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30th December
Northampton Town 0 Millwall 1 (Abandoned): Halfway
through the Scunthorpe game a few days earlier fans were hoping
of a quick trip to the pub and an abandoned game, but instead,
after a two decade wait a Lions game is called off, and just
as the visitors are edging towards a staggeringly vital win.
Twenty minutes left to safeguard Poul Hubertz’s goal,
but the referee decides the playable pitch is no longer up
to standard. A variety of Machiavellian plots are rumoured
to be behind the decision...
...Richard Shaw speaks
out after the game, “I’m gobsmacked. To let a
game go on for 70 minutes then call it off is one of the most
ludicrous decisions I have known.”
26th December
Brentford 1 Millwall 4: The best win for two seasons
as Boxing Day 2006 becomes the turning point for Willie’s
Lions. Poul Hubertz scores two and sets one up. Paul Robinson
adds another and Darren Byfield grabs a penalty in a thoroughly
easy win against relegation rivals, whose consolation comes
from Kevin O’Connor...
...Post match manager Donachie
says, “I believe that things even themselves out over
time. On Friday we created lots of chances and couldn't score
but today we took our chances and won well.”
22nd December
Millwall 0 Scunthorpe United 1: Darren Byfield is
jeered towards the end as the team, and the striker in particular
try to walk the ball into the net in what appears to be a
relatively routine victory in dense fog. Scunthorpe snatch
an unlikely winner late on through former Lion Steve Torpey
against a half committed Lions team how to do it...
...Afterwards an angry
Willie Donachie says, “We don’t have enough players
with the desire to get in the six yard box and into positions
to hurt teams. We need honest, strong people who want to take
responsibility in tehse sorts of games. They had that.”
21st December Defender Dean
Pooley leaves the club by mutual consent.
17th December The Junior Lions
panto party. The players turn up for an autograph and photo
session and a good time is had by all. Well done to the organisers,
who do it all without any help, including financial, from
the club. And just a fiver charged!
16th December
Bristol City 1 Millwall 0: After going a goal down
at high flying Bristol City within 13 seconds the players
fight back and by the end are worth a point. This time Donachie
changes to three up front to alter a game rather than to start
a game, and it almost does the trick, with City pinned in
their own box for much of the second half. It’s not
enough though and the travelling Lions return from another
defeat...
...Willie Donachie says, “Towards the end of the game
we showed a bit of spirit but for the first half hour we never
got anywhere near them. We lost because we never got near
them”...
...The manager adds a
stark warning for the immediate future of his squad, “I
know we’ve got a big squad but I think we’ve only
got about twelve players that are good enough for this League.
We need to add to those twelve; get two or three more and
I’m sure we’ll be fine. I’m hoping a lot
of players will be leaving and two or three will come in.
At the moment I think there’s maybe ten players at the
club that are not good enough.”
15th December The Millwall Holdings
Plc. AGM takes place, and after some post-meeting lobbying,
chairman Heather Rabbatts gets everything sorted that she
wanted to get sorted.
13th December Tottenham’s
Charlie Lee signs on for another month (as opposed to rumours,
he is not Mad Frankie Fraser’s nephew). He apparently
likes it here. Odd...
...On the way out though, is Derek McInnes, who is released
and will now look for alternative employment in Scotland.
Willie Donachie says, “We need more people like him
at this club and I would have loved him to stay just to be
part of things but at his age he needs to play somewhere”...
...Needless to say, the police, with little objection from
Stoke City, and no consultation with Millwall whatsoever,
decide to move the third round tie to the Friday night. Lions
chairman Stewart Till objects, “It does begin to look
as though we are being singled out for 'special' treatment."
Those complaints will of course fall on deaf ears.
12th December Millwall 1 Bradford City
0 (aet): The trilogy concludes with a second win
against City in four days in what has to be one of the most
boooring matches ever witnessed at The Den. The defence did
its job, with a little help from the woodwork, the midfield
was ineffective and the attack as sharp as a butter knife
through treacle. In the end it took a comedy own goal to see
the Lions squeeze through to the next round...
...Manager Donachie says, “Keeping a fourth successive
clean sheet was very pleasing, but as a whole it was not acceptable
for us, the fans and the club, for the players to play as
they did.”
9th
December Millwall 2 Bradford City 0:
The best performance of the season so far, and with a thick
and fast Christmas programme, hopefully this is the start
of improved form. Morais opens the scoring and a big row amongst
prospective penalty takers finishes with Byfield putting away
the spot kick. For some of the game we see some of the best
passing and skill that we have seen for several years...
...Willie Donachie is much happier, “I said to them
at half time it was the best they had played. It was committed
and honest. The players are always committed, but they have
started doing the basics as well”...
...Third round day takes place on 6th January, which means
the Crewe game will move.
7th December The Fans Forum
scheduled for next week is switched to the 9th January. Partly
because there are no new development plans to show and partly
because no-one wants to get hit!
5th
December Millwall 0 Huddersfield
0: Less than 6,000 Lions fans turn up on a bitter night to
watch an opening half so dismal it has some looking at Fourth
Division road maps. The second half sees a reversion to 4-4-2
with Phil Morais coming on and bossing the game. The home
side could have had two penalties and referee Clive Penton
fails to penalise the visitors for constant second half time-wasting...
...Willie Donachie reflects on the result, “Huddersfield
came to defend, try and waste time and use any tactics they
could to win the game”...
...The manager also denies that the improvement was down to
the change to 4-4-2 that we are all crying out for, “It’s
about good players. If we’ve got better players than
them we will win. It’s just about getting good players
doing what they’re good at. It’s not about systems.”
He’s right of course, but there are only about half
a dozen good players in the whole division...
...Kevin Braniff finally leaves The Den. The longest dead
wood has taken to wash away from our shores. It could have
been so different - his debut goal at Brighton in the League
Cup was one of the best ever, but the little boy just didn’t
grow up.
2nd December It’s
FA Cup third round draw day, the best bit if the season. The
anticipation builds and builds as the Lions are one of just
four balls left in the hat. Chelsea are also one of them,
but no, number 60 - away to Stoke City. Was there a more miserable
draw?..
...Speculation is that the glamour tie will be moved to 11am
on a Thursday morning because police intelligence suggests
15 Lions fans may travel and other teams are playing all over
the country on the Saturday.
1st December Bradford City 0 Millwall
0: Not the best performance, but the best result
of the season - no late comebacks, no wins against the run
of play, but a hard-working, and slightly unlucky draw with
the defence standing firm and the attack as adventurous as
it could be against, a more experienced side. The boos have
it. City fans thought it was going to be easy, but instead
it’s a replay. City hit the woodwork twice, but the
Lions fight throughout and restore a bit of pride after the
midweek disaster...
...Manager Donachie says, “We’ve now got something
to build on. We kept a clean sheet, got some crosses in, we
gave a very committed display and there were some good honest
performances...
...The match is Millwall's 150th away game in FA Cup history.
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