‘No-one likes me…’ (but 500 angry Millwall fans do apparently care…!!!)

Click here to see the original post

So today has been the most popular ever on my blog and it’s because the entry about my experience at Millwall last Saturday has seen the site bombarded by angry fans who in varying degrees of vitriol:

1. don’t believe a word of what I have written and doubt that I was at the match;

2. don’t believe that I am a Millwall fan;

3. don’t believe that I live in the West Midlands (why, I’m not sure);

4. don’t believe that any Millwall fan might be capable of being racist.

Before I start, let me confirm that I have restricted any comments being added to the site because of the unsavoury nature of these to say the least.

First off, the critics are right. I accept that in the original post I made a mistake, putting ‘Lower East’ stand when I should have put ‘Lower West’ stand (normally I go in the Family Enclosure with my son but as I said, I only get to a handful of matches a season and so my east and west get confused). Because so many people have suggested that I wasn’t even at the match, I have scanned my tickets from Saturday and these are shown (click on them to make them larger). As further ‘proof’ of my attendance, they were also filming in the Cold Blow Lane end of the stand during the match (someone said it was ‘The Bill’ but I can’t verify this) and during half-time, Junior Lions and O’s (both boys and girls) played small sided matches on the pitch. Oh, and just so you know, a tannoy announcement was made to ask a supporter to go to St Giles Hospital as their wife had gone into labour (have I provided enough evidence yet…???).

Second, as for suggesting that I have never been a Millwall supporter, unfortunately you’re wrong. To jog some of your memories, I was there when Paul Roberts was punched by a fan on the pitch when he returned to the Den following his transfer to Brentford; I was there when John Fashanu was carried shirtless around the pitch following Millwall’s dumping of Gary Lineker’s Leicester out of the FA Cup; I was there at the infamous Luton match that prompted Margaret Thatcher to introduce identity cards for football fans; I was there when Les Briley led the Lions to their first and only ever stay in the top flight; I was also there on a wet January evening when having been beating Grimsby 1-0 at half time, then went on to lose 6-1. Like it or not, I’ve been there or thereabouts since the days of Barry Kitchener through to the present, taking in those from the great and the good that include Nicky Chatterton, Andy Massey, Steve Lovell, Brian Horne, Nicky Coleman, Alex Rae, Peter Anderson, Dennis Wise et al.

Third, I do live in the Midlands and have done for the past 18 years hence the reason why I only get to a ‘handful’ of matches each season. And for the supporter who suggested it, yes I am happy to stay here…!!!

And finally, well if you can’t believe that some of our supporters might be ‘racist’, what more can I say…???

Let the (further) backlash begin…