Burnley FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread
Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2015 9:25 am
Burnley v Ipswich Town 
Saturday 2nd January 2016 – 15:00
Turf Moor
Opening Thought – Jamma
If we continue racking up the wins at the rate we are, I won’t mind how quickly these previews keep coming round! I am enjoying doing them almost as much as the players seem to be enjoying themselves out on the pitch!
I mentioned in the Brighton preview how the last-minute winner against QPR could have a knock-on effect, a sentiment shared by Mick McCarthy, who said that the team would be in a much better frame of mind on their way down to the South coast. And this added confidence appeared to give Town the freedom to express themselves against a side that had lost just one of their 23 league outings. We took the game to the Seagulls in the first half, carving out a number of chances, and hitting the woodwork twice through Kevin Bru, before Daryl Murphy capitalised on a bit of fortune to finish expertly past David Stockdale. The second half was, unsurprisingly, more of a battle but, as we have come to expect from this team of ours, we defended resolutely and stood up to everything Brighton could throw at us. There were once again stand-out performances from Dean Gerken – who produced another match-winning save – Christophe Berra and Freddie Sears. But, not for the first time in recent weeks, it was the team as a whole who took the credit for an exceptional away display. We now have the chance to make a little bit of history, as we go looking for a sixth successive away victory which would surpass Sir Bobby’s team that went on to win the FA Cup. While this would not put Gerken, Smith and Murphy on the level of Cooper, Beattie and Mariner, it wouldn’t half give us a boost in the Championship promotion race!
Up until the last couple of matches, our impressive run was tempered by our recurrent failure to beat any of the division’s top sides. Supporters may still not have been convinced by Saturday’s somewhat fortunate win over QPR but, with our latest success against Brighton, we are fast running out of reasons not to believe! As Mick insists on reminding us, it is where we are in May that counts, but the Blues have worked themselves into a strong position at the turn of the year. Having built up a 4-point buffer on 7th-place Sheffield Wednesday, we can now afford to cast one eye upwards. It wasn’t long ago that, in this very opening thought, I was effectively ruling out our chances of a top 2 finish. McCarthy himself is still describing that prospect as ‘pie in the sky’, particularly in view of the quality of teams above us. But you can bet that, in the privacy of the dressing room at least, management and players are still looking upon automatic promotion as a distinct possibility. As Mick might say, ‘Isn’t it nice that we have the luxury of being in that position?’. Our next fixture is one which could have a big bearing on our promotion ambitions. With our opponents just a point ahead of us, and the club record away sequence on the line, it really couldn’t be set up any better. Our terrific support will be travelling in their numbers again, and will be looking forward to another away day to remember…
The Opposition
During May 1882, Burnley Rovers Football Club decided to shift their allegiance from rugby union to football. In 1883, the club moved to Turf Moor and remained there, only their Lancashire rivals Preston North End having occupied the same ground continuously for longer. When it was decided to found the Football League for the 1888–89 season, Burnley were among the 12 founders of that competition.
Burnley were relegated to the Second Division in 1896–97. They responded to this by winning promotion the next season, losing only 2 of their 30 matches along the way before gaining promotion through a play-off series then known as 'Test Matches'. Burnley and Stoke City both entered the last match, to be played between the two teams, needing a draw for promotion (or in Stoke's case to retain their First Division place). A 0–0 draw ensued, reportedly 'The Match without a shot at goal', and the League immediately withdrew the Test Match system in favour of automatic promotion and relegation. Ironically, the League also decided to expand the top division after the Test Match series of 1897–98 and the other two teams also went into the top division for the following year, negating the effect of Burnley and Stoke City's reputed collusion. Burnley were relegated again in 1899–1900 and found themselves at the centre of a controversy when their goalkeeper, Jack Hillman, attempted to bribe their opponents in the last match of the season (Nottingham Forest), resulting in his suspension for the whole of the following season. During the first decade of the 20th century, Burnley continued to play in the Second Division
Burnley changed their colours from green to the claret and sky blue of Aston Villa, the most successful club in England at the time, for the 1910–11 season. The 1912–13 season saw them win promotion to the First Division once more. The next season was one of consolidation in the top flight, but more importantly their first major honour, the FA Cup, won 1–0 in the last final played at Crystal Palace against Liverpool. World War I impacted the 1914–15 season, in which Burnley finished 4th in the First Division, before English football reorganised itself and took a back seat to the needs of the conflict.
