He was treated disgracefully.
He was and what made it worse for me was he personally defended us fans when he could have stayed stchum. I was also told by my man in the carpark that Rowett was an absolute rock and godsend to a number of club staff during the mourning of Mr Berylson and that he went beyond the call of duty to support and counsel some of our younger players that were deeply affected by there loss of someone that they had a close and tight bond with.
By all accounts Mr Berylson was some what a father figure to the players. He took interest in them on a personal level and was big on motivating and helping them in how to make the best of there talent. It can't of been easy to just switch off from that and play football. Yet the players were being booed and cunted 10 minutes in to the Bristol game. Fifteen minutes prior to the game starting nearly to a man the whole crowd was in tears as they paid there last respects to our leader,our adopted brother and father figure.
Along with having to deal with the emotional impact of Mr Berylsons passing Rowett also had a team to prepare, players to bring in and all in limited time. Not once since the first ball was kicked this season has any of what Rowett and the players had to deal with been taken into consideration by the boo boys. Not once have they done what Mr Berylson would have wanted and what he loved about us. That is to pull up the drawbridge and stick together.
Not ten minutes after James Berylson giving the rallying call to us
“This will mark the start of a new era, one in which we will strive to fulfill dad’s legacy.
“We are Millwall. We are family.”
He and his family had to sit and listen to our players and manager being loudly
What I hear sometimes makes me not want to go back. How fuckin sad is that!?!?!?!
You are not the only one mate. A lot of regulars from our age group/ generartion have turned it in. Where i sit in block two there was a group of around 10-15 chaps when all out that sat behind me. All season ticket holders and long term mates from the PO and Trains. Went away regular too. Over the last two/ three year that group has dwindled to 3 and 4 at most. The rest have had enough and binned it off after going for 40 odd year.
. I knew Gary when he was at Cambridge. I was mates with Liam Daish. Gary came for a booze a couple of times. Nice bloke he was. Very grounded.
I have no doubts he was. He comes across that way. I've never detected a bit of smugness or ego that you get with many other managers.
I couldn't give a fuck what division we're in,
Same here now mate but i've done my time. Millwall has always been about the the social aspect and a tear up first and formost for me. The tear up has long gone but Wall is still a big part of keeping friendships going. I know we're all different but i think if i was more concerned about the quality of football being served up i would have stopped going in 1982
I think most of us of a certain age appreciate our place in the championship more than our younger fans cause it's something we weren't accustomed to but the youngens are and want more. I think that's where a lot of the impatience and lack of realism comes from-the youngens and it's expressed at the team through frustration .We've spent 13 of the last 15 seasons in the championship. Next season will ten years since our last relegation. I've seen us drop down leagues five times, nearly go bankrupt and out of existence. We're getting 3 and 4 times the crowds that i experienced in the late 70's which was the begiining of my journey. Remember being in the bottom three nearly all season. The Den toxic and crowds down to 4 and 5k. Fucking won our last 5 games and stayed up.
Next season we spent 90% of that in the bottom three. Third last game was the Vermin at home. We won in front of decent crowd. Two weeks later we played Preston in front of less than 3k and were relegated. I remember my old man turning to me and saying i told we can be shit, this ain't the last time thryr'll put you through this bollox. He weren't wrong!!!
The Vermin game was my first one my old man let me go to- on the proviso i didn't tell my old dear if he hits anyone ' in defence '. He hit several people after on Ilderton road
I had a scarf on and we copped a bit of abuse from a few vermin so my old man and my mates dad weighed them in. I also got a couple of quid from my old man which was obviously a sweetner.
I already hated them cause one of my best mates was the younger brother of Ian that died at the hands of vermin in New cross in 76. To this day i can't be any where near one of them or left alone in a room if i know they're vermin. It broke Steven my mate/ Ians little brother. I more or less decided that i'd be his brother and looked after him at school and on the estate cause i was older than him by six months.. We used plan for the day we was big enough for a pay back.
He spent the next few years in shock. He never got over it and sadly in his adult years he endured years of battling drug and alcohol addiction. It's fair to say that because of all of that i have always done him proud when it's come to them. When i was in my prime and active i went to several London Derby's featuring them, any opportunities i got i took.
I had Chelsea and Arsenal mates from Walworth that also liked a row so went with a handful of Wall and 20 odd Walworth bods to Chelsea v Vermin. All in the 80's. Proper went off near Lotts road and i had a field day. I clumped everything that was in reach. Same event and probably by now a handful of times i'd seen Pennant. He was front row when they came around the corner firm handed, about a minute later after it popped he was sparko on the deck.
I see him in the same position licking the tarmac when i went with DW. black fella that got down wall and a load of Walworth Gooners to there game against the vermin. Arsenall had a top top firm then and the numbers. Vermin showed but got fucking ruined. The gooners were a tidy mob for a while and kept things to themselves.
