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Terriers meet the Grecians |
Posted by: jjamez - 25-10-2024, 12:46 - Forum: Huddersfield Town
- Replies (13)
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Following Tuesdays solid away display in Wales, Town return to home comforts as they welcome Exeter City to the John Smiths Stadium on Saturday. The draw against Wrecsam was probably fair overall, neither side really threatened either keeper, you could argue that Town made the Wrecsam keeper work the hardest but Chapman had to make the most telling save. Town had to defend stoutly in the first half as Wrecsam applied constant pressure that at times seemed as if Town were not able to get their lines cleared well enough, but in the second half Town pushed the hosts back and got into the final third, however, as has been the case for a while, the final ball was lacking in one way or another and never really resulted in clean effort on goal.
Our visitors currently sit one place behind us in the league after having a good start to the season, one that has surprised a few 'experts' out there. Currently being managed by former Celtic and Wigan defender Gary Caldwell, the Grecians have played one game less than Town so far this season but have a near to similar record so far. Last time out they lost to Reading, who themselves sit just one place below, Exeter had the better of the game but couldn't make it count as the Royals ran out 2-1 winners, Ilmari Niskanen scored for Exeter in the second half after Reading had a 2-0 lead at half time.
They begun the season with a surprise 1-0 at home to newly relegated Rotherham, Aussie midfielder Caleb Watts scoring in the second half after coming off the bench, they followed that up with a defeat in the first round of the League Cup to Walsall and then another defeat on the road at Northampton. Defender Tristan Crama put the Grecians ahead inside the first 10 minutes but the Cobblers hit back in the second half through Callum Morton and Cameron McGeehan. They were unable to dust themselves down as next time out they lost 2-1 again, this time at home to Peterborough. Once again they raced into a lead through Reece Cole after just 4 minutes, but it didn't take long for Posh to hit back through Malik Mothersille, before Emmanuel Fernandez scored the decisive goal on the stroke of half time. Exeter would then pull off a real backs to the wall win away at Bolton, as the Trotters registered 21 attempts on goal and dominated possession, but Exeter scored with their two shots on target thanks to Kamari Doyle and former Halifax player Millenic Alli. Their next league game would see them return to losing ways once again as they traveled to a different beach to face Blackpool. CJ Hamilton opened the scoring for the Tangerines and Edward Francis looked to have rescued a draw for the Grecians in the 88th minute, but former Town loanee James Husband scored deep into injury time to consign Exeter to their third league defeat of the season. This sparked a mini turnaround in form as they would go 5 games without a defeat starting with a 2-0 win over Stevenage at home, with goals coming from Francis and Doyle, before holding firm in Lancashire for a 0-0 draw against Wigan. They would then head to Leyton Orient and come away with three points thanks to an Amani Richards goal, although they finished the game with 10 men as Watts received a red card in injury time. Long time Town tormentor Ryan Woods was on hand to score the only goal as the Grecians beat Cambridge United in the game before the international break. Post break they beat Shrewsbury 2-0 away with goals from Doyle and Josh Magennis before the defeat to Reading last time out.
Exeter City F.C. was formed from two predecessor clubs, Exeter United F.C. and St Sidwell's United. Exeter United was a football club from Exeter, Devon, that played between 1890 and 1904. In 1904, Exeter United lost 3–1 to local rivals St Sidwell's United and after the match it was agreed that the two clubs should become one. The new team took the name Exeter City and continued to play at Exeter United's ground, St James Park, where Exeter City still play today. The nickname 'The Grecians' has largely unknown origins, with a few different theories arising. One suggestion is that in 1908 the club voted for the name because of its association with St Sidwells parish. Historically people living in the parish of St Sidwells were said to have been known as "Greeks" or "Grecians". This is possibly due to the parish's location beyond the city walls. For instance, in Homer's epic poem the Iliad the Greek forces laid siege to the walls of Troy. However, perhaps more plausibly, the association arose because of rivalries between city boys and those of St Sidwells during the annual beating the bounds.
It has also been suggested the name derived from a group of children in St Sidwells who were referred to as the 'Greasy Un's'. A further possibility was that it derived from a jeweller's shop in Sidwell Street, close to the ground, which had a clock hanging outside displaying the name 'Grecians' on its face. The team became one of the first sides to tour far flung places, including going to South America to play games in Brazil. They became the first ever side to face the Brazilian national side and this lead to partnerships with illustrious clubs like Fluminense who have been the home for players such as Deco and Ronaldinho in the past. Exeter were invited to help create the Football League Third Division in 1920. They remained in the division until becoming founder members of the Fourth Division in 1958. They were promoted in 1963–64, only to be relegated after two seasons. They were promoted out of the Fourth Division again at the end of the 1976–77 season and managed to stay in the Third Division for seven seasons before being relegated in 1984.
