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Chapter 153: Weaknesses Exposed

Butcher was left feeling somewhat discontent; he had closed off the near post, yet Clark, who rushed in late to the front, managed to nod the ball towards the far post. It's difficult to say whether it was intentional or if he merely misjudged the header, but Ferdinand, waiting at the back post, gleefully accepted the assist.

"1-2, 1-2! With around ten minutes left including stoppage time, can Newcastle stage a miracle? If they equalize, even if Manchester United wins, they'll still be one point ahead!"

The commentator couldn't hide his excitement as he spoke about the intense competition for the Premier League title reaching its climax this season.

Regardless of the outcome, this title race was certainly going to stretch to the final round, just like last year's storyline.

After conceding the goal, Aldrich remained seated with his chin in his hand. When the players glanced at him, he calmly gestured them to settle down, reassuring them to keep calm and just perform as usual.

Really, why panic?

It was us in the lead.

No matter the result, the league title wasn't fundamentally at stake for us.

What if we won this match? Should we just hope that in the last game, neither Manchester United nor Newcastle wins?

Let's not put any more pressure on ourselves.

Just treat it like a regular game and play normally.

Keegan was very animated, shouting at his players on the field, waving his arms to get them back into formation and ready for the restart.

He was determined to push for a draw.

Newcastle continued their relentless assault, while Millwall's players quickly adjusted to their relentless pace after conceding a goal. The defense started lifting the ball directly to Newcastle's half during clearances.

In the eighty-eighth minute, Gattuso cleared the ball, which landed on the right side of the front line. Unmarked, Shevchenko quickly sprung into action, lightning fast.

Once he gained possession, he began a long sprint—there were no defenders from Newcastle in sight!

As the opposing goalkeeper rushed forward, Shevchenko opted not to be greedy and passed it into the middle, where the young Van Nistelrooy dashed in, taking the ball straight towards the empty net. He slowed down just before the goal and gently tapped it in with his foot, letting the ball roll slowly across the goal line.

St. James' Park fell into a stunned silence.

Van Nistelrooy excitedly ran over to embrace Shevchenko.

It was his first Premier League goal, and he couldn't contain his excitement.

The selfless Shevchenko also had a standout performance this match, with a goal and an assist proving his worth.

Keegan stood there like he had been struck by lightning, rooted to the spot, not saying a word until the match concluded.

The Newcastle players left the field in disappointment.

Aldrich approached Keegan to shake hands, recalling how last time they met, he wished Keegan's side well in their pursuit of the league title.

But today, he had delivered the decisive blow, taking down the front-runners.

Since the second round of the season, Newcastle had held the top spot on the standings, but now, in the penultimate round of the league, they had been overtaken by Manchester United. Both teams were tied on points, but United had a superior goal difference.

This psychological gap was hard for Keegan to bear as the coaching staff of Newcastle anxiously watched their normally animated coach standing there, dumbfounded.

Aldrich felt a pang of sympathy upon seeing Keegan's expression.

Despite last season's defeat to Newcastle in the cup matches, which Keegan had turned into a rivalry, Aldrich felt there was no need for such animosity; it wasn't an irreconcilable hatred.

This season, with Millwall beating Newcastle three times across the league and cup competitions, they had avenged last season's losses. But it seemed the revenge was too harsh, as it shattered Newcastle's lead that they had maintained for most of the season, and possibly ushered in the humiliation of seeing Ferguson's Manchester United reclaim the top spot.

Just as Aldrich intended to shake hands with Keegan, he suddenly stopped, sighed deeply, and turned to leave. However, after taking a few steps, someone grabbed his arm.

Turning around, he found Keegan staring at him with a serious expression. Aldrich, concerned that Keegan might be taking this too hard, worried he might act out in the moment, cautiously asked, "Is there something you need?"

"Let's find somewhere private to talk."

Aldrich remained silent, assessing the situation.

Keegan quickly released his grip, reassuring him, "Don't worry, I won't hit you."

Aldrich chuckled, "I'm just worried that if that happens, you might end up bruised and then others would say I don't respect my elders."

Keegan wasn't in the mood for humor and directly invited Aldrich to his office.

Different from how Aldrich usually mingled with other friendly managers after matches, Keegan hurried to pour Aldrich a drink, then sat across from him, asking earnestly, "Aldrich, do you hate me?"

Aldrich shrugged, replying, "I neither hate nor particularly like you."

"Why's that?"

"Because I don't hold a grudge against you. Sometimes arguments are normal; I don't think I'm petty. The reason I don't like you is simple: I haven't seen you play. Even though you're famous, I don't idolize you. I admired Maradona when I was young. And as a coach, I don't see anything about you to idolize either."

Upon hearing this, Keegan furrowed his brow and lowered his head, seemingly deep in thought.

Interestingly, after his retirement, he spent eight years enjoying a laid-back life at home, indulging in fishing and gardening, and traveling from time to time. He was wealthier than many stars of his era because, during the latter part of his career when he joined Newcastle United, the club was financially struggling and couldn't afford a high salary. Consequently, Keegan included a clause in his contract: if the home attendance exceeded five thousand, he would receive a share of the additional ticket revenue.

