League Two Form Guide

		P	GD	Pts
1	Bromley	6	+3	12
2	MK Dons	6	+4	11
3	Colchester	6	+4	11
4	Notts County	6	+2	11
5	Cambridge Utd	6	+2	11
6	Swindon	6	+2	10
7	Salford	6	-1	10
8	Accrington Stanley	6	+2	9
9	Walsall	6	+2	9
10	Tranmere	6	+1	9
11	Cheltenham	6	0	9
12	Crawley Town	6	+3	8
13	Oldham	6	+2	8
14	Fleetwood Town	6	+1	8
15	Crewe	6	0	8
16	Shrewsbury	6	-2	8
17	Chesterfield	6	0	7
18	Gillingham	6	0	7
19	Barrow	6	-2	6
20	Barnet	6	-1	5
21	Grimsby	6	-2	5
22	Newport County	6	-5	4
23	Harrogate Town	6	-8	2
24	Bristol Rovers	6	-12	0

Full Form Table
Prem|Champ|L1|NL|VN|VS
SPL|SC|S1|S2

Question of the Week

Where will Grimsby finish?

Boston Preview

By: Richard Hubbert
Date: 10/03/2005

TOWN are involved in another Lincolnshire derby this weekend, this time travelling to York Street for their first time in the league, to face fellow play-off chasers Boston United.

Home > 2004-2005 Season > Previews > Boston (a)

The Opposition

Overview

Boston have seen major changes during the last year, within which time Neil Thompson was relieved as manager, meaning that former boss Steve Evans (left) could return after being banned from management for financial irregularities. Evans has successfully galvanised the club who when he took over were languishing near the foot of the table. Boston have been in and around the play off area for much of the season, but it is their poor away form earlier in the season which has cost them, meaning that they are currently in 15th place in the table.

Their Squad

One massive blow to the Pilgrims has been the very recent sale of top scorer Andy Kirk, who has joined Northampton after netting 21goals for the Pilgrims this season. This means that there will be more pressure on the likes of Jason Lee and Daryl Clare, both ex-Town strikers of course, to net the goals. Clare has struggled a little since his move from Chester in November, scoring only 1 goal in 8 starts. Elsewhere, Boston have quite an experienced squad. Dean West was signed from Lincoln in a swap deal with Martin Carruthers earlier this season, while Paul Ellender and ex-Hull man Mark Greaves provide strength at the back, along with new signing Alan White. In midfield they can rely on speedy winger Danny Thomas as well as the experienced duo of Simon Rusk and Chris Holland.

Key Player

David Noble (left). Tricky midfield player who started his career with Arsenal. Was signed by the club last February and has become a fans favourite with his displays in midfield. Vital Town cut off his supply to the forward players.

Recent Form

Town

Boston

W	Oxford	(a)	2-1
L	Rochdale	(a)	0-2
W	Yeovil	(h)	2-1
W	Chester	(h)	1-0
D	Swansea	(a)	0-0

Currently 12th in League Two.

L	Darlington	(a)	0-1
L	Northampton	(h)	0-1
D	Bristol R	(a)	1-1
L	Lincoln	(h)	0-2
D	Bury	(a)	2-2

Currently 16th in League Two.

Top Scorers

Town

Boston

Pinault	7
Parkinson	7

Kirk	21
Lee	8

Team News

Town

Boston

Forward Martin Gritton is expected to be named in the starting eleven after recovering from the illness that restricted him to a substitutes role last weekend.

He is likely to replace Simon Ramsden who is going to be on the sidelines for several weeks with ankle ligament damage. This means that Slade is likely to stick with the 4-4-2 formation that worked so well at Oxford.

Michael Reddy could be set for a shock return to the bench after suffering from a groin strain since the 2-0 defeat at Rochdale ten days ago. It was thought that Reddy would be out for longer, but Slade could opt to put him on the bench.

Another forward also vying for a place on the bench is youngster Danny North who scored for the reserves this week.

John McDermott and Stacy Coldicott have missed parts of training this week through injury but should be ok to start.

Boston will have to do without their top scorer Andy Kirk, who has moved on to rivals Northampton.

Daryl Clare could come back into the side to replace Kirk after playing for the reserves in the week along with veteran defender Dean West. The return to fitness of West has meant that on loan Hull defender Scott Wiseman has returned to the KC Stadium.

Jason Lee is suspended for two games after picking up another booking last week at Darlington.

Probable Teams

Town

Boston

1	Anthony Williams
2	John McDermott
6	Terrell Forbes
28	Justin Whittle
16	Ronnie Bull
17	Thomas Pinault
15	Terry Fleming
11	Stacy Coldicott
10	Andy Parkinson
19	Matt Harrold
26	Martin Gritton

26	Nathan Abbey
4	Paul Ellender
2	Alan White
14	Austin McCann
15	Lee Thompson
16	Danny Thomas
12	Simon Rusk
11	Chris Holland
8	David Noble
18	Steven Boyack
29	Daryl Clare

Subs

Town

Boston

9	Michael Reddy
5	Tony Crane
12	Graham Hockless
18	Rob Jones
14	David Soames

6	Steve Melton
23	Courtney Pitt
28	Dean West
3	Dominic Roma
25	Rob Norris

Head to Head

A bit of stalemate at the moment, with the two sides having met for the first time in the league back in August, which was of course a draw! So, can the Mariners remain unbeaten against the Pilgrims?

Connections

Ben Chapman (left), Steve Crousden and Daryl Clare have all played for Boston after leaving Town. Of course, Clare is back at York street for a second time after a spell with Chester.

Chapman was captain for the Pilgrims under Steve Thompson for a little while, but was released by Steve Evans in the summer. Crousden meanwhile, never played for the Pilgrims and had a brief spell with Stevenage in the summer earlier this season.

Last Meeting

Town last met Boston in only the second game of this season, on a warm August evening as they battled out a 1-1 draw. The Mariners went behind early in the game when Steve Melton scored when Town had just 10 players on the field because Rob Jones was receiving treatment. The second half, Town had much of the better play and Michael Reddy grabbed his first goal for Town when he scored within a minute of coming on as a substitute to make the game all square.

Grimsby Team: Williams ,Whittle ,Ramsden ,Jones (Young ,11 ) ,Crowe ,Fleming ,Pinault ,McDermott ,Sestanovich (Marcelle ,86 ) ,Mansaram (Reddy ,69 ) ,Parkinson
Subs: (not used) Coldicott, Soames,

Boston Team: Abbey ,Beevers ,Strong ,Greaves ,McCann ,Melton ,Bennett ,Noble (Holland ,84 ) ,Jelleyman ,Lee (Pitt ,79 ) ,Carruthers (Thompson ,76 )
Subs: (not used) Bastock, Rusk,

Attendance: 6,737 Report

Prediction

Too much to ask for another win perhaps, but a creditable 1-1 draw.

3-1

Recent Predictions

Game	Prediction	Score	Points
Oxford	0-0	2-1	0
Rochdale	1-1	0-2	0
Yeovil	1-1	2-1	0
Chester	3-1	1-0	1
Swansea	1-1	0-0	1
Shrewsbury	2-0	0-1	0
Bristol R	2-1	0-3	0
Cheltenham	1-1	3-2	0
Lincoln	2-1	2-4	0
Leyton Orient	1-1	2-1	0

Reader's POMs

Directions

Click on the link for directions to York Street (left).

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