The Rise of Millwal

Chapter 10: transfer and loan

Millwall's recruitment efforts were far from over. In fact, Andrew was even more proactive than Aldrich. After leaving Italy, he took a trip around Northern Europe and returned with two players who had yet to sign formal contracts: 21-year-old Ole Solskj?r, who had not debuted for Molde, and 17-year-old Jesper Gr?nkj?r.

Aldrich still had a few more candidates to consider for his squad, and a significant transfer was also in the works. Although two goalkeepers were already on the roster, it is standard for a first team to have three for safety, so Aldrich selected 17-year-old Richard Wright.

In the rougher environment of League One, it's common to have a few extra strikers on hand. Aldrich spent just ￡10,000 to bring in Kevin Phillips, a cast-off from Southampton's youth system, from the semi-professional club Bodmin Town to the Den.

Bradford was still struggling in the lower division, and Aldrich used ￡250,000 to acquire their rising star center-back, Dean Richards.

Even before the World Cup began, after finalizing Southgate's transfer, Aldrich sent out a second bid to another club for Feyenoord's forward, Henrik Larsson. While Feyenoord is considered a top team in the Eredivisie, they cannot financially compete with clubs like Ajax. To put it bluntly, they are merely a flashy facade compared to smaller teams in mainstream leagues.

Aldrich's initial offer was ￡500,000, which was rejected, although the tone was not particularly firm. When Aldrich raised the offer to ￡1 million, negotiations progressed quickly, and the final transfer fee was settled at ￡1.25 million.

This agreement had been reached two weeks prior, shortly after the World Cup started. If it were now early July, Feyenoord would have surely pressed Aldrich for a much higher fee, likely insisting on ￡2 million without budging.

After Millwall officially announced several high-profile signings, particularly Southgate, Thuram, and Makelele, all of which exceeded ￡2 million in transfer fees, clubs that had belatedly sold players to Aldrich began to realize: this 18-year-old tycoon was a reckless spender!

Just a year ago, the British transfer record had just been set by Manchester United at ￡3.75 million for Roy Keane. It's worth noting that last summer, the total investment from all 22 Premier League teams in the transfer market was barely over ￡60 million!

Aldrich running Millwall, a League One club, effectively added up to the spending of three Premier League teams!

However, this transfer had hit a stalemate. On one hand, Larsson was busy representing Sweden in the World Cup, while on the other, he hesitated about joining a second-tier English club, even though Aldrich offered a lucrative salary and release clause.

Larsson's indecision gave Feyenoord an opportunity to backtrack. After the World Cup, Feyenoord immediately sent representatives to Sweden to privately urge the vacationing Larsson to turn down the transfer.

At the same time, Aldrich traveled to Sweden as well. He didn't need to embellish his pitch to Larsson; the investments Millwall made that summer showcased the team's ambitions, centered around a youthful squad. Larsson, soon to turn 23, would undoubtedly be an important player at Millwall, becoming a crucial part of the team's backbone in terms of both reputation and skill.

Feyenoord's miscalculation came back to haunt them. Had they not sent someone to persuade Larsson, he might not have chosen to join Millwall. However, after allowing the transfer and then going back on their word, just to squeeze Aldrich for more money, it left Larsson quite displeased. Players are assets, and that's a cold reality; yet no player truly views themselves as such, especially when they have attained some fame.

In the end, Aldrich reached an agreement with the humble and low-profile forward in Sweden. This Swedish striker would be set to lead the charge for Millwall in the upcoming season!

Since the League One season commenced on August 12, the team was set to begin training in late July. Having participated in the World Cup, Aldrich notified Larsson that he could report to the team in the first week of August.

By July 19, Aldrich was in his office reviewing the player roster, feeling that recruitment had come to an end.

**Goalkeepers:**

Kasey Keller.

Hans-J?rg Butt.

Richard Wright.

**Defenders:**

Gareth Southgate.

Jaap Stam.

Dean Richards.

Marco Materazzi.

Lilian Thuram.

Gianluca Zambrotta.

Lucas Neill.

**Midfielders:**

Patrick Vieira.

Pavel Nedvěd.

Gennaro Ivan Gattuso.

Claude Makélélé.

Michael Ballack.

**Forwards:**

Robert Pires.

Jesper Gr?nkj?r.

Bernd Schneider.

David Trezeguet.

Luca Toni.

Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Henrik Larsson.

Kevin Phillips.

Ole Solskj?r.

The first team consisted of 24 players.

As Aldrich contemplated this roster, he noted that the right-back positions appeared somewhat weak, with only three players conceived for that slot. However, both Lucas Neill and Zambrotta were versatile enough to cover both flanks, and Makélélé, who originally played as a right-back before transitioning to a defensive midfielder for national duties, was someone Aldrich sought to develop directly into that role—anything less would be a waste.

