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Back to Basics for Blues Against Bottom Club Burton
Tuesday, 15th Dec 2020 06:00

Town host bottom-of-the-table Burton Albion at Portman Road tonight aiming to return to winning ways with manager Paul Lambert looking for his players to get the basics right following Saturday’s 2-0 home defeat to Portsmouth which saw them drop to sixth.

Lambert was particularly critical of his side for the way they performed without the ball against Pompey.

“You can’t play a game of football without doing the other side first," he said.

“Once you do the other side first, everything else follows suit and if you don’t do that, ultimately you lose.”

Asked whether he wants a back to basics approach from his team, who will again be watched by 2,000 season ticket holders this evening, he said: “A million per cent, do the basics of the game. If you do the basics of the game right you’ve got a bigger chance of winning the game.

“But you have to start right. You have to get to work on one side, doing all the other things, then the ability and other things come through. [On Saturday] we never did that and we deserved to lose.”

The Blues have now lost six of their last nine games in all competitions including their last three at home without scoring."

“You have to win games, whether it’s ugly or whatever,” Lambert continued. “But you cannot play without the ball, you have to go and be more aggressive than that without the ball. It is, it’s back to basics.”

Goals have been far and few between lately with the two in the 2-1 win over 10-man Plymouth 10 days ago all the Blues have scored in their last five matches.

Lambert may want to make changes to his team given Saturday’s result and performance but remains limited in his options due to the injury situation, although on Friday he suggested Freddie Sears could be ready to return from his hamstring injury in tome for tonight.

Dai Cornell will probably continue in goal with skipper Luke Chambers at right-back and Stephen Ward on the left.

Lambert could look at a change at the centre of the defence with the Blues having conceded seven goals in their last three home games. Toto Nsiala could come in for Mark McGuinness alongside Luke Woolfenden.

In midfield, Andre Dozzell will continue but Jon Nolan seems set to miss out having picked up an injury on Saturday. Brett McGavin replaced him from the bench, while Emyr Huws will also hope to come back into the XI.


Alan Judge started in the more advanced midfield role against Pompey before swapping with Armando Dobra. Lambert may well start with the Irishman in that role this evening with the Albanian U21 international on the right.

Sears could return on the left for Jack Lankester if the former West Ham man is considered fit enough with Keanan Bennetts another alternative.

The Blues boss may opt to make a switch at the centre of his attack having said Kayden Jackson has to be protected given his stop-start season due to injury and illness.

Aaron Drinan recovered from his hamstring problem and came off the bench in the second half at the weekend and could start with Jackson and Oli Hawkins among the subs.

Despite being bottom, Burton go into tonight’s match on a run of four games without a defeat.

A 4-2 home victory over Charlton - which ended a run of 14 games without a win - has been followed by 1-1 draws at Sunderland, with Crewe at the Pirelli Stadium and away against the MK Dons.

Burton have conceded 31 League One goals this season - only Swindon have shipped more, 33 - and they are yet to keep a clean sheet having let in at least one goal in every second half this campaign, a total of 21.

The Brewers’ away form, no wins, five draws and four defeats, is the third worst in the division.

Striker Kane Hemmings could return for the visitors after a quad injury and Albion have an otherwise fully fit squad.

Town and Burton have only met six times in competitive matches, all in the league in recent seasons, with Town unbeaten having won five and drawn one.

The most recent game between the sides was at Portman Road in February when Alan Judge and Kayden Jackson netted two goals apiece as the Blues came from behind to win 4-1.

Jamie Murphy gave the Brewers the lead in the sixth minute but Judge levelled for Town on 29, then Jackson put the Blues in front just before the break.

The former Accrington man made it 3-1 seven minutes after the restart, then Judge added the fourth on 63.

On the opening day of last season at the Pirelli Stadium, Luke Garbutt's deflected debut goal saw the Blues to a 1-0 victory over Burton Albion in their first third tier game for 62 years.

Loanee Garbutt found the net in the 11th minute to see the Blues to the three points against the Brewers, who were reduced to 10 men late on when Stephen Quinn was red-carded for two bookable offences.

No member of the current Town squad has played for Burton, but former Town striker Luke Varney rejoined them in August as player/fitness coach and has so far made three sub appearances.

Varney, 38, was with the Blues between February 2015 to January 2017, initially on loan, and made 14 starts and 32 sub appearances, scoring five goals.

During his previous spell with the Brewers Varney, known as Reg while at Town, netted an own goal in the Blues’ 2-1 Championship win at the Pirelli Stadium in April 2017. Burton midfielder Stephen Quinn is the brother of ex-Blue Alan.

Tonight’s referee is Darren Bond from Lancashire, who has shown 40 yellow cards and one red in 12 games so far this season.

Bond’s last Town game was the 1-1 draw at Bristol City in March 2019 in which he cautioned Dozzell, Gwion Edwards, Idris El Mizouni and one home player.

Before that he was in charge of the 2-2 draw at Reading in November 2018 in which he yellow-carded Chambers, Jordan Spence and one Royal.

Two months prior to that he refereed the 1-1 home draw with Brentford in which he booked Knudsen and two Bees.

He was also the man in the middle for the 4-2 home victory over Nottingham Forest in December 2017 in which he cautioned Callum Connolly, Martyn Waghorn and two visiting players.

Bond also officiated in the 2-1 defeat at Birmingham in December 2016 in which he yellow-carded Chambers and Christophe Berra.

He took control of the 2-2 home draw with Rotherham a couple of months earlier in which he kept his cards in his pocket throughout and was also the man in the middle for the 0-0 draw at Middlesbrough in April of the same year in which he cautioned Luke Hyam and former Blues skipper Grant Leadbitter.