Exeter won their first league title in the 1989–90 season, gaining promotion as Fourth Division champions under the stewardship of Terry Cooper. Relegated in 1994, they lost their Football League status at the end of the 2002–03 season. They spent five seasons in the Conference and recovered from defeat in the 2007 play-off final to win promotion out of the play-offs the next year. Returning to League Two in 2012, they have lost in the play-off finals in 2017, 2018 and most recently in 2020, but in the 2021–22 season they gained automatic promotion to League One and have finished 14th and 13th in the seasons since. Famous fans include David Earl, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Adrian Edmondson, Noel Edmonds, swimmer Liam Tancock, BBC broadcaster James Vickery, Spotlight reporter John Ayres, TV presenter Juliet Morris and Hoosiers drummer Alan Sharland. Singer Joss Stone signed up as a member of the supporters trust, being introduced to fans on the pitch as a new member during a League Cup match against Liverpool. In 2002 pop singer Michael Jackson was made honorary director of Exeter City. He visited St James Park with celebrity friend Uri Geller, who was also a director.
Now managed by Gary Caldwell who joined the club in 2022 following the departure of Matt Taylor to Rotherham (he was the manager of Bristol Rovers last saturday, whos fans were clamoring for him to be sacked) Caldwell has turned the Grecians into a solid outfit with the club often having one or two players that fetch interest from leagues above. In Caldwells first season in charge he had Sam Nombe who would score 15 goals in the league before moving to Rotherham in the Championship, the season after goals were harder to come by with Reece Cole leading the way with 7 for the season, but they still managed to finish in a respectable position. Caldwell himself has had a topsy turvy kind of managerial career so far, initially going into coaching at Wigan once retiring, he was placed in interim charge as they failed to avoid the drop into League One, but he was trusted with the job permanently, leading the Latics back up at the first time of asking, but he would lose his job after 18 months in charge. Nearly 3 months later he would take charge at Chesterfield in League One as they battled for survival, but he was unable to keep them up and after a poor start to the League Two campaign he was relieved of his duties. After over a year out of the game, Caldwell was appointed manager of Scottish Championship club Partick Thistle in October 2018. Thistle avoided relegation at the end of the 2018–19 season, but Caldwell was sacked in September 2019 as the club sat second-bottom of the 2019–20 Scottish Championship table. In 2021 Caldwell was named interim manager of Newcastle United's U23s team but later that year he joined Manchester City in a role overseeing their players loaned to other clubs. Caldwell re-joined Hibernian as their assistant manager in December 2021, working alongside current Wigan boss Shaun Maloney. They were sacked in April 2022, following a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Hearts. He would then join Exeter in October of 2022.
The Grecians appear to be a solid team with no absolute stand out players, more a unified team all pulling in the same direction and working together. That being said, the goals have been shared around between them with Doyle and Francis leading the way with 3 each, whilst striker Alli has 2 so far this campaign. Doyle and Francis will form the midfield axis for the visitors whilst Alli is likely to be partnered by the experience of Magennis. Out of the lot, Doyle, on loan from Brighton will be the one to keep an eye on, he has played a range of midfield roles coming through the systems of Brighton and Southampton and is regarded as being able to use both feet well and looks to get efforts off on goal when the chance arrives.
It was a busy summer for Exeter, with 12 players coming in. Former Town player Muzzy Carayol joined on a free transfer, the experienced winger had last been on the books of Burton Albion. Fellow winger Pat Jones joined from Town, whilst the Grecians made the most of the loan system, bringing in the 5 that are allowed in a match day squad. Doyle joined from Brighton, whilst Amani Richards joined from Leicester. Tristan Crama joined from Brentford with goalkeeper Joe Whitworth joining from fellow London club Crystal Palace, the final loanee was Johnly Yfeko who came south from Rangers. They dipped into non league to bring Ed Francis from Gateshead and returned north of the border to bring Jay Bird and Jack McMillan from Arbroath and Partick Thistle respectively. The final transfers of the window were the experienced duo Josh Magennis who came from Wigan and Ryan Woods who joined from Hull. With regards to departures, a host of younger players moved to non league Plymouth Parkway whilst defender Cheick Diabate joined League Two side Bradford City on loan. Experienced goal keeper Gary Woods moved to Scotland to play for Morton, defender Will Aimson moved to Wigan, fellow defenders Zak Jules and Alex Hartridge moved to fellow League One sides Rotherham and Wycombe respectively. Striker James Scott moved to St Mirren whilst former Tottenham and Swansea midfielder Tom Carroll moved to MK Dons.
