BORO v Millwall
Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough
7.45 pm, Tuesday September 15, 2026
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Position | |
| BORO | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 13 | 4th |
| Millwall | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 13th |
So, here we are. My DiasBoro Preview Debut. And it aligns with a fixture and a team that carries a fair number of memories for me...
It's a game about lions. Two lions vs one if you wish to talk about it in terms of mascots, with our Roary and our River up against Zampa. One where we will hope that Boro show real lion-heartedness to come away with all three points.
But, of course, it won't be easy. It never is with Millwall. For history suggests that they are the kind of club who can really put a metaphorical spanner in your works when you least expect it, and that doesn't just apply to Boro.
My earliest memory of Millwall, apart from seeing them pretty close to Boro in a Football League sticker album and learning about then future Premier League regulars Kasey Keller and Kenny Cunningham, is from the first big cupset I can recall witnessing, where the Lions in blue put the seal on a 2-0 FA Cup replay triumph against the Gunners in red at Highbury with an absolute rocket from young Irishman and future Liverpool winger Mark Kennedy. The Lions' manager at the time was a certain past Ireland captain and future Ireland manager, one Mick McCarthy, whose departure from the club during 1995-96 coincided with a downward spiral which saw them relegated from the second tier after leading it in December 1995. You could say they out-Boro'd Boro, though to be fair the downward turn began before McCarthy left.
A player right in the middle of that Millwall fall - Millfall? - was one Uwe Fuchs, Boro's on loan hero and crucial short-term goalscoring catalyst of 1994-95. He isn't, of course, alone in being a famous or well-known forward-thinking representative for both clubs - most recently, and perhaps most painfully, there has been Josh Coburn, but Duncan Watmore has also worn the Millwall blue, as has Scott McDonald. At the back, popular social media presence Danny Batth was spotted among their substitutes for their 3-1 defeat to Tony Mowbray's Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Millwall, home and away, have also provided the opportunity for many Boro heroes or heroics. Particularly during the Aitor Karanka era. It was at the New Den when an injury to fan favourite Muzzy Carayol ensured Emmanuel Ledesma entered the fray and got the Karanka train up and running with a spectacular opening goal in a 2-0 win. Jelle Vossen's equally spectacular hat-trick at the same venue the following year, and Patrick Bamford's telegenic opener in a comfortable 3-0 home win which took Boro to the top of the Championship table in March 2015, were no less memorable.
And more than a decade later we stand to go top again if we are to win again. But even our firepower and fortitude, the former delightfully exhibited in the first half against Norwich and the latter joyously found right at the end of the game for a happy finale, brings with it no promise of success tomorrow. It is still early enough and cagey enough in the season that while a Boro win could take the team top, Alex Neil's Millwall have the opportunity to close the gap on us to one point with a win of their own.
Which leads me to my primary observations before the game - will this be another tale of half measures? And will we find a proper shield?
It's been a common pattern across the majority, if not the entirety, of Kim Hellberg's tenure that the team has quite often played dominant if not spectacular halves of football, but these have regularly been countered by poor and lacklustre displays in the other half of the game.
Whereas last season I would have put it down to, perhaps, lack of depth in the squad, this season seems to feature a squad that have more depth, are more individually and technically gifted, but are less fluid and coherent.
Achieving a win after surrendering a lead against Norwich was an admirable achievement, but surrendering that two goal lead in the first place was infuriating. And while the West Brom win was a commendable victory, it appeared to come from turning to individual skill and breaking up the opposition's pattern rather than establishing a coherent team pattern ourselves.
Such a pattern would benefit hugely from a "shield", or a holding midfielder, especially as Boro don't quite seem to have a consistent defensive line-up at present. While Nicky Bailey wasn't amazing, he did perform that function for us under Mogga throughout 2011 and performed it well. And while the Grant Leadbitter and Adam Clayton axis may well have frustrated footballing romantics, it was, again, hugely effective. Perhaps Connor Barron is the answer?
