2012 Prediction League; Game 46 v Oxford Utd (home)

[Div3North]

Accrington Stanley

V

Oxford Utd

2012-13 Prediction League – Game 46; v Oxford Utd (home)

We all know the story; they replaced us back in 62 , and we replaced them in 06 ; we’ve played them 5 times in the league since they came back up, drawing 3 (two away – 0-0 in 10/11 and 1-1 in 11/12, and 0-0 at home in 10/11 as well) and losing the other 2 – 2-0 at home last season, and 5-0 away this …….. We thought we’d stuffed them in the FA Cup 2nd Round back in December , only to find the we hadn’t (3-3) and we didn’t (0-2 in the replay) ……….So ............ we’ve played them 7 times, and never won …………..and we’ve only scored in two of the seven games, to boot ………….pants!

That said, we’re the form side in League Two – well, along with Bradford, to be accurate …….we both have records of 5 wins, two draws and a single loss in our last 8 games ……Nobody can match that – Gillingham and Port Vale can each only muster 3 wins and 4 draws, and of the playoff sides (Bradford apart) only Rotherham (5) and Cheltenham (4) have won half of their last 8 ……….

More interesting, perhaps – since the top seven places are known (and Snakefield can’t make the playoffs! ) – is the relegation battle ………….. Aldershot aren’t mathematically down yet, but they need to win at Rotherham (flying pigs they will! ), to have Wimbledon lose or draw at home to Fleetwood, and for Barnet to lose at Northampton …….THEN they have to reverse a 6 goal deficit over Barnet as well . In truth, Aldershot are sunk - and the in-fighting has started, with keeper Jamie Young questioning the commitment and effort of some of the team, and Manager Andy Scott bemoaning the fact that

• “We have accepted failure at this football club this season. It's a horrible thing to admit that we have got players who have let people down."

And maybe even managers ………. Apparently it’s all Dean Holdsworth’s fault …….

The question then is, “Who goes with them”? Wimbledon have 50 points, but Fleetwood have specialized in losing to relegation candidates and could well continue to do so …………….. Barnet go to playoff-bound Northampton, whose last 8 have seen 2 wins, 3 draws and 3 losses (9 points from 8 games), and might just pull off The Great Escape on final day for the fourth consecutive season ……………. The crunch game might well be Dagenham v York, given that the Daggers have only managed one win and three drawn games in their last 8, and actually have the worst recent record of any of those who could still go; York are on a mission, and if they beat the Daggers, Fleetwood crumble (again), and Barnet get anything at the Cobblers, then Dagenham will fall through the trapdoor, even though they’ve got more points than any side ever relegated from League Two in the past ……………… Watch this space!

They haven’t been the busiest in the transfer/loan markets; they signed ex Crawley MF Scott Davies (24) – who’s also been on loan at Aldershot, Wycombe and Bristol Rovers – as cover for the injured Peter Leven; they also recalled MF Adam Chapman (22) from his loan at Newport; in came ex Plymouth and Truro GK Luke McCormick (29), ex Burton (and 12 other places) striker Justin Richards, and Gillingham’s 24 year-old MF Lewis Montrose (on loan); and that’s about it …………………

They’ve won their last two games (1-0 at Dagenham, and 3-0 against Rochdale), having not won in the preceding 5; their away form has seen them win 9 times (only 5 sides – Gillingham, Port Vale, Exeter, Rotherham and Southend - have done better on the road ), plus 2 draws and 11 defeats; at home they’ve contrived 9 wins, 6 draws and 8 losses; overall, it’s P45 W18 D8 L19 F57 A61, for 62 points and 10th place …………… Manager Chris Wilder (who’s just signed a new contract despite a disappointing season, and personal abuse from a section of the fans) and Chairman Ian Lanagan, would tell you that it’s all down to early-season injuries ………Well, they would say that, wouldn’t they – the Mandy Rice-Davies Defence, as it’s known in the trade ; but any club with a strike force which consists of James Constable, Tom Craddock, Alfie Potter, Sean Rigg, Deane Smalley, Jon-Paul Pittman and Justin Richards really should have more than 57 goals to their name in 45 matches …………………..

Arguably, they did better in the Cups than the League; they exited the Capone in Round Two (3-0 at Leeds, having beaten Bournemouth on penalties in Round One); they did Swindon 1-0 at home, and Cheltenham 4-2 away, in the Tinpot, before beating Plymouth 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 in the QF, losing in the Southern semi-final to Southend 5-3 (also on penalties) after a 3-3 draw at the Kassam; and having ejected Barnet 2-0 in the First Round of the FA Cup, and us in the Second (see above), they eventually went out (once again at home) to the Blades in Round 3, by a score of 3-0 ………..And it should have been us! Leading scorers are – unusually – all strikers; James Constable has 13; ex Middlesborugh and Luton striker Tom Craddock (26) has 12 and Alfie Potter (ex Posh, and some other sides on loan) has 11.

And so, Ladies and Gentlemen, there we are ………another season of the Prediction League draws to a close ; 46 loads of waffle from me , and more statistics than you could wave a stick at, and some magnificent and inventive arithmetic by my mate Chimer. Thank you to each and every player for joining in , and a special thank you to the many who’ve entered every (or almost every) game ; if we didn’t have you, I’d have to invent a different reason for staying up typing at silly o’clock in the morning, and I can’t think what that might be, and Chimer would have to calculate the distance from Portsmouth to Accrington, or something – and it wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun …………………

Good luck to everyone ………….. Keep the Faith (we kept it! ) ………….. Thanks for playing ………………….Thanks for the craic ……………….And we’ll be back in August!

Won’t we, Chimer?

[Div3North]

Ossy Kid gives us Stanley 2 Oxford 1 - (on mab's Guess the Gate thread; apparently OK's "off to the toolies" ; must be a Canadian expression ............... or a Canadian pastime .............. )

[winstanley asfc]

Stanley 3 Oxford 0.

[Redash]

3-1 to The Stanley, please, and thanks for running the competition all season.
Have a nice summer holiday.

[cashman]

2-0 to stanley, has been great fun again,cheers.

[MikeA]

6-0 for Stanley, please!

Thanks to both of you for running this throughout the season.

[jaysay]

2-1 to Stanley please

[cashman]

Originally Posted by MikeA

6-0 for Stanley, please!

Are you my mate in disguise?

[AccyMad]

I'll go for a 3 - 1 win for Stanley .............. but does it really matter?
Be brilliant to sign off with a win but just looking forwward to a party atmosphere tomorrow - there's been too many butterflies & knawed at fingernails this season.

[Revived Red]

Stanley 4 Oxford 1 please D3N. And my thanks to you and Chimer for your work on this thread during the season.

[accybeme]

A big THANK YOU for all your work through the season
Stanley 3 Oxford 3 please

[sparkie]

2-1 Stanley please

[Wynonie Harris]

Can't be outdone by MikeA...8-1 to the Stanley and cheers once again, Div3N and Chimer!

[MikeA]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

Can't be outdone by MikeA...8-1 to the Stanley and cheers once again, Div3N and Chimer!

Wot, no clean sheet!

[teach]

2-2 draw for me please. Can I also take the time to say a big thank you to all those involved in putting this 'competition' together. I really do read all the introductions! It's been a great way to have a bit of fun over the season, particularly for those of us who don't live locally.