John Berylson pens open letter to Millwall supporters

Having been in the Championship play-off spots for much of the second half of the 2022-23 season, it looked as though Millwall were going to finally break into the top six and have a shot at Premier League football – all they needed to do was beat Blackburn Rovers on the final day of the campaign.

What happened in the end though was nothing short of a disaster – 3-1 up at half-time, the Lions threw away their lead and ended up being defeated 4-3 at The Den by the Lancashire outfit, ending their shot at the play-offs thanks to Sunderland’s win at Preston North End.

It will mean another season in the Championship in 2023-24 for Gary Rowett’s side as they look to climb into the top six and stay there until the play-offs come around, but naturally it will sting for a while that they were not able to get the job done.

And it will hurt Millwall’s custodian John Berylson as well, who has been at the club for a while and would have no doubt loved to experience the Championship play-offs.

How long has John Berylson been Millwall’s chairman?

American businessman Berylson first invested into the Lions back in 2007 but he soon became owner and chairman of the club.

That means he has been around for the best part of 16 years and he’s seen promotions in that time, but never experienced the glory of the Premier League just yet.

What has John Berylson said to Millwall supporters?

There has been no communication from Berylson following the club’s failure to reach the play-offs, but he has finally come out of the woodwork to pen an open letter to the supporters, which you can read in full here.

After praising the under-21 and under-18’s teams, Berylson spoke out on the disappointment of missing out on the top six and that the Rovers match was a ‘painful’ experience – but he wants the club to go again next season and has put forward his commitment to strengthen the squad once again, having broken the club’s transfer record last summer for Zian Flemming.

Berylson has also praised the supporters, staff behind the scenes, players and the board of directors for their hard work, and there was a special mention to rising star Romain Esse who made his breakthrough into the first-team squad this season and could be set for big things with the Lions.

There will still be frustrations after how the 2022-23 season ended, but there’s plenty to be positive about it seems from Berylson’s words and there could be some exciting players in the mould of Flemming to arrive in South Bermondsey over the summer months.