2014 Prediction League; Game 11 v Mansfield Town (away)

Div3North · 02-10-2014, 23:51

Mansfield Town

V

Accrington Stanley

2014/15 Prediction League – Game 11; v Mansfield (away)

Cameron Belford – once our GK on emergency loan, you’ll recall – started his career at Coventry. Over this past summer he joined Mansfield on non-contract terms, but left very quickly - soon after they signed Notts Forest’s Bulgarian u21 keeper Dimitar Evmitov (I spell-checked “Dimitar” and it gave me “de-mister” …

). He spent last season at Tamworth, having also been on the books at Bury, and having had two loan spells at Southend. I mention him simply because he’s the only player I can find in modern times (officially classified as “any period since DAV007 stopped calling for the Manager of Accrington Stanley to be sacked”

) to have been on the books at both Stanley and the Stags, although his 6 games for us was 6 more than he played for them

. This week’s starter for ten, therefore, is this; when Cameron Belford played for Tamworth against Morecambe in the Conference in 2006/7, who was the substitute GK sitting on their bench? The answer – nepotism inverted rules OK – was his father, Dale Belford ……..Isn’t it a small world?

Demister Aveitoff, incidentally, played pre-season for the Stags, but was due to join Wrexham on loan; the deal fell through (no idea), so he signed at Field Mill until the New Year instead. As you do ……………And I know that their stadium is now “The One Call Stadium”, but to me it’s still Field Mill

…..And their other nick-name, apart from “The Stags”, is “The Yellows”, which is particularly apposite since their away kit is all black ………………

They were formed in 1897 as Mansfield Wesleyans, changing it in 1906 to a much more matey Mansfield Wesley ("Come on, Wes!"), and then to Mansfield Town in 1910. Their claim to fame as a non-league side was 1928/29, when, a Midlands League team, they made it through to the 4th Round proper of the FA Cup, losing 2-0 to Arsenal

. In 1931 they were elected to the Third Division South, finishing their first season in 20th place, with 32 points from their 42 games, which was good enough to keep them up (Thames were unsuccessful in seeking re-election that year (I have to confess that I didn’t know that “Thames” had ever been a Football League team

), and Fulham won the Division) and get them a transfer to the Third Division North

. Those were the days, of course; their 21 homes games that season saw 99 goals

, which included 5-2 wins over Luton and Norwich, a 4-4 draw with Southend, and a 7-1 hammering by Reading (away, they conceded 5 goals three times and 6 once as well). The next season they came 16th with 35 points; their GF and GA columns showed that they scored 84 and conceded 100

; Darlington, in last place, conceded 109

, and Hartlepools United (note the “s” in those days) conceded 116!

Their best season for many years was 2012/13, which saw them reach the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, losing 2-1 to Liverpool by a disputed Luis Suarez goal, but at least finishing with 11 un-bitten players

; that led them on a fantastic run in the Conference (20 wins in 24, including 12 on the bounce) and to the Conference title, which they sealed with a 1-0 win at Wrexham. Isn’t it. Look you. Eisteddfod.

They finished last season – their first back in the League – with 60 points in 11th place, which – oddly – is where they are currently as well

. Their main contribution to the annals of history was to relegate Brizzle Rovers, by beating them 1-0 on the final day of the season ………. They had the customary clear-out over the summer, releasing five (including striker Ben Hutchinson) and having 12 more leave on transfer or similar; among those twelve, only four went to League clubs – MF Colin Daniel (26) – ex Crewe and Macclesfield, who signed for Port Vale; defender Paul Black (24), who only made one appearance for Mansfield as a late sub in an FA Cup game and who now plays for Cheltenham; Linden Levi Meikle (26), who’s a winger/striker now with York City (having played – as so many of theirs seem to have – for Eastwood Town in the past); and 23 year-old former Leicester Academy and Hereford forward Sam Clucas, who moved on after a year at Mansfield (where he scored 13 in 49 games) to Chesterfield for an ‘undisclosed sum’. Cameron Belford, by the way, now plays for Rushall Olympic (Rushall being a former mining village now forming part of the northern suburbs of Walsall, and the team playing in the Northern Premier League Premier Division.)

