Welcome to League 2

Gillingham got a rude and a little belated welcome to life in League 2 by Hereford on Saturday.
Hereford’s Edgar Street is one of those football grounds that probably hasn’t changed since the days when they used to parade a bull around the pitch before kick-off.
I’m not sure whether it was health and safety or the animal’s toiletry habits that finally ended that little tradition.
The old cattle market outside (I think that’s what it was) has been turned into a car park and at just £1 to park even I could afford it and even the strange smell of urine wafting around the place didn’t put me off.
I don’t know what the changing rooms were like but the press facilities were a little cramped.
Apparently the press-box was “reserved” for others and so it meant squeezing in between the Hereford fans. It was a little cramped.
On the field the Gills were getting much the same kind of welcome as Hereford’s giant-sized team put their weight around whenever possible.
It must take some doing to put Adebayo Akinfenwa on the deck, but big Hungarian brute Janos Kovacs managed it just before half-time.
Mark Bentley also got a whack and Andy Barcham spent much of the first half hobbling around after a crude challenge.
“Bayo” got to his feet in time for a rant at whoever was in his vicinity as the teams left for half-time. Hessy had the job of guiding him back to the changing rooms.
The Gills should have won the game. Chris Palmer spanked the post in the first half and Danny Spiller was unlucky in injury time not to have finally ended that away run without a win. It’s been 27 games now, but I’m sure it won’t be long now.
Because I have the pleasure of following Gillingham home and away every weekend it means I don’t get to see my own team very often, and so the visit of the mighty Imps this weekend is a rare “treat”.
Ever since my Dad took me to Sincil Bank for the first time I have been stuck supporting one of the worst teams in the league. Unfortunately when you live in Lincolnshire there isn’t a lot of choice when it comes to football teams, so you can either play it or head down to Lincoln and watch it. The City had a thriving Saturday and Sunday League set-up.
I got drunk once as well and as a bet got a Lincoln Imp tattoo. So that’s me stuck with them!
Lincoln took six points off the Gills last time the sides were in the same division, much to my surprise, and Chris Sutton’s team need some points desperately this time around.
The Imps are currently holding up the rest of the league following defeats to Rotherham and Torquay.
I think I was destined to have some connection with the Gills as I still own a Gillingham FC hat which I found at Sincil Bank when I was a kid. I don’t remember the score, but no doubt Lincoln lost, we’re good at that, but I did win a new hat that day so if anyone dropped their Gillingham hat in Lincoln, thanks.
Gills fans may get to see Delroy Facey in action again on Saturday as he was one of Sutton’s summer signings, along with Albert Jarrett. Needless to say I wasn’t going down the bookies to put money on Lincoln getting promoted, or indeed getting back involved in the play-offs.
The only good thing about supporting Lincoln is that we know we’re rubbish and so anything is a bonus. Just a goal would be nice on Saturday and I’m not expecting much more as Hess seems to have put together a decent side.
Last time Lincoln were in town the Gills were beaten and trudged off to a chorus of boos, with the manager insisting that he would “never win the fans over.”
I can’t see that happening this weekend.