When Scunthorpe last met Ipswich, they had just appointed Ian Baraclough as manager. Now they meet again at Portman Road, yet Baraclough is nowhere to be seen…
However bad a season it might have been for Ipswich, it’s been far worse for Scunthorpe. Since former boss Nigel Adkins did a disappearing act to go and manage Southampton, the Iron have spent most of the campaign hanging around the Championship’s bottom three. Baraclough was named permanent manager in September 2010 just in time for the visit of the Blues to Glanford Park, where the two battled to a 1-1 draw. Just six months on however and the Scunny stalwart has this week been relieved of his duties after a crushing 3-0 home defeat to bottom-of-the-table Preston North End, leaving the North Lincolnshire side 4 points adrift of safety in 22nd place. Quite a challenge then for caretaker boss and another former Scunthorpe star, Tony Daws.
With just four points from six games however, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Ipswich were down there with the Iron. They might be 12 points clear of the dropzone, but Town are still short of the so-called survival threshold of 50 points. A victory over the team at the top of the relegation pack would not only serve to make their cushion rather more comfortable and draw them a point away from that threshold, but against managerless relegation candidates at home, it’s an absolute necessity. Town have been bossed by all recent comers to Portman Road with three straight home defeats, but against a team without a manager, perhaps it’s time for Paul Jewell to show them who’s boss.
Vital Quotes:
Having drawn a blank in four of their last six outings, Ipswich manager Paul Jewell has called for his side to start finding that cutting edge when they are dominating games. The Blues have had plenty of the ball in recent games without punishing the opposition.
”We had plenty of possession against Watford but didn’t make it count,’ Jewell told the Official Website. ‘That’s been a problem for us over the last few matches at home. We’ve passed the ball, had plenty of the play but have not found that killer instinct and that is something we obviously have to put right.’
‘Our position in the table indicates we are inconsistent and that’s what we are,’ he added. ‘You can’t play well every game but the trick is that when you are poor, you are still okay. You do enough to get something out of the game.’
Jewell has already suggested that he will look to make improvements to his squad – especially the front line – in the summer, but the Blues need to get there first.
Ipswich Town Team News:
Paul Jewell has largely avoided tinkering with his Ipswich team up to now, but the Blues boss could be set to make changes for the visit of Scunthorpe. Midfielder Colin Healy is in line for a potential return having been out for nearly a month with a stomach muscle tear, though David Norris could still be unavailable despite having served his two match suspension after emerging as a doubt with an ankle problem. Kieron Dyer could be set for a return to the starting lineup after coming on from the bench against Watford, whilst Jewell must decide whether to break with his usual 4-5-1 formation in order to play two up front, with Jason Scotland and Tamas Priskin each having recently occupied the lone role.
Player to watch: Connor Wickham
If he features, striker Connor Wickham might have an extra incentive to deliver the cutting edge that Paul Jewell is looking for on Saturday. The 17-year-old striker, who has scored 6 times in the league since late January, will exceed his goal tally for the whole of last season if he can find the net on Saturday. If that’s not enough, Wickham was revealed to be one of the three nominees for the Football League Young Player of the Year Award on Friday; an award which he could pick up 24 hours after the match against Scunthorpe. With another call-up to the England U21 squad, the much sought-after youngster will be hoping to go into the international break in top form.
Scunthorpe United Team News:
Scunthorpe caretaker manager Tony Daws is boosted by the return of several players from injury. Ben Gordon and Sam Togwell have recovered from hamstring problems whilst Andy Hughes is fit to play despite suffering a facial injury in the loss against Preston on Tuesday. David Mirfin could also come back into the lineup, though fellow defender Cliff Byrne is sidelined. The Iron are also still without midfielder Garry Thompson and star shot-stopper Joe Murphy, who has been out since January with an ankle injury.
Player to watch: Joe Garner
Every time Scunthorpe find a goalscorer, they seem to move on soon after – Billy Sharp, Martin Paterson and Gary Hooper to name a few in recent years. They might now be pinning their hopes on striker Joe Garner, who joined on loan from Nottingham Forest in January. The Iron are still finding goals very hard to come by, but of the 8 goals they have scored in their last 11 games, Garner has netted half of them. That has quickly made him one of their top scorers in the league this season, and having taken spot-kick duties, he could prove their most likely threat at Portman Road on Saturday.
Last Meeting
FLC – (16th) Scunthorpe 1-1 Ipswich (2nd)
25 September 2010
(Click here for Match Report)
Goalscorers
Scunthorpe: Mirfin 30
Ipswich: Peters 57
Teams:
Scunthorpe: J Murphy, Jones, Byrne, Mirfin, Nolan, Togwell, Woolford, Wright (M O’Connor 83), Collins (Grant 83), Dagnall, Forte
Ipswich: Fulop, McAuley, Smith, Eastman, O’Dea, Leadbitter, Edwards, Norris, Townsend (Peters 46), Wickham (Hyam 31), Scotland (Priskin 72)
Match Prediction:
I respect Scunthorpe – I think they play a good brand of football and have been unfortunate by virtue of their relative wealth and position that every top player they find is soon snapped up by somebody else. As the last meeting at Glanford Park showed us, it would be all too easy to underestimate them. Even so, Ipswich really should be beating a team like this, especially at home and with the Iron currently experiencing such turmoil.
A change at the top invariably has one of two effects – it either disrupts the team, or it inspires the players to battle for success. Town know all about that from the brief reign of Ian McParland, but I’d be hoping that Saturday sees Scunthorpe experience something more akin to Town at Chelsea, and not Town against Arsenal…!
Prediction: Hoping I’m not being overly confident, but I’ll tip Town to get back to winning ways at home this time. Ipswich 3-0 Scunthorpe.
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Next Fixtures:
02/04 FLC Burnley (A)
09/04 FLC Crystal Palace (H)
12/04 FLC Middlesbrough (H)
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