2018/19 Prediction League; Game 45 v Plymouth Argyle (home)

[Div3North]

Accrington Stanley

V

Plymouth Argyle

2018/19 Prediction League; Game 45 v Plymouth Argyle (home)

Plymouth, in case you don’t know, is 312 miles by road from Accie (or 307, according to some smart-arse who knows a back route) ........... As the crow flies it’s apparently 246 miles, but then, you can never find a passing crow when you want one .................. the city – or its forerunners - apparently goes back to the Bronze Age, and it was most famous, historically, for sticking a load of people on a boat to America and calling them The Founding Fathers (I understand that although they reached America, or “Where the Hell Are We?” as it was known then, their luggage finished up in Marbella) ............. I presume the FFs were local criminals, since America was where our criminals were sent to in those days (later that changed to sending them to Parliament – or letting them stay there, anyway) ............... It grew as a commercial shipping port throughout the Industrial Revolution, handling imports as well as passengers from America (criminals who’d served their sentences, I suppose), and exporting local minerals – tin, copper, lime, china clay and – rather worryingly – arsenic, and the occasional criminal as well, although most of them by that time were going to the Antipodes (Australia mostly, but I suspect a few sneaked into NZ!) .........It became a City in 1928, was, at the last count, the 30th most populated built up area in the UK, and has the largest operational naval base in Western Europe (HMNB Devonport – who used to win the Gun Carriage Race at the Royal Tournament quite often (I always loved watching that ..........) And it’s the birthplace, so I’m told, of Santa Claus, who was apparently born on Plymouth Hoe Hoe Hoe ................. (the old ones are still the best!)

The Argyle was founded in 1886 and played in the Southern League from 1903 when they went pro, joining the Third Division South – along with most of the Southern League - in 1921; they made 11th place in their first season, and were then second for six seasons in a row, which was a bit of a beggar, because only one went up each year! They eventually made Division Two in 1930 and stayed there for 26 years, during which (season 1952/53) they achieved their best-ever finish of fourth place .............. after that they were up and down like a whore’s drawers, most recently making Tier Two in 2003/04, when they won the old Second Division with 90 points and 26 wins ...... they stayed in the Championship for 6 years before sliding down the Greasy Pole (in company with the Posh) at the end of season 2009/10 (23rd, with 41 points), and repeating the trick the year after down to League Two in 23rd place again, with 42 points this time; points deductions over financial matters sealed their fate over those two seasons ........ 2016/17 saw them go back up .............. and they’re still there! (Just)

They ProperSigned two in the transfer window (and beyond); Paul Anderson, a RMF, was released by Mansfield and signed on in late February, and RB Oscar George Threlkeld – who sounds like a Hitchcock Villain – came back home from Waasland-Beveren (he was at Plymouth from 2015, lately having departed the Bolton Trotters), although rumour has it that he may be going back at season’s end .......... CB Lloyds Bank – sorry, Lloyd Jones – came in on loan from the Luton Louts ................ LMF Greg Wylde left for Livingston – the town, not the Doctor – and four went out on loan – three to non-League, one (Calum Dyson) to Stevenage, for whom Kurtis Guthrie is hitting the back of the net with some regularity

They finished last season in 7th, three points off a playoff place, but their first 14 games of this season yielded one win (1-0 over the Wombles on 6th October), four draws, and nine defeats, and for most of that time they were 24th out of 24 .................. they’ve picked up a little, although they’ve never been higher than 12th, and that only for two games .............. their home record is W8 D6 L8 GF33 GA36, away it’s a very troubling W4 D5 L13 GF19 GA37, for an overall picture of P44 W12 D11 L21 GF52 GA73 for 47 points and 20th place .......................

