Prediction League 2017/18: Game 17 v Cambridge Utd (away)

[Chimer]

A PM has suggested we might have forgotten there's a game on Saturday; I'm sure Div3North hasn't, but in case some mishap has separated him from his keyboard I thought I would start the thread, so anyone who is prepared to hazard a guess without the vital information D3N provides can do so .

My specialism is post-game drivel, and attempting anything further at this stage would surely lead to a demarcation dispute , so that's all for now ...

[VALAIRIAN]

I doubt very much that anybody could 'hazard a guess' without the 'vital' pre-match information

[VALAIRIAN]

On another note, is this the first time you have started a Predictions League thread??

[accybeme]

I hope Div3 is OK his last post was on the 1st November
4-2 to Stanley please

[DaveinGermany]

3-1 to the Stanley please D3N (Chimer)

[Wynonie Harris]

No pre-match information to base our predictions on? I'll just have to go for a wild guess then - 6-1 to the Stanley please.

[Tom D]

1 0 win for Stanley please. Sousa to score

[cashman]

2-2 fer me.

[Chimer]

Originally Posted by VALAIRIAN

On another note, is this the first time you have started a Predictions League thread??

Yup.

Originally Posted by accybeme

I hope Div3 is OK his last post was on the 1st November
4-2 to Stanley please

Me too!

[AccyMad]

2 - 1 to Stanley please

[Lord Stiffupperlip]

In the absence of Div3North's excellent pre-match stat fest, you may want to recall last years visit to the Glass Stadium when, despite 2 red cards for the 'U's, we managed to miss 2 penalties & lose the game 2-1.
https://www.cambridge-united.co.uk/news/2017/november/flashback-accrington/
Revenge is sweet!
Cambridge 1 - Stanley 2

[Div3North]

Cambridge United

V

Accrington Stanley

2017/18 Prediction League; Game 17 v Cambridge (away)

The only good thing I can see about the draw for Round 2 is that – apart from putting out Shaw Lane Association (that’s the name of a football club?) in Round One of the FA Cup - Mansfield haven’t won in their last five League games .......... two defeats, three draws, and 14th place on 22 points with only five of 16 won so far ............... it’s still a pretty crap draw, that said; I like the look of AFC Fylde v Wigan (and since I work mostly in Blackpool I had a field day about Boring Wood dumping the Clementines out of the Cup!)

Cambridge, on the other hand, are 10th in the League, W7 D3 L6 GF16 GA16 with 24 points; only Crawley and Morecambe (12) and Chesterfield (15) have scored fewer, and four other sides have 16 as well ............. Their home record is a slightly worrying 5 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats (1-2 v Carlisle and 1-3 v Wycombe); they’ve failed to trouble the scorers five times in the League, including three goalless draws, and defeats at Exeter by 1-0 and Swindon by 2-0 ...........on the road, for completeness, they’ve won 2, drawn 2 and lost 4; they beat Sutton Utd 1-0 in the ProperCup, lost 4-1 at BrizzleRov in the EFL Cup, and lost all 3 of their EFLTroffy games, scoring once at Northampton but losing on pens, and not scoring at all at home to the Posh or to Southampton u23s ............... 19 goals for the season in 21 – leading scorers are Karl Anthony Uchechukwu Mubiru Ikpeazu (Reading, Watford and loads of loans) with 7 (6 in the League) and Jabo Ibehre (Leyton Orient, Walsall, MK Dons, Colchester, Carlisle) with 5 (four in the League); Piero has one (the one at Northampton), Brad “Doc” Halliday hasn’t scored ..............

The club was founded in 1912 as Abbey United, named after a district of Cambridge. A team called Cambridge United existed in Cambridge from 1909, but it wasn’t linked to the club that exists today. Abbey Utd played in local amateur leagues for many of their early years, moving from ground to ground around Cambridge before settling at the Abbey Stadium. In 1949 they turned professional, and they changed their name to Cambridge United in 1951. In1970 they were elected to Division Four in place of Bradford Park Avenue – remember them? - which leads me to this week’s starter for ten; which was the last team to lose its League status by failing to be re-elected, when, and which team were elected in their place? After 35 years, hitting the heights of the second tier, they went out of the League in 2005, returning in 2014 after beating Gateshead (who lost their league place to the Posh in 1960, so are NOT this week’s Starter for Ten!)

