2019/20 Prediction League; Game 36 v Tranmere Rovers (home)

Div3North · 06-03-2020, 09:53

Accrington Stanley

V

Tranmere Rovers

2019/20 Prediction League; Game 36 v Tranmere Rovers (home)

I came across some old Stanley programmes yesterday afternoon, and Paused for a Peruse (as you do) ……….. in particular, the first home game after we got back into the league – against Darlington, at home; for those who don’t remember, we lost 2-0 ……………….. but I couldn’t help but notice that their GK on the day, and the Referee, are both still around and playing/reffing professionally ……… Starter for Ten, then; who was in goal for Darlo that day, and who was the blind numpty with the whistle?

And did you see that Blackpool have got a new manager? Having not managed to tempt either of their first two choices to come North for a Piddle – err, Paddle - (Richie Wellens at Swindon and Karl Robinson at Oxford), Liverpool u23 Manager Neil Critchley was delighted to come on board, having enjoyed his time at Liverpool, and saying that

"It would have had to have taken something equally as special, if not more, for me to even think about leaving,"

Perhaps not everyone would describe Blackpool as “equally as special, if not more” when compared to the Liverpool Boot Room, but we sort of know what he means; as in “trebled me salary and me name’s on the office door! You can call me Boss! Alright dere?”

And You Fat Bastard’s in the news again; three and a half years after joining Wycombe at the age of 34 he became their all-time leading scorer in League games with 54 (replacing Nathan Tyson) when he scored their goal in a 3-1 loss to Donnie…………. Way to go, Beast!

One of the well-known records in football – well, it likely is if you’re a Tranmereite - is that of their Captain Harold Bell (that’s his position in the club, not his military rank!) who played 375 consecutive League games plus 26 in the FA Cup, giving him 401 matches unbroken ………. But who knows who came close behind him? It turns out that Dave Besant was 2nd (394) and Phil Neal was 3rd (366) …………… Does anyone know who the Stanley’s all-time (League) appearance holder is? In the old days (1927/34) it was apparently Jim Armstrong with 260 ………… could still be ……….

Formed in 1884 as Belmont FC, they became Tranmere Rovers in 1885 and moved to Prenton Park in 1912 (around the time that the RMS Titanic sank, then) …………. They were founder members of Div 3 North, and remained in the EFL from then until 2015 ………In 1972, Ron Yeats was installed as player/manager, and he strengthened Tranmere's connections with local rivals Liverpool by recruiting several former teammates such as Ian St John, and bringing in Bill Shankly in a consultancy role. They most recently hit the heights in 1991, when they were promoted to Division Two (le Championnat), beating Bolton 1-0 in the Playoffs ……………. John Aldridge joined from Real Sociedad for £peanuts (£250,000), stayed for 10 years and scored 170 times (I think he got the same number of goals!), which put him second behind Ian Muir on the all-time goal-scorers’ list ………….. Pat Nevin joined in 1993, and the Trannies made the playoffs three times in a row, but lost to Swindon in 1993, Leicester in 1994 and Reading in 1995 ………. They stayed in the League until 2015, when the Trapdoor Opened and they achieved Bananarama Reality (finishing 24th out of 24 with 9 wins, 12 draws and 25 losses, and accompanied by Cheltenham Town), but after three season (2017/18) they were back in League Two, having seen off Ebbsfleet in the (one-legged) Playoff Semis 4-2, and then chopping down (gerrit?) Boreham Wood in the Final 2-1; they then went straight up to League One last season, again through the Play-offs, doing Vegan Greenpeace in the semis, and Podge United 1-0 in the Final …………….and they look like GreasyPoling straight back down again this season!

In the January TW (Transfer Window) they ProperSigned CB Peter Clarke from the Codpieces, DMF Luke McCullough from Donnie, and Mansfield striker Andy Cook … in addition to them, they LoanSigned a new “spine”, in CB Morgan Feeney (I thought he was dead good in that there Shawshank Redemption fillum!) from the Toffees, CM Alex Wood Yard – no, hang on, Alex Woodyard - from the Posh, and striker James Vaughan from Bratfud ………. They also loaned out Paul Mullin (no, the other one) to Cambridge Utd

