Rotherham United v Ipswich Town
Saturday 11th August 2018 – 15:00
New York Stadium
Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike
We're Up And Running
So our first game of the new season has come and gone and at the end of it we have our first point on the board, of course all Town fans were hoping to begin the Paul Hurst era with a win, that would have capped it off perfectly and for Twenty minutes it looked very much like we would get our wish, Town came out of the blocks and took the game to Blackburn Rovers which resulted in us grabbing a very early lead, just what the doctor ordered but unfortunately we were unable to keep the momentum going and by the end of the game we had to thank a fluke from new boy Tayo Edun to secure the point.
All things considered it was an acceptable opening to the season, change always takes time to glean the desired results, a new manager, new players, new style of play, all these factors take time and patience has to be the order of the day. With a fair few new faces arriving and maybe One or Two more to come in before the 9th August and with a few still nursing Injuries it is fair to say the team that took to the field was far removed from what the boss is intending to play in the coming months. The bright spots for me was the excellent performance of Gwion Edwards who tormented them all afternoon, he already looks a bargain at 750K and I am excited at the thought of watching him each week.
Squad Rebuild
I don't think anyone can be disappointed with the amount of business we have done this window, yes some deals seem to have dragged on for ages, Nolan & Nsiala spring to mind, while at the time of writing the Curtis Tilt thing looks to have hit the buffers but never say never, still a day to go !! Paul Hurst has done a grand job in bringing in Nine new signings (Kayden Jackson) permitting, and strangely enough every one of them excites me, all have a will to succeed and better themselves and in Nolan, Chalobah, Edwards, Edun, Harrison, Jackson, Roberts, Nsiala and Donacien we have a group of players that PH can call his own and no doubt they will be the nucleus of his starting line up most weeks, with the old heads of Chambo, Skuse, Bart, Knudsen and Ward we suddenly have a much better balanced squad, the strength in depth is there too as we have not even mentioned the youth of Dozzell, Kenlock, Nydam, Downes, Woolfenden & Morris or the players striving to get back from injuries, Huws, Bishop, Adeyemi and Rowe don't lack talent either. Yes indeed lots of options.
I think the likes of Spence, Sears, Garner and Emmanuel may be looking over their shoulders right up to 5pm Thursday evening as these are the players who may just be finding themselves a little bit in the wilderness as the Paul Hurst revolution gathers momentum. If the sale of One or Two of them allowed us to bring in Josh Windass and another CB (Tilt please) that would make the whole thing complete, I would not be adverse in going back after Cameron Carter-Vickers on a season long loan should Blackpool continue to be stupid.
First Road Trip
Our first venture on the road takes us to Yorkshire and a visit to Rotherham F.C. No doubt Paul Hurst will be keen to get a bit of revenge for Shrewsbury's Play Off final defeat at Wembley, a game which as it turned out was his last before departing for the Portman Road hotseat, his good friend Paul Warne is the Millers manager and again the friendly rivalry will be intense. Following their promotion to the Championship Rotherham were installed as favourites for the drop straight back down to League One and their opening day thumping at Brentford only endorsed the bookies view that they are doomed, taking a glimpse at their line up from Griffin Park and I must confess to knowing hardly any of them, that said they will be wounded from the 1-5 reversal and with it being their first home game of the season nothing can be taken for granted, that said I think Town's new boys will be out to impress and get off to a flyer and I can see the boys in Blue bagging their first Three point haul of the campaign. It looks like Twon will be backed by 1300+ expectant fans so lets make the same amount of noise as we did last week. The Bridge Inn before the game !!! COYB'S
The Opposition – Rotherham United
Rotherham United FC (known as the ‘Millers’) was formed in February 1925 after the merger of two clubs, Thornhill United and Rotherham Town, who had been playing in the area since the 1870s.
The club's traditional home was Millmoor in Rotherham, where the team played from 1907 to 2008.
The red and white was adopted around 1928 after they originally played in amber and black, and Rotherham spent their time in Division 3, only just remaining in the Football League in 1931 as they had to apply for re-election.
