2019/20 Prediction League; Game 26 v Ipswich Town (away)

[Div3North]

Ipswich Town

V

Accrington Stanley

2019/20 Prediction League; Game 26 v Yppswyche Towne (away)

“Ello – is that Josie Maureenio? I’m t’Chairman o’ Grimsby Town Beer, Chips and Footie Club (Affiliated) ……………….. we’ve just gi’en our Manager the Bums’ Rush, and we’d like to interview ‘ee for t’job”

“For sure; where do we meet?”

“Doest’a know Papa’s Chippie out Cleethorpes? Off Roundabout? We’ll ‘ave a Fish Supper and an Irn Bru and a bit of a natter there; is that ok?”

Couldn’t ’appen, errr, happen? Try telling that to Ian HollowayTheLads, who’s Grimsby’s manager as of New Year’s Eve ……………….. and he liked the chips so much that he’s bought into the Club a la Victor Kiam, and he and Mrs Kim #LongsufferingHolloway are selling up and moving to the East Coast …………. Well that’s what he thinks!

Meantime I can confidently inform you that there’s only been one Managerial casualty in the whole of 2020; Daryl McMahon, appointed manager of Macclesfield in August 2019, resigned from his post “amid a financial crisis” and is now manager of the Daggers, having also done three and a half years (2015 – 2018) at Ebbsfleet (“Own the Club, Pick the Team”) ………….. before him, of course, Macc were managed by Big Sol, who moved for very similar reasons, and now watches Southend through his fingers, wondering if they’re ever going to win again. And so this week’s starter for ten; Sarfend have only won one of their 24 League games this season (and are soon going to be leapfrogged by Bolton) …….. but who did they beat in their only win-bonus outing?

Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk, located in East Anglia, about 66 miles from civilisation as we know it, and too close for comfort to a lot of folk with six fingers on each hand. The town has been there since the Saxon period (prior to that, presumably, it was somewhere else), and its port has been one of England's most important for the whole of its history. The modern name is derived from the medieval name Gippeswic, probably taken either from an Old Saxon personal name (like John; or Mary; or ……..) or from an earlier name of the River Orwell estuary. It’s also been known as Gyppewicus and Yppswyche, and it’s close to Felixstowe, Lowestoft, Newmarket and Bury St Edmunds

“I’m going to Bury St Edmunds”.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t even know he was dead”

(The old ones are still the best!)

Apparently Ipswich itself is a Tourist Haven, with 3.5 million people reported to have visited the county town in 2016. It was voted as the 7th most desirable places to live and work in England by the Royal Mail in 2017 (what do they know? Can’t even get letters anywhere on time ….); in 2007, it was awarded the Cleanest Town award (cleanest town within 10 miles of Ipswich) and in 2015, it was rated as the third happiest place to live in the UK; the Good Lord alone knows where the first and second places were (Stevenage was one of them, I seem to recall) …….. About the only claim to fame I could find was that its mixed-use high rise building called the Cranfield Mill is currently the tallest building in East Anglia…… which isn’t saying a lot …………… (“Very flat, Norfolk” – who said that?)

The footie team was founded as an amateur side in 1878, following the merger between Ipswich AFC and Ipswich Rugby Club, which produced the “Ipswich & District Different Shaped Balls Kick It Or Webb-Ellis It Club” in 1878, but didn’t turn professional until 1936, subsequently being elected to the Football League in 1938. In their first season in Div3South they won 16 and drew 12 of their 42 games, scoring 62 and conceding 52, and finished 6th behind Newport, Brighton, Reading, Watford and QPR ….. they stayed in Div3S until 1953/54, when the won the title and promotion, only to GreasyPole the season after …………… in 1955 they appointed one Alfred Ernest Ramsey, who later had some modest success with the National Team and won a gong ………….. They won Div3S again in 1956/57, and promotion to Division One in 1960/61, which they had the audacity to win (for the only time, although they have been second twice) in their very first season (1961/62). After years of Yo-Yos (and very tasty they were, if you remember) they were last promoted to the Premiership in 2000 ………. They survived a season, but the second season started with one win in seventeen (a la Southend) and ended in relegation again ……………… they stayed in the Championnat until 2018/19, going down the season after we went up

Last year they managed just 5 wins in 46 games, a total of 31 points and 36 goals, and a -41 GD ……………. For “These Left The Club in the Summer” I refer you to the thread for the first meeting between us (Game 12) …………. Since we last played then – and of course we’ve only ever played them twice, and we won both and didn’t concede a goal either time – they’ve only signed Dutch defender Levi Andoh from Andohver – no, sorry, from Worcester City – although they also gave MF James Wilson a new 18 month contract in late October …………….. in their first six years as an amateur club they played at two different venues, but they’ve been at Portman Road since 1884, so it probably needs a lick of paint by now …………….

