Ipswich Town vs Millwall FC Preview & Matchday Thread
Posted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 10:16 pm
Ipswich Town v Millwall
Tuesday 1st January 2019 - 15:00
Portman Road
Pre Match Thoughts - Mike
Now It's Time....
We've reached that time, all the excuses, all the giving games up as free shots, and all the "we need to get through to the window" comments have to stop, and stop fast !!! The window is here, we've managed to keep the damage at the Seven point from safety deficit, a figure I believe was the maximum we could allow it to be if we are to have any chance at all of survival, that is going to be nigh on impossible as it is but any bigger and it would be game up. Paul Lambert has stated numerous times we need help and he is so right, he can only do so much, now is the time for words to stop and actions to take over, if he has had the good conversations with the owner that he says he has then things need to start happening, positive things that will show that even if we do go down we are giving it a fair crack for once.
Saturday's defeat to Middlesbrough showed all too well where we are lacking, proven Championship experience and some real quality at this level, I believe in Chambers, Skuse, Sears & Gerken we have experience but that is it !! Not much is it really, in Chalobah, Bishop and Huws we have real quality players, Two are never fit and the other is just a kid learning his trade, the problems are there for all to see, Lambert has a massive job and in truth it is looking pretty forlorn but while there is hope I will not give up.
I keep banging on about luck evening itself out, again at Boro it seemed to go the wrong way again, maybe you see things through tainted specs sometimes but for me that penalty was harsh and pivotal to the outcome, someone tell me when we have had a soft decision go our way ? Again I am struggling to recall one. Over the Ninety minutes we may have deserved a point for our first half showing and if we had converted One of the good chances that fell our way it could have been even more, of course it wasn't to be. We have to lick our wounds and move on to what for me is the most crucial period of the season, this Third Quarter shapes not only the outcome of this season but possibly our destiny as a football club for many seasons to come.
Over To You Marcus Evans
It is time to show us your true colours Marcus Evans, what do you want for this football club ? Is it merely a play thing or do you have a vision ? This month has to see some spending on strengthening the squad, failure again will tell me you don't really give a damn, you cannot roll over and let it die, if we fail having given it our best shot then so be it, the damage of past windows and pre seasons is gone and we can't dwell on it, what we can do it try to right some wrongs, albeit it looks a bit late in the day.
I do not buy into this crap that it is a tax dodge situation, or that he is an asset stripper, Evans is a Billionaire and any tax saving on this level is small change, an asset stripper doesn't take this many years to achieve his devious aims, so what the hell is he in it for ? I ahve been told on more than One occasion that people know he is doing this and intending that and that they have evidence, utter hogwash for me, I think he is no more than a naive individual where Football is concerned and had his fingers well and truly burnt a couple of times which has made him see things differently. Whatever we say money is still pumped in to keep us afloat and yes it has come from player sales for the most part but it is his money when all is said and done, he's only owed 100 Million after all.
New Year, New Start
With the possibilty that the game at Aston Villa on the 26th Jan will be cancelled due to FA Cup involvement we are looking at Five of the next Seven games being played at Portman Road and this is where we have to reap a good haul of points, game against Millwall, Rotherham, Sheff Wed, Derby & Stoke need to glean a minimum of Ten points in my opinion, trips to Blackburn & Norwich are tough but not impossible either, we are due a Derby day win, who knows, hope springs eternal and it may just be written in the stars that Paul Lambert goes back to haunt them. With that in mind a win against Millwall needs to get the ball rolling and to build belief, I believe we will get it done to start the new year in a very positive way, struggle in this set of matches and next weekends trip to Accrington will become the norm next season, god forbid !!!
The Opposition - Millwall
Millwall Rovers were formed by the workers of J.T. Morton's canning and preserve factory in the Millwall area of the Isle of Dogs in London's East End in 1885.
In April 1889, a resolution was passed for Millwall to drop 'Rovers' from their name and they were now playing under the name Millwall Athletic, inspired by their move to their new home The Athletic Grounds. Millwall Athletic reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1900 and 1903.
Millwall moved to a new stadium, named The Den, in New Cross, South London in 1910.
Millwall, who had now also dropped 'Athletic' from its name, were invited to join the Football League in 1920 for the 1920–21 season through the creation of the new Football League Third Division.
In the 1925–26 season Millwall had 11 consecutive clean sheets, a Football League record, which they hold jointly with York City and Reading.
In the 1927–28 season Millwall won the Third Division South title and scored 87 goals at home in the league, an English record which still stands.
