Barry Kitchener--Defender with a Lion heart

1947-2012

The 6th annual Dockers Day a few weeks ago, With his hand in his overcoat pocket Kitch always found time for a picture or a handshake.

30/3/2012

602 games for Millwall, I am just gutted that I didn't see all of them.

I am very sad to hear of the passing of Millwall legend Barry Kitchener. I can remember watching Millwall with "Kitch" in the team in the 1970's and as a defender he was indestructible as he stopped the opposing teams attackers in their tracks. As a supporter, there was nothing quiet like Kitch to warm you up on a freezing cold night in January with a raw gutsy solid display that had the opposition wimpering home with their tails between their legs. RIP big fella

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Taken from the forum Charltonlife:

Oliver Street

March 31

RIP Kitch. The thought of that early 1970's Millwall team with Kitchener at the heart of it still scares me. I always thought they should have been far more successful or did they just save their best for us?

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Cardinal Sin

March 31

So sad to hear this - only 64. Real Millwall hero from the days when our players never fancied it against the likes of Big Kitch.

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Even our local opposition was in awe of the man, and there was plenty more who were saying the same thing. Nice one.

7/4/12.....back at the Den and following a Memorial for Kitch it's a 2-0 win for the Wall against Hull City

Letting everybody know

Before the game, laying reefs behind the Cold Blow Lane goal

The Kitch factor and another win

10/4/22 Portsmouth 0 Millwall 1

47 points

A draw and two wins takes us eight points clear of the drop and the Millwall team looked to me to be only a few steps away from being a top-notch side. They have the quality and the desire to play for the shirt and I also see many instances of guts, grit and battling spirit that can only be described as "Wall" or as we also call it "proper Wall"

Barry Kitchener memorial ...the club, the team, the supporters, memories and the history.

There's no stopping us now

There's still a bit of this season left so I am not counted chickens before they have hatched (although it may seem that by what I wrote above) and I still think we need something else from the remaining four games, the twelve points would be nice but just a few would do.

50 points

14/04/12 Game 43 Millwall 2 Leicester 1 WE ARE MATHEMATICALLY SAFE

Yes, we get something else, three wins on the spin and another three points. A top drawer couple of weeks and the season is saved. I have trawled back through the fixtures and although we were always down in the lower regions of the Championship we have always done enough to keep just ahead of the pack . Keeping ahead of the relegation pack has come about by some blinding away wins at places like Forest and Leicester. The re-discovery of winning at home is happy days and as I said before "there's no stopping us now"

53 points

17/04/12 Game 44 Coventry 0 Millwall 1 -Lowry scores his first goal

The best spell we have had this season and the winning run continues. We may have sent the Sky Blues down to the 1st division.

56 points

21/4/12 Game 45 Ipswich 0 Millwall 3- five wins on the spin and we take top position for best placed South London club. A fantastic end to the season and well done to the team for carrying on trying to win games and not just thinking about their holidays. 

57 points

28/04/12 Game 46 Millwall 2 Blackpool 2- we finish with a draw and above Palace.

After thoughts

17/5/12  Looking back I can see that this game was one of the most defining games of the season. I think the standing ovation we gave to the team when we lost 6-0 at home to Birmingham was another defining game for a different reason. Both of these games produced the Wall emotion (those that know what I mean, know, and those that don't know, may never know).