Following the Cherries to Millwall

I was really looking forward to the trip to Millwall this season. On the back of a good win at Fulham it was going to be a special day with so many Bournemouth fans due to make the journey. I set out a little later than usual as I only live some 20-25 miles away from the New Den and yet the route to the ground was far from simple.

On route to Millwall.

I guess I'll go left.

The first part of the journey included a train from Redhill to Purley which only took 10 minutes but then it was a short wait before catching another train to Tulse Hill. Then the London network rail maintenance works meant that I needed to catch a bus via, Dulwich, East Dulwich, Peckham, Queens Park and finally South Bermondsey.

I arrived fairly early at the ground having followed a few well placed signs that directed away supporters to the New Den. I thought I would see whether I could grab a quick word with a Millwall fan on a memorabilia stand who was selling hats, scarfs and badges to see if he would tell me about how he felt his team were playing. The thought of appearing on a video had him running for cover behind his programmes, so I had to see if I could find another more willing volunteer.

No interview but plenty of acknowledgement that
AFCB are a strong team from the local scarf seller.

Cold work standing selling programmes.

That led me towards two ladies selling match day programmes. They seemed friendly enough and having purchased my programme I asked if they would spare me a second to test my camera skills, but again I was turned down. This time the ladies were worried about their boss coming across seeing them on film when they should be selling programmes. Fair enough I thought, even though there were only about five people in the road leading up to the ground. I thought Millwall fans were noisy and always keen to talk about their team. I must have picked out the wrong ones to speak to.

Chips for £1.50 - not bad.

Everything is for sale here. The cash might come in handy in January.

The wise fans were in the cafe, in the warm, on the corner of the ground but I wanted to have a look in the club shop before getting some chips. The shop had massive sale signs all over it and it kind of made me think it never looks great to see a football club having for sale signs up everywhere. Still, inside the shop was well decked out with items and I particularly liked the mask of Ian Holloway. I imagined that if Bomb Fire Night had been around the corner after Millwall's recent run a few of those masks might have adorned one or two suited Guy Fawkes to go on the fire.

Get ahead with your very own Ollie mask!

Having seen the shop I walked towards the lane to the North stand for away fans that was still shut, so I carried on only to see AFCB media team members, Max Fitzgerald and Kelly Sommers, coming out of a car park towards the ground. They were full of smiles and looking forward to the match. I tried to spot any passing Millwall fans, but there were very few around at this point. Even the Community Centre where Millwall's younger supporters could have a kick about was still quiet.

The Millwall Community Centre.

I decided to take the long walk around the outside of the ground and around the industrial park to waste a bit of time. That led me in towards a temporary hospitality tent where lots of Millwall fans were enjoying a pint in the open air and watching the Spurs v Man Utd match. I stopped to have a chat with a steward before talking to a group of four Millwall fans who were less than confident about the prospect of their side taking on the Cherries. They were quick to point out that Millwall doesn't have any money and that they faced a relegation fight in 2015. "Fingers crossed we'll get a good striker in January," they said.

Outside beer tent.

 Climb on board the Double Decker. Budapest is a bit distant for an away game!

Main reception.

Moving on I found a big blue Millwall bus that was spreading the message to get more supporters to the ground. It was quite a nice idea to have an old London bus in club colours I thought. It was then that I met Jack and Jamie who I thought might be Millwall fans as one wore a blue top. They turned out to be Bournemouth fans, hiding their colours underneath their coats, but they were happy to give an interview on video.

Having walked past in the reception the number of people about was growing fast now and so I quickly eat my chips before making it to the North stand gate. Once through I had a good chat with the stewards who wondered why I had brought a radio with me? "Was it in case the game was rubbish?" they asked. I told them that watching AFCB is never dull or boring. They worryingly nodded and acknowledged that taking on the top of the league team might be a very difficult day for them.

TK is back.

I'll be trying to catch all the South African games with
Tokelo Rantie over the next few weeks.

There were plenty of seats to choose from in the Upper stand so I picked a spot just above the goal so I had an excellent view of everything. Last time I had visited the ground we were in the Lower Tier, but this was a much better view. While I started taking pictures of players for the blog I was delighted to see Tokelo Rantie warming up with the squad. I was less excited with the noise - supposedly music - blasting out from the ground's tannoy system that made it almost impossible to listen to a personal radio at less than deafening levels. Having been joined by Michael Dunne of All Departments and some of his relatives we got ready to watch the game.

