Saturday 9th January - Wednesday 13th January

[FGR Stroud]

Only ten league games this week with four teams playing twice.

Paul Mullin is Cambridge's top scorer with 17 goals. Jack Muldoon has scored 9 times for Harrogate.
Cambridge have won 3 home matches in a row.

Jon Mellish is Carlisle's top scorer with 7 goals. Danny Johnson has scored 14 times for Leyton.
Carlisle's home record this season: 8-1-1.
Leyton have lost 3 away matches in a row.

Grimsby haven't won in their last 4 games.
Grimsby have lost 3 away matches in a row.
Devante Rodney is Port Vale's top scorer with 5 goals. Matthew Pollock has scored 3 times for Grimsby.

Colchester haven't won in their last 5 games.
Colchester's away record this season: 1-5-5.
Salford's home record this season: 5-6-0.

Bradford haven't lost in their last 5 games.
Lewis Spence has more yellow cards (5) than any other player at Scunthorpe. Elliot Watt has collected 3 for Bradford.
Abo Eisa is Scunthorpe's top scorer with 4 goals. Lee Novak has scored 6 times for Bradford.

Richard Taylor has more yellow cards (5) than any other player at Southend. Josh Kay has collected 6 for Barrow AFC.
Southend have won 3 home matches in a row.
In League Two, Southend have 3 successive home wins.

 

[valefan16]

Huge game for us and one we need to win, win and we are 8 clear of the drop, lose it could be only 2 and is probably the biggest game for us since Chesterfield in 17/18 season.

Positives for us that the injury crisis that’s plagued us for a few weeks could be over.

Worrall
Montano
Cullen
Conlon

All should return, the first two came on last week. Conlon is back after Covid.

Gibbons who’s missed almost the whole season may make it which is a huge boost with our RB issues

Oyeleke could possibly after training.

Legge is banned and Crookes has Covid

Pugh also may decide to give Theo Robinson and Harry McKirdy a fresh chance after being ousted by Askey.

So all being well we should have most of our big players who’ve been missing for weeks and should see a very different side to the one of recent weeks take to the field.

Vale may look to make new signings despite no manager also.

No idea how Pugh will set us up, may stick with the Askey system the players know or may go and use his own. He could go 2 up front it’s really hard to say.

Askey gone, loads of key players back, should be 6 or 7 changes from the cowardly efforts of recent weeks so hopefully we can see a positive change if performance levels and hopefully results.

This is a huge game for us now but probably after all this be a frozen pitch anyway!

 

[Gladders]

Big month for us, especially as season looks likely to end early so need to get clear sooner rather than later to avoid PPG problems.

Still same shite squad for Hurst to work with, however a few positives from the Cambridge game and playing a side as bad as us in form. We need a win but not confident until Hurst can sign some better players, because it will take a miracle for our current lot to score.

 

[Bottega Don]

Two losses, obviously.

Novak to bag a handful

 

[BlackHaddock]

I've lost the plot, GTFC to gift Vale the points and look crap doing it!

 

[The Terminator]

1pm Kick off at Carlisle, our home form is a big reason we're pushing for the playoffs but we've lost 4 of our last 5 away from home and conceded 2 goals in all 5 of those games - The one game we didn't lose at Port Vale we won 3-2.

Our game management has always been questioned under Ross Embleton, but we've shown big improvements on that in our last 2 home games which we won and put in solid performances in both.

West Ham Loanee Tunji Akinola came in at CB for both games and has played well, he's calmed our backline down. He's been greatly underused by us as he's played quite well when called upon.

We've not drawn a game since October 27th - Two solid months of stringing wins and losses together. If our game management was better we could've potentially turned at least 4 or 5 of those 2-1 losses we've suffered in that time into draws and we could've been a bit better off.

 

[Andy Proctor]

Our game will be off Saturday so there's no point even talking about it.

 

[Grumpy Grecian]

Rumour has it that we'll just be putting our youth team out against Championship Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday in the FAC.

Manager Matt wants to save his main firepower for our real "cup final" against Premier League material next Tuesday

 

[Son of Cod]

Grimsby have lost 3 away matches in a row.

Hold our beer.

 

[valefan16]

Hold our beer.

Mansfield hadn’t won at home in 11 months, Barrow had never won in Burslem and hadn’t beaten us since Hitler was waltzing into the Sudetenland... we are the gift that keeps on giving in fairness! Not just food parcels with labels on (tm) either.

 

[chipmunx]

The way Grimsby and Port Vale are going one of them will win - but field an ineligible player - so neither team ends up getting any points from the match.....

 

[Son of Cod]

The way Grimsby and Port Vale are going one of them will win - but field an ineligible player - so neither team ends up getting any points from the match.....

