2018/19 Prediction League; Game 12 v Shrewsbury (away)

Div3North · 05-10-2018, 00:24

Shrewsbury Town FC

V

Accrington Stanley

2018/19 Prediction League; Game 12 v Shrewsbury (away)

Well well! Four consecutive half-Desmonds are followed by Wimbledon at home (put to the sword 2-1), Walsall away – held goalless and done up early doors by a Billy Whizz penalty (the camera angle wasn’t that clear, but I’ve seen contact like that waved away many times!), and high-flying Donnie chez nous (also held goalless after 4 consecutive wins and 11 scored), both seen off by the odd goal in one, and suddenly Little Old Acci Stanley (“Who are dey?”) are staring in proud disbelief at a record of W5 D5 L1, 20 points (behind Sunderland on GD only, and a point behind Donnie), and 5th place ............. it’s all a tad unreal – or is it just me? But if it is, please don’t wake me up just yet!

Shrewsbury Town FC was formed in 1886 (after various meetings in various local hostelries) following, it’s said, the demise of two local teams; one was Shropshire Wanderers, the other was Castle Blues, who were described as “a rough team” and who were demised (it’s a new verb – “to be demised”, as in “I am demised, you are demised, he/she is demi.....” – get the idea? There’s also a reflexive verb “I demise myself”) after, it is reported, “several games were marred by violence” (in which case someone should demise Roma, just for starters). They began in the Shropshire & District League, then transferred to the Birmingham and District League; in 1910 they moved grounds to Gay Meadow (which meant very different things in the days of Good King George V) and stayed there for 97 years.

They were accepted into the expanded Third Division North in 1950, alongside the Iron; the two new teams in the Third Division South that year were Gillingham and Colchester ............... Div 3 North existed from 1921 until 1958, after which the Powers That Be merged Div3North and Div3South, and then divided them into Div 3 and Div 4 ................ Originally there were 20 D3N teams (of which we were one); in 1923 two teams were added, and in 1950 the 22 became the 24. This week’s starter for ten, then, is this; what claim to fame – if such it is - specifically connects the Stanley, Barrow FC, Crewe Alex, Halifax Town, Hartlepool, Rochdale, Southport and Wrexham?

From game 4 to the end of last season the Shrews (or “Salop”, “The Blues” or – very originally - “Town”) were in the top three in League One; for 15 games they were top, and for another 18 they were second, and either, of course, is automatic promotion .............. the moral of their season is “if you’re going to have a wobble, have it early” ....... they finished 3rd behind Wigan (why can no-one pronounce “Wigan” like Eddie Waring used to?) and Blackburn, beat Charlton 2-0 (1-0 twice) in the Playoff Semis, and then lost to Rotherham 2-1 aet in the Wembley Final, the winner coming in the 103rd minute. Actually, Wembley wasn’t their Happy Hunting Pitch last season, because they got all the way to the Final of the EFLTroffy and then lost to League Two current leaders Lincoln 1-0, the goal being scored by “Whitehouse”; I assume it was Paul and not Amy. And then to round off a not-brilliant time, Manager Paul Hurst – who’d got Grimsby back into the League in 2016 and then left two months into their debut season to join “Town” – left for Ipsoswitch (who are currently 23rd in the Championship (or “joint last”) with PNE, having no wins, six draws, five defeats, two of our ex players, and two of Shrewsbury’s ex players as well - one of whom (who for the sake of anonymity we’ll call Toto) is also an ex player of ours too also as well. Isn’t it .................. Shrewsbury resolved their managerial dilemma by appointing John Askey (who?), he being the man who brought Macclesfield back into the EFL in May 2018 on a shoestring .................... Why is it that people win stuff and then beggar off somewhere else? I mean, I can see why you might bugler off somewhere else if you were Steve SackedBruce, but that’s a bit different.

Having not got promoted, 13 left for pastures new, 5 of them having MutuallyConsented, two being paid for, and six being given the old heave-ho ....... six left for the Bananarama or below (Mark Halstead and Ethan Jones went to Southport, mistakenly thinking the sea was in); CB Adam El-Abd went to WhyComb Wanderers; CMF Gary Deegan went to Cambridge; CB Olly Lancashire signed on at Swindon, GK Callum Burton went to Hull to show what he could do, and his bum in Burtons’ Window; AMF Louis Dodds joined TwistySpire United, CB Dominic Smith went to Telford, and Swiss-born Canadian GK Jayson Rottweiler – sorry, Leutwiler – joined Blackburn. I wonder who’s regretting hasty choices now?

Twelve – like the Disciples – arrived on the up (or down) train (or bus) ............ stand-out names would be MF Doug Loft, late of Port Vale via Colchester; Wigan’s CMF Josh Laurent; Lincoln’s ex-skipper/CB Luke Waterfall; Lee Angol from Mansfield; Posh’s CMF Anthony Grant; and Tranmere’s CMF Oliver Norburn ............. it’s taken them time to gel (or it could be that they’re just rubbish players), but after 11 games they’re W1 D6 L4 GF9 GA11 for 6 points and one foot on the Wobbly Ladder that Leads to the Greasy Pole of Almost-Oblivion ......... their only win came in Game 8, 2-0 at home to SarfEnd; they managed a goalless Desmond on Tuesday in a “feisty entertaining derby at Walsall” (not sure I’d call that a derby!); that was the fifth time in 11 that they hadn’t scored in the League ......... they’re out of the EFL Cup 2-1 at home to Burton (see “show his bum” above), and they did Man City’s u11s 3-1 in the Troffy ............

They took four points off us in 2006/7, 6 the year after, 3 in 08/09 and 09/10. Four in 10/11, four in 11/12 and 6 in 2014/15; of 14 meetings, we’ve won 2, drawn 3 and lost 9 ............. Them is worrying numbers, so they are; time for a change ..................

Famous ex managers include Harry Gregg, Arthur Rowley (who scored more goals than Messi), Chic Bates, Asa Hartford and Michael Jackson (no, I think it was a different one .....................) Ex players include Arthur Rowley, David Moyes and one Ian Dunbavin; biggest-ever win was 21-0 against Mold Alyn Stars in the first round of the Welsh FA Cup in 1894; record defeat was 13-0 to Small Heath on Christmas Day 1895 (that’ll teach them not to Remember the Lord’s Day and Keep it Holy!) .......... they’ve also won the Welsh Cup six times, which ain’t bad for a team that doesn’t play or have it’s home in Wales anyway!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00 pm on Saturday 6th October; they are Down Among the Numpties, with six points from their last five games; Chief Numpties are Gillingham and Oxford, each with 1/5; Plymouth have two points, Fleetwood and Wycombe 3, Bratfud 4, Rochdale and Walsall 5 and the Wombles 6 .......... we have 20 points and a positive GD ................... Isn’t life wonderful?

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

Oh – and the list above is of the eight founder members who played in D3N from the year it began to the year it ended, and are the only teams to do so ....... Onward and Upward!