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Blues Out to End Winless Run and Sky Hoodoo Against Leaders Wycombe
Tuesday, 31st Dec 2019 12:46

Town get 2020 under way away against leaders Wycombe Wanderers looking to end both their seven-game winless League One run and their Sky hoodoo (Sky Sports Main Event/Football from 2.45pm).

The Blues, who dropped to fourth following Sunday’s 5-3 defeat at Lincoln, last won in the league at Rochdale on November 5th. In all competitions they have failed to win in 90 minutes for 10 matches.

In live Sky feature games the Blues haven’t won for 15 matches and four years with their last success the 1-0 defeat of the MK Dons at Stadium MK in December 2015.

Boss Paul Lambert and his squad held an hour-long discussion in the dressing room after the Lincoln match aimed at getting to the root of the current problems.

And both skipper Luke Chambers and Lambert said afterwards that they believe one victory and positive performance could kickstart a Blues revival.

“It definitely could,” Lambert insisted. “We have to get back to that feeling where they’re just playing with the freedom of the first 15 games where they were blitzing everything in sight.

“They were great, no problem, nothing’s changed for us, for the staff or anything. But as a group, as a team, we have to come out of the traps again.”

He added: “We’ll go there, we’ve had a good chat and if they perform the way they’re speaking then hopefully we’ll get a different outcome.”

With the match the fourth league game in 11 days Lambert will almost certainly continue his rotation policy to some degree and second-guessing his XI as ever is all but impossible.

Tomas Holy may return in goal with Will Norris having had a tough afternoon at Sincil Bank.

At the back, Lambert could stick with a four-man backline but may be forced into a change with Janoi Donacien having been forced off against Lincoln with a knee problem.


Luke Woolfenden could move out to right-back, as he did against the Imps, with James Wilson joining skipper Luke Chambers at the centre of the defence. Alternatively, Gwion Edwards could start at right-back. Luke Garbutt looks a certain starter on the left.

Lambert’s midfield selection is likely to depend on whether Cole Skuse (neck) and Jon Nolan (foot) are back after missing the trip to Sincil Bank with niggles.

If fit, Skuse seems likely to join Flynn Downes in what could be a midfield trio with the Chairboys tending to play 4-3-2-1. Emyr Huws is yet to feature over the Christmas period and could return, while Nolan and Andre Dozzell are other options.

Up front, Lambert could start Will Keane, who scored his fourth goal of the season off the bench on Sunday, or James Norwood down the middle with Kayden Jackson perhaps on the right and Alan Judge on the left.

Wycombe also go into the game off the back of a poor run of form having lost their last three, including a 4-1 home thrashing by Coventry on Sunday, their first loss at Adams Park this season.

“[The Coventry game] was a tough day at the office, but the lads would run through brick walls for me and I wouldn’t have it any other way as they’re a great bunch,” manager Gareth Ainsworth told the Bucks Free Press.

“I just think we gifted them a couple of goals as well which is very uncharacteristic of us, and when you do that against a team like Coventry who are a very good side, you’re asking for trouble.

“They played some good stuff, have some good players and they have a great way of playing as they’ve developed well over the years, but the defeat will be tough to take and that’s our home record gone.

“I wish I could have finished the decade off with a win, but I’m now hoping to start the new year with one.”

Ainsworth, whose side are four points ahead of Oxford at the top of the table, is looking for his side to get the 2020s off to a victorious start.

https://www.twtd.co.uk/images/news/8911_g.jpg

“We start a new decade on Wednesday and we need to get back to winning ways,” he added. “It’s going to be a tough game because Ipswich are in a bad place at the moment as they haven’t won so many games in the league lately.

“But again, we’ve had a very tough Christmas and I don’t think anyone’s fixtures could rival ours for toughness as we have had Oxford and Portsmouth away, and Coventry and Ipswich at home. We’re looking forward to Wednesday so that we can try and get back on track.”

Town and Wycombe will be meeting at Adams Park in a competitive game for the first time, although the teams drew 2-2 in a pre-season friendly there in July 1995. November’s match at Portman Road was the first ever competitive fixture between the sides.

In that match, the Blues had a goal controversially ruled out just before half-time and Tomas Holy saved a second-half penalty as what was a top-v-second clash ended 0-0.

Just before half-time, Luke Chambers’s header was diverted into his own net by Curtis Thompson but referee Alan Young wrongly disallowed it having consulted linesman Aaron Farmer with the players already lined-up for the restart.

In the second half, Holy stopped Joe Jacobson’s spotkick after Chambers had fouled David Wheeler.

Town boss Lambert was in charge at Wycombe between June 2006 and May 2008 during which time the club, his first in England, played 108 games, winning 44, drawing 29 and losing 35.

Blues right-back Donacien spent a short spell on loan with Wycombe between August and September 2015, making two starts.

Wycombe stalwart Bloomfield, 35, came through the Town academy and made one senior appearance as a sub before joining the Chairboys in December 2003. The Felixstowe-born midfielder has now made played more than 500 games for the Buckinghamshire side.

