Millwall fans’ views on Championship promotion chances

Will injuries wreck the dream? Will Millwall make the play-offs or could they go one step further and seal a return to the top flight for the first time in the Premier League era?

On the back of four straight wins which have lifted Alex Neil’s side to third in the Championship, we asked you the following key questions:

As always, you’ve come back with a whole load of interesting answers and insights from your experiences of watching the Lions this season. Here are a selection:

Ben: Yes, defensively we are sound, [Tristan] Crama is the Millwall Maldini, the midfield and attack are finding their form, the depth on the bench is quality. When your only worry is who’s playing in goal, that speaks volumes on how good the team actually is.

Mark: As a lifelong Millwall fan, perish the thought of the Lions getting promoted to the Premier League, unless somehow they can add a huge amount of strength and depth to the squad over the coming months. The current run is of course fantastic. But without lots more heft, Millwall would be destroyed in the top flight.

Al: I’m 79, been going to watch Millwall since age six with my dad, his brothers and my grandad. Now on my own, from Cold Blow Lane to The New Den, it’s been a rollercoaster ride. It’s the disappointments that hurt but the hope that keeps you going. It’s going well now so let’s just enjoy the journey; win, lose or draw COYL.

Bill: I think we’re ahead of ourselves somewhat. Definitely improving at rapid pace under Alex Neil and summer recruitment brought in some surprise hits. Injuries are hurting us but the biggest worry is our lack of goals. Third in the table with a goal difference of +1 demonstrates the need for more goals to sustain this position.

Wilder: We had three big challenges that seemed to limit our potential form: goalscoring, home performances and injuries. After selling [Japhet] Tanganga, we had a ridiculous spate of injuries and, for a while, we struggled. But as players have come back in, namely [Femi] Azeez, and new players like [Thierno] Ballo have proven themselves, a lot of these challenges have been answered.

We’re starting to win at home, and we’re scoring goals. We’re controlling games and not just nicking wins. As a lifelong Millwall fan, I will never say our current form will definitely continue, nor will I grow entitled. But it’s nice to finally be firmly in the mix, and it’s been coming year on year. COYL

Dave: The [Josh] Coburn miss at Turf Moor and missing out on the play-offs after a great run was gut-wrenching last year. But we wouldn’t have been ready for the potential of playing in the Premier League.

The same is true of 2023 after the Blackburn game. Our new recruitment model of picking up obscure names means we’ve got a depth and a quality in depth we haven’t had for years. In other seasons the amount of injuries we have had this year would mean we would have to call up youth players. Not anymore.

After a few disappointing performances, we’ve switched to a system that suits our players as well as Alex Neil suits the football club. We’re third in the table with a combined three goals from our three centre forwards, so we’ve got more players chipping in with goals rather than depending on one or two players as we have done before.

The last piece of the jigsaw would be a prolific forward (easier said than done) with Coburn out injured and [Mihailo] Ivanovic out of form. If any season presents a chance for us to get promoted, it is this one.