Episode 7 Late Kick Off London and the South East

Good evening, welcome to Late kick`off, coming up on the show

tonight... It is a home frol home for Millwall, how the Den h`s

changed two decades on from being the first all`seater stadiul after

Hillsborough. Dash`macro programme`macro.

I think I preferred it at the other ground, there was a lot mord

camaraderie. It was hard sitting down, but I understand the reasons

for. We are at a six`pointer on the south coast, as Brighton take on

Charlton. For us to combine the game, with the fight. It is a very

important game for us, and we want to keep this momentum going. Nicky!

Nicky! We meet a lady for whom this season really has been a marathon,

not a sprint. I get very nervous watching Paul, this time it is me

doing it and I feel more in control of my emotions. All that and joining

Mark Bright and me, something of a rarity in modern football, ` man who

has spent ten years at one club Matt Bloomfield of Wycombe

Wanderers. Yes, some diffictlt times at the moment at Wycombe, M`tt, but

we will gloss over that. Generally, over your decade at Adams P`rk, it

has been mainly positives. There have been ups and downs, but I look

back on my ten years with a lot of happy memories and it is positive

overall. There have been thd promotions and the Cup run which has

been great, but I enjoyed mx ten years, it has been a great time You

have a testimonial to come, we will talk about that shortly. Thd

consequences of the Hillsborough tragedy were far`reaching. The

Taylor Report's recommendathons for all`seater stadiums first borne out

at Millwall. 20 years since the Lions left the Old Den and we went

to see how the move has changed the club. The backdrop relegation fight

with Leicester the opponents. `` with Watford the opponents. There is

the hard uncompromising skyline of London South East.

For the younger generation that support Millwall, this is their

home, but for the older supporters, I do not think it will be. Ht is

loved to a degree, but whether any of the fans have an affection for it

now, I do not know. To approach it is to feel a sense of grim

foreboding. The very names `re chilling, it feels cold. To get

there it was awful, it was dark and grim, the old place, the urhnal was

a wall. I used to get my kids to go before they left home, becatse it

was horrendous. It was an intimidating ground, the atlosphere

was different, the crowd were much closer, it was probably onlx four

foot away from the pitch. I preferred the other ground, there

was a lot more camaraderie. It was hard sitting down, but I understand

the reasons for it. Following the Taylor Report, we came down and

visited to see what the recommendations were. We took it on

board and others have followed. To have a new ground, the first built

since the early 1920s when Wembley was erected and the first thme in

London after all that time, it shows that the infrastructure of the game

had been neglected. It was originally called thd New

London Stadium when it was built and it did not go down well.

The fans have changed because it was an all`seater stadium and it is a

much better stadium. What pdople put up with 40 years ago would not be

accepted today. It is a lot more clinical now, not so many

characters. People used to congregate together, but thdre are

reasons for it. The supportdrs had forgotten what defeat was lhke. The

side had gone 59 games without being beaten. There was something about it

and that is why the records will be steeped in history. We need to get

that fortress back. Players did not like coming here.

We are solid as a group, we get together, the chips are down, we get

together. We are in a position we did not

expect to be in, but we havd got to fight tooth and nail to stax up and

if we can do it, we can do ht, if not we will stick together `nd push

again. This is home, whether it be on the

park, it is Millwall, there is nowhere else we can go.

If you're going to score an equaliser, it may as well bd in the

95th minute. What do you thhnk that could do for the self`belief of

Millwall? That would be gre`t coming in off the back of that, it keeps

their unbeaten run going. Snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat, that

will help them. If they can repeat the last four games and the next

four games, that will give them a chance of staying up. 20 ye`rs at

the Den, I remember going to the old Den, Mick McCarthy was playhng. I

was only a baby. You played at both, how would you compare it? The old

Den was gritty, earthy, the fans were right on top of the pitch, it

was a great atmosphere to play in front of, very intimidating. The new

Den, very sterile, very open, they do not have that warmth, but the

change was made, for the better and they have experienced an FA Cup

final. Now they are fighting for survival in the Championship. Ian

Holloway said that he got stick from the Watford fans at the weekend he

gestured to them the score because they had been giving him sthck. He

is a very emotional manager, how will that work in this relegation

battle? If you turn to last year and what he did with Crystal Palace but

when it came to the play`offs, he set the team up really well to beat

the two best teams in the ldague, but he has a tough one on hhs hands,

QPR and Bournemouth going for play`offs, Doncaster Rovers just

above them, so it is going to take a minor miracle to stay up. The

Saturday lunchtime game at Loftus Road with QPR taking on Nottingham

Forest, and they started thd weekend in style.

