Ipswich Town v Southampton 
Wednesday 14th January 2015 - 19:55
Portman Road
Opening Thought – Jamma
If there was one picture that summed up what it means to be an Ipswich Town supporter at the moment, it would be this one, of the Blue Army out in force to secure their tickets for Wednesday night’s cup replay:
As I said in the previous preview, it is hard not to get drawn in by the feelgood factor that is currently surrounding Portman Road. The results are just one element of a sea-change at the club that has attracted the crowds back and led to an improved atmosphere, suggesting that 2015 could finally be Ipswich Town’s year.
Unfortunately, our magnificent run eventually came to an end last time out, with a 1-0 reverse against Derby. Football supporters up and down the country can identify with the expression ‘It’s the hope that kills you’ and, as fans of the longest-serving Championship club, members of the Blue Army know this more than most. I have enjoyed the team’s recent form as much as the next person but past experience means that, subconsciously at least, we were always aware of a setback potentially lurking around the next corner. It was just a shame that our first defeat in 13 should come in the manner that it did, courtesy of an individual error against one of our promotion rivals. Town certainly didn’t reach the heights of their previous performances but, on another day, could easily have come away with a point against a Derby side whose display Steve McClaren branded their best of the season. Although other results meant that it could have been so much better by Saturday evening, we are still just the one point off the top, with 7 points separating us from 7th-place Norwich. Just as Mick was keen to point out that he wouldn’t be getting carried away with the winning run, so he won’t allow Saturday’s disappointment to detract from what has been an incredible season so far.
Concerns over the effect of our FA Cup commitments on our league form were brushed aside in the wake of our impressive showing against Southampton first time out. Following our below-par performance on Saturday, though, questions will inevitably be asked about the potential distraction of a replay. But I prefer to look at it the other way: the ‘distraction’ of another chance to test ourselves against a Premier League side, in front of a capacity crowd, could be just what we need to take our minds off the pressure of the league campaign. The players who came in for the original tie – the likes of Dean Gerken, Darren Ambrose and Kevin Bru – will also be looking at this as a golden opportunity for them to stake their claim for a place in the starting XI should McCarthy decide to shake things up. There is plenty to play for, then, cheered on by what is set to be the biggest crowd at Portman Road in four years.
The Opposition – Southampton
The club was founded on 21 November 1885 by members of the St Mary's Church of England Young Men's Association.
After winning the Southern League title in 1896–97, the club became a limited company and was renamed Southampton F.C.
Southampton won the Southern League championship for three years running between 1897 and 1899 and again in 1901, 1903 and 1904.
That success spanned some major changes for the Saints as they moved to a newly built £10,000 stadium called The Dell, to the North-West of the city centre in 1898.
Before the 19th century was out the South Coast was given a taste of things to come as they reached the first of their four FA Cup Finals in 1900.
After the First World War, Saints joined the newly formed Football League Third Division in 1920. The 1921–22 season ended in triumph with promotion and marked the beginning of a 31-year stay in Second Division.
The 1922–23 season was a unique "Even Season" – 14 wins, 14 draws, 14 defeats for a total of 42 points, or one point per game. Goals For and Against were also equal and the team finished in mid-table.
Saints were briefly forced to switch home matches to the ground of their local rivals Portsmouth F.C. at Fratton Park during the Second World War when a bomb landed on The Dell pitch in November 1940, leaving an 18-foot crater which damaged an underground culvert and flooded the pitch.
Promotion was narrowly missed in 1947–48 when they finished in third place, a feat repeated in the next two seasons. Then relegation in 1953 sent Saints sliding back into Division 3 (South).
It took until 1960 for Saints to regain Second Division status and the dream of First Division football at The Dell for the first time was finally realised in 1966.
Saints stayed among the elite for eight years, with the highest finishing position being seventh place in 1968–69 and again in 1970–71.
In December 1973, long term manager Ted Bates stood down to be replaced by Lawrie McMenemy who was unable to prevent The Saints becoming the first victims of the new 3-down relegation system in 1974 when they were relegated, along with Manchester United and Norwich City.
