[Div3North]

Exeter City



V


Accrington Stanley

2014/15 Prediction League – Game 24; v Exeter (away)


Well, we could look at it this way ……… we’ve now got a game in hand on everybody else in the Division (two in hand over Exeter ) ………..and who was really bothered about playing Man U anyway?

We played the the Grecians, you’ll remember, five games back, on the last Friday (= Saturday ) in November, kick off being before most of us got home from work ; we gave them a two goal start and then beat them 2-1 over the last 40 minutes ………..and their winner, which was a “spectacular 30 yard free kick” was scored by one Matt Grimes, who Exeter’s Director of Football Steve Perryman says “can be compared to a young Glenn Hoddle” – t’riffic, Stevo, cheers! Grimes – 19 – isn’t going to do that to us again, since he’s on his way to Swansea anytime now (maybe even today), but according to Stevo

• "I don't think I've been excited about a young player, at any club I've been involved with, as I am him.

(S’alright son, your secret’s safe with us ………..)

They look like signing MF David Noble (32) from Oldham, where he only played two games (both as a sub ) since joining from Rotherham in the summer, he having impressed while on loan at St James Park South – but not as much as Grimes did – and he has the advantage of having been there back in 2010, signing then from Bristol City …………….

Since losing to Warrington on TV in the First Round of the FA Cup (“Hahaha!” ) they’ve had mixed fortunes; they took 7 points from their next three games, drawing with Newport 2-2 away, beating Shrewsbury 3-2 at home, and then winning by the same score at our place ……….they followed that with a 1-1 draw at home to Burton and a 2-0 home win over Carlisle, but of their last three they’ve only won one – 1-0 against Cheltenham on Boxing Day – losing 1-0 at Stevenage, and getting thrashed 4-1 away to the Wombles last Sunday, my mate You Fat Bastard scoring the fourth (and that was AFC W’s fourth win in five) ………so, since last we met, it’s P5 W2 D1 L2 F5 A6 Pts 7 ……………Overall, they’ve managed 10 wins, 7 draws, and 7 losses, scoring 32 (the same as us ) and conceding 31, and they sit in 9th place on 37 points, behind Plymouth and Bury on GD (+12 plays +6 plays +1) ……………..Oh, and Trevor Kettle is the Ref ………oh, and Hayden White can’t play against us for Bury on 9th January on account of he’s banned for four games for being a Very Naughty Boy ………..

Leading scorers are strikers Tom Nichols (21, home-grown) with 8 and Graham Cummins (27, Irish, once of Cobh Ramblers, later of PNE and Rochdale) with 5; (nearly) ex MF Matt Grimes (19) has four, and fellow MF David Wheeler (ex Staines Town in the Conference South) has three; his shin pads are sponsored, I have it on good authority, by Lewis Hussey, and his sock ties by Harry Court and Sue Andrews, although I don’t know who sponsors which leg …. Various others in the squad have popped in either two goals (some of them) or one ……….. Oh, and their Player of the Month competition is sponsored by Cash Converters; no, really …………..

They’re in front on the head-to-head; 08/09 we each won our home games 2-1; 12/13, after they came back down, they won 3-0 at our place and 2-0 at theirs; last season they won 3-2 at our place and we won 1-0 at theirs; and this season didn’t they go and do the same thing again chez nous? Yes they rotten did! Five wins to them, two to us, eight goals to us and 14 to them ……… 6 points from 7 fixtures ……….Could Do Better!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 3rd January 2015 ………Congratulations to Cashy on being elected “Fan of 2014” in DAV’s poll (never doubted it for a moment!) ……. The New Year’s Honours seem to have passed me by (again) ……..Such is life!

Happy New Year to each and every one of you, and a prosperous (!) and successful (!!!) 2015 to our beloved Stanley ……….And may we never confuse a CB for a CF!

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