As I mentioned, we’ve only played them twice – in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup in January 2019 (winning 1-0, goal by Billy Whizz), and on 20th October 2019 at the Wham in the League …………… at that time they’d played 11 in the League, winning 8 and drawing 3, gaining 27 points, and were top of the table ……….we did them 2-0, both goals from the Bishop of Wham, and that started the rot; of their 12 subsequent games starting with the one against us, their record is W2 D5 L5 – 11 points, and now they’re 5th on GD from the Posh (+11 plays +10), with Fleetwood only 2 points behind them with a game in hand ……………and while we’re on the table, the TractorBoys haven’t won in eight, and Wycombe remain top although they’ve lost three and drawn one of their last four…………..form sides are Rotherham with 11 points from their last five, followed by Coventry, Donnie and us, all with 10 ……………… Chief Numptys are Blackpool and Ipswich with 2, Sarfend with 3 and Tranmere and the Posh with 4 ……………… Ipswich’s leading scorers are James Norwood with 9, Kaden J with 7 and Luke Garbutt with 6

Their list of former Managers reads like a Compendium of Quality; between 1936 and 1982 they only had six in all, which included Sir Alf Ramsey, John Edward Thompson “Wor Jackie” Milburn (who scored 177 in 353 for Newcastle, and 68 in 54 for Linfield), Bill McGarry and Sir Bobby Robson, followed by the likes of George Burley, Jim Magilton, Joe Royle, Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy …………former players of note include Kevin Beattie, Alan Brazil, Burley again, Ray Crawford (who scored two of Colchester’s three goals when they did Leeds 3-2 in 1971), Paul Mariner, Mick Mills, Arnold Muhren, Brian Talbot, Frans Thijssen and John Wark …………………they’ve won, as well as the League, the Second Division three times and the Third Division twice, plus the FA Cup in 1977/78 (beating the Gunners 1-0 with a goal from Roger Osbourne), the Texaco Cup in 1972/73, and the UEFA Cup in 1980/81, beating Dutch side Alkmaar Zaanstreek, better known as AZ Alkmaar, 3-0 at home and losing 4-2 away, to win 5-4 on aggregate (2 from Wark, 2 from Thijssen)….

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday11th January …………………. Rochdale was disappointing, winning on pens at Fleetwood was brilliant, and we’ll know in a while how much we’ll miss Sean McHamstring, but we wish him a very speedy recovery …………. This game, actually, has “Banana Skin” written all over it, but we’re in a good place and they’re not, so we’ve got a great chance of consolidating our recent consolidation, as it were ……. And Sarfend beat MKPhoneyWombles 1-0 away for their only 3-pointer so far …….and the Transfer Window’s already interesting, with Bolton having signed three on 6th January, one on loan from Man U, and two others from Enfield and Longbridge Town respectively …………… and we haven’t dabbled …………. Yet ………… but I’ve a feeling we might!

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

[AccyMad]

1 apiece please

[accybeme]

2-0 tractor boys

[Exile on Spencer St]

After Rochdale, the Voodoo Gods of Football will be taking a keen interest in this fixture (see below):

[andyd]

Ipswich 1-1 Stanley.

[cashman]

1-0 stanley.

[Watchdog]

A win would be nice but I think it will be a 1-1 draw

[Tom D]

2-1 win for stanley please

[Taypot]

Ipswich 3 Stanley 0

[Stevie R]

2-0 to Ipswich please

[choirboy]

Ipswich 1-2 Stanley .

[Tommy McQueen]

Ipswich 1 Stanley 2 please

[Outback Ozzy]

half desmond for me too. 1-1

[monkey hanger]

ipswich 2 stanley 0

[Chimer]

Originally Posted by Exile on Spencer St

After Rochdale, the Voodoo Gods of Football will be taking a keen interest in this fixture (see below):

If I recall, you have on previous occasions propitiated their interests by putting a prediction in - best you have a go this week!

Desmond for me, me old tu-tu.