The Rise of Millwal

Chapter 12: What’s there to be happy about?!

Before the training camp at Club 21 began, Aldrich welcomed Jensen and his party of thirteen new coaches, who had traveled from the Netherlands to London. They were set to join Millwall Football Club.

Aldrich took the group on a tour of the club and then established the new coaching staff. There were two new youth coaches, two reserve team coaches, and the remaining nine included Jensen as Aldrich's assistant. Four were retained for the first team, while another four formed a scouting team.

This scouting team was dedicated to observing league opponents and studying the upcoming challenger, including the opponent's player conditions and tactical strengths and weaknesses. At least three days prior to a match, Aldrich needed to receive a detailed report.

After settling the coaching staff, Aldrich went to a converted hotel not far from the training ground, accompanied by Adam and other club staff.

The hotel had been purchased in the name of the club and was no longer open to the public. The interior was minimalist but equipped with all the facilities Aldrich specifically requested. The club's new medical department and restaurant were located within the hotel.

Even in '94, it was hard to imagine the neglect of medical care in English football. Many traditional strong clubs had team doctors, or what were referred to as athletic trainers, as a reward for long-term service to the club.

Who as a fan could imagine that a groundskeeper, after aging, would become a "team doctor" for a top club?

This was naturally connected to the conservative nature of football clubs.

Later, a decade-spent player at Liverpool, Redknapp, was discarded by the team simply because he could not endure the "quack doctor" and chose to seek medical treatment elsewhere. Such actions were deemed "heretical" for traditional English football clubs, leading to the departure of a ten-year veteran.

Aldrich inherently rejected the conservatism of English clubs and had no intention of embracing outdated traditions. He needed the most advanced and professional medical department to ensure the health of players worth millions now and in the future!

Handing players valued at hundreds of thousands to those who couldn't even be considered mediocre doctors was utterly incomprehensible, yet this remained a commonplace phenomenon in English football.

After inspecting the hotel, Aldrich kept Adam behind to discuss future team development. Although anything said before results felt futile, he needed to give Adam a heads-up.

"I've looked into the development of the postponed new stadium, and I have an idea. Since that stadium isn't taking shape yet, why not convert it into a new training base? The new stadium can be looked for elsewhere, and it should accommodate at least fifty thousand with surrounding areas capable of driving commercial development..."

Aldrich's words left Adam at a loss. Finally, he could only reluctantly reply to the young owner, "Sir, I've prepared a financial budget. To be honest, if we don't undertake any unplanned constructions, just maintaining the current operation of the team, we'll last at most two years. Right now, the team's funds can only sustain operations for two years, and even if we get promoted to the Premier League after two years, we would still be unable to continue unless the Hall family injects further funding."

Upon hearing this, Aldrich pondered silently. He was indeed anxious.

The team's current wage levels were already on par with top Premier League teams.

While some in the Premier League earned weekly salaries of over ten thousand, many players only made a few thousand, with most earning not even a thousand. Overall, Aldrich's first team players, along with the dozen or so who remained in the reserves, likely ranked among the top ten in salary burdens within England, while Millwall's ability to generate profit was far less than even one-tenth of Manchester United's.

Relying solely on ticket sales, the modest stadium likely made less than three million pounds per year. As for merchandise sales, the channels were insufficient to make a significant profit, confined to East London.

Television broadcasting rights and match bonuses were meager, even in League One.

So Aldrich had only one option remaining.

Unlike what he had told Barnett before about a three to five-year plan, he had only one year. If they couldn't get promoted next season, he would not only lose top players like Makélélé, Thuram, Larsson, and Nedvěd without any return but would also have no funds left for a comeback.

Aldrich ultimately refrained from discussing future plans further with Adam, as continuing would seem unrealistic. Everything would have to wait until this time next year.

Recently, Andrew had been busy. He had left Millwall to focus on his job as an agent, signing numerous players, many of whom were new to Millwall. As an agent, he had become adept at this line of work, not only profiting from player transfer fees and salary cuts but also providing legal responsibilities, financial advice, living arrangements, and future planning for the players.

