A considerable test awaits City at Aggborough, home of Kidderminster Harriers. They have embarked upon an impressive sequence of results, winning five of their last six games. It’s a run that has taken them up to eleventh in the table, and firmly in contention to launch a New Years assault on the play-off places. It’s an assault on the top three that concerns Brian Little’s charges however – City are placed in third half-way through the season, and with room for improvement too.

City will need to win without three important players though. Justin Whittle serves a one-match ban for receiving five yellow cards, while Mike Edwards’ three-match ban for his red card at Scunthorpe begins tomorrow. Likely to deputise are any two from Mohan, Bloomer, Holt or Price. Paul Musselwhite is likely to replace Matt Glennon in goal. Glennon has been an ever-present this season, but is suffering with a groin strain and would not have played at York had the match gone ahead. Lawrie Dudfield has had extra time to shake off a injury sustained in the goalless draw against Southend last week, and should be fit to play. Not for the first time in recent weeks, Brian Little has hinted at changes in the wake of a disappointing performance, though whether any alterations other than those forced by injury or suspension will be made remains to be seen.

Kidderminster, not surprisingly, are optimistic of beating City. Porky Jan Molby has been speaking our of “inconsistency” away from home, a valid point. His side also have a good record at home, conceding just five goals and losing only once, 2-0 against Swansea in September. They also come into the game on the back of a remarkable 4-1 gubbing of fading Rochdale on Boxing Day. It means they may be a little battle-weary compared to the Tigers, but also with high confidence. One man who won’t be appearing on Saturday is Tony Bird, the halfwitted moron who thought it’d be amusing to bait the Kempton back in August, leading to missiles being hurled from the East Stand. He has dropped out of the picture at Aggborough, and is very unlikely to feature on Saturday.

Refereeing the game will be Bill Jordan of Hertfordshire. He hasn’t reffed the Tigers since the 3-0 defeat at Exeter in October 1998, in the bleak Hateley days. He’s dished out an average of three yellow cards per game this season, with only a handful of red cards in his entire career in the League.

A tough game awaits. City’s allocation of 1,900 tickets has not yet completely sold out, although none of the 200 seat tickets remain. Winning the final game of 2001 will be an difficult task, but not beyond the reach of our hugely talented squad. Come on you Ull.

Crisis club York, beset by off-the-field woes and managed by the biggest arsehole in football. Promotion chasing Hull City, with a expensive squad, proven manager and the biggest support in the known universe. Does that not point to an away win for the Tigers?

It ought to. York are struggling hideously at the moment. Chairman Douglas Craig has put the Minstermen up for sale, with the added bonus that if a buyer is not found by the end of the season, the club “will cease to exist”. Charming. They are, of course, manager by one Terence Dolan, a man who does the term football manager a gross disservice. And their team is rubbish, their support depleted and demoralised. City need to be ruthless, they need to show a merciless killing instinct and return to the east of Yorkshire with three points.

We’ll need to do it without Justin Whittle though. He must serve a one-match suspension after collecting five yellow cards, and will probably be replaced by Nicky Mohan. The former Stoke player has a point to prove, after his earlier performances were rather reminiscient of an arthritic wildebeest, costing City goals all over the place. That aside, City will be unchanged from the side that laboured to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Southend on Friday. The home side have Richard Cooper ruled out with suspension and Peter Duffield unavailable with a thigh injury. Lee Nogan is fit again, and could also feature three ex-Tigers – Gary Hobson, Matt Hocking and Alan Fettis.

York’s recent form is terrible. They lie 20th in the table, having collected just one point from their last five games. They’ve lost six games at home already this season, leaking fifteen goals in the process. Worst of all, when playing teams in the top half of the table they’ve gained a feeble two points from eleven games. Surely City won’t donate the third (and heaven forbid, the fourth and fifth)? Not according to those nice men at William Hills. They make City the clear 6/5 favourites to win.

3,700 City fans will be travelling, after our allocation of tickets was sold out in just a week. It’s possible the home supporters will be outnumbered, York’s average attendance is just 2,621. North Yorkshire Police are mounting the usual massive operation to keep the peace in York, and not for the first time in recent weeks City fans are being urged not to travel without tickets, as none will be sold on the day.

York in crisis. Dolan desperate to avoid a repeat of the 4-0 caning his charges suffered at Boothferry Park in September. Come on City, make it a bit worse for them.

City play their final home match of 2001 looking to continue their extraordinary run of 20 league games without defeat at Boothferry Park. A couple of changes are possible in the wake of the disappointing 2-1 defeat at Scunthorpe. Following his red card at Scunthorpe, Mike Edwards may well be replaced by Andy Holt. Although Brian Little has spoken out in support of Edwards, it there is supposedly concern over his mental state, having inadvertently caused such a serious injury to Richard Kell at Glanford Park. Richard Sneekes is unavailable to play, as his wife has just given birth. On the whole, Little is likely to stick with the same team, which means no place for former Southend player David Lee. He is missed at Roots Hall but has made little impact at City, not even making the bench in recent weeks.