Upon resumption of full-time football in 1919–20, Burnley finished second in the First Division, but this was not a peak, merely presaging Burnley's first ever League Championship in 1920–21. Burnley lost their opening three matches that season before going on a 30-match unbeaten run, a record for unbeaten games in a single season that lasted until Arsenal went unbeaten through the whole of the 2003–04 season. Burnley finished third the following season but thereafter followed a steady deterioration of their position, with only 5th place in 1926–27 offering respite from a series of near-relegations which culminated in demotion in 1929–30.
Burnley struggled in English football's second tier, narrowly avoiding a further relegation in 1931–32 by only two points. The years through to the outbreak of the Second World War were characterised by uninspiring league finishes, broken only by an FA Cup semi-final appearance in 1934–35.
In the first season of post-war league football, Burnley gained promotion through a second place finish in the Second Division. Burnley immediately made an impact in the top division, finishing third in 1947–48 as the club began to assemble a team capable of regularly aiming for honours, culminating in the championship-winning team of 1959–1960. The following season, Burnley played in European competition for the first time, lost in an FA Cup semi-final and finished fourth in the league and the highlights of the 1961–62 season were finishing second in the league and a run to the FA Cup Final, which they lost against Tottenham.
They managed to retain their First Division place throughout the decade, finishing 3rd in 1966 and reaching the semi-final of the League Cup in 1968–69. The remainder of the decade was otherwise one of mid-table mediocrity, and relegation followed in 1970–71, ending a long unbroken top flight spell during which, more often than not, they had been in the upper reaches of the League table.
Burnley won the Second Division title in 1972–73. Back in the First Division, the side managed 6th in 1974, as well as reaching another FA Cup semi-final. The following season, the club achieved 10th place. Relegation from the First Division occurred again in 1975–76.
Three nondescript seasons in the Second Division followed before relegation to the Third Division for the first time in 1979–80. Two seasons later, they were promoted as champions. However, this return was short-lived, lasting only one year
Managerial changes continued to be made in an unsuccessful search for success and Burnley were relegated to the fourth level of English football for the first time ever at the end of the 1984–85 season. For the 1986–87 season, the Football League had decided to introduce automatic relegation and promotion between the Fourth Division and the Conference league. After a disastrous season, Burnley went into the last match needing a win against Leyton Orient. A 2–1 win was enough to keep Burnley in Division Four, although even that achievement still relied on a loss by Lincoln City in their last game of the season.
In 1991–92, Burnley were champions in the last ever season of the Fourth Division before the league reorganisation, and two years later they won the new Division Two play-offs and gained promotion to Division One. Relegation followed after one season and in 1997–98 only a last day victory ensured a narrow escape from relegation into Division Three. In 1999–2000, they finished as Division Two runners-up and gained promotion back to Division One.
During the 2000–01 and 2001–02 seasons, Burnley emerged as serious contenders for a promotion play-off place in the Championship. By 2002–03, the side's form had declined despite two seasons of good FA Cup runs.
Burnley made a good start to the 2006–07 season, but their form tailed away badly in mid-season, leaving them threatened by relegation. The 2006–07 squad set a club record for consecutive league games without a win, with their 18th winless game meaning they were one worse than the 17 league game streak of the 1889–1890 season. The winless streak was finally broken in April, and a run of good form thereafter saw Burnley finish comfortably above the relegation places and ensured they remained in the Championship for the 2007–08 season.
The following season, Burnley played poorly, eventually leading to the departure of Steve Cotterill in November 2007. His replacement was Owen Coyle. Coyle lead the team to a total of 62 points for the season, their highest total for eight years. Coyle's first full season in charge ended with the Clarets' highest league finish since 1976, fifth in the Championship, qualifying the club for the play-offs. Burnley beat Reading 3–0 on aggregate in the semi-final, and went on to beat Sheffield United 1–0 in the final at Wembley Stadium, promoting Burnley to the Premier League, a return to the top flight after 33 years.
The town of Burnley became the smallest town to host a Premier League club; this being the club's 52nd season in the top flight of English football. Burnley were relegated after a single season back in the top flight.
Burnley started the new 2010–11 season as one of the favourites for promotion but were inconsistent, finishing the season in eighth place, and therefore remained in the Championship for the following campaign.
On 30 October 2012, former Watford manager Sean Dyche took over as new manager of Burnley.
On 21 April 2014, Burnley were promoted to the Premier League for the 2014–15 season after beating Wigan Athletic 2–0. This was the club's 53rd season in the top flight.
This Premier League session ended after the first season as Burnley were officially guaranteed relegation to the Championship for 2015–16 on 9 May 2015.
