2015/16 Prediction League; game 1 v Luton Town (home)

Div3North · 02-08-2015, 23:27

Accrington Stanley

V

Luton Town

2015/16 Prediction League; Game 1 v Luton Town (home)

So ............welcome back to the first of 46 instalments of “It’s Those Men Again” – a paraphrase on a radio programme which is about the same age as me

- where I do the words, my mate Chimer

does the numbers, and you do the guessing ........oh, and where someone else sorts out the footie

...............We hope!

It’s fair to say that the Prodigals have returned big style to the ScoreFirst over the past year, with Proccie , El Tel , Billy the Whizz , Sean McC and Anthony Barry all having come home; I’m not sure how Accrington’s fixed for Fatted Calf and Chips

, but we probably should try ............ And I can’t remember any previous season where hopes have been as high as they are at this point this year

; against that background it would probably be churlish to point out that Luton at home represented the only point we got in the whole of August 2014

, and simply to hope that this might be Our Year

. Certainly last time Billy Kee, Sean McConville and Terry Gornell all played for us at the same time we had A Year To Remember

; p’raps we can do it again! Welcome back!..................

For those Honourable Members who want the history and fortunes of The Hatters and John Still, Luton’s famous players and managers, etc etc, may I refer you to Games 4 and 33 of last season’s PL (a search will bring them up for you). That saves me regurgitating it, and you re-reading it. Not that most of you do, I suspect ..........

They shipped a lorry load of players out last summer, and brought a lorry load in. 12 months on, and another lorry load departed, including defender Alex Lacey (23) to Yeovil, MF Jim Stevenson (23) to Aldershot, Ross Lafayette (29) - who I thought was guillotined by Bonaparte

- who went to Eastleigh, 24 year old MF/W Luke Rooney (who actually left in March, but it’s near enough) who moved on to Crawley via Ebbsfleet, and ex Stanley MF Shaun Whalley (28, once of Chester, Runcorn, Witton Albion, Wrexham, Droylsden, Hyde and Southport) who now graces Shrewsbury’s colours. Others to depart – 15 in all - include last season’s leading scorer (14 goals, which put him joint 10th in League Two, alongside my hero You Fat Bastard

) Mark Cullen (23), who’s joined Blackpool – silly boy!

– for a reported £180k; 31 year-old MF Andy Drury, for whom Luton paid Crawley £100k last summer

(what a good investment that wasn’t!

), now with Eastleigh; and Lee Angol (S, 20), who was signed from the Chairboys in summer 2014, immediately loaned out for the season to Boreham Wood (then Conference South) for whom he hit 25 in 39

, refused a new contract with Luton and is now with the Posh .......... good piece of planning, that. Not!

In have come 11 (so far). The marquee signing

– or he would have been the marquee signing two or three years back

– is striker Craig Mackail-Smith (31), capped 7 times by Scotland, once of Peterborough, for 4 years at Brighton, but perhaps not the player he was since a serious Achilles injury which kept him sidelined from March 2013 to April 2014

......other internationals (he said, nonchalantly

) to have signed on include ex Celtic and Brighton winger Paddy McCourt (31), with 14 caps for Northern Ireland; striker Josh McQuoid (25), who cost Millwall £HalfaMillion in 2011, moving to Bournemouth and also having NI caps on the hall stand; Prodigal Sons (yes, they have them too) include ex MK Dons winger Danny Green (26), who was with John Still at the Daggers, as was Colchester’s Nigerian defender Magnus Okuonghae (29); ex Derby def Mark O’Brien (22) arrived, and so did former Partick Thistle RB Stephen O’Donnell (23), Norwich MF Cameron McGeehan (20), ex West Ham def Dan Potts (21) who has England u18, u19 and u20 caps, and former Ipswich striker Jack Marriott (20).

For the statisticians, we drew 0-0 at our place in 2008/9 (the season they passed through League Two on their way to the Conference

) and won 2-1 at theirs

; last season we drew again at home, being 2-0 up after 16 mins, with goals from the now-departed James Gray (Wrexham)

and Luke “Unfinished Business”Joyce (Carlisle)

, but finishing up with a Desmond, but then we lost the return 2-0 ............although their home record really was pretty good at that point of last season (one defeat in 17, as I recall).

They were among the favourites for promotion last season, but finished up a frustrating 8th with a record of W19 D11 L16 F54 A44 for 68 points, putting them 3 points and a few goals behind 7th. This year they’re 13-2 second favourites to win League Two (we’re 100-1 in 24th place

), 33-1 to be relegated (we’re 7-2 favourites

), and Craig Marquee-Signing is 7-1 second favourite (behind Matt Tubbs) to be leading goalscorer for the Division (Josh McQuoid is 20-1, Billy Kee 25-1, and Adam Morgan and Terry Gornell are 40-1) ................oh, and you can get 12-1 on us losing our first three League games

, and 25-1 on us winning them!

So off we go again; last year 13 League Two sides changed their Managers (two of them doing it twice in the season); John Still’s safe as houses, and provided he’s shown his ability after – is it 10 games, DAV

? – JC probably is too ..........Goals galore, points galore, big crowds, and on TV a lot; not much to ask for, really?

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 8th August ...........Good luck to everyone

.............Keep the Faith!

.....and thanks for playing

(for the 6th season!

)