Evening all,
Well it only seems like yesterday that Yeovil defeated Brentford to close the 2012-13 League One season - well 59 days to be exact. But already the ball has started rolling for the beginning of the new 2013-14 League One season.
And as part of my build up for a new season where i will be covering as many of the Gillingham games as I physically can, I have recruited fans from all 24 clubs from League One and get their options for their clubs as the new season starts on August the 3rd.
Today we continue with looking at two sides that have just come up form League Two after having exceptional seasons last time out and many fans - including myself - will be looking to continue this momentum into their new League One campaign. And as it is my birthday, its only fair to be taking about Gillingham and Port Vale.
GILLINGHAM
PORT VALE
And as part of my build up for a new season where i will be covering as many of the Gillingham games as I physically can, I have recruited fans from all 24 clubs from League One and get their options for their clubs as the new season starts on August the 3rd.
Today we continue with looking at two sides that have just come up form League Two after having exceptional seasons last time out and many fans - including myself - will be looking to continue this momentum into their new League One campaign. And as it is my birthday, its only fair to be taking about Gillingham and Port Vale.
GILLINGHAM
Name: John Seager
Occupation away from
supporting your club:
I work as a wannabe TV news reporter who is trying to break
into the industry; currently working as a sports and general news reporter for
Medway Times and Kent Sports News. And I also work part time in a shop to help
pay the bills.
How long have you been a
supporter of Gillingham and how did you start supporting them?
Since the 1996-97 season where I got some free tickets for a
game, then went a few times more after that then I got my first season ticket –
a seat I still have to this day - in 1999 and I haven’t looked back since.
Let’s get this ball rolling:
What would be your Dream
season?
For me it is simple, Gillingham to get back to back
promotions and return to the Championship for the first time since 2005.
And what will make it a
Nightmare season for you?
Well, a massive fall out between Paul Scally and Martin
Allen will complete blow the club up and we end up being relegated back to
League Two – a place we never want to see again.
Our own fans think our team
is…
Finally back in a place we where we feel happy and
comfortable to play our own brand of football but some think that we can push
further back into the Championship.
Other teams’ fans think our
team is…
Finally starting to come out of the shadows after what it
seems a lifetime in the bottom division of the league.
The new season:
How has Pre-Season been for
you this time around?
It has been a pretty quiet pre season as we were pitted
against a few local non leagues sides like Faversham, Woking and Maidenhead.
And we have had some good team performances despite losing against premier
league sides like Crystal Palace and championship sides like Ipswich and
Millwall so technically we have had some great preparation for the new season.
Have you got the right
manager and how popular is he?
Without a doubt he has been the best thing to happen at this
club for a few years, and for Allen to get our first league title in 49 years he
will go in out folklore as a hero. I just hope that the relationship between
him and Scally will be happy this season.
Are there any new signings
that you are excited about?
Well we have made a few signings so far, we resigned Cody
McDonald from Coventry on a free transfer, Bayo Akinfenwa on a free transfer
and Antonio German from Brentford permanently after a good loan spell last
season, personally Cody was the signing we needed for this division as a good
striker who can score goals. There were a few reservations about resigning Bayo
but I’m willing to give him a chance to prove himself in league one. Antonio is
a good youngster who will be an impact player on the bench. And we also signed
Amine Linganzi from Accrington Stanley and from I saw from him last season he
commanded the midfield well last season so if he stays fit, he could be a
fantastic signing for us.
Name the player that you
would happily drive to his next club (and pay for the taxi as well)...
Although this won’t be a popular decision but it would have
to be Adam Birchall, to put it simply, he wasn’t good enough in League Two will
not last one minute in this division. But he was hampered but a massive injury
just days after joining us from Dover. I have met him a couple of times and is
a really nice lad, I hope a side like Welling or another non League side snap him
up.
Name an opposition player
you despise...
