Championship - Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

[Frosty]

Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town



Friday 29th March 2024 – 17:30


Ewood Park










Pre-match Thoughts - Mike



[b]One of Town's big strengths in recent times is the ability to bounce back from adversity, on the rare occasions we have disappointed or been beaten we have had that knack of getting a positive result in the next game and that was never more evident than Two weeks back when we hosted a rejuvenated Sheffield Wednesday and proceeded to take them apart, and boy did we do it in some style. The Six-Nil scoreline was certainly not undeserved as Town played some superb stuff throughout the entire Ninety Minutes to leave the Owls completely outplayed and dare I say it outclassed, by the time our Fourth goal went in barely Three minutes into the second half their fans were leaving in droves having seen enough and of course it got even worse for them as the game wore on.

Omari Hutchinson got the ball rolling with a neat individual strike as he turned and shot to leave the keeper beaten and it was Hutchinson who was to go on and play an absolute blinder, I said on the day he was unplayable and nothing I have seen since suggests that was a bit of an exaggeration, he was sublime and terrorised the Wednesday defence. It was Centre back cam Burgess who doubled our lead as he poked home following a bit of a goal mouth scramble, while the Third was an absolute peach, Nathan Broadhead with a quality finish from a fantastic cross by super sub Kayden Jackson who for me was also outstanding following his arrival into the action to replace the unfortunate Wes Burns who looks to have picked up a season ending injury, we wish him well.

With a Three goal lead at Half time we could all be forgiven for thinking Town would try to see it out and take their foot of the gas but on this occasion they were having none of it and the dismantling of a shambolic Wednesday defence continued throughout the entire second half. Man of the Match Hutchinson bagged number Four just after the restart as more and more visiting fans departed for Yorkshire, Goal number Five took a while to come as other chances were missed but when it did come it was super sub Ali Al-Hamadi who got his name on the scoresheet with ten minutes remaining, capitalising on the keeper spilling the ball back into the danger zone where our fox in the box was waiting.

Town weren't finished there and Hutchinson this time turned provider when he may well have tried his luck himself with a hat-trick there for the taking, instead following his surging run he crossed into the path of Al-Hamadi who had the simplest of tap ins from virtually on the goal line to get his second of the afternoon. The whole afternoon had been superb, a masterclass in finishing, some superb football, a great atmosphere and perhaps most importantly a warning shot to our promotion rivals that we ain't going anywhere although I think they are all pretty much well aware of this fact by now. With Leicester City on FA Cup duty the win means we remain in Third place but now we are a solitary point behind both Leicester & Leeds Utd although the former do have a game in hand, it promises to be a really tense and exciting final Eight games as our quest for back to back promotions remains very much alive.

The dust may have settled on our big win but the good news continued to flow, a massive new Investment which came out of nowhere has arrived into the club courtesy of Bright Path Sports partners acquisition of 40% of the club for a whopping £105 Million, it is said that it secures our long term future while pumping the revenue in that is needed to kick on with the projects outlined by Mark Ashton and co, my first thoughts were one's of trepidation but having listened to all the interviews and read all the jargon I think I am relatively comfortable with things, certainly in the short term, ORG remain the majority shareholder which for me was important, hopefully we can now continue to go strength to strength both on and off the pitch, it really seems to be exciting times for us Town fans.

With the busy Easter period now upon us we have some crucial games which will no doubt be pivotal to our season, Southampton & Norwich (the big one), are on the horizon but first we have the small matter of a trip to Blackburn Rovers which will also be anything but a forgone conclusion, they gave us a real scare at Portman Road earlier in the season as we came out on top in a Seven goal thriller so we know they can score goals for sure, things have gone a little sour for them as the season has worn on but they still require points themselves to get well clear of the relegation dogfight so we know this will not be easy and anything we get we will have to work for.

I think this has to go down as a must win at this stage of the season, especially with what look on paper at least harder tests to come, Leeds & Leicester may or may not drop points but we have to assume they won't and as such anything less than Three points here could be damaging. I think Town will benefit from the two week break and will come out all refreshed and confident after their big win, Blackburn on the other hand are probably anything but confident and if we play our own game and perform as we know we can that could be enough, anything approaching what we produced last time out will almost certainly be good enough so it's a close and hard fought Town win for me as we prepare for Southampton on Easter Monday. COYB'S and Happy Easter to you all.[/b]




The Opposition – Blackburn Rovers - Honours



League


First Division / Premier League
Champions: 1911–12, 1913–14, 1994–95
Runners-up: 1993–94

Second Division / Championship
Champions: 1938–39
Runners-up: 1957–58, 2000–01
Play-off winners: 1992

Third Division / League One
Champions: 1974–75
Runners-up: 1979–80, 2017–18


Cup


FA Cup
Winners (6): 1883–84, 1884–85, 1885–86, 1889–90, 1890–91, 1927–28
Runners-up: 1881–82, 1959–60

