2016/17 Prediction League; Game 14 v Crawley Town (away)

Div3North · 20-10-2016, 12:51

Crawley Town FC

V

Accrington Stanley

2016/17 Prediction League; Game 14 v Crawley (away)

On 5th May 2012 Crawley Town secured automatic promotion to League One at the first time of asking by beating us 1-0 chez nous; they’d been managed, up until a month before, by that nice Mr Evans, who departed for Rotherham; Crawley appointed their new manager on 16th May; he left them on 12th July for different pastures, and didn’t manage them for a single (competitive) game; starter for ten this week ………………. Who was their “non-manager”, and where did he go instead?

Their current manager, while we’re doing managers (and in most cases someone should), is Dermot Drummy, who sounds Irish but actually isn’t; he was on the books at Arsenal, but didn’t play a League or Cup game for them, although he did play a total of five – his only five League appearances, but still five more than I’ve made – while on loan at Blackpool …..He mostly footled around the non-league scene, and scored in the final of the Middlesex Senior Charity Cup in 1988 while playing for Ware (which reminds me of the old Abbott and Costello sketch, “Who’s on First”?, and must have led to conversations which went, “Where are you playing these days?” “Yes, that’s right”). He managed the Arsenal Academy, then Chelsea’s Youth/Reserve side – whatever did happen to the old Central League? – before being appointed in charge of the First Team; he appears to have taken the Crawley job in preference to the (offered) manager’s job at Bangu (Brazil, where they play (in Rio) in the First Division/Serie A) …… I’ve no idea why he turned them down – maybe because the Club mascot’s a Beaver?

They were Foundling – sorry, Founding - Members of the West Sussex Football League in 1896, and stayed there for 5 years before they joined the Mid-Sussex League (presumably something to do with coastal erosion?) They won the Southern League in 2003/04, turned full-time pro in 2005, and after some very dodgy years in the Conference – they had points deductions in 2005/06 (3), 2006/07 (10) and 2007/08 (6), and came within an hour of being compulsorily wound up; - they eventually (2010) came into some money via a new owner, and signed 23 players in 6 months, including Matt Tubbs for £70k, Sergio Torres for £100k, and Richard Brodie for a figure believed to be £275k (they were later to sell Tubbs for £800k and Tyrone Barnett for £1.1 million). 2010/11 saw them win the Conference (the Wombles went up with them, beating Luton (who also missed out the year before, losing 2-1 to York) 4-3 on pens after a goalless Playoff Final) and thus join the ranks of football’s version of The Great Unwashed (ie League Two)

Having gone up in 2012 (see above) they stayed in League One for three seasons, eventually plummeting back to the basement at the end of Season 2014/15, having finished 22nd on 50 points and with a GD of -26 and following Colchester’s Great Escape over their last two matches, which you might remember …………. Last season they finished 20th with a record that read P46 W13 D8 L25 GF 45 GA 78 and 47 points, and which included losing every single one of their last eight games of the season (and failing to score in 6 of those 8, managing a total of two goals and conceding 20!)

‘appen, then, you’ll not be surprised that they parted company in the summer with 13 of their squad; RW Gwion Edwards was sold to Peterborough for £undisclosed; CB Sonny Bradley went for free to the Argyll and Bolton Wanderers (Plymouth, to those not in the Army during WWII); CM Andy Bond – once of Colchester, among other places – signed for AFC Fylde (currently topping the Conference North by four points from Darlington 1883, with Chorley third); the rest went non-League – Braintree, Welling, York, Altrincham, Garforth Town; the wonderfully-named Roarie Deacon (I don’t know if he does, or if he is) moved on (down?) to Sutton Utd; RB Alper Tursun went to Turkey to play for Darica Genclerbirligi just 32 days after he’d arrived from Alanyaspor (well you would, wouldn’t you?)

Their pegs in the dressing room were taken up by a right League of Nations; 18 players from 8 different countries; most of them you’ll never have heard of (the players, not the countries) but MF Jason Banton arrived from Notts Co, Welsh u21 international Josh Yorwerth (currently out on loan at Merthyr Town) from the Tractor Boys, ex Shrewsbury striker James Collins came too, as did LB Andre Blackman from Maghreb Association Sportive de Fez (it’s in Morocco), MF Aliu Djalo (from Palloseura Kemi Kings (Finland, where they were recently promoted from the Ykkonen to the Veikkausliiga – but you knew that!), LW Dean Cox from Leyton Orient (altho he’s out on loan too, at Burgess Hill Town – who play at the Green Elephant Stadium in the Isthmian League), GK Glenn Morris from Gillingham and Dutch RW Enzio Boldewijn from Almere City ……….well I did tell you!

Their preseason started well; fifteen goals in two games, as they beat East Grinstead Town 9-2 away before demolishing Three Bridges – no, that’s a football team, not three actual bridges – by a score of 6-0; they played two League sides pre-season, losing 4-0 to Brighton and 3-2 to Millwall; and then they started the League with 2 wins and 2 draws from their first four games (to lie 2nd), then they lost 3 straight (to lie 18th), and their last six League fixtures have provided 3 wins, 2 draws and one defeat (last time out, 2-1 at Cheltenham, one of the eight teams against whom they already can’t do the double!); currently they have a record of W5 D4 L4, to lie 9th with 19 points; we’re 7th, of course, with an identical record, but we’ve got a GD of +1 (GF18 GA17), while theirs is -1 (15/16); Morecambe and Crewe also have 19 points, and Mansfield and Notts Co have 18, while three teams have 16 …at the bottom lie WestleyPortlyCounty (shame!) on 7 points – 5 adrift of 23rd placed Barnet, with the Orient – expected to do well this season (again) - out of the relegation spots only by virtue of a less bad GD! At home the Reds’ record reads three wins (Blackpool (17th) 1-0, Wycombe (16th) 1-0 and Luton (4th) 2-0), two draws (Barnet (23rd) and Colchester (13th), both 1-1) and one loss – Notts County (12th) winning at the Broadfield Stadium 3-1 …… on the road it’s W2 D2 L3

They won the Montgomery Cup in 1926, so I’m told, and the prestigious “Highest Placed Amateurs Award” in 1961/62 (don’t they give Cups for funny things?); their Chairman, and also their Chief Scout, are both Turkish (which might explain 18 players from 8 countries); well-known (I wouldn’t actually call them “famous”) former managers include John Gregory, John Hollins, Mark Yates, Steve Evans, the other Gary Alexander, and Sean O’Driscoll, who, incidentally, is the answer to this week’s Starter for Ten (see above) and who left Sussex for Nottingham (Forest) without ever taking charge of the side for a proper game; leading scorers (they have – including the EFLTroffyandCup – a total of 19 goals scored) are Adi Yussuf and Anzio Bold Wine (each with 3), and James Collins with five ……..

In 2011/12 – their promotion season – we drew 1-1 at their place and lost (see above) 1-0 at ours; last season we did the double – 3-0 away and 4-1 at home (goals from Billy Whizz, Matty Pearson, Seamus Conneely and Piero Mingoia seeing us home despite red cards for McCartan and (unused) sub GK Jason Mooney; P4 W2 D1 L1 GF8 GA3 Pts7 ………..

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm this Saturday, 22nd October. Won four, drawn two and lost one of our last seven equals an average of 2 points a game; that equals 92 points over a full season; and 92 points is always gonna get you promoted ………. Innit? We’re in the Playoff places, which is good (but automatic places come next May would be more betterer), but the trick – as we well know – isn’t getting there, it’s staying there …………………… and for that we look in hope and expectation in the direction of Norman Stanley GT Fletcher ……………….. go get ‘em, Lads!

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