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Piccolo

Piccolo

Posted
Posted

Sorry to be pedantic... But...

It has never been called the 'New Den' officially.

When it was being built (& whilst we were still at the 'old' Den) it had the project name 'The New London Stadium'. But, once we moved in and left Cold Blow Lane it became simply 'The Den'. 

Besides, it's 25 years old this August and is starting to rust - there's nothing 'new' about it at all these days. 

We did use to joke that it should be called the 'Burr Den'; as it was pushed through by our then Chairperson Reg Burr and nearly killed the club! Especially as we are the only club in English football history to see crowds dip on moving grounds, as many old time Wall fans refused to step foot in the place (I know several that still haven't). 

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Piccolo

Piccolo

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46 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

@Piccolo what's the latest with developers buying all the land around the Den and trying to get your ground off you? I know it was big news a while ago but I haven't heard a thing for a while.

CPOs were stopped and it put back to the drawing board. Local council elections coming soon - so will either get scrapped or start all over again. 

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Lanterne Rouge

Lanterne Rouge

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1 hour ago, Piccolo said:

CPOs were stopped and it put back to the drawing board. Local council elections coming soon - so will either get scrapped or start all over again. 

That`s great news mate and let`s hope that`s an end to the matter. Fair play to you lot though for not taking it lying down - I`ve heard a fair bit about it from my brother in law who`s got a ST at yours.

It`s great when you can win against overwhelming odds, say what you like about your lot you are still a club in and for the community and long may it continue.

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Piccolo

Piccolo

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37 minutes ago, Red Right Hand said:

That`s great news mate and let`s hope that`s an end to the matter. Fair play to you lot though for not taking it lying down - I`ve heard a fair bit about it from my brother in law who`s got a ST at yours.

It`s great when you can win against overwhelming odds, say what you like about your lot you are still a club in and for the community and long may it continue.

Sadly, I think this one is going to have to go all the way - some very dodgy dealings going on. Luckily, the fan groups have been very organised and our chairman is a wealthy American who is not willing to take this laying down & has some top lawyers on the case. 

I'm a teacher and the son of a builder - so a Labour voter all my life. Therefore, it has been very sad to see a Labour council actively side with an off-shore property developer who by all accounts are looking to flip the land as soon as it all goes through, over the local football club that has & continues to do so much for the local community  (even they had to concede Millwall's community scheme saves the local authority  £7m in funding each year) & which simply wants to have control over its car-park and community centre. The club has no objections to the area being regenerated - it just doesn't want a developer as a landlord, who will make life very difficult for us to operate. 

Trouble is, in London space is at a premium and there is a lot of money to be made - just look at what has happened to poor old Dulwich Hamlet down the road. One of the biggest and most famous of all non-league clubs. 

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Ska Junkie

Ska Junkie

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38 minutes ago, Piccolo said:

Sadly, I think this one is going to have to go all the way - some very dodgy dealings going on. Luckily, the fan groups have been very organised and our chairman is a wealthy American who is not willing to take this laying down & has some top lawyers on the case. 

I'm a teacher and the son of a builder - so a Labour voter all my life. Therefore, it has been very sad to see a Labour council actively side with an off-shore property developer who by all accounts are looking to flip the land as soon as it all goes through, over the local football club that has & continues to do so much for the local community  (even they had to concede Millwall's community scheme saves the local authority  £7m in funding each year) & which simply wants to have control over its car-park and community centre. The club has no objections to the area being regenerated - it just doesn't want a developer as a landlord, who will make life very difficult for us to operate. 

Trouble is, in London space is at a premium and there is a lot of money to be made - just look at what has happened to poor old Dulwich Hamlet down the road. One of the biggest and most famous of all non-league clubs. 

Where would that leave you if it went against you Piccolo? Millwall not in Bermondsey is just plain wrong as it's a community club. Where would you go?

It would be a very sad day if you did have to move again.

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Piccolo

Piccolo

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15 minutes ago, Ska Junkie said:

Where would that leave you if it went against you Piccolo? Millwall not in Bermondsey is just plain wrong as it's a community club. Where would you go?

It would be a very sad day if you did have to move again.

The club have mentioned moving to Kent - but I believe that's a scare tactic, designed to highlight how serious this is & to mobilise fans. Also, it brings to mind what happened to Wimbledon. 

I think Millwall live or die by a London postcode, be it a SE or E14 one. Even if Kent CC, a county council hostile to football clubs if history is anything to go by, happily accepts the pariahs of English football into their county, I can't imagine many Millwall fans watching them there. The club is so entrenched in our little corner of London that for many you cannot separate the two. For the old communities that still live there The Den is like the last bastion of that old docklands working class culture left in the area. For those that have moved out to greater London and beyond, The Den is like a Mecca to pilgrimage to. 

If the club is forced out of SE16 then the only options nearby are the athletics track site at Southwark Park (where Fisher got PP for a 10,000 capacity stadium before running out of money) or on the Greenwich peninsula, where they have touted a potential stadium site next to the O2 before (Charlton and Spurs looked at it). However, who knows how viable they are.

Most likely is a reformed club called Millwall Rovers playing in E14 or at Fisher's ground in Southwark; having to do an AFC Wimbledon. 

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Olé

Olé

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20 hours ago, Never to the dark side said:

and they are building a nice new train station right along side by the junction of South Bermondsey rail station

to serve football fans from the New cross gate/new cross  aerial

Actually John the new station will be on the line between Surrey Quays and Peckham and onward to Clapham - an alternative direction to New Cross Gate / New Cross - so would serve the Clapham Junction direction. I imagine it'd make most difference to football fans coming into London via Clapham Junction (and South Coast teams or teams in SW London) and being able to get to Millwall without going into central London.

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Olé

Olé

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23 hours ago, Piccolo said:

For the old communities that still live there The Den is like the last bastion of that old docklands working class culture left in the area. For those that have moved out to greater London and beyond, The Den is like a Mecca to pilgrimage to.

@Piccolo - living in the area I know what you mean about those who moved out (I see groups of Millwall boys coming into New Cross from the Eltham / Kent direction and doing a pub crawl down the New Cross Road to games), but as far as old communities that still live here, I've very rarely found anyone that actually goes. It's such a shame because you can tell there's still a lot of pride in the club, but very little affection for going to games anymore.

Having been to the Den last season on our international break when you thrashed Bristol Rovers (hahaha etc), I thought the atmosphere was decent compared to many grounds I've been to, so am surprised they don't go. But spoken to a lot of old boys locally who haven't been for years. Comments about Wembley trips being spoiled by Bermondsey / Rotherhithe lads kicking off with one another etc. I don't know if they just feel it's a different fan base.

The CPO was a disgrace, and great people rallied around but IMO still much more to do to connect with the local area. I've honestly not seen either a single Millwall shirt on a non-matchday in SE14, nor any Millwall stickers anywhere, but I see Palace (and, embarrassingly, Arsenal or Chelsea) shirts all the time, as well as loads of Palace stickers all over the area. When I compare it to Bedminster I can't imagine City being strangers in their own backyard.

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