But the most interesting stats are the ones you don’t immediately see ................... they’ve failed to score 16 times in 44 games, keeping only 6 clean sheets ..................... their 73 goals leaked – well, torrented, really – is worse than everyone else with the exception of Rochdale (83, although we couldn’t score against them in 180 minutes over two games), Scunthorpe (77) and Bratfud (75) ...........and I can’t avoid the feeling that Plymouth v Scunthorpe on the last Saturday might well be a high-scoring one-game Shoot Out to stay up! ..........if that’s not enough for you, they’ve drawn two (two Desmonds, at home to Brizzle and away at Blackpool) and lost five (scoring just one goal and conceding 12) of their last seven – which is actually worse form than their opening 14 games (see “nightmare” above)

Their record in the Troffy was P3 L3 GF Nil GA 10 – five of those coming in a home defeat by Chelsea u12s .................two rounds of the FA Cup, losing 3-2 at Millwall, and two of the EFL Cup, beating Stevenage but losing 2-1 to Oxford ............. 57 goals in 51 games; leading scorers are Romford-born Olayinka Fredrick Oladotun "Freddie" Ladapo with 18 (League), Portuguese-born Rúben Barcelos De Sousa Lameiras with 12, Graham Carey (wasn’t he the Archbishop of Canterbury? – ‘Sorry lads, I can’t play Sunday’) and Ryan Edwards with 5 each, and Joel Grant and Antoni Sarcevic, each with four

Looks like Rotherham coming down the Championship GreasyPole; 22nd, two to play, 3 points behind Millwall (who have a game in hand) and six behind Reading, with a massively worse GD (-29 plays -14 plays -16) and their last two being a visit to the Hawthorns and a visit from Middlesbrough ....... League Two is less clear; Bury have 77 points, Mansfield and the MK Dons 76, Vegan Greenpeace 73 and Tranmere 72; the other place is between Exeter (66), Colchester (64), Carlisle (64), Stevenage (64) and Newport (64) – who have the only game in hand .............. Bury are at Tranmere on Saturday (Oooh-er Missus) then play Portly Vale; Mansfield host Stevenage and then go to Milton Keynes (bet they get lost at a roundabout); MKD go to Colchester before the Mansfield game; VGU are at Crewe and then host Exeter; Tranmere’s last game is at Crawley, Colchester finish away at Lincoln, Carlisle host Crawley and go to Yeovil, Stevenage go to Mansfield and receive Cheltenham, and Newport play Lincoln and Oldham at home, and end the season at Morecambe ............ Oh, and Leyton Orient are about to win the Bananarama, Torquay are up from Bananarama South, and Stockport are top again in the North; Chorley (one point behind) play Bradford PA (7th), and Stockport go to Nuneaton (bottom of the League) – so my exhortation of a week or so back to get your money on County might just work out!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 27th April ........... To tell the truth, this isn’t a good time to hit the skids, but Argyle look like they have ............... I feel three points coming on again! .............And this week’s starter for ten was going to be ‘Which current manager in the top five divisions has been in his job the longest?’ – to which the answer was going to be Paul Doswell at Sutton United (appointed there May 2008) ............. but he resigned on Sunday! ******!

Good luck to everyone! ............... Keep the Faith (it’s in the back of the drawer if you can’t find it!) ................. And thanks for playing!

[Wynonie Harris]

4-1 to the Stanley please.

[cashman]

1-0 stanley. will do very nicely

[Revived Red]

Stanley 3 Argyle 1 please D3N.

[Tommy McQueen]

Stanley 2 Plymouth 1 please

[AccyMad]

2 - 0 to Stanley please

[cashman]

Just had a sneck at Argyles fans forum many say Stanley or 1-1, that scares me a bit. but hope they are correct.

[Div3North]

Originally Posted by cashman

Just had a sneck at Argyles fans forum many say Stanley or 1-1, that scares me a bit. but hope they are correct.

If you look at their current numbers (see the thread opener) you can see why, Cashy .......... two points from the last 21 possible and leaking goals like a sunken galleon

[accybeme]

1-0 stanley

[MikeA]

3-0 Stanley. please.

[andyd]

Stanley 2-0 Plymouth.

[Lord Stiffupperlip]

Originally Posted by Div3North

If you look at their current numbers (see the thread opener) you can see why, Cashy .......... two points from the last 21 possible and leaking goals like a sunken galleon

That's convinced me!
Stanley 1 - Argyle 1

[Tom D]

3 1 win for Stanley please

[Chimer]

2-1 Stanley, with no last minute shots on the woodwork please.

[Div3North]

Originally Posted by Lord Stiffupperlip

That's convinced me!
Stanley 1 - Argyle 1

And if Kiwi passes you in the table as an result of your half Desmond, I wish to state that it's NOTHING TO DO WITH ME!