2023-24 Prediction League; Game 19 v Bradford City AFC (away)

Div3North · 23-11-2023, 22:54

Bradford City

V

Accrington Stanley

2023/24 Prediction League Game 19 v Woolopolis FC (away)

Tell you what, as bad weeks go, Barnsley have had a bummer ……….. not content with losing 5-1 on Tuesday at Bratfud in the EFL Trophy (although they have made Round 2), they’ve now been kicked out of the FA Cup for fielding an ineligible player in their first-round replay win at non-league Horsham of the 7th Tier; Ho-Ho-Horsham will now play League Two Sutton United in Round 2. "We would like to apologise to our fans, players and staff for this regrettable error," the LambChops said in a statement on the club website.…. I bet they didn’t tell whoever caused it that it was a “a regrettable error”, unless “regrettable” is now spelled with an “f” …….

Barnsley (6th in League One) haven’t named the player, but FA Rules state that only players who are eligible for the initial FA Cup tie can feature in a replay; forward Aiden Marsh was on loan at York City when the first game (a 3-3 draw, you’ll recall) was played on 3 November, before being recalled three days later. The 20-year-old Marsh then started in the replay in West Sussex on 14 November. Oooopsie! Barnsley for the Cup!

And as if by magic (which proves that anyone can beat anyone in League Two on their day), we did Wrecked’em in the League last Saturday 2-0; four players thought we’d win something-nil, but although we had predictions of 1-0, 3-0 (Kiwi) and 5-0 (Chimer, who possibly needs to take more water with it), no-one put 2-0, so no TenFromLens this week, although there were seven who scored five points

Starter for Ten, then: Bratfud appointed Graham Alexander as Manager on 6th November, and his first game in charge was on Armistice Day (11/11) against Barrow Bluebirds …… But how long did it take the Bluebirds to rain on his parade?

Twenty-two managers have left their jobs (either by choice, or on the end of a pikestaff) so far this season, so - if Morecambe do pinch Professor Coleman to replace Derek Adams - we could always search the highways and byways, having plenty of options ……….. my choice would be Bad Boy Barton; he may be cra*p as a manager, but it’d not be boring!

Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, Bradford grew in the 19th century as an international centre of textile manufacture, particularly wool. It was a boom town of the Industrial Revolution, and amongst the earliest industrialised settlements, rapidly becoming the "wool capital of the world"; this in turn gave rise to the nicknames "Woolopolis" and "Wool City". Lying in the eastern foothills of the Pennines, the area's access to supplies of coal, iron ore and soft water facilitated the growth of a manufacturing base, which, as textile manufacture grew, led to an explosion in population and was a stimulus to civic investment. There’s a large amount of listed Victorian architecture in the city, including the grand Italianate City Hall. It became a municipal borough in 1847, and received a city charter in 1897. The name Bradford is derived from the Old English ”brad” and ”ford” - the “broad ford” - which referred to a crossing of the Bradford Beck at Church Bank below the site of Bradford Cathedral, around which a settlement grew in Anglo-Saxon times. It was recorded as "Bradeford" in 1086. It’s the third-largest economy within the Yorkshire and the Humber region at around £10 billion, which is mostly provided by financial and manufacturing industries. It is also a tourist destination, the first UNESCO City of Film and it has the National Science and Media Museum, a city park, the Alhambra theatre and Cartwright Hall. The City is the UK City of Culture for 2025, having won the designation on 31 May 2022. (Culture? Bratfud?)

You may have heard of The Bradford Pals, who were three First World War Pals battalions of Kitchener's Army raised in the City. When the three battalions were taken over by the British Army they were officially named the 16th (1st Bradford), 18th (2nd Bradford), and 20th (Reserve) Battalions of The Prince of Wales's Own (West Yorkshire Regiment). On the morning of 1 July 1916, the 16th and 18th Battalions left their trenches in Northern France to advance across No Man's Land; it was the first hour of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Of the estimated 1,394 men from Bradford and District in the two battalions, 1,060 were either killed or injured during the ill-fated attack on the village of Serre-lès-Puisieux.

At the 2011 UK census, Bradford had a population of 522,452. There were 106,680 households in Bradford, and the population density was 11,820 per square mile. For every 100 females, there were 92.9 males (you have to feel sorry for the girl who got the 0.9!). Bradford - apparently - has the youngest, fastest growing population outside London. On 20 June 1911, Britain's first trolleybus systems opened simultaneously in Bradford, between Laisterdyke and Dudley Hill, and in Leeds. The last service in Bradford—and Britain—ceased operation on 26 March 1972. The Patron Saint of Bradford is Saint Blaise (because of his patronage of wool combing), and his statue features on the Wool Exchange in the centre of the city. The City is the home town of rock bands New Model Army, Anti System, Smokie, Southern Death Cult, The Cult, The Scene, Redwire, Chantel McGregor, One Minute Silence, Scars on 45, Terrorvision, My Dying Bride and hip hop group Fun-Da-Mental. So now you know! Anyone for a jive?

Among Bradford born people who made significant contributions to the arts were David Hockney, painter, draughtsman, printmaker, stage designer and photographer, who was born in the city and educated at Bradford Grammar School. Frederick Delius (1862–1934) was a composer born to a family of German descent in the city and J.B. Priestley (1894–1984) was a novelist and playwright.

Second Starter for Ten; in the past month Celtic lost 6-0 to Athletico Madrid, and then beat Aberdeen 6-0 in their next match ………. in 1960, Charlton beat Plymouth on 26th December, and Plymouth beat Charlton the next day in the return fixture by the identical score …. but what was the score by which each of them beat the other?