Flags over the Dockers stand.

Cold Blow Lane fills up.

Floodlights on in the Barry Kitchener stand.

I found a good spot near an AFCB flag.

The teams are out.

The game soon became a procession of free kicks and with going close as Yann Kermorgant got his sights set on goal. The drama though came a bit unexpectedly after half an hour when Charlie Daniels was brought down for a penalty. Ian Holloway said the referee was 200 per cent wrong and that the foul was outside the penalty area, and that he was too eager to give the spot kick. When you are down the wrong end of the league these things do irritate and anger managers and fans. Still the referee makes the call and pointed to the spot. Yann Kermorgant made no mistakes from 12 yards and we were celebrating in the North stand's Upper Tier.

The second goal came before half time and it felt like the game was over as a contest. While Millwall had come back after half time at Dean Court a month ago, I could not see it happening again. The win for Bournemouth really underlined them as the number one team at the moment and the thrill of being top only gives the players more resolve to keep winning. I still view the situation as another two points required to get over the 50 point safety mark, but it is obvious to everyone that AFCB will take some stopping now if they are not to grab one of the two automatic promotion places and certainly a play-off spot at the very least.

Another three points towards the total.

There is an enjoyment factor about watching this Cherries team that is infectious. Even Millwall fans remarked to me that you follow a great team and what Eddie Howe has done is truly remarkable. The job still has to be finished though and while I set off home content with the win I could also imagine what it is like to be a fan at the other end of the table. A few defeats for the Cherries and pundits will be saying the bubble has burst. So I am just enjoying going from one game to another for the moment.

The journey home was not so great as I had to wait 35 minutes in the cold for a bus back to Tusle Hill and then it took another hour and a half to complete the trip back to Redhill in Surrey. I was home at 7.30 which was half an hour slower than when I drive back from a Bournemouth home game! Still, I had plenty of good memories from the day's events.

Cherries make short work of Millwall 0-2 (videos)

Match Report

Millwall 0 v 2 AFCB

28 December 2014

Attendance: 10,407

Danny Shittu and Tommy Elphick contest the coin toss.

The fixture calendar put Bournemouth up against Millwall again with only a month since the previous meeting. This game was far different though from the draw at Dean Court. Since then AFCB have learned how to put games to bed and are masterfully going about their business to try and win the league. There was never much doubt that AFCB would extend their league unbeaten record to 14 games, but for Eddie Howe to see a consecutive match where the opposition did not even have a shot on target must give him a lot of pleasure. Ian Holloway felt that Millwall did not get the key decisions to go their way, but they were also out played.

Cherry Chimes' FanCam: AFCB fans Jack and Jamie give their pore-match thoughts

AFCB players run out.

Bournemouth prepare to face the Lions.

More pictures can be viewed on the Match Day Gallery.

In truth, AFCB hardly got out of third gear. The cold weather perhaps took some bite out of their play, but their quality on the ball was in clear evidence and Millwall gifted them a lead with a spot kick, even though Millwall fans can rightly argue that the challenge was just outside the box. Once Yann Kermorgant dispatched the penalty, Bournemouth looked good value to extend their lead and Harry Arter duly obliged with his fifth goal in his last five matches.

Not even the appearance of Ricardo Fuller after half time was going to give Ian Holloway an escape clause this time. It says a lot that arguably Millwall's best player was the debutant Sid Nelson who had the unenviable task of keeping Callum Wilson quiet for 90 minutes. That he managed it is great credit to him, while Scott McDonald worked tirelessly in an effort to keep Millwall in the game. But it wasn't enough. In fact, the demise of Millwall was a formality after 80 minutes when Shaun Williams was given the red card having tussled with Callum Wilson and then stamped his foot at the Bournemouth striker. It was just a question of whether the Cherries were going to be able to score more or not in the time remaining. In the event a four point lead will bring much cheer to the south coast as AFCB go into 2015 on top of the Championship, even if Ipswich win against Charlton on Tuesday.

The starting line up
Eddie Howe made two changes to the Boxing Day team with Yann Kermorgant and Adam Smith coming in for Brett Pitman and Marc Pugh. It was also great to see Tokelo Rantie back fit and among the subs. Just like last season Adam Smith had won a start at Millwall's ground but I wonder if he wished he hadn't after a few minutes when the challenges start to come in at him one after another as an ex-Lion.