They signed people in pairs, for some strange reason; MF Simon Heslop (27), with Barnsley and Oxford on his cv, and defender Luke Jones – also 27, and having previously played for Mansfield in 2009/10 and 2012/13 - joined from Stevenage; 24 year-old forward Alex Fisher, after wandering the reaches of Belgian lower-league teams

, and 23 year-old ex-Sunderland and Hibs youth player Fergus Bell (forward) signed up from the dreamy Italian backwater which is Lega Pro (Serie C) side AC Monza

. In, as well, came 29 year-old striker Liam Hearn, who previously played for Hucknall Town, Eastwood Town, Chasetown, Quorn, Alfreton Town and Grimsby; LB Amari’i Kyren Bell (20), who signed for Mansfield on loan from Birmingham until January 2015 but was recalled after only three matches, having failed to get a kick of the ball

and who instead joined Swindon on a youth loan, making his debut the following day, playing the whole match in a 3-0 away at Barnsley; and Swiss/Bosnian GK Sascha Studer (23) joined up from Swiss side FC Winterthur …. Studer, as a matter of interest, is the youngest player ever to have started a game in the Swiss 1st Division; aged 15 years, 6 months and 18 days old, he played for his then team FC Aarau at Sion in a 1-1 draw (fascinating or what?

). The transfer deadline brought 23 year-old Bermuda International MF Reggie Lambe (I know his brother, Legov

) – ex Ipswich, Brizzle Rovers, Toronto FC and Nykopings BIS (Sweden) – and former Wigan striker Rakish Bingham (20).

So far – not counting Cup games – their record is P10 W5 L5; they’re the only side yet to draw a match in League Two; we’ve drawn one, as have Burton, Morecambe and Plymouth, while York have drawn 6 – which, since they’ve lost 3 of their other 4, is probably why they’re in 21st place with 9 points

; Oxford and Carlisle only have one win each as well, and Hartlepool and Tranmere are the only teams with two wins; those five sides are in the bottom five places in the table, which sort of proves the table doesn’t lie

; we’ve got 4 wins, and only seven teams have won more than we have. In the Cups, they were pants; a 2-1 loss at the Blades in the WillCarlingMemorialCup was followed by a 2-0 loss at Notts County in the TinPot.

The Stags’ home League record is the one that matters, of course; wins over Oxford (2-1), Newport (1-0), Morecambe (also 1-0) and Carlisle (3-2) - the bottom two, then, plus 15th and 6th, and all by the odd goal – maybe not as good as it first sounded; their only home failure was a 2-1 defeat to top-of-the-League Burton. Despite winning 4 of 5 at home, their scoring record ain’t great either; in 12 games (counting the Cups), they have four blanks, five ones, two twos, and one three – 12 goals in 12 games

. We’re joint fourth highest scorers on 15 (alongside Cambridge); the Wombles and Bury have 16, and the Cobblers have 18 (and look what we did to them!) Leading scorers for the Stags are the aforementioned Rakish Bingham with 3 and strikers Alex Fisher and Matt Rhead (whose parents obviously couldn’t Shpell either

), both with two; five others have a singleton apiece.

Our record against them is pretty fair, to be fair

; last year we won 3-2 away and drew 1-1 at home; in 2006/7 we won 3-2 at home and drew 2-2 away (although they put us out of the FA Cup 1-0), and in 2007/8 we won 2-1 away and 1-0 at home ……before that it was 1960/61, when five days in March 61 saw us draw goallessly away, and lose 4-1 at home ……….In modern times, then, P6 W4 D2 L0 F12 A8 for 14 of 18 points, and bragging rights ……….And long may it carry on!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 4th April. 8 points separate 7th-placed Shrewsbury (15) from 23rd placed Oxford (7); it’s gonna be a tough season, but I should perhaps remind the waverers that this time last season (Friday 4th October) we’d played 10 and had 2 points, so we’re 1.1 points per game better off than we were a year ago. 1.1 x 46 is 50.6; add that to the 57 points we got last season ………. “Eight eights are 64, multiply by seven, If it’s more, carry four and take away eleven”……..and we should get ………. 107 points this season …………Well that's what Wynonie reckons anyway ......

Good luck to everyone

………………Keep the Faith! ………….And thanks for playing!