Accrington Stanley
v
Oldham Athletic
Prediction League (Just for fun no 4)
So; this weekend my mate Chimer gets to go lie down in a darkened room (or go and play hockey, which is much the same thing), and I have to get out the abacus, the fingers and toes ..........
FA Cup time, ladies and gents; at home to the Latics of Oldham (as opposed to the Latics of Wigan); this is our chance to put the nightmares of the last 5 games behind us, and to prove that the Fulham game really shows where we should be at ......... we laugh in the face of 3-2, 4-2 and 5-2 defeats; we snap our fingers in scorn at the prospect of a League One team doing us over at Fortress Crown; don't we? All together, lads ........... !
Now managed by the much travelled 5'6" Scot Paul Dickov, Oldham currently lie 11th in League One; P14 W5 D6 L3 Pts 21, and a goal difference of +4 (21 scored, 17 conceded); out of the Carling 2-1 at Scunthorpe and the JPT 0-1 at home to Shrewsbury (so they have got form for losing to lower league teams
). Unbeaten at home in the League (3 wins, 4 draws), their away form isn't stunning (but then, nor's our home form just at the moment!
) - two wins (Tranmere and Brentford), two draws (Charlton and Sheff Wed) and defeats at Peterborough, Brighton and Southampton. 22 goals in all competitions, spread among 10 players, the main scorers being Dale Stephens, Chris Taylor and Dean Furman, each with four.
We haven't met them in the League since we came back in, but have met them twice in the First Round of the JPT; on 4th Sept 07 we lost by the odd goal in five at our place, but on 1st Sept 09 we returned thanks by doing them 2-1 at Boundary Park, with our goals coming from an own goal by Sean Gregan (once of PNE - where his nickname, according to the Latics' website, was "God" (

), currently on loan at Fleetwood) and the winner from Phil the Penalty (although not from the spot).
So there it is; only for fun, this, but will it BE fun? Tasty turn-over of the Big Boys? Money-spinning replay (in your dreams!) at Oldham? Or - as the statisticians would predict, following the sequence - a 6-2 thrashing? We couldn't. Could we?
If it's any help, the lad where I work who is a Latics fan thinks that we might do them ........ so let's do them!
Entries by 3.00pm on Saturday 6th November, if you please!
Good luck - and thanks for playing!