One To Watch – Andre Gray
You might have noticed that I usually like to go for a ‘less obvious’ ‘one to watch’, with the intention of profiling a player who you (and I!) might not know much about. That is going out the window for this one, as I can’t see beyond Andre Gray as the dangerman, fresh from scoring a hat-trick against Bristol City last time out.
If circumstances had been different, Gray could actually have been lining up for the Robins on Monday, after being heavily linked with the Championship newcomers in the summer. As it was, he opted to join the Clarets, who made him their record signing after his successful debut season in the second tier. If Burnley go on to win promotion back to the Premier League, it could complete a sensational story for Gray, who was playing for non-league Hinckley United as recently as 2011/12. Having come through the ranks at Shrewsbury, the striker dropped down to play for Telford and Hinckley, scoring 37 goals in 85 appearances with the latter. This form led to a move to conference side Luton Town, and he made an instant impact by scoring in his first four matches. Gray’s return of 2 goals every 3 games was a big contributing factor towards the Hatters’ promotion back to the Football League in 2013/14. His subsequent Young Player of the Year award, to go with the league’s Golden Boot, helped secure a move to newly-promoted Brentford. Despite concerns about his ability to make the step up, the 24-year-old ended the campaign with a creditable 18 goals to his name, as the Bees made the play-offs. Speculation as to his next destination started almost immediately after their semi-final defeat, and Monday’s hat-trick took his tally to an impressive 13 strikes in 19 league appearances for the season.
The Gaffer - Sean Dyche
Dyche was a youth team player at Nottingham Forest in the late 1980s, while Brian Clough was manager. When he joined Forest, he was 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) and weighed 10 stone, but grew to 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) and 12 stone after a year. He broke his leg early in his career, which Dyche claims held him back. It also left him with a permanent bend in his leg.
He left Forest in early 1990 without making a first team appearance and signed for Chesterfield, where he later became captain. Dyche was part of the team that won the Division Three play-offs in 1995 and reached an FA Cup semi-final in 1997
Dyche left for Bristol City in 1997, helping them win promotion to Division One in his first season. City were relegated the following season, during which Dyche spent time on loan at Luton Town. He moved to Millwall at the end of the campaign, where he won promotion to Division One in 2001 and came close to a Premier League place the following year, losing to eventual promotion winners Birmingham City in the play-offs. In 2002, he began a three-year spell at Watford where he was captain in his final season with the club.
He signed for Northampton Town in 2005, and was involved in their 2005–06 promotion from League Two. He fell out of favour after the appointment of Stuart Gray as manager, and was released at the end of the 2006–07 season.
Having retired following his release from Northampton, Dyche rejoined Watford as under-18s coach in 2007. When Malky Mackay was appointed Watford manager on 6 July 2009, Dyche was promoted to become assistant manager. On 21 June 2011, he was appointed manager, following Mackay's decision to join Cardiff City.
On 28 April 2012, Watford finished 11th in the Championship, their highest league finish since the 2007–08 season. Following a change in club ownership, he was dismissed on 2 July 2012.
On 10 September 2012, Dyche joined the England national under-21 football team as a temporary member of the backroom staff.
On 30 October 2012, Dyche was named as Burnley manager.
Dyche was named Championship manager of the month for September 2013, and led Burnley to their best start to a season since they were founded in 1882. In a season when many other long-standing club records would be broken, a 2-0 win against Wigan Athletic at Turf Moor on 21 April 2014 confirmed the club's promotion to the top level of English football for the first time since 2010.
On 9 May 2015, Burnley were relegated from the Premier League with two games to spare after only one season in the top flight.
Trev's Past Match Highlights
K L Blue – Media Watch
An interesting article from ‘Sports Mole’
Ipswich Town manager Mick McCarthy: 'Good time to play Brighton & Hove
Ipswich Town boss Mick McCarthy says that it was a "good time" to play Brighton & Hove Albion after his side became only the second team to beat the Seagulls this season
Daryl Murphy's first-half strike handed Ipswich a 1-0 victory at The Amex, their fifth away win in a row, which equals a club record set 39 years ago in 1976.
McCarthy said afterwards that he felt the "opportunity" was there given the fact that Brighton were missing some key players, especially in defence."I thought we had an opportunity," he told reporters. "Brighton have lost a few players and we were playing them at a good time because we have been playing well.
"I thought we were the better team, to be honest. Our keeper Dean Gerken didn't make a lot of saves. We had the better chances whereas Brighton had the ball percentage."
Despite Ipswich moving within eight points of the top two, McCarthy does not believe that the club, who were beaten by local rivals Norwich City in last season's playoffs, can get promoted automatically.
