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31st October Millwall 2 Colchester 1 James Henry’s free kick, three-and-a-half minutes into injury time, provides Millwall fans with a real Halloween treat to secure a victory over the division’s third-placed team. The goal sealed a well-deserved victory after Alan Dunne equalised Anthony Wordsworth’s opener .
30th October Gary Alexander is ruled out of the Colchester game with the recurrence of a heel injury.
28th October AFC Wimbledon will visit the Den after beating Crawley 3-1. Because of firework displays, a Remembrance Sunday parade and that they like showing they can do whatever they want, police move the game to the Monday night.
27th October South London Press reports that Wise’s proposed Charlton buy-out collapsed because he wanted a role as director of football and interfere without responsibility, ala Newcastle...
...Four Manchester United and four Barnsley fans are arrested at Oakwell in a League Cup game. The away fans loot a catering kiosk and two of the home ones invade the pitch, in the process kicking the ball in the net. We await the FA charges.
25th October Appalling reporting from News of the World disregards one of the most entertaining games of the season - at any level - and focuses on a picture of three Millwall fans, one wearing a Galatasaray shirt, apparently making stabbing gestures. The article also fails to mention the Ferencvaros flag in the away end. Ambler says all three fans will be banned...
...The FA Cup First Round draw pits Millwall at home to either Crawley Town or AFC Wimbledon.
24th October Millwall 2 Leeds 1 Millwall once again choose the visit of Leeds to pull out a season’s best (so far) performance. Goals from Harris and a late winner from substitute Alexander ends the country’s last remaining unbeaten record...
...Leeds manager manager Simon Grayson says, "It was never going to be an easy game against a team that will not be far from the top of the league at the end of the season. The game was very evenly balanced and could have gone either way.”
22nd October It does not take long, little over two months into the season to be more specific, for the now perennial debate over Harris’ contract to be brought up. Responding to speculation that there has been interest from abroad and that Harris’ agents from the PFA were seriously weighing it up, Jackett tells News Shopper, “I hadn’t considered anything because we are just getting over some injuries from the start of the season and want to stay in touch with the leaders and push on. Neil signed a contract with the club and nobody has come in for him. I haven’t spoken to Neil about it and nobody has approached me about him going somewhere else. “He has done very well and I’ve been very pleased with him since he has been here with me. “His start to the season has been very encouraging and he could end up with a good goals tally”...
...Ambler urges home supporters to be careful in the upcoming Den clash with Leeds. He says, “With our biggest game of the season coming on Saturday, the FA will be watching us like a hawk and we would ask that the fans do their bit to ensure that there are no problems. They really mustn't come over the barrier and onto the pitch or throw any objects."
21st October Despite appearances by Marcus Bignot, Adam Bolder, Jason Price, Lewis Grabban and David Martin, the reserves’ poor start to the season continues with a 3-0 home defeat against Gillingham.
20th October The club extends its loan by £800,000 from Berylson’s group Chestnut Hill Ventures. Ambler insists this is only partially to do with covering costs incurred in battling the FA charge. He says, “We extended our loan because we needed working capital. The club continues to lose money and until the AGM, which is usually in December, we needed some more money to get us from now until then. Admittedly, the appeal has been an added cost that we hadn't budgeted for so some of the money will be used on the appeal”...
...South London Press reckons that Dennis Wise and his former Newcastle ally Tony Jimenez could be fronting a Middle Eastern takeover of Charlton Athletic. Their fans are all for it, allegedly...
19th October Robinson and Harris are selected in the League One team of the week for their contributions to the Stockport success...
...Zak Whitbread (remember him) is linked with a move to Nottingham Forest in the January transfer window. Apparently the defender is still a month away from returning to fitness.
17th October Stockport 0 Millwall 4 Paul Robinson returns to the side and opens the scoring. The rest of the game is all about Neil Harris as the striker grabs his second hat trick of the season and, for good measure, misses a penalty...
...Harris says, “It was our first away win of the season, which was extremely important. We did so well on our travels last season that it was a bit embarrassing for us to take so long. It was nice to get a hat-trick although I could have scored four. I didn`t hit my penalty as cleanly as I should have and I was very disappointed with that."
16th October John Berylson reiterates his determination to battle the FA charges. He tells South London Press, “I don’t feel we should be in the business of appeasing those who want to destroy us. We will not surrender, because we are right. “In return, I am not asking supporters for any more than to back the team they love. “If they want to know how to make themselves heard on this injustice, they owe it to themselves to back the club in this battle and the best way is by coming to home games. “You will know I am dead if I stop fighting on this one. Every day I get more furious about Millwall being charged”...
