THE Scottish heritage of Millwall FC is contested terrain. The club's navy blue and white strips represent a nod to the north of the border, the Lion on the club's badge less so. And while the founders of the club worked at Morton's preserve factory on the Isle of Dogs in London, an Aberdeen-based firm, in truth they came from all over. For much of the hooligan-ravaged 1980s the club could be regarded as Scotland's secret shame, but the club is reinventing itself these days and winning admirers while it does so.
Alex Rae, Paul Hartley, Tam Brighton, Jason Dair, Stevie Crawford and Derek McInnes - all played their club football for a while in the docklands, an area now dominated by the Canary Wharf skyline and the o2. There is Nigel Spackman and Terry Hurlock too, two fairly lively midfielders who swapped their place in the club's renowned top flight side of 1988-89 - they also had 'Razor' Ruddock at the back and Terry Sheringham and Tony Cascarino up front - for an Ibrox midfield. Peter Sweeney, a Glaswegian, played on the club's last extended run in this competition, where they made it all the way to a Cardiff final against the Manchester United of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2004.
But as the club finds itself travelling to take on Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter finals of the FA Cup today, the only 'sweaty sock' still playing a prominent role for Neil Harris' league one promotion hopefuls is goalkeeper Jordan Archer. The former Scotland Under-21 goalkeeper, even if he is a native of Walthamstow, has performed quiet miracles to get the club this far. Just for good measure, Archer spent four years at White Hart Lane.
"He has been playing really well, but he hasn't played in the last three or four games," said Billy Neil, a man who left Midlothian in 1964 for Millwall and never returned. "I am not sure if he is fit or not but hopefully he will be back for the match."
Neil, a real Mr Millwall who doubles as the go-to guy for the club's former players' association, just happens to be a veteran of the club's last FA Cup meeting with Tottenham, back in the third round in 1967. This was the Spurs team of Alan Gilzean, Alan Mullery, Terry Venables, Jimmy Greaves, Pat Jennings, Cliff Jones and Neil's own hero Dave MacKay but after a goalless draw at the Den it all came down to a Gilzean tap-in in the replay. Spurs went on to lift the trophy, even if the year didn't end in a one.
"We had gone two and a half, three seasons unbeaten at home and they came down to us in early January [this was a record of 43 wins and 16 draws between August '64 to January '67]" he told the Sunday Herald. "Spurs were a great team back then but we just went out and played. In the end we got a 0-0 draw and a replay. All that was between the teams was a Gilzean got a tap-in for 1-0 at White Hart Lane. It just shows you what is possible."
One other footnote in today's encounter is Spurs star striker Harry Kane, and the formative loan spell he spent at Millwall, as he scored some crucial goals which help the club escape relegation. “My loan at Millwall was a big part of my development,” said Kane as he prepared for today's quarter final. “I was 18, we were in a relegation battle and it turned me into a man."
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