For April 2nd I'm going back 28 years to 1993 and York City's League Division 3 visit to Gillingham.
Season 1992/93 was the season in which football began. At least that's what Sky and other media networks would have you believe. It heralded the very first season of the Premier League in England and has annoyed those of us who don't regard the old First Division Championship as being somehow inferior to the new fangled Premier League ever since. Please don't ever call it the Premiership. That's what they have in Scotland. In England it's the Premier League. It's amazing how many people get that wrong.
Anyway, as a result of the introduction of the Premier League, the three divisions below that became the First, Second and Third Divisions of the Football League respectively whereas they had previously been Divisions 2, 3 and 4. Confusing? You bet! And the tinkering with naming conventions didn't finish there as the three lower divisions were later rebranded again to become known as the Championship and Leagues 1 and 2. As Rochdale proved, it was possible to go from Division 4 to Division 3 to League 2 without actually being promoted! All these changes definitely make it tricky to understand a club's place in the overall hierarchy when looking back just a few years later.
Regular readers of these articles may recall that 1992/93 was a glorious one for York who achieved promotion via the Play-Offs. Gillingham on the other hand struggled all season and eventually finished 21st (of 23 clubs) with just Maidstone United (who folded during the season) and Halifax Town (who were relegated to the Conference) below them. Indeed, Gillingham, managed by Glenn Roeder (RIP), survived only on the last day of the season when beating Halifax Town 2-0 in a relegation decider. York, now under the management of Alan Little won this Friday night game comfortably 4-1 with goals from Ian Blackstone, Paul Barnes (2) and Jon McCarthy. Gillingham's goal was scored by future York player Paul Baker who joined City in October 1984. Baker's spell at York is perhaps best remembered for him being on the bench when they beat Manchester United 3–0 at Old Trafford in the League Cup. He was eventually brought on but lasted just seven minutes before being sent off again for a second bookable offence!
CRB Match No. 828
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