Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:11 am
Blackburn Rovers vs Ipswich Town
Saturday 19th January 2019 – 15:00
Ewood Park
Pre-match Thoughts - Mike
It May Only Be One Win But....
The great escape is well and truly on !!!! OK it was only Rotherham and even then we were hanging on for dear life the entire second half but we WON !!!! Who gives a damn how it was achieved, it makes up for some of our earlier games this season when we came away with nothing despite being the better side for long spells, if things even themselves out we still have a hell of a lot of things to go our way before next May. The feelgood factor around the place was fantastic, stands full, plenty of noise throughout, our German friends adding to the carnival atmosphere, you name it, while I often have issues with how it is done I have no issue with those who benefit from these Ticket promotions which clearly help to make it a better place to be.
Paul Lambert promised us signings and while some are still bemoaning the quality of his additions I could not be happier than I was on Saturday, I saw enough in Collin Quaner & Will Keane to know we are going to be much more effective up front for the second half of the campaign, they will only get better with game time, Callum Elder needs time but he will offer competition for places at the Left back slot, but the one who really stood out for me was "The Ginger Pele" James Collins, what a start to life at Ipswich Town for the seasoned pro, he was a rock at the back and won so many crucial headers and blocks, his mere presence in the team seemed to rub off on Chambo too who despite what some fools are saying on the net played very well, it was win win really as it also enabled Matt Pennington to move to Right Back where he too played very well and in doing so removed our "weakest link" from the side, seeing the way Collins punched the air in delight at the end was as if he had been here years, it meant something and that is what I love to see, we can ask for no more.
With the prospect of a few more signings to come I think we are giving ourselves every chance and that is all we can do, some said it was too late and not to invest a penny in the team, I disagree, and while it still may prove to be too late at least we aren't rolling over and dying, Alan Judge looks close to signing while the name of Cameron Carter-Vickers keeps popping up and if we could get those Two through the door I would be happy, I don't think we would need too much more, Emyr Huws returning will be like a new signing too, suddenly we have a massive Squad so Two or Three will probably be departing for pastures new, cya Jonas.
The game itself while lacking in quality was a very exciting affair, maybe for the wrong reasons during a second half where my Heart was banging through my Chest for the entire 49 minutes, no way would we have held on even Two or Three weeks ago so to do so and get a clean sheet was big achievement and as I said at the time the defence were superb because lets be honest the Midfield struggled to impose itself and offered little support to the defence. As long as we can keep James Collins fit we will without question be stronger at the back in the remaining games.
Sears Or Jackson ?
One is a bit of a fans favourite who can do no wrong, the other at times a bit of a scapegoat and a waste of money, us fans always seem as though we have to pigeon hole certain players, some are like marmite, you love them or hate them, I think in recent seasons Freddie has, at times, got away with murder, that's just my opinion, Two runs of Thirty plus games without a goal was for me poor, I think he got away with it due to this being played out of position nonsense, there is no doubt under Paul Lambert he has improved but for me is still very average in front of goal, nobody can question his work rate however as he is one of the hardest workers in the team.
Then we have Kayden Jackson, a 1.7 Million pound move weighing heavily on his inexperienced shoulders, at times it has to be said he has looked lost, but a rookie in the toughest League being asked to lead the line alone in this team ??? Come on it must be the hardest job in football, the supply has at times been non existent and with nothing to feed off Strikers will struggle.
I've picked these Two out as they are the two leading scorers at the club which doesn't say much, but who do you prefer ? If it is goals we are after Freddie has Six to Kayden's Four and playing slightly deeper Freddie looks to be the better option, however is there much to choose between them when it comes to hitting the net ? I came up with One amazing statistic, Freddie has had 1,703 minutes of playing time this campaign for his Six goals meaning he scores every 284 Minutes, Kayden on the other hand has had 1,136 Minutes of playing time for his Four goals meaning he scores every, oh wait every 284 Minutes !!! Incredible and nothing to choose between the Two, of course there is only One of these Two that will be on a lot of fans team sheets and we know who that is LOL. I love stats.
We Have To Build On That Win
Beating Rotherham was great but it is only a start, turning up at Blackburn and getting turned over will render the win pretty irrelevant in truth, even if we take a point we have to take something from this game, especially with the run we have coming up shortly, Blackburn away is the type of game that will determine our destiny, losing to the Derby's and Villa's of this world will just about be ok if we can do the business against the middle of the road teams. Three weeks back it would have had defeat written all over it but I am not so sure now, I watched their game at Millwall the other night and while they won it they did not inspire me too much, I think we can get a result here for sure, what kind of result who knows but to come back with something will be a good days work and I see us getting a point which for me will be a good point gained, having said that I would not be at all surprised if we did not manage back to back wins for the first time this season. Keep the faith. COYB'S
The Opposition – Blackburn Rovers
The club was founded in 1875 and on On 28 September 1878, Blackburn Rovers became one of 23 clubs to form the Lancashire Football Association.
Blackburn was an early F.A. Cup winner when on 29 March 1884 with a 2–1 victory over the Scottish team Queen's Park and then repeated the feat over the next two seasons for 3 consecutive Cup wins. They won the trophy for a fourth & fifth time in 1890 & 1891 respectively.
Blackburn Rovers were founder members of the Football League in 1888.