First Half
While we were still singing "We're Top of the League," Callum Wilson had already won a free kick right in front of goal and Yann Kermorgant gave David Forde his first job of the day as he bent the ball to the right around the wall, forcing Forde to save down low to his left. Moments later Arter was to win a free kick for a foot up in the face - happy birthday Harry! Welcome to the game.

Artur Boruc soon had to deal with a cross from Martyn Woolford on the right and while he dropped it, referee David Coote gave a foul as Scott McDonald and Lee Martin challenged. Boruc would be glad to be involved at this point because he did not have a great deal to do for the rest of the match. While the kept being stopped for free kicks, Danny Shittu picked up the first yellow card on 12 minutes for a foul on Adam Smith - no surprise there. A few boos for Smith followed from the home supporters.

AFCB's own favourite boo boy on the day, Scott Malone put in a powerfully driven cross that Cook some how managed to clear for a corner ahead of Boruc. Millwall could not keep any pressure on for long though.

A curious incident happened around the 20 minute mark when Harry Arter went down in the centre circle and Callum Wilson chased down David Forde right at the other end of the pitch. Wilson claimed that the ball had come off Forde for a corner and it was not clear what the referee would do as the assistant referee was on the other side of the pitch and probably did not see clearly either. The decision was a drop ball on the goal line but 10m or so to the left of the goal. Millwall fans were up in arms as they wanted a goal kick, but Yann Kermorgant soon lost the ball having won the initial drop ball.

A slight hands in face moment occurred soon after when Tommy Elphick inexplicably gave the ball away on the half way line, leaving the Cherries wide open. Lee Martin had the chance to make the most of the incident, but Artur Boruc sprung out of his box like Usane Bolt to clear any danger. A quick apology from Elphick followed. 

Not to worry. Daniels burst up the edge of the box on the left side drew a mistimed challenge from Lee Martin and the referee pointed towards the spot. On watching replays it certainly looked like the foul was outside the box, but from the other end of the ground Bournemouth fans could not see much apart from Daniels going down. Yann Kermorgant's big moment had arrived and, on 32 minutes, the French forward confidently struck the ball into the bottom left corner of the goal to make it 0-1 to the Cherries!

AFCB fans reaction to Yann Kermorgant's goal.

Millwall did not help their cause when Wilkinson and Forde were given yellow cards shortly after. Things got better even for AFCB on 42 minutes when Callum Wilson squared a ball from the right to Harry Arter in the box. Even though the ball got stuck under his feet, Harry had time enough to spin round having received the ball with his back to goal and he buried the chance from little more than 7 yards out - 0-2 to AFCB.

If anything all this did was intensify Millwall's ambition to deal out some treatment to Adam Smith who went head over heels from a Lee Gregory challenge. I wondered if Adam Smith might even be subbed at half time just so that he did not have to endure anymore fouls.

Half time zorbing fun - the Cherries even won this as well.

Cherry Chimes' Fancam: Michael Dunne of All Departments gives his view at half time.

Second Half 
Ricardo Fuller came on in the second half as Ollie tried to do a repeat comeback of the game at Dean Court from 0-2 down. At least it meant we would see the offside flag be put to use as Ricardo did not take long to stray. While Adam Smith had been kept on he picked up a yellow card himself for a foul on Sid Nelson. Millwall were doing their best to get amongst the AFCB players and on 54 minutes, Lee Gregory missed a great chance to get a header in on target after a superb cross from Nadjum Abdou just inside the right corner of AFCB's penalty box.

Lee Martin was replaced by Magaye Gueye on 56 minutes, while Kermorgant made way for Dan Gosling on 58 minutes. It looked like Eddie Howe was content to play five in midfield and just stop Millwall from getting a foothold now. Ritchie was still looking to play killer passes though and he found Smith on one of his Mazey runs, but Nelson did just enough to make Adam shoot over.  

Scott McDonald fouled Daniels once too often and received a yellow with around 65 minutes gone. Blocking shots were now order of the day for Millwall as Arter and Wilson tried to extend the lead. Danny Shittu had not had a great game and had been jeered every time he booted the ball out into touch, which was pretty much every time some one passed to him. But his game was over on 67 minutes and Dunne replaced him. AFCB replaced Smith soon after for Marc Pugh - I doubt Smith was that displeased to come off after his day. Pugh immediately made an impact by offering a great chance for Dan Gosling, but Dan shot agonisingly wide of the left post. Pugh tried to claim a corner by putting the ball down there, but kicked it away when he realised it was going to be a goal kick, much to the annoyance of Millwall fans.

