Millwall 2 United 1 - report

[bricktop]

My summary

The football was shite, the beer was expensive but the day out with my mates was awesome

Same as it ever was

 

[Sirius]

My summary

The football was shite, the beer was expensive but the day out with my mates was awesome

Same as it ever was

Welcome back Brownie,you have. Been missed

 

[Patrick Suffaux]

We are the strongest team in League One. We are propping everyone else up.

 

[Pollingtonblade]

My summary

The football was shite, the beer was expensive but the day out with my mates was awesome

Same as it ever was

And what about the tits in the flying Scotsman ?

 

[Rodders]

My summary

The football was shite, the beer was expensive but the day out with my mates was awesome

Same as it ever was

My highlight was the live streaming of the inside of your pocket at around 11.30 last night.

 

[FinBlade]

I really like the way the team played in this match. Shorter passing, moving around and looked more like a team playing together. Watched the game via BladesPlayer but I still think it's step to the right direction.

 

[billyblademan]

I really like the way the team played in this match. Shorter passing, moving around and looked more like a team playing together. Watched the game via BladesPlayer but I still think it's step to the right direction.

Aye, you could almost claim we were unlucky, but not quite as Millwall pushed on the last 15 mins or so, and we had no response really.

First half we were arguably the better of 2 fairly average team. I personally liked that Scougs and Duffy came inside and got involved, rather than being isolated on the wing. This gave room for the full backs to take up the winger position, which happened a couple of times but no more than that.

Second half they came out flying, with 3 good chances in the first 5 minutes. Moore pulled off a good one on one save. We recovered then, and the game seemed to go back into the first half mediocrity, but we weren't creating chances really. Done came on and harried (as he is wont to do), but as I say they were definitely the aggressors going into the last 10/15, although its obviously gutting to concede a last minute penalty.

The 4 recalled/new players I thought were probably the best of a below par bunch - Moore, Freeman, Coutts and Scougall. Are any of them long term answers? Probably not, apart from Moore - although happy to be wrong, it seems Freeman in particular will have a chance with Brayf gone.

Sharp and Clarke were comfortably our worst players.

 

[1danewhitehouse]

Cheers for the report as always Deadbat. I always respect your views, so you writing this...



....after just four league games seems quite ominous.

I still think that we could do well this season, maybe get a couple more in now, pick up some results, then two more in the JTW. The first win, when it comes, will be a massive confidence-booster. Let's hope it comes on Saturday.

League positions don't matter at this stage. Pick up a couple of wins and we could be challenging for a play off position.

PS if anyone has a spare Wimbledon ticket, offer it to Deadbat so we'll get a decent report

I don’t think it’s so much about the league position but about the fact that in 4 league games, the only effort on goal that would cause a GK any problems has been Sharp’s v Rochdale. We’ve spent most of that time chasing games and failing to even trouble a ‘keeper at all. Watching games it all just looks so utterly hopeless.


p.s. Thanks for the report Deadbat. Good read as always.

 

[coaxingstar71]

I really enjoyed reading the non-match items in your report Deadbat !

The match items are just depressing.

 

[1980]

"Crowd / Day Out – First visit to the New Den. Ground is lacking in character and is very box like in structure. View was decent from the away end although why they gave you seats when it seemed to be all unreserved and you could just sit anywhere? We had seats with numbers in a bit that was blocked off so ended up sitting right behind the goal in a decent view in the end!"

First thing...it has never, ever been called the 'New Den', either officially or unofficially. It has always been The Den.

Millwall are the only senior club in England to earn their nickname through footballing endeavour. We were nicknamed the 'Dockers', as the club is named after Millwall Docks, and most of the fanbase were dockers. However, we pioneered professional football in the south of England & were its first shining light - creating the Southern League (which went on to be absorbed by the Football League) and knocking out the early giants of the English games from the north & midlands in the FA Cup. Preston, Everton and Aston Villa all were given a good lesson in the old Eastend by a Millwall side the press started to nickname the 'Lions of the South'. And as Millwall reached and unluckily lost two FA Cup Semi-Finals at the dawn of the 20th century the 'Lions' nickname was made popular and stuck to the club.

