Ipswich vs Birmingham Preview and Matchday Thread
Posted: Sat Jul 29, 2017 11:46 am
Ipswich Town v Birmingham City
Saturday 5th August 2017 – 15:00
Portman Road
A quick word from me:
Welcome back everyone to another no doubt hurly burly season of Championship football. A league we are starting to know too bloody well.
As you will see below, Mike has kindly agreed to step into James roll of ‘Opening Thoughts’. I would like to thank Mike for taking on this new role and also to thank James for his years of service to the forum. Hopefully we will see the odd ‘cameo’ from Jamma during the season.
A warm welcome back and thank you to Colin, Trev and Marko who are contributing again the season. Once again Marko is running the caption contest, ‘THE DON CUP’, a memorial trophy to Rob, which I know he would be delighted about. It’s actually something I really recommend people ‘have a go at’, as having your name engraved on this trophy is a special thing.
Please also remember the Prediction League starts next week (thanks to Andy and Mike)
Still looking to consolidate the forum a bit, it’s just the tech requirement that is not easy to find.
Anyway, each new season brings renewed optimism, maybe this is our year? COYB!!!
Cheers Dave
Pre Match Thoughts - Mike
First off I would like to thank Dave or giving me the opportunity to fill the shoes of Jamma in penning the "Pre Match Thoughts" for this seasons previews, they are big shoes to fill too as Jamma did a first class job and while I may not be blessed with his literary skills I will give it my best shot and tell it as it is and hopefully give you guys something worth reading.
It is hard to believe that the close season has come and gone already, was that really Three months ? I suppose it is true to say we all badly needed a break from all things ITFC after last season, in truth it was a season of disappointment, under achievement and plenty of frustration which at times threatened to boil over to something far worse. Lessons had to be learnt as the club, in my opinion, was in very real danger of collapsing such was the divide that was beginning to appear between club & fans. Thankfully a few things have happened over the last few weeks to give hope of brighter times ahead, Marcus Evans has loosened the purse strings a little bit which has allowed Mick to make what for me are some very astute signings, we have also seen the club attempting at last to do something on ticket pricing, those are just Three instances, all of which just had to happen.
So what of our chances on the pitch for 2017/18 ? Well one thing is certain, last seasons 16th place finish was just not good enough or acceptable for Ipswich Town, we are and always have been better than that. The signings of Huws, Garner, Adeyemi and Spence all seem sound additions and bolstered by the season long loans of Dominic Iorfa & Bersant Celina have given the squad a stronger look, yes we have reduced in numbers but in truth some of those that have departed really contributed nothing and as such will be no loss. It also opens up opportunities for the likes of Andre Dozzell, Flynn Downes, Tristan Nydam and Ben Morris etc to force their way into the gaffers thoughts, some fans ridicule the Five point plan but there are some really good kids coming through the ranks at Portman Road and this can only be a good thing, from what I have seen of young Downes already tells me we have a real star in the making on our hands, this kid is going to be something special. Time will tell but I am far more optimistic than I was Three months ago although the Championship, thanks to parachute payments, looks harder every season.
We open the season proper with a visit from Birmingham City and a certain Harry Redknapp, the Blues finished last season really poorly following the sacking of Gary Rowett but Harry stepped in to keep them up and this time around they have aspirations of challenging at the top of the table, thwarted in their attempts to lure John Terry to St. Andrews Redknapp has been linked with virtually everyone and the signing of David Stockdale from Brighton is a sign that they mean business. At the time of writing several more new faces are expected so it could be a very different Birmingham City side that run out at Portman Road on August 5th. This is the type of game that saw us come unstuck all to often last season and if we have any real hopes of being in the mix come next May this type of game has to glean something from it. Let's hope we can get off to a flyer and entertain the fans too. I for one can't wait. IPSWICH TILL I DIE.
The Opposition – Birmingham City
Birmingham City were founded as Small Heath Alliance in 1875, and from 1877 played their home games at Muntz Street. The club turned professional in 1885. In 1892, Small Heath, along with the other Alliance teams, were invited to join the newly formed Football League Second Division. They finished as champions, but failed to win promotion via the test match system. The following season promotion to the First Division was secured after a second place finish and test match victory over Darwen.The club adopted the name Birmingham Football Club in 1905, and moved into their new home, St Andrew’s Ground, the following year. Matters on the field failed to live up to their surroundings. Birmingham were relegated in 1908, obliged to apply for re-election two years later, and remained in the Second Division until after the First World War.
Birmingham won the second Division Two title in 1920–21. In 1931, manager Leslie Knighton led the club to their first FA Cup Final, which they lost 2–1 to Second Division club West Bromwich Albion. Though Birmingham remained in the top flight for 18 seasons, they struggled in the league.
The name Birmingham City F.C. was adopted in 1943. The club won the Football League South wartime league and reached the semifinal of the first post-war FA Cup. Two years later they won their third Second Division title. Bob Brocklebank, though unable to stave off relegation in 1950, brought in players who made a major contribution to the club's successes of the next decade. When Arthur Turner took over as manager in November 1954, he made them play closer to their potential, and on the last day of the 1954–55 season confirmed them as champions. In their first season back in the First Division, Birmingham achieved their highest league finish of sixth place. They also reached the FA Cup final, losing to Manchester City.