Francis provided a good chance for Wilson to score with a header on 78 minutes but he could not get a clean header in with two defenders either side of him. Scott Malone tried a more spectacular volley from wide out on the left which he sliced into the crowd at the other end. "That's why you're going down," was the shouts from the Upper North stand.

Millwall's game was virtually over then when Shaun Williams was red carded, having struggled with Wilson. Wilson had lifted Williams into the air as he got up and Williams then reacted with by trying to stamp on Wilson's foot with Ritchie in close attendance. Wilson was also given a yellow card for the incident.
The game resumed with Gosling setting up Ritchie with a chance that he hit right at Forde and later in a good AFCB spell, first Gosling, and then Ritchie saw their shots blocked just inside the penalty area. The last few minutes saw Ryan Fraser come on and replace Matt Ritchie. Fraser had one good opportunity to shoot right on full time but shot wide. Four minutes of extra time saw Wilson and Pugh have shots blocked before Arter had a golden opportunity to score right in front of goal but he hit his shot over!

Harry Arter had a great birthday.

Francis claps the fans.

David Forde and Tommy Elphick after the match.

AFCB are top at the end of 2014. 

 

Summary

It was a descent, professional performance by AFCB. Wins are coming as regular as clockwork now and even if they did not get a full head up of steam it was more than enough to dispatch a Millwall side that had a lack of a goal threat all match. At least Millwall contested every ball which is something that Holloway would expect as a minimum. Bournemouth can play better, but even on this evidence they are in a winning groove now. Listening to TalkSport after the game Stan Collymore announced that "Eddie Howe's Bournemouth was headed for the Premier League," in a surprised voice but there was nothing surprising about this result. It was a comfortable win.

AFC Bournemouth
Boruc, Francis, Elphick, Cook, Daniels, Ritchie (Fraser 88), Surman, Arter, Smith (Pugh 69), Kermorgant (Gosling 58), Wilson Booked

AFCB Subs

Camp, Gosling, Pugh, Rantie, Pitman, Fraser, Cargill

AFCB Ratings

Boruc 6, Francis 8, Elphick 7, Cook 7, Daniels 8, Ritchie 7, Surman 8, Arter 8, Smith 7, Kermorgant 6, Wilson 7

Millwall
Forde, Wilkinson, (Fuller 45), Shittu (Dunne 67), Nelson, Malone, Williams, Abdou, Martin (Gueye - 56), McDonald, Woolford, Gregory

Millwall Subs
Dunne, Easter, Upson, Beevers, Gueye, Fuller, King

Referee: David Coote - 2/10 a few strange decisions and he got the big penalty decision wrong.

Rival Lines 2: Cherry Chimes chats to Oz if MillwallFC blog

Rival Lines

Match Preview

Millwall v AFCB

Blogger Interview: Following Millwall FC

Your are being spoilt today with a second Rival Lines that I have just received in time. Oz has kindly come back with some answers to the questions I sent out to him a short while ago, but the Xmas period proved a bit hectic for him so that is why this is a bit of an extra time Rival Lines. I hope you all enjoy it. You can visit Oz's blog at  Following Millwall FC.

CC: What is the general opinion about how Ollie is doing with the players he has at Millwall?

FMFC: Ian Holloway has tried them all and in different positions and they have not responded to him apart from Ian Gregory and a couple of others. It could be that the majority are out of contract in the summer and, with the constant changing of the team and the formations, the players are not to bothered in securing a new deal.

CC: With Brentford announcing a new ground, Charlton’s tie-up with Standard Liege and Leyton Orient attracting a new Italian owner, what of Millwall’s long term future can you survive in the Championship without more investment and do you feel like you are being left behind?

FMFC: I am not sure that I am worried about Millwall being left behind if it means that we do not get massively in debt. Our Chairman spends money but not the amount that could cause the club to fold if it all went "tits up" Brentford and yourselves can spend a fortune trying to reach the promised land but it can all go sour, it's along way down.

CC: What are the prospects for Millwall signing a striker or creative midfielder in January that can get you more goals – anyone in the championship, league one or two take your fancy?

