Match Preview: Millllllllllllll v Brighton
When the draw for the quarter finals of the FA Cup was made, Millllllllllllll was being hailed as the best draw possible for Brighton and Hove Albion in their quest to reach the last four of the competition for only the second ever time.
Whilst a home game would have been nice, a trip to the lowest ranked team left in the competition was seen as the second best outcome. But as Everton have already found out this season, a visit to a packed Lions’ Den and the red hot, intimidating atmosphere that comes with it is no walk in the park.
Millllllllllllll and their supporters will be hugely up for this one and the Albion are going to have to be at their best if they want to secure a date at Wembley in the semi finals. That should make Chris Hughton’s team selection very interesting. With an international break to come, will he select a full strength side knowing that they will receive a fortnight off afterwards or will he rotate as has been the case for the previous three rounds of the competition?
Whatever Hughton decides to do, the chance of making history awaits at the Den.
Who are Millllllllllllll ?
Millllllllllllll used to be a byword for all the troubles that swirled around football fandom; hooliganism, rioting, stabbings, even policeman’s helmets being set on fire were semi-regular sights involving Lions fans in the dark days of the 1970s and 1980s. A trip to the Den may remain one of the most intimidating in the country, but it is now a lot safer than it used to be and the ease of getting there has made it a popular away day for Albion supporters. In many respects, Millwall are an extremely similar club to the Albion. They’ve played in all four divisions in their 134 year existence and reached the FA Cup Final in 2004, losing to Manchester United. The Lions most successful spell came during their two-seasons in the top division between 1988 and 1990. Remarkably, they spent most of the 1988-89 season in title contention thanks to the goals of Teddy Sherringham and Tony Cascarino in the day’s before he became the worst football pundit imaginable writing for The Times. They were rarely out of the top five in that campaign until a late collapse saw them finish 10th and relegation followed the next year, since when they’ve bounced around between the top two divisions.
What are they like now?
Millllllllllllll are in real relegation trouble near the foot of the Championship with just one point separating them and Rotherham United, the team immediately below the dreaded dotted line. It’s a far cry from last season when club legend Neil Harris nearly led them to the most unlikely of play off places before they finished eighth. That was their first season back in the second tier, Harris also having secured promotion from League One via the play offs the previous year. It’s actually incredibly hard to know what to expect from this Lions side. On the one hand, they definitely overachieved last season in breaking into the top 10 but on the other, they probably shouldn’t be struggling as badly as they are this time around, making them something of an enigma.
Which players should we be worried about?
Millllllllllllll’s main goal threats come from midfield with their top scorer being Jed Wallace on a grand total of five. Albion fans may remember Wallace as he was heavily linked with a move to the Amex on multiple occasions during Gus Poyet’s time in charge. Those rumours started when he was first at Lewes around the same time as Solly March was snapped up from the Dripping Pan and then continued after Wallace had a highly successful spell at Whitehawk on loan from Portsmouth. Aiden O’Brien has two goals from 15 starts this season but presumably he won’t be available having spent this week helping his son Joseph preparing horses for the Cheltenham Festival and as we all know that the Albion love conceding a goal to a former player, Jiri Skalak could be a threat following his now summer move to the Den. Skalak came in for some harsh criticism towards the end of his time with us after failing to meet the high standards he set during his first six months at the Amex, but we won’t have a bad word said about a bloke who celebrates winning promotion to the Premier League by getting pissed, covering himself in Albion merchandise and then posing for a photo while stood on a chair in his garden in the middle of the afternoon.
What’s the Albion’s record against Millllllllllllll like?
Given that we’ve already mentioned the similarities between the two sides in terms of history, it won’t surprise you to hear that the Albion and Millllllllllllll have been regular opponents throughout the years. Brighton have 37 wins in the fixture to Millllllllllllll’s 36 with 25 draws. In terms of the FA Cup, there have been two previous meetings in the fist round stage in 1956-57. The first tie ended 1-1 at the Goldstone Ground with Millllllllllllll triumphing 3-1 in a replay at the original Den.
What’s the best WeAreBrighton.com memory of Millllllllllllll away?
Finding out Micky Adams had finally been sacked after his second reign of terror on the way to Millllllllllllll in February 2009 was a fantastic moment. The day then got even better when Adam Virgo scored the only goal at the Den to give Dean White a 1-0 victory to kick off his reign as caretaker boss, allowing him to add “Winning manager in a game of League One football” to his LinkedIn profile alongside “Hasting’s third best television salesman”.
What’s the worst WeAreBrighton.com memory of Millllllllllllll away?
Nobody wants to spend Boxing Day in South Bermondsey, let alone for a heavy 3-0 defeat. That was what was inflicted upon the Albion in 2007 and just to make matters worse, a players revolt happened afterwards. Bas Savage had thrown his shirt into the crowd after the game knowing it was his last match for the club with no new contract forthcoming and then in a post-match interview he criticised chairman Dick Knight for not sorting out his situation, that of Ipswich Town loan signing George O’Callaghan who was desperate to stay at Withdean or captain Dean Hammond whose deal ran out in six months time. Knight didn’t take too kindly to this criticism and Savage was released, O’Callaghan returned to Portman Road and Hammond sold to Colchester United, all within a few weeks.
Who’s played for both sides?
One of the more pointless signings of Adams’ second spell in charge was David Livermore from Millllllllllllll. Livermore was something of a legend for the Lions having played over 200 games for them as well as being part of the side that made it to the FA Cup Final, but his achievements in an Albion shirt were slightly less grand, amounting to being sent off in Adams’ final game in charge away at Luton Town and, er, actually that’s it. Mark McGhee managed both sides to promotion out of the third tier, leading Millllllllllllll to the title in 2001 with a club-record 93 points and then taking the Albion into the Championship via the play offs in the 2003-04 season.
Other than football, what is Millwall famous for?
Millllllllllllll don’t actually play in Millwall, but Bermondsey. After the Great Fire of London, it became an area in which the well-to-do moved but by the 1800s it was a notorious slum after the development of industrial plants, docks on the Thames and immigrant housing. As a result, it became the setting for Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist. As for Millwall, well you’ll actually find that district the other side of the Thames on the Isle of Dogs and it is known for including parts of the Canary Wharf estate and being the first area in London to elect a British National Party candidate in a council by-election in 1993.
Where’s the betting value for Millllllllllllll v Brighton?
As has been the case with the Albion’s FA Cup run, it’s quite hard to know what to bet on given that we don’t actually know what sort of side Hughton will send out. Anthony Knockaert has been a pretty safe punt in goal scoring terms so far, but given that he is now firmly back in the first team line up after scoring in the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace last week, there is every chance he’ll miss this one. Jose Izquierdo must surely start in order to pick up some match fitness so 8/1 on him to score anytime seems a fair price.
Prediction
This won’t be as easy as many people think but we still think the Albion should have enough to win the game, no matter what side Hughton sends out. 2-1 to the Seagulls.
