Millwall had a glorious decade under Aldridge, but at the beginning of the decade and at the beginning of the next cycle a decade later, they both faced the same problem: they couldn't keep people.

In the early days, it was a survival need to retain players, and they couldn't meet the demands of top stars, so they had to let them go, and now, they are sitting on the throne with greed, hoping to keep the next generation of resources in their hands as much as possible, and take precautions to avoid the problem of talent disconnection in the future of the team.

Unfortunately, the world does not revolve around Millwall, Aldrich has received too many gifts, and he will not ask for too much, as if everyone in the world is at the service of his will.

On the bright side, Millwall still has loyalists who are willing to contribute to a team that is already different, and that's enough to make Aldridge feel gratified.

Since Millwall already has enough foundation, Aldridge's mentality has begun to become open-minded when it comes to the team's plundering of football talent.

In the past, they were opportunistic, like a speculator "taking advantage of the low", in the future, this team can buy the best stars, but only to be able to buy the right players, there is no need to worry too much, however, the law of the football world is: there are always so many resources, the more you divide in advance, the greater the benefits.

Due to the competitive nature of competitive sports, no matter how many geniuses there are in an era, there is always a distinction between high and low, and the top players can always be roughly ranked, and the best players can be plundered and entrusted with important responsibilities first, so that they can take the lead in the competition with their opponents.

"To get the most out of Millwall's scouting network, there's also the recipe for our youth success. I think we can share resources appropriately. to serve the purpose of our club. ”

"How?"

"First of all. Times have changed, young players are becoming more and more impatient, they are not willing to wait, they want to get ahead too early, they need to play, they need stage, they need exposure, at the same time. You told me that the competition in European football is intensifying step by step, so the success rate of young players will become lower and lower, and it is difficult for a stunning talent to become a superstar, because the pressure on the pitch is too great, and the club has cut the playing time of young players for the sake of utilitarian considerations of results, and gives young players fewer opportunities to practice. That's the kind of thing that happens with big clubs and first-tier clubs, right? ”

Aldrich nodded in agreement, and it was obvious to all. Especially after ten years, many fans will say that "the current generation of geniuses is nothing compared to the number of geniuses born in the 70s".

Sometimes it's not that geniuses are missing. It's that the probability of being ruined in the process of genius growth is higher, and there will be fewer and fewer people who can finally resist the pressure and become famous with a goal.

"However, in the second-rate clubs of European football, they still hope to train young players to bring considerable income to the club, and the club's business philosophy is completely different from that of giants and first-line teams."

Carter said slowly, grabbing at the turf on the training ground.

"That's right, at the beginning, Millwall cultivated players, in fact, there were also considerations of hoping that players would be sold for a good price to make up for the club's capital, but after becoming a giant, our goal of cultivating players is no longer to cash out and make money, despite this, the sale of players who can't be retained still brings us huge transfer market benefits. Giants and first-line teams naturally train players for their own strength, and they will not sell players to make money in the future, but the middle and lower clubs have the congenital defect of not being able to retain players, and they will leave some room to prepare early to sell excellent players, so that the club's capital is in a safe area. ”

"That's right, so if you think about it from the standpoint of those second-rate clubs, what do they need? Young players with excellent potential, and developing them into stars, however, not every club's youth training efficiency is the same, the coverage of scouting networks is also different, and there are certain limitations in terms of recruitment funds. Millwall has one sign that we have never used before, and that is our Academy signboard! ”

Aldridge shook his head slightly when he heard this, and said: "As far as I know, compared with the youth training system of other clubs, Millwall's advantage is that many clubs are discouraged even if they want to follow suit, because the board of directors or owners have spent more than 30 million pounds on the youth training system to improve hardware facilities, build a huge youth team, etc., this kind of investment involving monetary interests is something that many club owners are not willing to risk, after all, it is not a small amount, with such money and financial resources, Why not just buy a top-notch star and gamble on it? If you help the team get a better result, or get into the Champions League, the reward will be even greater! ”

Carter also shook his head with a smile and said, "Look, this is your thinking mistake. You think of very realistic things, but from the standpoint of the outside world, many people will think that Millwall is mysterious and magical! Taking Lahm as an example, Bayern Munich's position in Germany goes without saying, but they made a mistake on the issue of Lahm, Lahm has shown impressive strength since he came to Millwall, is it you, the magic of Aldridge Hall, or the unique way of cultivating talent in the Millwall academy system? Unbeknownst to the outside world, curious to the outside world, many clubs will come to steal the teacher with great interest, hoping to learn the secret of Millwall's player development, which is a bargaining chip that we can use and should take the initiative to build partnerships with other clubs. ”

Aldridge was thoughtful, and Carter's words had a certain impact on his thinking.

He doesn't really think Millwall's academy system is special.

To be honest, the youth training system, as long as it is not foolish, willing to invest, and adhere to a concept for a long time, and do not artificially create chaos, it will naturally produce results.

The youth training system of the major giants is not bad, the youth training of the La Liga double hero is one of the sources of new strength in La Liga, Ajax has long adhered to the unique youth training philosophy is famous all over the world, Bayern Munich has the largest youth talent pool in Germany, the youth training in Italy is still impressive, and it is common to have more than 5 echelons under the first team.

If you don't know that. It's hard to understand that a lot of teams have very strong youth teams.

99% of fans simply remember the stars who are active at the top of the stage. The comings and goings are nothing more than the leading stars of several big clubs. But in fact, taking the Premier League as an example, even if the invasion of foreign players is in full swing, the proportion of local players is still more than 40%, even if a team is calculated with 25 players, 20 teams, there are 500 people, and 40% are 200 players.