FMFC: We will be looking in January to strengthen the side but, unless thing change, the new signings will be rotated just as much as the rest of the players, and I am not sure that we will gain much from any new signings used in this way. We need Lee Gregory to play regular unless he is injured and not be dropped for the sake of rotation. We need a front player that can win a header and show some presence and support Gregory and we also need at least another 4 or 5 new players throughout the rest of the team. Will we get them? I doubt if we will get two.

CC: Was it much of a shock that you came back to get a draw at Millwall as the team you have seems to make a habit of comebacks?

FMFC: We were for a time the "comeback kings" and at the time there was a belief that we could pull something back from any game we played but then the Boro' game came along and blew that belief out of the water. We were dire at home for the Boro' and the Bolton game and there was no sign of a comeback with either of them.

CC: The Boro and Norwich defeats must have been hard to take. However, you have had a good result against Brighton in recent weeks – can you see things turning around for Millwall in a positive way with the fixtures in January that you have?

FMFC: How will we fair in January? I think I will be able to ask that a bit better after the Bournemouth game. If the players have any shame after the rubbish they served up at Norwich on Boxing Day they will respond against Bournemouth and wear the shirt as though they are fit to wear it. If that is the case and they do us proud than January may be better for the Lions, if not League 1 will be our new home.

CC: Have Millwall some young players that are likely to break through to the first team soon?

FMFC: We have some decent young players that have already played in the first team and we have also loaned some out. Our young players are our jewels in the crown, but it worries me that the senior players or some of them at Millwall are not really playing for the shirt and that does not make a very good role model for them.

CC: Who do you feel has been your best player this season?

FMFC: That's a tough question. Danny Shittu has hardly played due to injury, Lee Martin is also injured a lot. Lee Gregory has done well and for a bloke who has come from non-league he looks like he wants it. Shaun Williams is decent and can win a game for us but he needs to be more forward thinking with his passes. I suppose it will have to be keeper David Forde even though he had a mare at Norwich. (CC - oh, yes I saw that!)

CC: What is your score prediction for the game?

FMFC: 5-0 to Millwall.......I wish. If the players have any pride whatsoever they can make a game of it, but if Holloway makes wholesale changes the players coming in won't have the fire in their bellies to make good the result as after all Norwich wasn't their fault. If I must give a prediction 1-1.

CC: Hey, Oz you can go 5-0 if you want. It's a funny old game and you never know what's coming around the corner, In the last two games AFCB have had against Millwall the Lions have come away with four points from six. So Ollie has had the upper hand against Eddie Howe and AFCB have to do better against sides like Millwall that dig in and fight like they did at Dean Court. Perhaps Ollie will use that to inspire his players today, but AFCB have never found Millwall an easy team to play against so I don't expect anything less than an end to end game today. Millwall have to play well today for their home fans after recent results and AFCB also need the points to stay top, so let's hope it's a cracker of a match.   

You can visit Oz's blog at  Following Millwall FC

Tweet me your score predictions for today @peterbell19

Cherry Chimes speaks to Millwall fan Mark Litchfield

Rival Lines
Match Preview
Millwall v AFCB
Blogger Interview: Mark Litchfield Blog

I managed to make contact with a Rival Line blogger this week from Millwall. Mark Litchfield has his own blog on the Lions and we ask him whether Millwall have enough about them to stay up this season? Millwall have flattered to deceive in the first few weeks of the season and yet fought back heroically at Dean Court in November to earn a draw, so what type of Millwall will we see on 28 December?

CC: Do you think Ollie is getting Millwall to play more consistently now?
MLB: Yes and no. When it comes to passing the ball about, we do it with the utmost calmness in our own half – we more often than not dominate the possession stats – but that all seems to go to pot in the final third. Instead of being direct and going for goal, passing the ball like we do further down the pitch, we resort to long-ball tactics; more often than not up to the lone striker, Lee Gregory. As talented as Lee is (he has bags of potential, if you ask me), he cannot do it all on his own. Our lack of goals is due to poor decision making in the final third.


CC: I saw Ollie at the Bournemouth fixture and he was kind enough to sign many programmes for the Bournemouth fans, I even lent him my pen. So do you and home fans in general find it easy to be able to approach him before the games at the New Den?

MLB: I wouldn't really know the answer to this question personally – I don't see the players and/or manager before the game, but I see enough photos etc on social media to know that Holloway is easily approachable. One thing Millwall managers and the fans have in common is respect – as long as they make time for the fans, they'll always be supported. An ex-West Ham midfielder aside – we won't talk about him much!

