2024/25 Prediction League Game 15 v Chesterfield (away)

Div3North · 09-11-2024, 00:39

Chesterfield FC

V

Accrington Stanley

2024/25 Prediction League Game 15 v TwistySpires United (away)

Starter for Ten: which are the two closest senior football grounds in the UK, whose grounds are they, and what is the distance (as the crow flies, if you can find a passing crow) between them?

And after the farrago of two weeks ago when my laptop ate my homework, I sat down last night (Thursday) to compile and type this week’s entry in Billy’s Weekly Liar. Five minutes after doing so, I had a text from Electricity North West which read, “Dear customer, we’ll have to turn your electricity off in ten minutes (20.20 hours) so that we can repair a knackered cable; we expect to have it finished by 00.30 (actually, it was 01.30) … we’re really sorry about this ………..hahahahahahaha ……… I only know two rude words, but I said them both ………. Quite a few times!

A win at Gillingham and a point away at Walsall PLUS winning an FA Cup game? What’s going on?

Our record is P13 W3 D4 L6 GF15 GA22 Pts 13 for 20th place; only Salford (14), Carlisle and Morecambe (13 each), Harrogate 11 and Tranmere (8) have fewer .............. Chesterfield (managed by You-Know-Who) are 6th, with a record of P13 W5 D7 and L2 (GF28 GA15 – no one having scored more than them in the Division ………. Last season they won the Bananarama with 31 wins, 106 goals scored and 98 points (a mere 12 more than Barnet)

Everything (plus the Voodoo Gods of Football) suggests that we’re in for a right pasting …. If Kiwi starts the match thread and Valairian predicts us to win, said pasting becomes a given

Second Starter for Ten; In the Arsenal v Man U game on 22nd August 1999,Utd GK Raimond van der Gouw was injured by a contact with Martin Keown’s knee and RvdG’s face. This was right at the end of injury time …… after a long delay for treatment (the clock was showing 100 minutes) Raimond was subbed by Utd’s reserve GK Nick Culkin (making his debut) …… Culkin took the free kick, and immediately the ref blew the whistle for fulltime, meaning that Culkin’s debut lasted about one second ……….. But what was the impact of that appearance on his career?

The current Chesterfield FC was formed on 24 April 1919 by Chesterfield Borough Council, seeing it as a way to spearhead improvements in local recreational provision. Initially called "Chesterfield Municipal", the club made great strides on the pitch in its first season, lifting the Midland League title – and did so despite three changes of management. However, The Football Association and the Football League had already made clear their vehement opposition to a council-run club and ultimately forced it to cut its ties and become independent, reflected in a name change to Chesterfield FC in December 1920

In 1921–22, Chesterfield became a founder member of the new Football League Third Division North. Following the arrival of new manager Ted Davison in 1926 and chairman Harold Shentall in 1928, the club won the Third Division North title in the 1930–31 season with an 8–1 victory over Gateshead on the final day, and were promoted to the Second Division. Relegation followed in 1933, but the D3N title was again won in 1936.

After the war the club achieved their best League position, finishing fourth in the Second Division in 1946–47. However, the sale of several players at the end of the season reduced their overall quality, and Chesterfield were relegated at the end of the 1950–51 season. They were placed in the Third Division on its formation at the start of the 1958–59 season; future England international goalkeeper Gordon Banks made his professional debut in a Third Division game in November 1958, but was sold to Leicester City for a then-club record £7,000 fee at the end of the season.

In 1961 Chesterfield were relegated to the Fourth Division for the first time. They eventually bounced out of the EFL into the Bananarama at the end of 2017/18 season (having GreasyPoled into League Two a season before). After relegation from the Football League, Chesterfield had three unsuccessful play-off attempts, including losing the 2023 National League play-off final on penalties to Notts County, but they won the Bananarama in the following season to return to the Football League after six seasons in non-League.

Next Devilish Starter for Ten; which football team of these Fair Isles is nicknamed “The Dokens”?

After regaining their League place in the summer, Chesterfield sold Irish striker Joe Quigley to Vegan Greenpeace, and released five others, including Lawrence Maguire (brother of Glossop North End’s Joe and Man U’s Harry), who joined the Plastic Wombles, and three others who went non-league ……….. seven signed on, most notable Stockport star striker Paddy Madden, and Kane Drummond from Macclesfield

Home record is, oddly, W1 (Grimsby, 2-1) and D6 ……..away, it’s W4 D1 L2 …….. but of those four away wins, two – at Crewe and most recently at Morecambe, were by 5-0 and 5-2 respectively – and they won 3-0 at Donnie and at Newport to boot

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick off time, which is 3.00pm this afternoon (9th October – soon be Christmas) ……… and if Kiwi and Valairian behave (see above) we might just sneak something out of this …………… and Dens Park, Dundee, the home of Dundee FC, is 183 metres (200 yards) away from Tannadice Park, home of Dundee United (since they were formed as Dundee Hibernian in 1909) …… and Nick Culkin’s debut was of little effect in his Utd career, because he never actually played for them again after his one second starring role, although he did hit the heights of Radcliffe Borough, Prescot Cables and FC United of Manchester ….. and the Dokens are Scottish Junior side Dundee North End, current champions of the SJFA Midlands League, where they play – among others - Dundee St James and Dundee Violet FC, who – I kid you not – are known as “The Pansies” (but I wouldn’t call them that in a crowded penalty area)

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