When Gillingham scored against Aston Villa, the celebrating players caused a low wall to tip over, spilling six breeze blocks on to the floor.

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There was silence at the other end of the ground where Villa fans were, in what I know to be the scariest stand in the Football League. It is a temporary, uncovered affair which makes you feel like you are ­sitting on builders’ scaffolding.

Priestfield is not the most salubrious stadium, but the 10,107 attendance for this tie was more than double Gillingham’s normal gate and will help their hand-to-mouth existence.

Similarly, the Carling Cup is the single most important ­mechanism the Football League have for partially addressing the iniquitously uneven distribution of wealth within the game.

Rights for the Carling Cup are a big part of what the League put on the table when negotiating with broadcasters and, from next season, the League’s total TV deal will bring in £88million a year.

That is small change compared to what Premier League clubs divvy up between them – but it will buy a few breeze blocks.