Town look set to have the same squad available that featured against Wrecsam, Turton came off in the second half with cramp so will be good to go, Healey made his comeback but will likely be limited to 15-20 minutes for the coming few weeks. Sorensen is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks with a hamstring injury, joining a list that already includes michal helik, lee nicholls, Joe Hodge and radino balker. Balker however has started running on the grass, but won't be anywhere near featuring until January at the earliest. Exeter will be without former Town winger Pat Jones who joined the Grecians in the summer, he has torn his hamstring without even playing a game for the club. Former Town tormentor Yanic Wildschut is out for the season with a cruciate knee injury, whilst defender Jack Fitzwater will be expected to be in and around the squad having played his first game the other week since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
for Duff and Kasumu
https://x.com/i/status/1849725688640573669
Follow this for Caldwell's view on the game, as well as speaking about reaching the 100 game mark in charge of the Grecians.
In terms of head to heads, town lead the way with 11 wins, with Exeter winning 8 and there being 5 draws. The sides last met in February of 2012, where Jordan Rhodes scored one of his 7 goals against the Grecians for town, including two hat tricks, one of which was a perfect hat trick. The first meeting between the two sides was in 1975 where the visitors would win 1-0 at Leeds road. It would be 1980 before the terriers would register their first win against the Devonshire club.
No Anagrams again for this one, but there may be a Tamworth/ FA Cup themed something in the next one.
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Chesterfield Prediction League 2024/25 Match day 14 |
Posted by: spireitematt - 25-10-2024, 02:23 - Forum: Chesterfield
- Replies (8)
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Colchester 2-1 Salford City
Morecambe 0-3 Chesterfield
Accrington 1-3 Walsall
Bradford City 2-0 Doncaster
Bromley 0-1 Barrow
Carlisle 0-1 Cheltenham
Crewe 1-1 Tranmere
Grimsby 1-2 MK Dons
Newport 2-0 Fleetwood
Notts County 3-1 Harrogate
Port Vale 2-0 Wimbledon
Swindon 0-2 Gillingham
Tuesday 29 October 2024
Fleetwood 1-1 Salford City
League Table After Match day 13
Devon - 253
Dancing - 252
Maclad - 236
Spireitematt - 230
Amelia - 225
SaltergateBorn - 220
Lord Snoots - 212
St Charles - 188
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Hibs v Hearts - Sunday 27 October |
Posted by: ritchiebaby - 24-10-2024, 23:13 - Forum: Hibernian
- Replies (5)
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In the first derby of the season, things are going to get tough at Easter Road for Hibs supporters. We MUST improve our scoring conversion rate in attack and we MUST stop shooting ourselves in the foot in defence.
What we don't want is more of the same - the same old promises, the same old team selection, the same tired substitutions, the same late collapses we've become famous for and the same old excuses afterwards. SDG will surely change the keeper and right back (and maybe others as well) and look upon this game as a chance to change the record.
Hearts will come into this game on a high after their win tonight - note that Omonia Nicosia play in green and white and their club badge features a shamrock, so Hearts will use that to their advantage. Shankland hasn't scored for a month and will remember the last two games against Hibs to motivate himself. There's no doubt that the appointment of Neil Critchley has made a huge difference to the Jambos in a very short time. I can only hope that the new manager bounce wears off in time for Sunday.
I've never been a great believer in changing managers too often, but the mere fact that I'm mentioning it shows even my patience is wearing thin. If SDG can't show that he is learning from his mistakes, then there's little hope of any improvement.
