It’s been well documented that Stanley are this seasons surprise package although they took a bit of a knock on Tuesday losing 4-1 at the hands of Bristol Rovers. We cannot be 100% sure but Stanley are said to have one of the lowest playing budgets in League 1 if not the EFL, yet they continue to surprise. One estimate I saw, and I repeat it cannot be confirmed, had Stanley paying out a third of what we do in wages, and that gap will be further widened when you consider the bigger teams in League 1.
They are threatening the playoff places with a mixture of styles and the ability to grind out a win against anyone, and with Dion Charles up front they will certainly be looking to exploit us as we play it out from the back.
Last time round at Stanley Charles scored a brace either side of a Morris equaliser where he ran from the halfway line, avoiding several challenges and then firing into the bottom corner.
THE SEASON SO FAR – Accrington currently sit in 10th in the League 1 table, and their record to date is PLAYED 32, WON 14, DRAWN 8, LOST 10, GF 44 & GA 38 with 50 POINTS.
AWAY LEAGUE RECORD 2020/21
Bristol Rovers 4 Accrington 1
Fleetwood 1 Accrington 1
Crewe 2 Accrington 0
Doncaster 0 Accrington 1
Lincoln 2 Accrington 2
Plymouth 2 Accrington 2
Hull 3 Accrington 0
Charlton 0 Accrington 2
Gillingham 0 Accrington 2
Wigan 4 Accrington 3
Shrewsbury 2 Accrington 2
Swindon 0 Accrington 3
Northampton 0 Accrington 1
Ipswich 2 Accrington 0
AFCW 1 Accrington 2
Burton Albion 2 Accrington 1
Away record PLAYED 16, WON 6, DRAWN, 4, LOST 6, GF 23 & GA 25.
LEAGUE FORM AT A GLANCE – DLDLWL
YEAR FORMED – 1891 and reformed in 1968 after its collapse in 1966.
NICKNAME – Accy Stanley, Accy, Stanley or The Reds.
GROUND – The Wham Stadium (5,450)
THE MANAGER – John Coleman born in Liverpool aged 58.
It’s not easy to find out much about Coleman as he spent much of his time as a forward plying his trade around the lower leagues and therefore records of his career are not so comprehensive.
He did however play for Kirkby Town, Burscough, Marine, Southport where he scored 49 goals in 89 appearances, Runcorn, Macclesfield Town, Rhyl, Witton Albion, Morecambe, Lancaster City and Ashton United.
This is his second stint at the helm at Stanley, previously being in charge from 1999-2012, he has also managed Ashton United, Rochdale, Southport, Sligo Rovers and now back at Stanley a job he has occupied since September 2014 and has been the gaffer at Stanley now for over 900 games in total. His managerial stats are above average coming in at GAMES 1112, WON 461, DRAWN 279, LOST 372 giving him a WIN RATIO of 41%.
MATCHDAY MASCOT – Confusing this one, it used to be Stan the Monkey, but I think he was ditched when the guy inside the costume got put away for 6 months after admitting child sex offences, then there was something about moving to Thailand as a schoolteacher, extradition, sex offenders registers, and then unpaid tax bills, all looks a bit messy to me. I’ve also seen references for Fraser the Eagle, but that might be something to do with a local business, so I’ve settled on Winstanley the Dog.
SHOOTERS BOOTS – So far, its Dion Charles with 15 goals.
PLAYED FOR BOTH – David Martin, Alan Navarro, Kevin Long, John Miles, Paul Rachubka, Ryan Watson, and Lee Nicholls are the only ones I could find.
FORMER MANAGERS – James Beattie and Leighton James are probably the best known.
FAMOUS FAN – Jess McClure star of the US TV show Storage Hunters.
BEST INTERNET MATCH ODDS – MK Dons 6/5 Draw 8/3 Stanley 23/10
LAST TIME ROUND – Sat 5th Dec – Accrington 2 MK Dons 1
Team – Fisher, O’Hora, Keogh, Lewington, Gladwin (Poole), Kasumu, Surman (Sorenson), Sorinola (Harvie), Fraser, Morris, Jerome (Walker).
Unused Subs – Nicholls, Williams, Cargill,
Goals – Charles 8’, Morris 53’, Charles 62’
Referee – A Coggins (5 Yellows)
Attendance – Behind Closed Doors.
HEAD 2 HEAD
2020/21 – Accrington 2 MK Dons 1 – (Morris)
2019/20 – MK Dons v Accrington – (Covid)
2019/20 – Accrington 2 MK Dons 1 – (Agard)
2007/08 – Accrington 0 MK Dons 1 – (Wright)
2007/08 – MK Dons 5 Accrington 0 – (Andrews, Navarro, Cameron, Dyer 2)
2006/07 – MK Dons 3 Accrington 1 – (Andrews, O’Hanlon, Stirling)
2006/07 – Accrington 3 MK Dons 4 – (McLeod, Wilbraham 2, O’Hanlon)
