2017/18 Prediction League; Game 1 v Colchester Utd (home)

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Accrington Stanley

V

Colchester Utd

2017/18 Prediction League; Game 1 v Colchester (home)


So; welcome back everyone to edition 323 of “Our Fred’s Weekly Liar” – a football magazine of sorts, about the Stanley, for people who know loads more about footie than I do! This week’s Starter for Ten, then; what have Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Paul Sturrock, Russell Slade, John Sheridan and that nice Mr Westley all, at this precise moment, got in common? I’ll give you some time to think about that ...... no prizes, but bragging rights available!

Colchester (“The U’s”) finished last season in 8th place, one point outside the promotion spots, with a record of P46 W19 D12 L15 GF67 GA57 Pts 69; the top 7 scored more than they did, and 10 sides conceded fewer .........but we did the double over them, 2-1 both times; Rommy Boco (good luck with Clapton Orient, Rommy!) and Billy Whizz scored at their place in late September, and Scott Brown was sent off for two yellows, and Billy Whizz and Matty P scored the goals at home, and Omar Beckles was sent off on half time on a straight red – memo to Coley; keeping eleven players on the pitch statistically gives us a better chance than playing 10 v 11! .........

Over the close season The U’s went through the customary change of personnel; so did we, but we brought in or extended the contracts of more than we let go (if you don’t count the initial released list of six). We lost Brayden Shaw to Bangor (“Didn’t we have a lovely time?”), Shay McCartan to Bratfud, El Tel (Gornell) to Chorley and Rommy to Leyton Orient, extended the tenure of Seamus Conneely, Sean McConville, the Don and Jordan Clark, and brought in Erico Sousa (see “newly signed Season 2016/17”), ex Rangers’ winger Mekhi McLeod, former Partick Thistle and Dunfermline defender Ben Richards-Everton and – for a fee of £undisclosed (when did we last pay a fee for a player?) – ex Wrexham, Swindon and Barnsley striker Kayden Jackson (23) arrived to replace Rommy, El Tel and Shay McTartan (no pressure there then), plus, back by popular demand, Hull’s 20 year-old striker Jonny Edwards .................Rumour is we’re playing 4-2-4 this year...............

Colchester released eight players at the end of the season, seven of whom don’t yet have a new club (as far as I know), and then lost last season’s top scorer Chris Porter to Crewe, unused GK Dean Brill to the DSS, RB Richard Brindley to Barnet, and two – CB George Elokobi and striker Macauley Bonne (who sounds like an Elizabethan Sea Captain) – to Leyton Orient to join Rommy .... they brought in a couple of Academy players, a MF called Tarryn Allarakhia from Maldon and Tiptree (who I thought were a firm that made jam), plus, amongst others, ex Wombles, Macclesfield, Newport and Gills RB Ryan Jackson (26), Watford’s 30 year-old GK Rene Gilmartin (ex Walsall, Plymouth and St Pats Athletic) as player-coach, French-born striker Mikael Yann Mathieu Mandron (22, ex Sunderland, Eastleigh and Wigan) and Barnsley LB Cole Kpekawa (22), who can at least have a natter about Barnsley with Kayden when Saturday’s game goes quiet ..............

Their pre-season started with five wins from five and nary a goal conceded – but that was against Maldon and Tiptree, Needham Market, Llandudno, a West Ham XI and Conference side Braintree; then they hosted Ipswich and Gillingham at home, losing 0-1 and 1-2 respectively (Ipswich then lost 6-1 at Charlton, so get a fiver on Mick McCarthy to be sacked in no time flat!). They’ve got a plum (TV) game at home to Aston Villa in the EFLCup on 9th August, and an EFLTroffy group which comprises Gillingham, Southend and Reading u23s ..............They also have two brothers in their squad – Drey and Diaz Wright – plus one Kurtis Guthrie ........ Skipper and defender Luke Prosser (29), who missed much of last season through injury, isn’t fit yet and misses the opening of the season.

The various betting sites and firms have Mansfield (5/4), Luton (7/4), Coventry (5/2) and Lincoln (3/1) as favourites to go up, followed by Swindon (10/3), Notts County – who signed Nicky Hunt today – (7/2), Exeter (4/1) and Cambridge (9/2); favourites to go down are Morecambe, Crawley, Yeovil, Newport, Cheltenham and Barnet ............ interestingly, and obviously, the eight favourites to go up are bottom of the list to go down, but the next team after them – 9th least likely to be relegated – is ................The Stanley! Oh how things have changed from the days when we were ALWAYS the pre-season favourites for the slide down the Greasy Pole of Oblivion!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 5th August ............. With much the same squad as last year, and some decent looking additions, confidence has probably never been so high; so is this Our Year? Yup, just could be ............ See you all in League One!

And the answer to the Starter for Ten; they’re all the “predecessor” of the current managers at two League clubs at the same time; Jimmy Floyd is the immediate past-incumbent at Burton and at QPR; Mr Blobby (currently at Grimsby) is the last post-holder at Charlton and at Coventry; Paul Sturrock was the last person fired by both Yeovil and Southend; John Sheridan holds that title at Plymouth and Notts County; and that nice Mr Westley is the most recent ex-Manager at Peterborough and Newport County .............. and there are only six Managers in League 2 who’ve been at their current clubs for two complete seasons (King Coley, Keith Curle at Carlisle, Gary Johnson at Cheltenham, Paul Tisdale at Exeter, Jimbo at Morecambe and Gareth Ainsworth at the Chairboys). Newest chair-warmers are Michael Brown at Port Vale (3rd May), Mike Flynn at Newport and Mark Cooper at FGR (both 9th May), Rossi Eames (who?) at Barnet (19th May), Liverpool's and Leeds’ favourite Aussie Harry Kewell at Crawley (23rd May) and David Flitcroft at Swindon (5th June). Get your bets on for the first head to roll this season ................and I wonder how many of those six will still be in place come next May!

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

[Chrisr]

3-0 to Stanley

[DAV007]

0-2 to colchester

[VALAIRIAN]

and – for a fee of £undisclosed (when did we last pay a fee for a player?) – ex Wrexham, Swindon and Barnsley striker Kayden Jackson (23)

Super Mac and Liam Nolan spring to mind

Nice to have you back

[Stevie R]

2-0 to Stanley please

[DaveinGermany]

2-1 to the Stanley please D3N.

[monkey hanger]

repeat last seasons opener. 3-2 to stanley

[cashman]

2-0 Stanley

[AccyMad]

2 - 1 to the Stanley boys please

[Wynonie Harris]

5-1 to the Stanley please.

[Red-Osbornello]

Stanley 2 - 3 Colchester please D3N.

[andyd]

Stanley 3-1 Colchester.

[VALAIRIAN]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

5-1 to the Stanley please.

My oh my....just got to admire the enthusiasm of this chap

[Tommy McQueen]

Stanley 2 Colchester 0 please

[accytom18]

Accrington Stanley 2-2 Colchester Utd