All aboard the Millwall hype train!

I'm not sure if I'm late to the Millwall hype, considering we're nearly halfway through the season, but god, I'm pleased with how things are going right now in the Championship. Third place, 34 points, two off automatic promotion, and off the back of three wins in a row. Yesterday, we beat Bristol City 1-0, with Mihailo Ivanovic scoring - something he's not been doing as often as last season. Not bad considering they're rivals in the promotion race this season. 

A year ago, Millwall were in 9th, on 28 points and three off the playoffs - sure, this season, they're doing very similarly. But Millwall are currently going through a bit of an injury crisis, and yet they're still winning. In fact, to emphasise how good they've been this year, the last time Millwall finished the season in the Championship playoffs was in the 2001/02 season. And after 19 games, Millwall were in 6th, on 33 points. Now obviously a lot has changed since - Man City were 2nd in the table for one - but let me be on cloud nine for a bit! 

I've been to see Millwall twice so far - at home to Wrexham back in August, and home to Leicester at the end of October. The difference couldn't be clearer - against Wrexham, they were sluggish, constantly misfiring, and all Wrexham needed to do was execute their counter attacks to get an easy win. Against Leicester, though, Millwall were dominant in attack and defence. Femi Azeez scored a wonderful goal as Millwall won 1-0, and it was one of the best matches I'd ever watched Millwall play. Since then, there have been the odd few blips in the road, but otherwise Millwall have stayed relatively consistent, and now they're five points clear in the playoffs.

Millwall - Wrexham. Worst game ever.

This is probably due to several things:

• The players (obvs) - Tristan Crama has been fantastic at the back, and he's even scored a few himself. Most notably a late winner against a resurgent Southampton a week ago.
• The manager - Alex Neil has brought a winning mentality to the club, and the football's more attactive, too. A far cry from the Brexit-style Neil Harris era, which was effective but frustrating to watch.
• The teams around them - the relegated teams have been largely inconsistent this season. Southampton were unable to win games until recently; Leicester are in free-fall; Ipswich have only just got going. Sheffield United were supposed to be favourites but were abysmal at the start of the season. Perennial playoff candidates like Norwich and West Brom have been subpar.

As such, this season's also ended up being way more thrilling for the underdogs. Preston, Stoke and Hull - usually far from the playoffs - have all been decent so far. And yes, that includes Millwall - I personally thought we'd be midtable this season, but so far, I'm glad to be proven wrong. 

There have been some issues, though:

• The goal difference - when Millwall win, it's barely; when they lose, it's by a margin. They played Birmingham City away last month, and I could have gone but I had a chem lab that same day. This meant I didn't watch them lose 4-0, supposedly one of their worst performances. Luckily there've been more wins than losses, but that could always change.
• The smaller teams - this has always been an issue for Millwall. This season, we've drawn to Charlton and Oxford, and lost to Wrexham and Portsmouth. Sure, we've also won against both Sheffield sides and Norwich, so it's not like it's been all bad. And to be far, this season's been incredibly close - West Brom in 16th are only five points away from the playoffs right now. So it's less "we lose to bad teams" and more "everyone is mid".

And that last point is key - this season's been one of the best in Championship history. Everyone says the league is great because anyone can beat anyone, and this season is proof of that. 

I hope this post doesn't jinx Millwall, though. We play Hull in a week's time and I'll hopefully be there, it better be a win! For the first time in ages, I'm confident going into every game.