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‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Ipswich Pre Match on 16:57 - Nov 21 with 294 views
Ipswich Town: Portman Road Capacity: 30,311 (all seated) Club Nickname: Blues or Tractor Boys Year Ground Opened: 1888
What is Portman Road like?
The overall look of the ground has greatly improved, with the re-development of both ends. Both these ends, the Sir Alf Ramsey Stand and the Sir Bobby Robson Stand, are similar in appearance and size and dwarf the smaller older stands, located on each side of the ground. Unusually, both ends have a larger upper tier which overhangs slightly the smaller lower tier. Both have windshields to either side of the upper tier and they are completed, with some spectacular floodlights perched on their roofs. They were both fully opened a year apart in 2001 & 2002.
Both sides are much older stands and now look quite tired in comparison. On one side, the fair sized East of England Co-operative Stand Stand is a three-tiered covered stand, with a row of executive boxes running across its middle. This stand was originally opened in 1957 and was then known as the West Stand. In 1984 an additional tier was added along with a new roof. Opposite is the smaller Cobbold Stand. Again it is two tiered and has a row of executive boxes. However, it is only partly covered, with the small lower tier of seating being open to the elements. This stand which was first opened in 1971 and was originally called the Portman Stand. It was later renamed the Cobbold Stand in respect of the Cobbold family who were former owners of the club and old Suffolk brewers Tolly-Cobbold. Unusually the teams emerge onto the field from one corner of the ground between the Sir Alf Ramsey and East of England Co-op Stands. Outside are two statues of two former Ipswich and England managers. One is of World Cup winner Sir Alf Ramsey and is located on the corner between the Cobbold and Sir Bobby Robson Stand, while Sir Bobby Robson's statue is placed behind the Cobbold stand in Portman Road.
Record Attendance 38,010 v Leeds United FA Cup 6th Round, 8th March 1975.
Modern All Seated Attendance Record: 30,152 v Norwich City Division One, 21st December 2003.
Strengths: Counter attacks: Very Strong Attacking set pieces: Strong Shooting from direct free kicks: Strong Finishing scoring chances: Strong Creating chances using through balls: Strong Defending set pieces: Strong Protecting the lead: Strong Stealing the ball from the opposition: Strong
Weaknesses: The team has no significant weaknesses (Oh dear!!)
Ipswich's Style of Play: Play with width Attempt through balls often Control the game in the opposition's half Attacking down the left Opponents play aggressively against them Rotate their first eleven
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
'There's no rust creeping in... they're professional footballers and can handle it' -Taylor on Town's returning players
Ipswich Town assistant Stuart Taylor has insisted there's no danger of 'rust' as the Blues' frontline players return from a long lay-off for Saturday's visit of Blackpool.
Manager Paul Lambert has flexed his squad in the last fortnight, with a host of fringe players being used for two FA Cup games with Lincoln and the EFL Trophy loss at Colchester.
That, coupled with the fact last Saturday's scheduled visit to Oxford was postponed due to international call-ups, means the likes of Luke Chambers, Cole Skuse, Luke Garbutt, Luke Woolfenden, Jon Nolan and Kayden Jackson will have gone 17 days without a game when they take to the field to face Blackpool. James Norwood's four minutes as a substitute in the first staging of the Lincoln tie was his only involvement over that period, while Kane Vincent-Young could return from a groin injury.
Lambert has always stressed the need for his entire squad to be up to speed fitness-wise, with Taylor insisting there's no danger of that strategy leaving other members of the squad playing catch-up.
"I don't think there's any rustiness creeping in," Taylor said.
"The lads have been bang at it at training, the ones that haven't been playing. They're professional footballers. They can handle that no problem. The intensity of training every day shows there are no issues at all if players have been out for two weeks.
"The ones that are on the bench or not stripped previously are now taking part in games, so everybody is around about level pegging of what we're looking to do and ideally it would be great to get through the season having success, which is obviously the most important thing, while keeping players fresh and keeping players hungry with competition for places.
"What we don't want is to be going into a game where someone hasn't played and there's maybe six, seven or eight players that haven't played for six weeks - that's the worst-case scenario. And that would be bad management if we were going into that.
"We want to keep people fresh and we want to keep people hungry but also have game time under their belts so they are going into games and they're match fit."
The Blues head into Saturday's game second in League One, three points behind leaders Wycombe who visit Portman Road on Tuesday evening.
"It's nice when you look at the league table we've still got two games in hand over Wycombe above us, albeit by only three points," Taylor said.
"I think that we're desperate for league games to come by and we've got two back to back so hopefully it'll be a good week.
"Getting back into league action, without a shadow of a doubt that's the daddy, that's the main one, the one we all want to go and play in and get involved in. Without a doubt we're looking forward to getting into it.
"Games are going to come thick and fast. We're coming to the Christmas period which is always busy. So from now to the turn of January, it's going to be real good times."
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
Liam Feeney is looking forward to seeing some familiar faces when Blackpool travel to Ipswich Town tomorrow.
The Seasiders head to Portman Road hoping to consolidate their spot in League One’s top six against an Ipswich side second in the table.
It also sees Feeney return to an old haunt, having previously had a spell with Ipswich three years ago.
“I was there for about three months when I had a loan (from Bolton),” the 32-year-old said.
“I really enjoyed it. It was really good and a really nice place to live.
“It’s a massive football club, with a great set of lads, and the fans were really welcoming to me as well.
“I’ve got nothing but good memories, but now we’re both in the same league and have similar objectives of getting out of this division.
“They are going to be a strong team in this league and we’re going to have to be fully on our game to get anything down there.
“We don’t fear anyone but it’s a big game and we’ll be respectful of them.”
