2015/16 Prediction League; Game 44 v York City (home)

Div3North · 20-04-2016, 21:52

Accrington Stanley

V

York City

2015/16 Prediction League; Game 44 v York City (home)

It’s a bit like dividing your sweets up into little packets, so you can make them last; York’s seven League wins out of their 43 games played have been saved up to be relished, one by one …………………. In August they beat Yeovil 1-0 at Bootham Crescent; then in September they beat Newport (away) 3-0; they saved up their third win for a Christmas Treat (Morecambe, home, 2-1), celebrated Burns Night with another (Stevenage, home, 2-1), and then did Valentine’s Day with yet another 2-1 home win, this time Notts County; then – like a naughty child – they crammed too many sweets into their mouths with a second (consecutive) win at home in four days, beating Exeter 2-0, and they were so sick that they didn’t win again for 12 matches (four draws, eight defeats) before doing us a great favour by turning over Pompey 3-1 last night ………….. seven wins in all, six of them at home and just the one away ……………and unless they win all their last three (us away, BrizzleR at home and Morecambe away), Newport – the only place where they’ve won on their travels and the only side they can (theoretically) catch – lose all theirs (Luton (a), Notts Co (h) and the Wombles (a)), and they can overturn a GD of -11 in the process (-19 plays -30), then they’re toast …………….. the best placed they’ve been all season is 16th, on 19th September after a home Desmond against Carlisle (8 games, 9 points); they’ve been in the bottom three continuously since Halloween (very appropriate, really!), and although they don’t ship shed-loads of goals (6-0 at Pompey, 5-1 at home to us, and 4-0 at Oxford excepted), they don’t score many either; P43 W7 D12 L24 GF49 GA79 for 33 points and Deep Trouble. 79 conceded is the worst in League Two apart from Morecambe (2-5 v Hartlepool and 0-7 at Cambridge, and how in hell did they take a point off us (costing us two points)) who’ve let 85 in ………… and the MisterMen, er sorry, MinsterMen have only scored three in a League game on the above two occasions all season ………..being profligate in front of goal is fine if your defence is as watertight as a duck’s bottom, but ………………….

You won’t, perhaps, be surprised to hear that their three managers this season (Russ ‘Iron’ Wilcox, Richard Cresswell (for 9 days) and Jackie McNamara) have used something like 42 players, only eight of whom have played in 21 or more matches and 12 of whom have played 5 or less (including 5’ 6” winger/MF Callum Rzonca, who managed 19 minutes as a second half sub in the League Cup defeat to Swansea, plus one league outing, and is now on loan at Stamford (the Northern Premier league Premier Division Club, not the Bridge)) ……….. We went to theirs’ (pre flooding) on 28th November, three and a half weeks after JackieMac was handed the Poisoned Chalice, and stuffed them 5-1 (Matty and Shay making the butty, and Hamish McWindass’s penalty and two from Billy Whizz providing the filling) ……………………. Since then they’ve tried to shore up their side, as well as York’s drainage system, with about equal measures of success; they ProperSigned winger Danny Galbraith from Gillingham, Kenny McEvoy (who had to seek legal assistance to get a move from Spurs to York – many would have settled for a train guard), MF Matty Dixon (21) from Hull and 33-year old striker Derek Riordan (Hibs (twice), Celtic, Cowdenbeath – where the hell is that? – Shaanxi Chanba, St Johnstone, BrizzleR, Alloa, Brechin (trial match only) and East Fife – oh, and the Scottish national team), who joined until the end of the season ………….seven left permanently, all to non-League (including ex Port Vale defender John McCombe, who went to Macclesfield) or to oblivion (not the Night Club, of course) except for 18 year old CMF Ben Godfrey, who signed for Premier League Norwich for £undisclosed ……………… seven or so loans in, including Luke Hendrie and Ntumba Massanke from the Dingles, Kyle Cameron and Lubo Satka from Newcastle, and Rochdale’s ex Plymouth and before that Oldham and Morecambe striker Lewis Alessandra, who has two goals (v Barnet in a 1-1, and v Pompey last night) in eight starts …………

Between 2012/13 (when they regained the League status they’re about to relinquish) and 2014/15 we met six times in the league, and didn’t win a one of them; two draws at home (a Desmond and a half) and two draws away, two half-Desmonds), and two defeats, one at each place, each by the odd goal in one ……this season, though, a different story; as well as winning 5-1 chez eux in the League, we also – three weeks earlier - did them in the First Round Proper (as distinct from the First Round Improper) of the FA Cup (3-2 at ours, goals by McConville, McCrooks, and McWindass (pen)); overall, P8 W2 D4 L2 GF13 GA7 …………..

We’re currently (I mention this only for those people who have just returned to Earth having been abducted by Aliens, and unable to catch the scores) SECOND IN LEAGUE TWO ………… Our fate is now firmly in our own hands; as Cashy says (hope you’re feeling better, mate), if we win our last three we finish SECOND (although he didn’t use capital letters) …….. currently the run is “unbeaten in nine” (six wins, three draws), and in the Form Table we’re second ………..it reads (last ten games) Brizzle R 23 points, Stanley 21, Northants 18, Pompey 17, Wombles 17 (although they’ve won five of their last six), Oxford 16 and Plymouth 13 …..everyone has potential banana-skin games coming up; Brizzle have the “easiest” run in, with the Daggers and York to play, as well as Exeter, who could spoil it for them; Oxford have Hartlepool, Carlisle (away) and Wycombe; Plymouth have Dagenham, Cambridge (away – not a trip I’d fancy) and Hartlepool; Pompey and the Wombles play each other on Wimbledon Common on Tuesday (a draw would be good, although they aren’t our problem as regards the automatic places) but are statistically unlikely to catch us now.

So; get your mittens on so you can’t chew your nails; cross everything you can manage to cross; and pray that Someone Up There likes us ……….. Come on, you Football Gods! ………… Come on The Stanley!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm this Saturday, 23rd April …………… St George’s Day, Shakespeare’s Birthday, and maybe, just maybe, the day we move one step nearer the Impossible Dream ………… and ruin York’s season into the bargain!

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