The other day I wrote a piece saying that the Coca-Cola Football League is where the fans get the real excitement, where they suffer complete despair and irrational hope. We all suffer the bad times and love the good times.

At this crucial stage of the season I have picked out one game from the fixture list this Saturday in the Championship, League One and League Two to demonstrate exactly what I mean.

The games I have chosen, which fans will be looking forward to – or dreading – with extreme emotions, are Southampton v Bristol City in the Championship, Crewe v Southend in League One and Hereford v Chester in League Two.

‘Southampton fans are in despair. They’ve lost their best players – the best ones they’ve got left have been arrested and they have the prospect of Rupert Lowe ... returning to take them over'


The League Two game at Edgar Street sees fourth-placed Hereford take on Chester, who sit in 20th place. Hereford are in the top play-off spot, only out of the automatic places on goal difference, and they have two games in hand. Following Mansfield’s win in the week, Chester sit just six points above the drop zone.

After a run of three victories and with promotion beginning to look a foregone conclusion, Hereford haven’t won in their last two games. Chester, meanwhile, have won only two of their last 21, but will be buoyed by their 0-0 draw with promotion-chasing Stockport last week.

How are the fans feeling prior to this one? Chester fans have suffered absolute devastation, success and false optimism in the last eight years. From the hopelessness of relegation to the Conference and almost going out of business in 2000, there was the joy of promotion back to the Football League four years later. Good starts to seasons since have been followed by disappointment. Indeed, only one defeat in the first six games this season provided the fans with false hope.

Bobby Williamson was sacked as manager in March but results haven’t much improved. The fans will be going through hell and looking at the results below them with fear and trepidation.

Hereford, too, have had mixed fortunes in recent years. From a 40-year low of a 17th-place finish in the Conference in 2002, the side got to the play-offs two years in succession but failed to go up. That is agony for the fans. In 2006 they finally did make it back into the League via the dreaded play-offs.

Now, after automatic promotion seemed likely just three games ago, the Hereford fans will be praying for victory on Saturday. They couldn’t stand another trip to the play-offs.

The League One game at Gresty Road sees Crewe, one point above the drop zone, fighting for their lives against Southend who are looking to consolidate a play-off place.

Crewe were looking good, with two wins and a draw at Walsall, but a disastrous defeat at Luton in midweek has put them back in deep trouble. Southend are unbeaten in their last nine and look to have hit top form at just the right time.

How are the fans feeling prior to this one? Well, Crewe fans might just be a bit fed up with hearing how much everyone admires their club and be desperate for some success. After the highs of promotion to the now Championship in 2003, it has been a tale of narrow escapes and relegation for the Railwaymen. They will be dreading a drop into the bottom tier.

Southend fans have got used to a bit of a rollercoaster ride as they were promoted to the Championship in 2006 and then relegated straight back down last year. Their hopes of a quick return will be driving them on.

The Championship game at St Mary's sees two clubs with very different recent histories battling it out. Southampton sit in the bottom three, staring relegation to League One in the face, while Bristol City are top and dreaming of the Premier League. Southampton have managed just one win in their last 14 league games and seem to be in freefall. Bristol City halted an alarming run of five games without a win by beating Norwich 2-1 last week.

How are the fans feeling prior to this one? Well, Southampton supporters are in despair. They’ve lost their best players – the best ones they’ve got left have been arrested and they have the prospect of Rupert Lowe, the man many of them hold responsible for the demise of the club, returning to take them over.

Southampton haven’t been lower than the second tier of English football since 1960. They spent 27 years in the top division and their fans will be desperate for a win on Saturday to avoid having to face what they would have thought impossible just a short while ago.

Just over two years ago, Bristol City found themselves bottom of League One. Many fans were calling for manager Gary Johnson’s head. Since then, he has guided them into the Championship and is now on the verge of the promised land. The City fans will know that victory on Saturday is crucial to keep the dream alive.

So whilst you are watching the millionaires of Arsenal and Liverpool in the early kick-off on Saturday, spare a thought for the fans of the six teams I have talked about. They’ll be going through every emotion known to man.