2020/21 Prediction League; Game 32 v Fleetwood Town (away)

Div3North · 25-02-2021, 17:49

Fleetwoof Town FC

V

Accrington Stanley

2020/21 Prediction League Game 32; v Ex Barton Boys (away)

An article about Joey BadBoy and his appointment at Brizzle referred to coach Andy Mangan as "an industrial striker in his day"; discuss (when you've stopped laughing)

And I'm really struggling to keep up with the sackings and the appointments ..... and I'm prepared to bet that no town or city in the UK with two League teams has ever seen them both appoint new bosses on the same day! Welcome to Bristol City (the refined half) Nigel Pearson, who was appointed at Ashton Gate on 22nd Feb following the dismissal of Dean Holden (hands up who could pick Dean Holden out in a Police line-up?), but who hopes to "extend his stay beyond May" (you'll be lucky, my son .....) ......... No doubt he'll be popping along to Brizzle shortly for a jar with Joey BB

You'll remember that Portly Value nicked Walsall's manager Darrell Clarke last week ..... Walsall have appointed Brian Dutton (previously the Asst Manager there) ....... Barrow terminated Michael Jolley after 60 days (W2 D1 L5) and replaced him (temporarily?) with Rob Kelly (their fourth manager since 30th June last year) ......... and Colchester have totalled Steve Ball after 210 days (20th July 2020); P34 W8 D13 L13, but they haven't won in 13, and have plummeted from 7th (mid-November) to 21st now, after losing to Exeter on Tuesday .... they're now only 7 points above the GreasyPole places - though I doubt anyone could be worse than Grimsby, Barrow or Southend ... and (this is becoming quite common) they've replaced him with an Interim Head Coach, who's Wayne Brown, a former Colchester player but currently manager of 7th-Tier Isthmian League North Division side Maldon & Tiptree, whose season has been suspended because of Covid ...........Likewise, Jonathan Woodgate is Interim Head Coach at Bournemouth, where he's just been joined by Joe Jordan (who I thought was very good as one of the pro dancers on Strictly) ..... Question; can you be interim manager of a Tier Four side if you're already manager of a Tier 7 side? And of course Neil Lennon's looking for a job ............ and a place to hide ............

Now then; ....... Did you know that Blackpool FC's all-time leading goal scorer, with 252 goals in 373 games, was centre forward James (Jimmy) Hampson? His career started with Nelson, then a League side (Division 3), where among other things he scored three hat-tricks in consecutive games ...... he was transferred to Blackpool for £1,000 in October 1927, and played three times for England, scoring 5 goals (one on his debut v Ireland in a 5-1 win in 1930, two against Wales in a 4-0 win soon after, and two against Austria in 1932 (bear in mind Dixie Dean played in the same position!) ...........

On 8th January 1938 Hampson played in an FA Cup game against Birmingham (away), creating the only goal in their 1-0 win from a quick throw-in; on the 9th he visited his wife Betty in a Nursing Home; and on the 10th he went fishing with some friends on a 40 foot yacht (The Defender) off Fleetwood ...........He never played for Blackpool again ............ but - Starter for Ten - Why?

Have you ever wondered how many sides have 'disappeared' over the years from the Football League? Well, including those who were relegated who never came back (or haven't yet - the likes of the Daggers), resigned, were liquidated or expelled, it comes to 54 ....... It includes Accrington, and Accrington Stanley pre-62, both of whom resigned; in many cases a Phoenix club has sprung up (so, Aldershot were liquidated in 1992, and Aldershot Town were relegated in 2013, but still survive in the BananaArena, but both make the list) ....

There were quite a few who only held League status for a short number of years (including Accrington v1) ...... Durham City were members from 1921/22 to 1927/28 (not re-elected); Kidderminster Harriers lasted from 2000/01 to 2004/05 (relegated); New Brighton Tower joined in 1898/99 and were liquidated in 1900/01 - one of the shortest stays .......... but there were two teams who each lasted just the one season; Bootle, and Middlesbrough Ironopolis

Bootle were formed in 1879 as Bootle St Johns AFC, and played in the Football Alliance from 1889; their best finish was 2nd; they made the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup, losing 7-0 to Blackburn, and four of their players played internationally for Wales ... In 1887 they signed former Scotland international Andrew Watson, the first black international player. If, as is likely, he was paid, then he was the first black professional footballer in history, pre-dating Arthur Wharton. When the Alliance merged with the Football League in 1892, Bootle became founder members of the new Second Division. Despite finishing eighth, the club resigned after one season, becoming one of the first two clubs to do so (the other being Accrington F.C.). They were replaced by Liverpool, and seemingly disappeared due to financial problems ...

