Sheffield Wednesday v Ipswich Town
Saturday 25th August 2018 – 15:00
Hillsborough Stadium
Pre-Match Thoughts - Bluemike
Blips Along The Way
When the club set out on the Paul Hurst journey it was largely acknowledged that it was a high risk strategy, a route into the unknown with plenty of hurdles to overcome along the way, the realisation was there that "Rome wasn't built in a day" and that this is a plan that will take time. Derby Tuesday night has already put one of those hurdles in our path and that is how the fans deal with a little bit of an off night after having our hopes raised against Aston Villa some Three days earlier. It has to be said already opinion seems to be very much divided, concerns are being raised that the lower league players just aren't going to cut it, that at this very early stage flaws that can't be correct are clear for all to see, personally I don't see it that way at all, for me Four games is nothing and not everything is doom and gloom, I get that we all see things differently and that we all deal with it in our own way but it just seems so very premature to me to be quite as negative as some fans have already become.
As to the game itself I felt there was very little in it at all, the have's and have not's hardly looked any different, Frank Lampard was quick to tell the Derby fans that his team building and methods will take time so apart from being able to bring in 5/6/7 Million pound players what is the difference in that and what Paul Hurst is telling us ? I don't buy the lower league player thing in certain instances, I mean Nugent hardly caused Nsiala too many problems, Donacien stood up really well to Tom Lawrence when faced with defending against him and Chalobah mixed it with Bryson, Mount & Ledley and stood his ground. Speaking of Aristote Nsiala, I think he is developing into a very good player already and the improvement is there with each passing game, he is going to be a very big and important player for us as the season progresses. I think a little bit of the rub of the green wouldn't go amiss either, Two penalties that didn't go our way at Rotherham, a harsh sending off against the Villa and a wicked deflection for the opening goal last night, luck evens itself out right so we are due a few decisions.
Squad Options
Clearly the longer we go without a win the more likely Paul Hurst will want to change One or Two players until he gets that winning formula, I think a few players are nailed on to play at present with Nsiala, Chalobah, Edwards, Chambers & Donacien all looking safe for now but what of the others ? I think Bart is getting of lightly right now, dress it up how you like but he has been poor all season, Dean Gerken waits patiently in the wings but is that a change that looks likely ? I doubt it but he has to get his act together soon. Cole Skuse & Jon Nolan are in the Midfield but with Emyr Huws & Teddy Bishop closing in on returns Hurst may well look to shake it up a bit, not to mention Flynn Downes, and what of Danny Rowe ? Very impressive for the U23's the other day and a natural wide player, he has to be in line to challenge Grant Ward surely ? Ward just isn't cutting it for me or for many others from what I am hearing, Kayden Jackson has to be nearing in on a start as Ellis Harrison hasn't really looked even close to opening his account, then of course we have the likelihood of some loans arriving in the next week, players have to perform or they will soon be out of the starting line up.
The Next Six are Massive
I think it is fair to say that the next Six games are pretty big for Town & Paul Hurst, Sheff Wed (A), Norwich (H), Hull (A), Brentford (H), Bolton (H) and Birmingham (A) represent games that can be won, none of them are beyond us, Eighteen points up for grabs and anything around 10-12 would be a good return and see us moving in the right direction, this will see us reach the Ten game stage of the season and by then we need to see a few things falling into place, conversely failure to win any of these and the doubters will be growing big time, I can't for the life of me see that happening though, forever the optimist and as Jon Nolan said hopefully One win will create the domino effect.
All Roads Lead To Hillsborough
Next up is another trip up North to Sheffield Wednesday, like us the Owls have had a bit of an iffy start and at the time of writing are One of only Four clubs sitting below us, they currently occupy One of the relegation spots but of course it means nothing yet other than their current form is no better than ours. Defeats at Brentford & Wigan and a home draw with Hull are not great results, OK Brentford are fancied to do quite well but Wigan & Hull are tipped to struggle and it could be more was expected from the management team, by the time we meet them Saturday they will have entertained Millwall so things could have taken a positive step forward.