Under Lawrie McMenemy's management, Saints started to rebuild in the Second Division, and what many people feel was the team's greatest moment came in 1976, when they won the FA Cup Final against Manchester United at Wembley.
In 1977–78 Saints finished runners-up in the Second Division and returned to the First Division.
In 1980, McMenemy made his biggest signing, capturing the European Footballer of the Year Kevin Keegan and in 1980–81 they scored 76 goals, finishing in sixth place. The following season, Kevin Keegan helped lift the club to the top of the First Division, but in a disappointing end to the season Southampton won only two of their last nine games and finished seventh.
Southampton continued to progress under McMenemy's stewardship, and reached their highest ever league finish as runners-up in 1983–84 and 5th the following season.
Lawrie McMenemy left at the end of the 1984–85 season to be succeeded by Chris Nicholl, who was sacked after six years in charge despite preserving the club's top flight status. He was replaced by Ian Branfoot. Southampton were founding members of the Premier League in 1992–93, having played in the top flight of English football since 1978.
Ian Branfoot was sacked in January 1994 with Southampton battling relegation. He was replaced by Alan Ball who secured the Saints' survival for the 1993–94 season and guided them to a tenth-place finish in the Premiership in 1994–95. David Merrington took charge when Ball left to take the Manchester City Managers role, only just keeping them up in the 1995-96 season. Merrington was dismissed a few days after the end of the season and replaced by Graeme Souness.
Southampton fared little better in 1996–97 and Souness resigned after just one season in charge and was replaced by Dave Jones who managed and kept them in the Premier League until he departed in the 1999-2000 season to be suceeded by Glen Hoddle.
In 1999, Southampton were given the go-ahead to build a new 32,000-seat stadium in the St Mary's area of the city, after playing in the Dell since 1898.
Glenn Hoddle helped keep Southampton well clear of the Premiership drop zone but having received an offer he moved to Tottenham Hotspur just before the end of the 2000–01 season. He was replaced by first-team coach Stuart Gray, who oversaw the relocation to the St Mary's Stadium for the 2001–02 season. Gray was sacked after a poor start to the following season, and he was replaced by Gordon Strachan.
Strachan did much to revitalise Southampton during the 2001–02 season, and they finished in a eleventh place in the final table, 8th the following season and 12th in Strachan’s last season in charge.
Strachan resigned in March 2004 (to take a break from football) and was replaced by Paul Sturrock, however, rumours of player dissatisfaction and personal problems dogged Sturrock, and he was replaced just five months later by reserve team coach Steve Wigley. Wigley's tenure proved disastrous, with Southampton slipping further and further down the Premiership table during 2004–05. Frenchman Christian Damiano was brought in to assist, but after a run of only one win in 14 games, both men's contracts were terminated.
Chairman Rupert Lowe risked the ire of Saints fans when he appointed Harry Redknapp who at the time was Manager of Saint’s arch rivals Portsmouth as manager on 8 December 2004. However, Redknapp's efforts were all in vain as Southampton were relegated from the Premier League on 15 May 2005, ending 27 successive seasons of top division football for the club.
Rumours gradually grew apace that Mandaric and Redknapp had resolved the dispute that caused Redknapp to walk out in the first place, and that he was poised to rejoin his former club which took place on the 3rd December 2005.
George Burley was unveiled as the club's new head coach on 23 December to work alongside Clive Woodward, who was promoted from Performance Director to Director of Football.
In the wake of overwhelming calls for him to stand down, Lowe eventually resigned on 30 June 2006. He was replaced as Chairman by Jersey-based businessman Michael Wilde who had become the club's major shareholder.
At one point during the 2005–06 season, Southampton were in real danger of a second successive relegation. But their form improved during the final weeks of the season and they finished a secure twelfth and the following season made the playoffs.
