EPL Talk » Millwall

FA Cup Tour Visits Millwall FC: Video

The Gaffer — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:30:00 +0000

A lot has changed in the world since the FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, began in 1871. But the magic of the tournament still remains. The prospect of non-league minnows upsetting giants. And the nostalgia of seeing matches played in front of standing-room only crowds in the heart of the English countryside.

While most of the attention this Sunday will be on the Premier League heavyweight fight between Arsenal and Chelsea, the second round of the FA Cup is also taking place this weekend. One FA Cup match in particular that is intriguing is the visit of Millwall to Staines Town FC, a member of the Conference South league. Yes, the same Staines that Da Ali G made famous.

In the buildup to this weekend’s match, EPL Talk’s Laurence McKenna (presenter and producer) and Max Bell (writer and director) visited the home of Millwall Football Club, The New Den, as part of the FA Cup’s tour around England.

In this exclusive video, McKenna interviews legendary Millwall players Neil Harris and Paul Robinson. Plus McKenna and Bell take you inside The New Den to catch a glimpse of the stadium, the FA Cup trophy and the story of how Millwall became known as The Lions.

The video marks the beginning of an exciting new addition to EPL Talk. McKenna and Bell will be creating and producing a video series that you’ll only be able to see here. More details to come in the near future regarding the next episode.

In the meantime, be sure to watch the FA Cup match between Staines Town and Millwall this weekend. In the United States, the game will be shown on Fox Soccer Channel on Saturday at 9pm ET (on delay).

Stabbing And Major Crowd Trouble Delay Play At Upton Park

Dominic Mather — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:27:27 +0000

In the build up to, and during, the West Ham/Millwall match violence took hold in and around Upton Park.

One man was stabbed in the chest, and a BBC reporter has heard that a second stabbing has occured. Another fan said that his father had to receive medical attention after having a dart thrown at his head. There have been five confirmed arrests so far.

The Metropolitan police say that the hooliganism is likely to have been organised beforehand.

These events have been responsible for interruptions to the play; riled fans invaded the pitch a number of times resulting in the players being taken off.

This is all after West Ham player, Calum Davenport, was stabbed earlier in the week whilst staying with his mother.

Update: Fans are being told to stay in ground whilst fighting continues outside

Sack Dennis Wise And Keep Kevin Keegan

The Gaffer — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:17:53 +0000

If Mike Ashley wants to do the right thing and avoid being run out of Newcastle, he needs to sack Dennis Wise and get on his knees to convince Kevin Keegan to stay at Newcastle United.

King Kev is hardly a master tactician but what he does have is an immense passion for the Tyneside club and a drive to succeed. He has the fan’s best interests at heart, which is more than I can say about Mike Ashley and Dennis Wise.

I had to laugh this morning when I read an article entitled “Dennis Wise Is A Visionary In The Modern Game” penned by Matt Hughes of The Times. As a manager and executive director, what has Wise accomplished? His biggest managerial claim to fame is taking Millwall to the FA Cup Final in 2004, where the London side lost 3-0 to Man United.

In his role as executive director at Newcastle, he’s responsible for transfers, scouting and youth development. What transfers? Six players were transferred out of Newcastle including James Milnar, and five players were brought in. Those five are Jonas Gutierrez, Xisco, Ignacio Gonzalez, Danny Guthrie and Fabricio Coloccini.

These five signings are hardly visionary. Gutierrez dazzled on his first performance for Newcastle but will take time to adapt to the English game. Coloccini seems comfortable in the back, but the jury is still out on him. Xisco and Gonzalez are untested in the Premier League, while Guthrie was a safe bet after playing in the Liverpool reserves.

Does Newcastle really need to pay an executive director such as Dennis Wise a top salary to help make five transfer signings? Couldn’t Keegan have made the same if not better decisions at no additional cost to Newcastle?

Where is the logic in keeping Wise? I don’t see it. Executives at Newcastle would probably say that their continental-style management structure works to support Keegan, but with so few transfers being made and Keegan feeling that he is being undermined by Wise and Ashley, this is a disaster waiting to happen.

Instead, Ashley should sack Wise and give Keegan more power to see if he can turn the ship at St James’ Park. Give Keegan six months to change things around and give the manager more funding in the January transfer window to bring players in who will make a difference. Reports are coming out of England that Keegan has issued an ultimatum to Ashley to get rid of Dennis Wise and vice-president Tony Jimenez and give the control of transfers in and out back to the manager. Let’s hope Ashley agrees with Keegan.

It’s also time for Ashley to face the press and public. He needs to share his vision for Newcastle and put aside his differences with Keegan and give the man a chance. While the team still has a long way to go, Newcastle United this season looks much stronger than they’ve done in many years. Sure, Keegan has got a lot of work to do but let him die trying instead of stabbing him in the back.