We actually played pretty well last time out, I'm feeling a bit more confident with Hurst here now.

 

[Shrimpurh]

Huge game for us at home against Barrow

 

[hellogregory]

Not a chance our game is going ahead looking at Friday night / Saturday morning temperatures. -6 during the night, doesn’t get to zero until about 11am.

Orient shouldn’t even bother setting off tomorrow.

 

[valefan16]

I’m hoping with all the players back this weekend we should be far stronger. Last time we had these players in we hit 6 but this is Vale.

That said I can’t see it going ahead with the forecast

 

[BlackHaddock]

I hope the weather prevents the game being played to be honest, we are a 'crock of shit' at the moment (well since mid-October really).

 

[GEORGE]

Rumour has it that we'll just be putting our youth team out against Championship Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday in the FAC.

Manager Matt wants to save his main firepower for our real "cup final" against Premier League material next Tuesday

If true that would be plain stupid.

 

[GTFCfish]

Mansfield hadn’t won at home in 11 months, Barrow had never won in Burslem and hadn’t beaten us since Hitler was waltzing into the Sudetenland... we are the gift that keeps on giving in fairness! Not just food parcels with labels on (tm) either.

Unfortunately we are also that team that likes to give out gifts to strugglers.
We let Stevenage have their first of only 3 wins last season with an abysmal performance and I remember a couple of seasons ago Crewe had gone 12 games without a win so we duly went there and let them beat us 5-0.
Also the year Hartlepool were relegated to the National League we lost 3-0 at home to them.

 

[valefan16]

Unfortunately we are also that team that likes to give out gifts to strugglers.
We let Stevenage have their first of only 3 wins last season with an abysmal performance and I remember a couple of seasons ago Crewe had gone 12 games without a win so we duly went there and let them beat us 5-0.
Also the year Hartlepool were relegated to the National League we lost 3-0 at home to them.

This has a dire 0-0 written all over it doesn’t it..

 

[BarraMatt]

Nervous about this one. Feels like it's game over if we lose almost (which it isn't). Despite being bottom Southend aren't seemingly the basket case they once were and we've looked better these last 3 games than we ever did under Dunn.

 

[pontoonlew]

This has a dire 0-0 written all over it doesn’t it..

It has ‘Frozen Pitch’ written all over it by the looks of the weather

 

[valefan16]

It has ‘Frozen Pitch’ written all over it by the looks of the weather

Probably. The Lorne Street side being so large casts a shadow which would help thaw it out!

 

[pontoonlew]

Probably. The Lorne Street side being so large casts a shadow which would help thaw it out!

The only hope is that you have a decent amount of snow today to cover the pitch

 

[valefan16]

The only hope is that you have a decent amount of snow today to cover the pitch

Don’t think they have, just a light dusting. Guess it depends on the covers, don’t recall us having any off last season but weather wasn’t as bad from what I recall.

Cant think when the last P-P was at home, sure there was one where we were the only one off in the country though whenever it was!

Tranmere I think 2 season back!

I am in Leicestershire about 50 miles from VP so maybe different there but we’ve had some rain that’s washed the main frost away as it’s crept about freezing so issue will be I imagine tonight when it freezes that rain will turn to ice.

 

[denzel ecfc]

Rumour has it that we'll just be putting our youth team out against Championship Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday in the FAC.

Manager Matt wants to save his main firepower for our real "cup final" against Premier League material next Tuesday

I've heard that Bolton will be fired up for this. It's THEIR Cup final.

 

[Shrimper92]

Molesley didn't win manager of the month. Lol, okay EFL...

 

[hellogregory]

I assume Leyton Orient will travel up to Carlisle today?

Surely in that case they’ll request a decision to be made today. Temperatures could get to -7 degrees tonight so they’ll be having a wasted journey if a decision isn’t made today.

 

[hellogregory]

As predicted, our home match with Leyton Orient is off due to a frozen tinpot pitch.

 

[Andy Proctor]

They got the weather forecast wrong for stoke. Had a light dusting of snow around 5pm last night but it said heavy snowfall for today and we have just had a few spots of rain. I'd say it will be on which neither side will probably want. The only way it would be off is either because of fog or a frozen pitch.

 

[shoddycollins]

As predicted, our home match with Leyton Orient is off due to a frozen tinpot pitch.

I'm fairly surprised though, can't remember the last time we had a home game called off due to a frozen pitch. Away fans always predict postponements in winter up in the frozen wastes of Cumbria but they're always wrong... apart from this week.

Looks like a quiet weekend for the promotion race. Some teams in FA Cup action, but also covid and weather?