Ipswich Town v Charlton Athletic
Tuesday 5th April 2016 – 19:45
Portman Road
Opening Thought – Jamma
I predicted in the weekend’s preview that a draw from this season’s trip to Molineux would not be sufficient to sustain our push for the top six. With Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff both winning, that looks to have been the case, as the Blues now find themselves 5 points off 6th with just seven matches to go. Not surprisingly, there was a very different feeling about the result from this time last year, when a point apiece had effectively put Wolves out of the play-off picture. On Saturday, Town produced a much improved performance (not difficult, granted, after Rotherham!) and would have been good value for the win. We controlled the tempo of the game and dominated possession and chances created. Brett Pitman in particular looked lively and was unlucky to see a header excellently saved by Carl Ikeme, as well as one cleverly crafted effort cleared off the line. But we have to take into account the quality of the opposition, who were a pale imitation of the side that ran us so close in 2014/15. Centre-back Kortney Hause for one seemed intent on giving us a helping hand, as time and again he took unnecessary risks in possession. The saying ‘You can only beat what is in front of you’ is often used in football to excuse a below-par performance, but surely the reverse is also true: if we can’t garner a win against a team that looked short of ideas and confidence, it doesn’t bode well for the bigger tests to come…
I mentioned above how Brett Pitman influenced the game on Saturday, and this was at least in part due to a shift in our style of play. As against Forest a month ago, we had to do without Daryl Murphy’s presence up front, necessitating a change of approach. Rather than lump the ball up to Murph at every opportunity, we had to find a bit more subtlety, and prioritise playing it into feet. Just as against Forest, Town produced one of their better displays of 2016, even if it was lacking the finishing touch. Don’t get me wrong, there is no bigger fan of Daryl Murphy than me (with the possible exception of Bluemike!
), but I can’t help wondering whether his enforced absence could be a blessing in disguise. His goals and general play were a major reason behind our success last season but opposition teams do seem to have wised up to his threat and his importance to us. Their thinking has presumably been ‘Stop Murphy, stop Ipswich’. It can therefore only do us good to have different options to call upon and, with Pitman and Freddie Sears providing contrasting attributes, it gives our opponents something different to think about. But if the performance was secondary to the result before, the 3 points take on even more importance at this stage of the campaign. To put our position into perspective, the Blues are 19 points behind their final tally of 2014/15, when we scraped into the play-offs on the final day. By my maths, that means that we would have to go unbeaten over the remaining seven games just to match last season’s points total. If there was ever such a thing as a must-win couple of matches, it’s these next two…The Opposition – Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic F.C. were formed on 9 June 1905 by a group of 15- to 17-year-old boys near to the present-day site of the Thames Barrier.
Charlton spent the years before the First World War playing in local leagues. After the war, they joined the Kent League for one season (1919–20) before becoming professional. They were accepted by the Southern League and played just a single season (1920–21) before being voted into the Football League.
In 1923, it was proposed that Charlton merge with Catford Southend to create a larger team with bigger support. However, the move fell through and the Addicks returned to the Charlton area in 1924.
Charlton finished second bottom in the Football League in 1926 and were forced to apply for re-election, which was successful.
Three years later, the Addicks won the Division Three championship, in 1929, and they remained at the Division Two level for four years.
After relegation into the Third Division South at the end of the 1932/33 season, the club appointed Jimmy Seed as manager and he oversaw the most successful period in Charlton's history either side of the Second World War.
Seed, an ex-miner who had made a career as a footballer despite suffering the effects of poison gas in the First World War, remains the most successful manager in Charlton's history. The organisation Seed brought to the team proved effective and the Addicks gained successive promotions from the Third Division to the First Division between 1934 and 1936.
In 1937, Charlton finished runners up in the First Division, in 1938 they finished fourth and in 1939 they finished third. They were the most consistent team in the top flight of English football over the three seasons immediately before the Second World War.
Charlton reached the 1946 FA Cup Final, but lost to Derby County.
When the full league programme resumed in 1946–47, Charlton could finish only 19th in the First Division, just above the relegation spots, but they made amends with their performance in the FA Cup, winning the 1947 FA Cup final.