Birmingham became the first English club side to take part in European competition in 1956. They were also the first English club side to reach a European final, losing to Barcelona in the 1960 Fairs Cup final and to A.S. Roma the following year.
In 1963 they lifted their first major trophy, the League Cup,when they beat their bitter rivals Aston Villa in the final.
Sir Alf Ramsey briefly managed the club before Jim Smith took over in 1978. With relegation a certainty, the club sold Trevor Francis to Nottingham Forest, making him the first player transferred for a fee of £1 million. Smith took Birmingham straight back to the First Division, but a poor start to the 1981–82 season saw him replaced by Ron Saunders. Saunders' team struggled to score goals and in 1984 they were relegated. They bounced back up, but the last home game of the 1984–85 promotion season, against Leeds United, was marred by rioting, culminating in the death of a boy when a wall collapsed on him. This was on the same day as the Bradford City stadium fire, and the events at St Andrew's formed part of the remit of Mr Justice Popplewell's inquiry into safety at sports grounds. The club lacked stability both on and off the field and by 1989 Birmingham were in the Third Division for the first time in their history.
In April 1989 the Kumar brothers, owners of a clothing chain, bought the club. A rapid turnover of managers, the absence of promised investment, and a threatened mass refusal of players to renew contracts was relieved only by a victorious trip to Wembley in the Associate Members Cup. Terry Cooper delivered promotion, but the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) put the Kumars' businesses into receivership until publisher David Sullivan bought it for £700,000. After a poor start to the 1993–94 season Cooper was replaced by Barry Fry, followed by the return of Trevor Francis.
Francis introduced players with top-level experience such as Manchester United skipper Steve Bruce. In his second season the club narrowly missed out on a play-off position, followed by three years of play-off semifinal defeats By October 2001, lack of progress had made Francis's position untenable and he was replaced two months later by Steve Bruce, taking them from mid-table into the play-offs where they beat Norwich City on penalties to win promotion to the Premier League.
Birmingham's first top-flight season for 16 years finished in mid-table.
In July 2007, Hong Kong-based businessman Carson Yeung bought 29.9% of shares in the club, making him the biggest single shareholder. Bruce left in mid-season to become manager of Premier League rivals Wigan Athletic.His successor, Alex McLeish, was unable to stave off relegation, but achieved promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt. In 2011, a second victory in the League Cup secured qualification for the Europa League. With relegation back to the second tier, McLeish resigned in June 2011 to join Aston Villa. Successor Chris Hughton narrowly failed to reach the knockout rounds of the Europa League and the playoff final before, with the club in financial turmoil and under a transfer embargo, leaving for Norwich City in June 2012. He was replaced by Lee Clark.
Under Lee Clark, Birmingham twice retained their divisional status, albeit through a 93rd-minute goal in the last match of 2013–14 to avoid relegation on goal difference. After a continuation of the poor form from the previous season, Clark was sacked in October 2014, to be replaced by Burton Albion manager and former Birmingham player Gary Rowett.
Gary Rowett stabilised the team and led them to two tenth-place finishes before being controversially dismissed by new owners Trillion Trophy Asia in favour of the "pedigree" of Gianfranco Zola, who would aid the club's "strategic, long-term view" to take the club in a new direction.
A spell of two wins in 24 matches left Birmingham needing two wins from the last three games to stay up, which they achieved under the managership of Harry Redknapp.
The Manager – Harry Redknapp
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
A look back at towns 1-1 draw in April
Media Watch - K L Blue
Where fans want Chambo to start
http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town ... -1-5123187
MM on the style of play
http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town ... -1-5122480
Form Guide
Ipswich Last 4 Matches
Colchester Utd 0-1 Ipswich Town
Gillingham 2-1 Ipswich Town
Peterborough 1-3 Ipswich Town
Drogheda Utd 0-5 Ipswich Town
Birmingham Last 4 Matches
Kidderminster 1-1 Birmingham City
Oxford United 0-2 Birmingham City
Ironi Kiryat Shmona 0-2 Birmingham City
Union Berlin 1-0 Birmingham City
Fixtures of Interest
Probably a bit early in the season to call this
Marko’s Caption Contest
Hi there Don Cup participants, hope it's been an awesome summer and you all had a break away. That's a holiday, not a biscuit! Although if I was meaning biscuits, I'd have ate all the break aways and you'd all get nowt!
Let's get the laughs rolling in again. Looking forward to reading these previews and the entire thread again...... it's always a welcome distraction from not so pleasant news.
Same rules apply, a picture a week, not always football related, and the scoring remains the same. (No midweek fixture captions) This season I'll let three weeks go by before putting up the first league table. Please have as many goes as you like, more chance of getting the higher points and I'll indicate the caption you've submitted that's got the bigger points. If you submit two or three and you've only grabbed the point, then it's just because the humour hasn't registered with the group of utter arseholes who are scoring.
Good luck to everyone in the quest to get your name onto The Don Cup, a trophy dedicated to the memory of Rob (The Don) who was the one who initially started putting funny captions to football pictures. Your dry wit is missed. The competition begins as soon as this preview goes "live",....... will Derick_Ipsw retain that title...... over to you guys. All the very best.
Try this:
Match Referee – Tim Robinson
IPSWICH TOWN 1 BIRMINGHAM CITY 1