They shifted out the obligatory shed load at the end of last season, where they’d finished 11th on 66 points with a record of 19 wins, 9 draws and 18 losses and a GD of +8 ......... Some of those released finished up in non-league – GK David Gregory going to Bromley, striker Joe Pigott (who had been playing for Charlton a season earlier) went to Maidstone, fellow frontman Ben Williamson signed for the Spitfires (Eastleigh), and Dylan Williams went to St Neot’s Town (who play in the Southern League Premier Division); CMF James Dunne joined Swindon, GK Will Norris (Will Norris what?) joined Wolves, one Mark Roberts MutuallyConsented to Vegan Greenpeace Utd, Luke Berry went to Luton, Chuck Berry went to Memphis – sorry, got carried away there! – and striker Adam McGurk joined Morecambe which, on current form, will be like going non-league come next May (they’re currently 23rd) ..............oh, and Irish striker Barry Corr (Sheff Wed, Swindon, Southend and Exeter) became a Free Agent (it’s like being a Secret Agent, but they don’t get paid, so they don’t ................)
In their places came eight; winger David Amoo (Liverpool, PNE, Tranmere and Carlisle) and striker Adebayo Linford Kazim "Ade" Azeez (Charlton and the Wombles) both came into town on the fast train from Partick Thistle; MF Gary Deegan hoped up from Shrewsbury, striker Jabo Ibehre hopped down from Carlisle, Bulgarian GK Dimitar Mitov (he’s got a cousin, I believe, called Oy Yu Getchamitsov) joined from Charlton, MF Emmanuel Osadebe left Gillinghma and joined the Cambs, Millwall supplied GK David Forde, and St Neot’s Town – who play in the ........? (no looking back!) – came up with striker Jevani Brown

Last season we lost 2-1 away (their goals by Piero and Brad!) courtesy of a goal on 18 mins from Billy Whizz and two missed penalties in added time – Eagles on 91 and El Tel Gornell on 92 ...................... The home game was postponed TWICE, which – I have it on good authority – is a DISGRACE, and nearly resulted in a friend (?) of ours from the South West being committed under the Mental Health Act – before we eventually won 2-0 at the third time of asking, goals by the Flying Macs (Conville and Cartan)

Famous ex-Managers include Man City RB Bill Leivers (“Oh, Ewing passed to Leivers, and Leivers passed it back, Ewing took a flying shot and knocked the goalie flat. Oh where was the goalie when the ball went in the net ? Half way up the goalpost with his knickers round his neck!” – Maine Road, circa 1962 – isn’t it amazing what comes back to you?), Big Ron Atkinson (although that was only ever a rumour), Gary Johnson and Roy McFarland .......... Famous players include Wilf Mannion, Brendan Batson, Dion Dublin, Gus Caesar (I thought he was an American comedian), Tommy Finney (no, not that Tommy Finney!), Alan Kimble, Garry Kimble and Richard Kimble (who later made a good career in “The Fugitive”) – but not all at the same time!

Deadline for entries is – for those who’ve forgotten (‘cos it’s been a week or two!) is scheduled kick-off time, which is 3.00pm on Saturday 11th November ............. We’ve currently got 8 places and eight points on them, since we’re still second; current form teams are Luton, Colchester and the Vegans, each with 10 points from their last five games, with us, Swindon, Grimsby and Port Vale each on nine from five ...........Stevenage are bottom of that League, with three points (w1 L4), a position they share with Mansfield (see “D3 L2” above), while Chesterfield and Morecambe have four points each, and Coventry five ........Their biggest League win (April last year) is 7-0 (over Morecambe), while they’ve lost 6-0 three times over the years, to Chelsea, Darlington and Aldershot ...........oh, and they once paid £190,000 for Steve Claridge (remember him?) – currently the manager of Salisbury, for whom he played on 15th August in a League game As a 78th minute sub (which is probably about all you can manage at 51!) ........and in the Starter for Ten you should have Southport, in 1978, replaced by Wigan!

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

[Div3North]

Nice to see you all missed me, but it's only Thursday night, and I often - depending how busy I am - put up the thread on Thursday nights!

#flippin'eck fellasgiveusachance

[Div3North]

God's in his Heaven, and all's right with the world ........

[andyd]

Cambridge 0-2 Stanley please.