Wednesday’s referee is Robert Lewis from Shrewsbury, who has shown 64 yellow cards and three red in 17 games this season. Lewis will be taking charge of his first Town match.

Squad from: Norris, Holy, Donacien, Garbutt, Kenlock, Chambers (c), Wilson, Woolfenden, Nsiala, Skuse, Dozzell, Downes, Huws, Nolan, Judge, Edwards, Dobra, Jackson, Keane, Norwood, Sears.


Photo: TWTD



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TractorWood added 13:09 - Dec 31
Hopefully Lambert and co-manager Chambers' post match autopsies improve the performance tomorrow!
0

Michael101 added 14:54 - Dec 31
You have used this headline for the last 6-8 weeks ,do you just cut& paste??. Maybe when we actually win you might have to think of a new headline
1

blueboy1981 added 14:56 - Dec 31
Talk is cheap - let's see the performance and result tomorrow shall we ?
2

tractorboybig added 15:08 - Dec 31
Wow..just seen some pigs fly past the window!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
0

Dolphinblue added 15:28 - Dec 31
#thenegcrew......COYB!
0

ringwoodblue added 16:19 - Dec 31
After the recent run of bad results for both teams, I predict a very cagey 0-0 draw which helps neither side.
0

jas0999 added 16:24 - Dec 31
Big game which we desperately need to win.
2

raycrawfordswig added 16:43 - Dec 31
Pmsl
0

dirtydingusmagee added 16:48 - Dec 31
all the ingredients for a double whammy ,with a cherry on top .
0

BettyBlue added 17:07 - Dec 31
no chance
-1

runningout added 17:08 - Dec 31
Time to turn it on for the cameras, instead of the usual poo we deliver. Onwards ;-)
2

dirtydingusmagee added 17:19 - Dec 31
re the three players returning to fitness, we are always waiting for ''key'' players to return to fitness, There is no guarantee that these players wont have setbacks, Bishop is a prime example. We have a history of signing players with fitness issues, you wouldnt by a horse with a broken leg and expect it to win the Grand National .
1

Cloddyseedbed added 18:14 - Dec 31
Have the team that is playing tomorrow been training together and know each other? Are they happy in the position that they are picked for and are they good enough? Do they want to win and if so how much, more than the other team? The team play over the last few weeks has been a shambles. Players not knowing their roles or not capable of carrying them out. This stage in the season that is just not acceptable. To have players making rash challenges, getting booked stupidly and putting the team at risk needs addressing. There is total indiscipline throughout the team and even on the bench. Sort the bl**dy mess out, it's January tomorrow! Please don't play Nsiala, Edwards, Norris and Judge for whatever reasons they are contributing to our downfall. If you can move them on, please do. What is going on with Huws, either he is fit or he isn't? Year on year we are told improvement will come in the next game, that was 10 years ago.
2

Nobbysnuts added 19:21 - Dec 31
I've got a funny feeling about tomorrow's game. I think we are going to win. And no I'm not having a mid life crisis!!!!!!!
0

Dissboyitfc added 22:57 - Dec 31
It definitely could,” Lambert insisted. “We have to get back to that feeling where they're just playing with the freedom of the first 15 games where they were blitzing everything in sight.

Getting really tired of the Bull, we havent blitzed anybody!!!!

A win tomorrow is a must!! we will soon be out of the play-offs if this continues!

I have a feeling that after tomorrows game, we can just cut and paste our reactions from the previous few weeks!!
1

BangaloreBlues added 03:55 - Jan 1
You guys... there is only one exclamation mark required at the end of a sentence, not fifty!
Talking of fifty, the match is 50/50 today, but I feel if we lose Lambert will be out.
Since Evans has backed him, that means he'll be gone.
And the fact that Warnock has been mentioned, it seems he's already in line to take over.
-1

bobble added 06:32 - Jan 1
maybe we should get our best goalkeeper back from loan......?
0

dirtydingusmagee added 09:00 - Jan 1
who with any credibility mentioned Warnock ? I know his name has come up on here. He would kick ass , i think he would have done a job way back, but nobody liked him .I cant see Evans acting though at least not before its too late. Just hope Lambert gets his act together and proves he is as good as he thinks .
0

Wooly74 added 09:07 - Jan 1
Well, I wake this morning after an alcoholic free NYE, in north Suffolk (just between Beccles and Halesworth), with the daunting five hour round trip to Wycombe to undertake today in the hope that I can see 11 selected players in a town shirt put in a performance to provide me with some hope?

For the first time in a very long time I can't say that I am looking forward to it!

I will never slag my team off, pretend to know better than the assembled management team we have and slate those lads that are selected to play, but...... after several years of turmoil and below par teams who appear to be more focused on the pay than playing for the shirt, I had really started to hope that this season was going to be different. Great performances at the start and a real galvanisation of the club looked as if we were finally turning things around. But hey, that's sadly not the Ipswich Town FC way this last decade or so, we are back to questioning why we spend so much of our hard earned cash to go season in and season out home and away!