There is Junior Hoilett, he is looking for Morrison, put in by

Yossi Benayoun. Benayoun. He is looking for Morrison

who can finish it off. Morrhson That is classy. That is number four

for Queens Park Rangers'. They have got another one. It is partx time

for QPR! There was every chance we would not

have made the play`offs. Yot might find a few teams that will get it,

six teams that will get 70 points, so I do not think we were s`fe

before today. If we had gotten beaten, we would have needed a

result. Three late goals for QPR, very handy given the situathon they

are in. It is handy we can bring players like Kranjcar and Z`mora in

off the bench. I think it is important they got Charlie @ustin

back in the starting line`up, although he was off the pitch when

they scored three goals, but the strength and depth of Kranjcar and

Zamora and Aaron Hughes, thd list goes on, it helps, but what you need

to do is find a little bit of form going into the play`offs and it

looks like they will have to settle for that. Then you have got all the

players coming back from fitness, added to that, the strong bdnch it

is starting to look better for QPR. Pressure on them all season, they

have coped with it to a certain extent and they have perhaps not in

another respects, how do yot see them getting on the play`offs? They

have had a lot of expectations on them. Going into the play`offs, no

one will want to play them because they have players who are used to

playing in big Premier Leagte games, in international football, so come

the big play`off games and possibly a final at Wembley, that experience

will hold them in good stead. Absolutely. One team with rdcent

experience of the play`offs is Brighton, they lost to Crystal

Palace in the semifinal last year and are looking to wipe out those

painful memories this time round, but first they need to secure a top

six spot. Out to stop them were Charlton, they needed the points for

very different reasons. Richard Adams went to see which teal would

enjoy their Saturday on the south coast.

Two of our teams at oppositd ends of the league, today, with one

objective, three precious points. Oscar, how important is tod`y's

game? It is an important gale, we came from a victory against

Leicester and we want to kedp this momentum going. After the rdsult

last week, how important is the game today in your fight for survival? We

have to combine the game with the fight, because certainly, to be able

to compete in all the aspects that this game requires is important Are

you feeling the pressure? There is pressure, because some weeks ago,

nobody thought we could be here and we are here, fighting for otr place.

The pressure, we have to have pressure, but the good pressure I

mean the pressure will make us grow. We realised what a quality squad we

have here and we realised wd all need to pull together, we rdalise it

is an important time for us. We are still in the competition, wd lose

one game, it happens, we nedd to produce the results. What is it

going to take between now and the end of the season to secure that

play`off place? Probably fotr wins. If we win all our games, we will

have a chance. So, seven goals in the last two

games for Brighton, can you see them going all the way? It was a real

confidence booster beating Leicester, Leicester had just got

promoted, but they backed that up with the biggest win for five months

against Charlton. They found their swagger, scoring goals against them,

going into the play`offs, m`ybe the experience of last year, thd hurt

will drive them on to more success this time. Charlton in a sililar

position to where you were, but in a different position, how do xou rate

their chances of staying up now I think the two games in hand that

they have are key. They plax Barnsley tomorrow night and Barnsley

are fighting for their lives, that is a big game for them, if they pick

up points out of that, they will really fancy themselves. Thdy have

two games in hand, but thosd games are no use unless they get points.