He added: "It's tough to get a run of away wins and we've got Burnley on Saturday - a tough ask, but we'll see."It's not realistic for us to catch Middlesbrough and Derby and I don't think automatic promotion is realistic. But we will be trying like hell to catch them."
Tonight's win saw Ipswich close the gap to fourth-placed Brighton to four points, while Saturday's opponents Burnley are one above the Tractor Boys in fifth.
Stat Time
Head to Head
Burnley Wins.......................13 (31.71%)
Ipswich Town Wins................18 (43.90%)
Draws................................10 (24.39%)
Burnley Goals......................50 (ave. 1.22/match)
Ipswich Town Goals...............62 (ave. 1.51/match)
Head to Head at Burnley
Burnley Wins........................11 (55.00%)
Ipswich Town Wins.................6 (30.00%)
Draws.................................3 (15.00%)
Burnley Goals.......................33 (ave. 1.65/match)
Ipswich Town Goals................22 (ave. 1.10/match)
The Predicted Teams
Burnley
On the back of a resounding 4-0 victory on Monday, there are unlikely to be many players in the Burnley ranks complaining of fatigue ahead of this one. Sean Dyche will probably name an identical team for this crucial top 6 clash, in his preferred 4-4-2.
1 Tom Heaton
2 Matthew Lowton
5 Michael Keane
6 Ben Mee
23 Stephen Ward
37 Scott Arfield
13 Joey Barton
14 David Jones
11 Michael Kightly
7 Andre Gray
9 Sam Vokes
Ipswich Town
Mick pulled a rabbit out of the hat with his team selection on Tuesday night. Assuming Kevin Bru has recovered, we could well see the same XI taking to the field at Turf Moor:
1 Dean Gerken
4 Luke Chambers
5 Tommy Smith
6 Christophe Berra
3 Jonas Knudsen
8 Cole Skuse
22 Jonathan Douglas
14 Ryan Fraser
17 Kevin Bru
20 Freddie Sears
9 Daryl Murphy
Marko’s Caption Competition
Excellent QPR captions....., and scores as follows,
Ando 10pts
Herforder 8pts
Frosty 6pts
Blueblood 4pts.
Everyone else 2pts.
DOUBLE POINTS AGAIN FOR THE BURNLEY GAME. Take advantage of this....., and have as many goes as you like. Let's hear them.
LEAGUE TABLE
Frosty 45
DerickIpsw 40
Nicsreamer 36
Ando 34
Barmy Billy 34
James Scharmann 33
Blueblood 33
Number 9 26
Shed on Tour 23
Quasar 22
IpswichtownNO1 18
Herforder 17
Ashfordblue 17
Floors 16
Bluemike 14
Watership Down 12
Hallamblue 10
Charnwood 10
Longjohn 9
Kerry Blue 8
Foxy Lady 8
Kerry Blue 5
Loudnproud 3
Ohiotractorboy 3
Karlywoo 1
Here it is......
Match Referee – Peter Bankes
Final Thought - Frosty
What a fantastic end to 2015, I am so stoked with/and for the boys.
I hope as we enter the New Year we can keep the heat on as we did stumble a bit Post Christmas last season.
Anyone that makes it this far through the Previews (just Marko?) will know I was supremely confident of a good season during the August/September fixtures, I will confess however that I was starting to have my doubts awhile back. Once again MM has proven beyond doubt that he is a ‘canny’ manager that works amazingly with the tools (excuse the pun) at his disposal. We maybe missing one or two real ‘x-factor’ players or asking some players to play outside of their Natural positions, however I feel this is offset by the effort and the preparation that is put in by entire squad prior and during each match. Full credit to the lads.
Burnley is yet another toughie to face as we start the run for home, currently sitting one place and one point above us in the table. Their recent results however are a real mixed bag. They thumped Bristol at home last Monday, bouncing back from a hiding they received from Hull in the previous match. Prior to this they belted 4 past Charlton, lost by a goal to Boro, had a goalless draw with QPR and lastly a bit of an embarrassing 2-0 loss to Preston in front of their home fans.
We don’t have a bad record at Turf Moor so I think there is every chance of coming away with something from this fixture. As we already have 4 points on 7th placed Sheffield Wednesday (who are away to Fulham) this fixture is great opportunity to really stay in the Top 6 race as we welcome the New Year in. The only other fixture worth noting from our perspective this week is the Brentford/Birmingham fixture where they can argue over 8th and 9th place on the table.
Have a great New Year Tractor Boys and Girls and hopefully 2016 see’s us having an extended season just like last year!
BURNLEY 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1
First post of 2016