2023-24 Prediction League; Game 5 v Salford City FC (away)

[Div3North]

Salford City

V

Accrington Stanley

2023/24 Prediction League Game 5; v Salford Central Platform 3 (away)

Starter for Ten; what slightly unusual event created a real buzz, and caused the game between Whyteleafe and Hythe Town to be abandoned, in 2012? And had it ever been recorded happening before anywhere?

If you didn’t know, Salford is indeed a City, having been granted city status by a Royal Charter of 1926; another charter of 1967 raised the Royal Salford Technical Institute to the status of university by establishing The University of Salford. It was the judicial seat of the former Salfordshire in the historic county of Lancashire, and it was granted a market charter in about 1230 by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester (known to his mates as “Blondie”) . These two facts made Salford at the time of greater cultural and commercial importance than Manchester, next to which it stood; the Industrial Revolution of the late 18th and early 19th centuries reversed that relationship.

The economy of the city was focused on a major cotton and silk spinning and weaving factory district in the 18th and 19th centuries, and on the important inland port on the Manchester Ship Canal from 1894. Industrial decline in the 20th century lead to the city having run-down and antisocial areas. (half of it still looks like a bomb site, and the rest like a war zone). Multiple media sector headquarters relocated to the Salford Quays development called MediaCityUK to replace the loss of heavy industry, and notable establishments and companies in the city include the University of Salford, BBC North and ITV Granada. In August 2005, a survey by Channel 4 television rated the city as the 9th worst place to live in the United Kingdom, based on criteria of crime, education, environment, lifestyle and employment (being brought up in Manchester, I wouldn’t have fancied visiting the top 8!).

The name “Salford” comes from the Old English word Sealhford, meaning “a ford by the willow trees”, referring to the willows that grew alongside the banks of the River Irwell. The ford was round about where Victoria Bridge is today. Salford appears in the pipe roll of 1169 as "Sauford" and in the Lancashire Inquisitions of 1226 as "Sainford".

Famous Salfordians include Joy Division (the rock band), suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst (not born there, but lived there for some years), the novelist Walter Greenwood (Love on the Dole) and the dramatist Shelagh Delaney (A Taste of Honey) , folk singer Ewan McColl (who wrote "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face") , the Happy Mondays, and punk poet John Cooper Clarke; actors Albert Finney and Robert Powell were both born and raised in Salford, as was journalist Alistair Cooke who wrote and broadcast "Letter from America" for decades.

Salford City FC was founded as Salford Central in 1940, and played minor local league football; they joined the Cheshire County League in 1980, which amalgamated into the North West Counties Football League, and changed their name in 1989 to Salford City, securing promotion to the Northern Premier League (NPL) in 2008. The club (just!) survived in the NPL the following season; by March 2009 Salford were languishing at the bottom of the table, having achieved one win and a total of eight points from their first 26 games and leaving them 15 points adrift, but survival was secured on the final day of the season with a 5–2 win away at Garforth Town. It was a turnaround in fortunes known as "The Great Escape"; the club had been bottom of the table since August, were relying on Rossendale losing to Mossley, and were losing their own game 1–0 at half-time. They turned professional in 2017

In 2014 (though) Salford were taken over by former Manchester United players Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Phil Neville, and Paul Scholes, who each own 10% of the club, with Singapore businessman Peter Lim owning the rest; David Beckham purchased a 10% share from Lim in 2019. Under the management of Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley, they were crowned NPL Division One North champions in 2015, won the NPL Premier Division play-offs in 2016, and the National League North title in 2018; in 2019 they won promotion to the League after beating AFC Fylde 3-0 in the Banarama play-off final, managed then by Graham Alexander. They play their home games at Moor Lane, known as the "Peninsula Stadium" for sponsorship purposes: the club has mainly worn tangerine shirts and black shorts throughout their recorded history, before switching to red shirts and white shorts following the takeover: their nickname - ”The Ammies” - stems from their name from the early 1960s to the early 1970s (“Salford Amateurs”): the club anthem is The Pogues’ cover of "Dirty Old Town", a song also written by Salford local Ewan MacColl.

Second Starter for Ten, then: name the footballer who played for Ajax, Juventus, and his national side, won the Champions’ League four times (not on his own, you understand) plus the UEFA Cup, and whose career finished - at his own choosing - after his third red card of the same season, playing for his ex-League team, this time at Salisbury City, in 2013 …. His parting shot was ,,,,,,,,,,,,, “I don’t know how many games we have played now, but there is weird decision making all the time. It is ridiculous. I don’t think I’m going to play any more” ….. and a subsidiary question; how many times in his career was he red-carded?

