Ipswich Town v Fulham
Tuesday 19th April 2016 – 19:45
Portman Road
Jamma's Opening Thought
On paper, a 1-1 draw at promotion-chasing Sheffield Wednesday was a creditworthy result. Restricting the Owls' previously free-scoring attack to a single goal and managing to take one of our opportunities was no mean feat. Add in the fact that our equaliser was scored by 16-year-old academy prospect - and son of a former Blues legend - Andre Dozzell and it could be considered a good day's work. Or at least it would have been if it had come in slightly different circumstances. Had we taken the 3 points from the 'must-win' games that had preceded our trip to Hillsborough, we would have been reflecting on a very satisfactory return, and looking forward with relish to the remaining four matches. But, having dropped points against Wolves, Charlton and Brentford in the three fixtures since the international break, we were left with 'what-if's as opposed to 'what-might-still-be's. I will always keep tabs on Ipswich's fortunes, and keep up with every kick of every game as much as possible. On Saturday afternoon, though, I was instead watching a Polish 5th tier match between Ostrovia and Zawisza Rzgów. Don't ask!
The point I am making - in an admittedly roundabout way - is that the intrigue has all but gone from a season that promised so much. Yes, I was still pleased to find out that Town had gained a point, but I was much more interested to hear that young Andre had opened his account, replicating his father Jason's achievemet of scoring as a 16-year-old debutant. If truth be told, the Dozzell story would have held more fascination than Saturday's result for the majority of the Blue Army, and papered over the cracks of another largely insipid display.So what exactly does the remainder of 2015/16 have in store? Last season was an anomaly in that we reached the play-offs for the first time in a decade. But, over those ten years, I can't remember too many occasions when we were approaching the end of the campaign without some kind of anticipation as to what the new season would bring. Granted, the summer of 2005 was difficult, when we knew that we had missed a golden opportunity of promotion, and would likely see our best performers leave to balance the books. But, even in the days of Roy Keane and Paul Jewell, there was usually cause for optimism at the end of the season. Keane's arrival at the back end of 2008/09 was supposed to herald a new dawn (ha!), while Jewell's masterstroke of securing the permanent services of Jimmy Bullard following his successful loan spell meant that we headed into 2011/12 quietly confident of our chances. Then, last year, once the dust had settled on the bitter disappointment of our play-off defeat, there was every reason to believe that we could enjoy a similarly successful season this time around. After failing to reach those same heights, though, the optimism has been replaced by a feeling of emptiness, and an uncertainty over what the future holds. The drop-off in season ticket sales reflects this sense of apathy amongst supporters, who are in desperate need of something to suggest that our 15th successive campaign in the second tier will be our last. With the top six just about out of reach, now is the time to start building towards next season, hopefully with some improved performances before 2015/16 is out.
The Opposition - Fulham
Fulham Football Club, based in London, was founded in 1879.
The club has spent twenty-four seasons in English football's top division, the majority of that in two spells during the 1960s and 2000s.
Fulham have never won a major honour, although they have reached two major finals. In 1975, as a Second Division team, they contested the FA Cup final for the only time in their history, losing 2–0 to West Ham United. Fulham reached the 2010 Europa League final, which they contested with Atlético Madrid in Hamburg, losing 2–1 after extra time.
The club has been in the Football League playing in various divisions since 1907.
In modern times, Egyptian businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed bought the freehold of the club for £6.25 million in summer 1997. Micky Adams was fired by Al-Fayed in the aftermath of a poor start. He installed a two-tier management "dream team" of Ray Wilkins as first team manager and Kevin Keegan as Chief Operating Office, pledging that the club would reach the Premier League within five years. After an argument over team selection, Wilkins left the club in May 1998 to hand over the full managerial duties to Keegan, who steered the club to promotion the following season, winning 101 points out of a possible 138. He had spent £11 million to sign West Bromwich Albion’s Paul Peschisolido, who went on to be top scorer, with the side captained by Chris Coleman, then the most expensive footballer outside the top two divisions of the English league.
In 1999, Keegan left Fulham to become manager of the England team, and Paul Bracewell was put in charge. Bracewell was sacked in March 2000, as Fulham's promising early season form dwindled away to a mid-table finish. Frenchman Jean Tigana was put in charge and, having signed a number of young stars including French striker Louis Saha, he guided Fulham to their third promotion in five seasons in the 2000–01 season, giving Fulham top flight status for the first time since 1968. Fulham once again amassed 101 points out of a possible 138 in their scintillating title run, which was crowned with an open-top bus parade down Fulham Palace Road.
Fulham are the only team to have twice reached 100 points in a season.
For the next 7 seasons, they mainly achieved lower mid-table positions in the Premier League.
Roy Hodgson was named as the new manager of Fulham on 28 December 2007, and took up his contractual duties on 30 December.
In the 2008–09 season, Fulham finished seventh, their highest ever league placing, earning qualification for the inaugural UEFA Europa League, the second time that the club had entered a UEFA competition.
