I get fed up of people who use this site to wind other people up or use it for banter, I find it a little sad tbh!!
On what has been a very difficult weekend for football fans itfctc has made me smile. I have no idea whether it was intentional or not. Maybe wumming has reached a new level?
One thing I noticed yesterday is we need to sort out the support to penalty area a bloody site faster than it was happening yesterday. In the first half Chops got himself into some very dangerous areas out wide but the likes of JET, Murphy and Martin were showing a positively Priskin-like lack of urgency and willingness to get into the danger zone. Posh were by far the better team in the first half, but Chops still had excellent chances in the first minute and the last five minutes plus could have laid on at least two chances had JET et al bothered their arses to break into a sprint. In the second half we were all over them until the last ten or fifteen minutes. Should have had more before they got their second. Delaney nearly made my hair fall out yesterday. JET and Drury off the pace. Druryâs first touch was frequently further than most of us can kick it, and JET, for a strong bloke, was so easy to dispossess he might as well have been a fairy dragged in from the bottom of the garden. When Bowyer came on I was slapping my forehead wailing that heâd be back off within five minutes clutching some part of this anatomy amidst much pained grimacing, but I though he made a huge difference. If we had a slightly more assured defence weâd be fine.
Glad I can make people smile. Its things like that which annoy me. JJ has just put up a very good post, yet noone comments on it, they just WUM or have banter, these aren't what these boards are about. If I want that I'd go and see some mates, not come on a football fans site trying to wind people up or have a joke and a laugh!! Its no wonder sometimes these boards are so quiet, i think people just get fed up of the utter crap posted on here sometimes!!
come on people - lets stay civilized. On topic YES Grant Leadbitter has played well for 2 or 3 games and does not deserve short term criticism BUT I cant just turn round and forgive 2 and a half seasons of nothingness for such a small return. We signed him as a premier league fringe player and paid somewhere in the region of £1.6m for him. These facts gave an expectation level that he has simply been nowhere near hitting so far in his town career. I imagine he is on decent wages and even if he keeps up his current form until the end of the season I believe we can find someone of similar ability or better for half the wage. It is probably too late into his town career to persaude me that we should offer him another decent deal to stay. Im confused why recently everyone has been saying how consistant Edwards has been this season. In general it appears to me that most fans take their view of a player over a 3 or 4 game run and have easily forgotten a players form from 2 months back. I dont see how week in/ week out we moan about how poor our defence is yet 1/4 or even 1/2 (if you include Cresswell) get freed from blame. Its a back four for a reason! Our central defence is fragile so we need dependenable full backs which Edwards is not. If we want to continue with Edwards then we need to ensure that both CB's (for me Smith and a new powerhouse defender) plus our midfield are rock solid to allow Edwards to move forward at will and leave acres of space behind him. A more realistic option is to find a steady and able fullback in the Wilnis/ Wright mode who can go forward but defending is the key priority. Against certain teams I have no problems with Edwards in the team but I would like a solid defence because if we are real about fighting for promotion next season then there will be games where keeping it tight at the back are the priority and with our current system i cant see that happening
Tractorbhoy I agree with most of that but lets not forget that Edwards has been asked to play in a position that is not natural to him! Under the circumstances whish are not of his making he has done a reasonable job. It is unfair to criticise Edwards for his defensive shortcomings when he has always played as an attacking winger in the past!
JWM, I take your point although Edwards did say he had played at full back earlier in his career. Regardless of his suitability for the role, the fact is we all want to see Town succeed and for that you need players who are comfortable to fit into the system. I wont knock Edwards for his failings as, as you point out he is naturally a more creative player, but if we want to win then we have to have the right players for the role.
I agree Tractorbhoy I just felt in fairness the point needed to be made. Carlos has galvanised the team since he has been made Captain and his appetite for the game seems to have rubbed off on the players around him. We need a specialist right back but there is also room in our team for Carlos.
Good to see the conversation back on track!! Let me change it for a second, Hoppers there's nothing wrong with a bit of banter its when the conversation completely changes from football when actually an interesting debate is going on!! Back on subject. I agree with most of what u both say. Edwards, is a real threat going forward but pretty poor defensively, which I think is a shame really because he has the attributes to be a good defender, but i geuss the years of him playing on the wing have taken its toll on his positional play. I think its a shame infact that he hasn't been put in that position all his life, because in his time here, i was never really impressed with him on the wing at all. I am shocked though that so many people on here and in the press have said that he has been one of our most consistent players all season. Thats not me knocking him thats just me saying he hasn't and was pretty poor at points during the season. I have probably critisized him less as a winger than a Rb but just can't believe people are saying that, especially when people were slating him earlier in the season!!
Just though I would put this in taken from TWTD, fans season to date player match ratings. I have only included the players that are at this time in or around the first team squad, it does sort of show that Edwards good form has only happened in the 2nd half of the season as his average score is below the average for the rest of the squad…Hyams & Drurys scores are skewed as they have only been involved in our “good run”….not sure what that says for our YTS lad in goal though.! Aaron Cresswell - 6.40 Alex McCarthy - 5.12 Andy Drury - 7.16 Arran Lee-Barrett - 6.17 Carlos Edwards - 5.91 Damien Delaney - 5.37 Daryl Murphy - 5.96 Grant Leadbitter - 5.31 Ibrahima Sonko - 6.34 Jason Scotland 6.65 Jay Emmanuel-Thomas - 5.81 Jimmy Bullard - 5.63 Josh Carson - 5.58 Lee Bowyer - 5.76 Lee Martin - 6.51 Luke Hyam - 7.12 Michael Chopra - 6.22 Ryan Stevenson - 6.18 Tommy Smith - 6.27
Them stats seems to sum up my argument brilliantly. Not one player would deserve the player of the season award currently as we are so damn inconsistant. The evening star are going down hill at a scary rate when it comes to football reporting at the moment. Not only did they start the tag 'mr consistant' for Edwards but there sports headline yesterday was 'fortress Portman Road' What a complete Joke that is. we hardly look likely to shut up shop do we.
Agree JWM. not arguing with CURRENT form but its hardly a fortress is it. A normal use of the word fortress in footballing terms is where the opposition fear coming to and have no chance of getting a point. Our last win was a lucky 3-2 with the winning goal coming from a deflection against a team not far off a relegation battle.
The fact remains that we won despite not playing well which in my book is all the more pleasing! The more games we win at home the more opposition teams will fear playing us.
Agree JWM. Not only did we get the points but it was enjoyable and open game. It just pisses me off when such an overexaggeration is used. Everything gets sensationalised so quickly. We are making steady progress but the talk of 'fortress' and 'mr reliable' just go so far over the top. You wait - one defeat or a mistake from Edwards and everyone will go back to 'we are woeful' or 'sack the board/ manager' or 'relegation beckons' or 'edwards should never play again' We are on a good run but are not unbeatable and are neither brilliant or terrible. I expect a few blips before the end of the season but hopefully the majority of our outstanding games will be just something to build on for next season.
Despite our recent up turn in form I still believe that Jewell isn't the man to lead us to promotion, far from it. As a supporter I am taking each performance as it comes and judging it on its own merits. The game on Saturday was thoroughly entertaining and despite our woeful defending we still managed a win. I wish some people would realise that we cant always win with style and by 3 or 4 nil. This team deserves to be in mid table obscurity and if we don't make the right changes in the summer I fear another 2 or 3 years of the same. The big question is how long do we have to put up with the same boring ****e year after year! Our season is over now and there is little else to play for and we are not even out of March yet!