They had a good Cup run and they will try and take the belief of that

back into the remaining fixtures of the season. They will use those

games well, they will fancy their chances. One of your old cltbs,

Charlton, how do you rate them now? They have done all right. It is ten

games, drawn four, lost two, but the last eight games they have won one,

lost one, if they continue that they will stay up. It is a boost,

beating Bournemouth, Forest and Leeds gave them a boost, so they can

do it. Now, if you are enthtsiastic about Football League, then you can

find all seven regional versions of Late Kick`off on the iPlayer and if

promotion parties are your thing, you might want to head over to the

Midlands version, they have had two of them, which is greedy and it is

to the wrong end of the league we will turn our attention, sorry about

that, Matt, but that involvds your club Wycombe Wanderers, precariously

above the relegation zone in League Two. What has gone wrong so far

I was explaining to Brighty earlier, we haven't found otrselves

out of too many games, we'vd just been on the odd side of the wrong

goal, and that's led us to the position we are now. We havdn't

scored enough goals, that's probably obvious. We've found it tough at

times this year. We've put good runs together followed by poor rtns. It

is breaking that cycle that we have to try and do. A disappointhng

result for us on Saturday, but we've got to fight until the end of the

season. We are above the line at the minute and it's a nice tastx six

points against Northampton on Friday. Just a tiny one! It was poor

defeat at Newport at the wedkend, you weren't there, you were injured,

what happened? First half, we didn't do too badly, we started off quite

well. We cleared off the line from Nick Arnold. Struck it well and

there was a great clearance off the line. In the VT, you can sed a

reaction of the lads is pretty disappointing. Stevie Craig headed

it in and the keeper saved well The first half went all right btt a

couple of sloppy goals on otr behalf. A long throw that wd should

have dealt with better ended up in the back of the net. Then this one,

which isn't great. A simple flick on, striker runs in on goal and

Zeb's finish is great. We h`d Zeb's at Wycombe a couple of years ago,

he's a good player, you givd him that chance and he is going to tuck

it away. A disappointing second half but we have no choice but to put

that behind us and look forward to Friday. As a footballer, yot want to

play in these big games and what bigger game than a six pointer

against a relegation rival? It really is a six pointer. Thd bottom

half of League Two is extraordinary this season. You are right down

there, but you are not too far off the mid`table with a win and a bit.

It's been like that all season, we've always be looking over our

shoulders. You've always had the opportunity to put a run of results

that pulls you away. shoulders. You've always had the

opportunity to put a run of We haven't been able to do that and the

results have pulled other tdams down. Torquay beating Bristol Rovers

on Saturday was a favourabld result for us. Exeter drawing with

Cheltenham as well. A lot of teams will be looking at this weekend as a

real opportunity to try and get four or six points on the board, and we

are no different. We have to attack on Friday. I'm looking forw`rd to

it. It's bizarre, the way the fhxtures

have come out. That they ard playing the teams around them. Unbelievable.

The two teams below them and that team directly above them. I don t

think you want to be in a bdtter position than that.

The two teams below them and that team directly above them. I See the

running here. Northampton, this is the big one, it's a game yot can't

lose. Fleetwood going for promotion, so that's going to be very difficult

for them but you are always hopeful. Bristol Rovers right above

them, Torquay below them. What better opportunity? Equally, if you

get points yourself you are taking points off others. They are each

going to be huge games and very important in their own right. As

Brighty says, the game on Friday is very important to us and I'l hoping

for a favourable result. But Northampton are going to be the

same. They won on Saturday, they are coming into it with a bit of

momentum and they will be f`ncying their chances as well. We are hoping

for a big crowd to come and cheer us on. Mark has got an easy life, he

just sits here and talks about football.

Your manager, Gareth Ainsworth, is doing that all the hard work. It

looks a very stressful business how has he been coping with it? Really

well. He's a very positive kind of guy, Gaz. He's always upbeat. On the

face of it to the lads, you will never see him down. When he comes

into the building in the morning he is always upbeat. He was like that

as a player and he is simil`r as a manager. It must be stressftl when

results aren't going for yot. You must take it home and it must be a

hard job to do. He's kept positive all season and he believes hn the

boys. We have to repay that faith. Good luck to you all. A mixdd day

for our other two sides in League Two. Here are Emma Jones and Jamie

Reid to remind us how the D`ggers and the Dons got on.

This would be Dagenham's he`viest defeat of the season and me`ns those

slim play`off hopes are raphdly fading. Having already hit the

woodwork, Danny Hollands gave the visitors an early lead. A wdak back

header then offered Michael Drennan a simple scoring chance to lake it

two. Abu Agogo's header had halved the deficit before a Portsmouth team

pushing for a third successhve win to put more space between them and

the relegation zone got thehr third of the afternoon with Drenn`n's

second. Wayne Burnett said he'd expected a tough encounter with the

Daggers playing host to Pompey for the first time ever. And th`t proved

to be the case, as another lix`up allowed Jed Wallace to clail a

fourth for the south coast side Dagenham will hope to get b`ck on

track at bottom of the tabld Torquay on Good Friday.

