Ipswich Town v Hull City AFC 
Tuesday 13th March 2018 – 19:45
Portman Road
Pre Match Thoughts - Mike
Our disappointing home form continued Saturday with a goalless draw against Sheffield united which on the face of it isn't a bad result at all, however we needed to win these two home games to push ourselves right back up into the mix, once again the manager's approach to a must win home game beggared belief really with so many defence minded players in the starting Eleven, I just didn't get it, nor did I get the decision to play Bersant Celina up front with Martyn Waghorn when all week long we had read how pleased MM was with Freddie Sears and what a difference he made, surely to god it was an ideal chance to get Freddie into his natural position for a change ? Three Holding Midfielders just compounded the issue and really had the look of a team that went into the game not wanting to lose as opposed to being hell bent on winning it, thi is the main reason people are so fed up with Mick and all things ITFC right now and it is hard to argue with it on occasions like this. The upshot of it is that to keep the hope flickering we need to beat Hull City and probably Bristol City on Saturday too, no easy task.
Ian Milne has come out and said we will learn the prices of season tickets for next season in a week or Two while another announcement of some sort is also to be madr reagrding the managers situation, the article was still very ambiguous and can be read how you want to read it, I read it in a way that suggest to me Mick will be leaving, some agree and some don't, I think this whole situation has dragged on for far too long and is now starting to become a bit of a p*ss take if I am honest. What I do know is that the cost of season tickets etc just cannot go up, in fact there should really be a reduction of some sort which clearly isn't going to happen so all the cloak and dagger nonsense will just be us being told that they are being frozen, no doubt there will be some sort of token gesture thrown in as a sweetner which will cut no ice with the fans at all, the only thing that will see sales pick up is Mick McCarthey leaving the club, part of me wants it as things are festering and the other part of me is worried sick if I am honest, I just don't see an inexperienced manager as the answer with no budget to work with, we really have got ourselves into a crazy and concerning situation because if Evans suddenly decides to stomp up some serious cash then who better to take us forward than Mick McCarthey, the problem is the fans are lost and it will never be retrieved which is why change has to happen, and I believe it will.
Next up is the rearranged match with Hull City who are fighting for their lives, the Tigers look in real danger of joining Sunderland in experiencing a double relegation, so much for Parachute payments then, both these teams would give their right arms to be where Town are and the dreaded be careful what you wish for remark was even said to me recently while spending the weekend up in Sunderland, of course these fans don't fully understand what we have endured in recent times and while things may look quite rosy on the outside it is when you scratch beneath the surface you get the fuller picture. Hull's recent form has not been great although they did pick up a valuable Three points at the weekend thanks to an exciting 4-3 win over our dear rivals (giggle giggle) which sees them move Six points away from danger but still they are fighting for their lives which makes this another tough game. Town have now gone Four straight games at home without scoring, the last home goal was Celina's rocket against Leeds which seems like a lifetime ago so we need to address this if we aren't to come a cropper. I think we are good enough to get the points and I believe we will, it has to turn around at home soon and this is the game where it does. Home win for me. COYB'S.
The Opposition – Hull City AFC
Hull City Association Football Club was founded in June 1904, previous attempts to found a football club had proved difficult because of the dominance in the city of rugby league. teams such as Hull F.C. and Hull Kingston Rovers. These early matches were played at the Boulevard, the home of Hull F.C. After disputes with landlords at the Boulevard, Hull City moved to Anlaby Road Cricket Ground. Hull City were admitted into the Football League Second Division for the 1905–06 season. and finished the season in fifth place.
Hull City and Grimsby Town were the only two professional teams which had official permission to play league football on Christmas Day because of the demands of the fish trade. That tradition has now disappeared following the dramatic reduction of their trawler fleets in recent years. The following season a new ground was built for Hull City across the road from the cricket ground. Hull continued to finish consistently in the top half of the table. They came close to promotion in the 1909–10 season, recording what would be their highest finish until they matched it in 2008. Hull regularly finished in the top half of the table before the First World War, but after the war the team finished in the bottom half in seven seasons out of eleven, culminating in relegation to the Third Division North in 1930.
Hull's greatest achievement in cup competitions until 2014 was in 1930, when they reached the FA Cup semi-finals.
After the Second World War, the club moved to another new ground, Boothferry Park. In the 1948–49 season, Hull won the Third Division North championship. "Yo-yoing" between the second and third tiers of English football, Hull City had promotion seasons from the Third to the Second Division again in 1959 and 1966, winning the Third Division in the latter.
By the early 1980s, Hull City were in the Fourth Division, and financial collapse led to receivership.
Don Robinson took over as chairman and appointed Colin Appleton as the new manager. Promotion to Division Three followed in 1983.
Hull reached the Second Division in 1985. They remained there for the next six years before finally going down in 1991. Hull finished 14th in the Third Division in the 1991–92 season, meaning that they would be competing in the new Second Division the following season.
In their first season in the rebranded division, Hull narrowly avoided another relegation, but over the next two seasons they achieved mid-table finishes. Financial difficulties hampered City's progress, as key players had to be sold to fend off winding-up orders. In the 1995–96 season Hull were relegated to the Third Division.
In 1997 the club was purchased by former tennis player David Lloyd. Hull's league form was steadily deteriorating to the point that relegation to the Football Conference was looking a real possibility. Lloyd sold the club in November 1998 to a South Yorkshire based consortium, but retained ownership of Boothferry Park.