Bond officiated in the 1-0 win at Huddersfield three months earlier in which he yellow-carded Chambers, Brett Pitman and Ainsley Maitland-Niles as well as one home player.

He also refereed the dramatic last-gasp 1-0 victory at Charlton in November 2014 in which he kept his cards in his pocket throughout.

Two months before that he took control of the 1-1 draw at Sheffield Wednesday when he booked only two home players, while his only other match involving the Blues was the 2-2 draw at Barnsley in February of the same year in which he again showed no cards.

Squad from: Cornell, Holy, Chambers (c), Donacien, Ward, Kenlock, McGuinness, Woolfenden, Nsiala, Dozzell, McGavin, Judge, Huws, Lankester, Bennetts, Dobra, Sears, Hawkins, Jackson, Drinan.


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tractorboybig added 06:07 - Dec 15
BASIC/......New owner
New Manager
= New begining
2

tractorboybig added 06:08 - Dec 15
beginning
0

belgablue added 06:48 - Dec 15
When have we ever done the basics right since he became manager? The McRelegator.
2

Bluedandy added 07:23 - Dec 15
Oh look it's a babbling Scottish brook of vacuous managerial cliches set to plunge every Town supporter into a state of complete despair.
3

Chrisd added 07:28 - Dec 15
Here's a few basic suggestions: Pass and move, moving the ball 'forwards' with purpose and pace, getting more players forward when we attack and getting defenders switched on to mark up? I've not got my UEFA coaching badges, but it's not rocket science PL, although you try and make it more complicated than it should be. If all those are basic aspects of the game, why haven't you not identified those earlier? Utterly clueless.
11

Nobbysnuts added 07:46 - Dec 15
Are you still there lambert......👎👎👎👎👎
1

MickMillsTash added 07:52 - Dec 15
Stop Crosses, Attack the ball, Go with runners.
Organise at set pieces,
Win the second ball
Compete
Talk
9

Bigeze added 07:54 - Dec 15
And what will be the reasons/excuses if we lose the match tonight? New COVID strains fault.......Xmas moon first time in 800 years?
1

stevelincsexile added 07:59 - Dec 15
Drop Chambers,Hunt and Judge plat 2 up front.
2

Linkboy13 added 08:05 - Dec 15
Surely doing the basics is the number one priority of any football team. Sounds like a manager who's ran out of ideas and things to say. Yes we have a lot of injuries but what was the excuse for last season's sudden dip in form. Answer we are just not good enough to compete with the good teams in this league. We haven't beaten one yet this can't be just a coincidence.
3

norfolkbluey added 08:05 - Dec 15
Final warning!
1

Len_Brennan added 08:07 - Dec 15
This is probably the report with the most comprehensive information on a referee I have ever read. Somebody has done their Darren Bond homework!
0

MonkeyAlan added 08:56 - Dec 15
Just clueless. As are the players and the owner.
1

BlueandTruesince82 added 08:57 - Dec 15
Ipswich Town 1 - Burton Albion 1.

Couldn't ask anymore, played really, really well.
1

rfretwell added 09:00 - Dec 15
Go with the runners. Quite Messrs Nolan ( Pompeys first goal) and Dozzell (their
second). Dozzell is no defensive midfielder, offers little protection to the back line. Put McGuiness in that role. He will bring much needed height to midfield, is aggressive in the tsckle and uses the ball well. and play Doz further forward to create. Radical change needed while we have an injury list as long as your arm
8

BcarefulwhatUWish4 added 09:04 - Dec 15
Anything other than a win is completely unacceptable.
3

heathen66 added 09:09 - Dec 15
Back to basics is the right thing to do, however those players who have been struggling to do the basics are the first players on the team sheet with no question.
You will not score many without players being in the (opposition) box.
Go to a basic 4-4-2 formation and stop this fancy passing it around the back as it gets us nowhere. We are not Man City, we have not got the capability to do this.
Yes, the defenders should pass the ball instead of hoof it, but it is pass, pass, pass, pass...and then hoof when under pressure
We are not creating anything by doing this apart from trouble for ourselves
It is a bit like waiting for a goal created from a Jonas Knudsen (dangerous) long throw...just doesn't happen no matter how many times you do it.
8

spanishblue added 09:11 - Dec 15
Mills on Saturday, trying to be nice said Dozzell is no good at the back he should be played further forward, I'd play Hawkins at the back McGuinness up front mobile and hard along with Drinan cannot be any worse, how much of this dross before he goes, dare I watch tonight
0

Dockerblue added 09:17 - Dec 15
MickMillsTash, that's a list of everything Chambers doesn't do! He,ll still play tonight though, everything that's wrong with this club. Players are too comfortable here, some are nailed on starters so why bust a gut? Pathetic!
2

PortmanTerrorist added 09:30 - Dec 15
For no other reason than they looked shot, up close on Saturday, I would would bring in Donacien and Kenlock in the FB roles which are critical to this system (which we cannot deviate from) working. Other than that our "options" are not game changers unfortunately. Any performance change will have to come from within the changing room. Not worried at all abut tonight, though did turn down a ticket.
0

OwainG1992 added 10:07 - Dec 15
Must win.
1

BettyBlue added 10:15 - Dec 15
100 games and we've decided its time to sort the basics out?

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
2

BettyBlue added 10:18 - Dec 15
Chambers is the rot at the heart of ITFC.
-8

chepstowblue added 10:19 - Dec 15
I think we'll hold them to a 1-1 draw. Two points dropped for Burton, and a result which will have the Burton fans calling for their managers head!
2

Nobbysnuts added 10:27 - Dec 15
You should be good at basics paul because basically your a moron.🤪🤪🤪
1


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