2023-24 Prediction League; Game 40 v Morecambe FC (home)

Div3North · 27-03-2024, 23:01

Accrington Stanley

V

Morecambe FC

2023/24 Prediction League Game 40 v The Crinkley Bottoms (home)

Starter for Ten; Harry Pell – one time Colchester skipper, sometime Stanley player – admitted an FA charge of misconduct during the warm-up before the Wombles home game against the MK Donuts this past week, and was fined £1000 pounds and banned for one game ………. But what was the actual nature of his misdoings?

One five pointer (Greger, who has replaced Valairian (on secondment) as Stanley’s Pessimist-in-Chief), and three single pointers (all for our one goal) against Sutton, and sod-all for anyone else ….. Sutton are 19th in the Last Ten Games points table with 11 points in ten; Vegan Greenpeace are 13th with 13; Colchester are 21st with 10 (W1 D7 L2); Stanley are 22nd (8), and NottsCoCostco are bottom of the form table with 7, below Swindon on GD …… and Val doesn’t think we’ll get any more points this season …………. Donnie are Form Team of the week (21 points) ahead of Crawley (20) ……… Morecambe are 18th, with one more point than us

Morecambe was a thriving seaside resort in the mid-20th century. It was home to the largest Pontins resort in the country. Pontins closed in 1993. While Blackpool attracted holiday-makers predominantly from the Lancashire mill towns, Morecambe had more visitors from Yorkshire (due to its railway connection) and Scotland. Mill workers from Bradford and further afield in West Yorkshire would holiday at Morecambe, with some retiring there. This gave Morecambe the nickname "Bradford on Sea".

However, the town suffered a decades-long decline after a series of incidents that damaged tourism and the local economy: two piers were lost - West End Pier was partly washed away in a storm in November 1977, and the remnants were demolished in 1978; Central Pier, damaged by fire in 1933, was removed in 1992. In 1994, The World of Crinkley Bottom attraction in Happy Mount Park closed only thirteen weeks after opening. The ensuing Blobbygate scandal, a financial disaster after projected visitor numbers did not materialise, led to a legal battle between Lancaster City Council and TV star Noel Edmonds, costing North Lancashire taxpayers £2.6 million. The closures of Bubbles, Morecambe's swimming pool, and the Frontierland fairground soon followed. Roll on The Eden Project Morecambe!

Second Starter for Ten, then; RB Leipzig midfielder Christoph Baumgartner recently scored after 6 seconds for Austria against Slovakia, as Austria recorded their fourth successive win in preparation for the Euros; this goal was one second faster that the previously quickest international goal (and two seconds faster than San Marino’s opener against England in 1993)… I’ll tell you that the old record goal was scored by Lukas Podolski for Germany in 2013 …………. but who were the Germans playing?

Morecambe FC was founded in 1920 and entered the Lancashire Combination, where they would remain for the next 48 years, winning the league title on five occasions: they joined the newly formed Northern Premier League in 1968 and went on to win the FA Trophy in 1974 . Under the stewardship of Jim Harvey, a second-place finish in the 1994–95 Northern Premier League Premier Division season saw them promoted into the Conference; they were beaten in the 2003 and 2006 play-off semi-finals (losing to Hereford 4–3 on aggregate in 2006); Sammy McIlroy was appointed manager on a permanent basis in May 2006. The following season, Morecambe were promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history after winning the Conference play-off final, beating Exeter City 2–1 at Wembley on 20 May 2007, in front of over 40,000 fans following their semi-final victory over York City and the club gained promotion into the Football League.. They finished in the top ten of League Two twice, reaching the play-off semi-finals after fourth-place finishes in 2009–10 and 2020–21; in the latter season they reached the 2021 League Two play-off final and achieved a first promotion to League One, competing in the third tier for two seasons, before being relegated in 2023. Their away form in particular was poor - W2 D6 L15 GF17 GA47

In the Winter Transfer Window they sold winger Adam Mayor to Millwall, and signed four; free agents RW Gwion Edwards, LW Brandon Barker and striker Jordy Hiwula were joined by Grenadan CB Kayden Harrack from QPR plus five loanees - GK Archie Muir from Norwich, AMF Joe Adams from Wigan, strikers Gerard Garner from Barrow and Julian Larsson from Forest, and DMF Nelson Khumbani from the Trotters ….

Season to date has them 12th on 54 points from a record of P39 W15 D9 L15 GF59 GA68; away from home they’re playing W8 D2 L10 ……. earlier in the season we played a half-Desmond at the Mazuma’s Revenge Stadium, our goal coming from Tommy Leigh from the penalty spot ……….. time was, of course, when two games against Morecambe were a guaranteed six points for us, but no more ……….. Ged Brannan has been manager since 27th November, and his League record seems to be W7 D6 L9 - and they’ve lost their last four on the bounce …….. they beat Lincoln and Wycombe away in the FA Cup before Swansea BaraBrithed them 2-0 in Round 3; Rotherham took them out of the EFL Cup on pens in Round One; and they were left in the Trophy Group stages by Blackpool and Liverpool infants

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00 pm on Good Friday, 29th March ………… next game for us after this is Easter Monday - please note ………… Should be interesting to see who wins the Ged v John show (we’re on P4 Pts4, which in many seasons is relegation form, but we’re keeping the Faith for the Summer Signings and Departures) ………… might be another point is the best we can hope for, but you never know ………….

And who saw that the Spanish Prosecutors are asking for an 18-month prison sentence for Luis Rubiales after his World Cup Kiss?

And Harry Pell’s (admitted) crime was - during the warm up - “repeatedly kicking balls at MK fans”, and “it was likely that one of his shots hit an 11-year old girl in the crowd” … his mitigation (by letter) was that his shots into the crowd were “not struck with power but were intended more as a playful response to the verbal abuse from some of the spectators” …… the reason that the mitigation was in a letter was that he must have realised that he couldn’t say that to the panel and keep his face straight …………… And Lukas Podolski’s goal in 2013 was against Ecuador …………. I believe the Germans won on penalties, but I might be wrong …..

Good luck to everyone! ………… Keep the Faith and Eat the Easter Eggs! ………… Don’t forget Monday’s game! ………. And thanks for playing!

And please note other prediction games are apparently available ………