2023-24 Prediction League; Game 38 v Notts County (home)

[Div3North]

Accrington Stanley

V

Notts County FC

2023/24 Prediction League Game 38 v Alan Rickman’s Snotty Legends (home)

Starter for Ten; Jordan Pickford is the England Men's number one GK, and Mary Earps is the Lionesses’ first choice ……….. but apart from that, what connects the two of them?

And Mab notched March’s first TenfromLen on Tuesday night, being the only player who Kept the Faith AND predicted 2-1 to Stanley ….. on 82 minutes, he was on for one point, and Ange B, Watchdog and I were on for Tens in the PL …………. Personally I blame the wretched youth who scored the goal and the Custodian du But (who should have saved it) …… and suddenly Mab was on for - and got - 10 and we all dropped down to one point each …… Bah Humbug!

And another manager bites the dust – this time Watford’s Valerien Ismael (is he related, Joe?), who became an ex-Watford Manager on 9th March…… he’s had eight managerial appointments since 2014 (three in England), and – in date order – he lasted 6 months at FC Nurmberg, 4.5 months at Wolfsburg, 2 months at Appollon Smirnis (one game, which he lost), 13.5 months at Lask Linz, 8 months at Barnsley Lambchops, 7 months at Besiktas, and 10 months (minus two days) at Watford ……. None of his tenures lasted over 50 games ………. Would you recommend him for the Accie job? Nor would I ………

Second Starter for Ten, then; what was unusual about the football played at Meadow Park in Gloucester last Saturday, even by Tier 6 standards (NLS / NLN)?

The name “Nottingham” is Anglo-Saxon in origin: a Saxon chieftain named Snot ruled an area known as Snotingaham, “the homestead of Snot's people” Lovely!

On the return of Richard the Lionheart from the Crusades in 1194, the castle originally built by King William the First -

“It’s William of Normandie, up to his tricks
Cried Harold at Pevensey, 1066”

- was occupied by supporters of Prince John, including the Sheriff of Nottingham. It was besieged by Richard and, after a sharp conflict, was captured. In the legends of Robin Hood, Nottingham Castle is the scene of the final showdown between the Sheriff and the hero outlaw (Robin of the Hoods) ………. King John visited Nottingham in 1199 and 1202; later Henry III held a court there.

By the 15th century Nottingham had established itself as a centre of a thriving export trade in religious sculpture made from Nottingham alabaster. During the late medieval period Nottingham alabasters were exported as far afield as Iceland, and may explain why a small number of Icelandic immigrants lived in Nottingham during the 15th century (see, they had immigration issues even then) The town became a county corporate in 1449 giving it effective self-government, in the words of the charter, "for eternity". The Castle and Shire Hall were expressly excluded and remained as detached Parishes of Nottinghamshire.

During the Industrial Revolution, much of Nottingham's prosperity was founded on the textile industry; in particular, the city became an internationally important centre of lace manufacture. In 1831 citizens rioted in protest against the Duke of Newcastle's opposition to the Reform Act 1832, setting fire to his residence on the site of Nottingham Castle. In common with the UK textile industry, Nottingham's textile sector fell into decline in the decades following the Second World War. Little textile manufacture now takes place in Nottingham; however, many of the former industrial buildings in the Lace Market district have been restored and put to new uses.

You remember that I once had a penchant for Fort William FC – now of the North Caledonian League……. You might be pleased to know that they’re winning quite a lot these days (P19 W12 D2 L5 GF58 GA33 for 38 points and 3rd place in the League (Tier 6)……… they played Golspie Sutherland a few days back, and Golspie’s side, you might be interested to read, contained the following players

3 Martin Sutherland
4 Adam Sutherland
5 Steven Sutherland
6 Cameron Sutherland

(Donald would have played, but he was busy filming, apparently)

And have you ever wondered if any individual players (not the whole team) have ever refused to come out for the second half of a match? Well, Celtic’s Aussie striker Mark Viduka - remember him? – refused to play the second half of a Scottish Cup tie in February 2000 ……….. Celtic were losing 2-1 to Caley Thistle at the time, and Viduka took offence when Manager John Barnes’s assistant (Eric Black) asked him “Is it too cold tonight? Do you not fancy it?” Celtic went on to lose 3-1, and within 48 hours Barnes and Black were sacked (Viduka wasn’t) ………. This was the famous game leading to the newspaper headline

“Super Caley Go Ballistic Celtic Were Atrocious”

But better than that – although not exactly a “refusal to play” – was apparently Nicolas Anelka, who came off at half time during France’s game against Mexico in the 2010 World Cup …….. the reported de-brief of player by coach resulted in Anelka telling Raymond Domenech (in French, I imagine) to “go f*ck yourself, you son of a bitch” …………. Anelka was sent home and suspended for 18 games by the French FA, and France crashed out of the World Cup at the Group stage ………… “Power to the People!”

Founded on 28 November 1862, Notts County is the oldest professional association football club in the world, and predates the Football Association itself. The club became one of the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888. They’re nicknamed the "Magpies" due to the black and white colour of their home strip, which inspired Italian club Juventus to adopt the colours for their kit in 1903. After playing at different home grounds during its first fifty years, the club moved to Meadow Lane in 1910 and remains there. They finished third in the top flight of English football in the 1890–91 season, which, together with the same achievement 10 seasons later, remains their highest ever league position. They also reached the 1891 FA Cup final, finishing as runners-up to Blackburn Rovers. However three years later the club won the 1894 FA Cup final with a 4–1 victory over The Trotters: from 1897 until 1920 they played in the First Division which was then the top flight, barring the 1913–14 season when they won the Second Division immediately following relegation the previous year.