Middlesbrough Ironopolis (formed 1889 by members of the amateur side Middlesbrough FC) played in the Northern League from 1890 to 1893, winning three consecutive titles. During the 1892–93 season, they reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, losing to Preston North End in a replay, and were accepted into the Second Division for the 1893–94 season (replacing Accrington). Division Two also included Liverpool, Newcastle United, and Woolwich Arsenal; Ironopolis (known as the Nops, or the Washers - don't ask!) finished 11th out of 15 clubs, beating Small Heath (now Birmingham City), 3–0, and Ardwick (now Man City) 2–0. They played 28 games, won 8, drew 4, lost 16, scored 37 goals, conceded 72, and finished with 20 points.

However the club lost its stadium, (the Paradise Ground, which was adjacent to Middlesbrough F.C.'s Ayresome Park), at the end of the season. Its financial position was poor, as gate receipts didn't cover the cost of players' wages and of travelling to fixtures in distant parts of England. In February 1894 all the professional players were served notice of the plans to liquidate the team. The club's final game was a 1–1 draw against South Bank on 30 April 1894 (Melvyn Bragg scoring the South Bank goal), and Ironopolis resigned from the Football League the following month, and was disbanded.

Only two clubs have ever been expelled from the League; Bury you'll know all about; the other was Leeds City .... They were elected to the Football League in 1905; the original secretary/manager/coach was one Gilbert Gillies (1904–1908) who was followed by Frank Scott-Walford before, in 1912, they appointed Herbert Chapman, who guided the club to their highest position in the league (4th in the Second Division).

Leeds City's whole league career was in the Second Division. After the war a scandal ensued and they were accused of financial irregularities, including breaking the ban on paying players during the war; that led to the club's dissolution in 1919. They were expelled from the League eight games into the 1919–20 season; such a harsh punishment was handed down mostly because of the behaviour of the club's directors, it's said, who refused to co-operate in an FA inquiry, and refused to hand over the club's financial records. For the record, Port Vale took over their remaining fixtures (as well as their results up to that point).

Uniquely, as far as I know, Leeds City had a 'fire sale' (well, a fire auction) which included not only club assets but also players; on 17 October 1919, an auction was held at the Metropole Hotel in Leeds, where the playing staff was auctioned off; the 16 members of the squad were bought by nine clubs for a total of £9,250 .... most expensive was Billy McLeod, bought by Notts Co for £1250; two others - Harry Millership and John Hampson (not related to James Hampson (see above)) - each went for a grand, to Rotherham County and Aston Villa; Bargain of the Week was £100 Francis Chipperfield, one of three bought by Lincoln City .......... There have been two subsequent "Leeds Cities", but none with so colourful a tale!

Modern Slavery eat your heart out ........ "What am I bid for this fine, strapping Centre 'alf, who can kick six players in one go and who once went a whole game without being sent off!?"

Fleetwoof finished Covid Season 2019/20 in 6th place, with a PPG average of 1.71 (P35 W16 DF12 L7 GF51 GA38 for 60 points) ... The Play Off Semis brought Wycombe to town, and they left with a 4-1 win (a Wycombe goal, a Ched Evans equalising penalty, and a Fleetwoof OG all in the first six minutes); the return was a Desmond ........... since we last played they've evicted striker Innocent Cheddar Evans ("I'm the Manager! It's him or me!" .... "Actually, Joey, it's both of you") who's now at Deepdabble, parted ways with Joey Badboy (now at Brizzle (see above)), released Canadian-born GK Jayson Leutwiler to Huddersfield, and free-transferred CB Sam Stubbs to Exeter ...... in exchange, they've got CMF Daniel Batty for nowt, and RMF Chris Conn-Clarke from the Dingles for £undisclosed............. three loans in, including The Don, Blackburn GK Joe Hilton (family have a couple of Hotels, I believe) and striker Kyle Vassell (wasn't he a Russian Spy?) from the Millers ... and Simon Graybeard as Manager - well, for this week anyway ........

We met earlier this season at ours, winning 1-0 courtesy of The Wanderer on 58 mins (game referee'd by "NutMe" Drysdale) ...... They're not having a thrilling season as yet - last of the peleton, but 8 points and 20 goals above The Richdoodles; P30 W9 D9 L12 GF33 GA28 for 36 points and 17th place .... and the bottom seven in the League are now covered by just four points, so it's getting a bit squeaky down below (as it were) ....The Codpieces were out of the EFL Cup before we played them last time (5-2 to Everton); they left the FA Cup in Round One (2-0 to Hull away) and the Troffy in Round Three, 3-2 to .... errr .... Hull, away ....... Leading scorers are Callum Camps with 9, Mad Paddyen ...... sorry, Paddy Madden, with 8, and InnocentChed with 7

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 27th February .......... and as they've been a bit of a Bogey Side for us in the past, we need to be careful ...... and to try and score ...... and to not let them score ........... Referee is Sam Allison, with Seb Stockbridge on the monitor and the extra time board; Sammy Baby hasn't given a penalty since 20th October, according to the stats, (13 games ago) , and only one red all season ...........And the 40-foot yacht that Jimmy Hampson went fishing from on that fateful Sunday in 1938 collided with a trawler off Fleetwood, and Hampson was knocked overboard. He drowned, and his body was never recovered. You never know the day, do you ..........

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