The Rise of Millwal

Chapter 111: You are the champions

Kevin Keegan felt a chill run down his spine.

The attacking five-man formation of the Magpies faced Millwall's seven-man chain defense, and they struggled to find spaces to penetrate through his traditional style of play. In one-on-one battles, Newcastle United's well-known offense felt like hitting a wall of iron—ineffective and futile.

Despite the stunning moves and the dazzling footwork displayed by the players that made the crowd dizzy, they only ended up panting and sweating profusely, with no real results to show for it.

Defensive midfielder Robert Lee pushed up to join the attack, bringing the numbers to a 6-vs-7 scenario, yet it still yielded no success. No matter how Newcastle United tried to coordinate their play, Millwall refused to press forward, patiently waiting until the Magpies got within thirty yards of their penalty area, relying on teamwork to neutralize the attacks.

Keegan stood up, pointing to a player in the backline, a talented member of Newcastle, John Beresford—the left back!

In an era of English football where defenders seldom ventured forward and strikers rarely helped out in defense, John Beresford was an attacking left-back, which made him a star on the pitch, particularly with his eye-catching world-class goals each season.

Beresford surged forward. With the static front-line attack struggling to break through, his unexpected charge for a long-range shot could be an effective solution.

His first long-range shot, however, skimmed past the goalpost, eliciting a collective gasp from the stands.

Aldrich wasn't concerned. For him, the wave of Newcastle's offense hitting this point played right into his hands!

Millwall had seven defenders, while Newcastle only had three forwards on the attack.

Today, Aldrich chose to play Schneider, who seemed limited in his movement, being a winger who could also drift toward the center, but that wasn't his typical position.

Yet, this was precisely Aldrich's strategy.

Beresford fired another long-range shot, this time caught securely by the keeper Kellar. While Kellar lacked exceptional skills or potential, he was obedient—completing the tasks assigned by coaches during training flawlessly.

Execution of tactics relies critically on player awareness.

Kellar was taught a straightforward tactical philosophy: as a goalkeeper, he was one of the key initiators of attacks. In this day and age, such a notion may sound absurd—can a goalkeeper truly take charge of initiating the offense? But Kellar did not question it; he simply complied.

He had formed a good habit of immediately observing his teammates' positions as soon as he caught the ball. With two outlets on the flanks, he took less than two seconds to adjust before rolling the ball out to the wide-open Thuram.

Thuram stopped the ball, sending a quick pass in front of him, where Schneider was already sprinting at full speed.

The area ahead was completely wide open!

Where had the opposing full-back gone?

Beresford was rushing back from Millwall's half!

Schneider let the ball roll ahead and continued to carry it forward. When Aldrich saw Newcastle's center-back Felipe Albert rushing toward Schneider, he grinned maliciously and tightened his fist.

Despite Kevin Keegan's current triumph, five years later he would become a laughingstock; almost all fans knew that Keegan's team had a feeble defense!

It's not that Kevin Keegan lacked good defensive players at his disposal; after all, in the year 2000, the English national team boasted four outstanding center-backs—Campbell, Adams, Keown, and Southgate. just looking at Newcastle's current defensive line, they were certainly respectable in the Premier League.

Belgian Albert was one of the top 30 center-backs in Newcastle's century-long history, and his abilities were plain to see. Wharton-Barton had come from a strong background, having spent ￡4 million to bring him to Newcastle. A center-back valued that highly in England's transfer market in 1995 certainly had some merit.

But football is a team sport. Attack requires coordination, and defense does too.

At this moment, Millwall was countering with an equal number of players against Newcastle, three against three.

However, Albert proactively ran over to intercept Schneider. Seeing this action, Aldrich could clearly see just how terrible Newcastle's defense was—there was no coherent tactic. The correct move should have been for the three defenders to retreat into the penalty area and form a zonal defense, compressing Millwall's attacking space.

But Albert's rush toward Schneider expanded the space within and around the penalty area, and Schneider unsurprisingly laid the ball off to Larson before Albert closed in.

Newcastle's defense was akin to a clumsy display on a rugby pitch, as defenders chased one-on-one after the attacking players.

Barton rushed toward Larson, but Larson managed to weave past him during the sprint, leaving Barton in his wake. At that moment, Watson came sliding in from the other side, trying to tackle Larson's feet. Yet Larson nimbly passed the ball towards the goal.

