Accrington Web - 2011 Prediction League; Game 37 Northampton Town (home)

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Northampton Town

2011 Prediction League – Game 37; v Northampton Town (home)

There have been two players who gave me hope, over the years, that I might still make it as a pro footballer :); one was Rochdale’s Tony Ford, still playing at 42 after a career lasting 26 years and 931 League games :D (“He’s big, He’s bad, He’s older than me Dad, Tony Ford, Tony Ford ……” ;);)), and the other was Adebayo Saheed Akinfenwa (29) – the only pro (I think) who weighs more than I do :o ……. When you think of Akinfenwa you don’t necessarily think “gazelle-like”, “faster than a speeding bullet”, “thin as a whippet”, but in a career lasting so far 11 years (one less than the number of clubs he’s played for) he’s managed 135 goals, including 37 in 88 games for the Cobblers between 2008 and 2010, 11 in 44 for Gillingham in 2011, and – currently – 16 in 28 back at Sixfields, making him the joint second highest scorer in Div 2 :).

Gary Johnson (who once played for Swedish 3rd Division side Storfors AIK :() was appointed manager on 4th March 2011, and un-appointed again on 14th November :o; he managed them for 34 games, of which they won just 7 :mad:. His reward for fairly abject failure was to be appointed, less than 2 months later, as manager of League One Yeovil for the second time (he was manager when they won the Conference as well) :confused:. In his career he also managed Latvia for 2 years (99-01), and had a (slightly) better success rate with them than he did with the Cobblers ……”Over ‘ere, Son, on me ‘ead” ……..

Aidy Boothroyd came in as Manager at the end of November with the team lying 21st, with 16 points from 19 games and off the back of a month where they lost all 4 games, 4-3 at Gillingham, 1-0 at Luton in the FA Cup, 7-2 at home to Shrewsbury :eek: and 4-1 at Plymouth :eek:. He hit the markets big-time in and since January, re-signing Luke Gutteridge (29) from Shrewsbury (also on the cv are Torquay, Colchester and Southend), adding, amongst others, ex Wycombe midfielder Ben Harding (27), defender Kelvin Langmead (26) from Posh, GK Neal Kitson for the Rochester Rhinos :p in the US (they now have 5 goalkeepers on their books) and striker Lewis Wilson from Newport Pagnell Town (! :eek:); on loan – apart from some who’ve been and gone again – he added Bradford’s keeper Matt Duke (34), Liverpool’s Portuguese Youth international winger Toni Silva (18), Reading striker Brett Williams (to replace Saido Barahino, who went back to the Baggies after scoring 6 in 15 and has recently gone out on loan to Brentford), Blair Adams (20), a LB from Sunderland, and – perhaps most effectively – PFA Chairman Clarke Carlisle (32) from Burnley via Preston (where he’d been on a season-long loan until it ended prematurely; wonder who got rid of him? :rolleyes:). Out, in addition to three released, went Tadhg Purcell, ex Kilkenny and Shamrock Rovers striker, signed from Darlington in July 2010 but fated, after injury, to make just 2 starts and 4 sub appearances, who’s been allowed to join Cork City and who, sadly, looks unlikely to return …….:(

A few weeks back you’d have thought their goose was well and truly cooked; at the end of January they were plum last, with 21 points from 28 games, which included 5 wins and 6 draws (plus 17 defeats). In 17 League games up to that date they’d won one and drawn three :o, losing the other 13 – including a 4-3 defeat at Gillingham (who’ve been in a shed-load of “seven goal thrillers”, losing most of them ………), a 7-2 thrashing at the Shrews, and a 5-2 reverse at home to Southend. Suddenly, though, at the beginning of February something clicked – maybe Akinfenwa – because in their last 6 they’ve got four wins :) (3-1 at home to the Shots, 3-2 at home to Bristol Rovers, and at home to Macclesfield, and 1-0 over the Wombles; they lost 2-1 to Port Vale (so did we, very nearly!), and drew 2-2 with Cheltenham; their problem may be that 5 of those 6 games were at home.

Overall, they currently lie 22nd on 34 points, two above Plymouth and three above the Daggers; they’re just one point behind Hereford and Macclesfield, but have two games in hand on all four of those sides bar Dagenham (one in hand over them); P34 W9 D7 L18, F46 A66 …… 19 played at home, only 15 away. They did nothing much in the Cups – a 2-1 win at Ipswich in the Carling being as good as it got, before they went out 4-0 at home to Wolves, then losing 2-1 at home to Huddersfield in the JPT and 1-0 to Luton in the FA Cup; 38 games in all, 49 goals scored (and 11 of them in their last half dozen matches). Not good, but maybe getting better just when it matters ………:rolleyes:

Adebayo has 16, including 7 in his last five games (note to the Lads – watch out for long throw-ins, and don’t give away any penalties! :D:D); midfielder Michael Jacobs has 7, and the Baggies’ Saido Berahino has 6; 9 other players feature on the list of scorers, including Luke Gutteridge with 2 …….. You may have seen that Dean Holdsworth (Aldershot Manager) claimed that when he released Gutteridge he had a ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ that Gutteridge wouldn’t play against the Cobblers; Boothroyd sorted that by threatening to fine him if he didn’t play! End of ………..! ;)

In 09/10 we lost 3-0 at home and then 4-0 away :eek:; last season we drew 0-0 away, but we finally laid the demon (and scored our first goals against them) by sorting them 3-1 chez nous in April; two for Ian Craney, one for Sean McStockportCounty. The opening game of this season, at their place, ended goalless as well …….. P5 W1 D2 L2 and only scored against them in one of five starts :o ……. Buck up, Lads – that’ll not do …………! :p

The deadline for entries (Stanleyhouse please note :D) is, in case you’ve forgotten, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3pm on Saturday 17th March. Who’s going to win – and by how many? Or will it end in stalemate? 7-4? 5-5? 0-0 again? Or will it perhaps be some out-of-left-field, Wynonie-and-DaveinGermany-couldn’t-make-it-up-if-they-tried kind of score? :D Kindly get your crystal balls out and give them a rub, Ladies and Gentlemen ……. You know it makes sense! :o

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

:alright: