For some reason, even mature intelligent Milllwall supporters seem to revel in their “hard man” self-image. There were a load of Millwall supporters in the same hotel as us in Manchester for last season’s FA cup semi-final. They were a great bunch and there was good craic all round. In the Old King’s Head near London Bridge on Friday night I got there before any of the SAFC supporters I know so I was propped up against the bar talking to Millwall supporters – again a fine bunch and no different to you or I. However, from getting to London Bridge to do the two minute journey to the station next to the ground until the return, there seemed to be an almost unanimous desire amongst Millwall supporters to display “hardness”.
What exactly is it to be hard? Is it merely the ability to inflict harm? So if I am physically stronger than you, am I harder than you? What about if I am in a group of ten and there are only two of you so that in any physical battle, I will beat you? Unless of course you have a knife. But then if I have a gun? How about during the blitz? Were the German bombers “harder” than the East End residents sitting under the bombs they were dropping?
All complete and utter bollox. To the lads and lasses in the Brittania Hotel in Manchester and to those in the Old Kings Head, good luck. To those struggling with the changeover to Homo Sapiens, for crying out loud grow up/evolve.
This desire to make the whole experience thoroughly unpleasant extends to the pitch and the team Dennis Wise has created in his image. Pinching, pulling, niggling may get results (certainly against us) but it’s hardly football. Once again Wise completely put the ref in his pocket and kept him there for 90 minutes. We thought the early booking might restrain him but it did the opposite – the ref was terrified to say boo to him after that.
I don’t know what they said about the penalty on the telly (I have had a media blackout since Friday night – I only found out Saturday and Sunday’s scores this morning) but it didn’t look like a penalty to me. Physical contact in the goal area doesn’t equal penalty but did according to the ref.
That was it really. At half-time we said we’d be happy to take the 2-0 defeat if we could get through the next 45 minutes without one of our players being sent off or seriously injured. We managed that, so I’ll take this as a moral victory.
Every game, you learn something, you see something that changes your view of things, if only slightly. Except this one.
Put it behind us, move on. Next week at Leicester will test our bouncebackability. It’s a test I think we can pass.
