Millwall F.C.

Millwall

Full name	Millwall Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Lions[1]
Founded	1885, as Millwall Rovers (–1889)[2] Millwall Athletic (1889–1910)[3]
Ground	The Den[4] London, England (Capacity: 20,146[5])
Owner	Millwall Holdings PLC[6] (LSE: MWH)
Chairman	John Berylson[7][8]
Manager	Kenny Jackett[9]
League	The Championship
2009–10	League One, 3rd (Play-off winners)
Website	Club home page
Largest win	9–1 v Coventry City[10] 9–1 v Torquay United[10]
Largest defeat	1–8 v Plymouth Argyle[11]
All-time top scorer	Neil Harris (136)
Home colours Away colours

Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in Bermondsey in the London Borough of Southwark, South East London. They are known as The Lions and have played at their ground The Den since 1993. They have retained the Millwall name despite having last played in the Millwall area, on the Isle of Dogs in 1910. They currently play in The Championship after gaining promotion through a 1–0 victory over Swindon Town in the 2009-10 League One Play-off Final.

Their traditional strip consists of blue shirts, white shorts and blue socks. Their current strip celebrates the 125 year anniversary of the club in 2010.^[12] The colour pays homage to the Scottish roots of the club and the first ever kit worn by Millwall in 1885, which they played in up until 1936.^[13] It is a darker Dundee blue for their shirts and socks, with white shorts.

Millwall reached the 2004 FA Cup Final, losing to Manchester United. As United had already qualified for the UEFA Champions League that season, Millwall qualified for the Uefa Cup the following season and played in Europe for the first time in their history.^[14]

The club's best final league position is 10th place in the 1988–89 First Division.^[15] Based on all results during their time in Football League up to 2008-09, Millwall are ranked as the all-time 41st most successful English football club domestically.^[16]

History

Beginnings of Millwall FC: 1885–1919

The first Millwall Rovers kit in 1885, with MRFC on the shirt.^[13]

Millwall Rovers were founded by the workers of J.T Morton in Millwall in the East End of London on the Isle of Dogs in 1885.^[2] J.T. Morton was first founded in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1849 to supply sailing ships with food. They opened their first English cannery and food processing plant on the Isle of Dogs at the Millwall dock in 1870, and attracted a workforce from across the whole of the country, including the East Coast of Scotland who were predominantly Dundee dockers. The club secretary was seventeen year old Jasper John Sexton^[17] (pictured left), the son of the landlord of The Islander Pub in Tooke Street where Millwall held their meetings. Millwall Rovers' first fixture was on 3 October 1885 against Fillebrook, who played in Leytonstone. The newly formed team was well beaten 5–0. In November 1886, the East End Football Association was formed, and along with it came a Senior Cup Competition. Millwall made it to the final against London Caledonians. The game was played at the Leyton Cricket Ground. The match finished 2–2 and the teams shared the cup for six months each. Millwall went on to win the East London Senior Cup at the first attempt. They went on to win it for the following two years and the trophy became their property.

Millwall Rovers with the East London Cup, 1887.^[3]

Now playing under the name of Millwall Athletic, they went on to become founder members of the Southern League which they won for the first two years of its existence and were runners up in its third. In those days, The Football League was in its infancy and consisted mostly of northern clubs. In the south, the Southern League was not only seen as a rival league, but on equal par. Millwall were also the Western League Champions in 1908 and 1909. Millwall played on a variety of grounds on the Isle of Dogs. It was not unusual for Millwall to attract thirty or forty thousand spectators to a game, especially at their second ground at East Ferry Road.

They are most famous for The Den at New Cross, London, which they moved to in 1910.^[18] They had previously occupied no fewer than four separate grounds on the Isle Of Dogs in the 25 years since their formation as a football club. The estimated cost of The Den was £10,000. The first match was on Saturday 22 October 1910 against the reigning Southern League Champions Brighton & Hove Albion, who spoiled the celebrations by winning 0–1.

Entering the Football League: 1920–1970

Millwall's first Football League match at The Den was on 28 August 1920. They beat Bristol Rovers 2–0.^[19] This victory over Rovers was the Lions' seventh successive win against them since moving to The Den. The game was played in the Football League Division 3 South, of which Millwall were founder members.

