The Millwall Premier League Rivalries

[Gary@Millwall]

The Millwall Premier League Rivalries

Chelsea

Steve Talbot’s Chelsea will be the defending Champions following a great season and he has now won top tier League titles in Europe and England.

Games between Millwall and Chelsea come around less than Haleys Comet in real life and are always heated affairs as both sets of fans hate each other. A fact that led to the movie Football Factory.

Windebank and Talbot have had a lot of banter over the years, and this is a game both managers will be eagerly looking for when the fixture list are published.

Windebank will have nothing to lose which will mean Talbot will be under immense pressure to win both games as he and the World of FFO will expect to batter Millwall.

Win the other managers shrug their shoulders, lose to little Millwall and the embarrassment could have a devastating effect on the cocky northerner’s arrogance.
Talbot will try and hide behind bravado, but his arse will be tighter than Ed Clark’s wallet when the two sides meet.

Liverpool

Windebank and Livi have had a friendly rivalry for years going back to the days they managed Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal where Windebank had the upper hand to Sporting Lisbon and Barcelona where Livi got the upper hand.

Liverpool knocked little Millwall out the FA Cup Semi Final 1-0 in season 4 and both managers will be licking their lips at the prospect of facing each other yet again.

Manchester City

Another friendly rivalry that goes back to FFO 1 first with Millwall and Huddersfield Town, then Brighton and Hove Albion and Huddersfield Town where Nick broke Windebank’s heart on many occasions especially in the Champions League and quest for a second Premier League Title before Windebank went to Sporting Lisbon.

Windebank has developed many players for Nick over the years, and it will be interesting to see if Windebank can get any points off the giants Nick built.

Manchester United

Another friendly rivalry that has competition spice as well. Windebank has still not got over losing to Steve Outten’s Manchester United in the DPT Cup final when he was managing Sporting Lisbon despite slapping Steve’s Red Devils silly.

Steve will not be worried about little Millwall, but he will be highly motivated that Windebank does not take any points off his superstars.


West Ham United

This rivalry goes back over one hundred years, and the atmosphere and animosity are fever pitched when the two sides meet.

Gary and Todd do not have a rivalry, but Windebank will want to win these games just because its West Ham United.

Crystal Palace

Windebank and Rob do not have a personal rivalry although that might change with Rob being an ardent Crystal Palace fan who will want to make sure a Club Palace fans despise does not overtake them in FFO.

Windebank will be going out of his way to make saw the Surrey based Club and their Finlay and Tarquin supporters are sad all over when the two sides meet. The fact Palace are one of the Clubs Windebank will want to finish above could mean a feisty long term rivalry cold be in the making.

Arsenal

Managed by another Crystal Palace fan Windebank and Darren go back a long way.

Arsenal has bigger fish to fry but the thought of losing to Millwall and Windebank will mean Darren will be highly motivated to get six points from the Millwall games.

Leeds United

Windebank and Davey are both managing their real-life Clubs and have a long competitive history going back to FFO 1.

Neither manager will want to lose, and it could be pivotal games in many ways, including bragging rights.

Editors Note

If Millwall shock the FFO world and stay up it is highly likely this list of rivalries will grow over time.

This is a open thread if other teams wish to comment or add what they see as rivalries to make some credits for you Club.

[Steve@Chelsea]

Cards, Kings, and Conquests

It’s just past midnight at The Park Lane Club, a plush haven of soft velvet, low lighting and sharp suits nestled near Hyde Park. The champagne flows quietly. The poker’s louder. And there, at a private table carved out in the corner under a haze of Cuban smoke and laughter, sits none other than Steven K. Talbot , the Premier League winning manager of Chelsea Football Club, affectionately known as The Spice Boys, in his element, his chip stack rising.

The game? 6-card Pot Limit Omaha. Triple board. Bomb pots. Not for the faint hearted or the risk adverse. But Talbot? He’s neither.

With a calm, almost bored elegance, he flicks in chips, "Pot.", talks with a dry wit, and drags down pots with the same kind of stubborn brilliance that’s made him the darling of West London. On two separate occasions, he cheekily shows the table complete air, pure bluffs after betting with huge pot sized bets all the way to the river, and flashes a grin as his opponents sigh and fold. There’s something theatrical about it, sure. But also something coldly methodical. Like he’s still managing a match, just with triple suited pocket aces, broadway rundown cards as backup and pot odds instead of full backs and tactical overloads.