In this period of renewed football attendances, Charlton became one of only thirteen English football teams to average over 40,000 as their attendance during a full season. The Valley was the largest football ground in the League, drawing crowds in excess of 70,000. However, in the 1950s little investment was made either for players or to The Valley, hampering the club's growth. In 1956, the then board undermined Jimmy Seed and then sacked him, and Charlton were relegated.
From the late 1950s until the early 1970s, Charlton remained a mainstay of the Second Division before relegation to the Third Division in 1972, which caused the team's support to drop, and even a promotion in 1975 back to the Second Division did little to re-invigorate the team's support and finances.
In 1979–80, Charlton were relegated again to the Third Division, but won immediate promotion back to the Second Division in 1980–81. Even though it did not feel like it, this was a turning point in the club's history, leading to a period of turbulence and change including further promotion and exile. A change in management and, shortly after, a change in club ownership led to severe problems and the club looked like it would go out of business.
In 1984, financial matters came to a head and the club went into administration, to be reformed as Charlton Athletic (1984) Ltd.. But the club's finances were still far from secure, and they were forced to leave The Valley just after the start of the 1985–86 season, in the wake of the Bradford City stadium fire, after its safety was criticised by Football League officials. The club began to groundshare with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
Despite the move away from The Valley, Charlton were promoted to the First Division as Second Division runners-up at the end of 1985–86, and remained at this level for four years (achieving a highest league finish of 14th). Eventually, Charlton were relegated in 1990. However, Manager Lennie Lawrence remained in charge for one more season before he accepted an offer to take charge of Middlesbrough. He was replaced by joint player-managers Alan Curbishley and Steve Gritt, who started to achieve results. However, the club was forced to sell players to help pay for a return to The Valley, which eventually happened in December 1992.
In 1995, new chairman Richard Murray appointed Alan Curbishley as manager of Charlton. Under his sole leadership, Charlton made an appearance in the play-offs in 1996 and the following season brought a disappointing 15th place finish. In 1997–98, Charlton reached the Division One play-off final against Sunderland, which they won on penalties, clinching promotion to the Premier League.
Charlton's first Premier League campaign began promisingly but they were unable to keep up their good form and were relegated back to Division One on the final day of the season. The club's board kept faith in Curbishley, and were rewarded with the Division One title in 2000, signalling a return to the Premier League.
After the club's return, Curbishley proved an astute spender and by 2003 he had succeeded in establishing Charlton in the top flight. Charlton failed to build on this level of achievement and Curbishley departed in 2006, with the club still established as a solid mid-table side.
In May 2006, Iain Dowie was named as Curbishley's successor, but was sacked after twelve league matches in November 2006. Les Reed replaced Dowie as manager. However, he too failed to improve Charlton's position in the league table and, on Christmas Eve 2006, Reed was replaced by former player Alan Pardew. Although results did improve, Pardew was unable to keep Charlton up and relegation was confirmed in the penultimate match of the season.
Charlton's return to the second tier of English football was a disappointment, with their promotion challenge tailing off to an 11th place finish.
On 22 November 2008, Charlton suffered a loss to Sheffield United at home, which meant that the club had gone eight successive games without a win and had slipped into the relegation zone – particularly disastrous considering they were among the pre-season favourites for promotion. Hours after the game, Alan Pardew left Charlton by mutual consent.
Matters did not improve under caretaker manager Phil Parkinson, as Charlton were relegated to League One.
After spending almost the entire 2009/2010 season in the top six of League One, Charlton were defeated in the Football League One play-offs.
At that time, Charlton went through a change in ownership. The new owners decided to remove both Parkinson and Charlton legend Mark Kinsella after a poor run of results and another Charlton legend, Chris Powell, was appointed manager of the club in January 2011.
In a busy summer, Powell brought in 19 new players and, after a successful season, on 14 April 2012, Charlton Athletic won promotion back to the Championship.
In their first season back in the Championship since the 2008–09 season, the 2012–13 season saw Charlton finish in ninth place with 65 points, just three points outside of the play-off places.
