[Div3North]

Accrington Stanley


V


Rotherham United

2012/3 Prediction League – Game 10; v Rotherham (home) – Second try


You get a lovely warm glow, don’t you, when your Boss praises your efforts and you know you’re appreciated ; that nice Mr Evans, Manager and Gentleman, said this after the 3-2 home defeat last Tuesday by Wycombe ;

• “The players on the pitch are not the players who should be on the pitch. We’re playing a reserve side, and reserves won’t win promotion from League Two. They’re not good enough to be in a promotion side. Look at the team today and then look at it two weeks ago. The players we’re playing at the moment aren’t good enough.”

Cheers, Boss ………………

And then again, that wasn’t even their worst performance; that, apparently, was ten days earlier, when they lost 5-0 at the Daggers (who don’t often win 5-0, to be fair ) …………. Of that result the nice Mr E said;

• “It was a shambles from start to finish. There are no excuses. It’s the worst performance I’ve had as a manager ever from any of my teams, and I’ve had some howlers”

And it all started so well ……………………….Bless!

They have had injury problems, no doubt; Dale Tonge, Craig Morgan, Lee Frecklington, and Blackburn’s Josh Morris (who went back to Ewood); they recalled Johnny Mullins from his loan spell at Oxford, but – from something I saw at the weekend – have agreed with ex Morecambe FB Laurence Wilson to cancel his contract; they have others missing; life isn’t easy (but that’s life); but could you imagine Leam, or Sir Alex, or the late Sir Bobby Robson, or Harry, saying that sort of stuff? At least, outside the dressing room ...........

But maybe it just came out wrong, rather like this quote from Assistant Manager Paul Raynor, after the 3-1 home win over Oxford;

• “To go a goal behind shows the character we have in the team”

We know what you meant, Paul, but ‘appen you could have phrased it a smidge better?

Anyway ………………………on with the Motley

Since we nearly played them on Tuesday 2nd October the Millers have:

1. Signed Huddersfield’s FB Liam Ridehalgh (21) on loan, after Chesterfield let him go early from his loan spell there; by the way, did you see that Micah Evans was on loan at Snakefield when Mr Cook (who’d had him in the squad here last season) arrived – but he went back to Ewood pretty sharpish!
2. Signed Blackburn CH Jack O’Connell (18) on loan
3. Signed Villa (and ex Northampton) winger Courtney Cameron (19) on loan
4. Signed Hull’s winger Jamie Devitt (22) on loan (hiya Jamie!)
5. Signed winger Luke Rooney (21) from Swindon on loan

Who he’s going to pick in January when they all leave (assuming that they don’t p*** him off first and leave early) I really don’t know ……..

In their 10 League games since the postponed game at Fortress Crown the Millers have won 5, drawn 2 and lost 3 (Dagenham 5-0 away, Southend 3-0 at home and Wycombe 3-2, also at home); in those 10 games they’ve scored 14 and conceded 15 …………..and collected 17 points …………..and moved up the table from 10th (with 14 points from 9) to their present 7th, with 31 points from 19. They managed three blank sheets, three singletons, two goals twice, three once and four once; against that they’ve kept four clean sheets (three of them away from home), conceded one goal twice, two goals once, three twice and five once. Hmmmmmmmmmm!

Original guesses stand unless you want to change, in which case please do so before 7.45pm on Tuesday 27th November (only four weeks to Christmas!). Our record against the top six is spectacular (beaten four of them and drawn with the other two) ; what can we do with the team lying seventh? Will we get a third penalty in as many games (having not long back gone over 12 months without getting one at all)? Win this and we go 12th – just ahead of Chesterfield!

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