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The Way Forward

Luke Innes

Monday, December 16th, 2013

1 Leave a comment on verse 1 0 Football ain’t the most serious of things
But it certainly provokes emotion
I can divide friends, unite enemies
And always causes a commotion

2 Leave a comment on verse 2 0 I remember the semi-final against Wigan
After our impressive cup run
It didn’t go well, the red mist descended
And things got a little dumb

3 Leave a comment on verse 3 0 Being weak at this stage
Wasn’t easy to see
Especially for a fan who’d been
Disappointed as many times as me

4 Leave a comment on verse 4 0 But to see our fans react that way
Like prisoners in a pen
Made me say out loud in the pub
“For heaven’s sake, not this again” *

5 Leave a comment on verse 5 0 They were being numbskulls
In the Wembley Stadium stands
It was needless, it was pointless
They weren’t even fighting with Wigan fans

6 Leave a comment on verse 6 0 Now, I’m not trying to say that when trouble
Flares up, you shouldn’t defend yourself
But fighting amongst your own fans
Defies all mental health

7 Leave a comment on verse 7 0 And it irritates me that certain fans
Totally refuse
To give up the bad reputation
That we’ve worked so hard to lose

8 Leave a comment on verse 8 0 ‘Cause we ain’t a gang of thugs no more
But still, some people rush
To call us football hooligans, and
To tar us with the same brush

9 Leave a comment on verse 9 0 No one likes us, we don’t care
That’ll always be a fact
But I think modern Lions fans
Should make a little pact

10 Leave a comment on verse 10 0 To be brash, loud and intimidating
When our rivals come to play
But when violence flares, to realise
That fighting ain’t the way

11 Leave a comment on verse 11 0 And protect our beloved club’s image
When we go on away days
By proving that we’re not all thugs
Like the papers seem to say

12 Leave a comment on verse 12 0 So what do you say, dockers?
Let’s make this little pact
And see how much good publicity
Millwall fans can attract

13 Leave a comment on verse 13 0 We’ll prove that we ain’t those
Same old fans no more
We’ll leave all violent energy
At the Den’s front door

14 Leave a comment on verse 14 0 Let’s change the way we get perceived
By people on the outside
And back to popularity
Millwall will surely glide

Notes

I wrote this to convey the sense of frustration that the many sane Millwall fans felt when violence broke out at Wembley Stadium during the 2013 FA Cup Semi between Millwall and Wigan.

Sometimes it seems that every time Millwall get a big opportunity, a small number of fans feel the need to reaffirm our bad image.

It frustrates me to be viewed in a negative light just because I’m a Millwall fan because of not only a small number of stupid fans, but because of a prejudiced media perception of us as a group of people.

Edtor’s note:

Thanks for sharing that, Luke.

The Editor’s being long time Chelsea fans, we can relate to your frustrations.

* we’re also mindful that this site is used as a teaching resource too, so we tone down language that is commonplace on the terraces.

Source: http://footballpoets.org/poems/the-way-forward/