Blackburn Rovers struggled during the early years of the 20th century, but the results began a gradual improvement. During the first three decades of the 20th century, Blackburn Rovers were still considered a top side in the English league. They were First Division champions in 1911–12 and 1913–14, and F.A Cup winners in 1927–28..
Blackburn Rovers maintained a respectable mid-table position in the First Division until they were finally relegated from the top flight (for the first time since the foundation of the league) in the 1935–36 season.
When the league resumed after the war, Blackburn Rovers were relegated in their second season (1947–48). The club remained in the second division for the following ten years. After promotion in 1958, they again returned to the mid-table position they had occupied in the earlier part of the century.
They were again relegated from the First Division in 1966 and began a 26-year exile from the top division.
During the 1970s, Blackburn Rovers bounced between the Second and Third Divisions, winning the Third Division title in 1975, but never mounted a challenge for promotion to the First Division despite the efforts of successive managers to put the club back on track.
Following the Jack Walker takeover Rovers finished 19th in the Second Division at the end of the 1990–91 season, and the new owner had made millions of pounds available to spend on new players and appointed Kenny Dalglish as manager in October 1991. Blackburn secured promotion to the new FA Premier League at the end of 1991–92 season as play-off winners, ending 26 years outside the top flight.
Rovers made headlines in the summer of 1992 by paying an English record fee of £3.5million for the 22-year-old Southampton and England centre forward Alan Shearer. After finishing fourth in 1992–93 and runners-up in 1993–94, they went on to win the Premier League title in 1994–95.
Kenny Dalglish moved upstairs to the position of Director of Football at the end of the Premier League winning season, and handed over the reins to his assistant Ray Harford. Blackburn Rovers made a poor start to the 1995–96 season, and found themselves in the bottom half for most of the first half of the season. A terrible start to the 1996–97 Premier League campaign saw Harford resign in late October with the club bottom of the division. Relegation looked a real possibility, just two seasons after winning the league. At the end of the 1998/99 season Blackburn were relegated back to Division One.
Jack Walker died just after the start of the 2000–01 season, and the club dedicated its promotion challenge in memory of their benefactor. Fittingly, they returned to the Premier League after a much improved season, finishing second behind Fulham.
In 2001–02, Blackburn won their first-ever League Cup by beating Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
In November 2010 the Indian company V H Group bought Blackburn Rovers under the name of Venky's London Limited for £23 million. The new owners sacked manager Sam Allardyce and replaced him with first-team coach Steve Kean, initially on a temporary basis.
In December 2011 it was announced that Blackburn Rovers posted an annual pre-tax loss of £18.6m for the year ending 30 June 2011. Despite this the owners of Blackburn Rovers provided assurances over the continued funding of the club, even if they were relegated.
On 7 May 2012, the club was relegated to the Championship after being defeated at home by Wigan Athletic at home in the penultimate game of the season, ending 11 years of being in the English Premier League.
At the start of the 2012–2013 season, Steve Kean, the manager in charge for the previous relegation season, was given a chance by owners to win promotion and kept his job as the manager. Ultimately though, pressure from the supporters who had been calling for the managers removal for months resulted in his resignation as manager on 29 September 2012.
On 7 May 2017, five years to the day after dropping out of the Premier League, the club saw their second relegation since being taken over by their current owners as they descended into League One–the first Premier League champions to sink into the third tier.
On 24 April 2018, they were promoted back to the second tier with a 0-1 win at Doncaster Rovers.
The Manager – Tony Mowbray
Media Watch - K L Blue
Form Guide
Blackburn Last 5 Matches - Currently in 14th place with 37 points
22 Dec Blackburn 0 - 1 Norwich City
26 Dec Leeds Utd 3 - 2 Blackburn
29 Dec Sheffield Utd 3 - 0 Blackburn
1 Jan Blackburn 2 - 1 West Bromwich
12 Jan Millwall 0 - 2 Blackburn
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – Currently in 24th place with 18 points
22 Dec Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Sheffield Utd
26 Dec QP Rangers 3 - 0 Ipswich Town
29 Dec Middlesbrough 2 - 0 Ipswich Town
1 Jan Ipswich Town 2 - 3 Millwall
12 Jan Ipswich Town 1 - 0 Rotherham
Marko’s Caption Contest – THE DON CUP
10 point gap reduced to 3 in 2 weeks??
Message to Tangfastic if you are lurking, buddy....., get back posting and offering your superb humour to The Don Cup, (along with your valuable football chat) ...., 45 points is still very much in it.
Rovveram scores:
Ando 5pts
IpswichTownNo1 4pts (moths)
AylesburyBlue & Blueblood 3pts
Bluemike, Derickipsw & Frosty 2pts
LEAGUE TABLE
NICSCREAMER 58
ANDO 55
FROSTY 49
DERICKIPSW 46
TANGFASTIC 45
BLUEMIKE 44
AYLESBURYBLUE 40
NUMBER 9 34
BLUEBLOOD 32
IPSWICHTOWNNO1 32
WATERSHIP DOWN 15
JOHNNYB 10
BLUEPETER 8
PATTHEGIMP 8
BLUEWILF 6
BARMY BILLY 6
KERRY BLUE 5
SHED ON TOUR 5
TODD66 3
MASSEYFERGUSON 3
MARVINBAY1973 2
CHARNWOOD 1
KL BLUE 1
OHIOTRACTORBOY 1
BLACKBURN PIC
Match Referee –
BLACKBURN ROVERS 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1