In terms of the team's core, Aldrich could rely on three key players at the center of the defense, midfield, and attack: Southgate in defense, Nedvěd in midfield, and Larsson upfront.

However, the wide midfield positions seemed slightly thin. Gr?nkj?r was still young; if either Pires or Schneider were injured, Nedvěd could cover the left, but there was a lack of an attacking spark on the right. Aldrich considered this, not wanting to place his hopes and efforts in players lacking talent.

In terms of rebuilding the team, progress needed to be made step by step. Facing a league like League One, wing crosses were a tried-and-tested strategy. Emphasizing technical play could lead to collapse under rough fouls, meaning traditional wing strategies could not be discarded. Even in the Premier League, this would remain a crucial tactic for the next twenty years; the role of crossing from the wings was evolving to be shared between traditional wingers and full-backs, reflecting the trend towards versatile player roles in modern football.

Aldrich kept repeating to himself, "the right side, the right side, the right side," when he suddenly remembered someone. Although it was unlikely he could sign him, he could at least borrow him.

Deciding to take action, Aldrich planned to visit that successful Scottish manager from the previous season.

Recently, Millwall had begun to settle down. For the fans, the past month had been a roller coaster ride.

First, the club underwent a major overhaul from the coaching staff down to the first team.

Next, news of new signings arrived one after another. While Millwall's fans were only familiar with stars like Southgate among the new arrivals, it was enough to lift their spirits. What could be more exciting than poaching the captain of their derby rivals?

Aldrich made a move that quickly won the support of the fans!

This resonated with the later actions of Florentino, who famously poached stars from rivals.

Some fans roughly calculated Aldrich's investment in transfers during the summer season and arrived at a staggering figure: ￡12.6 million!

This was an exhilarating sum!

How much did Manchester United spend in last summer's transfer market? A mere ￡3.75 million.

And what about the year before? ￡1.1 million.

It is clear such arithmetic cannot be boiled down to simple sums, because Aldrich was effectively rebuilding the entire club. Premier League teams generally make summer signings to supplement their existing squads; a major overhaul of the lineup is rare. Only Blackburn's big-spending efforts could be considered truly significant, and even that amounted to just a handful of well-known stars.

What the outcome of Aldrich's investments this summer would be remained uncertain. At least sports columnists retained their skepticism. Millwall had previously gone unnoticed, yet Aldrich's flurry of activity had captured everyone's attention.

Outside the club, Aldrich waited for Andrew, intending for him to guide him out of London, since Aldrich was no more familiar with the route than a tourist.

Before long, Andrew arrived in a luxury car, smiling at Aldrich. "Where to?"

"Manchester. I want to visit the manager of Manchester United."

Andrew looked surprised, then paused for a moment before shaking his head. "That won't be easy. I'll need to find someone to help."

With that, he stepped out of the car and went inside the club to make a phone call, then drove Aldrich to the London train station.

At the station, he purchased three tickets to Manchester. Aldrich was curious about who the third ticket was for but didn't ask.

In the waiting room, Aldrich met a well-dressed man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and neatly curled hair. He appeared refined and courteous. Upon reaching Andrew, he greeted him warmly with a hug, then turned to Aldrich with a smile, extending his hand. "Jason Ferguson, nice to meet you. Andrew has spoken highly of you; you're quite the legend of the Hall family."

The compliment was rather direct. Aldrich shook the man's hand and smiled. "Aldrich Hall. So, Jason, is Mr. Ferguson your father?"

Jason Ferguson nodded with a smile and gestured for the three of them to board the train to Manchester.

"I just called home; my father happens to have time to meet with you."

Aldrich thanked him with a smile, and as they settled into their seats on the train, he couldn't help but reflect on everything.

He hadn't expected Ferguson's son to know Andrew.

But upon further thought, the reasoning began to clear.

Jason Ferguson was Sir Alex Ferguson's most favored son. After the Premier League was established, Jason worked at Sky Sports, but in the football world, he was simply known as Ferguson's son; outside of football, he held little value. Compared to the Hall family's vast wealth, Andrew had his independent agency in London. It wasn't surprising that someone his age like Jason would know Andrew; one could even imagine Jason trying to curry favor with him.

Aldrich was aware of how resourceful Jason Ferguson was. In fact, in a timeline Aldrich had previously experienced, just six hours after Manchester United's board was informed by Ferguson about Stam's sale, Stam had transferred to Lazio. This shocked the United board, and even Sir Bobby Charlton expressed dissatisfaction with Ferguson. In truth, the orchestrator behind that sale was none other than Jason Ferguson; he had left Sky Sports to join an agency in Manchester. Though he had caused Ferguson considerable trouble, his father's deep affection always seemed to smooth things over.