Therefore, when the club moved to New Cross in 1910 to a new ground someone had the bright idea of simply giving that the name 'The Den'. Millwall will always play at The Den, as they will always be the 'Lions'. We simply left that ground, and so it became the Old Den. Besides, the 'new' Den is 23 years old now!!

Which brings me on to the next point, we all felt as you do when we first moved - that the ground was boxy & characterless. However, as times has gone on and more and more clubs have moved to new, shiny bowl stadiums out by some motorway, the 'new' Den has actually gained character in my humble opinion. As far as a new stadium goes it actually suits us - in that it looks like one of those rag-tag Eastern European grounds you see in the early rounds of the CL or in Euro qualifiers. It doesn't look like a 'cool' or 'comfortable' place for a fun, family day out. The leg-room is cramp, the roof is rusting, there are those barbed rings around the place. It is surrounded by industrial units and scrap metal yards. You have to either walk past a traveller camp & lorry scrap yard or via a special walkway depending on if you are a home or away fan from the station.

But, it you want character...how many other grounds can you see the Millennium Dome, Canary Wharf or Shard from, depending on where you sit. Yeah, it is boxy, but at least it hasn't been dumped by a motorway or in a retail park. However, as Brammall Lane is a grand old stadium that oozes character I can see where you are coming from - but, surely, The Den should be compared to other 'new' stadiums, like Colchester's, Shrewsbury's, Leicester's etc. Not golden oldies like t'Lane.

Anyways, I digress. Yes, behind both goals you are allowed to sit anywhere in a block. There is no particular seat you have to sit in. The Met agreed to this as long as 500 seats are kept spare in each stand behind the goal - to avoid crowding / safety issues for big games. I think it is a great thing - means you can turn up with mates or meet them on the day & sit together no matter what. Season tickets in the Cold Blow Lane are for a block only - seats are first come, first served.

 

[1980]

Come on...I love our setting. Beats the M4 any day of the week!

 

[1980]

As for the match...

Christ it was dull. Which is understandable - both teams under the microscope, League One players, both manager's desperate not to lose.

Harris insists on the long ball approach being our best option. It isn't. Pressing and breaking on the wings is - as proved by a better opening to the second half.

I think it is a modern football fan disease to suggest that passing a ball around a lot = domination or 'having the better of it'. The Blades went nowhere bar one attack - where Craig helped out by deflecting the ball past Archer (he didn't muck it up btw).

However, a win is a win. And think that despite all the doom & gloom on here, that you will pick up and us pinching in the last minute will be considered a good result in May.

I just hope Harris is waiting for knowing which players will be available to loan from the likes of Spurs etc - as we are desperate for a midfielder. As someone said on this or another thread, main difference was we had Webster at the back & Morison & Gregory up top. Throw in a decent loan like wallace again, and we should be top 3/4 again easy. Until then we look at bit desperate with long balls.

 

[Deadbat]

"Crowd / Day Out – First visit to the New Den. Ground is lacking in character and is very box like in structure. View was decent from the away end although why they gave you seats when it seemed to be all unreserved and you could just sit anywhere? We had seats with numbers in a bit that was blocked off so ended up sitting right behind the goal in a decent view in the end!"

First thing...it has never, ever been called the 'New Den', either officially or unofficially. It has always been The Den.

Millwall are the only senior club in England to earn their nickname through footballing endeavour. We were nicknamed the 'Dockers', as the club is named after Millwall Docks, and most of the fanbase were dockers. However, we pioneered professional football in the south of England & were its first shining light - creating the Southern League (which went on to be absorbed by the Football League) and knocking out the early giants of the English games from the north & midlands in the FA Cup. Preston, Everton and Aston Villa all were given a good lesson in the old Eastend by a Millwall side the press started to nickname the 'Lions of the South'. And as Millwall reached and unluckily lost two FA Cup Semi-Finals at the dawn of the 20th century the 'Lions' nickname was made popular and stuck to the club.

