Rotherham United vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread
Posted: Sun Jan 26, 2020 10:30 pm
Rotherham United v Ipswich Town
Tuesday 28th January 2019 – 19:45
New York Stadium
Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike
Top Top Top Top Top Of The league !!!!
Our frustrating blip in November & December is now just a distant memory as our victory at home to Lincoln City propelled us back to the summit of league One and in doing so it maintained our unbeaten record for 2020, Three wins and Two draws have seen us collect 11/15 points which is good going but it could have been so much better as the draws at Oxford & Wycombe should really have been wins on the balance of play which would have seen us clear of the pack, however most encouraging is our form right now and the way we are going about our business is very pleasing, not to mention entertaining again.
We are coming up against teams who on the face of it may not be setting the world alight but when we play them they have been bang in form (Accrington & Lincoln) so to do a good job on them is a sign that we too are playing well and are back to something approaching our best form. I think it is fair to say most of us have agreed that as a team we have struggled all season to dominate teams for the entire Ninety minutes, maybe Sunderland way back on August 10th came close but aside from that not too many other games have panned out that way, however for me Saturday's performance against Lincoln was just about there, we had a Ten minute spell in the second half where it all got a bit shabby but by and large we always looked in control and on the front foot which augers really well as we approach the final third of the campaign.
Much has been made in the press about bigger teams sniffing around Flynn Downes & Luke Woolfenden and looking at them on Saturday you can see why, I thought both were tremendous and belie their years, Downes is fast maturing into a top notch Midfielder who delivers week in and week out, some of the crunching tackles he went into yesterday made me wince but he never backs out, he really is turning into the Midfield general in much the same way as a certain Roy keane used to be, if he carries it on he is Premier league bound for sure, failure to get out of this division will see him gone without a doubt and even then I am not sure Championship Football would be enough to keep him here so we need to enjoy him while we can.
Luke Woolfenden too is pulling up a few trees every week with his performances, for one so young he has a real maturity and composure about him, one of his biggest attributes for me is his reading of the game, he senses danger and situations so quickly and always seems to be in the right place at the right time, he is also comfortable with the ball at his feet and isn't afraid to get forward which was all too evident with his winning goal against the Imps. I had previously made the point that Marcus Evans only had to be offered Three Million and the lad would be gone, however I think that would be utter madness seeing how he is improving week on week and there would be uproar in the stands, yes we cannot turn down serious money that price tag for the likes of Woofy & Downes needs to be nothing under 10-12 Million each at least, ideally I love to keep them but come the Summer we will have a real fight on our hands no matter what Division we find ourselves in.
Top Two battle It Out.......
Tuesday night see's us away at Rotherham who we have just displaced from top spot, again prior to Saturday's defeat at Peterborough they had been in great form with Five wins on the spin so we are meeting yet another team in cracking form, it is a very tough game but let's not forget it is a very tough game for them also. As with Lincoln City we kinda owe them one following the job they did on us at Portman Road back in October, that too was a Midweek game and it would be fair to say on the night they deserved it, great Football it wasn't but they roughed us up a bit and we struggled to handle them physically, it should be noted that a certain duo of Flynn Downes & Luke Woolfenden were on the bench that night and I get the feeling this will be a different scenario this time around in terms of the game being more equal than it was last time, if we can stand up to them physically I know we can "out Football" them and with the home crowd expectancy we could well return the favour and do a job on them this time around.
I am hoping we go with the same side again as it is clearly paying dividends but I do worry Emyr Huws may be rested and for me that would be a big loss, he has been superb the last few games and it coincides with our upturn in form, Will Keane too is another who I must admit has never been my biggest cup of tea but fair do's he is playing well and offers something nobody else in the squad can, the ironic thing is without the rotation policy that has caused so much consternation in recent months we would not be seeing them in the side and possibly still stuttering through matches without them because they just would not have been match fit and ready to play so we can argue it all day long as to if it is right or not but there definitely is pro's and con's to it, the good thing is that now we do have most of the squad fit Paul Lambert seems to know his current best Eleven and is sticking with it.
I think the key for me in this one is to avoid defeat, clearly we go to win but let's keep the unbeaten run going, that would constitute a good nights work at potentially our biggest rivals for the title. A win would be a massive bonus and areal sign of intent and I certainly wouldn't bet against it, with over 700 tkts sold at the time of writing we will have a good loud support behind the boys again and they rarely let us down on our travels. I am going for a low scoring 1-1 draw and our place at the top of the table hopefully still intact, anything better will make the journey back from Yorkshire all the more enjoyable. COYB'S......IPSWICH TIL I DIE.
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.
Rotherhams stay in the Championship was short lived however, along with Bolton and ourselves, they were relegated back to League 1 in the 2018/19 season after finishing in 22nd place.
The Manager – Paul Warne
Form Guide
Rotherham Last 5 Matches – Currently in place with points
29 Dec Rotherham 4 - 0 Peterborough
1 Jan Rotherham 2 - 1 Blackpool
11 Jan Oxford Utd 1 - 3 Rotherham
18 Jan Rotherham 3 - 0 Bristol Rovers
25 Jan Peterborough 2 - 1 Rotherham
Ipswich Last 5 Matches – Currently in place with
point
4 Jan Ipswich Town pp. Fleetwood
11 Jan Ipswich Town 4 - 1 Accrington
14 Jan Oxford Utd 0 - 0 Ipswich Town
18 Jan Tranmere 1 - 2 Ipswich Town
25 Jan Ipswich Town 1 – 0 Lincoln City
Match Referee – Marc Edwards
ROTHERHAM UNITED 1 IPSWICH TOWN 1