2021/22 Prediction League; Game 34 v Cambridge Utd (away)

Div3North · 18-02-2022, 12:14

Cambridge United FC

v

Accrington Stanley FC

2021/22 Prediction League Game 34; v The Eastern Half of Oxbridge FC (home)

Under the heading "You're Pulling My Leg", let's see who believes this .........

It is claimed (correctly, having checked it out) that when Leeds played Norwich in the EFL Cup on 25th October 2016 (in the "Round of 16") - a game which Leeds won 3-2 on pens after a Desmond in extra time, the attendance was 22,222 ...... unique? Well, no ....

On 30th August 1969 Spurs beat Ipswich (also 3-2) before a crowd of 33,333 .... in the 2003 Copa Libertadores Corinthians played River Plate before a reported crowd of 66,666 (River Plate won 2-1) ...... but top of the list (unless you know something I don't) was the 1983 Campeonato game between Santos and Flamengo, which had a recorded crowd of 111,111 ..... and I don't believe a word of it!

And you may remember that a week or two back I reported the USA v Honduras World Cup Qualifier played in temperatures around minus16 Celsius ..... well, I recently came across this, which shows there's nothing new in football ....

"In December 1891 Blackburn travelled to Burnley to take on the Clarets in freezing temperatures and heavy snow. They might have wished the hadn't bothered - Rovers were 3-0 down inside 25 minutes. Half time couldn't come quickly enough, but after the break the visiting team failed to appear on the field. Blackburn eventually re-emerged, a few fisticuffs followed, resulting in the sending-off of Blackburn's Lofthouse and Burnley's Stewart following a brief on pitch fight.

When Lofthouse left the pitch the Rover's players followed, leaving only their goalkeeper Herbie Arthur on the pitch. The game was abandoned when 10 Burnley players bore down on Arthur's goal and he, correctly called for offside. The points were awarded to Burnley but the two teams were ordered to play again at the end of the season, drawing 1-1"

And here's a bit of trivia for you; Bryan Robson scored a penalty for England in Israel on 26th February 1986, following which England weren't awarded another penalty for 53 games; that one was against Cameroon on 1st July 1990 in the World Cup Quarter Final, and Gary Lineker scored it to level the match (he also scored a second penalty - bit like buses, really - none for four years then two come along at the same time - in extra time to win the game) ..... Starter for Ten, then; how many Internationals had Lineker played before taking and scoring with his first penalty?

Every team should have a Hero, n'est-ce pas? and in February 1999, when Man U visited Notts Forest, their Hero was Ole Gunnar; Second Starter for Ten - what did he achieve that made him a Hero?

Cambridge United was founded in 1912 as Abbey United, named after the Abbey district of Cambridge. A club called Cambridge United had existed in Cambridge from 1909, but it wasn't linked to today's club. They played in local amateur leagues for many years, moving from ground to ground around Cambridge before settling at the Abbey Stadium. In 1949 the club turned professional, and changed its name to Cambridge United in 1951. They played in the Eastern Counties League until reaching the Premier Division of the Southern League. In 1970 Cambridge were in the mix for promotion to Division Four of the Football League, and they won the eventual vote with 31 votes, replacing Bradford (Park Avenue) who were not re-elected

Bradford Park Avenue - once a first division side - had been a league member since 1908 and had faced re-election five times before, being successful in 1956, 1958, 1967, 1968 and 1969. Faced with the process for the fourth year running in 1970, they club got only 17 votes and dropped out of the league while Cambridge United was voted in, beating Wigan Athletic to the punch. Within 8 years they'd reached Division 2 with Big Ron at the helm (promoted automatically, three points behind Wrexham and two ahead of PNE), and they achieved their "Best Ever" place of 8th two years later. But their world came crashing down in 1983/84. when their season included a run of 31 games without a win ; they finished 24th of 24 (W4 D12 L26 GF28 GA77 for 24 points) - a mere 23 points and shed-loads of goals from safety............. Their "no win" run also remained the all-time record for 24 years, until Derby County did worse in 2008 .............

They were promoted again to Le Championnat in 1991, accompanied by Southend, Grimsby and Tranmere, but by 2005 they'd GreasyPoled into the Bananarama, bottom of League Two, and 15 points off safety ..... and as a bit of history, League Two that season included Yeovil, Southend, Macclesfield, Darlington, Boston, Bury, Grimsby, Notts County, Chester, Rushden and Diamonds and Kidderminster Harriers - eleven sides which are now either non-League, or defunct

Re-promoted to the League in 2014, finishing second (19 points behind Luton) and then beating Halifax in the Playoff semis and Gateshead 2-1 in the Final, they made it into League One last season in second place (behind Cheltenham, and above Bolton and Morecambe - and as a mark of how tough it, is, Bolton are currently 10th, Cheltenham 15th, Cambridge 16th and Morecambe in the DropSlots) ..... We beat them 2-1 at Fortress Wham in August (Butcher and Pell) ... in the Transfer Window they ProperSigned no-one and LoanSigned Sam Sherring from Bournemouth and Boscombe, and Swiss striker Lorent Tolaj from Brighton and Hove Albion

Home record is W6 D6 L4, away is W3 D5 L7; overall, they're 16th, with as record of P31 W9 D11 L11 GF40 GA45 and 38 points ......... leading scorer is Joe Ironside with 12 in the League, whereas he and Sam Smith have 13 each in all competitions ........... FA Cup run took them to Round 4 and a 3-0 home defeat by Luton; EFL Cup saw them beat Swindon 3-1 on pens after a Goalless Desmond, and the Troffy saw them ousted by Rotherham 7-6 on pens after a 1-1 in the QFs

Deadline for entries is as always scheduled kick=off time, which is 3.00 pm on 19th February (Storm Euseless permitting) ........ Cambridge are eight points plus goals above the relegation line; they actually won three games in eight days in mid January, but they haven't won in their last four (two draws, two losses) ............ Head to head shows that we met them eight times in League Two, winning four, drawing three and losing one in 2016; add last August's win to that, and we'd be daft not to Fancy Us Chances ..... even away from home!

And Gary the Crisp Man scored with his first penalty for England in his 56th International ............ and Hero Gunnar Solskjaer was a 78th minute sub for Man Utd at Forest back in 1999, who were already 4-1 up (two from Andrew Cole and two from Dwight Yorke ....... and in his 12 minute cameo, Ole Gunnar scored four times (80 mins, 87, 90 and 91) to turn a triumph into a rout ........ 8-1 was actually the highest away win in the Prawn League for something like 20 years, until Leicester put nine without reply past Southampton at The St Mary's Dell (or whatever) in October 2019

Good luck to everyone! ............ Keep the Faith! ,,,,,,,,,, And thanks for playing!

COYR!