2023-24 Prediction League; Game 6 v Notts County (away)

Div3North · 31-08-2023, 22:25

Notts County

V

Accrington Stanley

2023/24 Prediction League: Game 6 v The Magpies (away)

Starter for Ten; the change from the regional Third Divisions North and South to the National Third and Fourth Divisions came into being for the start of the 1958/59 season: we began in Division Three ……… the first round of League fixtures were played in late August sixty-five years ago - but who did we play in our first League Three season (national) game, and what was the score?

Nottingham is a city in Nottinghamshire (no sh1t, Sherlock!) in the East Midlands: it’s 110 miles north-west of London, 33 miles south-east of Sheffield and 45 miles north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has historical links to the legend of Robin Hood (and his Merrie Men - “chase me”) and to the lace-making, bicycle and tobacco industries. The city is also the county town of Nottinghamshire, and was granted its city charter in 1897 as part of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. In 2018, the city received the second-highest number of overnight visitors in the Midlands (although I don’t know who counted them), and in the 2021 Census it had a reported population of 323,632. It lies on an area of low hills along the lower valley of the River Trent, and is surrounded by the Sherwood Forest in the north, the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire and Yorkshire Coalfield in the west, and the Trent and Belvoir (pronounced "beaver") Vales in the east and south.

Within the city, native wildlife includes red fox, peregrine falcon and common kingfisher. Due to its position as a central city with strong transport links, Nottingham has also become home to invasive animal and plant species including rose-ringed parakeet, Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam. So now you know!

The name “Nottingham” is Anglo-Saxon in origin, apparently. A Saxon chieftain named Snot (no, really) ruled an area known as Snotingaham, meaning the “homestead of Snot's people”: some authors derive Nottingham from Snottenga (caves) and ham (homestead) instead ………… The Anglo-Saxon settlement was originally confined to the area today known as the Lace Market, and was surrounded by a substantial defensive ditch and rampart, which fell out of use following the Norman Conquest and was filled in by the time of the Domesday Book (1086).

“Enough erudition”, I hear you cry …………… OK then; Second Starter for Ten ….The Premier League began in the 1992/93 season, having been voted in by all the top-tier teams of the season before (the final season of the old Football League First Division). But three of those teams were, of course, relegated on the last day of the 1991/92 season ………… two of the three - West Ham and, as of this season, Luton Town - have played in the Premier League since its inception, but the 1991/92 team relegated in 21st spot has never been back in the top flight since; so who were the - as it were - footballing turkeys who voted for Christmas?

Notts County Football Club was founded on 28 November 1862, and as you’ll know is the oldest professional association football club in the world, predating the Football Association. They were one of the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888, and are nicknamed the "Magpies" due to the black and white colour of their home strip (which “The Old Lady” (Juventus) adopted as their kit in 1903). After playing at different grounds during its first fifty years, including Trent Bridge, the club moved to Meadow Lane in 1910, and has remained there since. County 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, losing to Blackburn Rovers 3-1 despite having beaten them 7-1 the week before. However three years later the club won the 1894 FA Cup final with a 4–1 victory over Bolton Wanderers.

No club has moved between divisions of the FL more times than County (14 promotions, 17 relegations). On 4 May 2019, following a 3–1 defeat at Swindon , they were relegated from the English Football League into the Conference for the first time in their 157-year history. In the 2019-20 season, they came within 90 minutes of regaining their League status at the first attempt, but lost 3–1 to Harrogate Town in the covid-hit National League play-off final, held behind closed doors at Wembley Stadium. The season after that they finished in 5th place, and beat Chesterfield 3–2 in the quarter-finals of the play-offs before they lost 4–2 to Torquay United in the semi-finals in extra time. In the 2021–22 season, they again finished fifth in the League, but were knocked out by Grimsby Town in the quarter-final.

