Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town 
Saturday 15th October 2016 – 15:00
Ewood Park
Opening Thought – Jamma
As frustrating as an international break invariably is – and, let’s face it, watching England v Malta is one of the few things more frustrating than following Ipswich at the moment! – there can be no denying that this one came at a good time for us. The two weeks without a game have not only given our lengthy injury list a chance to clear, but also allowed us to reflect on the situation we currently find ourselves in with a clear head. Since those frantic eight minutes of stoppage time against Aston Villa a mere four weeks ago, Town have failed to score in a further three matches, with another Portman Road stalemate against Brighton sandwiched in between two instantly forgettable 1-0 reverses to Leeds and Huddersfield. If the defeat at Elland Road was disappointing for the distinct lack of attacking threat we posed, there was a certain amount of redemption in a solid, if by now typically unspectacular, draw against the Seagulls. But all that changed with another abject display against Huddersfield, as supporters voiced their displeasure at a fourth successive goalless game from their team. This time, the fact that we were facing one of the division’s high-flying sides held no water with the fans, whose ironic chant of ‘We’ve had a shot!’ midway through the second half was as predictable as the total absence of ideas or invention going forwards. Perhaps the most infuriating aspect was that, although the Terriers showed no hint of the form that has propelled them to the top of the table, they didn’t have to, as a single goal, stemming from a defensive mix-up, was enough to see them to a comfortable 3 points. The cacophony of boos that broke out on the final whistle suggested a turning tide amongst the Blue Army, and left Mick McCarthy contemplating his toughest time as Ipswich Town manager.
The league table is painting an increasingly bleak picture too, with the Blues now as close to bottom-placed Rotherham as they are to Birmingham in 6th. Just as tellingly is that, of the 13 points that we have claimed, 7 of them have come against clubs occupying the eight positions below us, and Barnsley are the only side that we have beaten in the top half. In that respect, our remaining fixtures in October take on even more significance. As well as a daunting-looking trip to St. James’ Park, we come up against two of the sides in the bottom three and Burton, above us only on goal difference. Fortunately, we can expect to welcome some players back from injury, with Jonny Williams successfully coming through a couple of outings for the U23s and the likes of Adam Webster and David McGoldrick edging closer to a return. With a quarter of the campaign effectively gone, the need to pick up wins intensifies. Everyone will have their own idea as to the points tally we need from these four matches. Personally, I believe we should be aiming for a minimum of 7 points, firstly to get our season back on track and secondly to restore some confidence amongst the fanbase. This looks to be a crucial part of the campaign, then, for Town’s prospects as well as Mick’s. Our next test comes with a visit to a ground where we don’t boast the best of records, against a struggling Blackburn Rovers.
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 next 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 the 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 season, 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 of Blackburn Rovers 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 finished a disappointing 15th place on 55 points.
The Gaffer – Owen Coyle
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Media Watch - K L Blue
MM on Knudsen:
http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/30422/
MM on loanee Grant:
http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/30423/
Academy Chiefs’ new role:
http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/30421/
News on the injury front:
http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town ... _1_4730041
Form Guide
Blackburn Last 5 Matches currently in 22nd place on 8 points
Birmingham City 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Sheffield Wed
Derby County 1-2 Blackburn Rovers
Leeds United 1-0 Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers 4-2 Rotherham
Ipswich Last 5 Matches currently in 16th place on 13 points
Ipswich Town 0-1 Huddersfield
Ipswich Town 0-0 Brighton
Leeds United 1-0 Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town 0-0 Aston Villa
Derby County 0-1 Ipswich Town
Fixtures of Interest
Some interesting fixtures this week, with higher-placed teams visiting lower-placed teams
Forest vs Birmingham (Friday)
Barnsley vs Fulham
QPR vs Reading
Villa vs Wolves
Wigan vs Burton
Marko's Caption Contest
Excellent week with the captions. And must say, Wolfie....., you had everyone scrambling for Google Earth with your caption effort. We did not know that! Very good. Blueblood with the four because everyone just got up and started dancing!
Scores
Gold&Black 5pts
Blueblood 4pts
Ando 3pts
Herforder 2pts
League Table
Quasar 20
Herforder 20
DerickIpsw 19
Nicsreamer 16
Bluemike 14
Blueblood 14
Gold&Black 14
Ando 13
Frosty 11
IpswichtownNo1 8
Watership Down 7
Number 9 5
Patthegimp 5
Tangfastic 4
LoudNProud 3
Ashfordblue 3
Foxy Lady 1
Supershred 1
Barmy Billy 1
ItfcTrev76 1
Shed on Tour 1
Have a go at this......
Match Referee – Geoff Eltringham
Final Thought – Bluemike
I think it is safe to say that the feeling around Portman Road at the end of the Huddersfield game was anything but "homely". In fact, the signs were there that things could very well be turning toxic in the not-too-distant future. Our barren run in front of goal now stands at four games and in truth we looked like we could have played for a week and not scored. It's very easy to point the finger at the strikers in these situations but the truth of the matter is that the whole team are struggling big time. Everything seems wrong: formations, tactics, individual performances, confidence, you name it.
Even at this very early stage of the season, I think the next two games against Blackburn & Burton are massive for MM and our season. Failure in those two and things are going to get really unpleasant for sure. Already there is a growing number of fans wanting MM gone and failure to pick up at least four points in these games will not help his cause one bit. Following that, it's Newcastle and then Rotherham so realistically we have to be looking at seven points from twelve. One piece of good news is the prospect of Adam Webster, David McGoldrick & Jonny Williams all returning to the squad for the trip to Ewood Park. This can only help the cause and gives MM more options to chew over.
For me, Blackburn look dire and destined for the drop. That said, it is this sort of game where we have always struggled but I think we have to be looking to take the game to this type of team and impose ourselves on proceedings, something we have failed to do in recent games. Now is the time for everyone to stand up and be counted and to at least try to get the fans back onside. Alas I fear this may well be a lost cause. Seldom have I seen managers turn things around where their popularity with the fans is concerned when it gets to the stage that it clearly has. Failure in this one and the natives will be baying for blood. I have this feeling Town will come home with something but will it be enough?
BLACKBURN ROVERS 1 IPSWICH TOWN 2
It is massive though for Ipswich in terms of hauling a$$ away from the that end of the table. 
