2012 Prediction League; Game 15 v Bristol Rovers (home)

Div3North · 25-10-2012, 01:00

Accrington Stanley

V

Bristol Rovers FC

2012/13 Prediction League – Game 15; v Bristol Rovers (home)

You have to love Pirates’ manager Mark McGhee, especially when he’s talking to the media ………

Of new 22 year-old CB signing Rigvi Baldvinsson (that’s a name?

) – who the BBC Sports News reported was “set to sing for Rovers for an undisclosed fee”

– Mark said: -

“I’m expecting him to be a stand-out at this division because of where he has come from ……………….”

He came from Norwegian second Division side Algard Fotballklubb

(who finished last season in 6th place (out of 14) – above Mandelskamareten but below Vard Haugesund – I tell you, it’s a whole new world out there …….

), scored 16 in 120 games for them (which isn’t a bad return for a CB – ask Peter Murphy!) and is a Faroe Island international …………….

He lasted just two weeks in Bristol before he went back to Norway

(and of course never played for the Rovers); and if he’s a “stand-out at this division”, I’m the next manager of the Stanley …………….

Big Mark also got his retaliation in first last week, claiming that 60% of his budget (by which he meant his (better) players) are on the treatment table rather than the pitch. To be fair, he has a point

; Matt Harrold (28), a striker who spent 2009–10 at Wycombe, 2010-11 at Shrewsbury, and last season at Bristol (where he was leading scorer with 18) injured his knee (cruciate) in the 4-0 defeat by Gillingham on 15th September and is out for the season

; Cian Bolger (20), a defender who the Pirates sold to Leicester and then loaned back at the start of the season is also out until at least Christmas with a similar injury; 25 year-old defender Garry Kenneth, who joined in the summer after 8 years with Dundee, pulled up in the warm-up of his debut game in August with a calf injury, has just come back, and limped off again on Tuesday; GK Scott Bevan (33, ex Torquay) hasn’t played this season after summer wrist surgery and may need another op; MF skipper Matt Gill (31) is out for at least six weeks with a knee injury/surgery; and so the list goes on …………….

As well as Rogvi the Standout (I think I saw that film ), they also signed ex Celtic, Hibs and Scotland striker Derek Riordan (29) from St Johnstone on a short term deal to Christmas (if his trial for (allegedly) disguising himself, getting into a nightclub from which he was barred and then shouting “p**fs” at the Bouncers is over by then!

) and David Clarkson (26), a striker who played under McGhee at Motherwell (scoring 57 in 251), moved on to Bristol City for a fee variously cited as £600k and £800k (where he got 11 goals in 63 games) and, on release by Bristol City signed for Bristol Rovers; and if DaveinGermany thinks I’m doing Bristol(s) jokes, he’s wrong!

On loan they got Stoke’s Matthew Charles Lund (21), a midfielder with Northern Ireland u21 credentials although Manchester born, and Bolton’s ex-Oldham striker Tom Eaves (20)

It was “thank you and goodnight” in the Cup competitions; the Capital One Cup run lasted one game (a 3-1 defeat at (now managerless) Ipswich); the JPTinpot run lasted just as long – the Rovers departing in the first round, 3-0 at home to Yeovil; they’ve drawn Sheffield Utd at home in the FA Cup next week, so that could well be a clean sweep of First Round Exits ……..And I’m still worried that AFC Fylde might be a banana skin ………

After 7 games of the season they had 4 points from 4 draws, a goal difference of -9, and were 23rd (above Barnet, but who isn’t?

); then they started a bit of a run; of their last six games they’ve won 3, ( 3-2 at home to Torquay, 3-1 at home to the Cobblers, and 2-1 at Exeter), drawn one (1-1 at Burton) and lost two - 1-0 at home to Cheltenham, and 3-1 at Wycombe on Tuesday, when 20 year-old defender Tom Parkes saw red for two yellows (making his manager very unhappy – the ever-quotable Mark saying, “I said to him once he’d been booked “don’t get sent off”; it was a totally unnecessary and unprofessional sending off”) ……….So what constitutes a professional and necessary sending off Mark …………?

At home, their record is W2 D2 L3 F8 A11; away, it’s W1 D3 L2 F6 A11; overall, P13 W3 D5 L5 F14 A22 for 14 points and 20th place ……….it's nice to know there’s still someone below us in the League

, given our four straight defeats. They would, by the way, have had 17 points if their game at Wycombe hadn’t been abandoned half way through the second half with them 3-1 ahead; it was called off by the Health and Safety Officer, presumably because he thought that it would be contrary to their Health and Safety if they won the match …

They’ve hit 3 goals twice (thee times, if you count the Wycombe game – which you can’t, because their appeal failed

) and hit six blanks; they’ve conceded 4 once (Gillingham), 3 four times (Morecambe, the Wombles, Ipswich and Yeovil), and have only managed the one clean sheet (0-0 at home to Fleetwood). 15 goals in 14 games largely explains their problems, I suspect

…………..Leading scorers (with a measly 3 each) are strikers David Clarkson and Eliot Richards (a Welsh born local striker who’s actually 21, but whose picture makes him look about 13

), with Garry Kenneth (a defender) being the only other scorer of more than one (he’s got two!)

We’ve played them 4 times since we came back up; in 2006/7 – the year they got promoted – we drew 1-1 at home and got smacked 4-0 away

; last season (after they’d come down at the end of 2010-11) we got even more smacked away (5-1)

, but we did do them 2-1 on Bonfire Night at Fortress Crown, with goals from Micah (“Lazy”) Evans and Big Kev Long in the first half an hour sealing a sweaty win after they pulled one back right at the beginning of the second half and Murph was sent off for a tackle on Mustapha Carayol - now of Middlesbrough - while the ball – as someone famous once said – was in a different post-code area

.

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 27th October. It doesn’t look as if it’ll be Team C any more, but it’s still Team Stanley

(and maybe Team Leam , which has a nice ring) and it’s certainly still Keep The Faith!

Good luck to everyone …………………….. and thanks for playing!

Wynonie Harris · 25-10-2012, 01:02

5-1 to the Stanley...bouncing straight back!

Redash · 25-10-2012, 05:08

3-1 to The Stanley, please.

cashman · 25-10-2012, 07:37

2-0 To the reds or Leams reds.

Div3North · 25-10-2012, 09:38

PM predictions by people still away (and therefore missing all the fun)

Outback Ozzy has us down for a 2-0 win
Ack 94V predicts Stanley 4 Rovers 0 (and needs to go and lie down in darkened room, maybe)