2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

2014/15 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)

The Hatters (the town has a long connection with millinery) were formed, so it’s said, in 1885, created out of a merger between Excelsior and the Luton Town Wanderers – which sounds like something that Robb Wilton might have invented (he did have a little-known routine that started, “The day I became a Director of the Rambling Wanderers, my wife said to me .....” :D) ..........They joined the Football League in 1897-8, and stuck it out for three years, but the cost of travel and accommodation – most of the teams were Northern :):) – became prohibitive, and they soon reverted to the Southern League; in 1920, when Division 3 was added, they were founder members, finishing season 1920-21 9th of 22, with 44 points from 42 games, 16 of which they won. 1921-2 saw the Third Divisions North and South set up, and they were placed, fairly obviously, in the South (although you do sometimes wonder at the FA’s and the FL’s knowledge of geography north of Watford :rolleyes:); that year saw them finish 4th with 22 wins and 52 points, and the year after they were 5th. That season (1922-23) saw Nelson win Div 3 North :p, which also included such mighty world football powers as Bradford Park Avenue (2nd) Stalybridge Celtic (11th), Ashington (19th) and Durham City (20) ..... The Stanley came 8th! :D:D

Over many years they had their ups and downs; they went up to the Second Division in 73-74, and went straight back down again, but in 1981-82 they won Division 2 (losing only four of 42 games all season), and stayed in the top flight for 10 years, which included doing it unto the Gunners :p in the 87-88 League Cup Final (3-2), which was probably scant consolation for losing the 58-59 FA Cup Final to Notts Forest 2-1 (Roy Dwight, you may recall, scoring the first goal after 10 mins and then being carried off with a broken leg after 33 :eek:); Luton’s team included Billy Bingham, Forest’s outside left (“Dad, what’s an outside left?” :confused:) being Stewart Imlach – remember him? They were relegated from the (old) First Division the following season (60-61), and by 64-65 they were playing in Division 4 :o ....Their more recent tribulations – a 10 point deduction in 2007-08 being followed by a 30 point deduction in 2008-09, and inevitable relegation - are widely and recently recorded ...... :cool::cool:

If it’s not an odd way to put it, they did well in the Conference; 2009-10 saw them finish 2nd with 88 points and 84 goals, before losing 2-0 on aggregate to York in the Playoff semis; 2010-11 they were 3rd (84 points, 85 goals), putting Wrexham to the sword 5-1, before losing the Final 4-3 on penalties to the Wombles after a goalless draw; they were back the next year (5th, on 81 pts and 78 goals, doing Wrexham again in the semis (3-2) before losing again, this time to York (2-1); 2012-13 was a bad year (7th); the only good thing was that that allowed Wrexham actually to get to the final, where they promptly lost to Newport; and last year they won the Conference, with 101 points and 102 goals; they won 30 and drew 11 of 46, were unbeaten in the League for 28 games (21 wins, 7 draws), and hit the target regularly and often – four goals five times (Woking, Halifax, Hyde, Tamworth and Gateshead), five goals three times (Alfreton, Nuneaton and Wrexham, who must surely have a complex by now :p:p), 6 against Kidderminster, and 7 against Hereford (the advice is still not to invest your money in Hereford, apparently :confused:) .....while the groundwork was laid earlier, the final triumph was John Still’s – once a pro (for one game as a 17 year old, when a knee injury put paid to a career that hadn’t started), and erstwhile manager of Leytonstone, Maidstone (remember them? :):)) – who he got into the League and promptly left, because he didn’t want to give up the day job (in sales) – the Daggers (v1) part time, then a wholly forgettable 14 months at the Posh, before returning to Dagenham in 2004, staying (v2) for 9 years, before taking the Luton job in 2013 (rumour was that he was hacked off by the earlier-than-planned sale of Dwight Gayle) ....

