Hi all, hope you have all been keeping well. As some of the more observant readers of this forum may have noticed I havent posted much this season (Not a great loss I know) This has got nothing to do with the forum but just that I find there is so little to discuss pre or post match these days. The way we play each game is identical. The great plus about MM has always been his organisations skills and although he has done wonders it leads to all our matches continuing in the same trend over and over again. I havent got overly upset during our recent lean spell and I think that is because I never got enthusiastic about our good run at the end of last season. I just do not buy into MM's philosophy. Football for me is entertainment and I honestly can not remember that many games where I have been entertained by the home team. He is very conservative in his approach and i dont think he has ever gone out to try to win a game but always has the 'do not get beaten' attitude. There are good teams at this level and I am not for a gungho approach without respecting the opposition but I do think there are times when half our problems are caused by our own lack of conviction in putting a team to the sword. In essence although my annoyance is about MM's approach rather than his ability. There are some areas that really annoy me. Knudsen has tried probably 50 or more long throws and not one has reached a Town shirt yet. I actually sit there and play a guessing game of which opposition player is going to win the ball and worryingly I seem to be fairly good at this game! Its a waste of time currently but still we persist in using it. Sears has been a stand out this season but I wish we could leave him in the middle. I dont see the point of taking a speedy winger off and replacing him with a striker if all you are going to do is move Sears out wide and try to use his pace for inventiveness. TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Its this rigidity that makes us easier to play against. Douglas is our current fall guy but to be fair I thought he looked good at the start of the season. For me it appears the safety in his play is something that he is being asked to do. I remember people saying last season that that is how MM sets up a team. Two solid CM's and two fast wingers. Its how we are playing but I keep reading/ listening to comments about how he is a let down and how did he ever score so many for Brentford last season. It really seems obvious to me. There are other areas I could go into but they have all been done millions of times before (keeper. best defensive combinations. Murphy 1 season wonder?, Berra pushed up front for the last ten minutes after taking our target man off, etc) I was speaking to someone the other days about my thoughts and they argued sensibly for results over entertainment. I can see their point. I dont know the best way to compromise or if there is a holy grail of both aspects combining. this is not posted in response to our current spell or as a MM Out post but is a mere rambling of the feeling that for me football is meant to be fun, entertaining and worthy of discussing. For me, our style, regardless of results just lack life (for want of a better phrase)
I for one miss your contributions mate, and you're right...football is also known as 'The Beautiful Game', and it's been a long time since we played that.
Agree with you 100% Tractor Bhoy,I have been one of MM's biggest critics with regard to the brand of "football" he inflicts on us but have not called for his head. I think the tide is now turning against him and hopefully in the next 6-12 months we will be rid of him. The atmosphere surrounding the Club reminds me very much of the start of the end for the last 3 incumbents and the good thing about being a lifelong fan of a Club is you know if there is a particular manager or player you don't like eventually you'll see the back of them!
I have made no secret of the fact that I am and always have been fully behind Mick in my support and although things look pretty grim at the moment I still think that he should he be given the opportunity to put things right. He has in my opinion deserved the right to do so given the way he has transformed our fortunes over the past three years. We have always been known and admired as a club that gives every manager every chance and support during their tenure going back as far as Bobby Robson. My dad used to come home from games back in the early 70s demanding Bobby's head but Mr John stood firm when things weren't going well on the pitch back then and thank Christ he did! I blame that Schiester ticket tout Evans for the predicament that we find ourselves in. I can't help thinking that we are being used as a vehicle by him to mitigate his TAX liabilities within other parts of his empire! I don't post much on here nowadays due to the fact that I am bored rigid of everything Ipswich Town at the moment! I am just bored of being in the same god damn league for 15 years and the same conversations we have year after year when things inevitably go wrong as we start to slide. There are better clubs to support no doubt but Ipswich Town is our club and it's in our blood. All I'm saying is that we should give Mick the benefit of the doubt as he has worked wonders since he's been here and yes it's ok to moan and let off steam about his style or lack of but we need to look higher than him to get to the real heart of our problems. End of diatribe!
Agree with most of the things that have been written here. TB's opening statement mirrors my own feelings currently, I think it has more to do with how Mick is telling the players to play than their actual quality. Like JWM, I also can't help feeling that there is a big skeleton ready to fall out of the closet with regards to Marcus. His lack of visible investment rings alarm bells for some reason. Same old conversations being had over and over again and as Bigal says, it does feel like the beginning of the end, not that I am fully behind ousting Mick at the moment...but it's not far off.
Oh, and TB, thanks for writing the OP, it saves me the time from compiling something similar. I also miss your balanced views. I blame it on the instructions given to the players. It's obvious the defenders are told to launch it forwards, a safety first approach but man don't we gift possession back far too easily doing that. Just a little bit more composure and some coaching on when it's right to hoof it and when it's good to play it out would be good. You gave Douglas as an example and I too feel that he has been told to stay back, that's not helping either.
I would like to add that I think Mick makes the job easier for himself by choosing players who will 'tow the company line' so to speak. What I mean by that is he generally gets people in who will do as he asks and not rock the boat. He doesn't suffer rebels who might say "stuff you Mick" and actually try to play football. There must be at least a couple of players who are pissed off with the way things are going, whether they be regulars in the team or not getting picked.
Another irritation with Knudsen's long throws is the rigmarole with the towel,just get on with it FFS!And when he takes a short throw most are foul throws!(Rant over!)
Good post tractorbhoy and probably is similar as to why I don't post as much anymore. I've been one of Micks biggest critics but I think that is because he is such a talented manager. You summed it up perfectly I'm not p**sed off with his ability it's his approach which annoys me and for me Skuse is the mirror image of Mick on the pitch. Although I've been one of Micks biggest critics, I'm still 100% behind him at this stage, I still feel we would be stupid to get rid of him. Whilst we have some talented players to me on paper it's still not a great squad this was higlighted looking at Forests team sheet. I just feel whilst I would like a progressive manager at the helm who plays good attacking football evolving a team, it is too big of a risk at the moment to give Mick the elbow.
