Rammed press boxes and unusual fixtures - Barnet and the capital's humbler EFL brigade get ready to rumble

The Hive - getting ready for another tilt at League Two : Picture by @YTJourno

Barnet were busy turning down media press pass requests this week as their humble section for writers suddenly comes into heavier demand.

The very same thing happened south of the river down at Bromley last season. The thrill of playing in the football league after elevation from the National League captures the imagination.

It won't be quite as dramatic for the Bees this season as it was for the Ravens last year. Bromley were about to embark on their very first season in the EFL. Barnet, by contrast, have been there before. League Two was their home not that long ago.

But there will be no mistaking the fevered sense of anticipation on Saturday ahead of kick-off against Fleetwood Town. Dean Brennan's men will resume life as one of the 92 at an expectant Hive - a club no longer totally on the margins.

It was May 2018 when they last played in League Two. A 3-0 home win over Chesterfield making it three wins in a row to end a desperate season on a high. They very much hoped their sojourn in the National League would be short lived but it took seven years to claw their way back.

John Akinde, Richard Brindley and Alex Nicholls scored on that day but of course nothing remains from that band of relegated brothers. New names will be behind a push to re-establish the Bees in the higher division.

The signs of fight are already there if Tuesday night's opening fixture is anything to go by - even if it ultimately ended in defeat.

Two stoppage time goals by Ryan Galvin and Rhys Browne rescued a 2-2 draw against Newport County in a preliminary round of the Carabao Cup.

Even if the side lost the subsequent penalty shoot-out 4-2, it at least hinted at character. They are going to need it in the months ahead.

Bromley, who did so well in their first ever league campaign last time out, finishing 13th, tackle Shrewsbury Town away this weekend before the two teams meet for an early-season north v south London derby at Hayes Lane.

League One also gets under way this weekend (whatever happened to the summer?) with Leyton Orient - defeated play-off finalists last year at the hands of Charlton - travelling to Huddersfield Town and newly-promoted AFC Wimbledon making an intriguing trip to Kenilworth Road tomorrow night to take on Luton Town.

The Hatters will be smarting from a second successive demotion and badly want to stop the rot. The Dons and boss Johnnie Jackson will be eager to lay down a few early markers - for themselves as much as anyone else - to show they belong back in that division.

It's a fixture that will bring back very happy memories for the Dons. They beat Luton in the 1988 FA Cup semi final at White Hart Lane on their way to that famous Wembley win. There was also the small matter of the 2011 playoff final to get back into the league even they triumphed on penalties.