We have to be fair though. It is only September. There is time to address these issues. And we do have a 100% home record and a great chance to top the table against a side who have lost three in four and are currently injury hit, with one of the casualties being the unfortunate Coburn.
Though, given that the next Riverside fixture following Millwall isn't scheduled for nearly a month - Saturday October 10, to be exact - you get the feeling that this is really a chance we have to take. Still, I'm hopeful of a good performance and victory.
Over to you, everyone...
Is thhT a late night, or an early morning for you Si? Whichever, a stunning and interesting and (as expected) detailed debut. Thank you.
A bit like you, Millwall ia one of those clubs that seem to have been etched in my conscious for almost as long as the Boro. Captured in my memory are hard fought (literally) encounters watched on Shoot on a Sunday afternoon in black and white. In particular in my mind's eye is a goalmourh brawl involving, among others. Big John..... that's Hickton, not Cannon!
Good chance for us tomorrow. Let us not squander it.
🤞
Thanks for the intro Si. Millwall won their first two games without conceding a goal, in the next four they conceded 11. Their third win of the season was at home to Bolton who gifted the Lions three goals in the last eight minutes. They are in the middle of an injury crisis, so there will be no return for Josh Coburn tomorrow. Details of said crisis here posted before Saturday's game at Blackburn
Thank you Si for an enjoyable, interesting and informative read which we always expect from one of our wordsmiths.
Millwall over the years has always tended to be one of those memorable matches for one reason or another; in the case of games at the old Den it tended to be because you were taking your life in your hands if you attended. I shall never forget being pelted with penny coins (old LSD) which had had their edges filed into a point!
Last year it was a killer goal from our old boy JC, hopefully he will not have recovered to do the same to us this time.
A tough game and one where I expect Alex Neill to pack his defence and try and hit us on the break.
Hopefully a win for us to take us top of the league but given the other lions have not drawn this season they may break their duck tomorrow night. 😎
A brilliant opener Si - one I’ve just read on board the train to Gothenburg (where we change for Copenhagen), whilst planning a strategy to persuade Mrs B to agree to an interruption in our evening schedule to take in the game in my phone.
A win tomorrow would be a great opportunity to scale the heights of the Championship. What could possibly go wrong?
A terrific opener, Si, combining your encyclopaedic knowledge, brilliant memory and stylish presentation to great effect. A lovely read which went down like a fine wine.
My most vivid Millwall- related memory was from February 1972, a 3rd Round FA Cup replay, played at Ayresome Park in front of 36,000 people. We won 2-1 thanks to a Hickton penalty and a Derrick Downing goal. Boro team was Platt, Craggs, Boam, Maddren, Jones, Stiles, Laidlaw, McMordie, Downing, Mills and Hickton.
My memory of the game has faded but I do recall going to the Marimba night club (or was it Tito's) with friends after the game and meeting up with Eric McMordie, whom we all knew socially, and encountering Harry Cripps in the Gents. He was extremely likeable, very friendly, and wished us all the best of luck in the next round. A nice memory of a Millwall legend.
Thanks MW. I find the fruits of your research fascinating and an essential part of this blog
Great starter, Si. I am so glad you came back after a break from the blog. Your writing is always nice and a bit different to other poster. Hence greatly appreciated by me.
Elsewhere, the first manager has been sacked in the Championship.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/c3eq0jdzj0ko
Uå the Boro!
Fantastic opener, Si. Very much enjoyed that.
Hard to disagree with any of the points you raise - filling that gaping midfield on transition is still the missing piece of the jigsaw.
How I'd love to go into that long international break at the top of the table. We might need two wins to achieve that though so tomorrow night is an important one.
It does appear to be a good time to play Millwall but ,without checking any stats, I feel like Alex Neil has a good record against us across several teams.
Hoping for a 3-1 win though, and why not?
