MILLWALL v WEST HAM UNITED
npower CHAMPIONSHIP
SATURDAY 17 SEPTEMBER 2011
KICK-OFF: 12.30PM
FULL AUDIO AND TEXT COMMENTARY - WEST HAM TV
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Messsage to supporters
West Ham United would like to remind all those travelling to the Millwall match next Saturday of their responsibility as Hammers supporters.
The club have had a tremendous start to the season - in no small part because of the terrific and passionate following we have had at Doncaster Rovers, Watford and Nottingham Forest. At all three matches, the travelling Irons have won wide praise.
Our away support is second to none and this has rightly been flagged up in the media and throughout the football world. We are calling on all fans heading to The Den for the next fixture to show their support in the right way once again and back Big Sam's team from start to finish.
There will be a high-profile police presence at this game, which gets under way at 12.30pm, and supporters are requested to abide by the rules imposed by Millwall FC in respect of fan behaviour.
Any football-related incidences reported before, during or after the game will be thoroughly investigated. There will be serious implications for anyone found responsible for wrongdoing in terms of their ability to follow West Ham United at home or away in future.
Remember - whether following the team home or away - we are we are all ambassadors for West Ham United and how we act has a direct consequence on the club we love.
Thanks for your continued support.
* Supporters are advised that parking in the area around The Den is extremely limited with restrictions being enforced on matchday. The easiest and most direct route is for fans to take the train from London Bridge to South Bermondsey, with the ground a short walk direct from the station.
Introduction
• West Ham United will go top of the npower Championship table for the first time in 2011/12 if they can achieve victory over Millwall at The Den. The Hammers go into the weekend in fourth place, having collected 13 points from their opening six league matches. Millwall are 15th, having picked up six points from six matches played. A draw would lift the Hammers above Middlesbrough into third.
• Sam Allardyce's men are seeking a fourth straight away npower Championship victory at The Den, having defeated Doncaster Rovers (1-0), Watford (4-0) and Nottingham Forest (4-1) on their own turf already this season. Should they win, West Ham will record four consecutive away league victories for the first time since April-September 2007, when they overcame Wigan Athletic, Manchester United, Birmingham City and Reading.
• Carlton Cole has scored in each of his previous four league matches. Should he score on Saturday, he would match the five-straight league matches he scored in between December 2008-January 2009, when he netted against Portsmouth, Stoke City, Newcastle United, Fulham and Hull City.
• Millwall have not tasted victory in the league since defeating Nottingham Forest 2-0 at The Den on 13 August. Since then, the Lions have drawn at home with Peterborough United (2-2) and Barnsley (0-0) and lost at Southampton (0-1) and Birmingham City (0-3).
• West Ham United have not won any of the previous six league meetings between the clubs, all of which have come in the Championship. However, the Hammers did taste victory the most-recent fixture between the near-neighbours, scoring a 3-1 League Cup second-round victory at the Boleyn Ground on 25 August 2009.
• The Hammers' most-recent league victory over Millwall took place on 24 February 1991 with a 3-1 win at home in the old Division Two. Frank McAvennie scored twice.
• Millwall are unbeaten in four home matches against West Ham United - a run stretching back to the Hammers' 1-0 Division One victory at The Den on 3 December 1988, when Paul Ince was the match-winner. The match also marked West Ham's only success at Millwall since the Second World War.
• Mark Noble is the only survivor from the West Ham United side that drew 1-1 with Millwall in the clubs' most-recent league meeting at the Boleyn Ground on 16 April 2005. Marlon Harewood was on target for the Hammers that day.
• Carlton Cole is seeking to score in his fifth consecutive league match, having netted against Watford, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and Portsmouth in recent weeks.
• Millwall's Irish goalkeeper David Forde spent two years at West Ham between 2002 and 2004 but never featured in the first team. He moved to Millwall in 2008.
• Millwall manager Kenny Jackett was busy during the summer transfer window, bringing in Hull City striker Jay Simpson on loan and Bournemouth winger Liam Feeney, Leicester City forward Dany 'Guessan, West Bromwich Albion's Ryan Allsop, Sheffield United striker Darius Henderson, Charlton Athletic's French midfielder Therry Racon and the unattached Jordan Stewart. Jackett also allowed Wales striker Steve Morison to join Premier League new boys Norwich City and veteran forward and club-record goalscorer Neil Harris to move to Southend United.
• Sam Baldock scored twice in a 4-0 League One victory for MK Dons at Millwall on 4 October 2008.
• Henri Lansbury scored a 90th-minute winner for Norwich City in their 2-1 Championship victory over Millwall at Carrow Road on 1 February 2011.
Team news
West Ham United
• Sam Allardyce could hand a full debut to David Bentley after the England midfielder appeared as a second-half substitute against Portsmouth last weekend.
• Summer signings Sam Baldock, Papa Bouba Diop and Brian Montenegro will all hope to be involved. Diop and Montenegro both featured for the development squad in a 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur on Monday. Guy Demel was also involved but substituted early with a tight hamstring.
• Frederic Piquionne begins a three-match suspension after being sent-off in the 4-3 npower Championship victory over Portsmouth on Saturday.
• Gary O'Neil (ankle) is out with long-term ankle injury. However, Peter Kurucz has returned to training after a lengthy absence with a knee injury.
• Pablo Barrera and Jordan Spence are on season-long loans at Real Zaragoza and Bristol City respectively. Ahmed Abdulla (Swindon Town), Jordan Brown (Aldershot Town), Olly Lee (Dagenham & Redbridge), Cristian Montano (Notts County) and Callum McNaughton (AFC Wimbledon) are all out on temporary loans.
