Accrington Web - 2020/21 Prediction League; Game 33 v Ipswich Town (home)

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Gyppewicus-Yppswych

2020/21 Prediction League Game 33; v The Suffolk Punches (home)

Stop press (if you can start with the stop press?)

Paul Lambert - as of 40 mins ago as I write this (ie 9.22pm) - has been "sacked by mutual consent" as Ipswich Manager, seemingly in part at least because of an impending Yankee Takeover which (Cashy's going to love this bit!) is likely to see Paul Cook installed as manager - but not before Tuesday evening!!!

You read it first here!

And from this week's "Ipswich Star" (the local chip-wrapper):

"Ipswich Town striker James Norwood has failed in his attempt to convince magistrates to move an impending trial to avoid it clashing with an away fixture. The forward is due to stand trial at Suffolk Magistrates' Court accused of drink-driving, and In December the Court set a date for the trial to take place on March 16 – the same day Ipswich Town play Fleetwood away. On Friday, magistrates refused his application to vacate the trial date as he'd be unable to attend to attend because of "work commitments". Norwood is accused of driving an Audi Q8 with 58 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit being 35 – in Cockfield, near Bury St Edmunds, on August 30 last year."

Bloody cheek! - but them as don't want don't ask, even though them as ask don't get! And he had less chance of that application being granted than I have of playing inside left for England! And if you're going to drink-drive, Cockfield probably just about sums it up! Shame his trial isn't this Tuesday, though .......

In the time of Queen Mary (mid 16th Century) , nine "Ipswich Martyrs" - and others - were burnt at the stake on the Cornhill for their Protestant beliefs. The executions were mainly carried out in the centre of the town, on The Cornhill, the square in front of Ipswich Town Hall: in 1644 Widow Lackland was executed on the same site on the orders of Matthew Hopkins, the notorious Witchfinder General. The most famous martyr/victim was probably Dr Rowland Taylor of Hadleigh, burnt on Aldham Common in 1555 (a monument commemorating the event now stands in Christchurch Park)

Not a lot of people wanted to live in Ipswich in the 16th and 17th Centuries ....well, not a lot of witches, anyway .... although from 1611 to 1634 Ipswich was a major centre for emigration to New England, which was greatly encouraged by the Town Lecturer, Samuel Ward, whose brother Nathaniel was first minister of Ipswich, Massachusetts (where a promontory was named 'Castle Hill' after the place of that name in north-west Ipswich). The town was also one of the main ports of embarkation for Puritans leaving other East Anglian towns and villages for the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the 1630s

In 1835, Charles Dickens stayed in Ipswich and used it as a setting for scenes in The Pickwick Papers. The hotel where he lived first opened in 1518 and was then known as The Tavern, but later became known as the Great White Horse Hotel. In 1797 Lord and Lady Nelson moved to Ipswich, and in 1800 Lord Nelson was appointed High Steward (which meant that he took the beers round after the game). Probably the most famous person born in the town is the Tudor Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. The artist Thomas Gainsborough and the cartoonist "Giles" worked there too ....

And if you drive about 11.5 miles east along the A12, you'll reach Sutton Hoo - now a National Trust property, and the site of two early medieval cemeteries dating from the 6th to 7th centuries near Woodbridge; archaeologists have been excavating the area since 1938. One cemetery had an undisturbed ship burial with a wealth of Anglo-Saxon artefacts: scholars believe Rædwald one-time King of East Anglia (which was named after the invading Angles) is the most likely person to have been buried in the ship. The site - important in establishing the history of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of East Anglia - was first excavated by Basil Brown under the auspices of the landowner Edith Pretty, but when its significance became apparent, national experts took over.
During the 1960s and 1980s, the wider area was explored by archaeologists and many other individual burials were revealed. The artefacts comprise what is considered the greatest treasure ever discovered in the UK, and those found in the burial chamber include a suite of metalwork dress fittings in gold and gems, a ceremonial helmet, a shield and sword, a lyre, and silver plate from the Byzantine Empire. For more information, the film "The Dig" in on Sky, starring Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligatawny; Fiennes, in a former life or lives, may well have been both King Rædwald and Basil Brown ....

Ipswich were elected to the FL in 1938, replacing Gillingham - who had to wait until 1950 to get back in .... they started in Div 3 South, finishing 7th before WWII stopped the FL for the duration .... they stayed in tier 3 until 1954, when they won the title by three points from Brighton, and joined Div 2 (albeit only for one year, finishing 21st and GreasyPoling back ).... They went back up in 1957, staying in Div 2 for four years until they won that in 1960/61 by a point from the Blades, scoring 100 league goals into the bargain, and hit the Big Time ..... they won Div One in their first year there (under Sir Alf), but when he took over England (the football team, not the country) the rot set in, and two years later they were back in Div 2; four years back in Div 2 were followed by 18 years in the top flight (relegated again in 85/86) .... since then it's mostly been Div 2/Div 1/Championnat, save for two spells - 3 years, then 2 years - in the PrawnButties, most recently 2001/02 ...they hit Skid Row in 2018/19, and spent last season (Covid 2019/20) in League Un, finishing eleventh; no permanent signings or departures since July / September 20, but several loans in and out (including the Don out, and a Parrott in - Troy Parrott, from Spurs)

Last season we beat them 2-0 on the Telly at ours - well, on the pitch but on the Telly, and lost 4-1 (not on the Telly, happily) at theirs, and this season we met in October and lost away again (2-0) ........ At this moment they're immediately behind us on GD, (+9 plays +5), and they're 8th; at home, W9 D2 L6 GF19 GA15; away, W5 D3 L4 GF15 GA13, for an overall P29 W14 D5 L10 GF33 GA28 for 47 points .... and note that so far they've played 17 at home and 12 on the road, which might be a factor later on ......... Out of the FA Cup 3-2 in Rd 1 at home to Pompey; in the EFL Milk Cup they did Brizzle 3-0 but then Fulham did them 1-0: and in the Troffy they lost two of three group games, and never got out of the traps ...... Gwion Edwards has five goals, as does James Norwood; Teddy Bishop and Jon Nolan have 4 each .......... A tenner says Norwood won't score on 16th March!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 7.00pm on Tuesday 2nd March .......... form sides in League One are the Perfect Posh (5 wins in 5), and Blackpool and Burton, each with 4/5; NotInForm side are the Cobblers, who led 1-0 at Swindon on Saturday and were then 20th, but conceded twice (on 45+2 and 69) and are now bottom, a point adrift of Wigan with no games in hand over anyone ......... and looks like Vegan Greenpeace might be coming up this season, although Carlisle have slumped out of it a bit ..... and the Trotters hit the playoffs, and Morecambe and Trangiamere are still in it with five furlongs left and six flights to jump - so loads of time to fall over!

And for those who thought the Starters for Ten were getting too easy, this week's is ............ Who scored the goal?

Good luck to everyone! ............ Keep the Faith!............ Stay safe and keep well! ........... And thanks for playing!

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