2016/17 Prediction League; Game 3 v Wycombe (away)

Div3North · 15-08-2016, 00:17

Wycombe Wanderers

V

Accrington Stanley

2016/17 Prediction League; Game 3 v Wycombe (away)

And so finally the Literary Critic of the Barnet Bugle – having passed judgment on the contents of my opening of the game 2 thread, and condemning them as a “poor show” for taking the Mick out of their Stadium name - rides off into the night .............. See you, Bees Knees; which you’re not!

So what’s going on with League Two and its teams this season? We’re currently 14th (Morecambe are 15th!), but we’re a single point (and a few goals) off top spot.........by the same token, we’re only three points from safety .......... we’re also, I noted, the highest placed team with a negative goal difference! And what about Plymouth? Playoff finalists in May, they can’t buy a goal this season, they’re bottom (below Exeter, the only other pointless side, on GD), and haven’t scored in three games (0-3 at home to Luton, 0-2 at Reading in the EFL, and 0-1 at Carlisle on Saturday); by that progression they should manage a zero-Desmond at home to unbeaten Mansfield on Saturday ................. If you look at the stats, we won the Donnie game in time added on and beat Bratfud with the last kick of the game ................... hmmmm! And the table’s got a real South-East look to it – although there are nine sides on 4 points (and one point covers the top 15), the top three are Luton, Barnet and Colchester.

This week’s starter for 10; Gareth Ainsworth has been Manager of Wycombe since 24th September 2012; how many of the current League Managers (all 92) have been continuously in post longer than he has? Answer – including newly-promoted Grimsby’s Manager Paul Hurst, and Jim Bentley at the seaside – is six; Arsenal Winger, who’s about to start his third century; Tisdale at Exeter, Robinson at MK Dons, Hurst, Bentley ............. and? Steve Davis at Crewe ............. and Coley, with less than two years current, is 23rd – which means 69 clubs have changed manager in those two years.

Wycombe currently sit one place above us, in 13th, which is exactly where they ended last season; they lost 1-0 at Crawley on opening day, went out of the EFL Cup 1-0 at home to BrizzleCity last Tuesday, and took 3 points off Grimsby at home last Saturday by 2-1, the winner coming in time added on (see “we beat Donnie” above) ..........and that was their first League win since they beat Mansfield at Adams Park on Good Friday ...... four draws, five defeats (including by us, 1-0 at theirs on 30th April, the goal scored by Mark Hughes on 78 mins). The head to head is just in our favour (five wins to us, seven draws, and four to them); the five games prior to last April’s win were all drawn ................ neither side, in those sixteen games, has ever scored more than two goals, there’s only been one Desmond, and only two of the nine won games (as opposed to drawn) have been decided to more than one goal (they’ve won by 2-0 twice!)

The released four of last year’s squad; 21 year old GK Alex Lynch, who they got from the Posh, left having played only eight times in two years (but four of those were televised – 3 playoff games and an FA Cup tie against Villa!), joining Bala Town; forward Gozie Ugwu (23), once of Reading, and also with Dunfermline and Yeovil (plus loans) departed for Woking, as did MF Max Kretzschmar (didn't he write the lyrics for Les Miserables?) who was there for eight seasons in all from age 14, but managed less than 100 games in the senior squad; finally, super-sub striker Ryan Sellers, whose 17 games included 16 from the bench and no goals and who – last I heard – is a “free agent” (ie unemployed). They brought in former Southend MF Myles Weston, 28, ex Brentford and Gillingham, and with 350+games under his belt; they also increased their food bill substantially by signing our friend You Fat Bastard, about whom we all know only too much; ex Cheltenham and Aberdeen GK Scott Brown (not to be confused with MF Scott Brown of .......errm ......... Accie) signed on for two years (a bit like National Service); 21 year old def Olivia de Havilland – sorry, Will de Havviland – arrived from Millwall via the Owls; and Salzburg gave up CB Max Muller, who signed apparently based on the 27 minutes he played in a friendly against Le Havre before a hamstring injury forced him off .........must have been a spectacularly good 27 minutes!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick off time, which is 7.45pm on Tuesday 16th August (for some reason Blackpool’s game at Barnet kicks off at 8.00). We seem to have a potential problem now as to where our goals might be coming from, with three strikers all injured; let’s hope all three are quickly back and fighting fit............. or we could hope that Cashy’s boots still fit him!

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