The “Golden Age” of the club came just after the end of the Second World War. County stunned the footballing world by signing Tommy Lawton from Chelsea for a then-record fee of £20,000 (equivalent to £832,500). Lawton's arrival increased crowds by over 10,000. One incident during this period saw 10,000 fans locked outside the ground. In the 1949–50 season, Notts County clinched the Third Division (South) championship. Crowds averaged 35,000 as The Magpies held off Nottingham Forest in a thrilling championship race. As the 1950s drew to a close, Nottingham Forest replaced Notts County as the city's biggest club. After the 1957–58 season, the two clubs did not play each other again in a League match for 16 years, until 26 December 1973. They lost their League status for the first time in their 157 year history when they were beaten 3-1 by Swindon

Their record League win was 11-1 v Newport in January1949, and their best-ever cup win was 15-0 against Rotherham Town in October 1885 …………. Current Manager is Stuart Maynard ......

They Stormed the Ramparts of the Bananarama last season, scoring 107 points and 117 goals (of which Macaulay Langstaff scored 42), and going up through the Playoffs, having finished four points behind Wrexham Hollywood, beating Boring Wood 3-2 in the Semis, and Chesterfield 4-3 on penalties, after a Desmond (having equalised firstly on 87 minutes, and then on 108) in the Final………… they added three to their squad in the Window (RB Lewis Macari – grandson of Luigi Macari – see last week) from Stoke), CMF Scott Robertson from Fleetwood, and Gambian-born striker Alassana Jatta from Viborg Fodsports Forening in Danemark …………….. incoming loanees were GK Luca Ashby-Hammond (Fulham), CB Jaden Warner from the Canaries, and CMF Charlie Colkett from Crewe

Currently they’re 17th, with a record of P36 W14 D5 L17 GF70 GA70 and 47 points, behind Tranmere on GD and 2 points and two places below us ………. 70 goals scored in the League is bettered only by Mansfield (73), and 70 conceded is worserered only by Salford (71); Sutton have also let in 70 ……….. Vegan Greenpeace have won their last two, and have leapfrogged Colchester out of the GreasyPole places by one point, although Colchester have two games in hand …. County have lost 11 of their last 16, including the last five, and their away record is W4 D4 L10

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 16th March ……. After Notts Co we play the sides currently sitting 1st, 2nd, 4th, 11th, 12th, 16th, 19th and 24th (but not in that order), and although were 17 points above the drop zone, a run of runs wouldn’t half set us up for next season!

And the connection between Jordan Pickford and Mary Earps is that the were both born on 7th March (albeit not in the same year) ….. and on 9th March 2024 at Meadow Park, Gloucester City played Boston United in the Bananarama North at 3.00pm (Boston won 7-3), and Truro City played Chelmsford City in the Bananarama South at 7.30 (Chelmsford won 4-1); hope they left enough water for a team bath for the Night Match, but what a Goal Fest if you stayed on for the double header! And who the hell moved Truro?

Good luck to everyone! ………….. Keep the (Re-found) Faith! ….. And thanks for playing

[Watchdog]

Accrington Stanley to WIN 2-1

[choirboy]

Stanley 2-0 Notts County for me please.

[AccyMad]

2 - 1 to Stanley please

[VALAIRIAN]

No

[teach]

1-1 draw for me please.

[Div3North]

Originally Posted by VALAIRIAN

No

Eh?

[Chimer]

Not getting carried away here, but I'll risk a tight 1-0 Stanley ....

[VALAIRIAN]

Originally Posted by Div3North

Eh?

And another manager bites the dust – this time Watford’s Valerien Ismael (is he related, Joe?), who became an ex-Watford Manager on 9th March…… he’s had eight managerial appointments since 2014 (three in England), and – in date order – he lasted 6 months at FC Nurmberg, 4.5 months at Wolfsburg, 2 months at Appollon Smirnis (one game, which he lost), 13.5 months at Lask Linz, 8 months at Barnsley Lambchops, 7 months at Besiktas, and 10 months (minus two days) at Watford ……. None of his tenures lasted over 50 games ………. Would you recommend him for the Accie job? Nor would I ………

[choirboy]

Originally Posted by VALAIRIAN

No

YES!!!!!

[Div3North]

Originally Posted by VALAIRIAN

And another manager bites the dust – this time Watford’s Valerien Ismael (is he related, Joe?), who became an ex-Watford Manager on 9th March…… he’s had eight managerial appointments since 2014 (three in England), and – in date order – he lasted 6 months at FC Nurmberg, 4.5 months at Wolfsburg, 2 months at Appollon Smirnis (one game, which he lost), 13.5 months at Lask Linz, 8 months at Barnsley Lambchops, 7 months at Besiktas, and 10 months (minus two days) at Watford ……. None of his tenures lasted over 50 games ………. Would you recommend him for the Accie job? Nor would I ………

Oh, I see

Too subtle for a Bear of Very Little Brain

[Div3North]

Originally Posted by choirboy

YES!!!!!

I’m going for a lie down in a darkened room

[Greger]

Stanley 3 County 1, please!

[MikeA]

2-0 Stanley, please

[ossy kid]

Stanley 2 - 0 County please