The 2007–08 season went much worse for Southampton with George Burley revealing that players such as Gareth Bale and Kenwyne Jones had to be sold to stop the club going into administration and that not getting promoted put the club in serious financial troubles. However, manager Burley left the club in January to take over as Scotland manager and in February Southampton appointed Nigel Pearson as manager who managed to keep them in the Championship on the last day of the season.
Even though Pearson kept the Saints up, the Southampton board did not renew his contract, because of financial constraints and the new board brought in the relatively unknown Dutchman Jan Poortvliet as manager. On 23 January 2009, Poortvliet resigned with the club one from bottom in the Championship, with Mark Wotte taking over managerial duties.
On 23 April 2009, Southampton were handed a 10 point deduction, following their parent company going into administration. This deduction ensured that Southampton were relegated from the Football League Championship and played the 2009–10 season in League One.
On 8 July 2009, the administrators confirmed that the club had been sold to a buyer "owned and controlled by Markus Liebherr".
On 17 July 2009, the club confirmed the appointment of Alan Pardew as the new First Team Manager who oversaw a £3 million spend on players, a significantly larger amount than any other League One club.
On 28 March 2010, Southampton won their first trophy since 1976 when they defeated Carlisle United at Wembley, to claim the Football League Trophy.
Southampton finished the 2009–10 season in 7th place, 7 points from the last play-off position in League One.
It was announced on 11 August 2010 that Markus Liebherr had died; however the club's future had been assured and planned for before Liebherr's death. On 30 August 2010, Alan Pardew was sacked as first team manager and On 12 September, Nigel Adkins was announced as the new Southampton manager who guided Saints back to the Championship.
On return to the Championship, Southampton made a strong start to the season to go top of the league and extend their winning run at St Mary's to 13 league games, creating a new club record. On Friday 13 April, Southampton lost 3–1 at home to fellow-challengers for promotion Reading in a match which effectively decided the Championship title. This was the Saints' first home defeat in the league since mid-January. The team however confirmed promotion to the Premier league with a 4–0 defeat of relegated Coventry.
The Saints' first season in the top flight since relegation in did not go well as Southampton conceded 24 goals in their first eight games and picked up just 4 points. Southampton's form improved as the season progressed and they climbed out of the relegation zone, Nigel Adkins was sacked amid controversy to be immediately replaced by Argentinian coach Mauricio Pochettino.
After Pochettino's arrival, Southampton recorded some impressive results, they finished the season in 14th place.
The following season Saints finished in their highest Premier League finish, finishing 8th, on 56 points.
Pochettino departed the club in the close season for Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, and the club subsequently appointed Ronald Koeman as his replacement.
At the end of the 2013–14 season, Southampton made a number of high-profile sales, as well as purchases to replace the departing players. By the close of the transfer window, Southampton was one of only three Premier League sides to have finished its transfer dealings with a net positive balance – to the tune of in excess of £30 million.
One To Watch – Morgan Schneiderlin
As well as Town played in the initial tie at St. Mary’s, Southampton’s quality shone through in the second half, with a number of their players stepping up to the plate with the kind of performances that have served them so well in the Premier League. One such player – and scorer of the Saints’ rather fortuitous equaliser – was Morgan Schneiderlin.
Schneiderlin’s importance to the Southampton team can be illustrated by the fact that his development seems to have mirrored the progress of the club over the past few seasons. Indeed, the French midfielder joined the club just as they were entering their lowest ebb, ahead of the 2008/09 campaign, in which the Saints suffered a 10-point deduction and were relegated to League 1. The 18-year-old arrived with a shining reputation, having already featured for Strasbourg’s First Team, as well as starring for the French junior sides from U16 to U19 level. In the midst of speculation linking him to other, higher-placed English sides, Schneiderlin opted for a move to the South coast and made 33 appearances in his debut season. Resisting the temptation to look for opportunities elsewhere on the club’s relegation, the Frenchman decided to stay at St. Mary’s and his loyalty was rewarded as he helped Southampton to back-to-back promotions to the Premier League.