Lee Hughes without a doubt, he got a lot of abuse despite
scoring against us at home last season. Although at one point we were
interested in him, but he would have cause a split in the club and that
something we never want at the club.
Name an opposition player
you would love to have at your club?
We are definitely missing a top goal scorer and a player
like Clayton Donaldson at Brentford would be a welcomed sight for most Gills
fans as we can’t rely on Danny Kedwell alone this season.
If anyone was to visit your
club on an away trip this season, name one thing I must do in your town? (Can
be anything, football-related or otherwise... from visiting a famous sight, to
making sure you don’t park your car somewhere, to find a certain drink in a pub
or a nice place to eat)
Definitely try the Will Adams Pub on the other side of
Gillingham High Street; they do a lot of proper ales – and ciders as well, all
at good prices as well. The guys who own the pub are also proper Gills fans as
well; a little unknown fact about them was that in their heyday they were ex
hooligans who often cause a bit of trouble as well.
Onto other important matters:
Manager Martin Allen said
that the Gills can win promotion again this year, is that a bit farfetched?
No not really, last season caught everyone off guard at the
club and many people jumped back onto the club bandwagon so the attendances
will be back up over 6000 again so the crowds will be back it is a case of the
players stepping up a gear and to show the fans that they can thrive in this
division and push for a chance of going up again.
Andy Hessenthaler left his
Director of Football role this summer, do you think he was jumped, pushed or
walked?
Without a doubt he walked, it was no longer his club anymore
after the season we had but for him to say that he would have got us promoted
as well is complete and utter nonsense. Most of the games Martin Allen won last
season Hessenthaler would have lost and lost badly. Also the fitness at the
club would not be as good as it is now and the time was right for him to go.
You cashed in on Jack Payne
as he left for Peterborough, should he have stayed?
I would definitely kept him as he is a player who will be with
a top end Championship side within the next couple of seasons, sadly it seems
that he thinks his future lies away from the club. Personally this has happened
before and then their career goes down the pan (Asaba, King and Shaw), but
Payne is a really good player and I hope we can replace him in the midfield.
And now onto the really important stuff:
Who do you think will be
the top 6 at the end of the season?
Well the three sides who came down will easily adjust to
life in League One but in terms of the playoffs anything can happen but I am
going for:
Wolves (C), Brentford (2nd), Sheffield United
(playoff winners), Peterborough, Bristol City, Leyton Orient,
Who do you think will go
down to League 2?
Tough one this year as the teams that have come up – and
down – have added a lot of quality to the division since the last time we were
here in 2010. But I am going for:
Colchester, Shrewsbury, Oldham and Carlisle
And finally, in all
honesty, where do you think you will finish this season?
I would love to see us finish in the playoff zone but hand
on my heart I can see the Gills finishing around 12th and the team
to continue the momentum for next season.
PORT VALE
Name: Stephen Miller
Occupation away from
supporting your club:
Children’s Residential Care Worker
How long have you been a
supporter of Port Vale and how did you start supporting them?
Since I was 16 so
nearly 16 years.
Let’s get this ball rolling:
What would be your Dream
season?
Promotion and a big 3rd round FA Cup tie to Chelsea or Man
City (because I’ve been to Liverpool , Arsenal and Man U). It’s not a complete
dream, just unlikely.
And what will make it a
Nightmare season for you?
Relegation and
the Pope leaves during the January transfer window.
Our own fans think our team
is…
Possibly a little bigger than it is. Only 17 years ago we were on the verge
of the Premiership and still some fans believe we should be back up there.
Other teams’ fans think our
team is…
In the shadow of our neighbours and a very poor relative of them. I
would hope they do though recognise how good our away fans are as even proven
in that recent stat that said we have the biggest % of our home fans as away
travellers.
The new season:
How has Pre-Season been for
you this time around?
So far we’ve trounced the minnows as expected and put up
a good fight against Derby in terms of results. The players have once again
been put through a hell-ish pre-season ritual and that usually pays off during
the winter months. We haven’t lost anybody we didn’t care too much about and
the new signings look good.