Bravo, Si! Nice one. 
So, no Josh Coburn to taunt us with what might have been tomorrow evening. Thank God for that!
Off topic, after the fiasco at Old Trafford yesterday afternoon, questions are beginning to be asked about MC's management abilities. One fan asked on the Beeb's live text commentary:
When are the job ads going to start for another Man United manager? All talk about the officials, it can't deflect from how poor this game has been for Carrick.
And one of its pundits commented:
Big questions for Michael Carrick
Bravo, Si! Nice one.
So, no Josh Coburn to taunt us with what might have been tomorrow evening. Thank God for that!
Off topic, after the fiasco at Old Trafford yesterday afternoon, questions are beginning to be asked about MC's management abilities. One fan asked on the Beeb's live text commentary:
When are the job ads going to start for another Man United manager? All talk about the officials, it can't deflect from how poor this game has been for Carrick.
And one of its pundits commented:
Big questions for Michael Carrick
That would have been poor from Manchester United even without the fact Manchester City played most of the match with 10 men. Yes, United hit the post twice. Yes, Bryan Mbeumo must have thought he had equalised in stoppage time. But United didn't impose themselves on their visitors. They didn't pressurise Manchester City around their penalty area.Now it is four points from four games, just as it was last season under Ruben Amorim. Michael Carrick needs to find some answers.We're well shot of him, methinks.
Meant to include this, but left it too late to edit my original post:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cddv5mqjgvlo
During this season (as early as it is) people have commented on what will happen if Lankshear got injured, can I just point out we scored 4 goals on Saturday and Lankshear didn’t score any of them 
.
Come on BORO
Excellent stuff, Si. Glad to have you back doing what you are good at! Thanks for the starter piece.
If anyone thinks of a quintessential second tier club, Millwall would never be far from consideration. Somehow playing that club in what will hopefully be a very mild September evening not too long after sunset, is a far cry from the expected "cold, windy & wet night in January", when sitting shivering and damp to watch a grim game is the classical expectation. I suppose playing AWAY in such circumstances would be more "typical Millwall" but let's be grateful those circumstances do not apply.
This is a real opportunity for Boro. I hope the team will grab it with both hands. There will inevitably be very difficult times ahead in the long and twisting course that a Championship season presents. It's "helpful" that Millwall should come to the game in a bit of an injury crisis. It's good that Boro should come to the game still on a wave of enthusiasm following the 90th minute winner against lively Norwich City on Saturday. And the possibility of going top of the table is so tempting...
A win would continue the momentum and allow Boro fans to dream after the disappointment of last season. It may give the squad and particularly the new players to our club the confidence that they made the right decision to join Boro, and that this might very well be a club "going places".
We will see, but I hope and believe this will be three points. Having said which, it might be a game with difficult moments. Hopefully this is now a team which can come through those difficult interludes.
2-1 to Boro. (I'd love to say it will be a thumping victory but don't want to jinx things!)
A great opener Si, never in doubt for your debut! Your memory of more recent Boro is incredible and much appreciated for those of us who struggle to remember what day of the week it is!
I will take any victory tomorrow to be fair, we have the golden opportunity to go top although I am hoping for untypical Boro to turn up and win! That said, as highlighted, we need to sharpen up our claws defensively, make sure that we hunt as a pride and not leave big gaps in the middle of the pitch for the opposition to pounce on.
I am not entirely sure where or who is the issue but if is glaringly obvious to us watchers, surely KH can see it and make the necessary adjustments. I like Morris and Berhalter but to my simple mind, if they play together, then we need someone to fill the gap caused when we press forward.
Perhaps the solution is ensure that Malandra doesn’t go forward as much? A 3 5 2 1 formation with Jones Phillips and Ayling as the 3, a midfield 5 of Brittain Morris Malandra Berhalter Arfstan with McGree and Cozier Duberry behind Lankshear.