Keeper Srnicek, frustrated, charged out of his box, only to find no defenders left in front of him!

But the ball rolled right into the path of an unmarked Solskj?r.

Faced with the onrushing keeper, Solskj?r deftly dribbled left, evading the sprawled Srnicek's desperate lunge that just couldn't reach the ball, and Solskj?r easily slotted it into the empty net.

The Den erupted with cheers!

"Olé, olé, olé, olé!"

Even commentator Martin Taylor had become familiar with the rhythm of Millwall fans celebrating their goals.

He enthusiastically shouted, "Olé, olé, olé, olé! Super Solskj?r! He's made his starting appearance today and scored, though much of the credit goes to Larson for the assist. But this is Millwall's victory—the result of their team's effort. Newcastle's defense is nothing short of abysmal, showing no signs of teamwork!" Keegan leaned his head down against his palm, while Aldrich simply smiled and applauded, seemingly unfazed by the goal.

Aldrich wasn't fond of today's tactics employed by Millwall, and the individualistic style of play seemed to be drifting away from the mainstream in the future. However, he was an adaptable head coach; under the circumstances of nearly half his starters being unavailable, it would be too rigid to insist on playing an attacking style.

Moreover, midfielders Ballack, Vieira, and Gattuso would naturally need to hone their defensive skills and teamwork awareness in their formative years, although this match had stifled the attacking talents of Zambrotta and Thuram.

With equal numbers, Newcastle's defense had only three men in the second half against Millwall's three attackers. If one player could break through the opponent's defense in a counterattack, a clear goal-scoring opportunity would arise easily. Larson had already lost Barton, and with Watson not stepping in to intercept, Larson had a clear path.

With Watson defending, Larson could pass to Solskj?r, and he too would find himself in a one-on-one with the keeper, with simply too much space for an attack to maneuver.

Schneider was put on the pitch again. He aimed to exploit the space left by Beresford's assist, relying on his precise passes to create attacking plays.

But such tactics couldn't be sustained for long. As midfielders grew accustomed to this tactic, they would become mentally fatigued and stifled, which could even hamper their future career accomplishments.

Keegan found himself in a bind—what to do?

His team was behind!

Millwall was incredibly shameless, shrinking back into a defensive shell at home—did they have no shame?

Inwardly cursing Aldrich, Keegan had no choice but to push his players for more attacking efforts.

Retreat?

There was no way back!

Now, there was only one way forward!

Millwall's players were exhilarated; they wouldn't overthink the cautious tactics employed over a short span but rather felt that Aldrich on the sidelines possessed a magical charm.

With four key starters out and facing the league leaders, they had managed to take the lead comfortably.

Their coach was simply marvelous!

Newcastle's players were seething, their shirts soaked with sweat after toiling away for most of the match—despite their multiple attacks yielding only a few long-range shots, Millwall had stolen one goal from a single counterattack. Where could they find justice in that?

What was most galling was they came fully armed, eager to measure themselves against Millwall, but faced with a turtle-shell formation of seven defenders forming two tight lines, it resembled a turtle's shell when viewed from above.

Keegan's midfield adjustments were ineffective, just a push for more offense.

He was born for attacking! His playing was gorgeous, and his coaching was equally vibrant, but the fact of the matter was that attacking needed space and a stage to perform.

In the second half, Newcastle grew more anxious and started playing irrational individual efforts and long balls. Meanwhile, Millwall's counterattacks remained highly efficient, nearly puncturing Newcastle's defenses several times.

Today, Larson seemed to have forgotten his shooting boots, squandering a one-on-one chance in the second half.

As Schneider became tightly marked, Aldrich swapped in another card—Kevin Phillips.

With Phillips leading the line, Larson and Solskj?r would support him from behind, and Millwall shifted to a 4-3-2-1 setup.

With this change, Newcastle was immediately hit hard.

After dropping back to collect the ball, Solskj?r combined with Larson to create a one-two pass, then made a direct run towards the baseline, almost replicating the first-half goal. When Barton came to defend him, he swiftly passed it to the unmarked Phillips in the middle, who effortlessly finished off the move to seal Millwall's victory.

When the final whistle blew, Kevin Keegan stood frozen, his face pale.

Aldrich approached him calmly, a smile on his face, and said, "I wish Newcastle United all the best in winning the league this season."