Ipswich Town v Blackburn Rovers
Tuesday 15th March 2016 – 19:45
Portman Road
Opening Thought – Jamma
After being built up as a clash between two sides looking to gatecrash the top six, Saturday’s match turned into a bit of a damp squib in the end. In a game where goalmouth action was at a premium, Cardiff managed to score with just about the only real effort on goal of the match, before seeing out the 90 minutes with little drama. On the one hand, Town can point to the fact that they limited a team that had put four past Brighton to so few chances, and turned in an improved performance with respect to the Bolton game. But it is our own missed opportunity that we should be focusing on, as, for what seems the umpteenth time over recent weeks, we failed to turn up when it mattered. Our lack of creativity has become a recurrent theme in 2015/16, as we have struggled to break the opposition down and find that incisive through ball or defence-splitting pass. Even when we have won, it tends to have been by the odd goal, as has been the case in our last eight victories. Indeed, you have to go back as far as November, and our 3-0 success at The Valley, for the last time the Blues registered more than a one-goal margin of victory. Seeing Sheffield Wednesday’s three-goal win at Nottingham Forest made me realise that this is a luxury that Town just can’t rely on. When added to our defensive frailties, this impotence in attack does not make for a good combination. Before the recent games against Huddersfield and Forest, we hadn’t kept a clean sheet since Burnley on the first weekend of the year. When, as a team, we know that we are likely to have to score at least twice to get something out of a game, it puts unnecessary added pressure on us. This pressure is something we are going to have to get used to as the season enters its final ten matches.
When quizzed on the nature of the two points dropped against Bolton last week, Mick McCarthy had no hesitation in insisting that he would have taken 7 points from the last 9 before a ball was kicked. He went on to say that he would accept the same return from the following three fixtures, starting with Cardiff. So, already being a point down on our maximum possible tally, does that make our upcoming two home games, against Blackburn and Rotherham, ‘must-win’ matches? Whilst it wouldn’t mean that our season was over if we weren’t to claim 6 points at Portman Road this week, I would go as far as to say that anything less would make us distinct outsiders in the play-off race. We are getting to the stage where even a draw won’t do us many favours, and so we have to be looking to win, particularly our home matches. To his credit, Mick has shown signs of being more positive in his formation and tactics, notably against the Bluebirds, when he decided to play Freddie Sears up top as opposed to as an extra midfielder. By the end of the game, he had Sears, Daryl Murphy, Brett Pitman and Luke Varney all on the pitch, but it was too little too late. I would like to see a continuation of this positivity for these next two fixtures. If we approach them in the same way as we did against Forest on our last outing at Portman Road, our play-off challenge should be right back on track by the time the week is out…
The Opposition – Blackburn Rovers
The club was founded in 1875 and, on 28 September 1878, Blackburn Rovers became one of 23 clubs to form the Lancashire Football Association.
Blackburn were an early F.A. Cup winner, with a 2–1 victory over the Scottish team Queen's Park on 29 March 1884, and then repeated the feat over the following two seasons for 3 consecutive Cup wins. They won the trophy for a fourth & fifth time in 1890 & 1891 respectively.
Blackburn Rovers were founder members of the Football League in 1888.
Blackburn Rovers struggled during the early years of the 20th century, before a gradual improvement in results began. During the first three decades of the 20th century, Blackburn Rovers were still considered a top side in the English league. They were First Division champions in 1911/12 and 1913/14, and F.A. Cup winners in 1927/28.
Blackburn Rovers maintained a respectable mid-table position in the First Division until they were finally relegated from the top flight (for the first time since the foundation of the league) in the 1935–36 season.
When the league resumed after the war, Blackburn Rovers were relegated in their second season (1947/48). The club remained in the second division for the following ten years. After promotion in 1958, they again returned to the mid-table position they had occupied in the earlier part of the century.
They were again relegated from the First Division in 1966 and began a 26-year exile from the top division.
During the 1970s, Blackburn Rovers bounced between the Second and Third Divisions, winning the Third Division title in 1975, but never mounted a challenge for promotion to the First Division, despite the efforts of successive managers to put the club back on track.
Following the Jack Walker takeover, Rovers finished 19th in the Second Division at the end of the 1990/91 season, and the new owner had made millions of pounds available to spend on new players and appointed Kenny Dalglish as manager in October 1991. Blackburn secured promotion to the new FA Premier League at the end of 1991/92 season as play-off winners, ending 26 years outside the top flight.
Rovers made headlines in the summer of 1992 by paying an English record fee of £3.5million for the 22-year-old Southampton and England centre forward Alan Shearer. After finishing fourth in 1992/93 and runners-up in 1993/94, they went on to win the Premier League title in 1994/95.
