Millwall

Millwall FC is a professional club based in south east London who were formed in 1885 as Millwall Rovers FC, by the workers of JT Morton's canning and preserve factory. 

Many of the workers were Scotsmen, particularly from Dundee, so the club adopted colours of navy blue and white. Millwall played on the Isle of Docks and in their time there 'The Dockers' as they were nicknamed at the time played at four different home grounds.

In 1889 the club changed title to become Millwall Athletic FC, joining the Southern League in 1895. This proved very successful as they lifted two league titles in their first two years. Athletic also reached the FA Cup Semi Finals in 1900 and 1903. 

At this point Athletic was dropped from the clubs name as they became Millwall FC. Support gathered amongst the hard working labourers of the docks, so they needed a new ground to accommodate everyone. As expansion space was scarse on the Isle of Dogs, they moved to New Cross where they purchased land to build a ground the called The Den, as the club were now nicknamed The Lions.

The Den was originally surrounded by railway embankments, bridges and had the larger New Cross Stadium behind one end. It was a venue that away teams did not really relish visiting and it was said that it could give The Lions a goal start when a big crowd gathered. 

The Official Club Handbook carried the slogan "No one likes us and we don't care" as long ago as 1908. The club have never really been on the back foot since.

In 1920 Millwall joined the Football League as founder members of Division Three South. The team soon became known as fighters in the FA Cup as many decent runs were put together. The supporters also had a fearsome reputation, with The Den having a series of sanctions against it because of misbahaviour from the terraces over the years.

For an example of the fans of the 1970's, click here:

They reached the last four of the FA Cup once again in 1937, and followed this up by being promoted as champions the next season. In 1945 The Lions reached the Southern FA Cup Final against Chelsea, which was played at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans.

Sadly the War was extremely unkind to Millwall who lost many of their supporters as well as the area being extensively damaged. They couldn't return to The Den until 1944 after it had been bombed during The Blitz. The club only returned so quickly owing to voluntary labour amongst their support.

Things weren't any better on the pitch either as they suffered a relegation, from which they did not return until 1966. During the period of success in the sixties the team were unbeaten at The Den for fifty nine games, which was a record for some time after. 

In 1971 they club missed out on promotion to the top flight by just one point, with Bryan King, Eamonn Dunphy, Harry Cripps and Derek Possee starring.

To see some old memories of The Den, including Lions heroes, click here:

Millwall suffered a further relegation before bouncing back under John Docherty's managership. He then built a side including Tony Cascarino and Teddy Sheringham who took The Lions into the top tier of the League for the first time in their history in 1987-88. Their time there lasted just two seasons.

At this time the club decided to move to a brand new stadium built on land nearer Bermondsey on land called Senegal Fields in an unpopular move. Chairman of the time Reg Burr, was particularly vilified for the decision. 

The club decided to keep the fans happy and call it The New Den after trying The New London Stadium when it entered an unsuccessful deal with an American stadium management company. The stadium opened in time for the 1993-94 season.

Millwall have tried many excellent initiatives to make the club more family orientated, not least when under the Chairmanship of Theo Paphitis. He also introduced membership schemes to try and cut down on trouble at home and away games. 

Millwall was taken over by Chestnut Hill Ventures in 2007, led by John G Berylson, who have interests in business and financial services, retail, property and sport invested £5m into the club. 

In addition to this investment, a further £1.5m was raised from investment from other parties and existing directors of the company and former chairman Peter de Savary invested another £500,000. A plan was previously unveiled before the new investors in an attempt to make the area around the ground into a Sports City with developments also including new housing and a hotel!

Promotion via the play offs was won after victory over Swindon Town at Wembley in May 2010 back to the second tier of the English game, as Kenny Jackett's side continued to impress. They had a first season of consolidation at their higher grade, and continued in their second.

Jackett departed in May 2013 after steering The Lions to the FA Cup semi final for the second time, where they were defeated by Wigan Athletic. New manager Steve Lomas came in but was most unsuccessful and unpopular amongst many Millwall fans owing to his West Ham roots.

Ian Holloway was appointed to succeed Lomas in January 2014 after Scott Fitzgerald and Neil Harris looked after the side on a temporary basis. Holloway's side went unbeaten in the last eight games of 2013-14 to save themselves from relegation. 

