2020/21 Prediction League; Game 15 v Shrewsbury Town (home)

[Div3North]

Accrington Stanley

v

Shrewsbury Town

2020/21 Prediction League Game 15; v De Rerum Furry Pointy Ave (home)

A Probability Theorem;

On 23rd October 2020, Shrewsbury signed AFC Bournemouth Def Charlie Daniels on a free; on 26th October 2020 Shrewsbury signed QPR MF Marc Pugh, also on a free ............ on 19th January 2021 they released Daniels, who signed for Pompey, AND they released Pugh, who signed for Universal Credit ...........AND if Daniels played 16 games and Pugh played 10 .... AND If Sam Ricketts was the manager when they were signed, and Steve Cotterill was the manager when they were released, then (a) what's the probability that Cotterill thought they were cr*p, (b) what's the probability that signings like that cost Ricketts his job, and (c) what's the probability that the Shrews wasted a lot of money?

Continuing our recent maritime topic, three Royal Navy ships have carried the name HMS Shrewsbury, it appears: (1) HMS Shrewsbury was an 80-gun second rate (which means "not the best around"); launched in 1695, she was rebuilt in 1713 and broken up in 1749. (2) HMS Shrewsbury was a 74-gun third rate (basically, rubbish) launched in 1758. She was condemned in 1783 (no idea what she did) and scuttled that year, and (3) HMS Shrewsbury was a Hunt-class minesweeper launched in 1918 and sold in 1927.

There was also HMS Shrewsbury Castle (K374), a Castle-class corvette launched in 1943. She was loaned to the Royal Norwegian Navy and renamed HNoMS Tunsberg Castle in 1944 and was sunk that year by a mine, proving that Norwegians don't look after things you lend them properly - so if someone from Norway asks to borrow your boat, tell them No!

Like all towns in the early and mid 19th century, Shrewsbury was dirty and overcrowded, and there were outbreaks of cholera in 1832 and 1849. Famous Salopians - although the family moved between Shrewsbury and Birkenhead/Tranmere, according to his father's work - include the First World War poet Wilfred Owen, author of "Dulce et Decorum Est" ... written in WW1, and first published - like most of Owen's poetry - posthumously (1920), he having died in action on 4th November 1918 - just about a week to the hour before the Armistice was signed .... the citation for his award of the Military Cross read;

"2nd Lt, Wilfred Edward Salter Owen, 5th Bn. Manch. R., T.F., attd. 2nd Bn. For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in the attack on the Fonsomme Line on October 1st/2nd, 1918. On the company commander becoming a casualty, he assumed command and showed fine leadership and resisted a heavy counter-attack. He personally manipulated a captured enemy machine gun from an isolated position and inflicted considerable losses on the enemy. Throughout he behaved most gallantly."

And the first verse of the poem reads;

"Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs,
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots,
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame, all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of gas-shells dropping softly behind."

Other famous natives or residents of Scrobbesburh included George Robey ("The Prime Minister of Mirth", a very famous Music Hall artiste, and an inside forward on the books of Millwall); Leo Blair, father of King Tony 1st; Michael Heseltine; Percy Thrower (the original TV Gardener); Steve Winwood (Spencer Davis Group, and Traffic); and Nick Hancock (whatever happened to him?)

And as a change from Latin (for which I suspect Revived Red will be more than grateful), I thought that this week we'd do a bit of Spanish - well, Argentinian Spanish (which may or may not be the same thing) ......... And to keep it football-related, say hello to Héctor "Bambino" Veira, a former Argentintinian footballer, who played for San Lorenzo (twice), managed them four times, and also managed Vélez Sársfield, River Plate, Cádiz, Boca Juniors, Bolivia and Newell's Old Boys .......... He was responsible for:

"Pusimos un micro en el arco y la metieron por la ventanilla".

("We put a bus in the goal and they put the ball through the window."),

and my favourite, which is

"Yo tengo un laburo más difícil que el plomero del Titanic".

("My job is harder than the Titanic's plumber.")

Starter for Ten Time; in season 1958/59, the Third Division North and the Third Division South became Division 3 and Division 4 ........... the inaugural season of Division 3 saw a League composed of two relegated sides (Donnie and Notts County), eleven sides from the "old" Third Division South (Southend United, Bournemouth, Southampton, Brentford, Norwich City, Colchester United, Newport County, Plymouth Argyle, Queens Park Rangers, Reading, and Swindon Town), and eleven from the Third Division North (Bury, Tranmere Rovers, Bradford City, Hull City, Chesterfield, Halifax Town, Mansfield Town, Rochdale, Team X, Stockport County, and Wrexham) ..... but who were Team X? ........ and they weren't Stockpot, Rochdale, Donnie or Notts Co, who were the first sides to be GreasyPoled to Division 4 ...... Donnie and Notts Co being regulated twice in two seasons!