Let’s not forget, many laughed, some loudly when Talbot first walked into Stamford Bridge and claimed he’d make Chelsea “the Kings of London again.” The established gaffers of the London elite scoffed. The journalists smirked. Even parts of his own dressing room raised an eyebrow.

But now? Now there’s no debate.

Chelsea, under Talbot, finished 14 points clear of last season's flukey champions, the second placed Tottenham in the London only table. And frankly, that gap flatters the rest. The Blues took control of the league just before the halfway mark and never let go, like a rabid, tenacious dog with a bone. Ruthless, relentless, remorseless, dominant.

Gangs of London Table

Pl Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts Points Gap
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Chelsea 38 25 7 6 97 42 55 82 Kings of London
5 Tottenham_Hotspur 38 19 11 8 78 46 32 68 -14
6 Arsenal 38 16 14 8 67 61 6 62 -20
13 Crystal_Palace 38 13 9 16 60 76 -16 48 -34
14 West_Ham 38 10 13 15 56 60 -4 43 -39
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Millwall 38 22 8 8 100 47 53 74 -84
7 Brentford 38 17 6 15 46 39 7 57 -101
8 Fulham 38 15 10 13 64 55 9 55 -103

*Champ teams point differences, based on Luton's point score of 76 as league winners.

Champions of England. In just Talbot’s second season in the job.

The noise around London hasn’t stopped, of course. Especially from Millwall, newly promoted and full of puffed chests and swagger. Their fans call it a rivalry now. Talbot calls it “our seasonal community service visit.” They might treat facing Chelsea like their cup final, but let’s be honest, they’re still miles away from sitting at the big table.

Back at Park Lane, Talbot leans back in his chair, lights a cigar someone’s handed him, and gives the table a look, a knowing smirk that’s seen its fair share of doubters collapse.

Talbot - "Pot."

Opponent - "This time I catch your fingers in the cookie jar, I call."

Talbot flips over his cards and tables the nut full house with As Kd Kc Qd 9c 8s on a K45T5 board.

He rakes in another pot.

Talbot- "Sometimes, I just have the goods, you know "

King of the table. King of London. King of the Premier League.

And he’s only just getting started.

Words: 617 + a table

[Timbro]

As the press conferences died down and the journalists packed up their bags a large shadow cast over from the corner of the room and a big man stepped forward and cleared his throat “Ummm excuse me!”.




The reporters looked up as he made his way up to the podium and adjusted the microphone, flanked by his assistants. It was Spurs manager Tim Brown.




“Yeah mate, I think you might have forgotten about us - the truly great London team - the mighty Spurs”




Some of the journalists sniggered in the front row and Brown visibly bristled




“Oh yeah, yeah laugh at spursy spurs - and have another think mate! I predicted that I would not win a trophy in my second season and I didn’t so I am a fucking genius mate”




The reporters pulled themselves together and came up with a question




“What do you say to the rise of Chelsea and their comments about Spurs?”




“Look mate what can I say - Steve Talbot definitely needs no one else to fanfare his achievements. He’s told us all about them often enough. I enjoy his rants immensely but I think to call our title win ‘flukey’ is clearly a declaration of war, so as the Chinese recently said, we’re prepared to fight a war on any level”




“Surely you have to say though, to win the title in his second season is a hell of an achievement with Chelsea”




Brown threw his head back and laughed




“Mate here’s an achievement for you - take a side that finishes 14th in the premiership and in your first season win the title on the final day fair and square after 38 flukey rounds. Then follow that up with a threadbare squad and finish 5th and make champions league semis in your second. That spursy enough for you mate?”




Suddenly the room seemed packed again and Brown continued




“Did you know that we actually finished within 2 points of our total from last year? I’m very happy with how we did and we certainly did ok against Chelsea. We’ll be there or thereabouts don’t worry about that. The fans just love the fact that we’ve finished above Arsenal again, and we’ll keep building this marvellous magical club to continue to compete at the very highest level. Thank you “




And with that he turned and left the building, leaving the reporters clear that this club sees all London teams as rivals.