The long-awaited new season of the Premier League was about to kick off, and the defending champions, Millwall, faced a tough challenge in the opening match—a match full of suspense.
It was a London derby between arch-rivals.
Chelsea vs Millwall.
Before heading to Stamford Bridge, Aldrich kept his pre-match interview response calm. With his current status, he didn't need to shout threats at Chelsea. On the contrary, he subtly provoked the opponent, and that was enough.
"Chelsea first needs to stabilize their internal morale. I don't know what's happening in their dressing room, but judging by what the media has reported, their troubles from last season haven't been resolved. Well, I've always believed that if a team can't maintain internal stability, then there's no way the team as a whole will have strong fighting power. As for the individual abilities of players, any strength they show is ultimately hollow."
Vialli responded, warning Aldrich to keep his mouth in check: "Chelsea doesn't need you to worry about us!"
Aldrich led his team to Stamford Bridge. Despite Chelsea's frequent signings, and several of their new players directly entering the starting lineup, this brought with it a challenge: team chemistry.
Every season requires a new lineup to gel together, and for non-core positions, this may not matter much. But when it comes to key positions, such as the main striker or central midfielders, this chemistry is crucial, and it heavily influences the match.
This year, they sold Sutton and replaced him with Hasselbaink. Wise, Poyet, and others were aging.
Aldrich felt that Chelsea's strength had diminished considerably.
Vialli, maybe the pressure was just too much. At home against Millwall, and he dares to field THREE strikers!
Zola, Hasselbaink, and Gudjohnsen!
But Aldrich was ready to seize the opportunity. At Stamford Bridge, Millwall controlled the midfield and were leading 2-0 at the break. Chelsea's forwards were practically nonexistent, leaving their attack in tatters.
In the second half, Vialli switched to a 4-5-1 formation. He pulled back two forwards and sent in two midfielders, aiming to strangle Millwall in midfield.
Aldrich, initially elated and looking forward to the opening win of the new season, left Stamford Bridge with a dark face after the final whistle. He skipped the post-match interview as well.
Nedved was injured!
A serious injury!
Ronaldinho also suffered a minor injury. The team doctor had yet to provide an initial diagnosis for Nedved, but it was clear that his injury wasn't looking good. As for Ronaldinho, he would be sidelined for a month.
In the second half, Chelsea played like 10 workmen sweeping the field. It was clear they were desperate.
The next day, after receiving a symbolic punishment from the FA, Aldrich spoke to the media.
"This is Chelsea. I'm not surprised."
That simple sentence was packed with Aldrich's disdain for their rivals, the enemy.
Nedved, who had one of the highest attendance rates in the last six years and had rarely been troubled by injuries, would now be out for five months!
The earliest he could return was in January of the following year, which was a huge blow for Millwall.
At the same time, Chelsea made another explosive announcement.
Three days after their 0-2 loss to Millwall, Chelsea officially announced Vialli's dismissal!
Bates couldn't take it anymore, and Chelsea fans probably couldn't either. With last season and this one, Chelsea had now lost two consecutive official matches to the same opponent. They had lost the FA Cup final in the previous match and lost the opening match of the new season at home.
Hoddle, Gullit, and Vialli—over five years of encounters in the Premier League between Chelsea and Millwall, three managers had failed to achieve what the fans most desired: a victory over Aldrich!
Without the intense rivalry, Chelsea fans would probably have accepted the results, but now Millwall had extended their unbeaten streak to 49 matches!
In the head-to-head record, Chelsea wasn't the only one on the losing end.
After Vialli's dismissal, Bates brought in the caretaker Ranieri to take over, and the nice guy was tasked with the heavy responsibility of rebuilding Chelsea. The team had aged significantly, after all. Their past signings were of established stars in the prime of their careers, but who would want to join Chelsea? By the time they came, they were already older, and after two or three years of service, a squad refresh was inevitable.
Nedved and Ronaldinho's injuries had cast a dark shadow over Millwall as the new season began, leaving fans wondering who would step in for them.
In the second round of the Premier League, Millwall hosted Leicester City. To everyone's surprise, Aldrich played Klose as an attacking midfielder, and Gronkjaer's substitution for Ronaldinho was expected.
At Lion King Stadium, the newly managed Leicester City, without their two main forwards, were mercilessly dismantled by Millwall.
After 90 minutes, every Lions fan believed that, even with Ronaldinho and Nedved sidelined by injury, their team could still dominate on the field.
6-0.
Such a thrashing seemed to erase all doubts, and Henry's hat-trick proved that he was quickly finding his form for the new season.
Larsson, Klose, and Materazzi each scored once, making everything seem even better than expected.
Millwall's two consecutive wins had Fleet Street on edge.
At this rate, the Premier League might end up being a no-contest by the halfway mark!
Football pundits across the country quickly analyzed Millwall's tactics and strategies to counter them.
Eventually, a seemingly sound strategy was suggested.
Liverpool legend Alan Hansen published an article titled How to Increase Your Chances of Beating Millwall in his column.