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Plymouth Argyle Home Park 26/10/2024 |
Posted by: themaclad - 24-10-2024, 20:29 - Forum: Preston North End
- Replies (2)
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PLYMOUTH ARGYLE
HOME PARK 26/10/2024 15.00 HRS
Second time in about 6 months the 12 hour round trip awaits alarm set for 4 am and no won' be listening to Faron Young
https://www.pafc.co.uk/
MANAGER
Derby County
After a poor start to the 2020–21 season saw Derby County bottom of the Championship table – their lowest position for 12 years – Derby boss Phillip Cocu was sacked, and Rooney was appointed as part of a four-man interim coaching staff alongside Liam Rosenior, Shay Given and Justin Walker on 14 November 2020.[328] His debut a week later saw Derby lose 1–0 at Bristol City to leave them at the foot of the table and three points from safety, though Rooney said he could guarantee that the side would "get better (and) get out of the situation we're in and... start winning games."[329] Following a "painful and chastening" 3–0 defeat to Middlesbrough it was announced that Rooney would take sole control of the side for the next match and had removed himself from the playing squad,[267] with Rooney making clear his desire to take the role full time.[268] Rooney started sole charge with The Rams in 24th, six points adrift of safety and on a run of four consecutive defeats; after improving Derby's form enough to get them out of the relegation zone he was appointed as permanent manager on 15 January.[269]
By mid-February 2021, having accrued 31 points from a possible 54 in his 18 games in sole charge, taking Derby up to 18th in the league and eight points clear of the relegation zone, Rooney was feted by the press for "convincing the doubters"[330] and found himself as 25/1 outsider for the Celtic job following the resignation of Neil Lennon.[331] Following this, however, form faltered badly with just one win from fourteen leaving Derby firmly in trouble,[332] with Rooney's side being criticised for their poor game management and sloppy defending[333] and suggestion that Rooney came across "as a manager who’s accepted defeat, who’s surrender [sic] himself to whatever results might come his way" and should be replaced.[332] Others defended Rooney, saying that though he had made mistakes, particularly in making "too many changes to personnel and shape/tactics" he had not been helped by injuries and too many players who had "been inconsistent (and) unable to maintain form both during a game and from game to game."[334] However, at the last match of the season, Derby County drew 3–3 at home with Sheffield Wednesday to barely avoid relegation.[335]
Incurring 21 points of deductions, Derby were relegated to League One at the end of the 2021–22 season, having spent almost the entire season in administration. With Derby still in administration going into the League One season, Rooney resigned as manager on 24 June 2022.[336][337]
D.C. United
On 12 July 2022, Rooney was announced as head coach for his former club, MLS side D.C. United.[338] He replaced outgoing manager Hernán Losada, on a contract to the end of the 2023 season.[339]
Rooney won 2–1 at home to Orlando City on his debut on 31 July 2022,[340] and picked up 9 points from the 14 last games of the season as his team ranked last in the Eastern Conference.[341][342]
At the end of the 2023 regular season, on 8 October, Rooney and the club agreed to mutually part ways, after United failed to qualify for the playoffs for a second straight season.[343]
Birmingham City
On 11 October 2023, Rooney made his return to English football as he was appointed manager of EFL Championship club Birmingham City on a three-and-a-half-year contract. He was appointed by American new owners Shelby Companies Limited, and replaced the sacked John Eustace at the sixth-placed club. Rooney brought his former teammates Ashley Cole and John O'Shea into his coaching staff.[344]
On his debut ten days later, Rooney's team lost 1–0 at Middlesbrough, managed by his former United and England teammate Michael Carrick.[345] He earned one point from his first five games, seeing his team fall to 18th in the table.[346] Rooney earned his first victory as Birmingham manager with a 2–1 defeat of bottom side Sheffield Wednesday on 25 November 2023.[347]
On 2 January 2024, Rooney was sacked by the club after winning just twice in 15 matches,[348] leaving Birmingham in 20th position.[349] Both before and after his tenure at St Andrew's, Rooney was likened to Gianfranco Zola, who was appointed by new owners in 2016 in place of the less recognisable Gary Rowett and oversaw a decline in results.[350][351] Birmingham ended the season relegated to the third tier for the first time since 1995, and Rooney's spell in charge was mentioned by fans and media as a leading reason for the relegation.[352][353][354]
Plymouth Argyle
On 25 May 2024, Rooney was appointed manager of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle on a three-year contract.[355] In his first game he suffered defeat with a 4–0 loss to Sheffield Wednesday.[356]
LAST TIME OUT
Watched it dire game
FORM GUIDE
ARGYLE 6 PNE 9
FORM PLAYERS
NEWBIES
PREVIOUS
OTHER GAMES AND TABLE
CULTURE
Prysten House is a Grade I listed 15th century merchant's house situated close to St Andrew's Church in the city of Plymouth, England.[1] It is a large U-shaped three storey split level house built c. 1498 and extended 1635.
Construction
It is constructed from Plymouth limestone rubble using relieving arches with Dartmoor granite hooded and ogee-framed Tudor dressings to glazed window openings, dry Devon slate roofs and two original lateral chimney stacks. The front has a distinctive and fine granite transomed bay window arrangement over a decorated and hooded doorway.[2]
History
The building is owned by The Minster Church of St Andrew and has been used as a museum[3] and a restaurant, but contrary to the misnomer has never been a priest's house, its name originating simply from its close proximity to St Andrew's Church, Plymouth.[4]
Prysten House is home to the Plymouth Tapestry designed by Eric Mor and displays a model of Plymouth in 1620.[5] As of April 2015 the museum is not open to the public,[6] but the restaurant is open.[7]
Prysten House also features the "Door of Unity" commemorating the War of 1812.