Therefore, when the club moved to New Cross in 1910 to a new ground someone had the bright idea of simply giving that the name 'The Den'. Millwall will always play at The Den, as they will always be the 'Lions'. We simply left that ground, and so it became the Old Den. Besides, the 'new' Den is 23 years old now!!

Which brings me on to the next point, we all felt as you do when we first moved - that the ground was boxy & characterless. However, as times has gone on and more and more clubs have moved to new, shiny bowl stadiums out by some motorway, the 'new' Den has actually gained character in my humble opinion. As far as a new stadium goes it actually suits us - in that it looks like one of those rag-tag Eastern European grounds you see in the early rounds of the CL or in Euro qualifiers. It doesn't look like a 'cool' or 'comfortable' place for a fun, family day out. The leg-room is cramp, the roof is rusting, there are those barbed rings around the place. It is surrounded by industrial units and scrap metal yards. You have to either walk past a traveller camp & lorry scrap yard or via a special walkway depending on if you are a home or away fan from the station.

But, it you want character...how many other grounds can you see the Millennium Dome, Canary Wharf or Shard from, depending on where you sit. Yeah, it is boxy, but at least it hasn't been dumped by a motorway or in a retail park. However, as Brammall Lane is a grand old stadium that oozes character I can see where you are coming from - but, surely, The Den should be compared to other 'new' stadiums, like Colchester's, Shrewsbury's, Leicester's etc. Not golden oldies like t'Lane.

Anyways, I digress. Yes, behind both goals you are allowed to sit anywhere in a block. There is no particular seat you have to sit in. The Met agreed to this as long as 500 seats are kept spare in each stand behind the goal - to avoid crowding / safety issues for big games. I think it is a great thing - means you can turn up with mates or meet them on the day & sit together no matter what. Season tickets in the Cold Blow Lane are for a block only - seats are first come, first served.

Apologies on the New Den comment.

The location comments just described what was round the ground. The Lane is hardly in a particularly great area too. As you say better to be in that sort of an area or just off a motorway or nowhere near anything of note; Bolton other week a casing point.

The ground itself is not new as you say and is a lot older than I thought - 23 years wow. You can tell! As you say not best facilities inside but I bet when full it is a great atmosphere. I expected a greater level of intimidaton to be honest. It was all a bit.' Is that it?' both before and after. Not that I was asking too be threatened or feel unsafe of course but you kind of are ready for a lot more trouble. Heard last year there was? Millwall fans on the train were really friendly after the game which was good and fans were mixing. I think by locking you in it adds to the problems and gets people wound up - we were allowed to leave fulll time and saw no issues whatsoever. Mind you seems a lot of our big, hard chav fans did not fancy this - not many there from what I saw and none of the throwing beer antics at half time.

The Den is in a great place in terms of proximity to London and so many great sights and things to do. It took us 10 mins to get to from Greenwich which was a lovely place to walk/drink. Quick to get back to centre of London after.

No probs with unreserved seats - just could not understand why it did not say or there was not a message pre game - understand why they have to print ticket numbers/seats so aware of sales etc but been nice to know as lots of other fans were looking for seats that did not exist or quibbling to sit where someone else was sat Personally love unreserved seating. Great idea as those who want to stand can go to the back etc

Will definitely come again but hopefully both of us in the league above.

 

[1980]

Apologies on the New Den comment.

The location comments just described what was round the ground. The Lane is hardly in a particularly great area too. As you say better to be in that sort of an area or just off a motorway or nowhere near anything of note; Bolton other week a casing point.

The ground itself is not new as you say and is a lot older than I thought - 23 years wow. You can tell! As you say not best facilities inside but I bet when full it is a great atmosphere. I expected a greater level of intimidaton to be honest. It was all a bit.' Is that it?' both before and after. Not that I was asking too be threatened or feel unsafe of course but you kind of are ready for a lot more trouble. Heard last year there was? Millwall fans on the train were really friendly after the game which was good and fans were mixing. I think by locking you in it adds to the problems and gets people wound up - we were allowed to leave fulll time and saw no issues whatsoever. Mind you seems a lot of our big, hard chav fans did not fancy this - not many there from what I saw and none of the throwing beer antics at half time.