Apart from Billy Bingham (see above), you’ll likely remember Bruce Rioch and Malcolm McDonald, both of whom graced the Kenilworth grass, and you might dredge up the name of Joe Payne, who scored 55 goals for them in 1936-37, and 10 of their goals in a 12-0 thrashing of Brizzle Rovers that April :D:D ....maybe you’ll remember David Pleat’s impression of a bucking bronco as he ran all over the Maine Road pitch to celebrate Luton’s Great Escape from relegation in 82-83 by winning their last game of the season against Man City 1-0 (Raddy Antic with the goal), which gave them 49 points and relegated the Blues with 47 ..... Once seen, never forgotten! :p:p:p

They sold 23 year-old striker Andre Gray (Shrewsbury and Hinckley Town) to Brentford over the summer for an undisclosed sum, speculation putting it at a cool £HalfMillion – probably a decent price, since he netted 57 times in 111 games in his two years with the Hatters (including 30 of their 102 last season); promotion-winning skipper Ronnie Henry (def, 30) chose to leave despite a new offer, and re-joined that nice Mr Westley at Stevenage, were he played from 2005 – 2012; 22 year-old MF J(onathan) J O’Donnell has joined Gateshead; RB Jerome Jibodu (20) left for Dunstable Town; Jake Woolley went to Cambridge City; defender Lathaniel Rowe-Turner (once of Leicester and Torquay) moved to Conference side Alfreton, fellow defender Anthony Charles (33) – ex Brentford and Aldershot, and very unlucky over the years with injuries – was released, and is currently without a club; 30year old colleague Jon Shaw (CF – Sheff Wed, Burton, Halifax and Mansfield) was released too, and re-signed for Gateshead; and David Viana, a 22 year-old Portuguese MF, once of Real Salt Lake in the MSL (he was “waived” in July 2013, which sounds unpleasant ;)) also left.

They paid Crawley £100,000 to re-secure the services of 30 year old MF Andy Drury, who left Kenilworth Road for Ipswich (“Turn left at Chelmsford, Son”) in 2011; they also added former Swindon and Charlton striker Paul Benson, now 34; defender Luke Wilkinson (22), who played under John Still – well, not “under” him, but you know what I mean :o – at the Daggers (and who was once at Pompey) joined for an “undisclosed” fee; they raided Crawley again for journeyman defender Pat Connolly (30), who’s trod the grass at Plymouth, Derby, Leeds and Millwall in his time, which no doubt contributed to his 5-game ban last April following a slight misunderstanding :o:o between him and a Brentford fan; Wycombe’s teenage striker Lee Angol signed, and was immediately loaned out for the season to Boreham Wood (so don’t bother trying to spot him in the highlights programme); Mark Onyemah (LB, 19) arrived from Thurrock (“Turn right at Chelmsford .....”), strikers Ricky Miller from Boston and Ross Lafayette from Welling, and 24 year old Charlie Walker – yet another striker - joined from Peacehaven and Telscombe – of whom you’ve all heard :rolleyes::rolleyes: – after scoring 43 goals last season while they won the Ryman South and the Sussex Senior Cup .....well, somebody had to win them ................

Their season started well, with a 1-0 win at Carlisle, but then went T.U when they lost 2-1 at home to Swindon in the CarlingAsANewtCup :o:o – the Hatters’ goal coming from a penalty by Luke Rooney (does he give lessons? ;);)) which was followed by his being sent off for two yellow cards :p – and then lost again, this time 1-0 at home to the Wombles, for whom Matt Tubbs got the goal from a flick-on by You Fat Bastard, who didn’t score himself (he “nodded wide”); on Tuesday night Pelly Ruddock (aka Ruddock Mpanzu) came off the bench after 61 minutes, and got a 91st minute equaliser at home to Bury (1-1); currently they have 4 points from 3 games, and a goal difference of nil, which puts them 14th in the table (exactly where they were after 2 games ............)

Their leading scorers – three of them – have one goal each (Mark Cullen, Luke Rooney from the spot, and Mr Ruddock/Mpanzu); we met them in 2008-09 as they tumbled out of the League, and we helped them on their way with a 2-1 win away and a goalless draw at home :D:D (in front of just 1033 fans :eek:, although it was a Tuesday night!) As far as 2014-15 is concerned, this is the game that starts our season, after losses to three of the top 8 teams in the League, whose 9 games have produced 6 wins, two draws and a single defeat (Southend 0 Wombles 1) .....

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 23rd August ..............Bright, warm sunshine; a pie and a pint; DAV007 agreeing with everyone; Stanley triumph ...........What do you reckon? :p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p:p

Good luck to everyone .............Keep the Faith! .............and thanks for playing! :)


:alright::alright:

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

2-0 to Stanley please D3N (Hope springs eternal):)

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

1-0 to Stanley please. Can only hope.

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

3-1 to The Stanley, please chaps.

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

2-0 Stanley fer me.:)

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Yet another 2-0 to Stanley please.