Bradford City AFC was founded in 1903 and immediately elected into the Football League Second Division. Promotion to the top tier followed as they won the 1907–08 Second Division title, and then they went on to win the 1911 FA Cup final (which remains the club's only major honour), beating Newcastle 1-0 at Old Trafford following a goalless Desmond at Crystal Palace - the winning goal being scored by Bradford skipper James Hamilton Spiers MM.They yo-yo’d around the divisions until in 1998–99 they reached the Premier League, marking a return to the top-flight after a 77-year absence. They reached the semi-finals of the Intertoto Cup in 2000–01, losing 4-0 on aggregate to Zenit St Petersburg, but ended the campaign by greasypoling from the Premier League. A succession of financial crises followed as the club entered administration twice in two years, and further relegations followed in 2004 and 2007 to leave the club back in the fourth tier. They found success under Phil Parkinson by reaching the 2013 League Cup final and then going on to win that year's League Two play-off final, but were relegated from League One again in 2019. By the way, "MM" stands for Military Medal, not Man of the Match!

They play at the 25,136-capacity Valley Parade, which was the site of the Bradford City stadium fire on 11 May 1985, which cost the lives of 56 supporters. The match between Bradford City and Lincoln City, the final game of that season, had started in a celebratory atmosphere with the home team receiving the Third Division championship trophy. At 3.40 pm, television commentator John Helm remarked upon a small fire in the main stand; in less than four minutes, with the windy conditions, the fire had engulfed the whole stand, trapping some people in their seats. In the panic that ensued, fleeing crowds escaped on to the pitch but others at the back of the stand tried to break down locked exit doors to escape. Many were burnt to death at the turnstile gates, which had also been locked after the match had begun. There were many cases of heroism, with more than 50 people later receiving police awards or commendations for bravery. For more, you may want to read “Four Minutes to Hell; The Story of the Bradford City Fire” by the late Paul Firth, who was present at the game and later wrote the story of it. He was a professional colleague and also a friend of mine ……

Bradford City is the only professional football club in England to wear claret and amber. The club colours were inherited from Manningham FC, when the club converted to football upon Bradford City's foundation in 1903. Manningham RFC adopted the colours in 1884 before the move to Valley Parade in 1886. Having originally worn black shirts with white shorts, the club's first game in claret and amber was against Hull on 20 September 1884, at Carlisle Road. The reason Manningham chose claret and amber is not documented, but the colours were the same as those of The Prince of Wales's Own West Yorkshire Regiment, which was based at Belle Vue Barracks on nearby Manningham Lane. The Bantams (small chickens) have worn claret and amber, with either white or black, since they were founded. Since the fire in 1985, the club has used black on the kit as a memorial to the 56 supporters who died; in their early years, one of the team’s nicknames was “The Wasps”; former managers include Frank Stapleton, Chris Kamara, Bryan Robson, Terry Yorath, Colin Todd, David Steele - who I thought was the one-time leader of the Liberal Party - Peter Taylor, and Stuart McCall (four times) …… most appearances were by Ces Podd (574) and most goals by Bobby Campbell (143); record League defeat was 9-1 by Colchester and 8-0 by Man City

Third Starter for Ten; which is the least competitive League in Europe?

They finished last season in 6th place in League Two, on 76 points, qualifying for the League Two play offs, where they beat Carlisle 1-0 in the semi-final first leg, and lost the second leg 3-1 aet …. ten left the club in the summer, all but two going to free agent status or non-league; DMF Yann Songo’o joined manager-less Morecambe, and CMF Jay Tinsdale went to the Blades …. seven signed on, including DMF Kevin McDonald from Exeter, striker Tyler Smith from Hull, CB Ash Taylor from the Killies and Irish CB Lewis Richards from Wolves .. currently they’re 18th, with 20 points from 18 games (W5 D5 L8) and a -7 GD, having only scored 20 goals, which is equalled by Donnie and Vegan Greenpeace …….. only Harrogate (17) have scored fewer ……….. W3 D3 L2 at home, W2 D2 L6 away ……oh, and they’ve lost their last four in the League, scoring 5 and conceding 12 ……….. and both the new Boss’s games in charge in the League have been defeats - and long may it continue!

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 25th November …….. head-to-head is 8-5 in our favour, with 5 draws, but two of our wins and one draw were cups - FA, League, and LDV Vans; in season 2018/19 we won 3-1 at home and lost 3-0 away; could snatch this one, you might think (if you’re not Mr Valairian!)…. and no doubt Graham Alexander would have liked to start his tenure at Bradford with a win, but Barrow weren’t for playing that game ………….. they burst his balloon after 26 seconds, and eventually won 2-1 ………. not that 26 seconds before conceding in your debut game is a record: “new manager bounce” didn’t help Billy Kirkwood when he was appointed as manager of Dundee Utd in 1995 …….. their first game was against Rangers, who stuck the ball in the Terrors net after just 16 seconds (the club nicknames are The Terrors or The Tangerines, and their fans are known as Arabs; not a lot of people know that!) ……. and at Christmas 1960, Charlton beat Plymouth 6-4 on Boxing Day, and Plymouth beat Charlton 6-4 the following day ………..And the least competitive football league is the Bosnia and Herzegovina Women’s Premier League; the last 21 titles have all been won by SFK 2000 Sarajevo …… and they won their first four games of this season with 22 scored and nil conceded

Good luck to everyone! ……….. Keep the Faith! ……………. Thanks for playing! …… And remember, never underestimate the power of human stupidity!