Accrington Web - 2024/25 Prediction League; Game 36 v Barrow AFC (away)

Barrow AFC

Accrington Stanley

2024/25 Prediction League Game 36 v Barrow Bluebirds (away)

To begin, an apology ………………….. I had planned the MK Dons game thread for Monday night gone, but unfortunately I had a tumble at home and cut the back of my head; the anaesthetist I saw the next day thinks I may have vertigo …………….. or Verdigris …… as luck would have it I was due to be at Chorley Hospital on Tuesday at 7.30am as a day patient, but that combination of events left me unable to put up the opener, so I PM’d Valairian to crave his help, which he kindly gave ……………. I had intended to put down 2-0 Stanley as my guess (Voodoo Gods of Football) so I will discuss favourably with Val awarding 10 points to Mrs Mad and anybody else who would, given time, have put that score down …. Other claimants for Relief, form a queue outside the Club door ……………….

Starter for Ten; Name the first English League team to suffer three x 7-0 defeats in the same season (NB it’s the same team as the first one to lose 10-0 three times in the same season …..)

Founded in 1901, and having initially played in the Lancashire Combination, Barrow joined the Football League in 1921. They remained in the bottom tier of the competition until 1967, when they achieved promotion to the Third Division by finishing third in Div 4. Their highest league placing ever was in 1967–68, when they finished eighth in Div 3 (managed by Colin Appleton, but they declined quickly, and at the end of the 1971–72 season were voted out of the Football League in the re-election process, to be replaced by Hereford. They then spent 48 seasons in the top two levels of non-League football, with five relegations from—and promotions to—the Alliance Premier League (later the Football Conference and the Bananarama), of which they were a founding member in 1979. They returned to the League in 2020 on a PPG basis after a covid-ravaged season

Holker Street (known as the SO Legal Stadium0 has been Barrow's home ground since 1910. It had previously hosted Hindpool Athletic Football Club, and had also been a rubbish dump. The first game at the stadium was a 5–2 win against Eccles Borough. The ground was gradually developed, so by the resumption of football after World War Two it had four fully-covered, terraced stands. Its record attendance was in 1954, when 16,784 fans watched an FA Cup third-round tie against Swansea Town. Floodlights were installed in 1963, and the ground hosted speedway meetings during the 1970s which necessitated the demolition of the "Steelworks End" (previously damaged by fire), the re-positioning of the pitch and the removal of the front rows of terracing. After the speedway track was removed, the pitch was returned to its original orientation and a new leisure centre with squash courts were built.

Second Starter for Ten; Alan Shearer played for Southampton, Blackburn and Newcastle, scoring 283 goals in 559 games (plus 30 more in 63 England appearances) ………. But what percentage of his League goals came from penalties?

Barrow have had an “interesting" season (much like we have “interesting “ seasons …….) After seven League games they were top of League Two, thanks to five wins and a draw; that run didn’t continue, and by January 18th 2025 they parted company with Steven Clemence and replaced him as manager two days later with Andy Whing ……….. they were by then 18th, and had exited the FA Cup 0-1 at home to Donnie, the EFL Cup in Round 3 (5-0 at Chelsea) and lost all three trophy games ………….. they Proper signed three in January (CM Isaac Fletcher from Spennymoor Town, CF Josh Shamalo from Barton Rovers, and DMF MJ Williams from The Plastic Wombles, and currently they’re 17th, with 40 points and a -5 GD from 34 games ………….oh, and we beat them 1-0 in a lunchtime kick-off on 19th October with a goal from ………… of course …….. Shaun Whalley

Current record is W11 D7 L16 for 40 points (home record is W8 D4 L5) ………. They’ve won 4 and lost 7 of their last 11 ………..

Deadline for entries is, as always, scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 8th March ………….. and the first team to lose 3 x 7-0 and then 3 x 10-0 was Darwen in 1891/92 and then 1898/99 respectively (GK Billy McOwen was in goal for 17 games in 1891/92 season, and conceded 80 of their total of 112 ……….his last match was in 1898/99 (a 12-0 loss to The Baggies) but a year later he joined Liverpool and only let in 16 in the 23 matches he played ……………. And of Alan Shearer’s 283 League goals scored, 56 were from the penalty spot - or 19.7879858657244 % ………………. So there!

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

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