 Friday, 26th Nov 2010 14:26 New loan signings Gianni Zuiverloon and Rory Fallon will go straight into the Town squad for Sunday’s East Anglian derby against Norwich City at Carrow Road (BBC1, 1pm). The Dutch right-back looks certain to start, while the New Zealand international striker’s prospects of making the XI have been enhanced by Connor Wickham’s absence with a thigh injury. Boss Roy Keane says Zuiverloon, on loan from West Brom, is an important addition to his squad, particularly with Tom Eastman missing for around a week: “We’ve persevered with Jaime Peters at right-back, he’s done reasonably well for us when you consider that he’s more of an attacking player, and Tom Eastman’s done well for us, but he picked up a groin injury last weekend so we’ve needed a recognised right-back. “[The lack of a recognised right-back has been] shown up particularly away from home when we’ve not been able to get up the park, so he’ll give us that and we’re delighted to have him. “He’ll go straight into the squad on Sunday. It’ll be a good start for him, it’s a good game for these boys. It might be a bit unfair to try and throw these boys straight into a derby match, but that’s the way it’s panned out for us.” Keane says Fallon is a different type of striker to those he already has in his squad and was looking at signing the New Zealander even prior to Connor Wickham suffering a thigh injury in the reserves: “I think sometimes when balls come into the box we don’t have anyone available who goes and attacks the ball, whether that’s in the starting XI or on the bench. “Rory will hopefully give us that, but we want to be fair to the boy as well and not expect miracles from him. It’s up to the other players to try and help him out.” Keane says he’s looking forward to his first taste of a Town-Norwich derby: “I’d expect what I’ve enjoyed before in derby matches - a great atmosphere, a lot of tension no doubt and two teams fully committed to getting the right result. That’s the plan from our point of view. “I think we’ve got to get the balance right, which we didn’t last week. I think we looked pretty solid but we didn’t look much of a goal threat, so we’ve got to try and get it right on Sunday because we won’t be able to defend for long periods like we did last weekend. We have to do more going forward to give our back four more of a breather.” The Blues boss feels it’s a match his players should relish: “It’s a game they should be looking forward to. That’s why you want to play the game, you want to play in big games. The lads who might have come up through the ranks at the club will want to play against Norwich. “We missed out last season when Norwich were in League One but they’re having a good season and we know we’ll have to play well to get the right result.” In addition to Wickham (thigh), Eastman (groin) and Gareth McAuley, who is out for two months having undergone achilles surgery, the Blues will be without Mark Kennedy (hamstring) and Luke Hyam (hamstring). The game is likely to come too soon for Colin Healy and Alan Quinn, both of whom played for the reserves at Spurs on Wednesday, their first match since being sidelined with injuries. Keane hints that Luciano Civelli may be closing in on his first involvement with the first team squad after 19 months out with a multi-knee ligament injury: “He trained with the first team this week and did reasonably well. “We wanted to keep him back and give other lads a run-out in the reserves. Look into that any way you want. He might be [in my 18], everybody’s got a chance. I always give people a chance.” Keane is weighing up whether Brian Murphy will keep his place in goal or whether Márton Fülöp will return to the side. The former Sunderland man had been away with Hungary prior to the trip to Hull and was rested as he had felt stiffness in his back when playing a game similarly soon after travelling back from an international fixture earlier in the season. Zuiverloon will make his debut at right-back with Darren O’Dea, who is expected to return from Glasgow on Saturday having been with his imminently expectant girlfriend since Tuesday, on the left. If O’Dea doesn’t make it, Tommy Smith will probably move from centre-half with Troy Brown joining Damien Delaney in the middle of the defence. Keane says he will be looking for greater attacking endeavour from his side, which could see a switch back to 4-4-1-1 from the 4-1-4-1 formation utilised at Hull. Skipper David Norris is fine despite his recent ankle injury and will probably continue in the centre alongside Grant Leadbitter. Carlos Edwards will take the right-sided role with Andros Townsend perhaps returning on the left in place of Jack Colback. Up front, Tamás Priskin looks a certain starter with Jason Scotland probably the favourite to take the deeper starting position with new signing Fallon and youngster Ronan Murray likely to play some part from the bench. Town can include all six of their loan players in their matchday squad. The limit of five loanees only applies to domestic loans not players borrowed from clubs in foreign leagues such as Darren O'Dea, whose parent club is Celtic. Norwich midfielder Korey Smith is a doubt ahead of Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, while Henri Lansbury has signed on loan from Arsenal. Adam Drury, Steven Smith, Matt Gill, Stephen Hughes and Zak Whitbread are all currently sidelined. Third-choice Town keeper Arran Lee-Barrett spent time with Norwich’s academy having been released by the Blues as a schoolboy but never made a first team appearance for the Canaries. Striker Kevin Lisbie, currently on loan at Millwall, has played for both clubs, but none of Paul Lambert’s squad has played for the Blues, although striker Simeon Jackson spent time training with Town's academy as a schoolboy. Town goalkeeper-coach James Hollman and academy manager Sammy Morgan both previously worked at Carrow Road. Blues midfielder Alan Quinn is the only player at either club to have scored in the derby. The Irishman is a derby goals expert having netted for both Sheffield clubs during their derby, the only player to have done so. Historically, Town have much the better record in East Anglian derbies, winning 40 (38 in the league), losing 34 (28) and drawing 17 (14). The last time the teams met was at Portman Road towards the end of Norwich’s 2008/09 relegation season. David Mooney put the Canaries in front before the Blues struck three times via Quinn, Giovani Dos Santos (penalty) and Jon Stead with Sammy Clingan adding a final moments consolation for the visitors, also from the spot. That match was Jim Magilton’s last as Town manager. Earlier that season, the Blues' poorest away performance of that campaign saw the Canaries win 2-0 at Carrow Road via goals from Lee Croft and Matthew Pattison. The match is being shown live on BBC1 (1pm) and is also being screened elsewhere in the world, including Norway, Australia and the US. Sunday’s referee is Keith Hill from Hertfordshire, who has shown 63 yellow and three red cards in 15 games so far this season. One of those red cards was issued to former Blue Alex Bruce during his Leeds side’s 2-1 defeat to the Blues at Portman Road in October. Hill, who also booked Grant Leadbitter, another ex-Town man Richard Naylor and his Whites team-mate Neill Collins in that match, also took control of last season’s 1-1 home draw with Middlesbrough and the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace earlier in that campaign. Squad from: Murphy, Fülöp, Zuiverloon, O’Dea, Brown, Smith, Delaney, Leadbitter, Norris, Colback, Peters, Livermore, Edwards, Townsend, Lambe, Civelli, Priskin, Scotland, Fallon, Murray.
Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
You need to login in order to post your comments |
   Blogs 297 bloggersIpswich Town Polls[ Vote here ] |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