The 1936–39 kit changed from Dundee blue to navy blue in 1936. It was the first appearance of the Leaping Lion crest on the kit.[13]

They became known as a hard-fighting Cup team and competed in various memorable matches, notably defeating three-time league winners (and reigning champions) Huddersfield Town 3–1 in the third round of the FA Cup in 1927. Matches against Derby County, Sunderland and others that saw packed crowds of forty-eight thousand plus in the 1930s and 1940s. However, it can be argued that the biggest cup upset came in the fourth round of the FA Cup on 26 January 1957, when Millwall beat the then mighty Newcastle United 2–1, watched by a crowd of 45,646, at a time when The Lions were fighting for Third Division survival. Millwall were the tenth best supported team in England in the pre-war years, despite being a Third, then Second Division side. Many thought they would go on to become one of England's best clubs, that is until the Second World War cruelly robbed them of their chance.

On 7 April 1945, Millwall appeared in a Southern FA Cup Final at Wembley against Chelsea, but because it was an unofficial Wartime Cup Final it is not acknowledged in the record books.^[20] With the War in Europe in its last days, there was a relaxation on the number of spectators allowed to attend games. The attendance was 90,000, which is the largest crowd Millwall have ever played in front of.

With the loss of so many young men during the World War II it was difficult for all clubs to retain their former status. This was especially true for Millwall, who appeared to suffer more than most. From being one of the country's biggest clubs before the war, Millwall were reduced to one of its smallest afterwards. The Den sustained severe bomb damage during The London Blitz.

A German bomb hit The North Terrace on 19 April 1943 and on 26 April, a fire destroyed the main stand. The club accepted offers from neighbours Charlton, Crystal Palace and West Ham to stage games.^[20] On 24 February 1944 Millwall returned to The Den, to play in an all-standing stadium. This was achieved, in part, with considerable volunteer labour by the Lions fans.

Their form during the 1950s was poor, and they suffered relegation on a regular basis. One highlight during this period was on 5 October 1953, when Millwall played Manchester United to mark the opening of their floodlights. A crowd of 25,000 saw The Lions beat The Red Devils 2–1. In the 1958-59 season, Millwall became founder members of Division Four. It wasn't until the early 1960s that things began to change. During this time, they discovered a number of useful players, such as winger Barry Rowan and goalkeeper Alex Stepney.

The class of '71: 1971–1987

Later in the decade, Millwall established an incredible record of 59 home games without defeat from: 22 August 1964 to 14 January 1967. This was thanks largely to managers Billy Gray, who laid the foundations, and Benny Fenton, a former player who continued to build on Gray's side. All the players were presented with a commemorative gold cigarette lighter by the Football Association. In the early 1970s Millwall boasted a truly impressive side, now remembered by Lions fans as "The Class of '71". This was a team that boasted the inspirational Harry Cripps, Dennis Burnett, Derek Possee, Barry Kitchener, Eamon Dunphy, Keith Weller, Doug Allder, Bryan King, and more. They lost out on promotion to the old Division One by just one point. In 1974 Millwall hosted the first game to be played on a Sunday against Fulham.

George Graham was Millwall manager from 1983 to 1986, and during that time he guided the club to promotion to the Second Division. Millwall also won the Football League Group Trophy, beating Lincoln City 2–3.

The top flight: 1988–1996

Cascarino and Sheringham scored 99 goals between them, in three seasons together.^[21]

Graham's replacement was Glaswegian John Docherty. In his second season as manager, Millwall surprised observers by winning the Second Division championship and gained promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time in their history.^[22][23]

This version of the leaping lion has been on the clubs' crest from 1979–1999, and from 2007–present.^[13]

Millwall had a good start to the 1988-89 First Division campaign, topping the League on 1 October 1988 having played 6 games- winning 4, drawing 2, losing 0 and rarely being out of the top five before Christmas. This was mainly due to their Tony Cascarino and Teddy Sheringham, also, Terry Hurlock and team Captain Les Briley who totally dominated the Millwall midfield. Millwall's first top division season ended with a tenth place finish, which was the lowest place occupied by the club all season. They also briefly led the league for one night in September 1989 after beating Coventry City 4–1, but won only two more games all season and were relegated in bottom place at the end of the 1989-90 campaign.

