Rotherham United v Ipswich Town
Friday 20th October 2023 – 20:00
New York Stadium
Pre-Match Thoughts - Mike
God I hate these International breaks, it seems even worse when the team are flying and in full flow, you just want every game to come around as quickly as is possible. I was led to believe the break was coming at a good time and we would benefit from it, hopefully that proves to be the case but I can't say I am overly impressed with potentially losing a key player whilst lining up against Gibralter of all teams, we certainly aren't benefiting from that scenario, there has been little news on the severity of Wes Burns Shoulder injury but hopefully it is something and nothing and the last few days have given him time to heal.
Prior to the International break we had seen another Championship club with big ambitions this season breeze into Town confident of upsetting the apple cart only to be sent packing with their tails between their legs. This time Third placed Preston North End had little answer to the Ipswich Town juggernaut which just keeps on performing and getting the job done. Some of the Football yet again was out of the top drawer and had us fans drooling once more, the Chaplin Finish from a set piece, the incredible solo effort from Brandon Williams and the crucial Fourth which saw a fabulous move which included all the subs ending with kayden Jackson finishing it off nicely, yes indeed Football that most teams in this division will struggle to match.
The upshot of the result means that we now have a very healthy Eight point gap to Third place and while we are all only too aware of how quickly that can change we must also realise that is Three whole games with no reward for anyone to just catch us, can anyone honestly say that can see this Town team losing Three games ? We must be cautious yes but that is one impressive position we already find ourselves in and the onus is very much on us to pile the pressure on the chasing pack, it is not as if we are two or Three games in to the season, we have virtually played half the league now and still look very much at home at this level, yes we will have blips but we can probably afford One or Two now. I saw these stats someone posted elsewhere and it makes very eye opening reading:-
With 28 points from 11 games, they need just 47 more from 35 games to qualify for the playoffs. That's 1.34 per game, or 12 wins, 11 draws and 12 defeats. So mid table form from here on in will get them to at least 6th. Their form would have to fall off a cliff for them not to make the playoffs.
While caution is very much the order of the day, certainly where KM and the players are concerned you just cannot help but look at those stats and think "crikey we really can do this" and why not the way we are playing ? I notice Danny Wilson & Don Goodman are the latest pundits to jump on the pro Town bandwagon with their compliments, we just won't be going under the radar anytime soon, that much is certain.
Town's next task is a trip to struggling Rotherham Utd this Friday evening under the watchful Eye of not only the Sky cameras but also the Footballing world, some will no doubt tune in to see just what the fuss is all about, hopefully we will be up for it and show them why we are, along with Leicester , the talk of the Championship right now. While the Millers have found the going tough it must not be ignored that they have beaten a certain Norwich City at home and their last outing saw them come away from St Mary's with a very impressive point so there is no doubt that on their day they can come up with a shock or Two.
Our hosts are however One from the bottom of the table with a solitary win (against Norwich) to their name, it was not lost on me that they have conceded twenty two goals already which is the worst in the division, quite how they intend to nulify our potent attacking options is anyone's guess and most will feel they won't but cast your minds back to life in league One and it was this type of game that was often our undoing, you would like to think we are much better now than back then but the fact remains this could be a case of patience being key, an early goal however and I can see the floodgates opening up as they will have to come out and play.
As much as we all have to realise that a defeat will come sooner rather than later I personally cannot see it being here, I just think we will have too much going forward for their fragile defence to deal with and that is why I see Town bagging another Three points on the road, I would however be equally as pleased if the defence can tighten up and keep a clean sheet as we have leaked a few goals, especially at home, thankfully it hasn't hurt us yet but can we realistically expect to score Three or Four every game ? Of course we can !!!!!!! Town win, COYB'S
The Opposition – Rotherham United - Honours
League
Football League Third Division / League One
Champions: 1950–51, 1980–81
2nd place promotion: 2000–01, 2019–20, 2021–22
Play-off winners: 2013–14, 2017–18
Football League Fourth Division / League Two
Champions : 1988–89
2nd place promotion: 1991–92, 1999–2000, 2012–13
3rd place promotion: 1974–75
Cup
Football League Cup
Runners-up: 1960–61
Football League Trophy
Winners: 1995–96, 2021–22
Football League Third Division North Cup
Winners 1945–46
The Manager – Matt Taylor
League Table as at 18th October 2023
Form Guide
Rotherham United
20 Sep Millwall 3 - 0 Rotherham
23 Sep Rotherham 1 - 1 Preston -
30 Sep Cardiff City 2 - 0 Rotherham
4 Oct Rotherham 1 - 2 Bristol City
7 Oct Southampton 1 - 1 Rotherham
Ipswich Town
19 Sep Southampton 0 - 1 Ipswich Town
23 Sep Ipswich Town 4 - 3 Blackburn
30 Sep Huddersfield 1 - 1 Ipswich Town
3 Oct Ipswich Town 3 - 0 Hull City
7 Oct Ipswich Town 4 - 2 Preston
Head to Head
Match Referee –
ROTHERHAM UNITED 1 IPSWICH TOWN 2