Neal Ardley praised his teal for giving absolutely everything as they

claimed a vital three points at Roots Hall. The only goal of the

game was scored from the penalty spot. The former Shrimpers loanee

Jack Midson squeezing his effort under Daniel Bentley's body. The

Southend side still in the play`off places rarely threatened but when

they did, Ross Warner was there to keep a clean sheet. The travelling

fans were singing, "we are staying up", at full`time. Wimbledon remain

six points above the drop zone with four games to play.

We saw Jack Midson last weekend missing a hat`trick. He just

squeezed his penalty. Some were good saves. Says an ex`striker! Lade up

for it, Jacqui. Slotted the penalty away, I think that puts thel on 52

points now. I think that should be enough, but I'm sure Neal Ardley

will press the team for another win. As we saw, villain and a hero.

Missed a few chances this wdek, the only goal. When you looked `t that

league at the beginning of this season, did you expect it to be so

tight or did you think diffdrent teams were going to do diffdrently?

I thought would be tight, it seems to be every year in League Two, a

very small gap between the play`off teams and the bottom of the league.

It's that consistency. I'm not sure there's a huge difference in quality

in the teams. Maybe a goal`scorer and a bit of consistency throughout

the team, that seems to be the difference. At times we've played

well and other teams have, but it's always going to be tight in League

Two. There are some teams that have struggled this year like

Northampton. Losing the plax`off final, no one expected them to

struggle but they have done. Equally, I didn't expect us to

struggle quite like we have either. It's a very tight league, it always

has been and I'm sure that probably won't change. The essential thing is

to stay up in that division, you don't want to be trying to get out

of the Conference. To our Ldague One quartet, starting with a late

kick`off derby at Brisbane Road After five games without a win,

Leyton Orient strikers found their scoring boots again to conddmn

Gillingham to a third straight defeat. David Mooney 's angled shot

opened the scoring. Dean Cox's powerful striker gave the home side

a 2`0 lead within the first ten minutes. Before Kevin Lisbid raced

into the box to head in frol close range for goal number three. There

was barely time to celebratd before Lisbie became provider for Looney's

brace and his 20th of the sdason. The Gills were tougher to break down

in the second half, but thex couldn't stop substitute Chris

Dagnall extending Orient's lead before Craig Fagan got a late

consolation for the visitors. In a record`breaking season for the Os,

this was their third 5`1 win, and means there is still slim hope of

automatic promotion. While Peter Taylor's team continue to kdep one

eye over their shoulders with just five points separating them from the

drop zone. Orient's next opponents are Crawley,

who travelled to Milton Keynes on the back of six straight defeats.

They made the perfect start when Jamie Proctor's pass was sm`rtly

turned in by Andy Drury. John Gregory praised his players for

keeping their composure in front of goal, as another Proctor pass

allowed Mike Jones to extend Crawley's lead. The win movds them

up to 15th in the table, as they prepare to host Tranmere on Tuesday

and then the Os on Good Friday. Brentford continue to keep their

fans' nerves on edge after ` disappointing day at the cotnty

ground. The Bees might have gone behind early on when Alan M`cCormack

felled Alex Pritchard and the referee pointed to the spot. But

David Button denied Michael Smith. The hosts, though, went ahe`d with a

goal Button will want to forget He passed to Jonathan Douglas, who lost

the ball to Louis Thompson to slot home. Mark Warburton questioned just

how generous the referee was early on with yellow cards. And it proved

costly when Adam Forshaw picked up his second booking with 66 linutes

on the clock. Brentford still know that two wins over Easter would see

them promoted at MK Dons on Monday. So, this is how the top of League

One looks right now, with jtst four games left to play. Wolves have

secured an immediate return to the Championship, that was sortdd on

Saturday at Crewe. Brentford remain in pole position to follow them up.

Leyton Orient still have a chance of sneaking in if they were to slip up.

Brentford. They could do it this weekend. When are they going to get

these two wins.?They will gdt them. They are playing Preston next,

impressive away from home, Preston, 11 wins. After MK Dons, thex've lost

nine at home. They need two wins, if not, they've got to play thd lower

teams in the last two games. But the sooner they get over the line the

better, purely and simply bdcause of last year and the nerves.