Just before relegation was confirmed, John Docherty was sacked and replaced by ex-Middlesbrough manager Bruce Rioch. Striker Teddy Sheringham, who later played for the England team and was the highest scoring player throughout the Football League in 1990-91, was sold to Nottingham Forest for £2,000,000 after Millwall's defeat in the Second Division playoffs.

Rioch left Millwall in 1992 to be succeeded by Irish Defender Mick McCarthy. McCarthy guided Millwall to third place in the new Division One at the end of the 1993-94 season. This was their first season at the new ground, also known as The New Den, which was opened by the Labour Party leader John Smith MP on 4 August 1993. The new ground was the first new football stadium to be built in London since the Second World War. They also knocked Arsenal out of the 1994-95 FA Cup in a third round replay, beating them 2–0. They also lost to Derby County in the playoff semi finals that season. McCarthy resigned to take charge of the Republic of Ireland national team on 5 February 1996, shortly after Millwall had been knocked off the top of the Division One table by Sunderland after a 6–0 defeat.

Relegation and administration: 1997–2000

Jimmy Nicholl of Raith Rovers was appointed as McCarthy's replacement, but could not address the slump in form which saw Millwall relegated at the end of the season in 22nd place. Just five months before this they had been top of Division One. Instead Millwall found themselves in Division Two for the 1996-97 season. The club also experienced extreme financial difficulties that resulted in them being placed in financial administration for a short time. Jimmy Nicholl was relieved of his duties and John Docherty returned on a short term basis to stabilise the club at playing level.

The club came out of administration, and new chairman Theo Paphitis appointed ex-West Ham United manager Billy Bonds as manager. This was not a successful season (mainly due to a horrendous series of injuries), with the club hovering close to relegation to the Third Division. Bonds was sacked and replaced by Keith "Rhino" Stevens, with Alan McLeary as his assistant. McLeary was promoted to joint manager.

Keith Stevens and Alan McLeary led Millwall to their first ever official Wembley appearance. The Lions reached the final with a Golden Goal win against Gillingham in the Semi-Finals, and a 2–1 aggregate victory over Walsall in the Regional Final. They faced Wigan Athletic in the Auto Windscreens Final. However, Millwall, who were playing in front of 49,000 of their own fans lost by a single injury time goal. Millwall also lost on aggregate to Wigan in the 2nd Division play-off semi finals in 2000.

Promotion, FA Cup Final and Europe: 2001–2004

Mark McGhee was named as Millwall's new manager in September 2000, and eight months later the club won promotion as Division Two champions, with the team built by Keith Stevens, after five years in the lower tier of the league. Winning the first match of the season 4–0 at home to Norwich City set the team up well for a good season in which Millwall qualified for the Division One playoffs, but lost to eventual winners Birmingham City 0–1 in the semi finals. This meant that they missed out on a second successive promotion, which would have given them a place in the Premiership. Millwall missed out on a playoff place in 2002-03 and McGhee was sacked soon after the start of the 2003-04 season.

In 2003 Dennis Wise, ex-Chelsea and England player, became caretaker, and subsequently permanent player-manager, of the club. In his first season in charge Wise led the club to the first FA Cup final in their history (excluding the 1945 War Cup Final). When Millwall took to the field at the Millennium Stadium they were only the second team from outside the top flight to play in the final since 1982, and were the first team from outside the Premiership to reach the final since its foundation in 1992. They were also missing no less than sixteen players from their squad due to suspension or injury. They played the Cup final on 22 May 2004, losing 3–0 to Manchester United.^[14] As Manchester United had already qualified for the Champions League, Millwall were assured of playing in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup. Millwall midfielder Curtis Weston, substituted for Wise with one minute of normal time remaining, became the youngest Cup Final player in history at 17 years 119 days, beating the 125 year old record of James F. M. Prinsep.^[24]

In the 2004/05 UEFA Cup, Millwall lost 4–2 on aggregate in the first round proper, to Hungarian Champions Ferencváros, with Wise scoring both Millwall goals.

Millwall put up a brave fight in both games, but the Hungarian champions were too strong. Surprisingly, whilst Millwall were seeded, Ferencvaros were not. Millwall could have had an easier draw, against Chechnyan minnows Terek Grozny. If Millwall had beaten them, then they would have made it into the group stage of the competition, where they would have faced some of Europe's elite, including teams such as Lazio and Schalke.

