I just wanted to apologise for questioning and being crtical of PJ and his methods in previous weeks. I am very happy to have my gripes rammed back down my throat. No one can argue with 3 consecutive clean sheets including 2 away from home to two of the strongest teams in the league. It appears PJ has finally found or (stumbled) on the right formula he has been looking for. Yes there are still many bumps in the road to be negotiated but after all the heartache and hand wringing that us Town fans have been through, I think we have every right to be pleased as punch today! So I give credit where its due to the team and to PJ and all I can say is bring on Brighton! COYB
Agreed JWM but i think we had a right to criticise!! It took long enough for PJ to bring in the required defenders and the problem should have been adressed much sooner. Now we seem to have sorted the defensive problems all is looking rosy and credit now has to be given to PJ and the team!
Guru I still think we need a right back, Edwards may soon be having porridge for breakfast!! Oh and don't forget we should have Ingimarsson as back up instead of Donkey Delaney!!
You and me both jonny thats because we were worried about our club, and speaking as one of the poor bastards that went to Peterborough we had every right to be concerned. But credit where its due PJ has put together a solid defence and a competetive and creative midfield and the results are starting to come, even Leadbitter seems to be enjoying his football again. You said a while ago that confidence breeds confidence especially in football teams, thats spot on and although theres no doubt some downers along the way the season is looking a whole lot better than it did just a couple of weeks ago.
I think we are all guilty of pessimism afterall we support the Town! I think Southampton and Peterboro were lucky to catch us during that poor phase. We have a decent enough squad and our first choice 11 are a match for anyone in this league!
You were right to be critical of the team and fairly pessimistic especially after 2 appalling performances JWM and whoever else it was. I just think everyone's judgement can seem to be clouded by a few poor results as it can be from a few good results, so lets be a bit cautious. At the same time as I want us to finish as high as possible this season I do not neccessarily think it will be a good thing for us to get promoted this season, I think another year of Jewell getting his idea's together and finding a few more gems like Cresswell and we could be well on our way!!! Sometimes I just think you have to look past the results and look what has happened at the club in the past few years, the state it was in when PJ took over and what PJ has done since he came to the club bar the 2 very very poor results I've been impressed and actually very surprised that he managed to get in as many quality players as he has done. I think unlike our previous managers Jewell actually has what it takes to get this club towards the premier league we just need to give him patience. The most positive thing now is that we actually have something to build apon when he took over we had no real quality players now we have more than we have had in years. There is no problem with critisisms on this page especially after poor results and poor decisions but I just couldn't understand calling for the manager to be sacked and being as heavily critisized as he was especially after the relitivaly small amount of criticism Keane got in his tenure when despite the 2 thrashings things have and will never be as bad under any other manager than they were under Keane. We've have gone massively backwards since Keane took charge and I think it seems some fans have run out of patience with Jewell because they used all their patience up on Keane. Onwards and upwards, for the first time in about 4 years I feel the club is finally going somewhere but there will be many many more bumps in the road ahead. But at last we have good performances not just results and we seem to have some direction. COYB
What a lovely read this makes. Lots of lovely positive posts from normally negative people. I'm glad PJ has found a system where he can play our four CM's at once. 4-1-2-1-2 is a good way to play if you have quality attacking full backs like we have. It can be seen as narrow but does offer some protection to the defence through the middle. We will have to be careful when playing teams with really good wingers but as shown last night, if Cressy and Edwards are in an advanced position it forces the other teams wide men back and makes them less of a threat. Really hope we can bring Collins in permanently, him and Sonko have been great so far but it's not just them. We are defending more from the front now and snuffing out attacks before they can really get going. Credit goes to everyone involved.
To true San Diego. Everywhere across the team we seem to be finding partnerships. Upfront for instance, Scotland and Chops have just clicked, and i would say are our best front partnership in donkeys years. At the back we have 2 proper defenders in the centre, out wide the full backs know when to go and stay, and the midfield can run the games at our own pace. Well Done PJ, Happy Birthday!
To be fair you had every right to be unhappy with the way you were playing, and the horrible results JWM..... I wouldn t start creaming your knickers yet but carry on at this rate and the play offs are easily achievable........... Genuinely happy to see you lot doing well.....
I actually made a little fist and punched the air shouting "YEEEES" when you scored yesterday............
The thing is he lost our best defender in McAuley and he inherited awful keepers and defenders. I was stunned by the quality of our transfers this summer and it didn't take an idiot to see that we still had gaping holes at CB which PJ has filled. We've also been lucky to get Jimmy Bullard, but he wouldn't be with us if Roy Keane was still manager. All these quality players buy into what we all thought of PJ when he first walked through the door, which is that he's got all the attributes and character traits to become a great Ipswich manager.
I guess after 5 or 6 years of dross and promises you can't really blame us Townies for being critical
I suppose thats the difference between real supporters and the armchair variety, we are at PR and away from home regardless of the standard of football being played.
Too true fieldmarshall. I remember very well being at Hillsborough for a dire 0-0 George Burley draw and it was a million miles from the football we'd become accustomed to since John Lyall took the hotseat. Apart from a spell of decent football under Royle and flashes for 20 minutes here and there under Magic and Keano we have had dire football for so long. I've got to be honest, I think if we carried on with the rubbish for another couple of years then our stature would be in serious danger and we could easily have found ourselves relegated and with attendances continuing to drop below the 10k mark - but we seem to have turned it round just in time.
To be fair though SN23 it's easy to get those sorts of attendances when you're flying high whether it's League One or the Prem. Town's gates have always been better than at Carrow Road up until we had been stuck in the Championship for five or six years and not going anywhere or playing good football - that's the point at which you overtook us. Even if we get promoted I think it'll take at least a few years to recover to the attendances we got ten years ago because people will slowly dribble back in.