2012 Prediction League; Game 5 v Bradford City (home)

Div3North · 02-09-2012, 10:09

Accrington Stanley

V

Bradford City

2012/13 Prediction League – Game 5; v Bradford City (home)

OK; here’s your starter for 10; this season we have 9 points after 4 games; before this season, what’s the fewest number of games we’ve taken to reach 9 points since we came back into the League?

Believe it or not, it’s seven

– in every season except 06/07 (when we needed 9 games) and 08/09 (when we took 11 games to get there)

……… If you’re interested, the highest number of points we’ve previously managed in our opening four games has been 6 (three times), 4 (once) and 3 (twice)

.

We used to claim a proud record under our former manager – now manager of the Stanley Old Boys, of course - that every season we finished higher than we did the year before

; Bradford claim the opposite record – every year since 1999/2000 they’ve failed to beat the previous season’s position, with the exception of 08/09, when they finished 9th in League Two (they’d finished 10th the year before).

Relegated from the Premier League in 2000, they spent three seasons in the old Division One, three in League One and five in League Two – never finishing better than 9th in any of those Leagues in any of those seasons

.They were driven to the brink of administration in 2002, with debts (apparently) of £36 million

…………… Does anybody want to hazard a guess as to how many managers they’ve had since Chris Kamara left in January 1998? The answer, amazingly, is 15

, including Paul Jewell, Stuart McCall (twice), Jim Jeffries, Bryan Robson, Colin Todd and Peter Taylor …………And we thought we had problems!

Some left in the summer, including 33 year old defender Guy Branston, who moved on to Aldershot (his 18th different club!

), winger Dominic Rowe (19), whose contract was cancelled by mutual consent, and scottish striker Mark Stewart (24) – ex Celtic, Partick Thistle and Hamilton – who signed up for Dundee when they suddenly hit the SPL as replacements for Rangers (who aren’t breaking any pots in Scottish Div 3, it seems to me

) …… In came a whole team’s worth; midfielder Gary Jones (35) left Rochdale after 467 games in two spells, most recently as captain and motivator; Barnsley defender/midfielder Nathan Doyle (25), who also played for Derby, Hull, Notts Co and Preston (on loan), signed on a free; Garry Thompson (31) left the Iron to join the Bradford midfield, and former Hull MF Will Atkinson (23) did too; defender Rory McArdle (25), English born but a NI international, ex Rochdale and Aberdeen (no connection with Wales, it seems) came back South, joining former Liverpool FB Stephen Darby (23), York FB James Meredith (24), who counts Derby, Shrewbury and Chesterfield among his previous employers, and 6’ 3” centre back Andrew Davies (27), who’s been at 9 clubs on loan and 4 clubs permanently – including North End in 2009, for 5 games.

Surprise signing was striker Alan Connell (29); his track record is Bournemouth, Torquay, Hereford, Brentford and Grimsby; he scored 25 in 46 games for Grimsby in his one season with them in the BSP

(his overall record before this season was 86 in 332

), and in July 2011 he was signed (for a six-figure fee) by Swindon; he spent half last season on the bench there, despite which he was leading scorer with 14, and was then allowed to leave

; well, “encouraged” to leave; well, kicked out, really……….. Strange or what?

Mind you, one of the Bantams’ most recent signings – winger/striker Zavon Hines (23) – ex West Ham, most recently at Burnley – went to Swindon on trial and lasted there two days! Big Bad Paulo “released” him with the disparaging comment, “He’s just far from our level of fitness”; ouch! He was obviously fit enough for Phil Parkinson, though, who signed him and left-sided defender (what the hell is a “left-sided defender”?

) Carl McHugh (19), once of Reading.

They had a really decent start to the season – right up until today, when it all went TU

; away wins in the CapOne Cup (1-0 at Notts County and 2-1 at Watford) landed them in the 3rd Round, with the chance of a plum draw at Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool etc etc ………….. They were dreaming, no doubt ………….. So were Burton, the only other League Two side left in; who did Bradford draw? Burton Albion; at home ……….. keep dreaming until Round 4, guys ………….

In the League they lost 3-1 at Gillingham, beat Fleetwood 1-0 at home, and thumped the Wombles 5-1 (the said Wombles having lost their previous game 6-2); on Saturday they went to New York (that’s New York, Rotherham, of course) ………… 3 down in 34 minutes, they lost 4-0

, and are currently 12th, with a home record that goes “P2 W2 F6 A1 Pts 6”

, and an away record that goes “P2 L2 F1 A7 Pts0”

; add those together and you get P4 W2 D0 L2 F7 A8 Pts6 ……………. But we have home advantage

…………… And we haven’t lost to them for 3 seasons …………….

Leading goalscorers are 6’4” ex Guiseley striker James Hanson with 3, and former Carlisle (and Bermudan international) striker Nahki Wells with 2

We have a good record against them, given that they’re such a big club (or so we keep being told) and we’re not

; in 07/08 we lost 2-0 at home but won 3-0 away; in 08/09 we lost 3-2 at home but drew 1-1 away; the following year we won 2-0 at home (two goals from John Miles, now of Warrington Town, apparently

) and drew 1-1 away; in 10/11 we won 3-0 at home (Luke Joyce, Andy Proctor and UB40 McConville) and drew 1-1 away; and last season we won 1-0 at home (the Claret’s Wesleigh (no wonder he calls himself Wes) Fletcher getting the goal) and – yes, you guessed it – we drew 1-1 away (I think there’s a potential clue there for the Prediction League later in the season ………..

) Overall, then, P10 W4 D4 L2 F15 A9 Pts16. Bonzer!

The deadline for entries is, as ever, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 8th September. 3 wins from 4 and we’re starting to dream? Blockbuster victory? 7 goal blitz? Dodgy point in another 0-0? If you subscribe to the ‘progression’ theory that some of the lads are following, this should be 4-0 – and by Easter we should be regularly sticking away 25 or 30 goals a game ……….Keep the faith; we can do this if we believe ………………. I BELIEVE!

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