In early January 2014, during the 2013–14 season, Belgian businessman Roland Duchâtelet took over Charlton Athletic Football Club. On 11 March 2014, two days after a disappointing FA Cup quarter-final loss to Sheffield United, and with Charlton sitting bottom of the table, Chris Powell was sacked by Duchâtelet.
New manager, Jose Riga, despite having to join Charlton late into the season, was able to help Charlton survive relegation and the club ended the season in 18th position. Riga resigned at the end of the season to take charge of Blackpool, which saw Bob Peeters taking over the manager’s role at The Valley.
In January 2015, Guy Luzon was appointed head coach, taking over from Peeters, and he saw the season out with the Addicks, finishing in 12th place on 60 points.
On 26th October, Luzon was replaced by Karel Fraeye as interim manager, with Charlton sitting in the relegation zone.
One To Watch – Ademola Lookman
Beyond the experienced Johnnie Jackson, there is a host of unfamiliar names at Championship level on Charlton’s books. One player who would have fit into this category before the start of the season, but is quickly making a name for himself, is 18-year-old Ademola Lookman.
Such was the young striker’s lack of pedigree prior to his arrival at the Valley that he signed from youth football club Waterloo F.C., with Charlton his first professional club. He joined the Addicks in the summer of 2014 and quickly became a regular fixture on the scoresheet for their U18 and U21 sides. Lookman got his First Team chance shortly after turning 18, when he made his debut against MK Dons last November. By the end of the following month, he had already scored three senior goals, with one at Brighton and a double in the home clash with Bolton. He has gone on to make a total of 17 league appearances, and added a further strike. Blessed with a quick turn of pace and a bag of tricks, the youngster has provided a silver lining to this most difficult of campaigns at the Valley. He was by far the Addicks’ standout player in the return fixture, when he looked likely to create something every time he got on the ball. Even if Charlton aren’t in the Championship next season, it would be very surprising if Lookman wasn’t playing at this level at the very least.
The Gaffer – Jose Riga
57-year-old Jose Riga was born in Belgium and managed a number of teams between 1991 and 2012 including Espanola Liège, C.S Vise, Sprimont Camblain Sport, REAC Mons and Standard Liège, the place of his birth.
Riga was appointed as manager of Charlton Athletic on 11 March 2014, one day after the sacking of their previous manager, Chris Powell. At the time, Charlton were at the bottom of the Championship. Riga was appointed with a contract which lasted until the end of the 2013-14 season with the main task of securing Championship football for Charlton, which he achieved.
On 3 June 2014, it was reported that Riga had agreed a deal to become manager of Blackpool, and was set to start the following week. The following day, Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston confirmed that there was a verbal agreement in place.
Three weeks later, newspaper reports claimed that Riga was unsettled and ready to quit Blackpool. Whilst the club and Riga did not comment, no coaching staff had been appointed and even though the club had just seven contracted players, no signings had been made. With so few players, no assistant or backroom staff appointed, and the squad due to report back on 30 June, Riga had to delay the start of pre-season training.
On 9 July, it was confirmed that, with still just eight players at the club, Riga had three backroom staff, all of whom had agreed to start working the previous week but had still not signed contracts. Two days later, it was stated that tensions were high at the club between Riga and Karl Oyston. On 17 July, having already cancelled a pre-season trip to Spain to focus on signings, it was claimed that Riga's future was even more uncertain following reports of a dispute with Oyston over transfer policy.
Having won only one of fifteen games in charge, Riga was sacked by Blackpool on 27 October 2014, becoming the club's second shortest-serving manager in their history.
On 2 February 2015, Riga returned to Standard Liège in Belgium, where he was re-appointed as manager following Ivan Vukomanović's departure. Towards the end of the season, Riga announced he would not be prolonging his contract with Standard.
On 14 January 2016, Riga was appointed head coach of Charlton Athletic for the second time.