Immediately after the Second World War, things were looking up. United finished as runners-up three times in succession between 1947 and 1949 and were then champions of Division Three (North) in 1951. Rotherham reached their highest ever league position of third in the Football League Second Division in 1955.
The club held on to its place in Division Two until 1968 and then went into a decline that took them down to Division Four in 1973. In 1975, they were promoted back to the Third Division, finishing in the 3rd promotion spot in the Fourth Division. The Millers won the Division Three title in 1981.
During the 1990s, Rotherham were promoted and relegated between the Football League's lowest two divisions and they slipped into the Fourth Division in 1991, just two years after being promoted, but reclaimed their status in the third tier (renamed Division Two for the 1992–93 season due to the launch of the FA Premier League). They survived at this level for five years, never looking like promotion contenders, before being relegated in 1997.
In 1997, just after relegation to Division Three, Ronnie Moore took charge of Rotherham United. His first season ended in a mid-table finish and then his second in a play-off semi-final defeat on penalties. It was third time lucky in 1999–2000, as Rotherham finished as Division Three runners-up and gained promotion to Division Two. They were favourites to be relegated in the 2000–01 season, but surprised many by finishing runners-up in Division Two and gaining a second successive promotion.
Rotherham managed to remain in Division One for four seasons until relegation to League 1 in 2005.
Early in 2006, it was announced that the club faced an uncertain future unless a funding gap in the region of £140,000 per month could be plugged. An eleventh-hour intervention by a consortium of local businessmen kept them in business, but they suffered relegation to League 2 and entered into administration in 2008, being deducted 10 points.
Local businessman Tony Stewart then took over as Chairman for the 2008–09 season and took the club out of administration via a Creditors Voluntary Agreement, resulting in a further 17-point deduction. The Millers were subsequently forced to leave Millmoor, their home of over 100 years, for the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield, after disputes with the landlords.
Chairman Stewart appointed Steve Evans as manager on 9 April 2012. Evans got them promoted back to League 1 in the 2012–13 season. The same season also signalled a new era for Rotherham United as the club returned to playing home matches in Rotherham, at the newly-built New York Stadium.
Rotherham gained back-to-back promotions by winning the 2013-2014 League One play-off final. Rotherham beat Leyton Orient 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 draw, having come back from 2-0 down.
In the 2014–15 Championship season, Rotherham's first after a nine-year absence, their survival was jeopardised by a points deduction for fielding the ineligible Farrend Rawson during their home win against Brighton & Hove Albion, Farrend Rawson's loan had expired two days prior to the match, and despite the club insisting it was an external administrative error, they were subsequently thrown back into a relegation battle with Wigan Athletic and Millwall, but safety was secured in the penultimate game of the season, a 2–1 home victory against Reading.
Rotherham sold key players from their promotion winning campaigns before the 2015–16 season, including Ben Pringle, Craig Morgan and Kari Arnason. Evans left the club in September and former Leeds United manager Neil Redfearn was appointed as his replacement, being sacked in February 2016 after a run of six defeats in eight games.
Neil Warnock was appointed as manager for the rest of the season, and the club stayed up, finishing 21st. Warnock left the club in May 2016 after not agreeing a contract extension. Alan Stubbs became the new Rotherham boss in June 2016, but was sacked in October.
Rotherham replaced Stubbs with Kenny Jackett, who himself was replaced with Paul Warne, as Rotherham finished the season bottom of the league and were relegated to League One.
At the first attempt, Rotherham returned to the Championship, defeating Shrewsbury in the play-off final.
The Manager – Paul Warne
Past Match - Video Highlights - Trev
Form Guide
Rotherham Last 5 Matches – Currently in 24th place with 0 points
Rotherham 1 Brentford 5
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – Currently in 11th place with 1
point
Ipswich Town 2 Blackburn Rovers 2
Marko's Caption Contest - The DON Cup
The first league table will appear end of August with all 4 game captions being scored, obviously not including the Exeter City game.
Not the biggest turnout for week one, no Barmy Billy, Shed on Tour, and a few other regulars. Hopefully all turn up and take part before the first Don Cup League Table.
Rotherham picture:
Match Referee – David Webb
ROTHERHAM UNITED 1 IPSWICH TOWN 2
