SITTING shoulder-to-shoulder with a stand full of Millwall fans isn't my idea of having fun but that's exactly what happened to me at the New Den on Saturday.
So that's why I've nominated the Millwall press office as my villains following Rovers' fourth round FA Cup tie in the capital at the weekend.
Let me explain...
Last week, I was off ill for a couple of days so in my absence there was a slight bit of confusion about our application for a Press pass for the game at Camp X-ray.
Imagine my horror, therefore, when I arrived at the ground only to find that the Press Box was oversubscribed and I'd been given a ticket for the 'Press Overspill' section.
I smelt a rat immediately and the evasive way in which the steward ducked my questions only heightened my sense of anxiety.
Nevertheless, I still dutifully followed the guy's directions only to discover my worst fears had come true.
The section described as the 'Press Overspill' actually turned out to be a normal seat right in the midst of all the home fans, a million miles away from the actual Press Box itself (or at least it felt like it).
So there I was, sat on my Jack Jones, trying to balance a lap-top on my lap (I wondered where they got the name from!) with what felt like half of F-Troop staring over my left shoulder.
Intimidating? You bet! Scarey? Damn right!... But only because, like everyone else, I've read all the horror stories about the Lions over the last 10 years.
What I actually found during that first half was Millwall have a passionate following as vociferous as any in the country.
But speaking from my own experiences -- and that's all you can make a serious judgement on -- they're no better or worse than any other supporters across the country, apart from the fact they still suffer from an image problem.
Had Jamie Carragher been hit by a coin at the New Den, then you can bet your bottom dollar the national Press would have come down on the Lions far more heavily than they have on Arsenal.
At the end of the day, football hooliganism is a cancer which has no place in any ground and still haunts the game even today.
But it would appear there's one rule for one, and an entirely different set of rules for the others.
At least Millwall are meeting their problems head on, a stance the club deserve immense credit for.
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