Six managers in two years of upheaval: 2005–2006

The Millwall Routemaster bus standing outside The Den.^[25]

In 2005 Theo Paphitis announced that he was stepping down as chairman of the club with Jeff Burnige to replace him from May 2005. At the end of the 2004-05 season, manager Dennis Wise announced that he was leaving as he was unable to form a working relationship with the new chairman. Steve Claridge (Millwall forward 2001-03) was announced as the new player/manager of Millwall FC. However, when Burnige then stepped down just two months after taking up the post, it was announced on 27 July that Claridge had been sacked after 36 days, without ever taking charge of the team in a competitive match.

Former Watford, Wolves and Walsall manager Colin Lee replaced him but lasted only five months in charge of the club. On 21 December, with the club bottom of the Championship, he became the club's Director of Football and was replaced as manager by 32-year-old player Dave Tuttle, on a short-term contract until the end of the season. Tuttle had no prior experience in football management. In February 2006, Colin Lee left the club altogether. Millwall experienced a very difficult season, possibly as a consequence of having had no fewer than four managers in 2005. Their relegation to League One was confirmed on Monday 17 April 2006 with a 2–0 loss against Southampton and in the clsed season Nigel Spackman was appointed as manager. In September 2006, Theo Paphitis (chairman from 1997 to 2005) ended his 9-year association with the club after a year spell as a non-executive director of The Lions.

On 19 March 2007, Willie Donachie received a two-year contract as reward for excellent progress which had seen the club climb to 11th place in the league. Before Donachie took charge, Millwall had taken only six points from their first ten games. However, the start of the 2007-08 season saw Millwall bottom of the table at the beginning of October. Donachie was sacked on 8 October, with Richard Shaw and Colin West becoming caretaker managers.

The Kenny Jackett era: 2007–

In March 2007 Chestnut Hill Ventures, led by American John Berylson, who have interests in business and financial services, retail, property and sport invested £5m into the club. The continued investment of Berylson, who has since become the club's major shareholder and chairman,^[8] have provided a successful time on and off the pitch for The Lions. The appointment of Kenny Jackett as manager of Millwall on 6 November 2007,^[9] proving key to the success.

Millwall players celebrate promotion to The Championship at Wembley.^[26]

Over the course of the last two seasons Jackett has lead Millwall to two top 6 finishes in League One, in 5th and 3rd respectively. He has a combined record of 49 wins, 20 draws and 23 losses (a 53% win rate). He has won the Manager of the Month award three times while in charge of Millwall. The lions excellent record against teams in the top half of the table was the best in League One in the 09/10 season.

His signings of Steve Morison, Jimmy Abdou and Darren Ward have given Millwall a strong backbone to the team. Also, utlilising the loan market, his shrewd signings of James Henry, Liam Trotter and Shaun Batt (all who he has now signed permanently), helped propel Millwall toward the play-offs, and eventual promotion.

After play-off final heartbreak in the 2008–09 season against Scunthorpe United and losing out on automatic promotion on the last day of the 2009–10 season to Leeds United by 1 point, Millwall made it back to Wembley, finally breaking the play-off hoodoo run of five successive losses. A 1-0 win against Swindon Town, meant Millwall made a return to The Championship, after a four year absence.^[26]

Millwall's first game back in The Championship was a 3-0 away win at Bristol City. The game had been much hyped due to City's signing of then England goalkeeper David James. Only days after the humbling defeat, Steve Coppell resigned as City manager.^[27] The Lions will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the club on 2 October 2010, which is the closest home game date to the first fixture Millwall ever played against Fillebrook on 3 October 1885. Millwall will play Burnley and will wear a special one off kit for the game, made by manufacturers Macron.^[28]

Nicknames

The team nickname is The Lions, previously, The Dockers. They changed the nickname after being referred to as "Lions" for their acts of giant killing in their FA Cup run of 1900, when they reached the semi final. They adopted a lion emblem, and the motto: We Fear No Foe Where E'er We Go. The emblem, however, was not added to their shirts until 1936. The clubs' mascot is a giant lion, known as Zampa.