These players were not yet well-known in England; even Southgate was merely a standard player. Andrew, alongside his staff, kept busy in East London, aided by the Hall family's investments, making dealings with real estate developers much more convenient. He found comfortable apartments for the new players, arranged translators for those who didn't speak English, and would even assist with escort arrangements, should the players ask, after providing some advisories.

With Andrew's meticulous assistance, many young players, who had started to earn "big money," began to appreciate the advantages of having an agent.

The World Cup had just concluded, but Larsson did not report back to the team as per Aldrich's extended holiday arrangements. On the 21st, this player, admired by younger teammates, showed up at the training ground.

Aldrich's team could be considered newly formed, but no one felt lonely. The German players included Butt, Schneider, Ballack, and from the Netherlands, there were Van Nistelrooy and Larsson, who had transferred from Eredivisie. The young Italian players would also not feel isolated, while Nedvěd from Eastern Europe might have difficulty integrating. However, as a national team member and a person with a gentle disposition, he found several players surrounding him.

Aldrich, along with his coaching staff, walked toward the training ground, dressed in the club's traditional dark blue tracksuits.

Beside him, Andrew was in a suit. He was only here to finalize some administrative tasks with Aldrich, arranging a few translators to help non-English-speaking players get acclimated to the team environment.

"Is everything smooth over at the FA?"

"Yes, Pavel is already a national team member, and there's no need to enlist a veteran as a go-between. Submitting the documents along with a hundred thousand pounds, everything is set. Don't worry, there's not a single trace left. As long as Pavel performs well, no one will dig into past cases."

Andrew whispered in Aldrich's ear.

Aldrich felt relief. Nedvěd didn't have an EU passport, so obtaining a work permit for transferring to England was required. Despite being a national team member, his appearance record clearly didn't meet standards. However, the 75% appearance requirement wasn't rigid and had significant leeway. Plus, countless unspoken "black gold" pervaded English football. As Aldrich submitted documents to the FA, he had Andrew work discreetly alongside him, making the process smooth sailing.

If Nedvěd had been a youth player, even abundant as the "black gold" might be, transferring would have been difficult. But as a national team member with great potential, even after Czechoslovakia's dissolution two years ago, Aldrich believed that Andrew's hundred thousand pounds in "black gold" played a crucial role. Millwall, being a small club, had a noticeably negative reputation in the English football scene, providing no attraction whatsoever on the field.

Naturally, people paid little attention to the players being brought in.

Before entering the training ground, Andrew gave a few instructions to the translators and waved goodbye to Aldrich.

As Aldrich approached, leading a group of coaches, the players on the training field automatically formed two lines. Many of them were merely 17 or 18 years old, filled with hope for the future, yet they had no arrogance. Before the young head coach and owner, they all showed respect.

Like a gang leader inspecting his crew, Aldrich strolled from the left to the right of the two lines of players, making eye contact with each one of their calm expressions and nodding gently.

After completing the circuit, Aldrich faced the players directly and spoke softly,

"Millwall has a history of 109 years:

Champions of the top division in England: zero.

England League Cup: zero.

FA Cup: zero.

And we have never participated in any of the three major European cup competitions.

Congratulations, you have arrived at a long-established club with zero championships!"

Aldrich's words were light and slow, but the last sentence was delivered with solemnity. He intentionally used the simplest English phrasing so that even players new to the language could understand.

Among the 26 first team members, only Beckham and Phil Neville seemed disengaged. Their loan here was for experience, and they inherently held disdain for a century-old club without a trophy and a tarnished reputation.

However, the expressions of the other 24 players varied, as the younger players exchanged looks, as if they finally realized the nature of Millwall as a club.

Aldrich suddenly extended his arms seriously and asked, "Aren't you all happy?"

The players were dumbfounded.

What's there to be happy about?!