2014 Prediction League; Game 13 v Stevenage FC (away)

[Div3North]

Stevenage FC

V

Accrington Stanley

2014/15 Prediction League – Game 13; v Stevenage (away)


Well, it’s reached that time of the season when the annual ritual sports of Seppuku (not to be confused with Sudoku ), sometimes referred to as “hara-kiri” – literally, “ritual disembowelling” or “falling on one’s sword” – and "SackTheManager" start to become rife ……..I haven’t looked outside League Two, I have to say, but so far 20.83% of League Two clubs (5 of 24) have played one or other game; in the Falling on the Sword Camp come James Who? (In Whom We Trust, but how transitory is fame? ) and York Manager NorthernIreland Worthington (last year’s hero, so he was … ), plus Hartlepool’s Colin Cooper (replaced by caretaker manager Sam Collins, whose modesty – and he may well have much to be modest about – knows no bounds, as in

• “Caretaker Manager Sam Collins has said League Two strugglers Hartlepool will improve as long as he is in charge”)

Bighead!


In the Pushed rather than the Jumped column come Carlisle’s ex Graham Kavanagh (replaced by Keith Curle), and – most recently – Tranmere’s Rob Edwards, who had a whole 4 ½ months to prove himself before the bullet in the back of the neck. Bookies’ favourite for the Prenton Park job, by the way, is Dave Jones – ex of Stockport, Southampton, Wolves, Cardiff and Sheffield Wednesday (1-2 with SkyBet, 16-1 the field)

It’s not coincidental, of course, that four of those teams (excluding us ) occupy four of the bottom five places in League Two; Tranmere are 24th (W2 D3 L7), Oxford 23rd (W2 D4 L6), York 22nd (W1 D7 L4), Hartlepool 21st (W3 D2 L7) and Carlisle in the dizzy heights of 20th (W3 D3 L6) …..only Oxford haven’t got rid, and you wouldn’t want to be Michael Appleton right now , given his personal managerial history (which wasn’t noted for its longevity ) and his team’s current position …..and where are Oxford this Saturday? At home to Tranmere! Six-pointer or what? What?


Following relegation came the inevitable purge; 6 released (nobody famous );14 more moved on – quite a few of them via the Conference …… Lucas-Jordan Jeremiah Atkins, a 25 year-old winger-striker, once of Huddersfield, Hamilton and Tranmere, went for a Burton (joke! ); Peter Hartley, ex Hartlepool, joined Plymouth; Luke Jones, Darwen-born CD, who’s played for a different club every year since 2008/9 - the sequence goes “Kidderminster, Mansfield, Forest Green, Kidderminster, Mansfield, Stevenage, Mansfield” – joined – yes – Mansfield (again); James Dunne went to Pompey; Simon Heslop (MF, 27, Barnsley and Oxford) left for Mansfield as well; Canadian striker Marcus Heber (25), formerly on the books at Vancouver Whitecaps, West Brom and St Johnstone) went to Crewe; Portuguese-born winger Filipe Morais (Millwall, Hibs, Inverness Callies, St Johnstone and Oldham) left for Bratfud, and Bernard Francois Dassise Zoko - an Ivorian striker (no, it just means he was born there; it's not a style of play) went to Blackpool . The fool!

They signed Sam Beasant (GK son of the famous Dave (Wombles) Beasant ) from non-League Woking; would you care to guess who was the GK sub on the bench last Saturday at Carlisle? Yes it was – Dave Beasant (aged 55, and last played in 2003 for Brighton); apparently he would have been the oldest professional player ever, if he’d got on the pitch (which he didn’t ) …..But then, if I’d played in the game I’d have been older than him! Ex Colchester MF Andy Bond (28), who the Us rescued from Barrow but sold to Chester 3 ½ years later came in from the Conference with this ringing endorsement from John Ward, then Manager at Layer Road;

• “He’s a marauding midfield player with a lot of energy and running work in him” (I’ll watch out for that)