Life hasn’t been easy in League One; their current home record is W3 D6 L8 GF19 GA26, and away it’s W3 D2 L10 GF13 GA32, giving them an overall record of P32 W6 D8 L18 GF32 GA58 for 26 points and 21st place – which, of course, is brown and niffy time; they’re seven points behind the RichDoodles with a game in hand but a worse GD, their victories this season have come against Bolton (5-0), Richard Burton (2-1) and the Wombles (1-0) at home, and Coventrary (1-0), the PhoneyWombles (3-1) and the Pointy-Nosed Furry Things 3-2 away ………….. Of their last 12 games they’ve won once (Shrewsbury), drawn three, and lost 8 (six points from a possible 36) ………. They made Round Four of the FA Cup, beating Wycombe 2-1 after a Desmond, Chichester 5-1, and Watford 2-1 after a 3-3 draw, before losing by the skin of their teeth to Man U ……..OK, losing 6-0 at home to Man U ……… The EFL Cup lasted but one round (0-3 to Hull), and they played a shed-load of u21 sides in the Troffy (plus Salford), beating Man U Kids 3-2 in round 2 before losing to Leicester u7s by the odd goal in three ……………..

Tranmere, of course, purports to be in The Wirral (posh or what!), so as them as lives there won’t be reckoned as Scally Scousers ….. So I stuck “Scouse football jokes” in the search engine, and I got this ………………….. St Peter was manning the Pearly Gates one morning, apparently, when 40 Scouse Soccer Fans turned up; never having seen anyone from Liverpool before, St Peter said he’d have to check with God, and after hearing the news, God told him to admit the 10 most virtuous from the group …….. A few minutes later Peter returned, breathless, and told God “They’re gone”. God said, “What? All 40 Liverpool fans have gone?” And St Peter said, “No, not them. The Pearly Gates”. And hands up if you still pop over to Liverpuel now and again to visit your hub caps? (How’s that for disgraceful stereotyping? “Na na ne na nah! My Dad’s bigger than your Dad!”)

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 7th March ……………….We met in December, sharing a half-Desmond (our goal by Sean McInjured); we also met in the League in 2014/15, losing 3-0 away but winning the return 3-2 (2 goals from James Gray and one from Kal Naismith) …………… Their scoring record is 32 in 32 in the League, and 20 in 11 in the cups – so 52 scored in 43 games; leading scorers (League) are Morgan Ferrier (which is a new model for Morgan cars, I think) with 8, followed by Connor Jennings, Kieron Morris and Paul LoanedOut Mullin with 5 each ………….. currently Coventry and Fleetwood are the form sides (13 points in five games), and Oxford sit next on 12/5………… Southend have nul points from five, Bolton have one, Lincoln have two and Tranmeerkats have four; Tranmere are seven points adrift with 12 to play; Southend are dead (17 points and 28 goals away from safety with ten to play), and Bolton are pushing up the daisies (21 points and nineteen goals away from safety with 12 to go)

And back in 2006 the Darlington goalie was David Stockdale, and the ref was Darren Deadman, who started in the league in 2005, was “fired” in 2016, but – and I can’t find out what happened – must have been Lazarussed at some point in time ……………… Our Ref this week is Will Ferrell (no, that can’t be right ….. Ah – Will Finnie!) who’s refereed 20 games this season in League One and Two, giving 79 yellow cards, one “double yellow = red”), NO “straight reds” (which it’s tempting fate to mention) and 6 penalties …….. among his tally of yellows were NINE back in September when Oldham visited Plymouth, SEVEN when he did Shrews v Gills, and SIX when Orient entertained Grimsby and also when Colchester went to Vegan Greenpeace ………… he has given one straight red (in 27 games) which was in the FA Cup! Oh, and Cashy might like to know that Tea Kettle (gerrit? T? Trevor? Kettle? Oh, forget it!) IS still around, having done Macclesfield v Salford last Saturday, and having issued 89 yellows in 23 games …………. So now you know!

Up the Stanley!

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

AccyMad · 06-03-2020, 10:38

3 - 2 to Stanley please

Tom D · 06-03-2020, 11:06

2-0 win for stanley please

monkey hanger · 06-03-2020, 11:57

stanley 3 tranmere 2.

football19 · 06-03-2020, 12:39

3-0 to Acci

cashman · 06-03-2020, 12:46

2-0 stanley fer me.

ossy kid · 06-03-2020, 16:46

Stanley 1-0

MikeA · 06-03-2020, 17:18

3-0 Stanley, please.

Talking of David Stockdale, does anyone remember him coming on as a sub at York in 2004, and Paul Mullin then scoring against him. And, talking of blind numpties, even the assessor on the night reckoned that the first-choice keeper shouldn't have been sent off.