...After telling the same paper that “at the moment I can’t be too concerned about my contract,” Jimmy Abdou comes out with exactly the opposite. He says, “If I do not get another one at Millwall, I do not know how I would find another club.”
15th October Millwall officially announce they are to contest all three FA charges. For this the club has appointed Jim Sturman QC as their representative for the case. Apparently he helped the club on a number of occasions, including the liverpool racism case a few years ago. He has also twice represented Dennis Wise and was west ham’s QC for the case with the FA over the ownership of Carlos Tevez. However, he does not come cheap, as Andy Ambler explains to Southwark News, "We felt it necessary to secure the best legal representation we could, but that comes at a cost. In truth it is a cost we can't easily afford, but the chairman feels it is the direction we must go in."
13th October Club skipper Paul Robinson completes a full 90 minutes for the reserves in a 1-0 defeat at Crawley Town.
12th October Andy Frampton is ruled out for six weeks after sustaining ankle ligament damage in the challenge on Swindon’s Jon-Paul McGovern that prompted a red card. Amankwaah performs an about-turn and suddenly becomes aplogetic. He says, “Whilst I feel that I was the subject of some abusive comment, I regret any offence that my comment may have caused and extend an apology to Neil, a player and man for whom I have a high regard. I will also be making a donation to the Everyman Cancer Charity."
11th October The Mirror reports that Swindon defender Kevin Amankwaah mocked Neil Harris over his background as a former sufferer of testicular cancer. Harris says, "Myself and my teammates are pretty upset about what was said. There are some things you just don't say on the pitch and he hasn't apologised to me yet." Amankwaah denied the claim, saying, "It was nothing more than normal verbals. I said nothing threatening towards him. Harris was a bit upset that I was trying to pull Frampton up off the pitch - that's nothing unusual."
10th October Swindon 1 Millwall 1 Danny Schofield nets his first Lions goal eight minutes from time to cancel out Scott Cuthbert’s first half header and secure a well-earned point in a much improved away performance. Swindon's Jonathon Douglas and Millwall's Andy Frampton are shown straight red cards for ugly tackles in a bad-tempered contest.
9th October Jack Smith, this season’s only ever-present, is in talks with Millwall over extending his contract, which runs out in January. The defender tells South London Press, “Hopefully a deal will be done sooner rather than later. It would be great to get a new contract. I want to stay here and push on”...
...John Barnes is sacked as manager of Tranmere. We may like to think it was down to Millwall, but it was actually Bury who finished off the former England left winger by eliminating Rovers from the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
6th October Ashley Grimes hits a hat-trick as Millwall beat Dagenham & Redbridge 3-2 in a behind-closed-doors friendly...
...The returning Paul Robinson incurs a badly gashed head and has to be taken off after an hour...
...Jackett raises the prospect of Henry beign recalled by Reading, which is their right from the end of the week. He says, “I do not know what the feelling is in their camp.”
3rd October Millwall 5 Tranmere 0 Henry grabs a hat-trick as Millwall gain an embarrassingly simple 5-0 victory over Tranmere that puts John Barnes’ managerial job in jeopardy. Andy Frampton and Steve Morison score the other goals...
...Chairman John Berylson makes an appeal to fans in the matchday programme. He says, “We are investing a significant amount of money to ensure that we get the best legal representation we can. What we cannot do, however, is defend the indefensible. While we are confident that we have good grounds for defending ourselves in relation to the west ham situation, it is clear that we are still afflicted by a minority of mindless idiots whose actions threaten to undermine our best efforts to progress as a club and convince teh wider public that Millwall is not synonymous with hooligan behaviour any more. Missile throwing ay football matches, and especially our matches, must stop. We cannot afford to be reported to the FA by officials any longer, and I would appeal to all of you to help us rid ourselves of those individuals who indluge in this anti-social and indeed criminal behaviour.”
2nd October Just when the injury problems appeared to be abating with the return to training of Paul Robinson and Tony Craig, another two steps are taken back when Darren Ward and Ali Fuseini each incur knee injuries in training...
...Jackett tells South London Press that “a loan has been mentioned” in relation to Lewis Grabban’s future. He adds, “I have said I will tell him if anyone rings to ask about him.”
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