Doo doo doo doo, der der doo doo doo. It’s finally here, the first game of the 2007/2008 season and we open our campaign with a home game against Accrington Stanley.
Vital Quotes:
Paul Lambert:
‘Everybody’s ready to go for the new season. We just want to start the season with a win and we’ll do our best to achieve it. I’m really excited by it all – we’ve got a lot of new players and there’s a real buzz about the place. The game’s all about the players and the fans, and if we all pull together then we’ll be able to give it a really good go.’
I can’t find any pre-match interviews with John Coleman so maybe he’s trying to let his team do the talking!
But what’s this…
“I think it’s a difficult start for us. I think Wycombe will be among the favourites.”
If somebody asked me to pick a couple of teams now, I don’t know much about the teams that have come down, but certainly from the teams that were there last year, they would be the ones I would tip to be up there at the end of the season.
I’m sure they’ll be on their guard because we took four points off them last year and I’d settle for that again this year. I think they’ll maybe up their game a bit. Their management have had us watched. They came down last Saturday to see us against Manchester City, so they’ll know a little bit about us, but we know a little bit about them.”
Wycombe Team News:
Gary Holt should return for Wycombe after having his cast removed on Wednesday and is possibly set for a place in the starting line-up.
John Sutton and Scott McGleish will start up front due to the suspension of last year’s leading scorer Jermaine Easter.
Player to watch: Sergio Torres
Fresh from his wonder goal at Oxford, Torres is expected to feature behind the strikers and we’ll be looking for more of his creative play and fancy footwork tomorrow.
Accrington Stanley Team News:
Accrington have also rung the changes this summer with 8 new summer faces and new boys John Miles, Lee McEvilly, Kenny Arthur, Roscoe D’Sane, Graham Branch and Mark Roberts are in contention.
However Paul Carden, another new arrival this summer, is unlikely to figure because of a calf problem.
Player to watch: Paul Mullin
Clearly earmarked as Accrington’s best player and impressed in their survival campaign last year, him and McEvilly up front will pose a ferocious physical threat to the Wycombe defence but with little pace it’s hard to predict how effective they’ll be.
Match Facts & Stats
A win for Wycombe on Saturday would be their first competitive win in 10 games.
This will be the second time in 2 seasons that Lee McEvilly has travelled to Adams Park on the first day of the season.
Wycombe’s average first day attendance since moving to Adams Park is 5,680.
Ref Watch:
Darren Whitestone from Northampton, was the man in charge for our 1-1 draw with Shrewsbury in April and a 1-0 defeat to Darlington at the end of the 2005/06 season.
On both occasions his linesman have made incorrect decisions to cost the Blues.
Match Prediction:
I predict a 3-1 win win for Wycombe, maybe a bit of ring rust in the first half but the class of players like Williams, Sutton and McGleish will shine through.
Next Fixtures:
Plymouth (A) – Tuesday 14th August – Carling Cup
Dagenham (A) – Saturday 18th August – Coca-Cola League 2