They do have some players that have caused us problems in the past, Nuhiu, Forestieri and Joao have all scored against us at some time or another, at the back Tom Lees is the glue that holds the defence together while Barry Bannan is their Midfield playmaker who if allowed can run a game, the rest of their team doesn't have you jumping off your chair with excitement so this is definitely a game where we can target a points return, get at them early and the crowd is known to turn, that is what we need to do, get on the front foot and put their already fragile confidence to the test. I think Town will get something from this game, I said we needed Four points from Wednesday & Norwich so Three here would be most welcome as the Four could then very well become Six. Keep the faith. COYB'S.
The Opposition – Sheffield Wednesday
The club was a cricket club when it formed in 1820 as The Wednesday Cricket Club, Lancashire (named after the day of the week when they played their matches). A meeting on the evening of Wednesday 4 September 1867 at the Adelphi Hotel established a footballing side to keep the team together and fit during the winter months.
On 1 February 1868, Wednesday played their first competitive football match as they entered the Cromwell Cup.
Charles Clegg joined Wednesday in 1867, starting a relationship that would last the rest of his life and eventually lead to him becoming the club's chairman. He also became president and chairman of the Football Association and was known as the "Napoleon of Football". In 1876, they acquired Scot James Lang. Although he was not employed by the club, he was given a job by a member of the Sheffield Wednesday board that had no formal duties. He is now acknowledged as the first professional football player in England.
The football club turned professional in 1887 after pressure from players threatening to defect to other clubs. The move to professionalism took the club from Bramall Lane, which had taken a share of the ticket revenue, to the new Olive Grove.
In 1889, the club became founder members of the Football Alliance. Despite finishing the following season bottom of the Alliance, they were eventually elected to the expanded Football League in 1892.
Due to an expansion of the local railway lines, the club was told that they would have to find a new ground for the 1899–1900 season. After a difficult search, the club finally bought some land in the village of Owlerton, which at the time was several miles outside the Sheffield city boundaries. Construction of a new stadium (now known as Hillsborough Stadium) was completed within months.
In the summer of 1912, a Wednesday player, George Robertson, presented the club with an owl mascot. A monkey mascot introduced some years earlier had not brought much luck.
The club was almost relegated in the 1927–28 season, but they pulled off a great escape, rising from bottom to 14th. Wednesday went on to win the League title the following season (1928–29), which started a run that saw the team finishing lower than third only once until 1936. The period was topped off with the team winning the FA Cup for the third time in the club's history in 1935.
The 1950s saw Wednesday unable to consistently hold on to a position in the top flight and this period became known as the yo-yo years. After being promoted back up in 1950, they were relegated three times, although each time they bounced back up by winning the Second Division the following season
This led to a decade of successfully remaining in the First Division, which included a run to the FA Cup final in 1966.
Off the field, the club was embroiled in the British betting scandal of 1964, in which three of their players were accused of match fixing and betting against their own team in an away game at Ipswich Town. The three were subsequently convicted and, on release from prison, banned from football for life.
Wednesday were relegated at the end of the 1969–70 season, starting the darkest period in the club's history. After going into free-fall, they dropped to the Third Division for the first time in their history and were marooned there for five seasons. The club was almost relegated to the Fourth Division in 1976, but a revival under the management of Jack Charlton, and the aid of coach Tony Toms and – after Charlton resigned in 1983 – Howard Wilkinson, saw them return to the First Division in 1984.
Sheffield Wednesday spent the majority of the 1980s and 1990s in the top tier of English football.
On 15 April 1989, the club's stadium was the scene of one of the worst sporting tragedies ever, at the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, at which 96 Liverpool fans were fatally crushed in the Leppings Lane end of the stadium. The tragedy resulted in many changes taking places at Hillsborough and all other leading stadiums in England.
The 1990–91 season was the only one out of sixteen in a row that Wednesday spent in a lower division, but the season is best remembered by fans for Wednesday's swift return to the top flight and their League Cup victory over Manchester United to win their first major trophy for over 50 years. This League Cup triumph was the last domestic cup to be won by a club competing outside the top level of English football.
