Funny though since he's come back from injury we've been playing much better. Idah had a chance when we were 2 - 1 up that was a massive missed opportunity. Yes I know about his scoring stats., but what else does he offer. His pressing isn't great and his running off the ball could be much better.
Completely agree. I think he let a couple of yellows go, as mentioned above. The first yellow he gave was for persistent fouling rather than because of the foul itself. Ref completely nailed it - he will be in the Premier League regularly I think.
Barnes does a lot of work defensively that he gets little credit for and his commitment and will to win rubs off on the other players. Sky commentators on and on about Ipswich's woes at yet again being fooled by us. Brilliant!
I think that’s harsh. Idah was good in the first half, making space and holding the ball up well, as well as providing a threat. When Barnes’ performance collapsed Idah became totally isolated and I don’t blame him. Also Idah has been best off the bench. That being said, I think if we’d have had Sargent on the pitch in any sort of recent form before his injury, we would have won this.
Hopefully this will be a springboard for us to push on. I thought our defence was brilliant today - what a difference a month makes.
Not just Sargent - look at all the other players we've been missing, including Giannoulis as well today. Hopefully we can keep this run going and get behind Wagner now that Sargent, Hwang, Hanley and Gibson are coming back. More than half a season to go and 2 points off the top 6.
I was not expecting this result. I have been out this afternoon so missed the match on BBC Radio Norfolk. With Rowe scoring 10 goals this season so far, there will be renewed interest from EPL sides in January.
The 2 goals aside I don't think Rowe had a particularly good game. There's certainly been games where his overall performance has been better but he hasn't seen scored. Idah is annoying as he appears to have all the attributes to be a great player for us but never seems to take advantage of his opportunities. I never get the feeling that he's giving a 100%. I can see the argument that he is more effective as a sub, which is what I think he'll be when Sergeant is back.
Idah coming on for the last 20 minutes is usually the best option he scored most of his goals as a sub, like a Mark Robins
I was making this very point in conversation with a friend yesterday. If Ipswich had our sort of luck with injuries I doubt they would be much higher than we are at present. Let's see how they do against Leeds and Leicester.
That was a good point for us, very good day at the Dinosaur Park at Lenwade yesterday and then came back to see that we hadn't imploded against Ipswich, nice, enjoyed Rowe's goals, hopefully watch some longer highlights today of the match.
May be just coincidence, but this turning of a corner has taken place subsequent to the significant club re-set around the time of the AGM, in particular Knapper's taking over as Sporting Director and Attenasio's finally assuming a more hands-on role. The negativity around Webber has abated, questions about the immediate future, in particular Wagner's, have been resolved, and there is money to provide "help" on the field in January if necessary, without anyone having to be sold. With these distractions removed, everyone is able to just concentrate on the job in hand, i.e. achieving a top six finish.
I think that's true, particularly as regards relations between the fans and the club, but in the end it's also about results on the pitch. The gradual return of players from injury has helped but that dramatic away win at Cardiff stopped the rot. Where we were losing by a single goal we began to win by that margin, Watford and that frustrating draw with Preston aside. Rowe returning and Sainz available at last has given us some bite again and that will develop further once Sargent and Hwang are also available. Yesterday Ipswich set out to dominate and intimidate us but failed to do so. It was them who wobbled when we went ahead and their fans looked devastated. Expectations were high and even equalising for the draw wasn't enough, and that was down to the "grit and pressure" Rob points out. Led by the 'old guys' (Duffy, McLean and Barnes), the young guys responded. It's a new type of football for them but they're responding wholeheartedly. Even Sainz is adapting to it with vigour and determination to match his attacking prowess. It may surprise some, but Ipswich's lineup yesterday had a higher average age than ours.
I was just about to make the point that you have made in your final paragraph, for all the talk of us buying old men, we still put out a side younger than Ipswich’s yesterday. I think if you look at those under 23 - Rowe, Idah, Sainz, Nunez, McCallum we have decent young players who can form our starting 11 for the next few years and they all stepped up yesterday. Sara is only 24 and of course we have Sargent to come back in. I want to give a special mention to Nunez who I think has been quietly important in recent games. He hasn’t necessarily done anything amazing on the ball, although I would say it is noticeable that he has been coached to be calmer with his passing and not trying to force passes, which often saw him lose possession last season. But his energy in midfield to simply cover ground and put pressure on opposition midfielders shouldn’t be underrated, I really think it has helped the team.
Yes, it's also about results, but I don't subscribe to the idea that events off the pitch don't impact what happens on it, implicit in your contrasting fan/club relations with "results on the pitch". IMO events off the pitch were impacting events on it, and that Rob's "turning point" was a direct result of several of those off field issues being resolved.
. Couldn't agree more. All the attention has been on Kenny playing CB, as though that's the only positional change of any significance. There is a quite widespread view that moving Kenny to LCB was actually motivated by Wagner wanting to get Núñez into midfield.
