Millwall starting 11

[REDOXO]

3 minutes ago, ExiledAjax said:

@REDOXO no, I'm sorry but the operative word is "particularly". This was a group of a dozen or so, all of whom were either actively joining with or, or passively allowing, racism and homophobic abuse. They were all abhorrent, but ringleader was "particularly" so.

I am also at fault for not being more forceful with my objection at the time. I could list all the reasons why I limited myself to raised eyebrows and a very quiet word to one of the more reasonable of the group, but the ain one is that I was a single, sober man contemplating telling a group of 12 boozed up and aggressive men to shut up. I ask for everyone's compassion in understanding why I stayed pretty quiet.

I've said that I do not intend to tar all City fans with the brush of racism, just as OP should not tar all Millwall just because they're starting XI is white. It happened. It's crap, and I've felt pretty crap about it at times this week.

I like football fans. I want them to be respected. I'm working to make that happen. Incidents like this, however isolated, shake my faith in that belief.

Sorry fella your post said a particularly disgusting City fan. Unless I am mistaken. 
 

A dozen as you have said now is far more concerning! 

[PHILINFRANCE]

2 hours ago, Fordy62 said:

Can you explain this one to me? I’ve not a ******* clue. 

Southend had a forward, who had gypsy heritage.

As I mentioned, however, I am struggling to remember his name, but do recall he was quite a good player.

It has just come to me - Freddy Eastwood!

Whilst I have not heard it, I should imagine the same song was/is sung by opponents of Jonjo, who is now at Nottingham Forest.

A little snippet about Freddy Eastwood.

Freddy Eastwood was not at home yesterday. That is, if the very solid-looking bungalow just off a busy dual carriageway outside Basildon is indeed his home, which a somewhat aggressive woman insisted it was not.

Other sources, including a planning application from August and a couple of youngsters on bikes before they were quickly ushered away, suggested otherwise but it did not seem worth arguing, particularly when the sight of the Guardian's photographer prompted a group of men to pile into a flat-bed truck and chase his car back on to the main road.

This was unfortunate because the Southend striker's Romany background could, if he and the community were so inclined, be turned into the most positive publicity an often unfairly maligned element of society has received for some time. There is no doubt his background is hugely important to Eastwood, as Phil O'Reilly, the secretary at the player's first club after being released by West Ham, Grays Athletic, said yesterday.

 

"He [Eastwood] certainly had an eye for goal and very, very quick feet, but at the same time it could be said he was a fool to himself for not taking his football seriously," O'Reilly recalled.

"But the travellers are a very close-knit family. It was a standing joke here after he left that he could be seen on a Saturday morning exercising his horse with a cart on the A127 and then go on to play for Southend in the afternoon; several people saw him doing that. We had to be flexible with him because of his lifestyle but his father came with him to every game."

Edited April 20, 2023 by PHILINFRANCE

[Bobs Dad]

29th October 2005 At Ashton Gate, Bristol City 0 Southend Utd 3, with a certain Mr Eastwood getting a hat trick. I live near Southend and it was particularly galling as I took a lot of stick off my ‘Shrimper’ mates. Southend that day were managed by none other than the gas record signing, Steve Tillson. 

Edited April 20, 2023 by Bobs Dad

[East End Old Boy]

11 hours ago, Olé said:

I live in the area immediately around the Den and my local is one of Millwall’s top pubs and I rub shoulders with their fans every week so I feel like I have a pretty good feel for them. Only part of what you say is true, a lot is just cliche.

• Yes the immediate area has the demographics you mention (more so African than Caribbean)
• All are passionate about football but largely favour Arsenal and Chelsea and watch games on TV
• This is really no different to any of the rest of us outside the top flight who lose local supporters
• But as an example they’ll come in a Millwall pub to watch their games - there is no intimidation
• There is very successful largely black youth football which has fed Arsenal, Chelsea and others
• One mistake people make is associating Millwall footballing output to this talent on the doorstep
• Millwall training ground is in Bromley (80% white) and youth academy is in Eltham (90% white)
• So they are drawing from families in SE suburbs and Kent - black families locally push for Prem 
• Millwall does have black supporters, they’re 50+ proper flat cap wearing old school cockneys
• Millwall fans are offensive but they do it to everyone, they slag Rowett off yet are in the playoffs
• A racist element is there like a lot of clubs but in my experience it’s not the old school or local lot

So there is absolutely nothing which means the club is specifically excluding anyone or trying to be something different. To be honest, as it relates to their team right now, from what I gather it’s actually just Rowett preferring to play solid one dimensional experienced footballers to grind out results to stay in the playoffs, not to stereotype but that’s leading to the sorts of line ups and faces you saw over the last several games.

