Accrington Web - 2014 Prediction League; Game 12 v Dagenham and Redbridge (home)

Accrington Stanley

v

Dagenham and Redbridge

2014/15 Prediction League; Game 12 v Dagenham and Redbridge FC (home)

How fickle are the Gods of Football? The answer – if you’re a Football Manager anyway – is probably “very” :cool: …. Take Scunthorpe manager Russ Wilcox……. appointed just before last Christmas following the sacking of Brian Laws, his first 28 games were unbeaten :D, and the Iron ended the season promoted to League One :p:p. Come the new season – iffy start (2 wins and a draw from League 11 matches, and out of the Paintpot 2-1 to Notts County after beating Chesterfield 2-0 :):), and the CapitalMyDearChap! Cup 2-0 at Bristol City (after doing Blackburn 1-0 at Ewood in the First Round :D:D:D:D)) – 7 points, 23rd place and – yes, ok – a minus 14 GD (25 conceded :eek::eek:) - and out come the knives, and he’s gone. Toast.:o Unbuttered :p:p …….. Steve Davies, I note, hasn’t had the great heave-ho from Crewe (4 points, 24th) ………And if all Managers whose first dozen games garnered less points that the fans wanted got the push there and then, we’d change managers once a season ….. wouldn’t we DAV?

This week’s starter for 10, then; on 12th August 2014, Dagenham (and Redbridge) played Brentford in the CapitalOne Cup; after 90 mins it was 4-4; after 120 mins it was 6-6; and after 6 successful penalties in total (of which Brentford scored twice as many as the Daggers) – what happened to the goal nets from the game? :confused::confused: Well, apparently the Cup Organisers paid tribute to “the historic match” :rolleyes: by removing them from the ground (by agreement I assume :)), and they’re supposedly now in the National Football Museum ………….How flipping sad is that? :o

They rationalised their squad (got rid of some!) in the summer; winger/striker Zavon Hines (25) – ex West Ham, Dingles and Bratfud, left in search of pastures new (and higher), but returned unfulfilled ;) (and unsigned elsewhere) in August; out went, among others, Gavin Hoyte, a def aged 24, who was with Arsenal from 2007 to 2012, played but once (v the Blades in a 6-0 League Cup win), and is now at Gillingham on a free; personally, with a 100% record, six scored and a clean sheet, I’d have kept him ;), but then ………..; Zaire-born winger Medy Elito (24) and once of Colchester, signed for an undisclosed fee for VVV-Venlo in the Dutch Eerste Divisie; first choice GK Chris Lewington joined Colchester, and second choice :D GK Jordan Seabright – who only managed 8 appearances in two seasons - went Conference-side, joining Torquay; ex Womble and QPR defender Femi Ilesanmi went to York; Alex Osborn didn’t (he went to Ebbsfleet); and Luke Wilkinson, a 24 year-old defender once with Pompey, signed for another undisclosed fee for the Hatters; they must be Mad! :rolleyes:

In came a shed-load of people you’ve never heard of; Christian Doidge from Carmarthen, Nathan Green from Tonbridge Angels and Frankie Raymond from Eastbourne, just for starters; former Leicester, York and Cambridge winger/striker Ashley Chambers (24) arrived with the milk :); ex Colchester GK Mark Cousins (27), who managed 58 games in 9 years at Layer Road (or wherever the hell they play now), arrived with the milkman :):):) (but that’s just a rumour); MF Joss “Please Don’t Bite Me” Labadie :D (24) – fresh from his 10-game ban for biting Chesterfield’s Ollie Banks – joined from Torquay (also at various times with the Baggies, Tranmere and Notts Co); Walsall and ex-Wolves forward Ashley Hemmings (23) signed; so did ex Trinidad and Tobago, Notts Co, Peterborough, Luton, Kettering, Wycombe and York MF Andre Bouchaud; and best of all – continuing a career which began in 1993, takes in 12 clubs plus loans (including Brizzle R, Norwich (twice!), Reading and Colchester), and has resulted in almost 250 League goals – Old Man River himself :D – 39 year old Jamie Cureton, Striker to the Gentry. Zimmer frames at 20 paces, anyone? :p:p

They’ve hit the dizzy heights of 19th in the League; P11 W3 D2 L6, for 11 points (two above the drop zone:):)) and a GD of -5 – worse than ours! (Have you seen, by the way, that since they thrashed us, Shrewsbury can’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo? ;) Scored about 2 goals in 73 matches, so they’ve loan-signed one Bobby Grant :D from Blackpool; their other former striker (one Terence Gornell :D:D) is reputed (by the BBC) to want away from Cheltenham, and to have asked for a transfer; his goal in a 3-1 defeat to Bristol City was his first in almost a year, and there “has been interest”, but he turned down the move – wasn’t us, was it? :confused:) Anyway, back to the matter in hand; their home record (the Daggers, that is), is 2 wins and 4 losses; away, they’ve won once (2-0 at Hartlepool, so that hardly counts, really :p), drawn twice (1-1 at Cheltenham, for whom Terry Gornell didn’t get the goal, and 3-3 at Oxford, and lost twice …….Their interest in the Capricorn Cup ended as above (see Brentford, 6-6), and their run in the PaintPot Cup didn’t fare any better, losing 2-0 to Leyton Orient ………..Not a thrilling start, then! :rolleyes:

Since they reached the League in 2007 we’ve played them 12 times, winning 3, drawing 4 and losing 5; two of those wins, though, were in 2007/8 (1-0 at home and 3-1 away), and we haven’t won any of the last five (D2 L3) :(:(, so it is really time we did something horrid to them, like beating them hands-down :D:D. So far they’ve played 13 games, and scored 20 (including the 6 against Brentford), conceding 27 (so their matches are averaging nearly 4 goals a game overall); leading scorers are Abu Ogogo, Ashley Hemmings and Luke Howell – all listed as midfielders – each of whom has three to his name, and Old Man Zimmer :p:p (Cureton) with five ……….it is a bit worrying if you’ve scored 30% of your goals for the season all in the one game; take that away and its 14 in 12 …………….

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time (and I wish, on that topic, that they’d stop piddling about with the Newport game date :)), which is 3.00pm on Saturday, 11th October. The run can’t go on for ever, but are they up to halting The Coleman Express? :D:D:D:D:D I’m not so sure they are …………..

Good luck to everyone ………………..Keep the Faith ………..and thanks for playing! :)

:bingobang