The midfielder won plaudits for his battling performances in the top tier and was a mainstay of the team that consolidated with a 14th place finish. After netting against Manchester United early on, Schneiderlin’s confidence in front of goal improved and he ended the campaign with a tally of five, having previously managed a total of just three in his Saints career. He went on to pick up the club’s Fans’ and Players’ Player of the Season awards for 2012/13. After again being linked with a move away as part of the mass exodus from St. Mary’s in the summer, Schneiderlin appears to be back to his best, with his strike in the original fixture seeing him to four goals in all competitions already.
The Gaffer – Ronald Koeman
In 1980 Koeman started his professional career at Groningen. After playing for Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona, he finished his career in Feyenoord. During his career he won two European Cup titles, five Dutch championships, three Dutch Cups, four Spanish championships, one Spanish Cup and he was also in the winning Dutch national team at the UEFA Euro 1988.
His nicknames while playing for Barcelona were Tintin, due to his physical similarity with Hergé's fictional character, and Floquet de Neu, after the famous albino gorilla in the Barcelona Zoo. Ronald Koeman currently holds the record for 25 consecutive successful penalty conversions in La Liga.
He represented his nation in the 1990 World Cup and World Cup 1994, as well as Euro 1992 and picked up a total of 78 caps for The Netherlands.
Having retired as a player after his stint with Feyenoord, Koeman became a member of the coaching staff of Guus Hiddink during the 1998 World Cup. After the tournament Koeman was appointed the assistant coach of Barcelona. In 2000, he was handed his first managerial job as the head coach of Vitesse where he led the team to a UEFA Cup spot on a relatively limited budget.
Koeman was appointed the manager of Ajax in 2001. Ajax' fortunes suffered a steady decline after Koeman got off to a successful start at the Amsterdam ArenA, winning a domestic double in 2001–02. Despite regaining the title in 2003–04, Ajax had fallen eight points behind rivals PSV in the Eredivisie. Coupled with Ajax being knocked out of the UEFA Cup, lead Koeman to resign the following day on 25 February 2005.
Koeman bounced back quickly from a disappointing end to his reign at Ajax in February 2005, taking up the vacant position at Portuguese champions Benfica. At Benfica, Koeman won the Portuguese Super Cup, the team finished the Portuguese League in third place. This, along with an offer from PSV, sufficed for the manager to leave one year before the end of his contract.
In the 2006–07 season, Koeman served as head coach of PSV, as successor of Guus Hiddink, and won the Eredivisie on goal difference that season.
On 31 October 2007 Koeman agreed to be the new coach of Valencia. With Valencia he won the 2007–08 Spanish Cup, however the the remainder of his tenure at Valencia would prove disappointing, and he was sacked on 21 April 2008.
He was appointed manager of AZ on 18 May 2009 . On 5 December 2009, AZ announced that Koeman no longer was in charge of AZ, after losing 7 of the first 16 games in the Dutch competition.
On 21 July 2011, Koeman was appointed manager of Feyenoord, signing a one-year contract with the Dutch club. Through such appointment, Koeman has notably become the first man ever to serve as both player and head coach at all teams of the so-called "traditional big three" of Dutch football – Ajax, PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord. In February 2014, Koeman announced that he would leave his position at Feyenoord at the end of the 2013-14 season to pursue other ambitions.
In June 2014 Koeman was announced as the replacement for Southampton F.C. manager Mauricio Pochettino, signing a three-year deal with the club.
Southampton's form in September led to Koeman being named Premier League Manager of the Month for September.
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Trev's Trivia
Players to lay for both teams
Jim Magilton ITFC 1999-2006 SAINTS 1994-1997
David McGoldrick ITFC 2013-present SAINTS 2004-2009
Mick Mills ITFC 1966-1982 SAINTS 1985-1985
Media Watch - K L Blue
Town boss Mick McCarthy believes the performance and result achieved away against Premier League high-flyers Southampton in the FA Cup on Sunday shows the strength within his squad, even if he doesn’t have the largest number of players at his disposal.
McCarthy made six changes to the team which beat Charlton 3-0 on Tuesday as the Blues drew 1-1 with the Saints at St Mary’s, which he says illustrates the quality of those who came into the side.