Preston at home, MK Dons aw`y, then Colchester and Stevenage, Stevenage

are rock bottom, Colchester are struggling as well. If you `re a

Brentford fan, they will do it, just sooner rather than later, hopefully.

MK Dons on Easter Monday, they've lost five at home in a row. Peter

Taylor was saying after his Gillingham defeat at Leyton Orient,

that it was the worst 45 minutes in the first half that he's evdr seen

as a manager. That is saying something given the career he has

had. I'm so surprised to sed the goals they conceded in the first

half because Peter Taylor is meticulously organised in hhs

management style. You very rarely see them concede four or five goals

in a game, so that's obviously what he prides himself on and whx he was

so disappointed. Turning our attention is to Crawley, thdir

defender Paul Connelly is to appeal an FA charge of violent conduct

That's relating to this inchdent which occurred in last Tuesday's

match away to Brentford. Connelly appeared to raise his arm towards a

Brentford supporter, who threw the ball at him. The match officials

didn't see the incident at the time and the FA says that a standard

three match ban would be cldarly insufficient, as they put it, if

Connelly is found guilty by an independent panel. Connelly said on

Twitter," I did not slap or punch the fan. I reacted wrongly but was

hugely provoked in the game." What did you make of it? I saw it on

Twitter. Didn't make contact with the fan, but it's the gesture. He

gets provoked, the ball is thrown at him. You can't take a swing at a

fan. We don't have the fencds anymore, that could have catsed a

riot, somebody getting hurt there. As a player, there are 300 `nd odd

games, you've got to step b`ck from that situation and let the officials

deal with it. It was wrong what the fan did and wrong what Conndlly did.

Just a reminder that we're not here next week. The Football League Show

is on in our place with all the Easter action. We will be b`ck on

April the 28th, by which tile, Matt, we hope things will be lookhng

brighter for you and Wycombd. And you have a testimonial coming up. A

golf day at the end of this month on the 30th at a golf club nearby,

which is great. Aston Villa are coming pre`season for a match, which

is fantastic. I'm grateful for Paul Abbott to agree to that, my manager

from a few years ago. And wd are looking at having a dinner hn

October as well. It's been fantastic to try and mark those ten ydars at

one club. It's a really special club to me now, to spend so long in one

place. It's been great. I rdally do feel part of things there. Xou get

that affiliation with the f`ns, you know everyone who works there and

everyone who comes and support the away games and everything. Ht's been

great. There's been lots of ups and downs but I've loved it. Yot've been

popular with the fans on Twhtter. Tom asks, who is the best player

you've played alongside in xour time at Wycombe? Potential`wise, Jordon

Ibe, he's gone to Liverpool, he s currently on loan at Birmingham He

has the potential to be whatever he wants to be. At the other end of the

spectrum, I suppose Rob Lee, when he came to play for us at 41, he had

everything. He wasn't a bad player. Thanks so much for joining ts. Thank

you. Just three weeks of thd regular season remaining. The finishing line

is within sight, which for lany of you who took part in the London

Marathon on Sunday, must have been a moment of pure relief. Good night to

you. She's been fantastic throughout my

career, she's always supported me through the whole journey. H can't

praise her enough. I try to be very supportive, always there for him, we

try to go to as many games `s we can. The most memorable momdnt by

far has to be when Paul scored the winner in the play`off finals at

Wembley. Paul Robinson scooted into the back of the net! It was

unbelievable for us watching. I can't imagine what it must have felt

like for Paul. This year I ran the London Marathon for Millwall's main

sponsor,Prostate Cancer UK. The club have made a fantastic gesture this

season in putting Prostate Cancer on the front of our shirts. It's been a

lifelong ambition of mine to run the London Marathon. It was nicd to

relax and be the spectator `nd go enjoy the experience of chedring

someone else on. Fantastic day, great atmosphere. You see all London

come together. The nerves are harder in a way because you can't do

anything about it, you are there the whole time... How is she getting on,

I hope she's feeling all right! Nikki, Nikki! She's in the zone

It's been exciting, hard work, very hard work. Exhausting. But `lso it's

been fantastic. Every time I see you,

it's shorts and a dressing gown