2009–10 was arguably the most successful season in the club's history. They were eliminated from the FA Cup in the quarter-finals for the second year running, and finished twelfth in the Premier League. In the inaugural UEFA Europa League, however, Fulham reached the final, meeting Spanish club Atlético Madrid at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg. In their first European final, the Cottagers were beaten 2–1 in extra time, having drawn 1–1 after full-time. The achievement of taking Fulham so unexpectedly far, beating famous teams like Hamburg, Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel in the competition, led to Roy Hodgson being voted the LMA Manager of the Year by the widest margin in the history of the award. The home match in the round of 16 was arguably Fulham's greatest result in the club’s history. Despite losing 3–1 in the first leg at Italian giants Juventus and falling behind minutes into the second leg at Craven Cottage, Fulham scored four goals with no reply from Juventus.
At the end of the season, Hodgson left Fulham to manage Liverpool.
On 29 July 2010, Mark Hughes was named the successor to Roy Hodgson, signing a two-year contract with the club. Hughes resigned as manager of Fulham on 2 June 2011, having spent fewer than eleven months at the club. The Whites had an encouraging finish in 8th position and qualified for the Europa League via the Fair Play league.
On 7 June 2011, Martin Jol signed a two-year contract with Fulham, becoming the successor to Hughes. Fulham's Premier League form in the 2011–12 season was mixed, with the continuing away record hangover of previous seasons dragging on.
Clint Dempsey scored a club record 50 Premier League goals for Fulham between 2007 and 2012.
In the 2012–13 season, Fulham ended a seven-match winless run by beating Swansea City 3–0 away at the Liberty Stadium in the final game of the season, on 19 May 2013. Fulham finished the season in 12th place.
Shahid Khan took over as chairman in July 2013 but, after a poor start to the 2013-14 season, having only amassed 10 points from 13 games, Martin Jol was sacked as manager on 1 December 2013, with Rene Meulensteen taking charge as Head Coach. Meulensteen was subsequently replaced by Felix Magath on 14 February 2014, but remained under contract with Fulham until four days later, when Fulham confirmed the sacking of him along with coaches Ray Wilkins and Alan Curbishley. They were eventually relegated after a 4-1 defeat to Stoke City on 3 May.
Magath lasted in the manager’s role until 18 September 2014, when he was dismissed due to poor early season results, and Kit Symons took over as Caretaker Manager until his appointment was made permanent on 29 October 2014.
Under Symons, the Cottagers finished last season with 52 points and in 17th place on the ladder.
One To Watch - Moussa Dembélé
In what has been a highly disappointing campaign for Fulham, their front two have been by far and away their leading lights. Ross McCormack's qualities at this level are well known, but 2015/16 has seen the breakthrough of his strike partner, 'the other Moussa Dembélé'.
Not to be confused with - and amazingly unrelated to - the former Whites and now Spurs defensive midfielder, Fulham's Dembélé is a pacy, skillful striker who is the perfect foil for McCormack. His arrival from Paris St. Germain provided a silver lining to an otherwise miserable 2013/14 for the club, as the Cottagers suffered relegation. His eye-catching form for the youth team ensured that he was fast-tracked to the U21s, for whom he scored 5 goals in 4 appearances. By November of that season, Dembélé was already making his First Team debut in the Premier League, as he came on as a substitute in a 3-0 defeat to West Ham. He made two further senior appearances that term, while continuing to draw accolades with the U18s, bagging an impressive 23 goals in just 17 outings. This return, coupled with his instrumental role in the side's run to the FA Youth Cup final, gave the Frenchman his chance in 2014/15, on the departure of the likes of Darren Bent and Hugo Rodallega. But it has been this season that Dembélé has really stepped up to the plate, with his 16 strikes and 6 assists playing a big part in steering the team clear of danger. With a total of 39 goals between them, Fulham's front pair are rightly considered one of the most dangerous partnerships in the division.
The Gaffer - Slaviša Jokanović
Defensive midfielder Jokanović was born in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Jokanović started playing for hometown side FK Novi Sad.
In 1990, Jokanović joined Belgrade's FK Partizan and, after impressive displays at Partizan, Jokanović signed for Real Oviedo in Spain, where he subsequently joined fellow La Liga side CD Tenerife.
In the summer of 1999, aged 31, Jokanović signed for Deportivo de La Coruña. After only one season with Depor, Jokanović signed for Premier League Chelsea in October 2000, for £1.7 million. He made 39 appearances for the Blues during two seasons and was released in July 2002 at nearly 34, hanging up his boots after playing just three months in the Spanish second division with Ciudad de Murcia.
Jokanović played six times for Yugoslavia, as well as representing FR Yugoslavia in a further 58 matches, appearing for the nation at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000.
Jokanović was living in Madrid when, in September 2007, he joined the technical staff of third division team Club Atlético de Pinto. However, three months later, he became the head coach of Partizan.
In May 2008, under Jokanović's management, Partizan won the double (league and cup). He was also selected as the year's "Best Coach in Serbia" by the Football Association of Serbia, but refused to receive this award due to Partizan's poor results in the group stage of the UEFA Cup.
