Accrington Web - Prediction League 2019/20; Game 13 v Rochdale AFC (away)

Rochdale AFC

Accrington Stanley

2019/20 Prediction League; Game 13 v The Rochdaledoodles (away)

Obviously conscious that there are only 77 NewManager Shopping Days until Christmas, the knives have been out with a vengeance this month - either stuck in between the shoulder blades, or fallen on in a ritual EFL Disembowelling; Neil Harris stood down at Millwall, German-born Barnsley Boss Daniel Stendel (best known for being the alleged victim of an alleged assault alleged to have been committed by one Joey Barton, to which the Prisoner has today pleaded not guilty and been sent for trial at the Crown Court) got the chop (or was it the snip? No, it was the chop!), and Reading Manager Jose Gomes left today .................. Gomes got 291 days to impress (but clearly didn’t), Stendel got 489 (and took the LambChops straight back up to the Championship, unbeaten at home) and Harris got five years (many of Millwall’s fans have been given five years in their time). Barnsley, to be fair, got plundered in the summer, but compounded the felony by signing a dozen new players, mostly under 22, and a lot on four year contracts; they were Royally Stuffed by PNE on Saturday (5-1), and played a back four with an average age of 20; one win in 11 probably sealed his fate ......

But proof positive that the Lunatics have taken over the Asylum surely came with Slumberland’s firing of Jack Ross after just over one and a tiddly bit seasons; he was there for 501 days (“One hundred and eighty!”); he lost five of 46 league games, one of three in the playoffs (the Final), one of three in the FA Cup, one in the EFL Cup and one of eight in the EFLTroffy (again, the Final) ....... 61 games, 9 defeats; most of us would take that, n’est-ce pas? This season they’ve lost two of 11 in the League, none of three in the EFL Cup, and none of one in the Troffy ......... overall, then, 76 games, 11 defeats; the Chairman said, rather disparagingly I thought,

"Jack has worked extremely hard, and has helped us achieve stability at the club, and I sincerely thank him for his efforts. I hope and believe that he will go on to have a successful career in management."

Just not at Sunderland! And Bet Victor have Daniel “Sacked” Stendel and Paul Cook as joint favourites at 2-1 for the job of Head Moggie at the Black Cats .................. Purrrrrfect! And 501 days is better than the 100 days that Recently Departed Frenchman Laurent Banide got at Oldham ............... shades of Napoleon Bonaparte (“Not tonight, Josephine, I’ve got a game in the morning”)

And isn’t it nice that this week we get to play a team below us in the League?

The Doodles were formed in 1907, ‘tis said, moving to their ground (known as The SpottyDogLand Stadium after the Dalmatian dog in The Woodentops – I do a brilliant impersonation of him when drunk, by the way), and joining the League in 1921; among their many claims to fame (really?) is the fact that they played 36 consecutive seasons in the Football League's bottom division from 1974 to 2010 (the longest time any team has been in the bottom division of the League); they have the lowest average position of all the clubs which have existed continuously in the Football League since its expansion to four divisions in 1921–22 (76th) and since its expansion to 92 clubs in 1950–51 (79th), and additionally, they hold the dubious distinction of having played the most seasons in the English Football League without either reaching the top two tiers (currently 92 seasons) or being relegated to the National League.

They’re a Reet Good Northern Set of Fettlers, whose first-ever League game was against us (in one of our reincarnations) when they did us 6-3, but still had to seek re-election at the end of the season ............. their record league goal scorer is a bloke called Reg (Jenkins – 119 scored) and their “Most League Goals in a Season” title holder is called Albert (Whitehurst – 44 in 1926/27); back in the Twenties they twice finished Runners-Up in Division 3 North (but only the top team went up), and they went through the 1973/74 season in the Third Division winning only 2 games (of 46), and with a GD of -56 ................. and Rochdale was the birthplace of, among others, Gracie Fields, Albert Tatlock (Jack Howarth) , Henry Wilks (“Nay, nay Mr Wilks”) in Emmerdale Pigsh1t (Arthur Pentelow), Bill Oddie and Norman “Over the Garden Wall” Evans

This is their sixth consecutive season in League One; last season they finished 16th (two places below us) off the back of a record that read P46 W15 D9 L22 GF54 GA87, their GD of -33 being the worst in the Division; that said, they beat us 1-0 at theirs’ and 1-0 at ours’ last season, so we’re due something ................... They shipped out five in the summer, the only one of whom I’ve ever heard being CMF Brad Inman, who joined Brisbane Roar (or – in the height of summer – Brisbane Raw) ...... one went to AFC Fylde, one to Salford MoneyBags, one to Norwich and one to The Iron (who are now two points off the bottom of League Two – and did you see that Vegan Greenpeace United are top?)

They signed three, none of whom will need to move house; Irish CB Eoghan O’Connell came in from Bury, GK Jay Lunch – sorry, Lynch – joined from the Coasters, and one Jimmy Ryan – who we know well – signed on from Blackpool ................. Four more are there on loan; LB Rhys Norrington-Davies from the Blades (he doesn't actually play- he has a Man to do that for him), CF Rekell Pyke (I think I once climbed that when I was in the Scouts) from ‘Uddersfield, Brighton’s Spanish GK Robert Sanchez, and Blackburn CB Tyler Magloire ............. And this week’s starter for ten; how do you pronounce “Eoghan” without sounding like you’re spitting on the pavement?

Currently the Doodles are 19th; home record is W0 D3 L2 GF3 GA7; away, it’s W2 D1L3 GF9 GA13, giving them overall P11 W2 D4 L5 GF12 GA20 for 10 points .............. they won 3-2 at Tranmere and 3-0 at Southend, got home half-Desmonds against Lincoln and Donnie and goalless Desmonds at Shrewsbury and at home to Blackpool ................... and the Posh trashed them 6-0 ..............they’ve taken one point from their last five games, failed to score four times, kept three clean sheets, went out of the EFL Cup on penalties at Man U in Round 3 and have two points from two games in the Troffy (a “winning draw” against Bolton after losing 0-2 to Man City’s under 9s; how the hell can you have a “winning draw”?) Leading goal scorer is Ian Mr Piano Henderson with 5 ..................

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 12th October .............. Form sides at the moment are Ipswich (13 points from their last 5), followed by Oxford and Brizzle (11/5) and Fleetwood (10) ............. numpties are Rochdale (1/5), Bolton and the PhoneyWombles (3/5 – MK having lost four on the spin) and Southend, the Wombles (who got their first win against Rochdale last week) and Tranmere, each with 4/5 ..... Stanley have picked up more points than anyone else in the bottom seven over the last five games, which must be an omen of some sort, you’d think ................ And Zanzala’s found his shooting boots, it seems ....... So could you oblige us with 3 points this week, lads? Thank you muchly!

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

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