. There was no doubt he was injured, and this injury would certainly rule him out for the new season. Questions were already being raised about whether he would continue his career—whether fans would ever see "The Alien" again.
Moratti was sincere and wanted to bring Henry to San Siro, but he knew it was unlikely. Inter Milan, despite their wealth, couldn't compete with other clubs in terms of appeal.
Juventus' situation was similar to Inter Milan's. Alessandro Del Piero's serious injury had taken away much of his spark, and the former European sensation seemed to be slowly fading from his prime.
Moggi also made an offer of £30 million, waiting for everyone to sit down and talk.
"He's not going anywhere! He's not going anywhere! Even if he dies, he will die at Millwall!"
Under the pressure, Adam felt like he was on the brink of collapse. In his office, he exploded at his secretary, while reporters crowded in, all eager to know where Henry was going. It seemed like everyone had already made up their minds—Henry was definitely going to leave!
The fire of speculation kept growing, and the situation was spiraling out of control.
The reality was drifting further and further from Adam's initial goals, and even The Lions' fans were starting to believe that they were about to lose the superstar striker who had dominated last season.