2016/17 Prediction League; Game 44 v Newport County (away)

Div3North · 19-04-2017, 19:44

Newport County

V

Accrington Stanley

2016/17 Prediction League; Game 44 v Newport (away)

The League Two Cliff-hanger; Newport or Hartlepool to plunge into the pit alongside Orient (who, despite doing Hartlepool last time out, aren’t really going to pull it round and save themselves) ………….?????

Well …………… Newport host us, go to Carlisle, and finish at home to Notts County; Hartlepool host Barnet, visit Cheltenham, and end with a home match against Doncaster ………………. Newport have the momentum, despite a 6-1 drubbing (which is what you used to get in the 50s, playing in ankle-deep mud and pouring rain) at Plymouth, which ended their 3-match winning run and secured Plymouth’s promotion; they’ve managed 16 points in their last 10 games (W5 D1 L4); Hartlepool are on 11 in 10 (W3 D2 L5); interestingly, Mike Flynn – who if he saves the Exiles might well be a candidate for Manager of the Year – urged the fans, rather than the players, to hang in there, saying

• "This is the game I was always most worried about, but my message to the fans is to keep believing. I’m still very confident we will stay up; this result is a blip. It's a fight between us and Hartlepool. It’s simple, we need to better Hartlepool's results and hopefully that will be enough.”

6-1 is a heck of a “blip”, but you know what he means ………. Carlisle’s recent form has seen them drop from the playoff places to a troubling 8th – still in touch, but with only one win and three draws in their last 10 (six points from a possible 30) – and their form at home since the turn of the year is 1 win, four draws and six defeats, so no longer Fortress Brunton; Notts County are a different proposition than they were a few weeks back, but you’d likely fancy Newport to take something from the game, especially knowing that Hartlepool are facing Donnie ………….And I don’t know how optimistic you’d be about going to Cheltenham, even though Monday’s 2-1 win over Fatty Arbuckle’s Grimsby gave the Robins a nice four-point cushion (47 points, against 43 for Hartlepool and 42 for Newport)

For what it’s worth, I suspect that Newport might get five points and Hartlepool four, meaning that they both finish on 47 points, and sending Newport down on GD (unless they can reverse their present GD position, which has them on -23 and H’pool on -19); goals scored also favours Stelling Town (52 to 47 at this moment), which – of course - is where 6-1 comes back to bite you on the bum!

Likely champions of the Conference must now be The Imps; 94 points from 43, they lead Tranmere by 5 points (89 from 44) with a game in hand, courtesy of goals in the 90th and 92nd minutes to beat Gateshead on Monday gone); AFC Fylde scraped a half-Desmond at home to Bradford Park Avenue (there’s a name from the past), so they’re four points clear of Kidderminster with two to play (plus an 11-goal better GD) – they want 3 points (two, really) from their remaining games against 15th-placed Boston Utd away or 19th-placed Worcester City at home …………… Still not clear who the 3rd and 4th teams coming down are going to be.

Newport brought in eight players during the transfer window – two CBs (Irish Mark O’Brien from Luton and Shrewsbury’s Mickey Demetriou), three CMs (including Mitchell Rose from Mansfield and free agent Maxime Blanchard) and three CFs (Aaron Williams from the Posh, Craig Reid from non-league Gloucester, and Eastleigh’s much-travelled Ryan Bird) ……the final piece of the jigsaw – fixing the spine of the team – was the third CM, signed from Undy Athletic (from the village of Undy in Monmouthshire) and playing in the Welsh Football League Division One, isn’t it, look you, cariad ………and that was one Mike Flynn who – since that nice Mr Westlife was given the old heave-ho on 9th March – has engineered a come-back which is nearly as impressive as the one the New England Patriots achieved against the Atlanta Falcons in Superbowl LI (51 to you and me!)

Seven were released on frees in January/February, including the aforementioned Maxime Blanchard (who obviously didn’t like Wales, because he stayed for just four days before reverting to his former status of “Unemployed”), and one-time Ivorian international CB Abdoulaye Meite, who they’d signed in November from the current Finnish League champions Seinäjoen Jalkapallokerho. Monsieur Meite also played at one time for Bolton, West Brom, Dijon, Ross County, OFI Crete and FC Honka (also from the Finnish First Division) ………. One more player left, that being 6’ 4”, 35 year old striker Jonathan Piemuncher-Parkin, who joined York (who are currently flirting with relegation from the Conference – well, not so much “flirting” as “married”, really)

Loans came, loans went; after a pre-season tour of Poland they played six friendlies back in and around the Cow Patch, losing five of them (writing on the wall time), including to Undy Athletic (see “Monmouthshire” above), Coventry (see “relegated”), Ton Pentre, Gloucester and FGR, although they did beat Weston Super-Mario 8-1 away; Mike Flynn’s record as Boss is five wins, one draw and three defeats ; Westlife’s (League only) was W4 D7 L13; all together it was W6 D9 L14

Back at the end of October they visited the WhamBam, and left with the three points, winning 3-1 (our goal by The Don on 79); in 2013/14 they beat us 4-1 at theirs and drew 3-3 at ours (“one and a half Desmonds”); in 2014/15 they drew 1-1 at home and won 2-0 at ours; in 2015/16 we won 2-0 at theirs and drew 2-2 at ours, and – as above – they stuffed us 3-1 earlier this season; P7 W1 D3 L3, which makes them a bogey team – and a wounded bogey team, which are the worst sort ………….. Leading scorers are Rhys Healey and Josh Sheehan, both with seven (isn’t it), and Sean Rigg with six ……

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00 pip emma on Saturday 22nd April; we’re still, probably, a long shot to go up; they’re still, probably, a short shot to go down ………….. but there’s plenty to play for yet!

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