I’ve got to take issue with the better performances thing. It would be very easy for anybody to play open passing football badly, but if you don’t have the ability to cover and keep tight lines you leave yourselves wide open. That’s why we get beaten week after week. Even with a lack of creative quality that we clearly have, a good manager should be able to drill this set of players to be tight and hard to beat and pick up draws more often than not and occasional wins.
I agree with that - think Lambert's been far too naive and tried to get us to play far too much without tightening us up at the back first. Very naive.
It's all well and good saying that Hurst would possibly have got us more points than PL, but a decision had to be made then. There was a toxic atmosphere within the squad (or so we were led to believe), and performances were not great. I do though believe that given time, Hurst could've been a decent appointment, and even though maybe not kept us up, would've been a decent longer term manager. I have no idea, and in all fairness, no one on here really has, about what was really going on behind the scenes with the manager, coaching staff, and the team. If there really was totally disharmony between all parties, then he had to go. Hindsight is wonderful, as i'm sure if we all knew that the results would not improve (or even get worse) then PL would not have been appointed.
Stretchy, it’s not hindsight - if you go back and read my posts I felt we needed to give Hurst the Millwall, Reading and Preston games because we were showing signs of progress, they were vital for our season and a new manager could not put his stamp on it in such a short time. I also did not like the appointment of Lambert given his track record. You then have no guarantees of what will happen, but I felt we shot ourselves in the foot first of all to make a change at that point and secondly to appoint Lambert. I’m absolutely sure we would have more points had we stuck with Hurst, and he would now be in a position to strengthen those areas that he didn’t have time or funds for in the summer. Regarding the nonsense behind the scenes, Evans could easily have stepped into resolve that. Get rid of a coach or two, release a player and then publicly back the manager. That’s how to nip that kind of nonsense in the bud. We have all the evidence we need now that it was a load of rubbish. That didn’t happen though, we are where we are, and I really have no idea what we can do now to improve the situation. Sack Lambert, keep Lambert, buy players, don’t buy players, I think most of us think we’re down regardless.
If we can relegated (I can still hope / dream of survival) & the club or lambert himself decided he didn’t want to stay. Who could we realistically attract? Other than going back to old itfc players - burley & butcher were mentioned previously, who would want the job? For the last 3 years imo, the club has lost contact with the community. I can see parallels between now and when McGivern was in charge, only difference is we are going down from the championship rather than the premier league
What’s your take on it gaffer? I don’t think there’s any question that so far he’s failed is there? The first job was to stay in the division, surely. After that it was genuinely a question - what should be the next move?
I said a couple of weeks ago I felt Lambert was doing no better than Hurst with what was available to him bearing in mind he is supposed to be a more experienced/better coach We will see how he improves the squad in the present window but I’m not holding my breath for vast improvement on what we’ve already got
Well, Lambert has not got the upturn in results hoped for but where does the fault lie? He has a clear system that he wants to play but is that helping or hurting us? Is he just not adapting to what's needed to get the results or the capabilities of the squad? Should he try something different? I mean, I like that he knows what he wants to do with the team but is that any good if the players simply can't deliver it? It's difficult for me to judge him on the squad that he inherited, it's one that's just not capable of competing at championship level this year. It's also difficult to judge him on what comes in this January. It's not a great window to do business in and I can't see Evans bankrolling an aggressive attack on retaining our league status. I certainly agree that he hasn't exactly impressed with the results but I'm not sure anybody could get results with this squad, it's that bad. At the end of the day, Evans hamstrings his managers by giving them a tight budget or telling them to sell before buying and so the cycle will continue, regardless of who is manager.
Lambert knew all this when he took the job and if he knew he wasn’t qualified to keep us up with the current squad and had integrity he shouldn’t have taken it, just as Frank Lampard looked at us in the summer and thought “no chance” However, Lambert was out of work for a while and will have a lucrative contract.
I'm sure Lambert considered it a good opportunity - sure, the £££ would have helped but integrity? give over. Out of work manager in getting a new job shocker! Not good so far thought Lambert, up it please!
If he wasn’t just in it for the money the results would be better, unless he’s completely inept as a manager, which I don’t believe he is.
What has £££ got to do with anything regarding his contract? What's he supposed to do, say ' please pay me less, I don't deserve that......... ' he has a life etc and deserves whatever salary was offered to him. The same as Mick/Hurst/Keane/Jewell heck anyone for that matter. Hopefully results can improve.
What £££ has to do with it is that Ipswich need a manager who’s not entirely motivated by the pay cheque. Keane and Hurst were motivated by the challenge and building their careers, McCarthy was motivated by his love of the game - and they are not even great examples. This is the main reason I would have backed some combination of Dyer / Butcher / Burley.