Southend come into the match with one of the worst records away from home in the Division. The Shrimpers have won just twice on their travels, at Rushden and Rochdale. However, they recorded an impressive midweek win over Second Division Chesterfield in the FA Cup and surprised Rochdale 1-0 last week, so confidence should be high. City are priced at a rather short 4/9 to win the game, and with successive away games at York and Kidderminster approaching, a home victory would be the ideal way to begin the Christmas period. Cliché or not, these are the type of games we need to win if we’re going to get promotion.

Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war! The Endtime is near, the cataclysmic apocalypse referred to in the scriptures of every holy book known to mankind is upon us. Ok, so perhaps part one of the 2001-02 Humber Derby isn’t that important, in fact it’s hard to think of any game involving Scunthorpe as big, but as far as the promotion pushes of both clubs are concerned, the result of this battle of good and evil could be significant come April 20th. The south bank inbreds are taking this all rather seriously, this IS their cup final after all, and rumour has it Brian Laws has taken to wearing Pampers as he pees himself perpetually in anticipation of Saturday’s ‘showdown’.

City have no new injuries concerns, Rodney Rowe and Mark Greaves are well on the road to recovery but are highly unlikely to feature in this one. Andy Holt is added to the squad after missing the cup tie against former club Oldham to attend the birth of his first child. Brian Little is loathe to break up a side playing well and will probably stick with the starting eleven who gave the Second Division Latics the run around in the first half at the Ark. Maned midfielder Richard Sneekes, who looks less than fully fit, is unlikely to dislodge the Johnsson-Whitmore axis in the middle of the park and should start on the bench once more. For Scunny, Carl Bradshaw is a major doubt, leave your groin alone son and it might heal. Stuart Thom, Wayne Graves and street fighter Matthew ‘jailbird’ Sparrow are all in contention after playing in the reserve win against Cleethorpes United in midweek.

Scunny currently fill the last play off berth, lying seventh in Division Three. Their league form is a little erratic at present, they thrashed Darlington 7-1 at home but the yellowbellied hoons soon had the inane grins knocked off their faces when they lost 3-0 at bottom placed Carlisle. A 0-0 draw is unlikely, as each sides 36 goals this season makes them the basement’s joint top scorers behind Luton. Former loan Tiger Martin Carruthers is the divisions fourth top scorer with ten goals, Steve Torpey (7) and cartwheeling carthorse Peter Beagrie (6) score their fair share too.

So, what to expect? If the past is anything to go on a Tigers victory doesn’t look probable. City have a woeful record at the open roofed DIY warehouse that replaced the Old Show Ground, winning just once in the league there. That win, in case you forgot came last year when David Brightwell’s “naff” free-kick secured a 1-0 win. Prior encounters at Jamrag Park have seen City lose 2-3 and 2-0, and back in 1997 they tossed away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2. Not a happy hunting ground, but a lot of water has flowed under the Humber Bridge since those dark days. Scunthorpe have hardly turned Glanford into a fortress this season, gleaning a none too impressive eighteen points from ten home games. Then again, City’s away form is nothing to frap about. Three slovenly defeats have been inflicted on City on their travels, and a meagre haul of thirteen points from ten games the extent of our awayday plunderings. Our away form is improving though, convincing wins at Luton and Northwich attest to that.

The man in the middle is David Crick of Surrey. Not a familiar face, he last reffed a City game in August 1999 when he awarded Cheltenham a dubious looking penalty against Lee ‘Banzai’ Bracey on our first visit to Whaddon Road. He doesn’t appear to be a frantic card waver though, averaging just two bookings a game and brandishing the red card only once in eighteen games so far this season.

The Humber Bridge’s toll booths should be busy on Saturday as the Tiger Nation mobilises for an invasion of North Lincolnshire. City sold out of tickets for this game in just 25 trading hours, only a hundred or so briefs went on general sale after season ticket holders snaffled up the lions, err, tigers share. Officially, there will be 2100 City fans at Jamrag Park, though hundreds more are believed to have bought tickets for the home ends. More tickets were requested but Scunny declined, this despite poor ticket sales for the home stands. Brian Laws was heard on Radio Humberside pleading for locals to turn up, and considering Scunny’s recently announced lack of cash, would it not have made sense to let us have another 1000 tickets and them £13,000 in the till rather than have empty seats?

Remember how Scunts mocked us when our finances were parlous and future looked grim? Well, the shoe is on the other foot now. Scunt’s chairman Steve Wharton issued a statement this last week, allow us to quote and paraphrase…”Unfortunately our costs had been budgeted for a higher division and our revenue was substantially reduced by being in Division Three. We also had a very poor season after getting away to a good start…Financially the year was disastrous.” Or in other words, ‘oh no, we are shit, and subsequently are fucked’. Steve Wartsandall casts envious eyes across the River Humber when he adds “we have to be able to compete against clubs who have double our support base” Whoever do they mean?

A fifth of that support base will be at the game, let’s hope it’s a cracker. Silverback and chums, the Tiger Nation is coming…