Holloway departed was sacked in March 2015 as the team fought against relegation. Legendary former player Harris came in as caretaker, but was unable to save the club from the drop. Despite this he was named as permanent manager the day after the final match of the season.

Harris led the team to promotion in 2016-17 as they defeated Scunthorpe United in the semi-final of the play-off before a Steve Morison goal at Wembley was enough to take the Lions up against Bradford City.

After a period of stability back in the second tier, Harris departed the Lions in November 2019 with Gary Rowett replacing him. The side finished in eighth place in the 2019-20 season, with another two seasons of decent finishes to follow.

Tom Bradshaw and Zian Flemming put away the goals as Millwall came desperately close to a place in the playoffs in 2022-23 before tragedy struck. Owner and chairman John Berylson, died in a car accident in the USA. His son James replaced him as chairman.

The accident had an effect throughout the whole club, with form on the pitch suffering. Rowett departed with Joe Edwards installed in his place. The appointment failed to work out, leading to the return of Neil Harris February 2024 as his side put a good run together to stave off the fear of relegation.

Millwall FC will play in the EFL Championship for the 2024-25 season.

My visits

Millwall 1 Hull City 0 (Saturday 28th January 1984) Division Three (att: 3,996)

I was at college in Boreham Wood looking forward to going to watch Scarborough play at Enfield, until I received a call to my digs that it had been frozen off. I had considered and pondered whether to go to Millwall v Hull City for a few days before taking the easy option. 

I now asked my grumpy landlord what it was like down at Millwall. He hardly eased my mind by telling me they'd been having the ground closed down there for crowd trouble since the 1920's.

I decided to bite the bullet and go for it anyway. I felt a bit safer when I saw what I thought were some fellow City fans waiting to board the East London Line wearing scarves but they turned out to be Watford fans heading to Charlton for their FA Cup clash. I got out at New Cross Gate and followed a few fans down to side street in the direction of the ground, that we'd come past on the train. 

I was petrified and wondered what the hell I was doing but I got to the main gates passing just a few casual youths hanging around on corners, praying that no-one would approach me. A few other Tigers fans appeared so a steward told us to pay and he'd meet us at the other side. We were at the home end on Cold Blow Lane but the walk round to the away turnstiles would have meant negotiating sinister dark streets under railway bridges. 

If it had been foggy it would have been a perfect setting for a Jack the Ripper novel. Thank goodness for the kind hearted steward. He was probably as scared as we were! We were put in a corner with a sliding door at the back manned by some stewards and police. The open concourse behind had Millwall fans wandering around to find their positions in the ground. it was a very strange arrangement.

The ground itself was dominated by big yellow high fences. In our corner section we had four fences and depending on where you stood, a floodlight pylon to see past for a view of the pitch. It was more like a prison than a football stadium. 

To our right was the South Stand, an original Archibald Leitch construction with two tiers of seats divided by a wall. It was obvious the bottom section had previously been for terracing.The roof continued to the back half of where we were stood and continued past the fences and most of the way behind the goal to form the Ilderton Road End. 

It cut away where the old New Cross Stadium and railway line once stood (many fans got a free view of the game from there which got the banking the nickname of Jews Hill) to form a large banking of terracing with a roof at the rear called the North Terrace. 

In its last days the ground placed a small roof and some seats for the demands of top flight football, offering an appalling view. The far Cold Blow End was a large terrace, roofed at the rear and joining up with the South Stand, with the clubs offices and changing rooms underneath. The players emerged from behind the goal towards the South Stand touchline.

Millwall won the game 1-0 on their way to putting together an undefeated home unbeaten record. There was no wonder. It really was an unwelcoming place to play and watch as a visitor.

I tried to negotiate a ride on one of the supporters buses over the river but no driver was interested so I ended up walking in the dark back to the station. Fortunately no home fans were on the look out to introduce themselves. I was more than a little relieved to make it back home.

The reason for not been in any danger was revealed on the local news. West Ham (Millwall's hated rivals) had been playing at Crystal Palace in the FA Cup. Many Lions "fans" decided to meet up in a pre arranged meeting with their Hammers compatriots on the Old Kent Road for a get together so were unconcerned by any Hull City fans on the day.

Three of the pictures of the original Den have been uploaded from the internet.

Autumn 2007

I called in to try and gain access inside The New Den to take some photos after visiting Dulwich Hamlet. The environments of the new site were very similar to the old place. I alighted at Surrey Quays tube station to take a ten minute walk through estates, under bridges and pass scrap metal works and arches mechanics shops. 

