2012 Prediction League; Game 16 v Morecambe FC (away)

Div3North · 05-11-2012, 00:05

Morecambe FC

V

Accrington Stanley

2012/13 Prediction League; Game 16 v Morecambe (away)

That’s what happens, of course, when a more “local” team than us joins League Two; our Boxing Day “local derby” goes to Hell in a handcart, and we get Bradford City (away) instead

…………….T’riffic! Even if they did Wigan and ARE in the last 8 of the CapOne Cup …………which they are! Do we care? Are we downhearted? Are we Keeping the Faith? As Churchill - the dog, not Winston - would say, “Oh yesss!”

As for Morecambe FC, they apparently have the cheapest ticket price in the Division (£14, alongside Barnet and Burton

), and the joint third cheapest Day Out cost (incl programme, pie and tea) at £21.40 (Burton come in at £20.80 and Barnet at £21 dead – which if you eat the pie you might well be ……

). The Shrimps’ current Greatest Claim To Fame appears to be that they’ve won Best Football Pie for the last two years

, and that they now sell them – at least, they sell the steak and ale and chicken, ham and leek versions – to Harrods Food Hall (with a mark-up, it would seem, over the terrace price

) …………….Chicken, ham and leek? And two veg, I imagine? (Chips and more chips

) What’s all that about? We’ll have Scampi in a Basket on the Clayton End next

………. Best Football Pie? (No meat – just a slice of football, well braised, with onion gravy ………………….

) Oh please!

Out went long-serving MF Garry Hunter (27) after 300+ games to Barrow; CB Kieran Charnock (ex Stanley, Torquay

) – also 27 – to Fleetwood; LB Laurence Wilson to the Millers; and the vastly experienced (= “knocking on a bit”

, having been at Everton, Grimsby, Hull, Yeovil, Bristol City, Huddersfield and Bury ) striker Phil Jevons (32) to Hyde FC (which – in my day – was Hyde Utd and proud of it

) – he joining Morecambe alongside one Ian Craney. In came ex Shrewsbury and PNE GK Andres Arestidou (22), whose last game as No 1 for the Lilywhites was a 5-2 defeat by Charlton, plus Scunthrope’s RB Andrew Wright (27), 23 year-old Bradford defender Robbie Threlfall, Crawley 25 year-old striker Richard Brodie (whose cv includes York, Barrow and Fleetwood on loan as well as Crawley and the Shrimps, who is believed to be the most expensive transfer between two non-League sides

, and who’s closing in fast on 300 appearances and 100 goals), and Wigan FB Jordan Mustoe (21) on loan.

Famous managers – apart from Sammy McIlroy – include Blackburn legend Ronnie Clayton and Welsh international and ex Burnley winger Leighton James, who managed them for 5 months in 1994 – the same length of time as he managed us for in 1997/8; if you’re interested – and even if you’re not (because knowledge is good for you); he also managed Gainsborough, Netherfield, Llanelli, Garden Village and Aberaman Athletic, and was voted “Rookie Lollipop Man of the Year” by Swansea Council in June 2007

…So there!

Their bill for Cup travel expenses will be very small this season, since they went all the way to Blackpool in the CAPON Cup (wining 2-1) before losing at Sunderland 2-0, then travelled to Fortress Crown in the Tinpot (winning 2-0

), going out at home to PNE 4-2 in Round 2, before hosting Coleydale in the FA Cup on Saturday, snatching a 1-1 draw from the jaws of victory and having to do it unto them at Spotland if they want to go and play Coventry at the Ricoh in Round 2.

In the League their home record is W2 D2 L3 F8 A12, and away it’s W3 D1 L4 F10 A9, giving them P15 W5 D3 L7 F18 A21 for 18 points and 17th place. Their two home wins are two of their last 3 home games – 1-0 against Southend and 2-0 against a pre-CookSnake Chesterfield 2-0; the third game was a goalless draw against Burton, meaning that they haven't conceded a League goal in the last 270 minutes at home

; they have, though, lost their last 2 in the League (2-1 at Rotherham and 1-0 at the Seagulls ………They’ve hit 3 goals twice (3-0 away wins at Exeter and Bristol Rovers), 2 goals x five, 1 goal thrice, and nul goals five times; they’ve conceded 4 to Fleetwood, 3 at Bradford and at home to Port Vale and Plymouth (who departed the FA Cup 1-0 at Dorchester, who were nearly joined in Round 2 by Altrincham, Calvin Zola sparing Burton’s blushes at home with a 90th minute equaliser for 3-3); they’ve also conceded 2 twice, one three times, and kept 6 clean sheets …………… Leading scorers are 5’5” striker Jack Redshaw (21)

– formerly with Man City, Rochdale, Salford City and Altrincham before he went to the Globe in January 2012 – with 6; MF Kevin Ellison (33), whose non-League exploits included Conwy Utd before he joined, among others, Altrincham, Stockport, Chester, Hull, Tranmere and Rotherham, has 4, as has ex Wrexham MF Andrew Fleming (25); Crawley’s 25 year-old on-loan striker Richard Brodie – who seems to like Lancashire even though he hails from Gateshead – has 3, and 5 others have either one or two. Jack Redshaw, incidentally, is the son of ex Wigan player Ray, and the brother of pro footballer Mark Redshaw (28, and 5’ 7”), who's played, believe this or not, for Triestina (Italy), LA Galaxy (USA), Stirling Lions (Australia), Ethnikos Achna (Cyprus) – I thought they were spiders, but what do I know

– Ethnkos Piraeus (Greece), Real Murcia (Spain), Fram Reykjavic (Iceland) and FC Voss (Holland); he recently signed a contract with Chester City, but the move fell through “over problems with International clearance”. I’m not bloody surprised …..

Although they dumped us out of the Johnstone’s Paint trophy (“Shame!”

), we haven’t lost a League game to them in the five seasons since they won League status, we having won 7 and drawn three of the 10 games ……….. Last season we won 2-1 at a windswept Globe Arena on Boxing Day, with a tap-in by Jayden Stockley and a magnificent over-the-shoulder volley from Bryan Hughes , and drew 1-1 chez nous, Peter Murphy giving us a lead that we should have extended but didn’t, thanks to their keeper thwarting (in particular) Padraig Amond . The year before we did exactly the same thing – winning 2-1 away on New Year’s Day (Lord Sunbeds (with a penalty) and Jimmy Ryan), and drawing 1-1 at home (courtesy of yet another Lord Sunbeds pen). 24 points out of 10 games against them – and long may it continue!

Deadline for entries, as you well know, is scheduled kick-off time, which is 7.45pm on Tuesday 6th November. Lots of teams have won their first League games under new managers recently – Bolton under Dougie Freedman, Palace under Ian Holloway, Ipswich under Mick McCarthy, Burnley under Sean Dyche, Bournemouth under Eddie Howe (in fact, they’ve won 4 and drawn 1 of their 5 games since he went back, scoring 16 goals into the bargain); about the only exception was the HenningBergers

, who lost 2-0. And if THEY can all do it WE can do it; can’t we……….

Onward Team Leam – Keep the Faith; League One here we come!

Good luck everybody …………..Good Luck, Leam and the Lads (weren't they in the Eurovision Song Contest a while back?) …..and thanks for playing!