The Fitness Test
Brad Potts may be available to return after missing the last two fixtures, although manager Paul Heckingbottom says he won't be rushing him back.
Ched Evans, Patrick Bauer and Will Keane remain sidelined, but there are no other fresh injury concerns.
Argyle
After staying up on the final day of their first season back in the Championship last term, Argyle will be hoping to go much better this term.
Under the new management of Wayne Rooney, the Pilgrims have had a mixed start to the campaign, although they’ll be buoyed by winning their previous three matches on home turf.
They head into the weekend following back-to-back defeats on the road and sat 21st in the table at this early stage.
The Officials
Referee: Andy Davies
Assistant Referees: Graham Kane and Ian Cooper
Fourth Official: Farai Hallam
HECKY
Paul Heckingbottom feels that this season more than ever, Championship teams are being punished for dropping below their standards, and that’s something PNE will need to be wary of in Plymouth on Saturday.
Argyle head into the weekend following back-to-back defeats, however it’s been a different story on home turf, having won their previous three matches at Home Park.
For North End, they’ll be looking to make it a seven-point week, following a victory and draw since the return to action after the international break.
Hecky said: “If you can do that all season, you’re up. There’s no point looking at it that way in terms of blocks of games. I think it’s more about the next game: the next one in front of us.
“Also, we acknowledge how good they are at home. You look at their home record, we know it’s going to be a tough game, and that’s the same with any team we play in this league.
“You look at the fixtures every weekend, maybe this season more than any I can remember, where the margins seem so, so fine that if you dip below your standards then you’re going to be lucky to come away with something.”
Argyle are under new management this season, following the summer appointment of former Derby County and Birmingham City boss Wayne Rooney.
He’s had a mixed start to life in Devon, but a real plus point has been their performances on their own patch, having picked up impressive victories over Sunderland, Luton Town and Blackburn Rovers.
Hecky said: “They’re back to where they want to be in terms of their home form. It’s been like that over a number of years.
“They had a bad patch last season where they ended up changing a manager when they didn’t really want to. That’s probably the only time they’ve not been really strong at home.
“This season, they’ve started exactly the same. Their style of play and how they want to play is the same, home and away you can see that.
“There’s certainly more intent about them when they play at home and that’s probably been reflected in their results.”
The manager has been pleased in recent weeks with his side’s aggressiveness in a pressing approach, which is the way he wants his team to set up.
Hecky expects his side to try and do that wherever they go, but to what extent will depend on the team in front of them.
He explained: “It's slightly different depending on who you play. It still looks the same, but you maybe change the line where you engage.
“It’s a mentality we want to keep practicing to try and get better at it, and impose ourselves on everyone and keep developing with the ball as well.
“We’ve been away to Middlesbrough and were really good on the ball in the first half there but didn’t create too much. At Burnley, we were really good on the ball. Oxford at the start of the game, the first half hour was arguably the best [we’ve played], then we went to ten men in the second half.
“We want that but then with the same ability to win the ball back high, and the same organisation and aggression at set plays. Us working towards our best performance won’t change, whoever’s in front of us.”
MACS VIEW
Think this possibly was our last away win last season, ideal place to get our first this season, not be easy Argyle better at home than they are away , they have had a tough week on the road.
Whittaker a danger although suspect he might be gone in January. It's a tough place to go scenario but time for an away win
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Wryan's Wroaring Wrecsam v Gnagel's Gnarling Gnashers |
Posted by: jjamez - 22-10-2024, 02:28 - Forum: Huddersfield Town
- Replies (21)
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Tuesday sees Towns one and only international game of the season as they head to Hollywood to meet a supposed Welsh side. Backed by a couple of actors, Wrecsam have had a dramatic profile increase, which in turn has seen them stride up the leagues, with very little to suggest that they won't be the biggest side in Wales over the coming seasons. You could argue that they are the most likely to reach the Premier League out of the Cardiff and Swansea.
