Prediction League Game 36; Stockport (home)

[Div3North]

Accrington Stanley

V

Stockport County

Prediction League – Game 36; v Stockport (home)

As with Lincoln, the Stockport County Grand Plan seems to have been to put two proven strikers up front and out-gun the opposition; as with Lincoln it failed badly; George Donnelly did well enough (8 goals in 23 games) before Plymouth, his parent club, sold him to Fleetwood, but Barry Conlon (who, you may remember, was offered to us last season by Grimsby as part of the package when they tried to buy Michael Symes “for a six-figure sum” – got that one wrong, didn’t we? ) scored none in ten games, picked up a second drink-driving conviction in four years just before Christmas, and had his contract cancelled by mutual consent the day after – not the first club he’d had “issues” at, it seems ……..

Manager Paul Simpson went within two weeks, sacked at the beginning of January, to be replaced by caretaker manager Peter Ward. In came a batch of loan players; 20 year old Newcastle defender Matthew Grieve; Blackpool pairing of winger Ishmel Demontagnac and 30 year old midfielder Stephen Husband; Ryan Doble, a striker from Southampton who has Welsh u21 caps and has been in the senior Welsh squad twice; 6’ 5” defender Aaron Brown, who has 10 clubs to his name, most recently Leyton Orient; and, perhaps most notably, ex Ferencvaros striker (and former County player) Anthony Elding, who joined again from Rochdale. He seriously did play – among 9 teams - for the Hungarian legends (one game in 2009/10 season, in which he scored ), and this season he’s played 20 times for Rochdale (scoring 5 times) and 10 for County (scoring once).

In the League, they’re plumb last ; P34 W6 D10 L18 F37 A78 Pts 28; away form is slightly better than at home – W4 D2 L11 F15 A34 (at home they’ve conceded 44 in 17 games!). A goal difference in the League of -41 is desperate, but last season they achieved -60, and they’ve every chance of beating that this year! They’re sinking fast, it seems – 4 points and umpteen goals behind 22nd-placed Burton Albion having played 6 games more than them. If you add in Cup games (P4 D1 L3 F2 A10) their ‘goals against’ column has a total of 88 in 38 games; they’ve conceded 5 in a game five times (so far), four of them at home; Preston 0-5 in the Carling Cup; Hereford (5-0), Port Vale (5-0) and Gillingham (5-1), and away at Morecambe (5-0); six teams have put four past them (at Edgeley Park Shrewsbury beat them 4-0, Lincoln won 4-3 and Macclesfield did them 4-1, and away they’ve lost 4-1 at Posh in the FA Cup Replay (First Round, of course), the same score at Chesterfield, and 4-0 at Rotherham). The best they’ve achieved is 3 in a game – drawing 3-3 at home to both Crewe and Rotherham, losing 4-3 at home to Lincoln, and winning 3-1 at the mighty Barnet (who look very like accompanying then into the Blue Square Premier come May). You do get value for money (goals-wise) at their matches – in 38 games there have been a total of 127 goals – nearly 3 ½ a game, 66 of them in just 17 home League matches.

Our record against them is moderately dreadful ; P5 D2 L3 F3 A8. Back on Tuesday 28th September we were 2-0 up with 12 minutes left (Proccie on 39 and Terry G on 75) only to concede 2 in the last twelve and drop two points. Their leading goalscorers are the (now departed) George Donnelly with 8, and Greg Tansey and Paul Turnbull with 6 and 5 respectively; 4 other players have 2 each (including Demontangnac), and a further 10 players have hit the net once. For those of you who like coincidences, Tansey and Turnbull are both 22, both midfielders, and both were loaned out to Altrincham in the 2007/8 season; no idea what it means, but it’s interesting, isn’t it?

The deadline for entries is, as ever, scheduled kick-off time, which is 7.45pm on Tuesday 8th March (what did happen to 3pm on a Saturday?). Surely, surely, surely, we’ve got to win this one ……… Apart from Gillingham we haven’t given anybody the hiding that Terry Gornell predicted just before the reverse fixture at their place; is this the day? Gotta be …… hasn’t it?

Good luck to everyone ………… and thanks for playing!

[ukcowboy]

3-1 Stanley please.

[Redash]

3-1 to The Stanley, please Chaps.

[cashman]

4-0 stanley................

[Outback Ozzy]

I have a dream - 6-1 to Stanley please

[deeayess]

3 1 stanley please

[LongLostSon]

2 - 1 Stanley win for me please

[norwich stanley]

1-1 please

[DaveinGermany]

It's begging for a 3-0 tanking By the Stanley !

That's Stanley to win 3-0 by the way !

[Kiwi John]

I really have a dislike for Stockport, so2 -0 to STANLEY.

[Grimps]

5 -2 accy

[Div3North]

Originally Posted by cashman

4-0 stanley................

Originally Posted by Outback Ozzy

I have a dream - 6-1 to Stanley please

Originally Posted by Grimps

5 -2 accy

Now THIS is more like it ...........Wynonie; is this your 8-2?

[Wynonie Harris]

Originally Posted by Div3North

Now THIS is more like it ...........Wynonie; is this your 8-2?

Nah, the planets aren't in the right alinement yet for the 8-2er. Just a workmanlike 2-0 to the stanley, I'm afraid!

[Div3North]

There was some inevitability about today's Stockport win; as soon as I start using expressions like "sinking fast", and "accompanying them into the Blue Square Premier come May" they were always going to win, and to dent still further Oxford's play-off hopes into the bargain ...........

They left it late, mind; 90 + 4, apparently, when Greg Tansey (midfielder? 22? loaned out to Altrincham in 07/08 - remember? ) added a seventh goal to his season's tally with a 20 yard volley, four minutes after coming off the bench ........ Manager Peter Ward described it as "reward for the lads because they kept going right the way through"; bet he'd have had something to say if they hadn't!

Still last, behind Barnet (who pulled off a 0-0 at Rotherham) on goal difference (-40 plays -20), one point behind Burton (who have 6 games in hand) and 4 points behind Macclesfield (who have 4 games in hand); their position, you'd have to say, is still desperate .......... or worse! See you Tuesday for a good thumping!

[ossy kid]

Stanley 1 - 0 Stockport