Their original, but now unused, nickname "The Dockers" arose from the job of many of the club's supporters. Millwall were the only club up to the early 1960s allowed to kick-off home games at 3.15 pm, instead of 3 pm, specifically to allow the dockers and Deal porters to finish their morning shift and arrive at the game on time. In recent years the club has started to once again recognise its unique link with London's docks by introducing 'Docker Days', and archiving the club's dock roots in the Millwall FC Museum.

Stadiums

Main articles: The Den (1993–current) and The Den (1910–1993).

Millwall began life on the Isle Of Dogs and were nomadic in existence, having no fewer than four grounds in 25 years.^[29] Their first home was a piece of waste ground called Glengall Road, which they only stayed at for a year. From 1886 to 1890 they played behind The Lord Nelson pub on East Ferry Road, before being forced to leave by the landlady, who received a better offer for its use.^[29]

They moved to their third home The Athletic Ground on 6th September 1890.^[29] This was their first purpose built ground, with a grandstand that seated 600 people and a overall capacity of between 10,000 and 15,000. As with the previous ground, The Lions were forced to move on, this time by The Millwall Dock Company who wanted to use it as a timber yard. Millwall didn't go far, they relocated in 1901 to a location near their second home, which became known as North Greenwich.^[29] They remained an East London club for a further nine years, with the last game played on the island being on 8 October 1910 against Portsmouth, which Millwall won 3-1.^[30]

On 22 October 1910, Millwall crossed the river to South London, moving to Cold Blow Lane, New Cross. Their fifth ground was called The Den, built at a cost of £10,000 by noted football ground architect Archibald Leitch. The first game played there was against Brighton & Hove Albion, which they lost 1-0.^[30] They remained here for 83 years, until moving to their sixth and current ground, The New Den on 4 August 1993, which is now known simply as The Den. A Sporting Lisbon team, managed by Sir Bobby Robson helped open^[17] the ground by playing a friendly, which The Lions lost 2-1.^[31]

A panorama view of The Den from the East upper stand.

Average attendances

In the last fifty seasons Millwall have averaged an attendence of approximately 9,500, with seventeen of those years being played at the current Den and thirty-three at the Old Den. At the start of the 1950's Millwall were pulling in large crowds, with regular top six finishes. In the 1950-51 season they averaged 20,028,^[32] which was a large number for a Third Division South side. Attendences began to dwindle as the team's fortunes on the pitch changed and the decade drew to a close.^[33]

P = Promoted, R = Relegated, PO = Play-Offs

Traditional songs

Let 'em Come

A tradition at The Den is the playing of the official club song^[37] Let 'em Come by Roy Green, as Millwall and the opposing team walk on to the pitch. It was specifically written for the club and the lyrics represent old London culture, such as eating jellied eels^[38] and having a glass of beer before going to the game. The song ends with all home fans standing, arms raised singing the last line, "Let 'em all... come down.... to The Den!" The song was played on repeat at Wembley Stadium, after Millwall gained promotion to The Championship.^[39]

Other songs that have been continuously played at The Den over the years in the build up to the game, include London Calling by The Clash, Town Called Malice by The Jam and House of Fun by Madness, which features the lyric "welcome to the lion's den...". Status Quo's cover version of Rockin' All Over the World is currently played after every home win.^[40]

Supporters and hooliganism

Millwall are, for their comparative size and status, a well supported club. However, they have been associated with a long and notorious history of football hooliganism. Their firm, known from the 1970s as the Bushwackers^[41] [sic] were one of the most notorious of all football hooligan gangs. However, the Metropolitan police, especially in the local Lewisham borough, are supportive of the club and recognise that any problems now emanate from a very small minority. Chief Superintendent Archie Torrance of Lewisham Police has stated, "Millwall have our full support." He continues to work hard with the club to keep the ground the safe place that it now is.