The Den is in a great place in terms of proximity to London and so many great sights and things to do. It took us 10 mins to get to from Greenwich which was a lovely place to walk/drink. Quick to get back to centre of London after.

No probs with unreserved seats - just could not understand why it did not say or there was not a message pre game - understand why they have to print ticket numbers/seats so aware of sales etc but been nice to know as lots of other fans were looking for seats that did not exist or quibbling to sit where someone else was sat Personally love unreserved seating. Great idea as those who want to stand can go to the back etc

Will definitely come again but hopefully both of us in the league above.

No need to apologise - paid journalist get that wrong quite a bit too. Although, have noticed in recent years (since ground turned 20) that the incorrect 'new' has been dropped.

I should think it is quick to get back to the centre of London from The Den - as it is inner city London

As for 'I expected a greater level of intimidation to be honest'... That is because of the rep. I think most away fans expect to be attacked the minute they get into Bermondsey, or for all sides of the ground to be baying for their blood for 90 minutes non-stop...and are almost disappointed not to be attacked or at least feel like they might be.

The ground can be very intimidating - but it needs to have some of the right ingredients.

If it is a big match it will be loud & intimidating - take Wolves on a Friday night one year, or Huddersfield in the play-offs. You actually saw their players wilt on the pitch. In fact even Sky & the media picked up on the fact that Huddersfield players stopped going wide & were reluctant to take corners and throw-ins. And Wolves players look like rabbits caught in the headlights. As did Villa in the Cup a couple of years back. And of course you have the infamous play-off riots v Derby & Birmingham City.

Or if the away side brings a big hooligan following - I've seen us play Cardiff, Stoke City, Wigan and Birmingham City play in front of crowds of no more than 10-11,000 and for it to be extremely intimidating. Indeed, we played Birmingham City in a League Cup game in front of just 7,000 and their fanzine described it as 'ground zero for football' as they felt it was going to go off any minute.

And if the other club are a big scalp in terms of hooligans. No matter what the division or importance of the game v Leeds, Man City, West Ham, Chelsea and believe it or not Arsenal, it has always been a nasty, nasty atmosphere. We played Spurs in a pre-season friendly once & the Met described it as the worst crowd control situation they had to deal with for years - and they police Spurs/Arsenal, Spurs/Chelsea and Spurs/West Ham all the time.

However, we played you on a nice August day early season, off the back of a 5-1 drubbing to poxy Peterborough & less home fans turned up than what we averaged last year - some on holiday, some put off by drubbing. You lot brought less fans than you usually do (for good reason too - so not a pop), and after the disorder last season (your mob actually arranged a meet) the police were out in force and therefore your firm did not travel & so ours did not bother showing up either.

Hence it was a pretty ordinary atmosphere - in fact it was subdued even more by the bang average Div3 football on show.

As an side, Charlton fans always say that the atmosphere at The Den is no more intimidating than anywhere else - but that is because for Millwall fans that is a nice friendly, family derby.

Yet, if you ask West Ham or Chelsea fans they will say The Den is the only place they have ever feared for their lives. And I mean really feared for their lives.

It is just that all fans expect the West Ham level of achievement.

You lot got the low key August game treatment. Yet, if we met in the Play-Offs on a Friday night then you may feel more like the West Ham fans!

However, I think what sets The Den apart from most grounds is the fact that even if it is low key, it only takes a small spark to set it off. If we played Fleetwood in front of 7,000 on a cold Tuesday night for a mid-table game and one of their players hacked one of ours down and then offered an angry Dockers Lower out, someone would take him up on it and try and knock him out...which would lead to the whole ground getting involved, and it probably going off with the police on a large scale. I have seen this happen a few times.

