2017/18 Prediction League; Game 43 v Yeovil FC (home)

Div3North · 15-04-2018, 22:48

Accrington Stanley

V

Yeovil Town

2017/18 Prediction League; Game 43 v Yeovil (home)

After the first game of the season Yeovil – which is Somerset country (which is a DISGRACE!) – were bottom of the League, on no points and a GD of – 6 after they gave Luton a six-goal start and then drew 2-2 .............. after two games they had three points, courtesy of beating us 3-2 (we scored first (Kayden) and last (Kayden again) but let them score three in the last 20 minutes of the first half .......... after four games they reached the dizzy heights of 12th, but since then they’ve dropped like a stone, and their season has been played between about 17th and occasionally 22nd ....... Boo Hiss!

Currently they’re 18th, with 46 points from 41 games (W12 D10 L19, with 55 scored and 65 conceded; 65 is matched by Barnet and Grimsby, and exceeded by Vegan Greenpeace (70) and TwistedSpireUtd (72); Grimsby are soaring up the table (not) with 5 points from their last 5 games, including a – whisper it – WIN (their first in 21) against Chesterfield (1-0) before Saturday’s Desmond against Barnet .................. from the bottom up, Chesterfield 35 from 41; Barnet 37/43; Grimsby 42/43; The Vegans 43/42; Morecambe 44/42 ................. Top of the Form is still Stanley (13/5) followed by Luton (12), Wycombe (11) – time to make Gareth Ainsworth shave off what passes for a beard, which he isn’t doing until they lose a game again (see you Saturday, Gareth) – and Exeter and Lincoln (10)

They did ok in the Cups this time, doing Southend, Port Vale and Bratfud in the FA Cup before perishing 0-4 on the Sword Which Is Jose Mourinho; they made the semi-final of the EFL Trophy, losing 1-0 to Shrewsbury (who are slipping behind Wigan and Blackburn for the top two places in League One) – and did you see that Bury have generously relinquished their place in that League, in favour of someone more fitting of it (like US!) – Manager Ryan Lowe saying he is

"....not taking responsibility for that relegation. I've done everything I possibly can for the boys, given them everything they need - the sessions, the atmosphere and the training. I'm not saying I'm a masterstroke by any means, but the players from start to finish need to take responsibility for the relegation because they're the ones that play most weeks”

......................... And you’re the Manager, you set the tactics, you pick the team, and it’s very easy to blame everybody else, but perhaps a small glance in the mirror wouldn’t come amiss?

They did a bit in and since the Transfer Window, ProperSigning striker Alex Fisher from Motherwell, 21-year old defender Shaun Donnellan from the SaggyBaggies (plus loans), and GK Stuart Nelson (36, ex-Brentford, Leyton Orient and Notts Co) from Gillingham, and LoanSigning Jared Bird form Barnsley, Corey Whelan from Liverpool, Lewis Wing from Middlesbrough (guess what position he plays?), and Marcus Barnes and Ryan Seager from the Saints .................

They have some disciplinary issues at times; they had two players red-carded against Luton on 7th April (Ryan Dickson and Francois Zoko), which is as many as we’ve had sent off all season ................ Starter for ten, then; one of the two sent off while playing for the Stanley in 2017/18 was Mehki Leacock-McLeod; who was the other one? All in all the Glovers have had 8 straight reds plus one for two yellows; Olufela Olumola and Francois Zoko were both sent off against Stevenage on 28th October (although Yeovil won 3-0!), and Omar Sowunmi (red) and Connor Smith (two yellows) on 1st January against Crawley ............... three double sendings-off; they lost 3-1 to Crawley, and 3-0 to Luton .............and all three games were at home! Mr Zoko has racked up a 1 match ban for 5 bookings, 2 matches for 10 bookings, three matches for serious foul play v Stevenage and 4 for violent conduct against Luton – and he’s still banned for the game chez nous, which – since he’s their leading scorer – ain’t bad news .........in total, they’ve had players banned for 28 games (five of those offences being violent conduct) – and you do wonder where they might have been with a better disciplinary record ...............and our other red card was Farrend Rawson ..............

55 goals in the League, and 26 in the Cups (0-1 v Wolves in the EFL Cup); 41 League games, 16 in the cups, so 81 goals in 57 games ............ Otis Khan has 10 (still sitting on the Dock of the Bay, I understand), as does Bournemouth loanee Sam Surridge; Rhys Browne has 6, Alex Fisher has 5; Monsieur Zoko has 14 .............and going back to disciplinary, Sean McPlayerOfTheSeason has 9 yellows (apparently), Kayden has 8, and the Don, Mark Hughes and Callum Johnson all have 7 .................. In 2015/16 we won 2-1 at home and lost 1-0 away; in 2016/17 we drew both games, sharing a halfDesmond (is that a QuarterDesmond – sharing a halfDesmond?), and this season’s only meeting was another defeat (see above)

So; ok, we didn’t finish Exeter off despite “laying siege to their goal”, but nothing is any worse; Lincoln’s loss at Portly Vale (1-0) means they now can’t reach us, and nor can Mansfield (maximum possible points now 76); the best that Coventry can do is 80; Notts County can only reach 82; Exeter 85 ...............we’ve got 84, so we need two points from our five to play, of which, on paper, this looks the easiest (Yes? No? Maybe?) ................. and you might want to shout Lincoln on when they play the PocketPickers at SinCity Bank on Tuesday, which would help for the Cxaxpxoxixnxhxp (decoding that is your second starter for ten) if Lincoln win, or – better still – bet on Lincoln and Chesterfield as a double, since the Twisted Ones are at Exeter ...........and if the Devil sat on Chesterfield’s spire, St James wouldn’t be much protection for the Grecians ............if we win on Tuesday we’re promoted, but if Wycombe also lose then we’ve got a ten point lead over them, and they’ve only three games left, so it’s us or Luton for the title – and we’ve got two in hand on them, and they’ve got Carlisle (away), Vegan Greenpeace (home) and a trip to Notts Co to finish off

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 7.45pm on Tuesday 17th April; On the road, Yeovil have won 4, drawn 6 and lost 10; their last 3 away are us, Notts County and Lincoln ............. I’d expect the bookies to favour us, because we’re not going to bottle it now; you’d have to think that 17th April will go down in Accrington History as The Day We Showed The Buggers!

Good luck to everyone! .............. Keep the Faith! ............... Stay sober, ‘cos you’ve got to be up for work on Wednesday! ............... And thanks for playing!