Where did these 200 England players come from?

Of course, it was cultivated by various clubs. It's just that the wealthy need genius, and genius can't be mass-produced on the assembly line, just like a big wave sweeping sand, just to select that piece of gold.

As for Millwall's impressive success rate over the past decade, it is due to Aldridge's innate strengths, not that there is really a secret in the academy.

They did produce a lot of players who played in the lower leagues of the Premier League and the lower leagues of the Premier League, but excluding the talents who were destined to become famous in history, ten years have passed. Aldridge just saw a once talented but slump Ramour back on track, with no second new face in front of him.

It's not a question of the quality of the youth system. It's two words: talent.

Players who have no talent, no matter how serious and hard they work, have limitations.

There is a saying in football: if you don't have talent, if you work hard enough, you can be the next Nedved.

I don't know who put forward this brain-dead view, Nedved's success is of course inseparable from his talent, so many years, or even a decade later, is there a second Nedved appearing? But among all the stars who have achieved something, which one is not talented?

Carter is now reminding Aldridge to use Millwall's Academy logo as a bargaining chip.

Aldridge has figured out the key to this, similar to a bluff, there are not many secrets and secrets in youth training, but the outside world is still curious, after all, Millwall's youth training results are too shining, and peers are salivating.

"I see what you mean, we can use the sharing of youth training tips to get some club cooperation opportunities, after the establishment of a partnership, we can also help them select players, that is, conditionally share scouting resources, and then they get players, for training, in the future if these players are what we need, then on the basis of cooperation, we can increase the probability of acquiring players, and reduce the cost of bringing in players, right?"

Carter nodded with a smile and added: "For some clubs that are particularly optimistic about the potential players with high evaluations, we directly buy the ownership and loan them to other clubs, which must be negotiated beforehand, so that the players have a bottom in their hearts, in the past, Millwall bought the players, and then loaned, ignoring the personal opinions of the players, although the way is similar, but in this process, it is easy to make the players dissatisfied, because they seem to have lost the dominance and are at the mercy of the club." ”

Aldrich lowered his head and raised his hand to rub his face, although the past ten years have been brilliant, but it is also a stage of accumulating experience, and it is inevitable that some places are not well conceived, and it is inevitable.

"Your idea is fine, I think it's feasible."

"Not only that, but if some clubs have a very good relationship with us, we can also pay a certain fee to use each other's marketing network, which is mutually beneficial, which depends on the relationship and cooperation between the top management."

"Well, that's something I didn't think about before."

"There is another point that we also need to talk about, and that is to maximize the benefits of balloon stars."

Aldrich looked up and asked puzzledly, "Balloon star?" What do you mean? ”

Carter replied: "In an increasingly competitive future, not every star will be willing to contribute to the development of Millwall's next generation by taking on a role as a passer, they will want to use their fame to keep their personal income at the top level. ”

Aldrich frowned, the question was very realistic.

But he still agrees with Carter.

Not every star is going to be as hardworking or reasonable as Nedved or Larsson.

To put it bluntly, Nedved is sacrificing his personal interests to contribute to the team, and so is Larson.

'When there are some career stars who can't get a personal satisfaction at Millwall, the club's choice is to let them go, right?'

Aldrich nodded.

Treating the heroes well is what he wants to do, but in order to maintain the team's record, there are times when there is a conflict between the two.

Just like Larsson is no longer able to play the main team, it is not a problem of his ability, it is a problem of energy, a player who cannot last the whole season represents instability, then he cannot be qualified for the main position.

Thankfully, Larsson accepted the role as a substitute, and if he didn't, Aldridge had no choice but to send him away.

"In the future, there will definitely be such people, but I don't think the club can let the stars leave, it is a loss of popularity and profit for the team, and we should provide these stars with a choice in advance, even if it is one of their many options, it is better than nothing."

Aldridge asked curiously, "Do you want to send them to a club that works with us?" ”

Carter said, "Yes, it's not right. The clubs we are working with are definitely based on the European map, and I want the team to target an emerging market in the clubs we work with. ”

Aldrich reacted quickly and blurted out: "America." ”

Carter smiled and said: "It seems that you should have thought that the league of American football has only been established for more than ten years, and the initial embryonic period has passed, especially two years ago, the United States national team reached the top 8 of the World Cup, which is very important for the stimulation of the American football market, and the overseas promotion of the Premier League brand is ahead of other leagues of the same level, at the same time, Millwall has also carried out continuous development in the American market, but this is not enough, the consumption power of the American market is undoubted, and it is very attractive to sponsors, We were able to establish partnerships with professional clubs in the United States at an early stage, and even in the future, when the professional soccer leagues in the United States are steadily developing, the benefits of stimulating the football market and giving us back will be immeasurable. ”

Aldrich smiled, a little excited.

Carter had a very thoughtful idea in this regard.

From the possession of resources by young players to the use of resources by the team's balloon stars, it is very effective for Millwall's long-term stability.

Carter has not yet taken office, but he has already made Aldrich feel extremely excited.

Perhaps Abu and Mourinho are now a match made in heaven.

But Aldridge now has his real right-hand man.

For the development of the American market, to Aldrich's surprise, after Carter took office, Millwall announced a series of business development plans, in the United States, Barnett Hall directly bought the former New York Cosmos, now the New York Mets Club! (To be continued......)