Let's put it this way - The Crystal Palace Ultras think they actually make Selhurst Park a bear-pit by banging a drum, dressing black and waving big banners...but if Eric Cantona had karate kicked one of our fans I don't think the Manchester United team would have been able to leave until about 3am...and that's if they had a coach left.

Again - before start, this isn't Danny Dyer crap / or gloating or being 'proud' of hooligans...just an honest response. I know my club & I can carry the cross.

 

[The Crab]

Danny Dyer crap, the three truest words on the Internet, just needs an "is" adding

 

[Roygbiv]

Just reading this excellent report from Deadbat with a big smile on my face. I agreed with every word at the time (probably even more negative to be honest) and it's amazing how things have changed. What a season this will be if we finish off the job

 

[boo radley]

Was working in London that day. I remember driving out whilst listening and the penalty given in the last few minutes.Had a bit of a road rage incident with an Asian guy who threatened to kill me. I just kept laughing at him as if whatever he said or did, did not matter.
It certainly don't matter now.

 

[RammyBlade]

A

Just reading this excellent report from Deadbat with a big smile on my face. I agreed with every word at the time (probably even more negative to be honest) and it's amazing how things have changed. What a season this will be if we finish off the job

Amazing the transformation although I didnt think we were quite as bad as Deadbat said in his report I nevertheless thought that it was going to be a struggle for the season ...............and here we are now 11 points ahead of 3rd place with just 10 matches left. If someone had forecast that at that time I would have suggested they see a psychiatrist !!

 

[diplomat]

Was working in London that day. I remember driving out whilst listening and the penalty given in the last few minutes.Had a bit of a road rage incident with an Asian guy who threatened to kill me. I just kept laughing at him as if whatever he said or did, did not matter.
It certainly don't matter now.

Because you ran him over?

 

[Roygbiv]

Just read the Southend home game report. It's genuinely incredible how things have changed. I know a few people were saying it's early days and not to panic but walking out of that game against Southend was one of the most depressing nights I had as a Blade. We just looked so poor that I'd have snatched your hand off at a mid table place. To be 8 points clear at the top with 10 games left is an even bigger achievement given our start. Not just in terms of the paltry points talley but in how quickly and dramatically the performances improved

 

[Treeton Blade]

Just read the Southend home game report. It's genuinely incredible how things have changed. I know a few people were saying it's early days and not to panic but walking out of that game against Southend was one of the most depressing nights I had as a Blade. We just looked so poor that I'd have snatched your hand off at a mid table place. To be 8 points clear at the top with 10 games left is an even bigger achievement given our start. Not just in terms of the paltry points talley but in how quickly and dramatically the performances improved

The Southend game still brings a shudder.

A man who only knows success in charge, and we had somehow got worse!

Also half time v Oxford at the Lane, 0-1 down.
Thought the season was over before it begun.

That`s why I have savoured every moment since, Wilsons header v Oxford, and Sharps pen at Gillingham, big big moments that kick started our season.

 

[tam89]

I just remember the feeling of defeat was a bit of a normality after this game trudging up that crappy lane to the station, then the run that came after totally flipped that on it's head.

oooo tufty gizz a kiss.

 

[wakefieldblade]

Just look at our form since those first 4 games, unbelievable!!!

 

[Dronfield_Blade]

I hope if we do get promoted/win the league that they do a DVD again like they did with the 05/06 season.

 

[Deadbat]

Just reading this excellent report from Deadbat with a big smile on my face. I agreed with every word at the time (probably even more negative to be honest) and it's amazing how things have changed. What a season this will be if we finish off the job

How wrong was I! What a load of crap I wrote about Wilder being done already etc....huge humble pie for me.

I was just thinking of getting on the train outside the ground and thinking it was another season down the shitter. A relegation battle possible and a new manager again maybe.

We seemed so low that day. What Wilder has done to turn it round and to get us where he has is nothing short of phenomenal. Just to finish the job now.

 

[ourbob]

Nice to read about the match that I dint remember much about due to alcohol.