Football League Cup
Winners: 2001–02

FA Charity Shield
Winners: 1912
Runners-up: 1928, 1994, 1995

Full Members' Cup
Winners: 1986–87

Football League War Cup
Runners-up: 1939–40





The Manager – John Eustace








League Table as at 26.03.2024







Form Guide




Blackburn Rovers



24 Feb Blackburn 1 - 1 Norwich City

2 Mar Swansea City 2 - 1 Blackburn

5 Mar Blackburn 1 - 1 Millwall

9 Mar Blackburn 1 - 1 Plymouth

16 Mar Middlesbrough 0 - 0 Blackburn





Ipswich Town



24 Feb Ipswich Town 3 - 1 Birmingham City

2 Mar Plymouth 0 - 2 Ipswich Town

5 Mar Ipswich Town 3 - 2 Bristol City

9 Mar Cardiff City 2 - 1 Ipswich Town

16 Mar Ipswich Town 6 - 0 Sheffield Wed





Head to Head








Match Referee – Stuart Attwell








BLACKBURN ROVERS 1 IPSWICH TOWN 2

[arana peligrosa]

I'd assume both Moore and Broadhead will feature for this and they're going to be feeling the effects of the Wales game both physically and mentally and may not be on top of their game although we possess a number of other players that can make the difference. Blackburn by rights should be challenging the promotion places but they're enduring something of a crap season and just not working to their potential.

Voted to draw, some of our players may not be entirely focused and the home team seem to collect a number of one point scores. In other circumstances I'd pick us to win but there could be a factor or two preventing an outright victory. Leicester may drop points with Bristol City, we got the easier of the two games it would seem although it depends how you view it. Would want to win obviously but one point just may be a sum total from it.

Blackburn 2 ITFC 2

[marko69]

Would love to say great preview Mike……. But……. Getting old, ——>> eyes are a tad fkd, and cannot focus on the yellowish / orange coloured writing.

Looking at that table……. Those Cardiff goals hurt. Would’ve been top of the league on Easter Friday. But yep, we all move on…….

Just can't bring myself to think that some players will be tired after the Wales game. They’ve had last night in bed, tonight in bed, thursday night in bed…….. Thats plenty. Don’t want to sound like a “Roy Keane” type manager…… But, get on with it!

2-0 away win.

Caption:

Eustace: “Ref. Give me that shaving cream. Missed a bit on my sideburn. Looks like a piece of pigeon sh*t on ma face.”
Ref: “No worries, John, but i need that back so i can draw foam arcs on the grass.”

[Bluemike]

I don't do the colour schemes, you can blame Frosty lol, but I've changed it for you. Hope that helps lol

[marko69]

I don't do the colour schemes, you can blame Frosty lol, but I've changed it for you. Hope that helps lol

Cheers for that. I did for a second contemplate doing it......, but a voice said, "What if it deletes and you can't get it back?" --->>

[Bluemike]

I don't do the colour schemes, you can blame Frosty lol, but I've changed it for you. Hope that helps lol

Cheers for that. I did for a second contemplate doing it......, but a voice said, "What if it deletes and you can't get it back?" --->>

[Bluemike]

Over 4000 fans making the trip, another superb turn out

[shabba]

Right, tricky to predict the lineup due to 2 games in 4 days and players being involved at national level....


Hladkey

Clarke - suspect Axel might not play both games so could be saved for Southampton
Edmundson - suspect Burges will be jet lagged as probably only landed back today from a very long trip.
Wolfie
Davis

Morsy
Llungo

Hutchinson
Chaplin
Broadhead

Moore (probably only give him 60mins)

This is assuming Chaplin is fit, if not it'll probably be Jackson RW and Omari in the 10. Wouldn't be a total shock to see a 1st start for Al-Hamadi over Moore, although I suspect Moore gets the start.

HUGE day with all in the top 4 playing at diffent times.

[Ricco]

Over 4000 fans making the trip, another superb turn out

Blimey, they've left a bit early!

[Mauswara]

Over 4000 fans making the trip, another superb turn out

Blimey, they've left a bit early!

Guess they must be going by train

[shabba]

Over 4000 fans making the trip, another superb turn out

Blimey, they've left a bit early!

Guess they must be going by train

Only £798 return and 76 connecting changes.

[Charnwood]

I'd assume both Moore and Broadhead will feature for this and they're going to be feeling the effects of the Wales game both physically and mentally and may not be on top of their game although we possess a number of other players that can make the difference. Blackburn by rights should be challenging the promotion places but they're enduring something of a crap season and just not working to their potential.

Voted to draw, some of our players may not be entirely focused and the home team seem to collect a number of one point scores. In other circumstances I'd pick us to win but there could be a factor or two preventing an outright victory. Leicester may drop points with Bristol City, we got the easier of the two games it would seem although it depends how you view it. Would want to win obviously but one point just may be a sum total from it.

Blackburn 2 ITFC 2

Not sure why Broadhead should be tired he only played 8 minutes over 2 games. Keiffer Moore could well be rested for the start of the Blackburn game but may play a part later especially if we struggle to break them down. I won’t bd surprised to see Al-Hamadi given a place in the starting X1

[Charnwood]

Blimey, they've left a bit early!