Wrecsam have taken to this league much like they did to League two last season, currently sitting in second place following a 1-0 win away at Rotherham, they will be hoping that it is a short stay, they have lost just the two league games all season so far, one of those being away at Birmingham, the other coming against Stevenage. They began the campaign with a 3-2 win at home to Wycombe, former T'owl Steven Fletcher finding himself on the scoresheet there. They followed that with a 4-2 defeat at Brammall Lane in the League Cup before playing out a goalless draw at the Toughshit Stadium against Bolton. Winning ways was resumed with a 3-0 win at home to Reading, Deadpool star Ollie Palmer among the goals there, he has been a pivotal part of the Wrecsam side that have climbed up the football league. They followed that up with a 2-0 win on the road away at Peterborough with another former owl, Jack Marriott on the scoresheet, the striker is their leading scorer so far this season, but is out for up to 4 months after breaking his leg. The Dragons made it three in a row with a 3-0 win over Shrewsbury, the Palmer and Marriott were both on the scoresheet once again, joined this time by Elliot Lee, son of former Newcastle and England midfielder Rob. Their next league fixture was against Birmingham which saw Hollywood face up against one of the greatest NFL players, stars were in attendance, the likes of David Beckham being lured in by the fame and fortunes, Wrecsam would take the lead through Marriott after just three minutes, but Brum would bite back to win 3-1, despite Krystian Bielik seeing red late on. They dusted themselves down quickly and returned to winning ways thanks to a 2-1 win over Crawley, Lee and Max Cleworth scoring either side of a Junior Quitima goal. A goalless draw away at Leyton Orient ended September, before losing away at Stevenage 1-0, but a 4-1 thrashing of Northampton took them into the international break, with a 16 second goal from Paul Mullin seeing them past Rotherham at the weekend.
It's worth looking into a few of the stats, with the vast majority of the games seeing Wrecsam yielding possession of the ball, with a high number of fouls being committed by the side. It seems like a lot of their wins have been revolving around set pieces and hitting teams on the break, with a few clinical and hardworking strikers amidst their ranks. Quite a few of their games have seen them face a fair amount of efforts on their goal, Rotherham clocked 17 efforts, but not many on target, Northampton, despite losing 4-1, managed 14 efforts as an away side. Stevenage restricted the Welsh side to 7 attempts with one on target, Orient, too frustrated the Welsh side, but in fairness it seems like a drab match. Crawley had the higher possession and attempts on goal as the away side when the sides met, they were probably unlucky to come out on the losing end of the tie. The Birmingham game seems like it was much like how we tried to play against the moneybag side, Shrewsbury managed to get into double figures in attempts, Posh struggled but saw over 70% of the ball, Reading nearly got 70% of the ball also as an away side but managed just one attempt on goal. Same story with Bolton, they just managed more attempts on target. Wycombe also had the better of the game but lost. I guess what I am trying to suggest is that we could well muster quite a few attempts on goal and we will probably see a fair bit of the ball in the process, Wrecsam like breaking play up with fouls, normally we have been decent on attacking set pieces but I think Matty Pearsons goal was the first from the initial set piece, Ben Wiles scored against Peterborough in the aftermath of the corner. It will be interesting to see how we line up in the forward line, whilst Marshall rats around and could be a big problem for the Wrecsam defence, his partner, should it be Bojan will probably have to be far more alive to rebounds and snap shots, at the moment, it still feels like the much maligned Danny Ward or the ever injured Rhys Healey are the more likely to capitalise from this sort of opportunity, although having scored at the weekend maybe Bojan will be more confident and riding the crest of a wave.
So what's happening at the Stok racecourse ground? Well Hollywood came a calling and the Welsh side listened intently, ultimately succumbing to the charm of Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds, of Green Lantern, Free Guy fame and a small movie trilogy called Deadpool, nothing to do with Clint Eastwood and his friend Rob McElhenney, who claimed it's always sunny in Philadelphia, jokes on him, he's never been to Yorkshire. The duo purchased the club back in 2020, the club finished 8th that season, but was unveiled to whole new audience thanks to the docuseries welcome to Wrexham. The following season the side finished second and just missed out on promotion, but constant investment from the big screen duo saw the club achieve back to back promotions.
Reynolds has been seen in Hollywood since the first Deadpool films success as almost a banker at the box offices, whilst the films may not be Oscar worthy nor the greatest of films overall, they are normally good for a few hours of humor and escapism, which in my book is normally a good thing. Not every movie has to be hard hitting, that being said I do enjoy thought provoking films just as much as I do a good Sci Fi or comic book film, I feel I am quite well rounded in that regards. So does anyone have a favourite Reynolds film? mine outside of the Deadpool series would be Free Guy. What would People put as their top 10 films of all time? I'll put mine in the comments below.
As well as getting money from the TV show and their famous owners, the club has also seen a dramatic upturn in sponsorship deals, with social media site tiktok sponsoring the side the last two seasons along with travel site expedia, Vistaprint has sponsored their sleeves along with Reynolds owned company American Aviation gin. This season the club is sponsored by American Airlines and Vistaprint, with HP Inc sponsoring their sleeves, not sure if it's ketchup, brown sauce or the fruity one. Which is your favourite?