They ended their debut League season in 11th place on PPG (50 points): in 20/21 they came 8th - 71 points but still no banana; leading scorer that year was Ian “Mr Piano” Henderson of Rochdale fame; in 21/22 they were 10th on 70 points: and last season they finished 7th with 75 points (P46 W22 D9 L15 GD +18)……… in the playoffs they met Stockport (won 1-0 at home, lost 2-1 aet away, lost the shoot-out 3-1); they were tipped out of the FA Cup 3-0 at home by Posh (no, the other one) after a goalless Desmond away; they lost 5-1 at Bolton in the Carabao; and their Trophy Dream ended limply - I know the feeling - 3-1 at Cheltenham. En route they beat us in the Group stages on penalties (4-2, Savin and Martin missing and SeanMcGetWellSoon and Liam Coyle hitting the old onion bag from 12 for us) ….

Third Starter for Ten; which goal-scoring player played for us in 2013/14 (League 2), and them in 2014/15 (Conference North) & 2015/16 (Bananarama Proper), scoring 3 in 22 for us and 38 in 56 for them; he was also the leading scorer in the Bananarama in his second season, as they ghosted through to the EFL?

In the summer - using the term loosely - they parted company with 12, while signing 5 (plus 3 for their B squad): the five were CMF Ossama Ashley from Colchester (currently 92nd), GK Alex Cairns from Fleetwood (and they’ve LoanSigned Millwall keeper Joe Wright until January 24), Blackpool LB Luke Garbutt, Wigan CB Curtis Tilt, and Aberdeen RB Connor McLennan … currently they’re fifth (behind us on GD) with 7 points from 4 games, by winning 2-0 at Vegan Greenpeace and 4-3 last week at Tranmere, losing 2-0 at Grimsby, and drawing 1-1 at home to Crawley ………. we’ve actually played them twice in the EFL Trophy - Jan 2020 (lost 2-1 away) and September 2022 (drew 0-0 but lost on penalties - see above). In this season’s EFL Cup they beat PNE at Deepdale, and they now face Leeds at home on Tuesday next; their home attendance record was set against Leeds (4518 in 2019 in the League Cup First Round - their ground holds 5108)

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 26th August ………… last week was a funny old game chez nous - ahead for 50+ mins (so I’m on 5 points), equaliser (so I’m on a duck (not literally, of course) and a 98th minute Jack Winner, so I’m on 4 points …………..and seven of you fell to your knees and gave thanks, having predicted a 2-1 win ……… 16 people have scored at least one 10-point bullseye so far, and andy d has two already …………. table-leader has 25 points, two players have 24, one has 20, and 2 have 19 ……… watch this space!

And Whyteleafe v Hythe Town was abandoned because the referee (Ashley Slaughter - indeed a fine name for a referee) suffered a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting during the game, and but for the prompt attention of Gemma Clark, a student and the club Physio, he may well not have recovered as he did … not the only “abandoned through bee stings” game, either - there were two reported cases in 2011 in Brazil, the second of which resulted in a brawl between the teams once the match resumed, and the shooting dead of a fan after the game!

And the red-card prone player was Dutchman Edgar Davids, playing for Barnet, and he was sent off an astonishing 25 times in all ………… and the “ghosting” leading scorer was Danny Webber, of the Hornets, the Blades and Pompey fame

"Can we beat them? Yes we Can” (attributed to Bob the Builder)

Good luck to Everyone! ………. Keep the Faith! ………… And Thanks for Playing!

[Watchdog]

Draw 2-2 please

[MikeA]

1-1 please

[andyd]

0-1 Stanley please.

[choirboy]

Salford 1-2 Stanley for me please!

[AccyMad]

0 - 1 to Stanley please

[Greger]

Have a bad feeling for this one.
Salford 3 Stanley 0.
Please prove me wrong!

[teach]

1-1 draw for me please

[Tom D]

2-1 win for stanley please

[mab]

We've Yet to Beat them at there place!! So i'll go for Salford City 1 - 2 Accrington Stanley Please for me

[Chimer]

Proper Desmond 2-2 again for me

[accybeme]

salford 2 accy 1

[LongLostSon]

Salford. 2. Stanley 3

[ossy kid]

0-0 please

[Div3North]

All week I’ve been a-feared that we’ll lose this 2-0, but Grimsby beat them, they only drew with Crawley, four of their goals came at Tranmere last Saturday, and we’ve got a new left back, so - breaking my own rule about not changing your mind at the last minute, and trusting your instincts - I’m going Stanley 2 Salford 1