First the negatives, we were lucky to get a point and not many teams would let us back in the game after giving away 2 goals, the defence looks as shaky as ever, still too much tippy tappy resulting in very few shots on target, and watching Piggot running himself into the ground along the line waiting for a decent through pass to get on to that never came was painful. Apart from that the entertainment was the best for years and encouraging signs of better to come in most areas, Woolfy looks a shadow of his former self and apart from his horrendous error that cost us a goal his distribution was awful, and our corner kicks are as bad as ever. So after the first game its promising, the midfield looks competitive and creative and if we can keep that level of support going it could be a good season for a change.
Town have signed Kyle Edwards on a 3 year deal. The ex West Brom FORWARD is 23 years old and we beat several championship clubs to his signing. Looks like we will have plenty of competition up top
I never for the life of me understood why we spent so many years playing with four midfielders and playing centre mids out wide. Proper wingers cause hell for defences.
Looks another good signing! My heart will stop fluttering when we sign up an older, senior, experienced centre back, who can marshall all around him and coach Wolfy et al and get the best out of him.
Personally, I don't see the issue with supporters being optimistic and positive about the club over the last few months. Guarded caution is understandable (we're long-suffering Ipswich fans, after all). We've made wholesale changes to the squad - 28 players departed this summer, including returned loanees and currently 13 bought in. That scale of change usually suggests transition and a need for patience. However, the quality of players that we are bringing in will hopefully mitigate the need for a prolonged bedding-in process. As for judging our current defence on the first game of the season, I feel that's short-sighted thinking. More defenders and hopefully a bit of in-depth talent for the central midfield places are still incoming and I'm confident we'll get the quality in. I don't think Wolfenden and Nsiala will be first team regulars, and they looked like the one glaring weak area we had in the starting eleven (obviously we've got Edmonson to come in). What is abundantly clear is that after the last three or four years, change was absolutely necessary. Over the course of our last two seasons, we've never looked like a credible promotion-achieving side. I think we beat one or two top seven/eight teams over the last two seasons. Part of that was down to the complacent mindset from the players, and they've almost all been shipped out entirely. The decline under Evans also never looked like being reversed, not without fresh investment or a change of strategy which we were never going to get under him. He's also thankfully gone, watching harmlessly from the sidelines with his 5% stake. I also don't feel it's crucial that we need to reel off a load of early season victories. We did that in each of the last two campaigns and ended up in mid-table. I'm hoping this team will pick up results in the first month or so, because we'll obviously need them. My hope is this team will click together and start getting consistent victories over Christmas and in the second half of the season, where we've typically spluttered before. We're bringing in some highly-regarded, talented players, several of whom are undeniably Championship quality. They've bought into what is happening at this club. If I have one big concern, it's in our coaching team. Paul Cook is evidently a good manager with a strong CV and record for over-achieving at his previous clubs. He is without his usual trusted backroom staff, including Leam Richardson - who I hope wasn't integral to Cook's prior success. Are the likes of Francis Jeffers (typically a youth coach) and Gary Roberts (first coaching job) going to get the best out of a talented squad? Let's hope so!
I’ve got no issue if people are feeling optimistic, but in practical terms we have no idea what will happen and we could just as easily be relegated as promoted.
What does bother me though is what happens to the momentum if we do not go up this year. We’ve been in that situation before quite a few times over the last 20 years.
When the new owners said they will do what it takes to get us out of this division....i believed it 100%, so i have no concerns. Within two seasons we will be promoted and if that's with PC at the helm, then great but it could just as likely be with someone else, if things go tits after the first year.
Disagree completely with the 'we could just as easily be relegated as promoted' line. I think we'd have to do be pretty awful to get sucked into a relegation battle. In practical terms, over the last few months the quality and profile of incoming players - as well as the wider investment put into this club in the sports science/scouting side of the club - has swayed the balance of odds. We are in a sport and a division where, if you're signing Championship standard players, you're more likely to get promoted than relegated. There's a reason why opposition fans are getting irate about us. If Paul Lambert, Marcus Evans, and the previous mindset of the club couldn't get us relegated over the last two years in League One, I struggle to see how the current owners and players would allow things to get to that bad.
Well I for one am optimistic and I think we have earned the right to be a little excited after the **** decade we have endured so I will not apologise for getting behind the new regime wholeheartedly, the best part of success is the journey there not the destination IMO. I’m sure it won’t all be roses but I am sure that the Team, management and owners will give it everything and I don’t think they will stop trying after one season like ME.
Looks like we're taking the Bayern Munich approach to recruitment. Weaken your closest competition by buying up all their targets and best players. We are going to be some force this season!
I honestly can’t see any connection between our club now and over the last 15 years be it if we suffer a bad start or otherwise. The whole set up is professional now and, Jesus, we’re motoring in the transfer market! When we did well making the play offs in the late 90’s in successive seasons that squad, give or take some additions, finally hauled itself over the line by sheer force of collective will power. It’s about a momentum that becomes an unstoppable force and it’s being fast tracked for a very different world in 2021. might not be instant, I doubt success will be. I think we’ll make the playoffs but the yanks are not here to **** about. theyll take us up soon, maybe next season if not this. But the really hard work begins in the championship once we’re in the ring with the really big boys…
For me, it could easily happen if we start the season badly and find ourselves looking up the table. A group of players who have never played together before, a defence with more holes than Augusta, a kamikaze attacking style and a manager with a short temper is a risk that could pay off dividends or dump us deep in the ****.
I'll happily say with confidence that there is no way this assembled group of players will be involved in a relegation battle.