At that time, the attendance at St. James' Park was rather dismal, but Newcastle accepted Keegan's terms. Thanks to his popularity, he made a handsome profit.

Before coaching, Aldrich also spent eight years, but he spent that time learning.

Keegan had fame and money; for a typical manager — not counting someone like Aldrich with a unique position — his total assets would likely rank among the top ten globally.

Thus, his ambitions were simple: to achieve success as a coach.

Over the years of coaching Newcastle, Keegan had lost to Manchester United many times, but he never thought Ferguson was all that special. With many stars and strong players at Manchester United, losing to them was seen as simply being outplayed.

Even this season, after transferring out multiple key players and investing nothing in the transfer market, Manchester United still boasts veterans like Schmeichel, Cantona, Keane, Pallister, and Irwin anchoring the team. When they claim Manchester United is undergoing a transformation, it merely refers to the younger five stepping up into more prominent roles. Among them, aside from Beckham and Phil Neville, who are playing their first Premier League season, the others like Giggs, Scholes, Gary Neville, and Butt have already been established first-team players for the previous two seasons.

Thus, compared to losing to Manchester United, Keegan perhaps felt some resentment.

However, Aldrich had managed to beat Newcastle twice in league matches: the first time with a semi-reserve lineup, and the second time — today — with a fully backup squad.

He accepted his defeat, having lost 1-3 on home soil. What reason could he give himself to feel better?

"Aldrich, can you be honest with me?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

"Do you never have the thought to mess with me or see me make a fool of myself?"

"That's just your inferiority complex."

"Okay, where do you think Newcastle's problems lie?"

"Defense."

Keegan sighed heavily, expressing his frustration, "Everyone says there's a problem with Newcastle's defense, but what exactly is the problem? Nobody can clarify it. It's like when everyone criticizes you, but they can't explain why."

Aldrich idly traced the rim of his glass, saying casually, "There's no one-size-fits-all defensive system that works for every team. You have to tailor the defensive strategy according to the players' characteristics, complementing each other's strengths and weaknesses. Some defenders may have slow speed, others may be overly aggressive, and some may lack anticipation. Broadly speaking, where are the weak defensive areas? Where are the most vulnerable spots for conceding? Where might the opponents focus their attacks? These things require research. You can't just train the team to a stellar profile today and expect them to be worry-free tomorrow."

Keegan was taken aback, not being a scholarly coach. He immediately pressed on, "You're so young and haven't played professionally; where did you learn all this?"

Aldrich raised an eyebrow and self-deprecatingly replied, "I started learning haphazardly, studying match footage, marking every player with codes in my notebook, and repeatedly watching the footage to analyze their movement patterns and how defenders coordinated with each other. Later, I attended many coaching schools, especially in Italy, where you meet a lot of enthusiasts who share countless variations in defense and their countermeasures. But all that's just theory; discussing tactics without acknowledging the difference in player abilities is meaningless."

Keegan nodded, seemingly understanding Aldrich's background. He then asked, "When you studied my team, you felt there were defensive weaknesses—where are they?"

"Everywhere; there are flaws all over, and there's almost no reliable area."

Aldrich casually said this, leaving Keegan somewhat displeased. He ripped a sheet off his desk, grabbed a pen, and handed it to Aldrich, saying, "Write it down for me; I want to see."

Aldrich sighed, jotting down five numbers that represented the four defenders and one defensive midfielder.

"You mean these are the defenders Newcastle used in this match, right?"

Keegan nodded.

As Aldrich continued to write and explain, he added, "Attack down the flanks without considering one-on-one break-ins. My wingers and full-backs will team up for a two-on-one; your flanks are the weak points. Who's your wing-back marking? My wing-back will be unopposed, freeing up the winger. If they're marking my winger, my full-back can go deep and cross without any interference. That means your defenders must turn quickly, while my forwards can strike directly at the goal, which is clearly advantageous.

If we attack through the middle, my attacking midfielder will match your defensive midfielder, but when my playmaker comes up, do you really think one defensive midfielder can cover the width of the pitch of sixty or seventy yards? My forwards can drop back, and my wingers can cut in. This back-and-forth will disrupt your defenders' organization..."

Aldrich's arrows drawn on the paper turned Newcastle's defense into a beehive.

Keegan pressed down on his hand, confused, asking, "Why do you always have more players? When you go wide, it's two-on-one; when you go central, it's still two-on-one. Even if you directly attack my back line, you end up with three forwards. Have all my players collapsed?"

Aldrich laughed lightly, saying, "You can go back and watch the footage repeatedly. See if your players collapsed. Kevin, my team is simply stronger than yours. I'm not bragging; it's just a fact. Player capability isn't solely based on skill; stamina is crucial as well. As of now, there are no statistics on players' running distances during matches, but if there were, I could tell you my players run at least 30% more distance on average than yours. It's about exploiting numerical advantages."

Despite his reluctance to believe it, Keegan recalled the match and felt a wave of despair wash over him as he recognized the truth in Aldrich's words.

The forty-five-year-old Keegan and the soon-to-be twenty-year-old Aldrich talked for over two hours...