It was still grim. The other side of the ground is housing in a less than salubrious area. I was mildly amused at the intention of building a hotel at the ground. The ground was locked up although I had a look around. I decided to return at some point for a game but it will be a low key encounter as a "home" fan.

Millwall 4 Hull City 0 (Saturday 14th August 2010) Football League Championship (att: 13,292)

Over time I had a rethink and came to the conclusion that it would be fine to go to The New Den as an away fan. I was on night shift at work, so this fixture was ideal for me to attend and still get my necessary sleep. Unfortunately the usual weekend engineering works made a normal easy ride down to London Bridge a lot longer than usual. I got there via a bus ride and the Northern line, ready for libation.

I had read very favourable reviews on various sites about a pub called the Market Porter on the edges of Borough Market between railway arches. I managed to squeeze past the hundreds of tourists, many of whom seem to have mastered the arts of walking three abreast or using kids pushchairs as offensive weapons, before setting sites on my welcoming goal.

What a pub it was. There were around 8-10 real ales on at the time, with the walls covered in an incredible display of pump clips. The pub was busy, but the staff excellent, meaning very little waiting time. There were plenty of Hull City fans enjoying the beers. 

I was offered a hard plastic glass if I wanted to stand outside, which made sense as it gave me the opportunity to take in the sights and smells, while listening to traders giving the old Cockney spiel while selling their wares. Elder Millwall fans with brains and humour also chatted with City fans. It was probably the best place I’ve been for pre match beers.

All too soon it was time to head back to the station where police were everywhere. They were considering using an empty train as a football special, but in the end we all got on a service train. There was no hassle on board and within six minutes, and still in sight of the city, we alighted at South Bermondsey. 

We filed down the stairs and turned right where away fans are directed down their own high fenced path. Some of the locals call this “Cowards Alley” and some offered advice to get their earlier next time and go along the main road away from the CCTV’s.

The path took us straight to the turnstiles at the North Stand. Once inside all the facilities were cramped and on the ground floor concourse. That said, they were a million miles away from the squalor of the original Den. I got upstairs to be greeted with as loud a welcome as I’ve heard in a very long time.

The Millwall fans were making a real racket from the upper tiers nearest the City fans either side of us. No wonder they hold the record for the longest home unbeaten run. When they belted out “No-one likes us” it was fearsome indeed. Then the teams emerged to the jaunty 50’s club song called “Let em Come”. Even that was sung with menace.

The stewards crammed all the City fans in together. There were about 1,800 Tigers fans in attendance. The stadium is one of the better new builds I’ve been to. It was pretty basic and symmetrical, but it worked. All four stands have two tiers of seats with the sides having corporate boxes dividing the levels. An electric board in the corner to our left showed the game live on Millwall TV.

The Lions had just been promoted and the team and fans were really up for the first home game, especially after a great 3-0 win at Bristol City the previous week. City had as much possession, but Millwall were quicker, faster and stronger. The fact that City played with just Richard Garcia up front didn’t helped as the ball kept coming back. The game was effectively over by half time with the hosts 2-0 up.

I’m all for a home fans getting behind their team, but some of the behaviour from the younger chavs in the East Stand was pushing it. The end section was empty as a buffer section with stewards forming a corden to keep them in their place. When they scored they broke through and just looked for sheer provocation. The policy seemed to be to keep the away fans under tight control and let the home fans do what they wanted. 

On balance, some of Hull’s finest were also on parade for the day. Millwall as a club have dome everything they can to solve their hooligan problem, but they will always fight a losing battle. Many youths see being a Millwall hooligan as a badge of honour. Even the kids in the lower tiers were aggressive and encouraged by their elders. It’s a never ending production line.

City brought on the impressive new signing Robert Koren and youngster Mark Cullen in the second half and did improve, but unfortunately they were still leaky at the back, letting in another two goals.

After the game we were held in a yard outside the away end for ten minutes and then for another twenty minutes in the alleyway. The police then took us upstairs to a waiting empty train. Some half-witted home fans had waited all that time just to abuse us from the wrong side of a gate before we got to the platform.

The train soon had us back to a massive police presence on the London Bridge platforms and I was soon on a tube back to the right side of the Thames. I was glad I experienced The Den. Millwall fans do create a great atmosphere. 