CC: How much of lift do you think the win at Brighton will have done for your players? (this question was asked before the Norwich drubbing)

MLB: Despite playing badly, we gained a much-needed win at the Amex. You would've thought that grinding out three points like we did would boost morale, but on Friday night against Bolton, despite the fact that we were looking good coming forward, our failure to put the ball into the net coupled with the ridiculous formation put out and substitutions, made by Ian Holloway, ensured that the win was a distant memory.

CC: Millwall have not been scoring highly so do you expect a new striker to come in during January and have you any likely candidates?

MLB: Absolutely. As previously eluded to, our lack of goals is due to poor decision making in the final third. A large factor in this, in my opinion, is Holloway's choice to start each game with one up front. Fans have been crying out for months for him to play two up front – it is the Millwall way – but the boss has stuck to his guns. On the rare occasions we have seen two up front, we came back from 3-0 down against Wolves, 2-0 down against Blackburn, 2-0 down against Brentford (although we went on to lose the game) and 2-0 down against yourselves, so the proof is in the pudding.

With regards to targets, the names of James Hanson, Tom Pope and Benik Afobe have been thrown around in recent months, but being a Millwall fan, you know that we'll never go for the obvious choice. What we do need, though, is a target man. Lee Gregory is a natural finisher that'll benefit hugely from someone doing the dirty work for him – perhaps Hanson fits that bill.

CC: Are Millwall good enough to stay up?

MLB: Yes. I had us down to finish mid-table at the beginning of the season and, providing we do some good business in January, I don't think we'll be too far off. As everyone knows, the Championship is a tight division. Even in March/April, the majority of promotion and relegation places aren't decided – a few wins will see you shoot up the table, while a few defeats will see you in trouble. I think we'll be fine – if we play two up front!

CC: What went wrong in the Middlesbrough drubbing Millwall received, because you played well against AFCB the week before?

MLB: Everything! Because we'd been finishing games strongly in a variation of a 3-5-2 formation (most notably against yourselves), the manager decided to start that way against Boro. The problem is, the five in midfield didn't really know their positions – Andy Wilkinson, a loan signing from Stoke City, is a right-back, yet he found himself having to play further up the field, getting caught out of position too many times. Scott Malone, who is one of our most promising players, has believed the hype about himself just a little too much and now seems to play as a left wing-back – that meant we were vulnerable down both sides, which Boro ruthlessly exploited with their pace, power and direction when on the ball.

The midfield five offered no support to the front two, who despite working hard, received nothing but aimless long balls all afternoon. It was all a bit of a mess and Boro fully deserved to hand us our annual thumping at home.

CC: Millwall pummelled AFCB with high ball in our box in the second half at Dean Court so do you expect the same tactic against AFCB at home?

MLB: One would hope not. Away from home, for me, that tactic works wonderfully. But, as the home team, my way of looking at things is you should set the tempo of the game, you should play your own way and you should make the opposition adapt to your way of playing. Most Millwall fans would love to see a return to days gone by – a time where we played 4-4-2, with two wingers swinging in crosses for two strikers. But Holloway doesn't see it that way.

Should we go 2-0 down again, then yes, expect it!

CC: Do you think it is helpful to Millwall players to take on AFCB again so soon after the away match for you?

MLB: I'd say so. Things will still be fresh in the memory, such as the way you play, who your danger men are etc. But, then again, it'll also be of benefit to Bournemouth because of the same factors.

CC: How is the injury situation - are any players definitely out of the AFCB game from your side?

MLB: We have a long-term absentee in Nicky Bailey, but apart from that, the rest of our injuries are just little niggles.

CC: Adam Smith used to play for Millwall at right back and Scott Malone is still in your team at left back, so are attacking wing backs a strong feature of your team in this current season?

MLB: They are on the left. As previously stated, Scott Malone seems to operate as a left-wing back now – he is very attack-minded. Unfortunately, this leaves us open down the opposition's right too many times for my liking. I've said for a while now that we should move Malone to the left-midfield position and let someone else do the job of a left-back. We have Matthew Briggs in our ranks or, with January on the horizon, we could bring someone in.

CC: Who would you say has been your best player up to this point in the season and why?

MLB: Shaun Williams. The Irishman has added class to the club since his arrival from MK Dons in January. Calm on the ball with an outstanding range of passing, Williams offers so much to the team. His strike against Blackburn on November 4th showed his quality, for me. If we had a team of Shaun Williams', we'd be in business.

