Ok guys, I know its early in the season and we still need time to gel (complete bollocks) but what sort of season will we have if we lose to Coventry on Monday week? A season of staving off relegation, relegation, lower mid table safety or a storming finish into the play offs? I think PJ is proving to be even more clueless than Keane and his win percentage is a lot lower! With Keane we drew more games than we lost and we weren't humped by cricket scores. Why has this been allowed to happen and why as Town fans have we just come to accept MEDIOCRITY? As a supporter for nearly 40 years, these last 5 years have been the hardest. From being a team renowned for free flowing attacking football that had Portman Road as a fortress to a team that is ridiculed for just being boring and clueless! There are no easy fixes to our current malaise and yes I started off with cautious optimism when PJ was appointed but he is basically clueless and left unchecked he will send us down. The case for the prosecution so far Mistake 1 : Rebuilding a team around past it ex premiership players Mistake 2 : Not recruiting enough decent players for our slip shod defence in time. Mistake 3 : Not getting in a proper right back Mistake 4 : Getting a first choice goalie on loan with an immediate return clause Mistake 5 : Nathan Ellington, JET, Bowyer - In their own ways just not good enough now Mistake 6 : Poor team selection and not making the most of what we have Mistake 7 : Not having any plan in place to progress Mistake 8 : Picking Leadbitter and making him Captain I think thats enough to be getting on with! Yes you can accuse me of being negative blah, blah, blah but this is PJ's team now and I have to say we have gone backwards even from last year. I think we will be fighting relegation for most of this season.
One big difference is that Keane was left with a good team which only needed a couple of signings and he dismantled it and bought absolute dross leaving us in an absolute mess. Jewell has had to start from scratch and he's had to bring in a whole new team, I'm not a fan of quick wholesale changes at clubs i like to see progression but we basically had to bring in wholesale changes to even try to compete at this level. Yes so far hasn't been great but I expected us to have a indifferent start to the season due to the mess we were in last season and the amount of new players brought in this year. In a way although we can complain about some of the recruits, I am very surprised that many of these players have come to town considering the predicament we were in and regarding comments by previous managers about being able to attract players to the club I think Jewell has done outstandingly well to attract some of those players. You have raised some good points and some that I am also slightly miffed about but I cannot see how you think we were better off under Keane last season, even though we are that entertaining its certainly better this season than last, in the 20minutes of the southampton game when we were close to getting back into the game I was entertained more in that 20minutes and more excited about the match than I ever was when Keane was manager, we were actually attacking a team and pegging them back into their own half!! We have a much better team on paper than we had last season by a long long way. The problem is we've had alot of new players coming in, alot of them haven't been match fit and some of them still aren't, also a few have been injured which hasn't helped. Since Jewell has been appointed people seem to have the idea that we are suddenly going to be challenging the league, seriously?? I mean look at the team he inherited and the lack of confidence in the squad, this is going to take a long time. He's had to recruit alot of players and some of them probably are quick fix not looking to the long term but we need a base to build from. Hopefully now we have the reminents of a decent team he will start unearthing more players for the future like Cresswell. But I agree with you on the whole starting 4 CM's I can't understand it, although we do have a lack of wingers.
JWM, I know we have had this discussion before mate but I would say again that there is a huge difference between accepting mediocrity and expecting it. I personally cannot accept it but, given our 'recent' history of disappointments, I have become cynical enough to expect it. I live in hope, season after season, that the good times will return to Portman Road and, despite everything, I have not yet given up on a turnaround this season. (but sssshhhh, I am keeping that to myself )
Ever since the ME takeover we have gone for the 'name' signing rather than scout for a decent long term viable option in each given position. You look at the team we had in the first 4 months of that season and it had no big names but they played as a team. Our front 4 on many occasions was Clarke, Lee, Counago & Walters. On paper it was nothing special but it worked. ME's takeover should of been the thing that fired us to play off certainties that season but poor old Jim seemed to think he was a child in a toy shop and rather than tinker he signed en masse. Even when he went the situation was still repairable. Roy was signed as a big name manager. Unfortunately the big name came from his playing days and not on managerial pedigree. What he said often made sense but he couldnt translate his press conference sense into matchday performances. He expected perfection and the odd stray pass would often result in a player never being seen again. Unfortunately his teams were built on workrate and commitment rather than any footballing ability and his signings mainly lacked originality by only signing his ex team mates and players. At times he did give youth a go but a lot of the time this was out of position and we soon resorted back to tried and tested as the results dried up. For me he was the worst manager I have ever seen and welcomed the change that Jewell initially brought to the club. He came in with the typical scouse approachability and made the club feel like a fun place to be at. He again said the right things and his games at the end of last season were open and entertaining. We played without the shackles of the rigidity of Keanes team and with basically the keane team things looked promising for the summer. The summer came and the signings we made, on paper, looked mainly promising. Instead of the promising headlessness of Norris we got the proven controlled animal of Bowyer. The goalscoring we have desired for so long was found in Chopra. A bit of youthful promise was signed up in JET and Cresswell and experienced campaigners were signed in Inga and Ellington. The additional touch of class was added in the loan market with a standout keeper and Andrews. Things looked good. RB was a bit of an issue but Edwards seemed to be growing into the role last season. Yes he would need a bit of competition but it wasnt a real worry if he kept up his potential. CB was a little light but Smith had never let us down in the past and Delaney, for all my hate of him, was fine for being a human wall. The season started with promise, Bristol City away was a convincing win and things looked like they could have turned round - so they should with the experience we now had on the pitch. I move to the game against Blackpool. A decent team, who on a high from a season in the promised land and led by one of the games great managerial entertainers and motivators. A manager who has previously been dismissed as a joker and a clown. A team with energy and enthusiasm. An experienced goal poacher in Philips and a mean captain in Barry Ferguson. A strong team but without many household names. Our starting team had 10 players with EPL experience and 9 internationals. Our starting line up looked strong as names but how could they all line up together. It looked like we would have to play with 4 CM in midfield but surely Jewell wouldnt follow Keanes disasterous tactic. I havent seen the match, only listening to the commentary on BBC Radio Suffolk but it sounded like the Ipswich from last year. We couldnt test their keeper, we couldnt keep possession and it seemed like a step back in square peg, round hole. On paper we should be fine, we should be better than fine and fighting near the top but it seems our experience is long past and too many players have already been there, done that and are now happy to pick up a wage packet and do the least amount possible. Coventry, our next match, wont benefit from the 'Holloway' effect. They dont have the fact that they can bask in the previous seasons over achievable. They are a below average championship club. They really do seem to be having a bad time and although they have a posh modern ground and a decent history they are going through one of those spells that all clubs seem to have and at present dont seem to be able to shake away their shackles. This really is a must win game for town. Loose this and I can feel real groans of discontent really setting in. There can be no excuses from a Town team that has arguably more experience and pedigree (on paper at least) then any other club in the league.
Spot on Tractorbhoy One of the best summaries I have read on here, very balanced and well reasoned. I am not in any way suggesting that we were better off with Keane. I am only suggesting that PJ is following the same road to ruin by making the same mistakes. Too many old players who are past their best, not enough pace and exhuberance of youth, baffling team selections resulting in square pegs in round holes, Leadbitter as captain etc etc. If we lose to Coventry I honestly think his days will be numbered as our supporters have been tested to breaking point already!
We lack a natural leader on the pitch, not since JDV have we had a truly decent defender and captain. If PJ has made one cock-up its having leadtwat as captain. I believe ME needs to invest on the scouting network, lets look abroad to spanish/french/german 2nd divisions to find those little gems.