Despite briefly being locked out of Boothferry Park by bailiffs and facing the possibility of liquidation, Hull qualified for the Third Division play-offs in the 2000–01 season. A boardroom takeover by former Leeds United commercial director Adam Pearson had eased the club's precarious financial situation and all fears of closure were banished as he ploughed funds into the club.
Hull relocated to the new 25,400-seater KC Stadium after 56 years at Boothferry Park.
Hull were Third Division runners-up in 2003–04 and League One runners-up in 2004–05; these back-to-back promotions took them into the Championship. The 2005–06 season, the club's first back in the second tier, saw Hull finish in 18th place and their highest league finish for 16 years.
Adam Pearson sold the club to a consortium led by Paul Duffen in June 2007, stating that he "had taken the club as far as I could", in order to attract "really significant finance into the club". Under Paul Duffen and manager Phil Brown, Hull City improved greatly on their relegation battle of 2006–07 and qualified for the play-offs after finishing the season in third place. They beat Watford 6–1 on aggregate in the semi-finals and played Bristol City in the Final on 24 May 2008, which Hull won 1–0 at Wembley Stadium. Their ascent from the bottom division of the Football League to the top division of English football in just five seasons is the third-fastest ever.
Despite being one of the favourites for relegation in the 2008–09 season, Hull had only one defeat in their opening nine gamesand found themselves (temporarily) joint-top of the Premier League table on points (third on goal difference — ten years previously, they had been bottom of the fourth tier of English football.
Hull's form never replicated the highs of the early autumn, with the team winning only two more games over the remainder of the season, but secured their top-flight status on the last day of the season due to other results.
On 29 October 2009, chairman Paul Duffen resigned his position with the club, and was replaced by former chairman Adam Pearson. On 15 March 2010, manager Phil Brown was put on gardening leave after a run of four defeats left Hull in the relegation zone. Brown's replacement was former Crystal Palace and Charlton boss Iain Dowie, and the appointment was met with some disbelief by supporters who were hoping for a "bigger name" replacement. Hull City's relegation from the Premier League was confirmed on 3 May 2010
A reported block on player transfers into the club, set in place by the Hull City board on 28 July 2010 until transfers out would substantially reduce the £39 million-per-year wage bill, at first cast doubt on the new manager's (Nigel Pearson) efforts to build a squad capable of a quick return to the Premier League. The team set a new club record on 12 March 2011 with 14 away matches unbeaten, breaking a previous record held for over 50 years.
On 15 November 2011, Nigel Pearson left the club to return to Leicester. Nick Barmby was appointed as his successor, but was sacked in May 2012 after publicly criticising the club's owners in an interview given to a local newspaper. In the same month, the club's consultancy agreement with Adam Pearson was terminated.
On 8 June 2012, Steve Bruce was appointed manager of the club on a three-year deal, and he guided Hull back to the Premier League on the final day of the season.
On 13 April 2014, the club reached its first FA Cup Final . Their place in the 2014-15 Europa League, regardless of whether they won the 2013-14 FA Cup, was confirmed on 3 May as Everton's failure to win meant that Hull's FA Cup Final opponents Arsenal would compete in the 2014-15 UEFA Champions League.
On 31 July 2014, Hull made their debut in European competition, in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round, with a 2-1 aggregate win over Slovakian side FK AS Trenčín. An away goals aggregate loss against Belgian outfit Lokeren marked the end of Hull's first foray into European football.
In March 2015 Steve Bruce signed a further three-year deal with the club. Hull were relegated from the Premier League after the 2014-15 season, finishing eighteenth with 35 points.
Via the playoffs Hull returned to the Premier League at the end of the 2015/16 season.
On 22 July 2016, Bruce resigned from his position. Mike Phelan became Hull's permanent head coach. On 3 January 2017, Phelan was sacked by Hull City, less than three months after being made permanent.
On 5 January 2017, the club announced the appointment of Marco Silva as the new head coach until the end of the 2016–17 season. On 25 May 2017, following relegation from the Premier League, Silva resigned and the club announced the appointment of Leonid Slutsky as head coach.
On 3 December 2017, Leonid Slutsky left the club by mutual consent after a run of bad results and on 7 December 2017, Nigel Adkins was appointed as head coach on an 18-month contract.
The Manager – Nigel Adkins
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Media Watch - K L Blue
Form Guide
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – Currently in 12th place with 52 points
18 Feb Norwich City 1 - 1 Ipswich Town
21 Feb Ipswich Town 0 - 1 Cardiff City
24 Feb Preston 0 - 1 Ipswich Town
6 Mar Sheffield Wed 1 - 2 Ipswich Town
10 Mar Ipswich Town 0 - 0 Sheffield Utd
Hull City Last 5 Matches – Currently in 18th place with 36 points
20 Feb Middlesbrough 3 - 1 Hull City
23 Feb Hull City 1 - 0 Sheffield Utd
27 Feb Hull City 1 - 1 Barnsley
6 Mar Hull City 1 - 2 Millwall
10 Mar Hull City 4 - 3 Norwich City
Fixtures of Interest that could influence our current standing on the table
BRENTFORD VS CARDIFF CITY
Match Referee – Jeremy Simpson
IPSWICH TOWN 1 HULL CITY AFC 1
Me thinks a repeat of Sheff Utd game, 0-0
Or it could be like Hull's game against them up the road, 4-3 but in our favour 