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Time to enjoy Noel Hunt’s last-minute winner at the Valley in 2014/15:
Trev's Trivia
Players to play for both teams
Matt Holland ITFC 1997-2003 Charlton 2003-2009
Hermann Hreiðarsson ITFC 2000-2003 Charlton 2003-2007
Marcus Bent ITFC 2001-2004 Charlton 2006-2008
Darren Bent ITFC 2001-2005 Charlton 2005-2007
Darren Ambrose ITFC 2001-2003, 2008-2009 and 2014-2015 (both loan) Charlton 2005-2007
Mark Fish ITFC 2005 (45 minutes) Charlton 2000-2005
Media Watch - K L Blue
Bish is back.....................
http://www.itfc.co.uk/news/article/tedd ... 42164.aspx
Aston Villa's reported interest in MM
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football ... ossip-News
MM relationship with Town
http://www.sudburymercury.co.uk/sport/m ... _1_4480952
Boro and Town scouting in Portugal
http://sportwitness.ning.com/forum/topi ... er-mission
Stat Time
Head To Head
Ipswich Town Wins................21 (42.86%)
Charlton Wins......................18 (36.73%)
Draws................................10 (20.41%)
Ipswich Town Goals...............72 (ave. 1.47 per match)
Charlton Goals.....................73 (ave. 1.49 per match)
Head To Head At Ipswich
Ipswich Town Wins.................11 (45.83%)
Charlton Wins.......................6 (25.00%)
Draws.................................7 (29.17%)
Ipswich Town Goals................41 (ave. 1.71 per match)
Charlton Goals......................34 (ave. 1.42 per match)
The Predicted Teams
Ipswich Town
Mick McCarthy said that he was delighted with Saturday’s performance, which was only lacking that all-important goal. Barring any new injuries, he is therefore likely to stick with the same starting XI for the visit of the Addicks:
33 Bartosz Bialkowski
4 Luke Chambers
5 Tommy Smith
6 Christophe Berra
3 Jonas Knudsen
8 Cole Skuse
22 Jonathan Douglas
12 Liam Feeney
15 Ben Pringle
20 Freddie Sears
11 Brett Pitman
Charlton Athletic
Likewise for Charlton, Jose Riga will have been very happy with what he saw in an impressive come-from-behind win against Birmingham, played out against the latest off-pitch distractions. One-to-watch Ademola Lookman could get the nod, after replacing Suk-Young Yun for the second half on Saturday. Town fan Nick Pope should continue between the sticks despite Stephen Henderson’s recent return from injury, with Morgan Fox another member of the Addicks squad who hails from Suffolk.
30 Nick Pope
47 Marco Motta
15 Rod Fanni
50 Jorge Teixeira
21 Morgan Fox
7 Johann Berg Gudmundsson
8 Jordan Cousins
4 Johnnie Jackson
11 Callum Harriott
37 Ademola Lookman
14 Igor Vetekele
Charlton fans’ response when asked to sum up their season: a load of balls!
Match Referee – Oliver Langford
Final Thought - Frosty
With good reason, I can’t decide whether we will push on or see our season end with a whimper.
Every time I think that’s it for another season, we seem to get a win or two, our competitors drop a few and we remain tantalisingly close to the play-off zone. As I said probably a month ago now, this season will probably come down to the last fixture or two ………… Oh the joys of being a Town supporter!
I would suggest, however, that a loss against the Addicks tomorrow night will be a severe blow to any play-off hopes.
We have an excellent recent record against Charlton, with 5 wins and a draw from our last 6 meetings, the last two results being comprehensive 3-0 wins to the good guys.
In fairness, our relegation-threatened opposition haven’t looked too shabby lately, which is why we must tread with some caution with this fixture. In their past 5 outings, they have secured wins against Birmingham, Middlesbrough and Brentford, with a draw against MK Dons thrown in as well, their only blemish being a bit of a pasting at the hands of Wednesday the match before last.
Other matches being played which may have an effect on us see the Seagulls descend on Birmingham (hopefully they will crap all over the Brum), Burnley host Cardiff and Preston receive a visit from Fulham.
Enjoy the evening at PR if you are attending. I expect a good result or I hold you all personally responsible.
COYB!
IPSWICH TOWN 2 CHARLTON ATHLETIC 0
Derby winning 2-0