The Shrews have been around since 1886, and joined the Football League in 1950 .... looking at their club records, their biggest League win was 12–1 against Hereford City in the Shropshire & District League on 20 October 1894, and their biggest win ever, believe it or not, was the following Saturday, 27th October 1894, when the beat Mold Alyn Stars 21-0 in the Welsh FA Cup 1st round; that must have been some party!

They finished Covid Season 2019/20 in 15th - P34 W10 D11 L13 GF31 GA42 for 41 points (PPG of 1.21, 0.01 ahead of Lincoln and 0.07 ahead of us) ...... we lost 3-2 at ours last season, but won 2-0 at theirs, as part of their end of season slump which went W4 D2 L8 in 14 games ...... The Bishop of Wham and The Wanderer scored at the New (NotVeryGay) Meadow, and Bobby Grant (currently at Oldham on loan from Wrexham, and having scored 2 in 15 at the last count) and Clicker (who came to us from Shrewsbury, you'll remember) scored at theirs

They ProperSigned three in the Winter Window - CMF David Davis from Brum, LB Nathanael Ogbeta from Man City, and Curtis Main - which is French for "hand" - from Aberdeen ............ plus Blackburn's RW Harry Chapman and Everton CB Matthew Pennington arrived on loan .....they haven't been better than 16th all season, and from late October to mid December they were rooted firmly in the GreasyPole lane.... A season of two halves (so far) - after 15 games they had one win (1-0 at the Wombles), eight draws (including a Desmond at theirs against us, Joe Pritchard getting our first, and Ryan Cassidy slotting in a 95th-minute pen) and six losses .......... then they went to Hull and won 1-0; next game they went to Lincoln and won 1-0; then they went to Donnie and won 1-0; in their last 10 games (including those three) they've won 7, drawn one and lost two, beating Posh 2-0 and Sunderland 2-1 as well .... so, wins against the teams currently 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 6th - and they've also taken a point off 4th-placed Pompey ........... Might need watching, this lot ..... top scorer is Shaun Whalley with 5 (Dion's now joint fourth in League One on 13)

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time which - as a sign of normality returning - is 3.00pm on Saturday 20th February ....... Courtesy of their poor start to the season, they're currently 17th with 33 points (home W3 D5 L4, away W5 D4 L4). They're the last of the top 'half' of the season, but the stragglers - the bottom 7 - are now all at least 6 points behind them ....... Brizzle have 27/27, Rochdale 26/28, Wombles 25/26, Cobblers 25/28, Swindon 24/28, Wigan 24/27 and Burton 22/26 ........... and Team X -the missing team from Third Division North who helped found the new Division 3 in 1958/59 - was ..............US!

Good luck to everyone! .......... Stay safe and keep well! ............ And thanks for playing!

[Stevie R]

4-0 to Stanley please

[Outback Ozzy]

Another nervy 2-1 win for Stanley please

[cashman]

2-0 stanley

[DaveinGermany]

2-0 to the Stanley please D3N.

[ossy kid]

Your starter for ten was a bit too easy for those of us who were at Peel Park to watch Stanley start the downhill slide to oblivion that season, even though we did give 1st division Portsmouth a scare in the F.A. cup. Anyway, back to reality, Stanley 3-0 please.

[AccyMad]

Always a hard game against the Shrews but hopefully our lads will be playing with the confidence that last night's win will have given them - I'll go for a 2 - 1 win for Stanley please

[andyd]

Stanley 2-0 Shrewsbury.

[Div3North]

Originally Posted by ossy kid

Your starter for ten was a bit too easy for those of us who were at Peel Park to watch Stanley start the downhill slide to oblivion that season ...

People tell me they never know the answers to the Starters for Ten, and thus - by implication - they're too hard/obscure .......... and yes, often they are ....

HOWEVER
If I'm told the S for 10 was "too easy" I'll clearly need to address that ........ just wait till you see what I give you all for the Crewe game next Tuesday

Mwwwahahahaha!

[Tommy McQueen]

Stanley 2 Srews 1 please

[Taypot]

Stanley 5 Shrews 0

[Chimer]

I knew X was us, but would have sworn blind I was at the first two games of that season with my Dad while on holiday in London, against QPR and Millwall, who weren't in your list ...... now turns out they were our first two games in Div 4, two years later.

On the subject of "rates", the Navy measured quantity not quality, only size matters ...

And on the reason for posting, 3-0 Stanley - surely?

[LongLostSon]

Stanley 3 Shaun Walley 2 ( & to think I once sponsored his shirt when he was ours ! )

[Watchdog]

2-1 win for Stanley please

[Exile on Spencer St]

Two fantastic performances against top teams, and now a home game against Shrewsbury....methinks the VG of F will be looking for a human sacrifice.

0-2 !