Millwall
• Millwall are likely to be without summer capture Therry Racon (ankle).
• Striker Shaun Batt has a calf strain.
• Winger Chris Hackett has missed the club's last two league games with back problems.
Last time out
Saturday 10 September 2011
npower Championship
West Ham United 4-3 Portsmouth
West Ham United: Green, O'Brien, McCartney, Reid, Tomkins, Lansbury, Noble, Nolan, Faubert (Bentley 57), Taylor, Cole (Piquionne 85)
Subs not used: Boffin, Faye, Baldock
Goals: Taylor 9, Lansbury 53, Noble 72 (pen), Cole 76
Sunday 11 September 2011
Birmingham City 3-0 Millwall
Millwall: Forde, Robinson, Mkandawire, Craig, Ward, Dunne, Bouazza (Henry 61), Trotter, Feeney ('Guessan 61), Simpson (Marquis 72), Henderson
Subs not used: Mildenhall, Abdou
Goals: None
Previous meetings
• The most-recent meeting between the two clubs was for a Carling Cup second-round tie at the Boleyn Ground on 25 August 2009. Millwall took the lead through Neil Harris on 26 minutes and looked set to complete an upset victory until Junior Stanislas equalised with three minutes of normal time remaining. Stanislas then netted a penalty eight minutes into extra time before Zavon Hines completed the scoring after 100 minutes.
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Gabbidon, Tomkins, Spector, Collison, Parker, Kovac (Nouble 62), Payne (Hines 46), Cole (Upson 109), Stanislas
Subs not used: Kurucz, Daprela, Collins, O.Lee
Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Smith, Frampton , Barron , Hackett, Fuseini, Laird, Martin (Price 91), Alexander (Bolder 99), Harris (Grimes 99)
Subs not used: Sullivan
• The teams last meeting at the Den took place in the Championship on 21 November 2004, when Daniele Dichio scored the only goal of the game to secure a 1-0 victory for Millwall.
• This will be the 25th meeting between the two clubs. West Ham United have nine wins, with ten draws and five victories for Milwall.
Head to head
(Last six meetings)
25 August 2009 - West Ham United 3-1 Millwall AET (Carling Cup second round)
16 April 2005 - West Ham United 1-1 Millwall
21 November 2004 - Millwall 1-0 West Ham United
21 March 2004 - Millwall 4-1 West Ham United
28 September 2003 - West Ham United 1-1 Millwall
28 March 1993 - West Ham United 2-2 Millwall
Overall record v Millwall (all competitions): W 9, D 10, L 5
Ten-year records
West Ham United
2010/11 Premier League 20th (33 points)
2009/10 Premier League 17th (35 points)
2008/09 Premier League 9th (51 points)
2007/08 Premier League 10th (49 points)
2006/07 Premier League 15th (41 points)
2005/06 Premier League 9th (55 points)
2004/05 Championship 6th (73 points - promoted to Premier League via play-offs)
2003/04 Championship 4th (74 points)
2002/03 Premier League 18th (42 points - relegated to Championship)
2001/02 Premier League 7th (53 points)
Millwall
2010/11 Championship 9th (67 points)
2009/10 League One 3rd (85 points - promoted to Championship via Play-Offs)
2008/09 League One 5th (82 points)
2007/08 League One 17th (52 points)
2006/07 League One 10th (66 points)
2005/06 Championship 23rd (40 points - relegated to League One)
2004/05 Championship 10th (66 points)
2003/04 Division One 10th (69 points)
2002/03 Division One 9th (66 points)
2001/02 Division One 4th (77 points)
Referee
• Saturday's referee will be Lee Mason.
• Mason started refereeing in 1988 and in 1992 he was added to the North West Counties Football League assistant referees' list, and progressed to full referee for that competition four years later.
• He was included on the Football League list of assistant referees in 1998, and was then added to the Premier League list in 2000.
• In 2002, he was promoted to referee for the Football League and in 2003 became a 'Development Group' referee, before finally reaching the Premier League list of Select Group referees in 2006.
• His first ever match in the top tier was on 4 February 2006, when Middlesbrough lost 4-0 at home to Aston Villa.
• Mason was chosen to control the League One Play-Off final between Barnsley and Swansea on 27 May 2006.
• The 39-year-old took charge of three West Ham United Premier League fixtures last season - the 1-1 draw at Stoke City, the 3-3 draw at West Bromwich Albion and the 4-2 home defeat by Manchester United.
Old boys
• West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce spent two seasons with Millwall as a player between 1981 and 1983, scoring twice in 63 league appearances.
• Billy Bonds and Pat Holland have both formed part of the Lions' management in recent years.
• Among the players to have represented both clubs are Harry Cripps, Lawrie Leslie, Jim Standen, Brian Dear, Paul Allen, Paul Goddard, Tony Cottee, Teddy Sheringham, Neil Ruddock and Lucas Neill.
Up next
• West Ham United host Peterborough United in the npower Championship on Saturday 24 September, with kick-off at 3pm. The club is running the Kids for a Fiver scheme for this match.
• Millwall travel to Premier League Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carling Cup third round on Tuesday 20 September for a 7.45pm kick-off.
General information
• All standard tickets for Saturday's match have SOLD OUT.
• Supporters travelling to The Den are encouraged to use public transport. The easiest route is by train to South Bermondsey, which is just a five-minute ride from London Bridge. From the railway station, there is a specially-built walkway for away supporters to take them directly to the away turnstiles and back to the station after the match.
• The weather forecast is for a cloudy day with a daytime high temperature of 16C (61F).