Welcome to the official match thread (from a Huddersfield Town perspective anyway) of the former clubs of Jordan Rhodes and Marcus Stewart that is:
| TTT | TTT | TTT | Ipswich Town | TTT | TTT | TTT |
Vs.
| TTT | TTT | TTT | Huddersfield Town | TTT | TTT | TTT |
Take your mind back to 1999, the world was about to end thanks to the Millenium Bug, the euro currency was introduced, white rap became acceptable with a certain Slim Shady having his first album, war was raging in Kosovo and William Marcus Paul Tubbs leaves Huddersfield breaking the hearts of many, including (allegedly) a certain Mrs Rubery. Now if you dont know William Marcus Paul Tubbs he was more commonly known as Marcus Stewart and in a season where he was scoring for fun and Huddersfield had a genuine shot at promotion to the Premier League, he got sold to our rivals Ipswich and, well, the rest is history.
Its something I have never forgotten, especially after their good run in the Premier League the following season and thinking what could have been. Its something that will no doubt be on Dean Hoyle's mind this Saturday if the ginger man from Celtic decides to pick up the phone enquiring about James Vaughan.
Since those days Town spiralled down to the bottom division whereas Ipswich had a decent go at the Premier League and have been a solid Championship side since. Town are back where we belong and are looking good right now and so are Ipswich with us both on 26 points, 5 off the play off spots. In that time they also very kindly sold us Jordan Rhodes for a bargain price which Blackburn have smashed to smithereens with their transfer last summer.
So to Saturday, its the 37th matchup of our teams, Ipswich have won 19 of those and we have only won 11. Before last seasons draws it was a 12 year gap between playing each other so past form doesnt give much away (even if Mrs Rubery did).
They are led by the top bloke that is Mick McCarthy and play decent football and as such it should be a good contest. We always play better when the opposition plays proper football and doesnt just lob it up the field all the time.
Team News
Ipswich Town
Ipswich have a doubt on Taylor who has a shoulder injury and are without Hewitt who has an ankle injury. They come from an apparent bruising 1-0 win at Charlton last weekend and 3-1 home win over their old boy Rhodes's side. From what I read they therefore may want to freshen their side up a bit and may consider bringing Ryan Tunnicliffe, Jay Tabb, Paul Anderson and Daryl Murphy back into the team.
Huddersfield Town:
Following great wins on Saturday and Tuesday night we are likely to have a fairly unchanged squad but I would think Southern will drop out for Clayton who has returned from suspension. Hopefully Smithies can maintain this fantastic form and keep a clean sheet and some more of those fantastic saves. Norwood is on good form too with two goals in two games and hopefully can fulfil the promise Man Utd saw in him. Vaughan too needs to get back on the goal trail and ignore the advances of the ginger one.
My Starting 11s
| Ipswich Town | Huddersfield Town |
| Gerken | Smithies |
| Chambers | Smith |
| Berra | Gerrard |
| Smith | Lynch |
| Cresswell | Dixon |
| Anderson | Hogg |
| Hyam | Norwood |
| Skuse | Clayton |
| Hunt | Hammill |
| Murphy | Vaughan |
| McGoldrick | Paterson |
Social Side
I must admit I dont know the area personally but from the Football Ground Guide website it suggests the following:
The main away supporters pub is the Riverside (Station) Hotel, which as the name suggests, backs onto a river and is located close to the railway station which is only a five minute walk away from Portman Road. Otherwise the Punch & Judy pub on Cardinal Park, which is close to the ground has also been recommended to me as a pub which is family orientated and where both sets of fans can enjoy a drink. Other pubs in the area such as the Hare & Hounds and the Swan, are very much home pubs and are best avoided by visiting fans.
If you arrive in good time then you can take the walk into the town centre where there are plenty of pubs to be found. Of particular note is the Lord Nelson in Fore Street, which is an interesting pub that sells Adnams beers. Also there is the Dove Street Inn on St Helens Street which is listed in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide which has up to 20 real ales and ciders on tap.
Liam Burgess adds; 'The waterfront area has recently been re-developed and has a number of bars and restaurants. This is visible from the train station and is a 10 minute walk from the ground. The Isaac Lord on the quay is a local favourite and serves various real ales. Directions from the railway station: walk straight over the bridge as you come out of the station, turn right at the Royal Mail sorting office and literally walk in a straight line for five minutes or so going past Cardinal Park to reach the Waterfront area. There is a car park right next to the main entrance of the waterfront too.' This car park is run by Total Car Parks Limited and offers a matchday all day ticket for £2.50. This can be paid on the day or booked in advance via their website.
Otherwise alcohol is on sale inside the ground including Adnams Bitter (£3.40), Carlsberg Lager (£3.60), Aspall Suffolk Cyder (£3.90) Spirit Minatures (£3.90) and White & Red Wine (£3.90). Please note that alcohol is not available to away fans at half time.
My Prediction
Im optimistic for the weekend after a really great run of results for us so going for a 2-1 win!