Ipswich Town v Brentford
Saturday 4th March 2017 – 15:00
Portman Road
Opening Thought – Jamma
Following the build-up to one of the most eagerly anticipated East Anglian derbies of recent years, it was somehow inevitable that the game would end in a draw, keeping the bragging rights divided, and both teams in limbo. We could take satisfaction from seemingly killing off any lingering hopes that the Canaries might have had of making the play-offs. Our feathered friends, on the other hand, could gleefully proclaim that they had extended their unbeaten run against their more illustrious neighbours to eight years. No doubt plans will already be in place to mark this momentous milestone, possibly with the declaration of a national holiday in Norfolk. The match itself won’t live long in the memory, with the officials playing almost as central a role as the two fierce rivals. After absorbing some early Norwich pressure, the Blues began to make inroads, and were denied what turned out to be a stonewall penalty when David McGoldrick was hauled to the ground at a corner, instead conceding a free kick for his trouble! The home side enjoyed the better of the opening half, but any breakthrough would have come courtesy of a defensive lapse, as Bartosz Bialkowski first acrobatically tipped over a deflected cross off Jonas Knudsen and then almost conspired to hand the Canaries the lead following a mix-up with Christophe Berra. Bart was to again take centre stage in the second half, but not before Knudsen had further endeared himself to the Town faithful with his second goal in as many derbies, his precise header from Jordan Spence’s cross sending the Blue Army into raptures. It was arguably the most significant Ipswich Town goal since Tommy Smith’s sprint-down-the-touchline moment at the same ground 22 months earlier. Unfortunately, the celebrations were dampened by Norwich’s quick-fire response, Jacob Murphy’s low shot evading Bialkowski’s dive at his near post. But the Pole would go on to have the last laugh, as he produced at least three further inspired saves to rightly earn his Man of the Match award. It was a point which we would have happily taken on the balance of play and the statistics, and one which brought the curtain down on a pretty successful month.
Ironically enough, after a record 29 games without the same successive result, Sunday was our third consecutive 1-1 draw. Just as we were all getting excited about a so-called ‘more exciting’ Ipswich, it’s all become very boring and predictable again!
I am of course joking, and think we can be very proud of our seven-point haul from February, along with the noteworthy performances against some more-than-capable teams at this level. It’s all a far cry from a few weeks back, when most of us couldn’t envisage where the points were coming from and there seemed no way back for Mick McCarthy. While it will take more than five decent results to win over some of his detractors, he deserves admiration for the way he has responded against some serious adversity. I think we can even forgive him his usual ‘I’d have taken a point before we set off’ mantra at the weekend. After all, he can’t risk all the hard work being undone by the Manager of the Month curse, can he? 
So what can we expect from the rest of 2016/17? On the face of it, we have twelve ‘free’ games, where, barring a miracle, the results won’t see us either making a late surge for the top six or scrapping to stay in the division. We haven’t been in such a situation since McCarthy took over, as we have always had something to fight for until near enough the end of the campaign. Rather than use this as an excuse to take our foot off the gas, we should see it as an opportunity to prepare for next season. This is likely to mean persisting with the formula of the 3-5-2 formation and new personnel, while also introducing some of the young/fringe players like Andre Dozzell, Ben Morris and Danny Rowe. From the club’s perspective, they will want to continue with the entertaining brand of football, which, together with some positive results, will add to the enthusiasm – not to mention season ticket renewals – for 2017/18. Still plenty to play for, then, as we welcome Brentford to Suffolk.The Opposition – Brentford
Founded on 10 October 1889, at the Oxford and Cambridge Hotel in Brentford, where a meeting was held, between the members of the Brentford Rowing Club, to decide between association football and rugby union, to serve as a winter pursuit for the rowing club and its members. As a result of a vote, by 8 votes to 5, taken 6 days later, association football was successful as the sport to partake in.
The football club started out playing its home matches at the Clifden House Ground in Brentford, from November 1889 to March 1892.
In October 1892, Benn's Field in Little Ealing was the club's new home. The football club decided to move nearer to Brentford and in December 1894 they moved to Shotter's and stayed there until April 1898. Due to high rent increases, the club were once again forced to move on, so in September 1898 the club moved to the Cross Roads Ground, in Little Ealing, and this was used until April 1900.
As the club grew, Boston Park Cricket Ground, in York Road, Brentford, was then used from September 1900 to April 1904. Finally, in January 1904, the club agreed a 21-year lease on an orchard. The clearance of the orchard, over 200 trees, and the levelling of the land took several months. Griffin Park, as it became known, was now ready for use as a football ground after banking was raised along three sides of the ground and an enclosure, moved from their previous ground, was erected.
In 1920, Brentford became a founder member of the Third Division South. During the late 1920s and 1930s, the club began to make real progress. In the 1929–30 season, the side won all 21 of its home matches in the Third Division South, but still missed out on promotion. They are the last of six teams in English football to amass a perfect home record, and the only one to do so over a season of 42 matches or more. After several more near misses, promotion to the Second Division was finally achieved in 1932–33.
Two years later, Brentford reached the First Division and finished 5th in their debut season, which is still the club's highest ever league finish.
The club was relegated in the first season after the War, and a downward spiral set in, culminating in relegation to the Third Division in 1953–54 and the Fourth Division in 1961–62. In the process, Brentford became the first team to play the other ninety-one clubs in league football.
The survival of Brentford FC was threatened by a projected takeover by Queens Park Rangers in the late 1960s, a bid that was only narrowly averted with an emergency loan of £104,000.
