Accrington Web - 2012 Prediction League; Game 15 v Bristol Rovers (home)

Accrington Stanley

Bristol Rovers FC

2012/13 Prediction League – Game 15; v Bristol Rovers (home)

You have to love Pirates’ manager Mark McGhee, especially when he’s talking to the media ………:) Of new 22 year-old CB signing Rigvi Baldvinsson (that’s a name? :confused:) – who the BBC Sports News reported was “set to sing for Rovers for an undisclosed fee” :D – Mark said: -

“I’m expecting him to be a stand-out at this division because of where he has come from ……………….”

He came from Norwegian second Division side Algard Fotballklubb :o (who finished last season in 6th place (out of 14) – above Mandelskamareten but below Vard Haugesund – I tell you, it’s a whole new world out there ……. ;)), scored 16 in 120 games for them (which isn’t a bad return for a CB – ask Peter Murphy!) and is a Faroe Island international …………….

He lasted just two weeks in Bristol before he went back to Norway :rolleyes: (and of course never played for the Rovers); and if he’s a “stand-out at this division”, I’m the next manager of the Stanley ……………. :D:D:D

Big Mark also got his retaliation in first last week, claiming that 60% of his budget (by which he meant his (better) players) are on the treatment table rather than the pitch. To be fair, he has a point :(; Matt Harrold (28), a striker who spent 2009–10 at Wycombe, 2010-11 at Shrewsbury, and last season at Bristol (where he was leading scorer with 18) injured his knee (cruciate) in the 4-0 defeat by Gillingham on 15th September and is out for the season :eek:; Cian Bolger (20), a defender who the Pirates sold to Leicester and then loaned back at the start of the season is also out until at least Christmas with a similar injury; 25 year-old defender Garry Kenneth, who joined in the summer after 8 years with Dundee, pulled up in the warm-up of his debut game in August with a calf injury, has just come back, and limped off again on Tuesday; GK Scott Bevan (33, ex Torquay) hasn’t played this season after summer wrist surgery and may need another op; MF skipper Matt Gill (31) is out for at least six weeks with a knee injury/surgery; and so the list goes on ……………. :cool:

As well as Rogvi the Standout :p (I think I saw that film ), they also signed ex Celtic, Hibs and Scotland striker Derek Riordan (29) from St Johnstone on a short term deal to Christmas (if his trial for (allegedly) disguising himself, getting into a nightclub from which he was barred and then shouting “p**fs” at the Bouncers is over by then! :D:D:D) and David Clarkson (26), a striker who played under McGhee at Motherwell (scoring 57 in 251), moved on to Bristol City for a fee variously cited as £600k and £800k (where he got 11 goals in 63 games) and, on release by Bristol City signed for Bristol Rovers; and if DaveinGermany thinks I’m doing Bristol(s) jokes, he’s wrong! :p:p

On loan they got Stoke’s Matthew Charles Lund (21), a midfielder with Northern Ireland u21 credentials although Manchester born, and Bolton’s ex-Oldham striker Tom Eaves (20)

It was “thank you and goodnight” in the Cup competitions; the Capital One Cup run lasted one game (a 3-1 defeat at (now managerless) Ipswich); the JPTinpot run lasted just as long – the Rovers departing in the first round, 3-0 at home to Yeovil; they’ve drawn Sheffield Utd at home in the FA Cup next week, so that could well be a clean sweep of First Round Exits ……..And I’m still worried that AFC Fylde might be a banana skin ……… :o

After 7 games of the season they had 4 points from 4 draws, a goal difference of -9, and were 23rd (above Barnet, but who isn’t? :)); then they started a bit of a run; of their last six games they’ve won 3, ( 3-2 at home to Torquay, 3-1 at home to the Cobblers, and 2-1 at Exeter), drawn one (1-1 at Burton) and lost two - 1-0 at home to Cheltenham, and 3-1 at Wycombe on Tuesday, when 20 year-old defender Tom Parkes saw red for two yellows (making his manager very unhappy – the ever-quotable Mark saying, “I said to him once he’d been booked “don’t get sent off”; it was a totally unnecessary and unprofessional sending off”) ……….So what constitutes a professional and necessary sending off Mark …………? :D

At home, their record is W2 D2 L3 F8 A11; away, it’s W1 D3 L2 F6 A11; overall, P13 W3 D5 L5 F14 A22 for 14 points and 20th place ……….it's nice to know there’s still someone below us in the League :p, given our four straight defeats. They would, by the way, have had 17 points if their game at Wycombe hadn’t been abandoned half way through the second half with them 3-1 ahead; it was called off by the Health and Safety Officer, presumably because he thought that it would be contrary to their Health and Safety if they won the match … :)

They’ve hit 3 goals twice (thee times, if you count the Wycombe game – which you can’t, because their appeal failed :)) and hit six blanks; they’ve conceded 4 once (Gillingham), 3 four times (Morecambe, the Wombles, Ipswich and Yeovil), and have only managed the one clean sheet (0-0 at home to Fleetwood). 15 goals in 14 games largely explains their problems, I suspect :(…………..Leading scorers (with a measly 3 each) are strikers David Clarkson and Eliot Richards (a Welsh born local striker who’s actually 21, but whose picture makes him look about 13 ;)), with Garry Kenneth (a defender) being the only other scorer of more than one (he’s got two!)

We’ve played them 4 times since we came back up; in 2006/7 – the year they got promoted – we drew 1-1 at home and got smacked 4-0 away :confused: ; last season (after they’d come down at the end of 2010-11) we got even more smacked away (5-1) :eek:, but we did do them 2-1 on Bonfire Night at Fortress Crown, with goals from Micah (“Lazy”) Evans and Big Kev Long :D in the first half an hour sealing a sweaty win after they pulled one back right at the beginning of the second half and Murph was sent off for a tackle on Mustapha Carayol - now of Middlesbrough - while the ball – as someone famous once said – was in a different post-code area :D.

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 27th October. It doesn’t look as if it’ll be Team C any more, but it’s still Team Stanley :D (and maybe Team Leam :D, which has a nice ring) and it’s certainly still Keep The Faith! :D:D:D

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

:alright: