2014/15 Prediction League - Game 27 v AFC Wimbledon (away)

Div3North · 22-01-2015, 23:48

AFC Wimbledon

V

Accrington Stanley

2014/15 Prediction League; Game 27 v Wimbledon (away)

13th plays 14th this week, as we visit the Wombles; they’re 13th (P25 W9 D6 L10) and we’re below them on GD (-1 plays -6), with a record of 10 wins, 3 draws and 11 losses; we are, though, their Nemesis

……Played seven, won 6, drawn one, lost NONE!

The wins have been by 2-1, 2-0, 4-0, 2-1 again, 3-2 and 1-0; the draw was last season chez eux (away, if you prefer) 1-1 ……….We last met on 13th September2014 (Question; who was the Manager that day? – ours, not theirs

) when what the BBC described as a “dour encounter” – which I thought only happened in places like Annan, Forfar and East Fife

– was suddenly enlivened by Rhino, who “barged through two players”

(which I thought was a foul

) before passing to James Gray, who put the ball in the net. Older fans of the Stanley may remember James Gray, who used to play for us in days gone by

, and was once our leading goalscorer for the season. And still is ………..

Manager (theirs, not ours) Neil Ardley has apparently turned down an approach from Gillingham

, much to James Beattie’s relief I imagine; Ardley used to play for Wimbledon FC (think “Crazy Gang”) between 1991 and 2002; Wimbledon FC re-located (think “highjack”

) to Buckinghamshire in Sept 2003 and became MK Dons the year after, which appears to be when they consider themselves to have been “founded”. That may explain why the Wimbledon Independent Supporters’ Association (“WISA”) is now trying to “re-claim” Wimbledon’s history for the new club, whom they argue are the true descendents of the Crazy Gang Years. There is also a Wimbledon Old Players’ Association (“WOPA”) to assist in that process …….. A WISA and a WOPA is just too much for me

……….. ANYWAY; at Wimbledon FC, Ardley played with a striker who managed 18 goals in 42 games there between 2001 and 2003, went on to play 41 times for the Republic of Ireland, played in turn for Watford, Feyenoord, West Ham, Leicester, Wigan, Sunderland and Southampton, and has now signed for Ardley at the Wombles, his contract at Pompey having been cancelled by mutual consent

……………… Starter for 10; that striker is ……………………?

Answer is ‘veteran’ (=ancient

) 37-year old David Connolly, who – with Ghanaian international Patrick Agyemang – caused us problems last season when Pompey came a-calling. Agyemang – who was also at Wimbledon 1998 through 2004 - is still (I think) at the Daggers on loan ….. Small world!

The Wombles (also now known as “The Dons”, it seems) - also signed up ex Oxford and Posh winger Alfie Potter (26), former Swindon and Brentford MF Jake Reeves (21), and Cardiff defender Adedeji Oshilaja (21), and extended the loan of Ipswich striker Jack Marriott (20) until the end of April. To accommodate the signings the Club seem to have “mutually consented” several former players out

, including Guadeloupe-born winger Kevin Sainte-Luce (21), once of Cardiff, and Chris Arthur (24, also a winger) who signed for Woking ……….No wingers was, of course, (Sir) Alf Ramsay; maybe the Wombles plan on winning the World Cup?

In their ranks is my hero, affectionately known to the Clayton End as You Fat Bastard.

He is apparently officially The World’s Strongest Man, it seems

; at least, he is according to the makers of the computer game FIFA 15! Mr Akinfenwa is said to be 16 stone and 5’ 11”; 16 stone is 224 lbs; he can bench-press 180 kg; 180 kg is 396 lbs; thus he can, if that’s correct, bench-press 1.75 times his own weight ………

He can also score goals!

They drew MK Dons in the Carling, and lost 3-1 away; they then drew them (away) again in Round 2 of the PaintyThingy Cup, having seen off Southend 4-2 on pens after a 2-2 in Round One; this time – for the first time ever

– they beat them (3-2), before going down 2-1 at Bristol City; my guess is that having beaten ‘them as stole the Original Wombles’ they probably didn’t care ……

In the FA Cup they put out Wycombe 1-0 away and York 3-1 after a 1-1 away, and Liverpool, their Round 3 opponents, only managed to win by the odd goal in 3 ……….and You Fat Bastard, a Liverpool supporter, got the goal!

They were 13th when we played them in September, and they still are; they did at one point look to be doing a lot better, with a strike force of YFB and Bournemouth’s Matt Tubbs, but Tubbs was recalled, released, and signed for Pompey (Connolly being one option as replacement). In fact, their last 10 in the League are less than thrilling

; wins over Exeter (4-1) and the Daggers (1-0) at home, and 2-0 at Pompey and 3-2 at York; a goalless draw at Oxford; and the other five have been lost

– 2-0 at Northampton, 2-1 at home to Cambridge and 1-0 at home to Mansfield, and – their last two – 2-1 at Stevenage and 3-1 at home to Carlisle ……….P10 W4 D1 L5 F13 (7 of those in 2 games) A13 for 13 points ….safe, of course, but not special.

In all they’ve got 48 goals in 33 games (35 in the league, 13 in the Cups); their leading scorer was the aforementioned Matt Tubbs with 15 in 30; he’s always been prolific – 107 in 248 for Salisbury between 2003 and 2010 and 49 in 65 for Crawley between 2010 and 2012

. With him gone, the leading scorers are Adebayo Akinfenwa

– who has apparently never stayed longer than 30 months at any club

- with 11, ex-Brizzle Rovers, Port Vale and winger/striker Oxford Sean Rigg (now re-united with Potter) (26) with 5, and former Charlton player Adebayo Azeez with 3.

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 24th January. And I’m starting to wonder – various players having left the ScoreFirst – when various other players might start to arrive?

Preferably – if someone would mention in the right quarters – people who know where the goal is, and don’t like playing out of position (ie at the back) ………And, Sir, if our back four are playing well, please don’t leave two of them on the bench for no real discernible reason ……OK? Thank you.

Good luck to everyone

……..Keep the Faith …………….And thank you for playing!