In his first full season, Jokanović led Partizan to another double, winning the league. Thus, he became the first coach in the club's history to successfully defend the title. On 5 September 2009, however, he left the post, by mutual consent, bidding farewell to the club through an open letter.
On 28 February 2012, Muangthong United F.C. introduced Jokanović as their new head coach, and he signed a one-year contract with an option for a further two years. In his first and only season, he led the club to the third Thai Premier League title in its history, as they remained undefeated throughout the whole campaign.
In mid-July 2013, Jokanović replaced Nikolay Mitov as manager of Bulgarian team PFC Levski Sofia. He was relieved of his duties in October, due to poor results.
On 7 October 2014, Jokanović was appointed on a short-term contract at the helm of English Championship side Watford, their fourth coach in five weeks. Under his leadership, the Hornets were promoted to the Premier League with one game to spare.
On 14 June 2015, Jokanović was appointed as coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv FC. Jokanović lasted just over six months in the role before he elected to return to the Championship, joining Fulham on 27 December 2015.
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
The last time we came up against Fulham provided quite a memorable encounter, marked by Freddie Sears' opening goal inside the first 20 seconds. Surely he's due another one, having not found the net since that December evening...
Trev's Trivia
Players who have played for both Ipswich and Fulham:
Darren Bent (ITFC 2001-05) (Fulham )
Shefki Kuqi (ITFC 2003-05 then on loan 2008) (Fulham loan 2007-08)
Sylvian Legwinski (ITFC 2006-09)( Fulham 2001-06)
Jimmy Bullard (ITFC 2011-12) (Fulham 2006-09)
And although Sir Bobby didn't play for both, he did manage both teams (Fulham 1968 ITFC 1969-1982)
Media Watch - K L Blue
Youngest debuts:
http://www.sudburymercury.co.uk/sport/a ... _1_4499816
MM teases Andre:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36071306
Hyam contract talks stall:
http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/contra ... idfielder/
Sears on Dozzell:
http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/29488/
MM: Youngsters will have to step up:
http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/29489/
Stat Time
Head to Head
Ipswich Wins.................8 (38.10%)
Fulham Wins.................7 (33.33%)
Draws...........................6 (28.57%)
Ipswich Goals...................31 (ave. 1.48/match)
Fulham Goals...................40 (ave. 1.90/match)
Head to Head at Ipswich
Ipswich Wins.....................5 (50.00%)
Fulham Wins.....................4 (40.00%)
Draws................................1 (10.00%)
Ipswich Goals....................16 (ave. 1.78/match)
Fulham Goals....................16 (ave. 1.78/match)
The Predicted Teams
Ipswich Town
Andre Dozzell obviously grabbed the headlines with his goal at Hillsborough, but it remains to be seen whether he will be given a chance from the start before the season is out. In other news, Daryl Murphy should be fit for selection, while Cole Skuse will also be hoping to be available. Luke Hyam returns after his one-game ban.
33 Bartosz Bialkowski
4 Luke Chambers
5 Tommy Smith
6 Christophe Berra
3 Jonas Knudsen
8 Cole Skuse
22 Jonathan Douglas
12 Liam Feeney
17 Kevin Bru
20 Freddie Sears
9 Daryl Murphy
Fulham
While there will be calls for widespread changes in the wake of Fulham's 5-goal rout by Brighton, it should be remembered that they had enjoyed a good sequence of results prior to that. Some tinkering in defence is more likely, then, with Luke Garbutt one option to come in at left-back. Former Town loanees Richard Stearman and Ryan Tunnicliffe will be famliar faces back at Portman Road.
1 Marcus Bettinelli
7 Ryan Fredericks
5 Richard Stearman
45 Fernando Amorebieta
3 Luke Garbutt
8 Scott Parker
19 Ryan Tunnicliffe
23 Jamie O'Hara
28 Emerson Hyndman
25 Moussa Dembélé
44 Ross McCormack
Match Referee - Paul Tierney
Final Thought - Frosty
Not a bad away point at Hillsborough but really needed the three to keep our slim chances alive.
From now on we are very much reliant on other fixtures ….. such as for this round …. We need the ‘bees’ to sting the ‘bluebirds’, the ‘Owls’ to get knocked off their home perch by ‘the Dons’ and ideally the ‘Brum’ and Preston having a bore draw in Birmingham.
The other simple thing is that we really need to put away 20th placed Fulham on our home patch or the above becomes slightly academic.
On paper this shouldn’t be an issue but, sadly, and as has happened a lot recently, we come up against a side that is having a reasonable run of form.
Forgetting last weekend’s 5-0 debacle away at Brighton, the Cottagers have won three on the trot, against Cardiff, Preston North End and the MK Dons, preceded by an away draw against Birmingham. With these results coming against sides around us on the table, it’s safe to say Tuesday night won’t exactly be the given three points that the Championship table suggests. McCormack also has 23 goals against his name this season to boot in case you are wondering where their goals come from.
I know the season is looking like it’s on the wane a bit, but just remember there’s quite a few months without football coming up so this is your second-to-last chance to catch a home game this season, folks.
COYB!
IPSWICH TOWN 2 FULHAM 1