Informed media commentators including Danny Baker, Paul Casella the editor of the Millwall fanzine The Lion Roars, Danny Kelly and former player Steve Claridge also believe that Millwall's hooligan problems are to a certain extent greatly exaggerated, and that wilful media exaggeration has led to a siege mentality among the decent, law-abiding fans, who are a constant easy target for media. Examples of this include: archive footage of their hooligan element's past bad behaviour being shown, when disorder has occurred at other grounds, not involving them. During a game between Millwall and Huddersfield Town, The Observer reported that a Huddersfield Town fan had thrown a coin at a linesman, and that some Millwall fans had intervened, and handed the culprit over to police. The News of the World, however, bore the headline: "Millwall Thugs Deck Linesman With Concrete". These, and many other similar incidents, gave rise to the Millwall fans' famous song; No one likes us, we don't care being sung in defiant defence of themselves, and their team.^[42][43][44]

A former Chairman of the club, Reg Burr, once commented; "Millwall are a convenient coat peg for football to hang its social ills on"^[45], an example being the reporting of convicted murderer Gavin Grant. Although he had played for eight different football clubs, playing his fewest (only four games) for Millwall and was currently signed to Bradford City at the time, BBC News used the headline 'Former Millwall striker Gavin Grant guilty of murder'.^[46]

In May 2002, hooligans attaching themselves to Millwall were involved in a riot away from the ground, after a play-off game against Birmingham City, which was described by the BBC as one of the worst cases of civil disorder seen in Great Britain in the recent past. A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said that 47 policemen and 24 police horses were injured, and the Metropolitan Police considered suing Millwall after the events.^[47]

Millwall fans swarmed The Den pitch, after victory over Huddersfield Town.

The then Chairman, Theo Paphitis, stated that Millwall Football Club could not be blamed for the actions of a mindless minority who attach themselves to the club. He then went on to introduce a Membership Scheme, whereby only fans who would be prepared to join and carry membership cards, would be allowed into The Den. Scotland Yard withdrew its threat to sue stating: "In light of the efforts made and a donation to a charity helping injured police officers, the Metropolitan Police Service has decided not to pursue legal action against Millwall F.C. in relation to the disorder".^[48]

Legal experts said it would have been difficult to hold a football club responsible for something that occurred away from its ground and involved people who did not attend the match. The scheme introduced by Paphitis now only applies to high-risk away games. Many Millwall fans blame the current scheme for diminishing Millwall's support at away games, such as at Leeds United, where fans are issued with vouchers which are then exchanged for tickets at a designated point of West Yorkshire Police's choosing on the day of the game. Also, early kick-off times arranged by the police result in only a few hundred fans making the trip.^[49][50]

There were no reports of problems with the Millwall supporters at the club's most high-profile match in recent years, the 2004 FA Cup Final in Cardiff. In January 2009, 500 Millwall fans identified as "high risk" gained access to an FA Cup tie against Hull City A.F.C., at Hull's home ground, the KC Stadium, resulting in seats, coins and plastic bottles being thrown at the Hull supporters. Conflicting reports later emerged in the media as to whether items were in fact initially thrown by Hull supporters following tongue in cheek chanting and jeering by Millwall fans of Jimmy Bullard (ex West Ham) just prior to the fixture. Around 50 seats were pulled out, and Hull planned to bill Millwall for the damages.^[51]

West Ham v Millwall: 2009 riots

On 25 August 2009, Millwall played West Ham United in the Carling Cup, losing 3–1 after extra time. Clashes between Millwall and West Ham fans outside Upton Park resulted in an innocent Millwall fan's stabbing. The game saw hundreds of West Ham supporters invade the pitch on three occasions, forcing the game to be temporarily suspended on the second occasion. Millwall supporters had earlier clashed with West Ham supporters and riot police, and Scotland Yard said the violence, because of its large scale, was organized beforehand.^[52][53]

Millwall were given three charges, but later cleared of all of them; West Ham had 4 charges and were found guilty on two counts of violent, threatening, obscene and provocative behaviour and entering the field of play. West Ham were fined £115,000 which was seen as an insult by Millwall FC and its fans, which staunchly defended the action of its own fans and inability to do any more than it possibly could at a rival's ground.^[54]

Famous fans

Millwall supporter Lars Frederiksen from the punk band Rancid with the leaping lion crest on his guitar.^[55]