“It says that the ones that I’ve changed are good players,” he said. “I think we used 17 players in the month of December, the fewest of anybody.
“We’ve only got a squad of 20 but they all play. A couple of them haven’t played many games, maybe Alex Henshall hasn’t played as much as he’d like, Balint Bajner as well, but all the others have competed, played well, had to play games and when we’ve needed them they’ve all complemented the team whenever they’ve played, which is nice.”
McCarthy says he’ll now put the replay with Southampton and the prospect of a fourth round home tie against Crystal Palace to the back of his mind with the Blues having another crucial Championship match at Portman Road at the weekend: “We’ve got Derby first, I’ll worry about the replay when we’ve played Derby.”
He dismissed the suggestion that Sunday’s result sends a message to the third-placed Rams, who are one place and two points behind the Blues.
“It doesn’t give any message really, does it? Rochdale beat Nottingham Forest, that ’my dad’s bigger than your dad and [therefore] he could beat him’ thing doesn’t wash with me at all.
“Derby know all about us, we know all about Derby. They know what it’s like coming to Portman Road, they were there last season with Steve McClaren and they’ve played us once already this season. There are no surprises for them.
“They know that we’re a tough nut to crack and this performance, this result doesn’t send out any messages whatsoever.”
Stat Time
Head To Head
Ipswich Town Wins.........................24 (36.92%)
Southampton Wins.........................21 (32.31%)
Draws........................................20 (30.77%)
Ipswich Town Goals......................105 (Ave. 1.62 Per Match)
Southampton Goals........................95 (Ave. 1.46 Per Match)
Head To Head at Ipswich
Ipswich Town Wins..........................15 (46.88%)
Southampton Wins...........................9 (28.13%)
Draws.........................................11 (25.00%)
Ipswich Town Goals.........................57 (Ave. 1.78 Per Match)
Southampton Goals.........................43 (Ave. 1.34 Per Match)
The Predicted Teams
This is the two sides that were fielded for the first leg
Ipswich Town
01 Gerken
04 Chambers
05 Smith
06 Berra
03 Mings
29 Ambrose
19 Hyam
17 Bru
12 Hunt
10 McGoldrick
09 Murphy
Southampton
23 Forster
16 Ward-Prowse
06 Fonte
05 Gardos
21 Bertrand
08 Davis
12 Wanyama
04 Schneiderlin
07 Long
19 Pellè
11 Tadic
Match Referee - Graham Scott
Final Thought - Frosty
Well time to dust one's self off and get back on the horse again ..... however I wish to state for the record that I will never buy another 'Coldplay' record ever again after Chris Martin scored against us in the weekend.
Anyway turning our attentions back to this mid-week fixture where we have the simple little task of playing the third placed Premiership side who on either side of the fixture against us, beat the Arse 2-0 at home last week and today knocked over Man U 1-0 at Old Trafford. On paper we are simply 'doomed' however the old chestnut of smaller teams beating larger teams has become completely synonymise with English Cup Football. By the way, in case you haven't noticed, Crawley is in the relegation zone, one place off the bottom if anyone wants an example from earlier this season.
I accept the thinking out there regarding the concern about this fixture becoming a hindrance to achieving Towns ultimate aim this season, but like James I also agree its a good chance to see just where the club is at present. For my money, Saints have everything to lose and we have everything to gain by having an extra fixture over and above this one against Palace should we snatch a sensational late win! (from a Tommy Smith header BTW) as the financial benefits are a huge boost particularly in the middle of the transfer window.
Anyway, for those of you that are going on Wednesday night (I am envious as usual), have a great evening and remember ......' It's ok to beat Saint's, the worst that can happen is that you end up going to the Lions on the weekend'.
COYB
I am picking a 1-1 draw ending up as penalties
IPSWICH TOWN 1 SOUTHAMPTON 1
Wrong Saints Cheerleaders ....................... but who give's a sh*t anyway?
Makes you want to learn to swim doesn't it?
Southampton winning