My Millwall memories are more of the away games at the old Den back in the late 60s and very early 70s when we lived on the London/Essex border so I will save those for the reverse fixture in April.
For now, I will be hoping that the red lions will be able to tame the ones in blue with a 2 0 victory.
UTB
Jones is injured unlikely to play before the break. I wonder if we might go with a back three of Philips, Malanda and Borges with Arfsten in at left wing back. The question is whether Philips is ready to play the full ninety yet.
@mw-in-darwin - thanks for- I hadn’t realised that injury to Jones. he really doesnt have a lot of luck with injuries.
That formation wouid work I guess.
Thank you Si for a wonderfully detailed preview, it was very enjoyable. As others mention, you have an enviable recall of past games and it is great to have your trips down memory lane to put the next game in context.
UTB
It’s a great starter, Si, and although we’re all used by now to the quality of your writing, it’s still hard to believe that this is your preview debut! I look forward to reading many more as the seasons progress.
I know Millwall have a number of injuries right now, but, as we know, they’re a cussed and ornery bunch who’ll give you nothing, an approach no doubt typified by that dour, but oh-so-canny Scot, Alex Neil. I don’t expect tomorrow will be any different, and I think this will be a hard game. That said, I’m encouraged that Millwall were beaten 3-1 on Saturday at Blackburn, which surprised me somewhat. It shows they can be vulnerable and I think we have the forward options to score a couple. Some of our attacking play against Norwich was breathtaking. I hope KH sticks with the same starting XI minus Jones.
But I do think we need to address the giant holes that too many times this season have appeared between our defence and the midfield. KH is evidently so committed to all-out attack that it leaves too many players in advanced positions and defenders struggle to get back when the opposition breaks. All 3 of Norwich’s goals came from breakaways, with the last two criminally negligent! This is the balance KH has to address, ideally by leaving at least one or even two defenders or midfielders further back to provide cover when we are attacking.
I don’t for one minute think Millwall will attack us as Norwich did, especially given their injuries. I do think they’re capable of scoring on the break and, if they were to score first, setting up a stubborn and solid low block to keep us out.
After a long day working in the garden yesterday just managed to read your top quality expertly written preview Si and your ability to recall details from the past never ceases to impress.
I think Millwall were also probably one of the clubs I first noticed as a youngster in the early 1970s - they always seemed to be around Boro and recall doing those Shoot ladders and filling in various wall charts.
Looking forward to the game today and it does feel like a massive game that winning and going top could be a pivotal moment in our season psychologically. Feels like this season is shaping up to be a tough contest at the top and Boro need to avoid slipping up too often.
Morning from Copenhagen. Yesterday was a case of three countries in one day as we left Norway, whizzed through Sweden and ended up in Denmark. A better rail journey than the previous one from Bergen to Oslo, which involved a stop whilst the police boarded and arrested someone near us and then our carriage window being smashed when the train hit a moose! The journey took 8 hours in the end, which is a long time for an old chap
The good news is that I can cast the Boro game tonight on to the tv in our bedroom and that, as a reward for finding a fantastic brasserie for dinner last night , Mrs B has confirmed our presence at the game.
For once, I’m quite confident of a win, although that could be holiday euphoria kicking in.
I want to thank every single one of you for your very kind comments. It was my first and I did worry if I’d get it right but it all came together in the end.
I’ve thought again about our 4-3 against Norwich and how I found myself analysing our lack of a shield and a settled defence, along with the “One Half Hellberg” theory (I’ll call it that) that seems to be an Achilles heel.
But while those are all legitimate complaints, dwelling on them… in a way… misses the point by quite a distant. At this moment I turn to wisdom adapted from a fellow Boro fan’s words. In italics.
Analysing a match once you already know the final score is missing out on the whole purpose of going to a game. Which is to find out what is going to happen in it.
When the question of how an enthralling contest will end keeps you glued to your seat until the final kick, then you haven't simply observed an event, you have been an active participant in it. You leave the ground as exhausted as the players. But also enlivened.
