2014 Prediction League; Game 20 v Portsmouth (away) - Page 2

deeayess · 12-12-2014, 19:18

2 1 Accy please

Chubbyman · 12-12-2014, 20:48

Portsmouth 0 - 2 Accrington Stanley please

norwich stanley · 12-12-2014, 22:46

1-1 please

mab · 12-12-2014, 23:10

Portsmouth 1 - 2 Accrington Stanley Please for me

Div3North · 13-12-2014, 00:01

Portsmouth FC

V

Accrington Stanley

2014/15 Prediction League – Game 20; v Portsmouth (away)

This week’s belated starter for 10; in 2009/10, Pompey beat Spurs to reach the FA Cup Final, which they lost 1-0 to Chelsea …..in the following five seasons (10/11 – 14/15 inclusive), how many matches have they won in the FA Cup?

The answer is a staggering NIL

; in 10/11 they lost in the 3rd Round, 3-1 at Brighton; in 11/12, still in Round 3, they lost to Chelsea 4-0 away; in 12/13 they lost 2-0 at home to Notts County in Round One; in 13/14, 2-1 at Stevenage (Round One); and this season, after a 2-2 draw at home, they lost 1-0 at Conference side Aldershot

. In the other Cup competitions this season they did at least reach Round two; in the Carling they beat Posh 1-0 at home before succumbing 3-0 away at Stoke, and in the PaintyThingy they won 3-1 at Yeovil (that’s an omen if ever I saw one – isn’t it Rodders?

) before losing by the odd goal in three at home to the Cobblers ……..

They have the (probably) unique record of always having played at the same ground – now known as the OnlyAMileAwayFromChimer’sPlace Stadium

, formerly Fratton Park. They were formed on the 5th April 1898, joined the Southern League the year after, and were founder members of the newly-formed Div 3 (Div 3 South as it became) in 1920/21; in 1923/4 they won Division 3 South, and in 1926/27 they came second in Div 2, their record including a 9-1 win at Notts County, and joined the top tier for the first time; they struggled in Div 1, contriving to lose 10-0 to Leicester

, but held on, and eventually won the League in 1949 and 1950; in February 1956 they were involved in the first floodlit League game (against Newcastle) ……..in 1959 they were relegated to Div 2, and in 1961 to Div 3 – the first ex- First Division Champions to suffer that fate; they’ve been, as they say, up and down like a bride’s nightie over the years

, but currently - as a legacy of more administrations and points deductions than you could shake a stick at – they’re back in Division 4 (as I still think of it ………)

Famous managers include Jimmy Dickinson, the Bald Eagle (Jim Smith), Alan Ball, Tony Pulis, Steve Claridge (for four months in 2000/01), Our ‘Arry

– twice, and Avram Grant (remember him?), who’s currently, I think, the coach of Ghana.

This shipped out 10 in the summer, including DMF Romain Padovani (who now plays for Etoile Football Club Frejus Saint-Raphael in the French third tier); Therry Racon – ex Charlton and Millwall, and a Guadeloupe international (they’re nickname is “Les Gwarda Boys”, and they’re ranked 112th in the FIFA list); and Bondz Bonzanga N’Gala – Plymouth, Yeovil, Stevenage and now Barnet; others signed elsewhere – Jake Jervis went to Ross County, GK Peter Brezovan to Tranmere, and Ryan Bird to Cambridge; the strike force that caused us problems in August 13

( David Connolly and Patrick Agyemang) is still on the books but not so much on the pitch (Connolly went out on loan to Oxford, and Agyemang is on loan at the Daggers) ………in came 5, the only two of which I know being GK Michael Poke (well, you don’t forget a name like that), ex Southampton, Torquay and shedloads of loans, and 29 year-old striker Craig Westcarr (ex Notts Forest, Cambridge, Notts Co, Chesterfield and Walsall) …………..others have come on loan; Palace defender Alex Wynter (21); Swindon striker Miles Storey (21 in January); Millwall’s defender Paul Robinson (32),who got the goal in the 1-0 win over Swindon in the 2010 Playoffs which took Millwall into the Championship; PNE winger Lee Holmes (27, once of Derby and Southampton); ex Colchester MF Marcus Bean (30) from QPR; Gillingham def Matt Fish (25).

Team captain is defender Ben Chorley; Manager is Andy Awful

, whose staff recently had a word

“Portsmouth manager Andy Awford has revealed his backroom staff got together last week and asked him to change some of his matchday conduct.”

….and First Team Coach Alan McLoughlin just left …………Don’t ask!

Their League Two record to date is P19 W7 D5 L7 F22 A22 for 26 points and 12th place; they sit above us on goal difference (we are P19 W8 D2 L9 F28 A32) ….that said, they have a fairly scary home record

– W6, D2 L1 (wins over Cambridge 2-1, Northants 2-0, D&R 3-0, Stevenage 3-2, Carlisle 3-0 and Morecambe by the same score); their sole home League defeat is to Newport (1-0) ………..add in the Cup games and they’ve hit the net 29 times in 25 games (in 9 of which they haven’t managed to score at all!

) …….Leading scorers are ex Lewes striker Jed Wallace (20) – technically, it seems, a MF – with 11, Craig Westcarr (see above) with 5 and Miles Storey (ditto) with 3 ………shackle them and Pompey don’t seem to offer much of a threat.

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 13th December; last season they drew 2-2 with us on the TV

chez nous, and won the return 1-0; on the face of it we may not be favourites for this one; I know some who wouldn’t care if we played our reserve team (if we had one

) just so long as we win Tuesday’s Once In a Lifetime replay

……… And if we don’t win, don’t be downhearted; just pop round to Chimer’s for a cuppa and a piece of cake

(take a few home fans with you if you like

) and tell him Merry Christmas from me!

Good luck to everyone …………..Keep the Faith! …………….And thanks for playing