WHO ARE ACCRINGTON STANLEY?

WHO IS JOHN COLEMAN?

ACCRINGTON STANLEY IN 2007/8

LAST SEASON'S VIDEO

WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?

Let's make no bones about it, Accrington Stanley are a bit crap when it comes to being a League club. They have a generally poor squad, the lowest crowds in League Two and the worst ground by a country mile. The only thing that Accrington have going for them is the fact that despite losing more games than anyone else, they also won a surprisingly large amount of games.

Last season they could have easily featured in the promotion shake up if they had turned some of their 27 defeats into draws or even wins. Gaining 51 points when you lose 27 games is an unbelievable record and that's thanks to 16 wins and 3 draws. In no other division would you see a team losing more than half their League games and never get anywhere near the drop zone.

Since coming into the League, Stanley had realistically been punching way above their weight and a return to the non-League seems to be coming sooner rather than later. In the words of many fans who have visited the ground, it's a non-league team with non-league players in a non-league ground in front of non-league fans. I'm not going to say they were the worst team I've seen in recent seasons, but they run the likes of Dagenham pretty close.

I think one of their problems is John Coleman. A legend at non-league level as both player and manager, he hasn't adapted at all to League Two football and seems a little out of his depth to be perfectly honest. Before 2006, he had never been involved at any level in the Football League and it really does show with his tactics and general approach to games.

Accrington's long ball tactics don't work because they don't have the right squad to get away with it. There's no point in hoofing it up to a pair of strikers who have a horrible first touch and seemingly couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. It's a bit like when Lincoln used to lump the ball up to Francis Green and Marcus Richardson.

I really can't see Accrington doing anything at all this season. The only way I can see them not being involved in a relegation battle is if a LOT of clubs start the season with a negative points total. Put simply, Accrington Stanley are simply not good enough to survive at this level and it's not a question of if they return to the non-league, it's when.

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