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Millwall Football
& Athletic Company (1985) Plc "The Lions" Millwall F.C. was formed in 1885 by the workers of the JT Morton jam & marmalade factory in the West Ferry Road, Isle of Dogs. Nearly all of the workers were Scottish immigrants and therefore adopted the rampant lion of their home flag. The football club that they set up, was to be called Millwall Rovers. Their first ever fixture, was on October 3rd 1885, against Fillebrook, who played in Leyton. The new team were thrashed 5-0. In November of 1886, the East End Football Association was formed, and with it came a senior Cup comptetion. Millwall made it to the Final, against London Caledonians and the game was played at the Leyton Cricket Ground. The match ended 2-2 and the teams shared the trophy for 6 months each. Despite an 8-1 drubbing in the FA Cup (then known as the English Cup), Millwall recovered well to win the East London Senior Cup at the first attempt. To cap that, they won it for the next two sucessive years as well and kept the trophy as their property. Not bad for a side that was still in it's infancy!
MILLWALL
ROVERS 1887 WITH Millwall went on to become founder members of the Southern League, which they won for the first two years of it's existence. In those days, the Football League was in it's infancy and consisted mainly of northern clubs such as Bury, Notts County, Sheffield United and Preston North End. In the South, the Southern League was not only seen as a rival League, but just as prestigeous. Millwall played on a variety of sites on the Isle of Dogs, becoming known as 'The Dockers', by the inhabitants of the Island. It was not unusual for Millwall to attract 30 or 40,000 spectators to a game, especially at their second ground at North Ferry Road, which was quite an achievement given that travelling facilities were sparse. Their most famous ground though, was The Den, at New Cross into which they moved in 1910. The first ever match was against Brighton & Hove Albion (who spoiled the celebrations by winning 0-1!). It was here that the famous 'roar' was developed, and the Den became one of the most feared grounds in the country, no team liked to play there as the crowd and the place created an intimidating atmosphere.
The Dockers at East Ferry Road
The opening of
the Den 1910 They became known as a hard cup fighting team and there were memorable matches against Derby County, Sunderland and others that saw packed crowds of 40,000 plus at the Den in the 1930's and 40's. In 1944-45 Millwall appeared in a
Southern FA Cup Final at Wembley against Chelsea. But, because it was an 'unofficial'
wartime cup final, is not even acknowledged in the record books. With
the loss of so many young men, and footballers during the war, 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 it's smallest afterwards. Their form during
the 1950's was poor and they suffered relegation on a regular basis. It
wasn't until the early 60's that things began to change. During
this time, they 'discovered' a number of useful players, Alex Stepney,
the goalkeeper was one. He later went on to fame with Manchester
United, winning a European Cup Winners Medal in 1968.
What goes up must come down, so they say. And after the highs of the early 70's, Millwall seemed to hit the lows again. It was then that ex Arsenal player, George Graham took control and transformed the club and the team. Promotion to Division II was followed by a financial crises that nearly saw the club go under. However, in 1985, a new company was formed to save the club from extinction. George Graham had done a grand job, but felt the need to move on. He was replaced by John Docherty, who had a poor year in his first season, but then broke the spell and took Millwall to division One as champions the following year. Of course everyone predicted that Millwall would drop straight back down. However, by October 1st 1988, Millwall were top of Division One. Up front, the Lions boasted a deadly strikeforce of Teddy Sherringham and Tony Cascarino. Both would leave the club in time, but whilst at the Den, both gave total commitment. Teddy Sherringham, although now a Manchester United player, is still a regular visitor to Millwall home games.
Millwall has become well known as a breeding ground for young talent. Teddy Sheringham was just one of those great players, here are some more: Alex Stepney, Keith Weller, Steve Lovell, John Fashanu, Teddy Sheringham, Tony Cascarino, Gordan Hill, Eammon Dunphy, Ben Thatcher, Neill Emblem, Phil Babb, Neill Ruddock, John McGinley, Keith Brannigan, Kasey Keller, Andy Roberts, John Cuningham.....all these and more began their football careers at the Den. Millwall fans are genuine, extremely passionate and will give their all for the Lions. They expect the players to return the compliment and give 100% to the cause.
Today Millwall
play in a new all seater stadium, one of the best grounds in London, the
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