Famous fans of Millwall include Daniel Day Lewis (actor and two time Oscar winner^[56]), former Smiths frontman Morrissey^[57], current WBA World Heavyweight Champion David Haye (who, just days after defeating giant Nikolay Valuev for the title and breaking his hand, raced home to watch Millwall beat AFC Wimbledon 4-1 in an FA Cup tie)^[58], actress Laila Morse (Little Mo of Eastenders fame), actor Gary Oldman^[59] ,DJ and journalist Danny Baker, boxing promoter Frank Maloney, former Arsenal and Crystal Palace player Ian Wright^[60], journalist Rod Liddle, poet/spoken word musician Scroobius Pip, The Football Factory director Nick Love, stars Tamer Hassan, Roland Manookian and Frank Harper^[61], former World darts champion Andy Fordham, RMT Union boss Bob Crow, punk musician Lars Frederiksen from the band Rancid^[55], and former Chairman Theo Paphitis, who still wears his Millwall pin on Dragons' Den.^[62]

Infamous fans

Ian Tomlinson, an innocent man walking home from work during the G-20 protests in London, was struck by the Police and eventually died. In the footage on the day of his death, he can be seen wearing a blue Millwall shirt underneath a grey "Neil Harris all-time leading goal scorer" T-shirt.^[63]

The fictional father of characters Del Boy and Rodney Trotter from Britain's most popular^[64] and best loved sitcom^[65] Only Fools and Horses, Reg Trotter was a Millwall supporter, with Grandad (a Crystal Palace fan) from the show remarking in the very first episode, "Your dad always said that one day Del Boy would reach the top. Then again, he always said Millwall would win the cup."^[66]

Rivalries

Millwall were listed 8th out of a list of 92 respective League Clubs with the most rivals, with West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Charlton Athletic and Gillingham considering Millwall a major rival.^[67]

The Lions fiercest rival is West Ham United, one of the most passionately contested local derby's in football.^[68] The two clubs' have rarely met in recent years, due to the clubs not being in the same division. The majority of their meetings happened before World War I, with some 60 meetings in just 15 years.^[69]

Millwall are closest in proximity to Charlton Athletic, with The Den and The Valley being under 4 miles apart. With the two clubs being in League One for the 2009–10 season, it meant the first league meeting between the two clubs since the 1995–96 season. The South East London derby was a franetic affair on 19 December 2009, finishing in a 4-4 draw at The Valley.^[70] The return encounter at The Den wasn't such a close affair, with Millwall coming out 4-0 winners.

After being promoted to The Championship for the 2010–11 season, Millwall will re-ignite their South London derby with Crystal Palace, playing each other for the first time in five years.

Players

Current squad

As of 31 August 2010.^[71]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK David Forde 2 DF Alan Dunne 3 DF Andrew Frampton 4 MF Darren Carter (on loan from Preston North End) 5 DF Paul Robinson (captain) 6 MF Liam Trotter 7 MF Danny Schofield 9 FW Neil Harris 10 FW Lewis Grabban 11 FW Shaun Batt 12 MF Chris Hackett 14 MF James Henry

No. Position Player 15 DF Tony Craig (vice-captain) 16 MF Scott Barron 17 DF Tamika Mkandawire 18 DF Darren Ward 19 FW Ashley Grimes 20 FW Steve Morison 21 DF Jack Smith 22 FW Kevin Lisbie (on loan from Ipswich Town) 23 GK Steve Mildenhall 24 MF Marc Laird 26 MF Nadjim Abdou 32 FW John Marquis

On loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 13 GK John Sullivan (at Yeovil Town) 27 DF Pat O'Connor (at Tooting & Mitcham United) 31 FW Kiernan Hughes-Mason (at Tooting & Mitcham United)[72]

Player of the year

As voted by Millwall Supporters Club Members & Season Ticket Holders.^[73]

Year Winner 1981 Paul Roberts 1982 Dean Horrix 1983 Dean Neal 1984 Anton Otulakowski 1985 Paul Sansome 1986 Alan McLeary 1987 Brian Horne 1988 Danis Salman 1989 Terry Hurlock 1990 Ian Dawes

Year Winner 1991 Teddy Sheringham 1992 Aidan Davison 1993 Kasey Keller 1994 Keith Stevens 1995 Andy Roberts 1996 Ben Thatcher 1997 Lucas Neill 1998 Paul Shaw 1999 Neil Harris 2000 Stuart Nethercott

Year Winner 2001 Matt Lawrence 2002 Steve Claridge 2003 Tony Warner 2004 Darren Ward 2005 Darren Ward 2006 David Livermore 2007 Richard Shaw 2008 Paul Robinson 2009 Andrew Frampton 2010 Alan Dunne

Notable former players

A list of notable footballers who have played for Millwall Football Club. Players who have been honoured in Millwall's Hall of Fame^[74] and have significantly contributed to the club's history.^[17] Be it through being founder member players or having been given a testimonial by the club. Making over 100 appearances, scoring 50 goals or having receieved international recognition by their country in the form of caps, while playing for Millwall.