Kenny Dalglish moved upstairs to the position of Director of Football at the end of the Premier League-winning season, and handed over the reins to his assistant Ray Harford. Blackburn Rovers made a poor start to the 1995/96 campaign, and found themselves in the bottom half for most of the first half of the season. A terrible start to the 1996/97 Premier League campaign saw Harford resign in late October with the club bottom of the division. Relegation looked a real possibility, just two seasons after winning the league. At the end of the 1998/99 season, Blackburn were relegated back to Division One.
Jack Walker died just after the start of the 2000/01 season, and the club dedicated its promotion challenge in memory of their benefactor. Fittingly, they returned to the Premier League after a much-improved season, finishing second behind Fulham.
In 2001/02, Blackburn won their first ever League Cup by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
In November 2010, the Indian company V H Group bought Blackburn Rovers under the name of Venky's London Limited for £23 million. The new owners sacked manager Sam Allardyce and replaced him with First Team coach Steve Kean, initially on a temporary basis.
In December 2011, it was announced that Blackburn Rovers had posted an annual pre-tax loss of £18.6m for the year ending 30 June 2011. Despite this, the owners provided assurances over the continued funding of the club, even if they were relegated.
On 7 May 2012, the club was relegated to the Championship after being defeated at home by Wigan Athletic in the penultimate game of the season, ending 11 years of being in the English Premier League.
In the 2013/14 season, Blackburn finished in 8th place in the Championship, one place ahead of us in the table.
Last season, Blackburn went one place worse, finishing in 9th place with 67 points.
One To Watch – Grant Hanley
Given Town’s worrying propensity to be caught out at set pieces against big central defenders Aden Flint and Bruno Ecuele-Manga in recent weeks, I would like to think that the squad will have done their homework on Rovers’ own man mountains, Shane Duffy and this week’s One to watch Grant Hanley.
Amazingly still only 24, Hanley progressed through the academy at Ewood Park, making his debut as an 18-year-old on the final day of the 2009/10 Premier League season. His First Team appearances were few and far between the following campaign but he made more of an impression in 2011/12, featuring 23 times as Blackburn tumbled out of the Premier League. Since the club’s return to the second tier, Hanley has been one of the first names on the teamsheet, striking up a strong understanding initially with Scott Dann. When Dann moved on to Crystal Palace in January 2014, his central defensive partner took over the captaincy, and he has since gone on to amass close on 200 appearances for the club, as well as a call-up to the Scotland squad. While by no means a prolific goalscorer, Hanley’s formidable frame and strength in the air make him a dangerous proposition at set pieces. Tommy, Christophe, you have been warned!
The Gaffer – Paul Lambert
Lambert won numerous honours as a player, winning the Scottish Cup with St. Mirren as a 17-year-old, the UEFA Champions League with Borussia Dortmund and all the Scottish domestic honours with Celtic. In his international career, Lambert earned 40 caps for Scotland and played in the 1998 World Cup.
After studying for football coaching qualifications in 2005, Lambert landed his first managerial job with Livingston on 1 June 2005. His tenure ended the following February when he resigned after winning only two league games since starting the job.
Lambert was appointed manager of English team Wycombe Wanderers on 30 June 2006. He led Wycombe to the League Cup semi-finals after they defeated Premier League sides Fulham and Charlton Athletic. The semi-final tie, against Premier League champions Chelsea, saw Wycombe hold the Blues to a 1–1 draw at Adams Park before losing the away leg. This was the first time in over 30 years a fourth tier team had reached that stage of the League Cup. Lambert resigned as Wycombe manager on 20 May 2008 following the club's elimination from the League Two play-offs by Stockport County.
On 9 October 2008, he was appointed as manager of League One team Colchester United. Despite occasionally threatening to flirt with the League One play-offs, the U's eventually finished mid-table in Lambert's first season.
On 18 August 2009, he began the 2009–10 season with an opening day 7–1 win over Norwich City before leaving the Essex club less than a year after taking over.
Lambert became the new Norwich City manager, replacing Bryan Gunn, who was sacked by the club shortly after the 7–1 defeat to Colchester. He led Norwich to the League 1 title and promotion to the Championship in April 2010.
On 1 June 2010, he signed an improved contract with Norwich City after it was confirmed Colchester United were entitled to £425,000 in compensation, in addition to Norwich City being fined £75,000, with a further £125,000 suspended for two years.
Norwich's form from their 2009–10 promotion campaign continued into the 2010–11 season, which saw them gain a second successive promotion. During Lambert's first two seasons in charge, Norwich did not suffer two successive defeats in the league in the same season.
On 2 May 2011, Lambert and Norwich secured promotion to the Premier League after a win over Portsmouth, taking the second automatic spot with one game to spare. Lambert signed a new contract keeping him at the club during the summer. He was inducted into the Norwich City Hall of Fame in March 2012.
