From dockers to hooligans: the Millwall-West Ham rivalry returns | OneFootball

A fresh chapter in one of English football's fiercest rivalries begins this weekend when Millwall and West Ham United meet for the first time in 14 years.

The Hammers' relegation from the Premier League last season ensured that the two will go head to head once again this campaign, which will have the Metropolitan Police on full alert for any clashes between fans. Indeed, the atmosphere will be tense.

With so many local rivalries in football, and especially in London, it can be hard to pinpoint why exactly this one has become so heated and violent over the years but the history goes back a long time.

The Dockers Derby

To get the full story over the Millwall-West Ham rivalry we have to go back to the Victorian era. 

West Ham weren't technically in existence for the first game between the two but there was a club named Thames Ironworks (hence the nickname, the Irons) whose disbanding in 1900 led to the birth of West Ham United. Meanwhile Millwall Rovers, as they were originally known, began in as the team of a local canning factory 

The two clubs were less them 5 km apart and the first game was played in December 1899 in the FA Cup, with Millwall Athletic (a name change after dropping 'Rovers') winning 2-1 against Thames Ironworks. The pair then faced off in the league later that month in a game which was called off later in the game due to the London smog with the game being continued in the new century – finishing in April 1900.

Gradually, the local rivalry became heated. Stories emerged from the 1926 General Strike of scabbing workers made primarily of Millwall-based labourers, although the accuracy of such stories has been disputed. Regardless, the resentment that local rivalries produce bubbled under the surface.

The Hooligan Problem

Following the return of football after World War II there were fewer games between the two. West Ham went on to enjoy successes while Millwall floundered in the lower tiers.

English football's hooligan problem emerged in the seventies and eighties and both clubs had notorious 'firms'. Clashes soon turned deadly like in 1976 when one Millwall supporter named Ian Pratt died falling out of a train after a confrontation with West Ham supporters. 

From that point on Lions' fans wanted revenge; in 1986 a teenage West Ham supporter named Terry Burns was stabbed to death by a group of Millwall fans.

The Modern Era

With the advent of the Premier League in 1992, West Ham (for the most part) stayed in the top flight while Millwall never found a way back into the top tier of English football. That meant fixtures continued to be in frequent, besides West Ham's brief seasons in the Championship – for example, there were 10 years without a game between the two from 1993 to 2003.

Despite the rarity, matches continued to be fierce, heated contests off the pitch even after the big changes in English football towards the ned of the 1980s that saw the impact of hooliganism take a steep decline.

One famous game came in 2004 when West Ham visited The Den for the first time since its opening in time for 1993/94 season, (which is when the Irons were competing in their first Premier League campaign). It proved to be a superb day for Millwall who romped to a 4-1 victory (with Tim Cahill scoring twice) in what their support called 'The Mothers' Day Massacre' while disruptions from the travelling supporters saw police with horses step out to help control fan violence. 

Four years passed before the next game, a 3-1 extra-time League Cup win for West Ham at Upton Park. Junior Stanislas scored twice for West Ham that day (including an 87th-minute equaliser to send the game to extra-time) but again off-field issues overshadowed the game. There were 20 injuries following clashes between fans with one supporter suffering a punctured lung after he was stabbed.

The most recent game between the two sides took place in the Championship on February 4th 2014. Despite Kevin Nolan's 9th-minute sending off Carlton Cole and Winston Reid scored in a 2-1 victory for the Irons.

14 Years Later...

Now after such a long, and a times bloody history, between the two teams they will face off once again. 

West Ham United are still looking for a first win at The Den while Millwall will be hoping to get their first victory over their rivals for the first time in just under 22 years.