Charlton Athletic v Ipswich Town
Tuesday 26 July 2016 … 7:45pm Kick-Off
Pre-Season Friendly @ the Valley
IntroductionAnd so the end of pre-season is almost here, it’s almost to put aside the drab boring fixtures that (somehow) fans never expect as the new Football season is almost upon us, its’ almost time for the real Football to begin…
Keeping the focus on pre-season though, this summer has seen us traveling from the playing grounds of South East London to the lush green countryside of Austria; we’ve faced sides from the Non-League pyramid to the Russian, from the English League Two to the Israeli Premier League... We now only have two fixtures remaining before Bury yet this Tuesday night will surely be the real test for Russell Slade and his random collection as Football finally returns to the Valley this Tuesday night as we play host to Ipswich Town.
The OppositionName: Ipswich Town |
Manager: Mick McCarthy
Division: The Championship
Pre-Season Friendlies- Shelbourne 1-2 Ipswich Town
- Barnet 1-0 Ipswich Town
- Colchester United 0-1 Ipswich Town
- Cambridge United 1-1 Ipswich Town
Our opponents don’t really need an introduction do they… For those who actually bother to read my Match Previews (probably about one of you) you’ll have been rewarded with two riveting articles to read last season as we faced Ipswich home and away in our rather disastrous campaign.
As per the season before last… the Addicks played host to Ipswich on the TV and history pretty much repeated itself with Ipswich once again taking three points from the Valley (a 3-0 win that Ipswich shouldn’t be proud of as everyone managed that scoreline), our match at Portman Road was a completely different story and was proof that Charlton were going down simply because we couldn’t convert our chances, time and again the Addicks had opportunity to take three points back to London yet a 0-0 draw all but confirmed relegation.
After finishing 7th last time out though (beaten to the Play-Offs by Sheffield Wednesday and just five points), tomorrow night should be a good test… time and again Mick McCarthy and his Ipswich side just miss out on promotion to the Premier League and will no doubt be up there again this time round, it’s debatable whether the Tractor Boys will manage it (especially with an even quieter transfer window than our own) yet with Mick at the helm, they certainly won’t be lacking effort and commitment.
Team NewsAndrew Crofts (recently signed on a one year deal) missed the match against Leyton Orient on Saturday because of a dead leg, along with Chris Solly and Nicky Ajose he should return tomorrow night whilst Russell Slade hinted that Ademola Lookman could play a part… Newly signed on trial is Oscar Gobern after being released from Queens Park Rangers so he too could appear tomorrow in Charlton side that needs to find as much experience (from somewhere) as possible.
PredictionNo disrespect to RKC (or any other team faced) yet Ipswich without doubt are going to be our hardest pre-season friendly of the whole summer, both teams will be at the same levels of fitness yet Ipswich are still very much the same squad we faced in April having made very few transfers…
A draw wouldn’t be a bad result yet a win is entirely possible and will deliver a much needed confidence boost to Russell Slade and his young Charlton team ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Comments
Luckily I've moved on since then, and modern technology has moved on as well - rather than wasting my evening down at The Valley watching the first thrashing of the season, I can go home from work, shut the curtains and watch an infinite amount of hardcore pornography on my 40inch flat screen tv, a much more healthy and wholesome way to spend my time.
Charlton 0 - 3 Ipswich
Really excited to be back painfree in full training with the lads! Buzzing to make my first appearance in this season soon!
Note the Cambridge scorer also
Job done. Pearce / Tex and Bauer. Bench for RoJo.
Bet it won't be that simple.
We win 7. 0
:- )
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