CC: How difficult do you rate the Bournemouth game compared to your other Christmas fixtures against Bolton and Norwich?

MLB: I think it's the toughest by far. We'll go to Norwich on Boxing Day with absolutely no pressure on us. The Canaries will be expected to win – just how we like it. Whilst Bournemouth will also probably be expected to win, as the home side, there will be a lot more pressure on ourselves than there will be at Carrow Road. I personally think Bournemouth are one of the best sides in this division (along with Middlesbrough and Ipswich) and you have an fantastic manager in Eddie Howe, so we'll have to produce our best performance to gain all three points.

CC: Finally, what is your score prediction for the game?

MLB: With Ian Holloway in charge, who knows. One thing is for sure – there will be goals.

CC: Thanks Mark for sparing the time to write all those very detailed answers. I think AFCB players have a healthy respect for what Millwall did down at Dean Court and that should make this quite a re-match. I just hope that both sides really go and playing some attacking football and as you say let their be goals! It's cold sitting in the stands in December and we will all need a reason to get up and jump about a bit. If it's a nil-nil affair then we all get cold!

If you liked Mark's answers, please go and take a look of his excellent blog. Us bloggers put a lot of hard work into our sites and it's great for us when we see that we've had a lot of visitors, so get over to Mark's blog and see what you can find out about Millwall before the game. UTCIAD!

Tweet me your score predictions @peterbell19

Millwall: will they come to park the bus?

You have to wonder what exactly Ian Holloway will be thinking when he brings his team to Dean Court this weekend. They are not on the strongest of runs having won just one game in their last 10 and there has to be a bit of a tendency to consider parking the bus against a Bournemouth side that are the equal highest goalscorers in the division.

Scott Malone should be back at dean Court on Saturday.

The prospect of a mismatch though is usually a sign of trouble. AFCB cannot be over confident with Ian Holloway on the sidelines as he will change things tactically as soon as he sees a possible chink in AFCB's game. Keeping things tight and hoping for a set piece is probably Millwall's best chance of getting a result at Dean Court, but it is not easy to instruct your team not to break in numbers when the game is in full swing.

Ian will be hoping that the problems in the striker department for AFCB plays into their hands, but AFCB are a team that has improved since last season and there are far more players getting on AFCB's goal sheet apart from the front two these days. With the latest home form as well AFCB have only dropped two points from a possible 15.

I can't see this being a 0-0 draw as Millwall will have to try and come forward at some point and trying to keep their shape while closing down the ball for 90 minutes against the Cherries is going to need a super fit team. AFCB are still going to need to find a way past a reliant David Forde in goal and defenders like Danny Shittu and Solly know how to nullify a game, as Charlton found last time out. Winning though is not something that Millwall have done in their last five games on the road.

AFCB Home Form
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Millwall Away Form
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Good luck those who are going to try and buy tickets for the Liverpool Capital One match today. Tickets go on sale at 10am, be lucky!

Village Urban Resorts as an official AFCB partner has some tickets up to be won for the AFCB match v Cardiff City on 13 December. To be in with a chance to win visit Village Urban Resort's Facebook page and answer the question correctly.

Have Millwall got the weapons to hurt the Cherries?

Millwall's strike force has not been prolific. The well-known Ricardo Fuller heads their chart along with Lee Gregory on three goals. What you can say about Millwall is that just about everyone in their team has grabbed a goal but they are struggling up front to find the net.

Millwall players at Dean Court.

Ian Holloway will be aware of his side's shortcomings, but perhaps hasn't got the funds to deal with the problems. With 19 goals this season though they are far from being the worst goalscorers and they have only failed to score in one of their last five matches. That was against Charlton when they played out a 0-0 draw.

Ricardo Fuller scored against the Cherries last
season in a Blackpool shirt at Dean Court.

Coming into this match, Millwall's attacking players might not frighten AFCB's defence too much but they are well capable of nicking a goal. From midfield the Cherries will have to watch out for Martyn Woolford who scored the goal that separated the two sides in the last game of last season. Scott Malone will be the main target of entertainment for AFCB fans, but I always thought he played with strong ability when he was with the Cherries and his direct dribbling style is a weapon that Millwall will surely use to relieve pressure.

So while Millwall may not have massive striking power they are averaging just over one goal a game. The task will be to ensure that they are gifted with nothing and AFCB will surely be aiming to get back to obtaining a clean sheet here.