Also new to the BamaLama Stadium are 6’ 4” ex Oxford and Newport CB Harry Worley (25); striker Calvin “Couldn’t hit the floor with his hat” Zola , after a year-long exile from Crewe, spent in Aberdeen; Peterborough and Gillingham’s former MF Chris Whelpdale (27); Simon Walton (27) – ex Leeds, Plymouth and Hartlepool MF; and ex-Spurs’ forward Cameron Lancaster (21), whose Premiership career consisted of 12 minutes as a sub against Wigan in January 2012 (wonder if he touched the ball? ) Add the signings from such powerhouses of the game as Braintree (Dean Wells), Cambridge City (Adam Marriott), Wealdstone (Jerome Okimo) and Berkhamstead (Connor Calcutt), and the season really starts to take shape ………….

They have a current record of P12 W4 D2 L6 F14 A18 for 14 points and 19th place, below Dagenham on goals scored; away, it’s one win (3-2 at the Wombles), 2 draws and three defeats; at home it’s three wins (Mansfield 3-0, Shrewsbury 1-0 and Hartlepool 1-0) and three losses, to Wycombe 1-3, York (York's only victory) 2-3, and Luton 1-2; they’ve lost their last two , and they’ve been astonishingly consistent in the Cup competitions, going out of the Carling and the PaintCan, at home, in the first round, 0-1, to Watford and Gillingham respectively; played 14, scored 14 ………. Leading scorers are midfielder Chris Whelpdale (see above) with 4, and forward Darius Charles and MFs Tom Pett and Charlie Lee, each with two …………. Tom Pett? That’s a name? Bet he got the p**s taken out of him when the register was called at school - nickname was probably "Teacher's"

They joined the League in 2010, taking the Conference title by 11 points (99) and winning 30 of their 44 games (Chester City were expunged that season, you might recall ). We have, of course, met them in the League - in 2010 – 11, on their way straight through to League One; you’ll all well remember the Play-Off Semi-Finals that season (I was there! ); but your starter for 10 this week is this ………………What were the results of our League meetings that season? The answer is that we drew 2-2 at their place, and beat them 1-0 at ours; they’ve NEVER beaten us in a Football League game!!!!! Shove that where the sun don’t shine, Mr Westlife!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm this Saturday, 18th October; once again, last week’s results showed that anyone can beat anyone in our Division, and 5 points covers from Plymouth (6th) down to and including Stevenage in 19th …………Our cheapest season ticket is £79 less than theirs, and our most expensive is £145 cheaper ………. AND we don’t have Graham Weasel as our Manager; do you need any other reasons to celebrate than that?

Good luck to everybody …………..Keep the Faith …………and thanks for playing!

[accybeme]

Stanley 2 Stevenage 1 please

[Tom D]

1 - 0 to Stanley please

[Tommy McQueen]

Stevenage 1 Stanley 2 please

[DaveinGermany]

3 - 1 To the Stanley please D3N.

[DAV007]

Stevenage 2 - 4 Stanley

[Chubbyman]

Stevenage 0 - 2 Stanley please

[Div3North]

I should have added the "Roundabout Game" .......

York have just appointed Russ Wilcox - sacked last week by Scunthorpe!

"When I was one, I'd just begun, the day I went to Sea,
I jumped aboard the Pirate Ship and the Captain said to me -
"We're going this way, that way, forwards, backwards, over the Irish Sea
A bottle of rum to fill my tum and that's the life for me""

[smobile]

3-0 Stanley and Westley to get sacked Sunday Morning

[Outback Ozzy]

2-1 to Stanley please.

[Div3North]

Originally Posted by smobile

3-0 Stanley and Westley to get sacked Sunday Morning

Sorry, no bonus points

[deeayess]

2 1 Stanley please

[Wynonie Harris]

5-2 to the Stanley please.

[Stevie R]

2 each please

[Redash]

3-1 to The Stanley, please.