Managed by Mr Empty Seat himself, Phil Parkinson, the former Reading player replaced Dean Keates in July 2021. His first season saw the side miss out on Promotion in the playoffs to Grimsby before leading the side to back to back promotions, as well as a couple of overseas tours to the US of A, building up a new fanbase, capitalising on the fame of their owners. Back in 2007, Parkinson was assistant manager to Alan Pardew at Charlton and looked set to a return to management at the then McAlpine Stadium, but backed out of the deal at the last minute to stay at the Valley, this resulted in the infamous scene of Ken Davy and a guy who I can't remember the name of, Andrew Watson maybe? sat at a table with gathered press and an empty chair, having to announce that the manager wasn't going to turn up. In the end we ended up with Andy Ritchie and Parkinson would eventually take the hotseat at the Valley in 2008 on New Years Eve. His tenure at the Valley ended in January 2011 and in August the same year he wound up at another Valley, in Yorkshire, of Bradford origin. He spent 5 years at Valley Parade, with his first full season at the helm he would guide the Bantams to a historic League Cup final, which they would lose 5-0 to Swansea City, the same season they would also gain promotion to League One via the Playoffs. The next season he would see his Bradford side ease past a Jose Mourinho Chelsea side in the FA Cup, but could only get as far as the Quarter Finals, in the league, they would lose to Millwall in the Play Off semi finals and Parkinson would depart to join newly relegated Bolton Wanderers. He would guide the Trotters back into the Championship at the first time of asking, but struggled upon their return, managing to scrape to survival, he would resign from the club in 2019, before having just over a year at the Stadium of Light with Sunderland, leaving them in 2020 before having a few months off to recharge ahead of the arguably heightened media scrutiny in Wrecsam.
In terms of team news for the two sides, town will be without the usual bunch of balker, helik, nicholls and Hodge, but will now see Sorensen join them after limping off only 4 minutes into Saturday's game. Ollie turton stepped in admirably and will be hoping to start, as will Brodie Spencer who returns after suspension. Striker Rhys Healey is expected to have gotten over the illness that dragged him off early in the b team game and kept him out of the weekends game. Wrecsam will definitely be without Jack Marriott with a broken leg, Max cleworth will also miss out with torn ankle ligaments, midfielder George Evans will also miss out having suffered the same fate.
The side will be captained by everyones favourite footballer James McClean, I'm sure he will get a vociferous welcome as he does at every ground.
He will be one to watch as he is prone to winding opponents up and not just the supporters, now 35 his best days are behind him and no longer is he a marauding winger, most recently he has been operating as a wing back in a back 5. Also to be watched is Paul mullin who has come in due to the injury to Marriott. Over the last few seasons mullin has been pivotal to wrecsam climbing the leagues, but a serious injury in the summer set him back. The Liverpudlian is no stranger to Town, having come through the set up down Leeds road but never managed to play a game for the club. He moved to Morecambe and would spend 3 years there scoring 25 goals before heading south to Swindon. His one season there yielded 6 goals before he moved back north to Tranmere, scoring 8 goals in 42 games over a two year period before moving to Cambridge. At the U's he becomes a cult icon scoring 32 goals in a season there winning promotion to league one. Despite this he made the decision to leave and dropped down two divisions to join wrecsam, where he is already approaching the 100 goal mark, having been there since 2021, earning him a standby callup to the Wales squad and an acting credit as Welsh pool in the Deadpool v wolverine movie.
His most recent striking partner has been fellow actor Ollie Palmer, the 32 year old has been at the club since 2022 when he joined from AFC Wimbledon. Also in the striking ranks is Steven Fletcher, the former owl striker has scored a few times against town, but now nearly 40, he is more of an impact player. They also have talented midfielders Andy cannon, Elliot lee and spent good money on Ollie rathbone in the summer but haven't seen the best from their midfield three yet and still see themselves in second spot.
Their transfers can be seen here,
Departures
Our head to head record is as follows;
The most recent of meetings came way back in may 2005 when David Mirfin scored past a young Ben Foster to give Peter Jackson's side the three points, whilst the first meeting was a 0-0 draw in 1973.
I don't know how to get these bigger, first time I've used attachments for one of these.
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HTAFC Prediction League 2024/25 Matchday 12 |
Posted by: Lord Snooty - 20-10-2024, 22:32 - Forum: Huddersfield Town
- Replies (19)
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2 points for correct result
4 points for correct score
2 points for each correct scorer
Correct joker doubles your score (correct score on a joker would give you 8 points)
Wrong joker result gives you minus 2
Correct Badger gives you 2 points
The prize for winning the league is one rep point.