The club continued to yo-yo between the third and fourth divisions during the next three decades. The club won promotion in 1962–63, 1971–72 and 1977–78 but only on the final occasion was it able to consolidate its place in English football's third tier.
After a 45-year absence, Brentford were promoted back to the Second Division (renamed the First Division with the advent of the Premier League in 1992) in the 1991–92 season, as Third Division champions, though they were relegated again the following year.
There followed several seasons of the club narrowly missing out on promotion via the play-offs.
The club were then relegated to the Third Division (by then the bottom division of the Football League) the following year. Brentford won promotion as champions again in 1998–99.
Former BBC Director-General and Bees fan Greg Dyke was announced as chairman of Brentford on 20 January 2006 as part of the takeover by Bees United, the Brentford Supporters Trust.
Brentford were relegated to Football League Two in April 2007.
On 25 April 2009, Brentford sealed the League Two championship under the management of former player Andy Scott. Scott's excellent first calendar year in charge was recognised with an award, the BBC London 'Manager of the Year 2008'. Scott was also awarded the League Two Manager of the Month award for April/May 2009.
At the end of the 2011/12 season, in which the Club finished 9th in League One, missing out on the play-offs by 6 points, the club's supporters voted to sell the entire club's shareholding to supporter-investor Matthew Benham.
The 2012/13 season saw Brentford go on an FA Cup run, taking holders Chelsea to a fourth-round replay, and mount a promotion challenge, missing out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season before losing the play-off final to Yeovil Town.
On 25 June 2013, Cliff Crown was elected Chairman of Brentford Football Club.
On 18 April 2014, Brentford were promoted to the Championship after they beat Preston 1–0 at Griffin Park in front of 10,774 people, sparking a pitch invasion. This meant The Bees' return to the second tier after a 21-year absence.
The following season, they impressed and finished one place ahead of Town in the final table, in 5th, before being knocked out in the play-off semi- finals by Middlesbrough.
Last season, Brentford didn’t achieve the same heights of 2014/15, finishing in 9th place in the table.
The Manager – Dean Smith
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Highlights from a fruitless trip to Griffin Park at the beginning of the season:
Media Watch - K L Blue
Lawrence back, and Williams is on way back:
http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town ... _1_4911692
Coke to be released:
http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/31257/
Couñago tweets with Norwich fans:
http://www.greenun24.co.uk/ipswich-town ... _1_4911004
Two who should leave for their careers' sake? (Do you agree? First one yes, second one no, for me)
http://footballleagueworld.co.uk/these- ... lery-slide
Form Guide
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – Currently in 15th place with 42 points
Norwich City 1-1 Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town 1-1 Leeds United
Brighton 1-1 Ipswich Town
Aston Villa 0-1 Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town 2-2 Reading FC
Brentford Last 5 Matches – Currently in 13th place with 43 points
Brentford FC 4-2 Rotherham
Sheffield Wed 1-2 Brentford FC
Reading FC 3-2 Brentford FC
Preston NE 4-2 Brentford FC
Brentford FC 3-3 Brighton
Fixtures of Interest
BIRMINGHAM VS LEEDS (FRIDAY)
QPR VS CARDIFF
ROTHERHAM VS ASTON VILLA
The Don Cup
Busy, busy bee here – end of Feb madness...... Will score both Norwich pics along with this Brentford pic for the next preview.
Match Referee – Scott Duncan
Final Thought - Bluemike
The February from hell culminated in a trip to our nearest and dearest "up the road", and once again the boys came home with something for their efforts, our £1.5 million squad proving too hard to break down for the £75 million Canaries. Reading some of their fans’ thoughts, it would seem we were well out of order in having a keeper who did his job (the goal aside) and kept the ball out of our net, while theirs failed to stop the only effort he had to deal with all afternoon. I mentioned pre-game how in recent seasons we have had little luck against them while they get decision after decision, and so it proved again. The foul inside the box on Didsy was ridiculous. Former ref Dermot Gallagher said it wasn't a penalty, it was TWO penalties!!! Says it all. That aside, a draw was the right result over the piece, with neither side doing enough to take the win. Watching the game did get me thinking that if that is what £70+ million buys you then no thanks. I am glad we don't waste millions like that. Give me a season-long loan like Fraser or Lawrence any day. I did not see too much difference in the ability of the likes of Huws, Ward & Diagouraga from what they had on offer. Djiks aside, I thought they were nothing special both times we have played them.
The Didsy debate has me wondering just how long can it be before we have a fourth official with a monitor? It has to come, surely. The decision to tell the ref through an ear piece that it was a penalty would have been instantaneous. It happens in other sports and does little to halt the flow of the game. The big decisions need to be got right. If it had been here this season, we would have most likely beaten the Scum twice, same as the Murphy goal at Wolves. Yes, things will go against us too but I believe we are on the wrong end of decisions far more often than we benefit from them.
So that is the impossible February out of the way and now on to March, where we have games against Brentford, Wolves, Barnsley & Cardiff to overcome. I think I would take a minimum of seven points from that set of fixtures, but why not the twelve on offer? Play like we have been and anything is possible. First up is Brentford at Portman Road. Since selling that crock of crap Hogan for crazy money, they have been scoring for fun. It will be a tough game but we can go into it in the belief that we are more than a match for anyone now. Tom Lawrence should be back, and with Didsy firing I can see us coming out on top to keep the good run going. Town win for me, 2-1. COYBs
IPSWICH TOWN 2 BRENTFORD 1