Football is unpredictable, sometimes defying any patterns, and with different players and teams, it's impossible to apply the same tactical approach every time. Therefore, Hansen's piece only offered general guidelines.
First, you can only have one striker at most!
The reason is simple: If you have two or more forwards, your defense will be outnumbered. The traditional English 4-4-2 formation simply can't compete in midfield against Millwall.
Second, you need at least two dedicated defensive midfielders.
To match Millwall's midfield numbers, you must assign one defensive player to track Millwall's hidden attacking threats, especially when your forwards fail to track back in time to limit Pirlo, Millwall's key playmaker. A defensive midfielder should be assigned to mark Millwall's attacking midfielder, while another should quickly neutralize the threat from late runs.
Third, defensive discipline and understanding are key.
We've seen countless times how Millwall's attacks tear through opponents' defenses. Most of the time, it's because defenders are caught out of position during counter-attacks or are too far apart, creating gaps. Millwall's intricate passing and team coordination is world-class, so your four or five defenders must have strong communication and discipline, calmly assessing the situation and resisting the urge to rush in recklessly when the opposition presses into dangerous areas.
...
Aldrich had a look at it too, and what he figured out was that the advice from all these legendary players was basically telling other Premier League teams: park the bus and swarm the midfield!
Get a bunch of tough, hardworking players, and you've at least got a chance of avoiding defeat!
As for actually winning the game? Well, that's asking a lot! For most of the middle and lower teams in the Premier League, that's just wishful thinking. Only the real heavyweights can even entertain the idea of how to win.
There was no need for any further suggestions. Millwall's insane run last season, combined with their ongoing 50-match unbeaten streak, had already made most Premier League teams too scared to play aggressively.
Not daring to attack was one sign of this. Even with a 4-4-2 formation, if their midfield got countered, they would have no chance to resist Millwall's assault.
Forget tactics; even without Ronaldinho, Nedved, or Henry, Gronkjaer—who replaced Ronaldinho—was no pushover, and one weak spot could collapse the entire defense.
This season, Millwall's dominance had forced strong teams to rethink their tactics, while weaker teams were also making changes.
In the third round of the Premier League, Millwall traveled to Riverside Stadium.
Middlesbrough's starting lineup appeared to be a 4-4-2, but in reality, they didn't have a traditional striker.
A no-striker formation!
The two players positioned as forwards were actually a central attacking midfielder and a midfielder. The static formation was a complete decoy.
In fact, it was a 4-5-1 formation, with a defensive-minded attacking midfielder at the very front.
Two defensive midfielders, two wide midfielders, a central midfielder, and an attacking midfielder.
Middlesbrough, at home, used this compact midfield setup.
This was somewhat different from the parked bus tactics Millwall had encountered before. In the past, when facing parked buses, Millwall would find the defensive third of the field completely blocked off. Now, Middlesbrough compressed the midfield area. They sacrificed their forwards to gain a numerical advantage in midfield and fiercely disrupted Millwall's attacks.
Surprisingly, the match was extremely exciting.
Both teams lost control of midfield. Millwall had no space, the time on the ball was limited, and they couldn't pass smoothly. With the opponent's extra numbers, even counterattacks became very difficult. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, was quick to intercept and immediately played balls into space behind Millwall's defense. If it worked, great. If not, they would just continue defending.
The game moved at a fast pace, with near-miss situations appearing frequently.
The final score was 1-1, and Middlesbrough seemed to have stumbled into a lucky draw.
Out of 16 successful counterpressing interceptions, only one led to a direct through ball that resulted in a goal.
Millwall had 23 shots from open play but failed to score. In the end, they managed to equalize through a corner kick.
Aldrich had already come to this realization before the season began: the new season was going to be exceptionally tough. His only consolation was that both Ronaldinho and Nedvěd were not present.
Whether it was Gronkjaer or Klose, their ability to handle the ball in tight spaces was clearly not up to the level of the previous starters. With the opposition setting up this way, the team's ability to manage the ball in confined areas and read the game had become even more critical.
The fans in Fleet Street cheered, despite nearly seeing Millwall's unbeaten run end in failure. At least they didn't lose, and the game wasn't the ugly, defensive-style of play seen in the past. More often than not, the ball was being fiercely contested in midfield.
Unlike when Millwall completely overpowered Tottenham and Spurs clung to a draw in humiliation, Middlesbrough's gutsy, tireless fight in midfield—sacrificing their attack—was met with admiration. It wasn't just a game; it was a testament to their heart and resolve.
Before the fourth round of the Premier League, Millwall sent their substitutes to play in the League Cup. Villa, Larmore, and Joe Cole shone in the match, helping Millwall to a 4-0 win over a weaker opponent, securing their place in the next round.
At the Champions League group stage draw for the new season, Aldrich was absent. He sent Adam to represent the club at the event, as he didn't want to attend himself.
After the Champions League expanded, the likelihood of a "group of death" was quite low, and Aldrich wasn't afraid of facing tough groups. Whatever group they were drawn into, he'd face it head-on.