Accrington Web - Prediction League Game 13; Hereford United (away)

Hereford United

Accrington Stanley

Prediction League – Game 13; v Hereford (away)

Next up, the Bulls of Hereford; after a busy summer (10 in, 11 out, including ex Burnley trainee Marc Pugh to Bournemouth on a free) manager Simon Davey paid the price of early-season failure, and - despite having only joined the club in June 2010 from Darlington - he was sacked after a 2-0 defeat by Barnet on 2nd October left Hereford bottom of the League with only 1 win in 10 League and one cup games (now 2 wins in 14 in all competitions); physio Jamie Pittman holds the reins temporarily (which means, with Nigel Adkins at Southampton and Les Parry at Tranmere, at least three ‘ex-physios’ now sit in managerial hot-seats).

Their signings included the new team captain, 6’4” Hungarian defender Janos Kovacs, on a free from Luton; 5’ 7” striker Sean Canham from Notts Co (who has 3 yellows and a red in 10 games this season, but only 2 goals); his greatest scoring feats came while playing for Team Bath (33 goals in 23 games in 07/08), which might explain why County released him at the end of last season (4 goals in 29 games over 2 years); striker Stuart Fleetwood (who played three games for us in 06/07), back at Edgar Street once again, but yet to recapture the form which got him 33 in 46 for Forest Green three seasons ago, perhaps because he hasn’t really settled at Brighton, Exeter or Charlton, from whom he was signed; 2 goals (today!) and 4 yellow cards this season isn’t a thrilling return on the investment; defender Michael Townsend from Cheltenham has been around a bit, as has midfielder Joe Colbeck, mostly at Bradford City, but with spells at Darlington and Oldham, from whom he was signed; finally, they brought in Guillem Bauza from Swansea, a strike partner of Fernando Torres for the Spanish u16, u17 and u20 teams (if he was that good – and he previously played for Espanyol B – one might wonder what he’s doing at Edgar Street), on a contract until Jan 2011.

Not including Conference games, we’ve played them 6 times in recent years; 06/07 saw us lose 1-0 away and win 2-0 at home (goals from David Brown and Cav); 07/08 we drew 0-0 away and lost 2-0 at home (they were promoted that season in 3rd place with 88 points (W26 D10 L10 F72 A41) and a team stuffed full of loan players, coming straight down with a bang at the end of 08/09, plum last in League 1 with 34 points and a -37 goal difference); last season we lost both games, 2-0 away, and 2-1 at home, Michael Symes scoring from the spot, but Hereford snatching an injury-time breakaway winner. Our record over the last four years comes out at P6 W1 D1 L4 F3 A7; an average of half a goal a game isn’t going to get us promotion, and we really need to win matches like this if we are to hold real hope ….. Last year they finished 16th with 59 points and a goals tally of -11 ( F 54 A 65); we finished 15th on 61 points and -12 goal difference ( F62 A74)

Not a happy season for them so far, despite today’s remarkable turn-round; 3-0 down at half time away to the Cobblers, they brought on Fleetwood and Manset, and in the last half hour scored four, winning the game and doubling (almost) the season’s goal total; in the League they’ve played 12, won 2, drawn 3 and lost 7; scored just 9; conceded 24, for 9 points and last place in the table, plus a goal difference of -15; they haven’t even scored in eight of their 14 games (including first round Carling and JPT defeats, both by 3-0 at home, to Colchester and Exeter respectively) and in their remaining six they’ve only once (today) scored more than one in any match; leading scorers are Sean Canham, who has a whole two goals to his name, as have Stuart Fleetwood and midfielder James McQuilkin, while Guillem Bauza, skipper/defender Janos Kovacs (despite only coming back to the bench today after 6 weeks out for ankle surgery) and French-born striker Mathieu Manset all have one each; the rest seem to have more cards than goals. Their solitary win prior to today was away at Crewe on the opening day of the season; their 3 draws were away at Bury, at home against Gillingham, and at home to Port Vale on 9th October, when Canham (yes, him again) scored on 15 mins and conceded a penalty on 26 mins for the equaliser and an early bath (although he only got a 1 match ban, unlike Proccie and Bateson)

The deadline for entries is, as ever, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3pm on Saturday 23rd October. So; can we win a “must-win” and a “we-really-ought-to-win-this-one” at their ground? If so, by what score? They’ve conceded three goals in a game four times so far this campaign, and four goals twice; can we better that? They’ve scored 5 times in the previous 19 ½ hours of football, and four times in 1 1/2 hours today. Thrashing about, or thrashing the opposition? Another 7, or back to the land of 0-0? Will we - for a change - finish with a full team on the pitch? Will we stop leaking goals like a large colander? Your call ………. Your score?

Good luck to everyone ………… and thanks for playing!

:bingobang