Personnel honours

English Football Hall of Fame

Millwall players inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame:^[75]

See Millwall Lionesses for two female inductees.

PFA Fans' Player of the Year

PFA Team of the Year

Managers

Honours

^[36]

Statistics and records

Barry Kitchener holds the record for Millwall league appearances, having played 523 matches between 1966 and 1982.^[77] If all senior competitions are included, Kitchener has 602.^[17][77] The goalscoring record is held by Neil Harris, who still currently plays for the club. He has 122 league goals, 136 in all competitions. He broke the previous record of 111 goals, held by Teddy Sheringham on 13 January 2009, during a 3–2 away win at Crewe Alexandra.^[78]

The club's widest victory margin in the league is 9-1,^[11] a scoreline which they achieved twice in their Division Three (south) Championship winning year of 1927.^[10] They beat both Torquay United and Coventry City by this score at The Den. Millwall's largest league defeat was 8–1 away at the hands of Plymouth Argyle in 1932.^[11] Their largest overall loss was in 1946. A 9–1 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park in an FA Cup 4th round 2nd leg.^[11] Millwall's largest cup win was 7–0 over Gateshead, in 1936.^[11] Their highest ever aggregate game was a 12 goal thriller at home to Preston North End in 1930. Millwall lost 5–7.^[11]

Record attendance

Their 1937 appearance in the FA Cup was distinguished by the fact they became the first team in the old third division to reach the last four, knocking out three First Division sides on the way, including Derby County who were defeated in front of Millwall's official record crowd of 48,762 on 20 February 1937, with hundreds more locked out.^[5][79]

Transfers

• Biggest Transfer fee paid: Paul Goddard – £800,000 from Derby County^[80]

• Biggest Transfer fee received: Mark Kennedy – £2,300,000 to Liverpool^[80]

Record results

Wins

League:

• 9–1 v Torquay United (Division Three (South), 29 August 1927)^[10]
• 9–1 v Coventry City (Division Three (South), 19 November 1927)^[10]

FA Cup:

• 7–0 v Gateshead (12 December 1936)^[11]

Losses

League:

• 1–8 v Plymouth Argyle (English Division Two, 16 January 1932)^[11]

FA Cup:

• 1–9 v Aston Villa (28 January 1946)^[11]

Football records in England

• Most home league goals scored in a season: 87 (Third Division South, 1927–28)^[81]

• Consecutive clean sheets: 11 (Third Division South, 1925–26)^[81]

• Youngest FA Cup finalist: Curtis Weston, 17 years and 119 days^[24]

Kit sponsors and manufacturers

The two red lions first appeared on a Millwall kit in 1956. Former Chairman Theo Paphitis re-introduced it in 1999, where it was used for a further 8 years.^[13]

^[13]

In popular culture

Millwall have been depicted on the big screen multiple times, specifically highlighting the clubs' firm the Bushwackers^[41][sic]. Often glorifying football violence in the beginning, each film typically ends in loss of life, showing the futility of hooliganism.

• The Firm - real life Millwall supporter Gary Oldman plays Bex, leader of the football firm the Inter City Crew, a fictional representation of West Ham's Inter City Firm and their violent exploits. Millwall's Bushwackers firm are called The Buccaneers in it.

• The Football Factory - primarily about Chelsea's firm The Headhunters, who fight numerous other firms' on away days, culminating in the big fight against Millwall.

• Green Street - Elijah Wood plays an American student, who gets involved with West Ham's firm. The film builds up to the big clash with Millwall's firm at the climax, after the two teams draw each other in the cup, echoing the reality of 2009's Carling Cup game.

• Green Street 2: Stand Your Ground - sequel to Green Street. Several members of the West Ham firm and Millwall fans end up in jail.

• The Firm - a remake of the original 1988 film, by Football Factory director and Millwall fan Nick Love.^[82]

Club officials

As of 12 August 2010.^[83]

The board