Source: News Limited<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWest Ham\u2019s relegation from the Premier League, and Millwall\u2019s loss to Hull City in the playoffs last campaign, has since made that a reality.<\/p>\n
The anticipation has been so great that the match will be shown live on free-to-air television in the United Kingdom in a rare move.<\/p>\n
It could be a weekend of carnage in England and Scotland.<\/p>\n
The Black Country Derby, between fellow Championship clubs West Brom and Wolves, is back for the first time since the second half of their FA Cup fourth round match in 2024 was suspended for roughly 40 minutes due to fan unrest.<\/p>\n
Glasgow\u2019s Old Firm Derby is also once again taking place with Celtic hosting Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.<\/p>\n
Millwall versus West Ham is the rivalry match fans have been truly waiting for, whoever.<\/p>\n
Younger generations, who have only seen the movie and heard their elders\u2019 tales of the violence and bloodshed between the two teams\u2019 supporters, will now get to experience it first hand at Millwall\u2019s home ground – The Den – at 12.30pm local time on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait,\u201d 20-year-old goalkeeper, and academy product, Finlay Herrick told West Ham TV after the Hammers\u2019 League Cup loss to Fulham midweek. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been seeing films, I\u2019ve been told stories and I finally get to see it properly and be involved in it as well, which I\u2019m looking forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Lions\u2019 20,146 capacity home ground was once described by former West Ham manager Sam Allardyce as a \u201chostile and evil\u201d place.<\/p>\n
Millwall\u2019s players and supporters alike will be hoping to live up to that reputation – even if their manager Alex Neil said his injury-riddled side are \u201crunning on empty\u201d right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t wait. It was one of the first fixtures we saw when they came out and the lads are buzzing for it and excited,\u201d Millwall defender Caleb Taylor told the BBC\u2019s EFL 72+ podcast.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of injuries at the start of the season which has not helped us, but the squad we have is still capable of getting a result.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what The Den\u2019s like, it\u2019s such a good atmosphere, everyone will be up for it, we\u2019ll give everything we\u2019ve got to hopefully get a win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Taylor added: \u201cSaturday we\u2019ll try and be solid, they have some good players, come down from the Premier League, they have huge financial backing. We\u2019ll make it a good game and really give it to them.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I\u2019ve been here the atmosphere at The Den has just been incredible. I can only imagine what it\u2019s going to be like on Saturday, it\u2019s going to be proper intimidating. I\u2019m really looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Times have certainly changed.<\/p>\n
Football hooliganism is no longer rampant like it was in previous generations.<\/p>\n
In 1976, Millwall fan Ian Pratt was killed among the fighting between the two club\u2019s firms.<\/p>\n
He ended up falling under a train and the Millwall firm responded by handing out leaflets saying \u201cA West Ham fan must die next week to avenge him\u201d.<\/p>\n
A decade later, 19-year-old West Ham fan Terry Burns was stabbed to death by a group of Millwall supporters.<\/p>\n
Tensions did not ease after the turn of the century.<\/p>\n
When they met in the 2009 League Cup, a Millwall fan was stabbed outside Upton Park before the game.<\/p>\n
There were several delays to the game as supporters invaded the pitch and 54 West Ham supporters were handed life bans as the club was hit with a \u00a3115,000 fine from the Football Association.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was in front of the Millwall fans, they\u2019d ripped up the chairs and started throwing them on the pitch,\u201d then West Ham goalkeeper Rob Green recalled to The Athletic.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut then they started pulling out the metal framework that held the seats in. That\u2019s when I realised, \u2018S***, this is going to be a long night.\u2019 It was venomous hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n
Green added: \u201cThe heavy police presence made it a different kind of game. On paper, we (West Ham) had enough to beat them, but they scored an early goal and that just heightened the tense atmosphere. It went to extra time and that was the last thing the game needed. The pitch invasions delayed it even further.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game finished late and we couldn\u2019t leave the ground until it died down outside. Nothing about that game felt safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>A supporter waves his shirt on the pitch during an English League Cup soccer match between West Ham and Millwall, at Upton Park Stadium, London, Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009. (AP Photo\/PA, Nick Potts)<\/span>Source: News Limited<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/amp-img>A man confronts riot police outside the West Ham football ground on August 25, 2009 in London, England. According to reports bricks and bottles were being used as missiles as fans broke through a riot police divide. (Photo by Dan Kitwood\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nFootball officials, security guards and London\u2019s Metropolitan Police will certainly be hoping there is no repeat of those ugly scenes this weekend.<\/p>\n
They will be crossing their fingers and toes that TalkSport pundit and former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan\u2019s jab that \u201cMillwall fans these days are a lot more bark than they are bite\u201d is proven to be true.<\/p>\n
If it is wrong, there will be 400 police officers – four times the usual amount for a football match in London – ready to try put an end to any unrest.<\/p>\n
