BIG MATCH REPORT - MILLWALL v GILLS

[iblue]

Fantastic victory and well deserved - Big Match Report now on GillsConnect - tinyurl.com/jg2f692

[Deleted]

Excellent report to match the result,many thanks.
As the season advances so the squad appear more seasoned,great result, great bounce back from that Burton defeat.
Well done the Gills.

[gillsjan]

Thanks iblu. What a brilliant result. Well deserved win which pushed us back up the league. Other scores in the league went well for us today. COYG

[muppet]

Cheers I-blue. Fantastic result with the early season form shown in the first half, pressing high and having players wanting the ball every time we got possession. Sore throat this morning from the constant singing (possibly beers may also have contributed!) and got to say fantastic away support. Great early Xmas pressy.

[medwaystander]

Dunno why the match report complains about our fans being penned in by police at the end of the game, waiting for Millwall fans to clear the local stations. This is a tried and trusted method of crowd control which has been in operation at the Den for years. I recall when we met there a few years ago in a southern semi-final of what is now the Johnstone Pants Trophy and lost on a "golden goal." Then the police kept us waiting in the stands and we were given an escort to the station. Now there is a walkway to the station exclusively for the use of away fans. It works well, and those of us who are non-fighting senior citizens are grateful for the protection it offers. In my experience, Millwall fans are inclined to get upset when they lose 3-0.

[iblue]

My match report complains because it's a throwback to 1980's policing and should be updated. It's the same at Swindon and possibly Priestfield if Fulham ever arrive again - trouble in the dim and distant past and the befuddled police cannot think beyond. Been to countless matches over the years in several countries and the London police are the worse in bumptious officiating. Yesterday travelled to the New Den by car and the police were baffled when asked which way out as they have 'a tried and trusted' method of sending away fans either to the coaches or to the trains. They didn't believe that anyone could have possibly arrived by car. Until we can educate police that the vast majority of football fans are not searching, or looking, for trouble then we can move forward in this country. Perhaps we can even allow alcoholic drinks to be consumed in sight of the pitch as in other countries. Supporters should not be treated as 'hereded cattle' just because some police tactician decided 26 years ago (Hillsborough - something to which police contributed to) that all supporters are trouble and rival fractions should be kept apart at all costs. Some of my best friends are Millwall supporters and the ones that are not I'm sure would welcome a decent discussion on the match they have just seen. That is why my match report complained.

[medwaystander]

Oh Iblue -- you cannot be serious ! You are sure Millwall fans "would welcome a decent discussion on the match they had just seen". Yeah, right. No need for segregation ? Drinking booze in the stands ? From bottles presumably ? It is not the police who need educating. It's those who are deaf to the provocative, foul-mouthed abuse which fans exchange all the time at these matches. No doubt there'll be more of the same at Swindon. Personally, I'd rather not be associated with it. But as a travelling fan, it seems you have little choice. I wish this idealised view of opposing fans being civil to each other was true. But it isn't.

[terryjolleysboot]

Excellent result made my Saturday!

One of the reasons I didn't go yesterday was the fact they sensibly keep fans in after the game for at least half an hour,as I intended to travel by car and it is the last Saturday before Christmas(family do's) made me stay at home!
I went by car to that Southerm area Semi and recall getting away pretty swiftly!
I am friends with a lot of Millwall fans, but sadly it only takes one who wishes to enhance Millwalls bad reputation!

[technical]

I thought the policing/marshalling was excellent. No where near as intrusive or controlling as I expected and whilst firm, ceaselessly polite. I felt safe, which wasn't the case last time I was there.

Whilst it's true football has moved on from the bad old days, there was plenty of evidence yesterday that there's still a largish element at Millwall who wish it hadn't. Thankfully they were dealt with swiftly and efficiently.

As it happened, the majority of home fans left well before the whistle, so they didn't have to hold us back for long :-D

[technical]

I do think opposing fans at most games are civil to each other, we usually meet some on the train/in the pub and get on fine. I'm sure that's also true of most Millwall fans. We chatted to some Millwall people on the train before the game yesterday.

Unfortunately they DO have more than their share of the other sort.

[medwaystander]

Of course, many fans are civil to each other. Me and a fellow STH took a southern-based Burton fan (a work colleague of my friend) to Gills' last home game. Unfortunately, we had to take him back as well. If you're a fan, or a player, you have to know how to lose, and most people do. The biggest problems occur at away games, especially local derbies, where a large contingent have the weird notion that they are supporting the team by constantly chanting obscene abuse at the opposing fans. At Priestfield, you can choose where you sit and avoid them. When you're in the away end, you can't. I'm sure most of these fans are perfectly nice guys as individuals, and have all bought their grandmas a nice pressie for Christmas. But the pack mentality takes over when they follow their team away and suddenly the usual rules of decent human behaviour do not apply. Amidst all this, the voice of the decent majority never gets heard.