It’s just a shame they have a sizeable minority who have to go too far. I dread to think what’s its like down there when they play Leeds or West Ham if that many police are on duty against Hull City?

All in all, like the original Den in 1984, I was glad I’d been and crossed it off my list of ninety two grounds.

Millwall U21’s 1 Hull City U21’s 3 (Tuesday 23^rd February 2016) Under 21’s Premier League Cup Quarter Final (att: approx. 250)

During my set of night shifts I was alerted to a lunchtime kick off at The New Den on the day I completed my set of shifts. Enquiries took me to the Millwall website where I purchased my ticket for £5 in advance.

I really needed to get up and about, so following an early alarm call I was off on the tube and then a train down to South Bermondsey from London Bridge. Just over five minutes later I collected my ticket and was given a free teamsheet before climbing up the executive steps at the rear of the Main Stand.

The lounge was offering hot drinks and biscuits for a very fair £1. The room would usually be used on a first team matchday for lunches and hospitality. Some fabulous old photos covering the club history adorned the walls around the place.

Fans could sit where they wanted towards the centre of the upper tier. It offered a first class view as the youngsters of both clubs came out on a bright but cold early afternoon.

Millwall were the better side early on. A good low shot from Mikael Ndjoli was brilliantly turned round the post by City keeper Rory Wilson. On six minutes the home team went ahead, when a penalty was awarded for a clumsy challenge. Jamie Philpot slotted away the spot kick.

The Tigers gradually worked their way into the game. Lions goalie Harry Girling made a fine save from Max Clark’s long range free kick. However, the visitors were level just after the half hour mark. They won possession before Johan Ter-Host fired home from the edge of the box. The teams went in level at the break.

Millwall again came out well on the restart, but could not break down a competent City defence. On the hour mark Greg Olley made it 2-1 to the visitors as he slotted the ball across the keeper into the far corner. I was pleasantly surprised how many fans cheered the goal. Perhaps some were on their way to that evening’s away game at Ipswich?

With nine minutes remaining it became 3-1 as substitute Dan Batty pounced to net after a corner wasn’t cleared. City held out to secure a semi-final away to Huddersfield Town. Both teams had played their part in a fine game.

It was certainly good value for money for a fiver, and I certainly took more notice of any further midweek lunchtime games. I headed back on the same route to get warm and have a bite to eat before heading off to the Barnet v Portsmouth match.

Millwall 1 Cardiff City 1 (Friday 9^th February 2016) Football League Championship (att: 13,204)

My antipodean pal Steve ‘Potholes’ Williams was keen to watch fellow Aussie, Tim Cahill in action in his comeback at Millwall. I scanned the fixtures and saw that I had the Friday off work of the Cardiff game, so I bought tickets online.

We met at The Falcon in Clapham Junction before taking the Overground to Peckham Rye. My intention was to call in at the Brick Brewery Tap, but it was closed for refurbishment. We made do with a couple of pints of Estrella in the cleverly named Peckham Springs.

A further train took us to South Bermondsey for 7.30, just as the crowds were making their way to the stadium. I was just commenting to my mate about the special atmosphere of a night game and the allure of the smell of burgers and the buzz of anticipation, when he got a taste of the 80’s.

A visiting supporters coach had either taken a wrong turning or had turned up late. It was now on Ilderton Road, right in the middle of the Millwall fans. Missiles were being thrown, and tensions were high. Some City fans were trying to get off the coach to engage.

I’d warned Steve that it might have been a volatile atmosphere, and had related some tales of the old days. Police along with their horses were rushing to the scene. I looked round to see my mate heading back around the corner for a proper look.

I’d bought us unreserved seats for £23 upstairs in the South Stand behind the goal. Steve grabbed a last minute beer. He was a regular visitor for a rapid refill. I tried a reasonable enough steak and ale pie.

The game got off to a dramatic start as City went 1-0 up after just four minutes when Junior Hoilett smashed the ball past Jordan Archer from twenty yards to send the away fans wild. The Lions were stung, but gradually got into the game.

Veteran striker Steve Morison controlled the ball in the box before hitting his shot against the bar with Neil Etheridge well beaten in the Bluebirds goal before the keeper should have been tested more from the same player.

The atmosphere was loud and passionate. Millwall fans really got behind their side in between giving abuse to visiting manager Neil Warnock, who was constantly berating from the touchline. The visiting fans also helped to crank up the noise.