Last season they finished second with 107 points, beating the previous league record for points in a season but still finishing behind Wrexham. In the play-off semi they beat Boreham Wood, coming from two down to equalise in stoppage time before getting the win with a goal in the final minute of extra time. In the Bananarama play-off final, County won promotion to League Two by beating Chesterfield (snigger); the match finished 2–2 after extra time, with County winning the subsequent penalty shootout 4–3. Overall since the League was formed, they’ve spent 30 years in tier one, 37 in tier two, 34 in tier three, 18 in tier four, and four seasons out of the League

Talking of extra time: in the 1995 FA Cup Second Round, Walsall were drawn away at Torquay ……….. the game finished with a half Desmond …….. They replayed at the Bescott, and at the end of 90 minutes (as it was in those days) the score was 3-3 ….. But (Starter for Ten); what was the score at the end of extra time?

For their first 51 years they were managed by t’Committee, and in the subsequent 110 years they’ve had more managers than you could shake a stick at; in 2000 their manager was Jocky Scott, a Scottish striker who played in his day for Dundee, Aberdeen, Seattle Sounders and Scotland …. their present manager is Luke Williams, and they’ve also had Big Sam, Mad Dog Allen, John Sheridan, Tommy Lawton, Neil Warnock, Thomas Cobley and a full supporting cast ……. and between 2000 and 2022, including caretakers, joint managers and fantasists, they’ve had, if I counted right, 29 managers!

Their record League win was 11-1 against Newport (1955), and biggest FA Cup win was Rotherham Town (15-0 in 1885), which puts Blackburn’s 8-0 thrashing of Harrogate on Tuesday in the shade ………. there were apparently shouts of “sack the manager” from nearly everyone, except the Chairman (who happens to be the Manager’s Dad) ….. highest goal scorer in a single season was Macauley Langstaff, with 42 in The Storming of the Bananarama last season ……….most appearances record is still held by GK Albert Iremonger (564 between 1904 and 1926) and their quickest-ever goal was scored after 6 seconds by Barrie Jones on 31st March 1962, three weeks and four days after The Shameful Resignation ………

Four left in the summer, including Portuguese striker Ruben da Rocha Rodrigues, who signed for Oxford: five were ProperSigned, being GK Aidan Stone from Portly Value, AM Daniel Crowley from Morecambe, RW Jodi Jones from Oxford, LW Will Randall (will Randall what, you may ask) and Irish striker David McGoldrick (so he was) ….. they also have Wolves CB Ollie Tipton on a season-long loan

Their season started less than well, with a 5-1 drubbing (used to put that on me boots on a wet pitch) at Sutton Utd (but not as badly as Southend’s season in the Bananarama, which was going swimmingly until the National League docked them 10 points of the 9 that they’d gained for not paying off HMRC as they’d promised) … since then, 3 wins and a draw (Grimsby 3-2 at home, Tranmere 2-1 at home, Morecambe 0-0 away and Donnie 3-1 away, leaving them 4th, behind us on GD; their interest in the EFL Cup ended on 8th August (0-2 at home to Lincoln), and their Trophy Group has Derby, Lincoln and Wolves Kiddies ….. Head to head is 6 wins each and 5 draws, although three of those were in the FA Cup, and we haven’t actually lost to them since November 2011 …………..

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday September 2nd (soon be Christmas!) …………. Does anyone have any sympathy for Gillingham, by the way, whose run of four straight 1-0 wins had them top of the Division until last Saturday, when the met Colchester (0 points, bottom of the League) at home and got a 3-0 tanking? Nor have I!

And our first game in (National) League three in 1958 was away at Meadow Lane against Notts Co, and we drew 1-1 ………….. and the Footballing Turkeys who voted for Christmas were ………… Notts County! …………. and Walsall v Torquay in 1995, which was 3-3 after 90 minutes, ended up 8-4 after 120!

Good luck to everyone! ……… Keep the Faith! ……. And thanks for playing

And don’t panic: my stay at the top of the PL table won’t, with my previous history in the PL, last above a few more days!!!!!