Have you got the right
manager and how popular is he?
Some fans still won’t forgive Adams for leaving
last time around but most acknowledge we wouldn’t have got out of league two
without him. He’s a tough task master and expects a lot from his staff but
that’s the only way small clubs can move up through the leagues.
Are there any new signings
that you are excited about?
Gavin Tomlin, Chris Robertson, Kaid Mohammed, Chris
Lines and Anthony Griffith all add something to the side. Lines is the one most
expect to shine as he looks like he could be a central midfielder who is a
class above the rest. Tomlin should knock in a few goals and Robertson will be
key as our defence was probably the weakest area of the side last time around.
Mohammed is an unknown just yet and Griffith has been here twice before and
hopefully will just a man for certain games when we need a bit of grit over style.
We’re still expecting another one or two signings though.
Name the player that you
would happily drive to his next club (and pay for the taxi as well)...
We
honestly don’t have a really weak player in the side now although few could
argue that Chris Shuker or Rob Taylor will have the required quality to be
first choice players in League One so I’d be happy enough if they moved on.
Name an opposition player
you despise...
Can’t say I despise anyone in League One particularly although if
they’re wearing a Crewe shirt it would be hard to like them.
Name an opposition player
you would love to have at your club?
Sadly enough I’d have to say Adebayo
Akinfenwa. Not necessarily for his ability but just because my girlfriends
nephew loves him and he’s a Stoke fan.
If I was to visit your club
on an away trip this season, name one thing I must do in your town? (Can be
anything, football-related or otherwise... from visiting a famous sight, to
making sure you don’t park your car somewhere, to find a certain drink in a pub
or a nice place to eat).
Paying a visit to the supposedly haunted
Leopard Inn pub on the high street in Burslem is a good idea. It featured on
Most Haunted and does have a slightly odd aura around it in the back room.
Serves a good pint too.
Onto other important matters:
So you’re finally out of
League Two and back into League One, do you think you can go further up the
Football League?
Our new owner has pumped a lot of money into the
infrastructure of the club and upped the playing budget to a reasonable
standard so I don’t see why we couldn’t flirt with the Championship in the next
couple of seasons. The whole set up of the club is still one that would put
some Championship clubs to shame so why not?
During last season, manager
Micky Adams had a few problems with players like Ryan Burge and Vale lost
ground to League winners Gillingham, do you still think that Adams has some
problems with the players at the club?
Follow the rules to the book or get out
is very much Adams’ way of doing things and the only players he’s fell out with
broke rules consistently so it’s harsh to say he has a problem with players, he
merely expects high levels of behaviour on and off the pitch.
Many Vale fans are still
sceptical over the signing of forward Lee Hughes; do you think that he will win
over the fans this season?
It took Hughes all of about 1 game to win the fans
over. Despite his age he’s a class above the rest in front of goal and his
personality is infectious. Seeing the whole away end and subs doing the
‘Hughesy’ on the last day of last season said it all... when Lee wasn’t even on
the pitch.
And now onto the really important stuff:
Who do you think will be
the top 6 at the end of the season?
I’d
be surprised if Wolves aren’t there or there abouts despite their issues. So in
no particular order I’ll say Wolves, Brentford, Bristol City, MK Dons,
Sheffield United and Peterborough.
Who do you think will go
down to League 2?
I just have a feeling Rotherham may struggle although that
may be based on they looked one of the worst sides I saw at Vale last year.
I’ll also plump for Walsall and Carlisle but don’t see Bradford pulling up any
trees.
And finally, in all
honesty, where do you think you will finish this season?
I’ll go for 13th
but I reckon if we were anywhere near a shout of the play offs come January our
chairman would be dipping his hand in his pocket to make it happen. We shall see.
------------
Over the next few days, more fans from clubs in League One will be given their chance to speak out on the new season which begins soon.
To be continued...
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