Lee Gregory came close to an equaliser before he made no mistake five minutes from the interval, as he fired home a low cross from Jed Wallace. We went downstairs for refreshments at the break as Steve continued making new friends.

Etheridge made fine saves from Ben Marshall and then Wallace, as Millwall turned the screw after the break. It really looked like the Londoners were going to put a dent in Cardiff’s promotion hopes. However, the men from South Wales gained control nearer the end of the match.

They gradually put pressure on, as the Lions found it difficult to retain possession. It looked as though Sol Bamba had won all three points for City, only for referee Keith Stroud to disallow the goal and bring play back for a head injury.

Warnock was going berserk at the side of the pitch. It did seem a strange decision. There was time for hosts boss Neil Harris to send on Cahill for the final few minutes, but there wasn’t time for any real impression.

The atmosphere was still crackling on the way back to the station. We got sat with six Norwegians who were over for four matches throughout the weekend and were pleasant fellows. The noise from the home fans even echoed around London Bridge as they alighted the train.

It had been a really good night out under the lights, with a proper old school atmosphere. It was certainly more pleasant at The Den as a ‘home fan’!

Millwall u18s 3 Fleetwood Town u18s 1 (Wednesday 8^th January 2020) FA Youth Cup Round Four (att: 411)

This turned out to be one of those matches where you walked away shaking your head wondering how did that happen? Excellent entertainment for a fiver including a free teamsheet and what turned into a decent evening out.

Steve Barnes joined me for his maiden voyage to The New Den as we took the Jubilee line to London Bridge and then train to South Bermondsey. Team and coffee for a quid with free biscuits accompanied the friendly atmosphere.

The visiting Cod Army were deservedly 1-0 up and in charge at the interval following an impetuous challenge by home keeper Leighton Fanshawe allowing Kian Makepeace to tuck the spot kick away.

We struggled how to see how Millwall were going to score. Visiting centre back James Hill was dominant and looked a class act. A Sean O'Brien free kick for the hosts from a narrow angle stung the palms of Town goalie Scott Pengelly just before half time.

A free header at the back post from a corner was nodded home by Alex Mitchell to square things up on fifty two minutes, before left back Chibuike Ezennolim had a brainstorm a minute later and made a shocking challenge to receive a straight red.

It looked odds on as though Fleetwood would go on to win. They piled on the pressure with the Lions replying with an occasional counter. A shot smashed off the bar before Jamie Cooke charged down Fanshawe's attempted clearance with the ball fizzing just over the bar.

A break released home winger Nana Boateng who cut in from the flank to lay the ball square to Abdul Abdulmalik who slotted home with fifteen minutes left on the clock. It was backs to the wall for the home side as they tried to preserve their advantage.

Another Millwall foray saw a foul on the edge of the box to allow O'Brien to fire home his free kick into the corner past a poorly constructed wall. Several Fleetwood players sunk to the turf in utter disbelief.

My pal and I headed out just into stoppage time and were offered a free pie each on the way out. Luvverly jubberly as they say round those parts. Then it was on to post match libations, initially near Borough Market.

Beers with a true ale/pub aficionado mate, but the attitude & service in the pubs was generally shocking. Beer like vinegar in first pub; The Sheaf. The staff changed it but then went straight back on their phones, not bothering to turn pump clip round.

Some poor other sod would undoubtedly get stung. Replacement ale was average at best, but I didn’t want to interrupt the lasses or the surly fella who gave off the impression that he was doing the punters a favour.

Waterloo Tap served a good pint. A lass started clearing the tables & moved half a pint from where a bloke had been sitting and left his coat while he went to the loo. Fortunately, he was so paggered that he forgot he had some beer left and departed. Poor though.

The Harp. An outstanding pub with superb ale. I asked the staff what time they stopped serving. 11.30 I was told by the polite foreign barman. At 11.22 the bouncer came over to tell us we had eight minutes to drink up.

This was either through a lack of communication or lack of understanding of the law. Sorted after we explained our stance, but unnecessary with proper training.

All in all, it had been excellent company and a fun evening, but I went away totally understanding as to why people have stopped using pubs. I was definitely getting more and more fussy with age.

Wednesday 2nd December 2020

Click here to read about a further visit as part of my 100 mile Sawasdee Cup Charity Walk late in 2020 as I called in on all the clubs in the top five tiers within Greater London to raise money for Junior Cricket Development in Thailand.