Yes, of course, one sometimes yearns for the old days. The friend who, appearing in court on a charge of racial hatred for having shouted ‘Pikeys!’ at some Gillingham fans, was able to produce a shirt bought in the Gillingham club shop which bore the slogan ‘Pure Pikey’. Case dismissed. And then the case that was not dismissed – another friend, his face contorted with outrage and disbelief, found guilty of violent and abusive language towards the manager of an opposing team. ‘What sort of game has this become, Rod, when you can get done for calling Russell Slade a fat c**t?’

It is hard to say even from my antediluvian standpoint, that things haven’t got better

It is hard to say even from my antediluvian standpoint, that things haven’t got better

A salient question. We are even, these days, barred from expressing homophobic slurs towards Brighton supporters (who always cheerfully responded, when inevitably going a goal to the good: ‘One-nil, to the nancy boys!’) The Den, home of Millwall FC, has become a place of civility and kindness, even if we do still refuse to take the knee. A place of success, too, finishing third in the league, the ground sold out week after week, the club extraordinarily well run, everybody happy. Some people call it the Charlton-ification of football, with clubs replicating the congenial family atmosphere you find at our unfortunate friends down the road. Others ‘blame’ Euro ’96, which is when football visibly ceased to be a redoubt of the blue-collar working class and was taken up by........

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