Accrington Web - 2024/25 Prediction League Game 37 v Gillingham (home)

Accrington Stanley

Gillingham FC

2024/25 Prediction League; Game 37 v New Brompton FC (home)

Starter for Ten; John Coleman won EFL League Two Manager of the season in 2017/18; but combining League Two and League One, how many times was he chosen as Manager of the Month? And if you know that, he was Player of the Year at the club he played for in 1986/87, which was ………. Who?

5-0 against Newport, eh? No-one saw that coming ………….. not a starter for Ten, but when did we last win by 5-anything in the League? And the answer is 4th December 2021, when we marmalised Fleetwood at home 5-1 (two for Hamilton, two for Bishop and one for Coyle)

Founded in 1893 as New Brompton Football Club and renamed as Gillingham FC in 1912, they played in the Southern League before joining the Football League in 1920. After 18 unsuccessful seasons, they were voted out of the league in favour of Ipswich Town at the end of the 1937–38 season, and returned to the Southern League. Gillingham were voted back into the Football League in 1950, when it was expanded from 88 to 92 clubs, alongside Colchester. Twice in the late 1980s, Gillingham came close to winning promotion to the second tier of English football, but a decline then set in and in 1993, they narrowly avoided relegation to the Football Conference. Between 2000 and 2005, Gillingham were in the second tier of the English football league system for the only time in their history, achieving a club record highest league finish of eleventh place in 2002–03.

Goalkeeper Ron Hillyard holds the record for Gillingham appearances, having played 657 matches in all competitions between 1974 and 1990, while the record for appearances solely in the Football League is held by another goalkeeper, John Simpson, with 571 between 1957 and 1972. Brian Yeo is the club's all-time leading league goal scorer, having scored a total of 136 goals between 1963 and 1975

Second Starter for Ten; Burnley opened their away campaign in 2023/24 by drawing 1-1 at Notts Forest; that was their 5,068h League game …….. during which they had scored 7,354 goals ………… but in that same period, how many did they concede?

They GreasyPoled to League Two the season before we did, and last season finished 12th with a palindromic season o W18 D10 L18 for 64 points …………… JC, as you’ll recall, was appointed as Manager to the end of the current season on 5th January ………… currently they’re in 19th place (P35 W11 D8 L16 GF30 GA38 for 41 points) – that’s two places and two points above us ……………….. JC’s contribution to that is 2 wins (Morecambe and Bradford, both 1-0 and both at home), 5 draws and five losses; total of two wins in their last 16 (pre and post Coley); out of the FA Cup in Round One, and of the EFL Cup also in Round One, and failed to escape their Trophy Group …………….. and JC’s position comes up for review at the end of the season ………………. Only new signing in 2025 is Nelson Khumbeni from the Trotters (purchased, seemingly, not on loan as I’d heard) …………… and Jack Nolan has scored two, as far as I can tell …………………..
Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00p, om Saturday 15th March (soon be Easter!) …………. I have high hopes for Val’s Virginiti Count going up by one tomorrow …………….. and Professor C won six Manager of the Month Awards (Sept 15, March 17, Feb and March 18 (League Two) and Dec 19 and November20) ……….. and he was Player of the Season at Southport in 1986/87 ……………. And after 5,068 games Burnley had scored 7354 goals, and conceded, astonishingly, exactly the same number ………… (see, there are people who do stats who are much sadder than I am)

Good luck to everyone! …………… Keep the Faith! ………….. and Thanks for playing!

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