Having dropped into League One following relegation at the end of last season, Ipswich were duly tipped to make an immediate return to the Championship.
Fifteen games into the League One season and Paul Lambert’s players are well placed, three points behind leaders Wycombe Wanderers and with two games in hand.
The majority of their players will go into the game refreshed after sitting out their midweek FA Cup win.
With games coming up against Blackpool and Wycombe on Saturday and Tuesday respectively, Lambert took the opportunity to rotate the majority of his squad.
The decision paid off with Ipswich earning Cup progress thanks to victory against Lincoln City.
Not only have Lambert’s players had to deal with the pressure of being title favourites, the size of the club also makes them marked men to the rest of the division.
“Ipswich will be seen as a scalp as we would to quite a few teams in this league,” Feeney said.
“If we go there and beat a team top of the league, it’s a statement to the rest of the league that we mean business.
“But it’s only three points as any other game would be; we’re treating it like any other game.
“Hopefully we can go down there and get the three points.”
If Ipswich have had an impressive start to the season, then the Seasiders have also opened up in promising fashion.
A summer of change at Bloomfield Road brought a new owner, a change in the managerial hotset, as well as a number of new faces among the playing staff.
Nevertheless, they are handily placed in fifth position at this stage of the season, knowing a win tomorrow would put them within two points of Ipswich.
Feeney said: “We have a few new players, the manager’s just come in and we’re doing quite well anyway.
“We’re well versed in what we’re doing and, hopefully, that’s showing in games.”
‘Where there is harmony, may we bring discord. Where there is truth, may we bring error. Where there is faith, may we bring doubt. And where there is hope, may we bring despair’
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Ipswich Pre Match on 10:22 - Nov 22 with 258 views
Blackpool will take a six-match unbeaten run on the road this weekend, as the Seasiders face second placed Ipswich Town.
Victory for Simon's Grayson's side, who have won four consecutive matches in all competitions, would cut the gap to the automatic promotion spots, however the hosts do have two games in hand on the teams around them.
Portman Road hasn't been the most favourable of grounds for Blackpool down the years, so the team will be looking to change that record for the better and keep up that winning momentum.
Team News:
The Seasiders welcome Jordan Thompson, Rocky Bushiri and Christoffer Mafoumbi back from international commitments, though a couple of other players face late fitness checks.
The Tractor Boys head into the match after an Emirates FA Cup replay at Lincoln City on Wednesday night and are set to recall strike pair James Norwood and Kayden Jackson. Luke Chambers is also expected to be restored to the line-up.
The Referee:
Championship official Stephen Martin will oversee proceedings at Portman Road, having last refereed a Blackpool game in April 2015.
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
Focus on Luke Chambers - Ipswich captain and current player of the year.
Personal Infromation:
Full name: Luke Chambers Date of birth: 28 September 1985 (age 34) Place of birth: Kettering, England Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Playing position: Centre back
Club Information (league appearances only counted):
A vastly experienced centre half (Chambers has playes well over 600 league games in hs career) who's played most of his football at championship level.
Made his debut for Nothahampton in the 2002 - 03 season and spent 5 seasons there.
Signed for Nottingham Forest in the January transfer window of 2007 and spent 6 seasons there.
Signed for Ipswich in 2012 and has played over 300 league games for them (13 this season).
Luke Chambers (born 28 September 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender. He is the captain of Ipswich Town.
He is primarily a centre back but can also play as a right back. Chambers has previously played for Northampton Town for whom he made over 100 appearances in five years, and Nottingham Forest where he made over 200 appearances. He is well known for his fist-pump celebration which he often does with the supporters after full time whenever the team he plays for wins a game.
[Post edited 22 Nov 2019 10:50]
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
We envisage that Blackpool must be fancied to put one past this Ipswich Town team, although that probably won’t quite be as many as they will have scored against them. We’re going for a 2-1 win for Ipswich Town at the end of the match. Expecting it to be very competitive.
Their past results show that Blackpool:
- are undefeated in their previous 4 league matches away from home. - have not won away from home in their last 3 league games.
âš½ï¸ What happened last time these teams met in this league? The previous league meeting featuring these sides was Championship match day 42 on 11/04/2015 and the score finished Ipswich Town 3-2 Blackpool. That day, Ipswich Town managed 60% possession and 10 attempts on goal with 4 of them on target. The scorers were Freddie Sears (24', 28') and Christophe Berra (83'). On the other side, Blackpool had 2 shots at goal with 2 on target. Orlandi (4') and Cameron (63') scored. The referee was James Linington.
Team Focus: Ipswich Town
Formed: 1878 Nickname: The Tractor Boys Stadium: Portman Road (30,311) Captain: Luke Chambers Chairman: Marcus Evans Manager: Paul Lambert Competitions: League One position 2, EFL Trophy (Round 2)
Coming into this clash, Ipswich Town haven't been beaten in the league by Blackpool in their last 5 matches.
Key Man: James Norwood
Mostly used in the Striker position, James Norwood was born in England. Having made his senior debut playing for Exeter City in the 2009 - 2010 season, the dangerous Forward has netted 7 league goals in this League One 2019 - 2020 campaign so far in 14 appearances.
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
Grayson's solidly implemented the policy of 'keep the shirt' if you play well so it's got to be unchanged from the wins against Wimbledon and Peterborough.
Score: I'm tempted to go for a landmark win but a draw would be a good result. 1 - 1.
Even though it's an unpleasant trip, there might be a fair bit of interest with this being a 'big' game coupled with our recent form. A respectable 612.
Learning to read clusters is not something your eyes do naturally. It takes constant practice.
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