On the pitch, Premier League referee Paul Tierney has dropped down a division for this match to make sure an experienced official is in charge.<\/p>\n
Jordan\u2019s comment has not sat well with some Millwall fans, who are eager to recreate the bad old days their parents and grandparents lived through.<\/p>\n
One Millwall fan went viral on social media earlier this week after spotting injured West Ham star Tomas Soucek outside a shop and threatening him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSoucek, come here. If I see you at The Den next Saturday, I\u2019m going to cut your f***ing face off,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old, who played of Czechia at this year\u2019s World Cup, simply laughed back at him.<\/p>\n
The incident made a splash on social media, but it was arguably one of the most tame Millwall-West Ham moments in 129 years of hatred for one another.<\/p>\n
They have hated each other since Queen Victoria sat on the British throne and Australia was still a collection of English colonies.<\/p>\n
The history books say tensions were always there from when West Ham was created in an ironworks and shipbuilding factory in 1895 – a decade after Millwall was started in a canned food factory less than 5 kilometres away.<\/p>\n
The 1926 General Strike was the true birth of the hatred between the opposing working-class communities of East London, however.<\/p>\n
Most West Ham supporters joined the strike, while many Millwall fans kept working.<\/p>\n
The latter were viewed as traitors and there was no looking back for the distaste between the two clubs from either side of the Thames River\u2019s old industrial area, \u2018The Isle Of Dogs\u2019.<\/p>\n
In more recent times, several Australians became thrust into the middle of the Dockers\u2019 Derby.<\/p>\n
Socceroos legend Tim Cahill donned the navy blue and white when they made a stunning run to the FA Cup final in 2004, losing 3-0 to Manchester United.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Millwall soccer player Tim Cahill celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Sunderland during their FA Cup semi-final match at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, England, 04 Apr 2004.<\/span>Source: News Limited<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThat same season, he also suited up twice against West Ham alongside Socceroos teammate Kevin Muscat.<\/p>\n
The notorious hard man Muscat is still much-loved by Millwall fans despite only spending two seasons with the club.<\/p>\n
Arguably no player in their history as embodied their tagline of \u2018no one likes us and we don\u2019t care\u2019 better than the hard-nosed defender.<\/p>\n
Former Australian captain Lucas Neill never played for Millwall against West Ham.<\/p>\n
His 152 appearances for the Lions from 1995 to 2001 came during a decade-long hiatus in meetings between the two rivals.<\/p>\n
Neill was branded a traitor by Millwall fans, not when he left to join then Premier League club Blackburn Rovers, but when he joined West Ham later in his career.<\/p>\n
The Australian flag is still flying proudly at The Den, however, with Massimo Luongo inking a new one-year deal for this season.<\/p>\n
The player of the tournament from the Socceroos\u2019 2015 Asian Cup triumph will most likely be watching from the stands this Saturday. <\/p>\n
The 33-year-old recently played a half in Millwall\u2019s under 21s are part of return to action following an ACL injury last October.<\/p>\n
Australian born and raised Scottish international Lyndon Dykes will be a near certain starter, however, having bagged four goals so far this season for the Lions.<\/p>\n
Dykes will need to be on song if an undermanned Millwall are to cause an upset after West Ham showed they are intent on bouncing straight back up to the Premier League with a 6-0 thrashing of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac\u2019s Wrexham last weekend.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>West Ham United fans hold a banner for Jarrod Bowen of West Ham United during the Sky Bet Championship 2026\/27 match between West Ham United and Wrexham at London Stadium on September 11, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe Hammers have scored 16 goals in their last four league games, but the form line will almost galvanise Millwall\u2019s supporters even more.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will feel that it is down to them to a degree to give the Lions a fighting chance,\u201d sports reporter Nick Godwin said on BBC Radio London earlier this week.<\/p>\n
That might be a scary proposition for West Ham and the authorities.<\/p>\n
But there is a strong hope within the English football community the ugly scenes of yesteryear will be not repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a real line to be trod because it could be a ferocious atmosphere,\u201d Godwin said on BBC Radio London.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be a brilliant occasion. West Ham on song, but nevertheless, whoever does play for Millwall at The Den – (manager) Alex Neal is brilliant at extracting 115 per cent out of his players anyway – but on that occasion, whoever gets selected will give their all.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be a passionate away support. It has all the ingredients of a classic.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut that line has to be walked, and has to be walked very, very carefully.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Londoners, lock your doors and stay off the streets. Chaos is coming because for the first time in 14 years, Millwall and West Ham are meeting in a football match. \ufeffGet all the latest football news, highlights and analysis delivered straight to your inbox with Fox Sports Sportmail. Sign up now!!! English football\u2019s bloodiest rivalry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":263157,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6807],"tags":[156],"class_list":{"0":"post-263156","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leagues-cups","8":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}