Millwall were the tenth best supported team in England in the pre-war years, despite languishing in the Third Division for most of the 1930s. Millwall were one of the most financially wealthy clubs in England.
The loss of so many young men during the Second World War made it difficult for clubs to retain their former status. This was especially true for Millwall, who appeared to suffer more than most. From being one of the country's biggest clubs before the war, Millwall were reduced to one of its smallest afterward.
During the late 1950s and early 1960s Millwall's form was poor, and they were relegated into (and became a founding member of) Division Four.
Later in the decade, Millwall established a record of 59 home games without defeat (43 wins and 16 draws) from 22 August 1964 to 14 January 1967. During this spell, Millwall played 55 different teams, kept 35 clean sheets, scored 112 goals and conceded 33. The record was eventually broken by Liverpool.
Millwall missed out on promotion to Division One by one point. By remaining unbeaten at home in Division Two for the 1971–72 season, Millwall became the only club to go through an entire season without losing a match at home in four different divisions Millwall hosted the first game to be played on a Sunday against Fulham.
George Graham managed Millwall from 1983 to 1986, and during that time he guided the club to a Football League Group Cup win.
John Docherty In his second season as manager, Millwall won the Second Division championship and gained promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time in the club's history in 1988 where they stayed until the 1990 season.
Mick McCarthy guided Millwall to third place in the new Division One at the end of the 1993–94 season, and then went on to manage the Irish National team. Tthis was their first season at a new ground, at first known as The New Den.
In 1997 the club experienced severe financial difficulties that resulted in them being placed in financial administration and eventually falling to the old Division 2 until 2001 when they were promoted back to the Championship.
Between 2005 & 2006 Millwall had 6 managers come and go, ending back down in League 1 in the process. In 2010 they gained promotion back to the Championship via a Webley playoff final.
Kenny Jackett celebrated five years in charge of the club in November 2012, including a 13-game unbeaten run and flirting with the play-offs, however Millwall finished poorly, narrowly avoiding relegation on the last day of the season. Their poor league form coincided with reaching the semi-final of the FA Cup for the fifth time in their history. Kenny Jackett resigned on 7 May 2013. He was Millwall's fourth-longest serving manager.
After a month of searching, Millwall appointed Steve Lomas as their new manager on 6 June 2013. Millwall sacked Lomas on 26 December 2013, after winning only five of his 22 games in charge. Neil Harris and youth team coach Scott Fitzgerald took over as joint caretaker-managers. Millwall appointed Ian Holloway as their new manager on 6 January 2014, with the club sitting 21st in the table. He was given the priority of maintaining their Football League Championship status, which he achieved.
The following season, Holloway was sacked on 10 March 2015 with the team second from bottom in the Championship, and Neil Harris was reinstated as caretaker manager until the end of the season. He was unable to ensure survival, however, as Millwall's relegation to League One was confirmed on 28 April. Harris was confirmed as Millwall's permanent manager the next day. In his first full season in charge, Harris led Millwall to a fourth-place finish in League One and a play-off final at Wembley, which the Lions lost to Barnsley.
In the 2016–17 FA Cup, Millwall reached the Quarter-finals for the ninth time in their history, knocking out Premier League opposition in three consecutive rounds.
Millwall made it to the League One play-off final at Wembley for the second successive year. They were promoted back to the Championship following a 1–0 playoff final victory over Bradford City.
Last season Millwall finished in a very respectable 8th place on the Championship table with 72 points.
The Manager – Neil Harris
Media Watch – K L Blue
Fans on 2018
https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/town-fans- ... -1-5834513
Lambert on what's needed
https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/lambert-on ... -1-5834479
Form Guide
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – Currently in 24th place with 15 points
8 Dec Stoke City 2 - 0 Ipswich Town
15 Dec Ipswich Town 1 - 0 Wigan Athletic
22 Dec Ipswich Town 1 – 1 Sheffield United
26 Dec Queens Park Rangers 3 – 0 Ipswich Town
29 Dec Middlesbrough 2 - 0 Ipswich Town
Millwall Last 5 Matches – Currently in 20th place with 25 points
8 Dec Millwall 2 - 2 Hull City
15 Dec Preston 3 - 2 Millwall
22 Dec Stoke City 1 - 0 Millwall
26 Dec Millwall 1 - 0 Reading
29 Dec Millwall 1 - 0 Nottm Forest
Match Referee – Stephen Martin
IPSWICH TOWN 1 MILLWALL 1