As an example, I get Millwall tweets popping up on my Twitter just by being local, I’d seen this tweet earlier before I’d seen this thread - it’s referring to an 80 year old Millwall fan who reckons they should be playing Esse, a black 17 year old who has broken into the first team this season. Even he appears to be complaining that they’re not currently playing talent like this, and it sounds like most Millwall fans agree with the point.

 

Watched the end of the Millwall v Birmingham game, after City’s game finished and Esse was brought on as a substitute. He does look a talent in the making! Needs to fill out a bit, like Scott did during the last year!

[Betty Swallocks]

20 hours ago, Baldyman said:

Been watching a lot of Tv footy of late whilst recovering from a broken ankle and was surprised to see Millwall’s starting 11 for the last 2 games with them still in with a shout of the Prem next season . In both games I saw , they started & finished without a single black or Asian player on the pitch . All other London clubs had between 5 & 9 players who were Black or Asian on the pitch over their last 2 games .The area in and around Millwall is 61 % Black or Asian . So what’s the issue here ? It surely couldn’t be the club themselves instigating this so is it that Black and Asian players just give that club the biggest swerve possible . If so , how on Earth could they survive in the Prem with pitiful gates and a massive  pool of talent visibly steering well clear , presumably for reasons engrained over many decades ? 

Definitely looking for an issue that isn’t there. 

[The Coach]

33 minutes ago, Bobs Dad said:

29th October 2005 At Ashton Gate, Bristol City 0 Southend Utd 3, with a certain Mr Eastwood getting a hat trick. I live near Southend and it was particularly galling as I took a lot of stick off my ‘Shrimper’ mates. Southend that day were managed by none other than the gas record signing, Steve Tillson. 

Remember that game like it was yesterday. Eastwood was untouchable that game.

[REDOXO]

@Percy Pig For us old boys, what’s The GRT community? 

[PHILINFRANCE]

12 minutes ago, REDOXO said:

@Percy Pig For us old boys, what’s The GRT community? 

Gypsy, Roma and Traveller.

[redkev]

10 hours ago, The Original OTIB said:

Not Cockneys though, West Ham are the "Cockney Boys". South East London has its own identity, as you know.

West Ham no longer cockneys , now Essex boys , 

remeber going to West Ham when we last played them at Upton Park , no racism intended certainly not the West Ham I went too in the 90s 

[italian dave]

1 hour ago, REDOXO said:

@Percy Pig For us old boys, what’s The GRT community? 

We’re not ‘old boys’ Redoxo, we’re the VPY (Victims of the Passing Years) Community

[REDOXO]

27 minutes ago, italian dave said:

We’re not ‘old boys’ Redoxo, we’re the VPY (Victims of the Passing Years) Community

We certainly are. Still no idea what GRT community means. I guess I’ll find my glasses and look it up. 
 

Found my glasses… It’s the Gypsy Roma Traveller community for those of us to old to keep proper track of all the communities! 

Edited April 20, 2023 by REDOXO

[archie andrews]

10 minutes ago, Percy Pig said:

@PHILINFRANCE posted the meaning a couple of posts up! 

Its probably the one form of racism/prejudice that goes most unchallenged across society. Having spent nearly ten years coaching the kids of a GRT family I learned that the myths predicated about them are nonsense. 

 

so i can tell my dog its safe then?....

[archie andrews]

3 minutes ago, Percy Pig said:

And here we go.... 

 

here we go what then

[REDOXO]

24 minutes ago, Percy Pig said:

@PHILINFRANCE posted the meaning a couple of posts up! 

Its probably the one form of racism/prejudice that goes most unchallenged across society. Having spent nearly ten years coaching the kids of a GRT family I learned that the myths predicated about them are nonsense. 

 

I guess I better unblock him for informational purposes! 
 

In my opinion generalities are generally true, but I’m glad you had a good experience! 
 

 

[AshtonGreat]

34 minutes ago, Percy Pig said:

@PHILINFRANCE posted the meaning a couple of posts up! 

Its probably the one form of racism/prejudice that goes most unchallenged across society. Having spent nearly ten years coaching the kids of a GRT family I learned that the myths predicated about them are nonsense. 

 

What myths?

[PHILINFRANCE]

3 hours ago, REDOXO said:

I guess I better unblock him for informational purposes! 
 

In my opinion generalities are generally true, but I’m glad you had a good experience! 
 

 

Hey!

 You blocked me ?

[Baldyman]

21 hours ago, Sir Geoff said:

I'm not sure what Inference the op is trying to make but I suspect Rowett picks the best 11 players to win each match regardless of heritage 

Please don’t misunderstand, I’m not inferring anything . I’m just asking the question as it was so noticeable compared  to just about every other team playing the game , especially amongst the London clubs .  Pure curiosity on my part as to the reasons behind it .