‘I’ve lived the dream’ – Ben Thompson reflects on his Millwall career

Ben Thompson’s Millwall career might not have ended in the fashion that he hoped, but that doesn’t mean he looks back on his decade with the South London club with anything but immense pride.

The 26-year-old midfielder was part of the Lions’ 2017 League One play-off winning squad, making 36 starts in that season.

He made 172 senior appearances before his contract was cancelled by mutual consent at the end of January.

There are plenty of highlights from his Millwall career, even if his influence waned to the point that he clocked up just 44 minutes of Championship football last season before he signed for Gillingham.

Thompson, who signed a two-year contract earlier this week with Peterborough United, is a Millwall fan. And he plans for sons Mason, two, and Myles, one, to follow in his footsteps.

“I’ll be back in the future, for sure, to come and watch games,” he told the South London Press. “I’ve got to take my little boys down and get them started from a young age. My eldest will be ready to go to a football match soon.

“I enjoyed most of my time at Millwall. There were some tough patches and some purple patches, some great memories.

“It’s been a hell of a 10 years and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’ve played for my boyhood club and not too many can say they have done that. It is a fantastic achievement for me and my family and friends. They all have enjoyed coming along and supporting.

“The highlight has got to be getting promoted from League One to the Championship – what a fantastic day for everyone involved. The party and the celebrations carried on for a few weeks after that.

“But other memorable moments were scoring two goals away at Birmingham after coming back [from a loan at Portsmouth] and starting to play for Millwall in the Championship and really doing well. That was probably my best spell in a Millwall shirt.

“I enjoyed that second half of the season. My confidence was high then. I know we were in a relegation battle but it was brilliant for me. I scored at Elland Road.”

Thompson’s performances made him a fans’ favourite at Pompey and led to him being recalled by Millwall in the middle of January 2019.

Played as almost a deep-lying striker his form was rewarded by a new long-term contract.
Thompson’s campaign was ended by a hamstring injury suffered at home to Brentford in April.

“I went through one on one, Jed Wallace played me in, the defender pushed me in the back and I just overstretched the muscle,” recalled Thompson.

“That was a gutting end but overall I’d done well coming back.”

Thompson’s Millwall career looked set to take off at that point.

But he was never really able to hit those heights again or kick on to the next level, which would surely have had Premier League clubs beginning to sniff around. So why wasn’t he able to build on those impressive foundations in the 2019-20 season?

Thompson made 28 Championship starts, another eight appearances coming off the bench, but was out for six months after suffering damage to his ankle when he blocked Nathan Byrne’s cross at Derby County in December 2019.

“I started that season okay, then Neil left and I think the change of management affected things for me,” said Thompson.

“I played a little bit under Gary and then I got the injury, that didn’t help me either. It sort of ruined the season, we had Covid to deal with then as well.

“After that it didn’t go too well at Millwall.”

The Lions’ consolidation as a solid Championship operator that has gone close to the play-offs on three occasions since beating Bradford at Wembley has also made the battle for starting spots more challenging.

“When you look at the league you think of Millwall as a top-half side and they have competed at the top end for a few seasons now,” said Thompson.

“To be involved in that has been fantastic. The club will be looking to take that next step as soon as possible – it takes time and money.

“I don’t think many people actually sit down and realise that Millwall is now a stable, top-end Championship club. It shows by the calibre of players they are bringing in.”

Sidcup-born Thompson has struck up so many friendships since he joined the South Londoners as a schoolboy.

“I still speak all the time to Alfie Pavey and Sid Nelson,” he said. “They both were with me at Millwall when I was 16.

“Obviously Neil Harris, I speak to him a lot. He’s not just been my manager, he’s a great friend.

“There’s a lot of people who left a long time ago I still chat to. I speak to boys who are there now – Connor Mahoney, Danny McNamara, Ryan Sandford, George Evans and Jed Wallace.

“It’s been a fantastic changing room and I’ve met people who will be friends for life. We’ve had a fantastic core of players that stayed at the club for a good period of time. Neil was a massive part of that because he brought in the right characters to help make the dressing room what it is now.

“The core really gelled it together and the new players all just completely bought into it.”