Accrington Web - 2017/18 Prediction League; Game 22 v Lincoln City (away)

Lincoln City

Accrington Stanley

2017/18 Prediction League; Game 22 v Lincoln (away)

Lincoln City’s nickname, as you’ll know, is “The Imps”. This reflects the “grotesque” of an Imp on the wall inside Lincoln Cathedral, which has come to be symbol of the City and hence the football club’s name-connection ……….. the Imp is said by legend to have been a creature sent by Satan to the Cathedral, only to be turned into stone by an angel ………… the connection with football is zero, of course, but the connection to the City has a certain romance to it ………………….. reminds me of a few people I know, too – and some of them might benefit from being turned to stone!

The Imps hold the record, you might have known (but I bet you didn’t), for the most demotions from the EFL (as it is now); they’ve actually done the Greasy Pole of Oblivion (downwards) five times - 1908, 1911, 1920, 1987 and 2011 - although on the first four of those occasions they came straight back in the following season; having gone to the Bananarama in 2011 it took them until last season (2016/17) to get back in to the League ……………in 2002/03, despite have gone into administration the previous year, they made the Third Division/League Two playoffs Final, losing 5-2 to Bournemouth (for which defeat they were rewarded with a civic reception and an open-top bus tour); in 2003/04 they lost in the Playoff Semis to Huddersfield; in 2004/05 they lost the Final again, this time 2-0 to Southend; in 2005/06 they went out in the Semis to Grimsby, 3-1 on aggregate, making them the first team ever to lose in the Playoffs in four consecutive seasons – a record they extended in 2006/07, when they lost 2-1 and 5-3 (7-4 on aggregate) to BrizzleRov; THAT year they’d finished 5th – their highest position in all five seasons!

In 1987 – having been relegated the previous year – they lost their League status by finishing plumb last in the old Fourth Division; in the first season of “automatic relegation” they had 48 points, Torquay had 48, and Burnley had 49 ……………. The Clarets saved themselves with a last-day victory, and so did Torquay, who scored the winner in time added on in their game; this week’s starter for 10; what was the reason – and it doesn’t happen every week - for the time being added on in the Torquay game? And, unusually, the playoffs for the 4th spot in the 87/88 Division 3 (behind Northampton (99 points), Preston (90) and Southend (80)) was won by Aldershot, who beat Bolton 3-2 on aggregate in the Semis, and Wolves (who’d beaten Colchester in the Semis) 3-0 on aggregate in the Final …………. Second starter for 10; what was unusual about Aldershot’s route to promotion that season?

Last season they did non-League football proud, not just going up in some style, but also getting past Ipswich, Oldham, Brighton and Burnley (plus Guiseley and Altrincham) to reach the last eight of the FA Cup – the first time that had been done in over 100 years by a non-League side; that they lost 5-0 to the Gooners doesn’t diminish the achievement in any way ……………….

Over the summer they parted company with six people I’ve never heard of, plus RMF Terry Hawkridge (to Notts Co) and CB Sean Raggett to Norwich (who promptly loaned him back until January), and they brought in Swansea GK Josh Vickers, RB Neal Eardley and CB Michael Bostwick from The Cobblers and The Posh respectively (someone should start a team called The Posh Cobblers, I think), CMF Billy Knott from Gillingham, RM Harry Anderson from the Posh (who were doing a BOGOF promotion at the time), LW Cameron Stewart from Free Agent FC, and two CFs – Matt Green from Mansfield and Ollie Palmer from the Orient, where his face hadn’t fitted for some time, looking at the times they loaned him out ……..there are two other loanees, one of whom is Reading’s Bobby Dickie (seriously – well, Robert Dickie) and the other of whom isn’t …..

Over the seasons 2007/08 to 2010/11 we met in the League 8 times; in 2007/08 we lost 2-0 away and 3-0 at home; in 2008/09 we lost 5-1 away and 2-0 at home; in 2009/10 we actually won 1-0 at home but lost 2-1 away, and in 2010/11 we won 3-0 at home (with a Jamie Clarke hat-trick, I seem to recall - the only game he actually ran in, as I remember) and drew 0-0 away …………….P8 W2 D1 L5 GF6 GA14 Pts 7; they beat us 3-2 in Round Two of the EFLTroffy last week despite Sean’s Magnificent Lob – and he does have magnificent lobs, I believe ………………That win gives them Rochdale (away) on 9th January in the next round

Famous ex-managers include Graham “Do I Not Like That” Taylor, “Sniffer” Clarke (for 6 months), Keith Alexander (twice), Chris Sutton (half of Blackburn’s SAS strike force), and ex Man U and Arsenal CF David Herd ………………. Famous players include FB Albert Worthy and his two brothers Percy Fairly-Worthy and Archie Not-Worthy-At-All (ok, I made two of them up – but which two?), Ian Branfoot, Corkie Blow (who I didn’t make up!),Tosh Barrell (ditto), and Graham Taylor, who scored twice in 170 games (about as many as England scored when he managed them!), plus Pally Hale, Yaffer Ward, Tony Cunningham and Mick Harford ………….the Club was formed in 1884, and has never made the top flight, 5th in League Two in 1905 being their best to date ……….. at the moment they’re sixth with 33 points, with a home record that reads W3 D4 L2 GF10 GA7 and an away record that goes W6 D2 L4 GF16 GA12, giving them W9 D6 L6 GF26 GA19 (+7) overall …. Home defeats by Coventry 2-1 and Mansfield 1-0 …………….

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 16th December ……………..In their last seven in the League they’ve won 3, drawn 1 and lost 3, and also exited the FA Cup 1-0 at the Wombles; form teams in League Two are Luton (11 from 5 games), Mansfield and Colchester (10/5), Notts Co, Lincoln and Grimsby (9/5) and Stanley (8/5) …………… Dunces and Duffers are Yeovil (1/5), Stevenage, Crewe and Barnet (3/5) and Cambridge and Vegan Greenpeace (5/5)

If we’d written a “Dear Santa” letter last Saturday, when our game was called off (which, by the way, was a DISGRACE, I understand) it would have read, “Please arrange for Colchester to do Exeter 3-1, and Notts County and Luton to draw 1-1. PS I have been a very good boy this year” …………….Thanks, Santa!

And the reason for the extra time in Torquay’s game (above) was because an injured player had been attacked by a Police dog ..................and Aldershot (6th in Division Four) beat Bolton, who finished 21st in Division Three, in the play off semis, because that season the playoffs featured teams in 4th, 5th and 6th places in Div 4, and the fourth from bottom team in Div 3!

Good luck to everyone! ……………Keep the Faith! ……………. And thanks for playing!

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