If the City fans in the ground kept schtum, Radio Manchester reporter Ian Cheeseman, doing live commentary, had no choice but to raise his voice as he described the moment. And this season, in the first game in front of fans at The Den, Millwall fans booed their own players, and visiting Derby, for taking the knee in support of the fight against racism.

Every game was a bit of them against us for City at that time – the Blues were a scalp. And they had the former England manager and European Footballer of the Year in charge, so no matter where they were, everyone wanted to take them down.” Read More Related ArticlesCity have moved onwards and upwards, and Keegan was in no doubt that the victory at Millwall was crucial.

Two years earlier, when City and Millwall met at Maine Road, down in Division Two, a particularly inventive piece of vandalism by some Blues fans had led to serious trouble. We tried to join in, just to avoid anyone looking at us – in the end we probably over-egged it a bit!” says Sean. Up in the stand, Sean Riley was busy containing his glee: “It was Shaun's first goal, so I can say I was there to see that.

The Rileys made their way out of the stand to get some refreshment, and spotted a fellow Blue, one of an estimated 30 to 40 who got in that night, by hook or by crook. I didn't cry... I only told the truth": The strange and confused day Manchester City signed 'the new Pele' I’ve been watching football for ages and seen some bad stuff – following England abroad was bad enough – but this was a whole different world.” The City fans who quietly made their way out of the game managed to contain their joy – for a while.

In terms of positive turning points, I would say the game at Millwall, when we had to go down there – a tough place to go,” he said. I knew a City fan who was a postman in south-east London, so he had the right postcode and was able to go to the ground and buy four over the counter. He sent them up by registered post. So when City’s team coach – guarded by a strong police presence - made its way through the tight south London streets to the Den, they knew they would not have the comfort of their loud away support.But the drama was not over, and when the referee controversially decided Danny Tiatto had handled the ball, and gave the home side a penalty, City boss Keegan erupted. It was the first of the 21-year-old winger’s 31 City goals, and marked the lift-off point for his fine career. We came in on the team coach with very heavy police protection. The hostility and aggression was at a much higher level than usual,” he said.

It was not going well. The Blues had lost six of their first 20 games and were seven points behind leaders Burnley – and defeat at The Den would have seen Millwall leapfrog them into fourth place, and City plummet to ninth. They returned in triumph to the Premier League a year ahead of the vital move to the new City of Manchester stadium, now known as the Etihad.Things had not improved a great deal when Manchester City went to the new Den, just down the road, at a crossroads moment in their history. When we scored, it was the easiest thing in the world not to celebrate, because it was about surviving. The sound of the ball hitting the net will live with me, because you could hear it hit the nylon, it was that quiet.” Keegan made changes when he came to the club. There was investment, and the training ground was updated. We had the feeling that with him in charge, anything was possible – he did the same thing at Newcastle. The three points belonged to the Blues and, while they narrowly lost their next game, another exhausting trip to south London four days later, to play Crystal Palace, the Millwall result was crucial. The supporters had left the game early and carefully removed the windscreen wipers from the away fans’ coaches and, as it was raining, it meant the transport was unusable.