Okay I'll say this then leave it with everyone else - I'm really scratching my head and cannot see your logic to the money side of things. Lambert is a manager, surely will have an agent and his stock has fallen the past 5 years. He's surely going to want to mend his reputation, go a good job here and see where it takes him!? It's a brave job to take, especially for him being an ex Canary and bloody good there. He's surely thought about it as perhaps a great opportunity! Of course, he is going to be paid, as would any manager. If he does a crap job with us, will he even get a job at Championship level again? Might have to drop down to League 1..... Say Lambert had gone to ,,,, I donno, Sheffield Wednesday / Millwall or Reading, would you have this ££££ agenda? I'm not his biggest fan for the record either and was very 5050 pre his appointment, but yes. I have no issue with what people get paid, it's up to the powers that be to offer them a sensible wage. Negotiating, who is ever going to say ' that's mental, pay me less!?!? ' No one! You appear to have an issue with ££££ - yet have comically picked Dyer out as a suggestion - I think it's well known in the game Dyer loved the £££££. Interesting pick, but hey, fair enough.
Well at least he seems more willing to stand up to Evans than that ass kisser McCarthy when it comes to the way the Club is being mismanaged with regard to contracts.(And perhaps a hint that the honeymoon “positivity” period is over!) https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town/paul-lambert-on-ipswich-town-contracts-1-5837312
If any of those clubs thought Lambert could do a job they would have been in for him. I think Lambert knows he was not likely to get another offer at this level after failing at every job since Norwich and saw it as a final meal ticket. That’s just what I thought before we kicked a ball under him, based on what he said about not getting worried and what I’ve seen since hasn’t changed my view on that. Dyer played at the highest level and has matured. He loves the Town and the club. It would be the least comical appointment that Evans could make by recent standards. The question now is always who of any quality would come to the club in our current state? The answer is we have three men of real quality right under our noses.
Very difficult for any of us to fully know what is going on behind the scenes, and we are all exasperated by the lowest point in our beloved club's history in recent years - by that I mean last few decades in my honest John period! Hampy asked me a simple straightforward question. What is my take on it all? I have to conserve my health & energy so wont go into a diatribe: The History and success of the the Club was built on a remarkable family-owned (Cobbolds), supporter loyalty-based, passionate small town/rural community These owners - and I knew them quite well years ago- knew their club, its football, and were very engaged with the supporters Blessed by a string of astonishingly able managers who lived and breathed & understood its unique character The present owner has been an unmitigated disaster by comparison, and failed in most, but not all aspects imo of running a club. He did bring in much needed funds initially when we were, and still are, in serious debt. ME has no rapport with the supporters, and has overseen a steady decline in the club, its sense of purpose, its structure, its assets, maintenance and above all its fan base. Putting previous managers aside, I held some promise and hope for Hurst, and now Lambert. I b;ame neither really, for the dismal state we find ourselves in. Totally strapped for serious funds and a shocking shipping out of our best players has reaped its own rewards. How this last summer's selling of our only top strikers was allowed to happen, god only knows. No due diligence, no proper care or planning - in a nutshell, any of us on this form could have managed it better, and more enjoyable as a group too! So blindingly obvious what would transpire this season... And it has. I confess to not going to a single match sadly which is a first in 55 years, but perhaps that gives me a different more objective insight. I am not one for checking social media every few minutes or even hours, as I find it addictive and not always a good way to spend my time. However, you lot give me a very good feel and flavour, for which I am eternally grateful. To conclude, I think we all should prepare mentally for League 1 footie, and try if poss to embrace it, and still get behind the team. And enjoy the rest of the season, give a few surprises, and perhaps get tantalisingly close by end April. No-one can sensibly predict who would be mad to join us at this point, but we do seem to have a good, young, quite talented squad, who to their credit and Lambert's - are giving it their all. Moreover, in periods, they are playing some of the best football for a long time. No Manager would manage a club for free or reduced salary. Lambert as a character is likeable, decent and desperate to succeed; he has the squad and dressing room behind him it seems. I wont judge him based on what's happened beyond his control. At the end of the day, they are no longer a Championship squad, we know that, and can only hope that Lambert is given sufficient backing to get us straight back up. I cant remember when I last saw Town in the 3rd tier. I am however reconciled to all that now. And if perchance we do re-enforce with some seriously big, skilled fellas and knock 6 bells out of the oppo the next few months, start scoring goals agin - whats that! - and cut the gap to say 3 pts, then anything is possible. Over and out for now.