Following Norwich's survival in the Premier League in the 2011–12 season, Lambert offered his resignation on 31 May 2012 but the club declined it.
On 2 June 2012, Lambert was confirmed as the new manager of Aston Villa, replacing Alex McLeish, who had been sacked two weeks earlier. On 23 December 2012, Villa were defeated 8–0 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the club's heaviest ever defeat in top-flight football. This was followed by consecutive home defeats, leading to increased pressure on Lambert's position. Lambert kept his job despite the poor run as the team flirted with the relegation places continuously over the next few months.
Lambert's Aston Villa side began the 2013/14 season brightly. However, towards the end of 2013, the performances worsened greatly, especially their home form, and Lambert was criticised by many fans and pundits for putting out a counter-attacking side with no plan B. Villa, however, stayed in the Premier League.
Lambert's third season in charge saw a different approach in the transfer market, with him opting to buy players with experience as opposed to the previous seasons, where the club would sign young prospects. However, after Villa's good start to the season, they then went on to have a five-game goal drought.
On 11 February 2015, Aston Villa announced they had parted company with Lambert after a loss at Hull, leaving the club 18th in the Premier League table.
Lambert was appointed manager of Blackburn Rovers on 15 November 2015 on a two-and-a-half-year deal.
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Memories from a very nervy final day at Ewood Park back in May:
Trev's Trivia
Players to play for both teams
Allan Hunter ITFC 1971-1982 BRFC 1969-1971
Gary Croft ITFC 1999–2002 BRFC 1996–1999
Shefki Kuqi ITFC 2003–2005 and 2007-2008 (loan) BRFC 2005–2006
Jordan Rhodes ITFC 2007–2009 BRFC 2012-2015
Media Watch - K L Blue
Watch this space...
Stat Time
Head to Head
Ipswich Town Wins................15 (33.33%)
Blackburn Wins....................14 (31.11%)
Draws................................16 (35.56%)
Ipswich Town Goals...............53 (ave. 1.18)
Blackburn Goals....................57 (ave. 1.27)
Head To Head At Ipswich
Ipswich Town Wins.................10 (45.45%)
Blackburn Wins......................2 (9.09%)
Draws.................................10 (45.45%)
Ipswich Town Goals................32 (ave. 1.45)
Blackburn Goals.....................22 (ave. 1.00)[/color]
The Predicted Teams
Ipswich Town
Just as I thought I’d cracked it in terms of Mick McCarthy’s team selection, it seems to have got more difficult to predict his starting XI again over the last few weeks. This has not been helped by the recent spate of injuries, of course, but he still seems to be searching for his best combination in midfield. With Kevin Bru again not lasting beyond half time on Saturday, I’m plumping for a return for Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
33 Bartosz Bialkowski
4 Luke Chambers
5 Tommy Smith
6 Christophe Berra
3 Jonas Knudsen
7 Ainsley Maitland-Niles
19 Luke Hyam
8 Cole Skuse
15 Ben Pringle
20 Freddie Sears
9 Daryl Murphy
Blackburn
Substitutes Craig Conway and Simeon Jackson combined for Rovers’ late consolation against Leeds on Saturday, and may have played themselves into contention for a starting berth, as Paul Lambert returns to Portman Road for the first time since a certain infamous East Anglian derby on Maundy Thursday in 2011.
30 Jason Steele
10 Ben Marshall
22 Shane Duffy
5 Grant Hanley
3 Tommy Spurr
32 Craig Conway
31 Elliott Bennett
21 Hope Akpan
14 Jordi Gomez
12 Danny Graham
35 Simeon Jackson
Match Referee – Iain Williamson
Final Thought - Frosty
So, here’s our game in hand fixture …. 3 points would be somewhat handy as Birmingham also have a fixture still to play.
Resurgent Leeds visited Blackburn on Saturday and left for home with their third win on the trot.
However, prior to this, Blackburn themselves were in decent form, with wins over Birmingham, Middlesbrough and the Dons, their only slip up being a narrow 1-0 loss to Burnley away.
In no way do I think facing the team in 16th position on the table is a guaranteed 3 points for us on Tuesday. However, perhaps that midweek magic we have seen for most of the season will be in our favour. It would be a great result if we come away with the points, particularly as Saturday’s fixture against Rotherham should probably be viewed as another winnable match.
The comment from Mike that left me concerned in regards to the Cardiff match being a ‘passionless’ display is perhaps the one thing I hope we don’t see again tomorrow night or one can probably write us off from being a challenger this season.
Have a great evening if you are making the hallowed journey to PR.
COYB!
IPSWICH TOWN 2 BLACKBURN ROVERS 1