Cup games: In the event of a draw, it's half the points if you've predicted a draw when it gets to 90 mins and the full points if it's still a draw after extra time. Half the points will be awarded for correctly predicting the winner of the match if it goes to penalties. However, if you do predict a draw and it's a match that won't be going to a replay, you can get a possible extra point by stating which of the two teams you think will eventually win.
Random score generator: I will be using the random score generator again for those who miss predicting, so we shouldn't get some people too far behind that after missing a couple of weeks they lose all interest, because I know it's not easy getting on here every week.
To be fair to everybody, this is going to be like, say if three people in one week miss their predictions, the first one in the table will be given all 0-0, the second one down the line will get 1-0 and the third will get 0-1 and so on, like if there's four missing the 4th will get 1-1, then 5th 2-1, 6th 1-2. and if there are so many missing, might as well pack in.
And if you miss two weeks on the trot, I'll stop until you come back on again. Not doing it for half a season like I did t'other year.
At the end of the season, the winner of group 2 and the bottom of group 1 will swap places in what is commonly known as "promotion" and "relegation". It's something that most football fans will be familiar with, unless you're a fan of Liverpool or Arsenal or one of those other fashionable clubs.
The second placed player in group 2 will then have a play off with the player who finishes second from the bottom in group 1 to decide whether they will be going up, down or staying where they are.
We're going to have two seasons in one though, just to try and make it a bit more interesting and not so long drawn out. The first season will end on the Boxing Day fixtures, with the play offs being on the dates of the Twixtmas fixtures and the NYD fixtures.
The second season will start the following week, which is usually the FA Cup 3rd round, finishing on the last game of the League One season. Then another period of relegation/promotion play off games, taking in such fixtures as the EFL play offs, FA Cup Final, UEFA finals and such like.
Each group will have it's own set of fixtures. Both groups will have the Town games, with scorers to predict as before. Then it will be a split of League One fixtures and bonus matches, hopefully around ten, eleven or twelve games per Matchday.
The random badger is restricted to three goal scorers in any of the fixtures in your group.
Here's how that will appear at the end of the fixture list. All you have to do is fill in the blanks.......
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
Any of those will score two points if correct. No minus points for getting it wrong.
Postponed matches will only count if the match is re-played before the next Matchday is under way. Abandoned matches will be awarded half the points for the score at the time of abandonment, so 1 point if you have the correct result, 2 points if you have the correct score.
Substitute or scorer in one of the Town games:- These will be only be allowed if you change them before the match involved has kicked off.
Prediction League Archive: https://www.sportsbabble.co.uk/showthread.php?tid=12830
Division One table after Matchday 11:
- themaclad = 197 pts
- Baggiebob(BBB) = 195 pts
- St Charles Owl = 194 pts
- jjamez = 187 pts
- Lord Snooty = 164 pts
- SHEP_HTAFC = 163 pts
Saturday October 26th:
Town v Exeter
Town scorers:
Exeter scorers:
Mansfield Town v Birmingham City (12:30)
Bolton Wanderers v Peterborough United
Cambridge United v Burton Albion
Charlton Athletic v Wrexham
Rotherham United v Stevenage
Tuesday October 29th:
Lincoln City v Northampton Town
Stockport County v Reading
Bonus matches:
Saturday:
Championship:
West Bromwich Albion v Cardiff City
Tuesday:
EFL Cup (last 16):
Brentford v Sheffield Wednesday
Wednesday:
Manchester United v Leicester City
Preston North End v Arsenal
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
Division Two table after Matchday 11:
- neonfoxinthebox = 217 pts
- Devongone = 211 pts
- theo_luddite = 206 pts
- ritchiebaby = 193 pts
- WakeyTerrier = 169 pts
- Amelia Chaffinch = 154 pts
Saturday October 26th:
Town v Exeter
Town scorers:
Exeter scorers:
Reading v Bristol Rovers (12:30)
Lincoln City v Stockport County
Northampton Town v Crawley Town
Shrewsbury Town v Barnsley
Wycombe Wanderers v Leyton Orient
Monday October 28th:
Blackpool v Wigan Athletic
Tuesday October 29th:
Stevenage v Bolton Wanderers
Bonus matches:
Saturday:
League Two:
Morecambe v Chesterfield (12:30)
Sunday:
Premier League:
Arsenal v Liverpool (16:30)
Wednesday:
Scottish Premiership:
Ross County v Hibernian
EFL Cup (last 16):
Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
Newcastle United v Chelsea
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
*** scores for ***
Town injury news:- As far as I know, Koroma is out for the next few weeks, as are Helik and Hodge. And now Sorensen is out for 8 weeks.
Ward, Healy and Kane are back in action.
As for Exeter, their star signing from us, Pat Jones, is also a long term injury.
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