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

1-0 to stanley please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

2 - 1 to the Stanley boys please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

First points of the season for Stanley for me - 3-1 to Stanley for me please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Accrington 1 - 3 Luton

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Stanley 1 Luton 1 please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

First trip of the season for me, so I'll go for 3-1 Stanley

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

scumbag boot thieves, inept officials at Shrews - someone's gotta pay
Stanley 7 Luton 0

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

4-0 to the Stanley please!

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

2 1 stanley please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

2-2 each apiece please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

3 - 1 to Stanley please.

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

3-1 to Stanley please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Stanley 1 Luton 2 though I hope not as it's the first game I'll be watching this season.

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

I really don't know what you lot are on.......we can't score goals on a regular basis, haven't scored more than one in a competitive fixture this season, we have a rookie goalkeeper whose shipped three goals in one game!!!!!!! Oh dear Oh dear......Stanley 0 - 3 Luton, with a better performance than Tuesday.........:hidewall:

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Accrington Stanley 0 - 1 Luton Town, please.

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Revived Red has this as a 2-1 win for Stanley

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Keeping the faith already, 3-2 Stanley for me.

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

1-1 please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

1-0 to the goodguys.

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Good thing Chimer and I know who you mean, Kiwi!

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Yeah, Jimbo would have nixed that but our customer service is better :)

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

He did me years ago when we played Bournemouth (I think it was) and I put Us 3 Them 0 - which was how it finished - and no-one else got it right ......not that I'm bitter, at all ....:p

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

1 - 0 to the Mighty Reds !

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Stanley 1 - 1 Luton

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Stanley 3 Luton 1

:D

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Stanley 1 Luton 1

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

I'm going for a 1-1 today please guys

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Stanley 0 Luton 2 please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Accrington Stanley 2 Luton Town 1

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

1-1 please

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

3-1 Stanley please.

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

After Four Games and One Point

Righty-ho, here we go again ….

Early season optimism amongst our entrants was evident ;) with only 2 hard-minded people :eek: going against the boys for the opener against Southend. So AngeB and Football19 were our early leaders with 3 points there. Smudgie got a bonus point for our blank and 18 of you got a lucky one for thinking they would get one, but not win.

A bit more realism the following week for Cheltenham, with the first 5-pointers of the season coming to Bdc, Nige B, Teach and Tommy McQueen :). That gave us Bdc, Nige B and Teach on top with 6 points, T McQ one behind.

By Tuesday at Shrewsbury the feelgood feeling had just about vanished :(, only 14 keeping the faith compared to 12 pessimists. Nobody got the scale of the disaster quite right :rolleyes:, but 7 of the 12 got a bonus point for another red blank :mad:. This included Nige B, taking him top with 10 points, a point clear of Teach.

Back home yesterday and the mood improved :confused:, 25 looking for the first win against Luton with only 5 expecting a fourth consecutive defeat. Leaving 7 correctly predicting the draw, with just JimsLad picking up a max 5 for the right score :). Nige B and T McQ were amongst the magnificent (?) 7, leaving Nige 2 points clear now on 13, with Teach’s pessimism dropping him back behind Tommy on countback, both on 11 together with Norwich Stanley, sneaking in under the radar by amassing 3 correct results without scoring a maximum. AngeB fifth on 10 points, 3 clear of anyone else.

Watching the patterns of entries, I can confidently forecast that Wynonie’s entry for Bury next week will be 5-0, and he will be up to 46-0 for the home game against Mansfield on May 2nd :D. I also forecast even more confidently that if I am right there, Wynonie’s points after the Mansfield game will exactly equal the number of clean sheets we achieve this season.

We have 45 players so far this season, 16 with season tickets ensuring they won’t miss an entry. 14 others haven’t missed yet. 4 joined in after the first week, 4 haven’t been heard from since the first week :confused:. Peter9001 and Redmark are new players this season. 45 is too many for me to fit everybody in one attachment, for the time being I will split it so people with points are in Pt 1. 5 people have scored maximums, and there are 3 people who have played 4 for 0 points (that was me last season).

Finally, please please please check your records as shown in the tables do reflect your actual entries. I have been known to cock things up :o and it’s much easier to sort things out now then if you complain next May.

Roll on the Shakers. The only way is up (apart from Oxford so let’s not think about that).

On Stanley On!

Re: 2014 Prediction League; Game 4 v Luton Town (home)
 

Strewth! You've cracked the code for my top secret prediction formula!