Guess they must be going by train

Only £798 return and 76 connecting changes.

Blimey, I could travel by high speed train from Valencia to Madrid tomorrow for 40€ or book in advance for as little as 9€. The journey time would be little over 1hr 30mins say 1hr 45 maximum travelling up to 300km/h. The distance is 188 miles.

[Charnwood]

Is anyone else expecting to see Al-Hamadi given a start tomorrow.

[Charnwood]

Another football fest on tv tomorrow, if I can get away with it I’m hoping to watch Leicester, Town and Leeds games pretty much back to back but I’m sure it will come at a price.

[arana peligrosa]

They got a player there name of Smodzics or something and scores often. Sometimes thought could be an addition to our own squad when we talk about brining in new attacking potential but really, even with names out through injury or suspension we possess so much attacking threat, I guess it's something we don't really need to explore. He's a player that stands out that's all, seems real prolific and maybe deserves better than a club name struggling at the wrong end of a league.

Read on their main fans forum they were expecting us to fall away at any time this season and not to continue to challenge automatic promotion places. At first glance it seems disrespectful (to ourselves) but from another team's viewpoint it seems innocent enough. We're doing real well, exceeding all expectations and on the verge of successive promotion achievements. Guess rival or fans of teams elsewhere were waiting for us to implode or just fall apart but we've held it together and proved once again we're a club name on the way back. By the time Leicester make the trip to Bristol and Leeds play their own match, we'll know what is required to just maybe return to first position. Real hope it all goes to plan.

[Charnwood]

They got a player there name of Smodzics or something and scores often. Sometimes thought could be an addition to our own squad when we talk about brining in new attacking potential but really, even with names out through injury or suspension we possess so much attacking threat, I guess it's something we don't really need to explore. He's a player that stands out that's all, seems real prolific and maybe deserves better than a club name struggling at the wrong end of a league.

Read on their main fans forum they were expecting us to fall away at any time this season and not to continue to challenge automatic promotion places. At first glance it seems disrespectful (to ourselves) but from another team's viewpoint it seems innocent enough. We're doing real well, exceeding all expectations and on the verge of successive promotion achievements. Guess rival or fans of teams elsewhere were waiting for us to implode or just fall apart but we've held it together and proved once again we're a club name on the way back. By the time Leicester make the trip to Bristol and Leeds play their own match, we'll know what is required to just maybe return to first position. Real hope it all goes to plan.

We won’t know how Leeds have done, they play after us at 8pm

[Mach_Polish_Blue]

Going today. Nice, local trek.

One of the damned grounds for me as I have yet to see us win up there. 6 visits, 5 defeats, 1 draw. That draw was a 0-0 zone a few years ago, dullest mccarthyism.

Stand-out thing from those defeats? Jordan Rhodes taking a p*ss out of us.

[Charnwood]

With Leicester losing I guess there’s even more pressure on us to win now than there was this morning. 3 points and we go top of the league even if it is only for a few hours.

[Charnwood]

Line up looks good, pretty much as expected with only 2 changes, Edmundson for Burgess and Chaplin for Burns.

Hladky

Tuanzebe
Woolfenden
Edmundson
Davis

Morsy
Luongo

Hutchinson
Chaplin
Broadhead

Moore

[Charnwood]

I’m disappointed but not surprised Burgess isn’t starting given Edmundson will be up against Sammie Szmodics who is currently the Championship leading goal scorer.

[Charnwood]

Still a decent bench with plenty of options even with Hurst and Burns injured.

Substitutes

Walton
Clarke
Harness
Taylor
Burgess
Al Hamadi
Jackson
Sarmiento
Humphreys

[AzzurroMark]

1-0 Chaplin

[Charnwood]

Great work from Chaplin in the build up and the goal although their keeper should have done a lot better and was clearly at fault.

[Charnwood]

1 Ipswich Tn 39 25 9 5 81 49 +32 84
2 Leeds Utd 38 25 7 6 70 28 +42 82
3 Leicester 38 26 4 8 74 34 +40 82

[AzzurroMark]

Great work from Chaplin in the build up and the goal although their keeper should have done a lot better and was clearly at fault.

Were we denied a 'stonewall' (EADT) penalty Andy? I'm just relying on updates on phone.

[Charnwood]

It looked a definite penalty very similar to the one Leicester got away with earlier for shirt pulling at Bristol City.

Rovers getting back into the game and just had the ball in the net ruled out for offside but I’ve seen them given when a player is ruled offside for being in the keepers eye line.

[AzzurroMark]

Blackburn with 2 disallowed goals now!

[Charnwood]

Blackburn with 2 disallowed goals now!

Really, I missed that, are you sure ?

I’ve seen the first one again and I think we can count ourselves lucky. Blackburn definitely getting back into the game and we urgently need a second goal. Tuanzebe not having the best of times in defence.

[AzzurroMark]

Yes, the first one was earlier. Not sure how long flag had been up when Edmundson "cleared" the ball into the net!