Stepping into the Lions' Den

Millwall 1 v 0 AFCB - our away day.

First call, bus into Redhill.

Robert ans Stephen at Redhill, keeping their AFCB colours hidden already.

We did not have to get up so early for a trip to Millwall from Redhill in Surrey. It was not more than 25 miles away as the crow flies but for Robert, Stephen and myself it meant a bus trip down to Redhill, a train to East Croydon and then a tram to West Croydon station before another train to South Bermondsey. We had to do all that by 11.15 if we wanted to get to the match an hour before the start and things started well with the early bus into town.

Just caught the tram in time, but where is West Croydon station?

Where we went a bit astray was in knowing where the trams needed to be picked up from in East Croydon, but with some guidance we soon found our way and jumped on the first tram just as it came into view on our exiting the train station. West Croydon was another puzzle though as the train station there is well hidden and it took several more minutes to locate it meaning a late dash for the South Bermondsey train, but we made it and were soon walking along the platform at South Bermondsey where there were thousands of Lions' fans making their way to the ground as well.

Our first glimpse of The Den behind us at South Bermondsey station.

I had told the boys to cover up their colours and stay close at all times but the Millwall fans seemed in joyous mood and quite relaxed despite the gravity of the game for their club. We found our way slowly at the back of the queue to leave the station and peeled off to the away supporters walk. It is comforting I suppose to have the pleasure of walking the fence caged route to The Den with a few policemen scattered around for good measure. But it is a shame that the fans can't mingle safely and away fans get a good look at all four sides of the ground without the segregation. All was calm though at the Away stand and after a few photos we stepped inside to the concourse which was very wide but packed with Bournemouth supporters getting their pre-match drinks and grub.

Heading down to the stadium - our protecting fence lined walk.

I have the tickets somewhere.

We headed upstairs to get a good view of the pitch for the first time and once seated we looked around to see what was going in all around. Ryan Allsop and Lee Camp were first to emerge with plenty of hoots and cheers from the AFCB fans. The teams soon followed and it was photo shooting time for me while the boys set about blowing up their inflatable bananas and catching as many red and black balloons to release when the teams came out.

All ready to enter The Den.

Lots of security and police guard the entrances.

Stephen and Robert tick another ground off on their 92.

It was good to see a big screen although it was pixellated and not the clearest you'll ever see. We had plenty of room around us though and spread out along the seats while the players did their warm ups. Tokelo was coming in for a lot of attention as well as Yann Kermorgant and Tommy Elphick. Meanwhile, we were joined by Michael Dunne of All Departments and Damien Hill and their friends, and we started to chant and get into the spirit of things.

The big screen.

I'm not sure that you're going down chants did AFCB any favours.

Stephen is happy to have an inflatable and a balloon.

Almost time to release them chaps.

Tommy Elphick goes through his routine.

The teams came out to quite a racket and while it was an early start there was no less enthusiasm from the crowd which was a capacity turnout. I thought that our fans were on top form again and while the "Your going down with Yeovil taunts" were perhaps ill advised, I don't think Millwall fans were that interested in anything apart from getting the three points. Their team seemed similarly keen to do a job and before half time they were one up through a Martyn Woolford header, and the best I thought AFCB could do would be a draw. As it was I think the number of changes to the Cherries did not help and with the passing not quite on song it was Millwall who came out on top by just the one goal.

Millwall fans have a party.

Millwall's day to celebrate.

Robert and Stephen watched on with amazement as the Millwall fans ran onto the pitch to see the players consumed like a pack of bees had landed on on them as they disappeared from view. We had no need to hang around for long and when the Millwall fans started to turn their attention to the away stand we felt it was time to exit to let them enjoy their team and Ian Holloway's big day.

Stephen decided that two balloons had to be taken home, so we had quite a journey home with Stephen holding his Bournemouth balloons on a platform that was jam packed with Millwall supporters at South Bermondsey! We managed to squeeze onto a London Bride train before finding a south bound train back to Redhill. We'll look forward to visiting the lion's Den again next season. 

If you want to hear more about how AFCB slipped up on the last day of the 2013/14 season have a listen to Michael Dunne's last All Departments' Kangaroo Court of the season. The podcast can be found on the All Departments' website or on the right hand panel on Cherry Chimes - just scroll down to the sound bar and click on it.