As for defensive frailties, these are always picked out and magnified whenever a goal is scored. And they are bound to occur when two teams are heavily focused on attacking.
It seems that the focus, at least where the managerial mindset is concerned, is too often aligned towards stopping goals from happening, rather than the much more difficult task of creating them.
Which, in a big way, makes Boro’s model from Chris Wilder onwards so refreshing.
As for those words? I think they may have been adapted from yours, Len, when you spoke about Liverpool’s famous 4-3 win over Newcastle in 1996. Though I wouldn’t be absolutely sure.
@martin-bellamy I hope you did notice the borders even without the queues like in Brexit Britain. 🤣
Have a safe journey. Last summer, we were in Danmark (West Coast) and Gothenburg on haoliday.
Up the Boro!
@martin-bellamy I hope you did notice the borders even without the queues like in Brexit Britain. 🤣
Have a safe journey. Last summer, we were in Danmark (West Coast) and Gothenburg on haoliday.
Up the Boro!
Don’t mention the B word, @Jarkko. As big a mistake as signing Michael Ricketts.
Si, that was a truly well written Headliner, with the remarkable recall of events past, giving it a different slant. Also aided by following posts from members recalling their own past memories.
I am pleased that other members are now as concerned as I am, with the continued issue of opposition turnover goals, and also those emanating from unnecessary loose passes. Malander and Morris, I am looking at you.
It is an issue that Hellberg has touched and especially so after the Norwich match. However will he compromise and try and solve the problem or rigidly stick to his all out attacking system that he believes is still the way to go.
As BBD said, if we can all see the issue, then I cannot believe that the coaching staff are blind to it. The issue probably for Hellberg, is losing an attacking player for a more defensive midfielder, such as Barron say. He has used Peart-Harris to improve the defensive area, but unfortunately he has not been overly successful yet.
We got out of jail against Norwich and likewise against Lincoln, but that cannot be allowed to continue if the aim is to be in the top two or three.
We have to be ruthless at home and put away the chances created, something that we have failed to do on a number of occasions already. Blackburn and Burnley, two rather poor teams to date were points thrown away, by “typical Boro”.
Again as BBD said, let’s hope untypical turn up tonight. It will be interesting to see if there are any rotations apart from the injured Jones. McGree perhaps on the bench?
Thank you kindly Pedro.
I’ll add that while it is true that we were fortunate against Norwich, the team deserve tremendous credit for not letting their heads go down and turning things around to ensure we took maximum points, kind of like we did at the Hawthorns last year.
Kind of like, as well, Brazil did in 1994 after Dennis Bergkamp and Aron Winter erased a 2-0 lead given to the Brazilians against Holland by Romario and Bebeto in that World Cup quarter final in Dallas, and a certain Branco stepped up to fire home the winner from a free kick.
Where on earth did you get that quotation from, Simon?
I did not recognise it at all. But your final reference to that epic Liverpool-Newcastle 4-3 game brought it all back.
I had read an article written by someone who watched a recording of the game some years later and concluded that it was over-rated because the defending was so poor.
But I vividly remember, on walking back to my car after the match, how electric the atmosphere still was in the streets around Anfield, everybody buzzing, exhilarated and declaring to anyone who cared to hear that that was the greatest game they had ever seen.
Thanks for the reminder...
@martin-bellamy Without getting into the politics and causation.
Did you enjoy Prague. Yes, a fantastic city and not overly large, you could walk most of it.
So would you recommend at visit. Yes, but not until the Czech’s solve their entry system. A shambles. Our arrival took 1.5 hours.
When we were departing, relatively easy, apart from the carry on bag checks, the poor arrival’s queuing up infront of us had a 2.5/3.00 hour wait.
Why, hardly any EES e-gates for foreigners. I must admit, when we travel in Europe from Spain it is far easier.