Let's hope that this drive is worth it, it's certainly a long way whether I go via the A12 or A143/A11 to get to the dreaded M25 and M40. My car will as normal be flying the large rear window ITFC badge which gets much attention as you can imagine when up the road in that awful city we now don't mention. So if any of you other fans see me today in my little blue VW Golf with the large rear window badge give me a song and a wave and something to feel proud about please. Our team might languish in its worse position for a few decades, but our fans are still something we can feel very proud of!

If it turns out to be a five hour road trip of hell then spare a thought for us! Oh and if any of the actual team our management ever do read these messages, please read it to your fellow players. This is the level of commitment so many of us show you week in and week out. We want to see desire and energy to fight for the club we all love. We want to see the will to get back behind the bell when we lose it and the same desire to push forward with energy and passion to get that extra 10% out of that run into the box to get on the end of a pass. We hope for all of you to think carefully when in a position to do so and hit the bloody target! We are playing a much smaller assembled team and indeed club today who are where they are through all of the above. Give us something to really shout about, get the fans of their seats and roaring again like at the start of the season. Three points lads and nothing else today please, otherwise it's going to be a very long day again!

Come on you blues 😃😃😃
7

Wooly74 added 09:13 - Jan 1
Well, I wake this morning after an alcoholic free NYE, in north Suffolk (just between Beccles and Halesworth), with the daunting five hour round trip to Wycombe to undertake today in the hope that I can see 11 selected players in a town shirt put in a performance to provide me with some hope?

For the first time in a very long time I can't say that I am looking forward to it!

I will never slag my team off, pretend to know better than the assembled management team we have and slate those lads that are selected to play, but...... after several years of turmoil and below par teams who appear to be more focused on the pay than playing for the shirt, I had really started to hope that this season was going to be different. Great performances at the start and a real galvanisation of the club looked as if we were finally turning things around. But hey, that's sadly not the Ipswich Town FC way this last decade or so, we are back to questioning why we spend so much of our hard earned cash to go season in and season out home and away!

Let's hope that this drive is worth it, it's certainly a long way whether I go via the A12 or A143/A11 to get to the dreaded M25 and M40. My car will as normal be flying the large rear window ITFC badge which gets much attention as you can imagine when up the road in that awful city we now don't mention. So if any of you other fans see me today in my little blue VW Golf with the large rear window badge give me a song and a wave and something to feel proud about please. Our team might languish in its worse position for a few decades, but our fans are still something we can feel very proud of!

If it turns out to be a five hour road trip of hell then spare a thought for us! Oh and if any of the actual team or management ever do read these messages, please read it to your fellow players. This is the level of commitment so many of us show you week in and week out. We want to see desire and energy to fight for the club we all love. We want to see the will to get back behind the ball when we lose it and the same desire to push forward with energy and passion to get that extra 10% out of that run into the box to get on the end of a pass. We hope for all of you to think carefully when in a position to do so and hit the bloody target! We are playing a much smaller assembled team and indeed club today who are where they are through all of the above. Give us something to really shout about, get the fans off their seats and roaring again like at the start of the season. Three points lads and nothing else today please, otherwise it's going to be a very long day again!

Come on you blues 😃😃😃
0

GGblocker added 09:18 - Jan 1
Seems strange we scored 3 goals when Skuse and Nolan not playing... I know we conceded but they are not creative at all especially Nolan...passes sideways, backwards or to opponent
0

warktheline added 09:45 - Jan 1
The coming together of two teams currently occupying potentially Championship riches, but alas come May, will start August kicking off in Division One! The difference between both clubs? ‘Little' Wycombe will work tirelessly today for manager, as confirmed by Ainsworth himself! A ‘little' club in comparison to today's visitors but a ‘huge' club in comparison to today's visitors in regards to ‘raw' ambition!

Yeah Wycombe may not look pretty today, scrapping, slowly down the game,breaking up any rhythm the opponents ‘might ‘ muster, winning second balls etc etc....will that be matched today by today's opponents? A very ‘big' ask! That's ok though, it's the ‘Ipswich way' and has been for several years now!
0

blue75 added 10:12 - Jan 1
There's actually a few positive comments today glad some people are in the new year spirit. So sad that fans are wishing a manager sacked when the team sits in 4th! Yes results & performances haven't been good enough for the last few weeks, but we don't have any divine right to win every game we have to earn that, so today if you haven't got anything positive to say then don't say anything it's more positive!
1

dirtydingusmagee added 10:38 - Jan 1
this game is something of an acid test, to teams in a good position but have fallen off the pace, [more so with Town] Who will want it more, who will play to prove they should be up there, sadly we have failed to show either in past. We always seem to fall into the ''feeling sorry for ourselves mode,] instead of fighting to get what we want or need .I cant see us changing any time soon ,and think Wycombe will take heart from our sh#t performance Boxing Day.
0

ringwoodblue added 10:47 - Jan 1
Well said Wooly (twice). I only get to a few local away games a season down here on the south coast and I take my hat off to all the fans who regularly drive 100s of miles to watch our beloved team. I hope their trip today is worthwhile and we start 2020 as we mean to go on by playing entertaining football and winning games.
4


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