2013 Prediction League; Game 18 v Fleetwood Town (home)

Div3North · 24-11-2013, 00:22

Accrington Stanley

V

Fleetwood Town

2013/14 Prediction League – Game 18; v Fleetwood (home)

Continuing the theme; last 7 League games – points earned; Mansfield 3, Exeter 4, Torquay and Northants 5, York, Bury and Brizzle 6, Morecambe and Wycombe 7, Wombles 9, Chesterfield, Scunthorpe and Fleetwood 10, Newport and Pompey 11, Burton, Plymouth and Cheltenham 12, Dagenham 13, Oxford 14, Rochdale, Southend and Hartlepool 15 ……………and Stanley? Also 15

; difference is that we’re unbeaten in 7 (W4 D3)

, whereas Rochdale, Southend and Hartlepool have each won 5, but lost 2 ……………Form team? Problem? What problem?

In its current guise, Fleetwood dates from 1997, but “Fleetwood Town FC” from 2002. The progression is staggering; they won the North West Counties League in 2005, finished 2nd (and got promoted) from the Northern Premier League (First Division) in 2006, won the NPL in 2008, got promotion from Conference North (via the Playoffs, having lost out on automatic promotion to Southport when Farsley Celtic’s record was expunged) in 2010, beating Alfreton 2-1, made the Playoffs in 2011 before getting thumped 8-1 on aggregate by the Wombles, and won the Conference in 2012, their season including a 29 match unbeaten run …………respect!

Little known fact (for those of you who like them); between 1908 and 1934, Fleetwood played on a pitch next to the North Euston Hotel – now the site of the current Fleetwood Police Station, and right behind the Magistrates’ Court

; no doubt there were some arresting performances over the years ……………….

Famous ex managers include ……………..erm ……………..him. And him

. Famous ex players include Frank Swift , Man City and England keeper, and Preston-born striker Adrian Alston, who played for Luton and Cardiff but is better known as the captain of the Australian side which played in the 1974 World Cup (West German manager Helmut Schoen apparently said, before their group game, “We have nothing to fear from Australia ……except Adrian Alston”. Although he said it in German

)

By the time they’d released people, retired people, and returned loanees to their clubs, there were something like 20 departures from Highbury over the summer; Barry Nicholson (34, CMF, Rangers, Dunfermline, Aberdeen, PNE) went back over Hadrian’s Wall to Kilmarnock

; Jamie Maguire (29, CMF) to Mansfield, Danny Rose (25, CMF) to Oxford; 5 went to – or back to – non-League (Kieran Charnock to Stockport, Andy Mangan and Anthony Barry to Forest Green, Jamie Mulligan and one Jean-Michel Fontaine – there’s a name to recall from the 58 World Cup, although he was Just Fontaine

– to Southport)………… Ex central defender/skipper Rob Atkinson (26) made the short journey down the M55/M6/M65 to the StoreFirst

……………Shedloads of new faces arrived, notably ex Rotherham, Bury, Ferencvaros

(Hungary) and Southend CB Ryan Cresswell (25), to form a new CB partnership with Crewe, Northwich Vics, Stanley and Stevenage’s former skipper Mark Roberts (30); midfielders by the score – CMFs Matty Blair (23) from York (Telford, Kidderminster), Jeff Hughes (28) from Notts County (Larne, Lincoln, Palace and Brizzle R) and Steven Schumacher (29) from Bury, AMF Antoni Sarcevic (21) from Chester, and Scots-born DMF Stewart Murdoch (22) from Falkirk ………..and if that wasn’t enough, they’ve loaned CF Emmanuel Dieseruvwe (19) from the Owls, 19 year-old LB Charlie Taylor from Leeds, and – just this week – strikers Nathan Tyson (31) from Blackpool, he having signed from Derby on deadline day, and ex Dulwich Hamlet (who play, if you didn’t know, in the Isthmian League Div One South) and Huddersfield striker Daniel Carr (19) ……….Those two are intended as cover for the injured Jamille Matt (ankle) and David Ball (shoulder); for your information, Mark Roberts and Jon Parkin – Fleetwood’s answer to our mate YFB (Adebayo Akinfenwa ) – were both on the bench today …………for your further information, Fleetwood’s stats in beating Mansfield 5-4 were a rather concerning 16 shots (9 on target) and 8 corners ……………..

Their overall League record is P17 W10 D1 L6 F31 (best in the Division

) A21 (12th in the Division) Pts31 for 4th place ……………more interesting are their last 7, which resulted in 3 wins, one draw and 3 defeats

; at home it’s W5 D1 L3 (Scunthorpe 1-0, Exeter 2-1 and Burton 3-2), away its W5 L3 …………..in only one of their 8 away games have both teams managed to score

(a 3-1 win over Brizzle Rovers) ……..they’ve beaten Plymouth 2-0, Hartlepool 1-0, Pompey 1-0 and York 2-0, and lost 2-0 at the Wombles, 2-0 at Southend and 1-0 at the Cobblers ……….8 games, 9 goals scored

………..In the Cups they’ve progressed well; they went out of the CapitalOne 3-2 at Notts County, but in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy they’ve done Tranmere 2-1 away, followed by wins over Crewe (4-0) and Carlisle (2-0), both at home, giving them a home tie against Rotherham on 10th December, 3 days after they have a home tie in the FA Cup against Burton, courtesy of their First Round 2-0 win at Gloucester City.

Their 22 games – 17 League, 5 Cup – have resulted in 43 goals

to date, spread round the team; Jamaican-born, ex Kidderminster Harrier Jamille Matt (22), Antoni Sarcevic and David Ball (23, Swindon, Peterborough and Rochdale) all have 7 (but only Sarcevic is likely to be in the squad to play us

); Gareth Evans – Macclesfield, Bradford and Rotherham - has 5, Jon Parkin has 4, and Schumacher, Blair and Hughes each have 3

Head to head last year was interesting; we went to their place and shocked them, winning 3-1 with goals from James Beattie

(In Whom We Trust) from the spot, George Miller and Rommy Boco; they came to ours when we were hoping to do the double, but instead Jon Parkin did the treble

………..and he could afford a couple fewer pies in the average week, too

………….. P2 W1 L1 F3 A4 Pts 3 ……………..

Deadline is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 7.45pm on Tuesday 26th November. Their last 7 have delivered 3 wins, one draw and three losses; ours have delivered 4 wins and 3 draws

………..while we need to be wary and respectful, we don’t need to be intimidated or pessimistic

………… Can the run continue? If Northampton can do them over, why can’t we?

They ain’t gonna win 5-4 every week!

Good luck to everyone …………… Remember; passion overcomes logic

……………..Keep the Faith! ……….….and thanks for playing!