Wednesday's fortunes took a turn for the worse when a succession of managers failed to maintain this form, and new managers spent small fortunes building squads that were ultimately ineffective, which saw the club's debts get out of control and Wednesday being relegated down to League 1.
After narrowly avoiding yet another relegation in 2003–04 and a poor start to the 2004–05 Football League One campaign, Paul Sturrock took over the Manager’s role and they were promoted back to the Championship via the playoffs. Sturrock was sacked after a poor start to the 2006–07 season and replaced by Brian Laws.
The 2007–08 season began with Wednesday's worst ever start to a season, as they lost six league games in a row, and they only avoided relegation with a win on the last day of the season. Halfway through Sheffield Wednesday's 2009–10 season, Brian Laws was sacked, and was replaced by Alan Irvine. On the last day of the season, needing a win to stay up, Wednesday drew 2–2 with Crystal Palace and were relegated to League One.
Between July and November 2010, Sheffield Wednesday faced a series of winding up orders for unpaid tax and VAT bills. On 29 November 2010, Milan Mandarić agreed to purchase the club. The purchase was completed after an Extraordinary General Meeting of Sheffield Wednesday's shareholders on 14 December 2010, during which 99.7% of shareholders voted to sell the company to Milan Mandarić's UK Football Investments for £1, as well as settling the club’s outstanding debts.
Gary Megson replaced Irvine as the club's manager in February 2011 and the Owls went on to finish 15th in League One. The following season, the Owls pushed on for promotion out of League One. But, after falling behind Charlton and Sheffield United at the top of the table, Megson was sacked and replaced by Dave Jones. Jones went on to guide the Owls to promotion to the Championship on the final day with a 2–0 home victory over Wycombe.
Following this season, the Owls struggled in the Championship. However, with a better run of form after Christmas, the club secured Championship safety on the final day of the season, beating Middlesbrough 2–0.
In the 2013/2014 season, Wednesday finished in 16th place with 53 points, ending the season under Stuart Gray’s management following Jones’ departure.
In 2014, the club was again taken over by a new owner, Thai businessman Dejphon Chansiri, who purchased the club from Milan Mandarić for £37.5m
Chansiri stated his intention to win promotion back to the club for the 2017–18 season – the football club's 150th anniversary – and came close to achieving that goal a year head of schedule, with new coach Carlos Carvalhal leading the club into the end of season play-offs at the end of the 2015–16 season, but Wednesday were beaten in the final by Hull City at Wembley.
In the 2016/17 Sheffield Wednesday performed well again finishing in fourth spot but were beaten in the semi’s by Huddersfield on penalties.
In January 2018, Jos Luhukay was appointed as the manager taking over the role from Carlos Carvalhal.
Last season Wednesday’s finished in 15th place with 57 points.
The Manager – Jos Luhukay
Trev's Previous Match Highlights
Media Watch - K L Blue
Stuart Watson's Verdict...……………….
www.eadt.co.uk/sport/derby-2-ipswich-0- ... -1-5661748
Released Town youngster still pursuing his dream(sorry its home town club)
http://www.edp24.co.uk/sport/kings-lynn ... -1-5661532
Bosses Verdict...................................................................
https://www.itfc.co.uk/news/2018/august ... ost-derby/
http://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/hurst-on-to ... -1-5661782
And we think some of our fans are fickle..................................................................
http://www.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/08/22/de ... rformance/
Form Guide
Sheffield Wed Last 3 Matches - Currently in 17th place with 4 points
4 Aug Wigan Athletic 3 - 2 Sheffield Wednesday
11 Aug Sheffield Wednesday 1 - 1 Hull City
18 Aug Brentford 2 - 0 Sheffield Wednesday
22 Aug Sheffield Wednesday 2 - 1 Millwall
Ipswich Last 4 Matches currently in 20th place with 2 points
4 Aug Ipswich Town 2 - 2 Blackburn
11 Aug Rotherham 1 - 0 Ipswich Town
18 Aug Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Aston Villa
21 Aug Derby County 2 – 0 Ipswich Town
Marko’s Caption Contest – THE DON CUP
First caption contest league table posted in the next preview.
Have a tw@t twoo at this.
Match Referee – Jeremy Simpson
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1
