Millwall in the FA Cup: The Road to the Millennium

Author: David Sullivan

Millwall in the FA Cup: The Road to the Millennium

For a club like Millwall this book is a unique volume that is totally focussed on one football trophy, namely the FA Cup, a competition that has not only excited fans up and down the country, but also the players and club officials since the professional game kicked-off in 1888.
Contained within the book are previously unpublished photos and other material, some of which will show the highs and lows of Millwall's colourful and often sad story on their long and remarkable journey to the Millennium Stadium in 2004, as readers will recall their own magic moments from the Cup.
It will also bring back to life those early pioneers of Millwall Rovers who battled against the old boys sides from the public schools in the days before professionalism was adopted, with the likes of Harry Butler and goalkeeper Obed Caygill.
After playing a leading role in the formation of the Southern League in 1894, Rovers now became Millwall Athletic, a fully professional club. With foundations firmly laid, the Dockers (their old nickname) began their rise in the game, reaching the semi-finals in 1900 and 1903. The book traces their decline over the following decades, before the autocratic and innovative figure of manager Charlie Hewitt guided the Lions back to the big time following their first relegation in 1934, and through to distressing losses at non-League outfits following World War Two.
Over the following decades, it was a familiar pattern in the Cup, with some fantastic victories over old Cup adversaries, tempered by crushing defeats; however, with the appointment of the honour-ladened Dennis Wise in 2003, Millwall became a very hard team to beat, which would lead to their first Cup Final appearance.