Glad I didn’t waste £10 on that.PL seems to be morphing into McCarthy both in terms of attitude and lack of tactical nous.
Oxford
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on the plus side we have only let 5 in during these three games so there is some light at the end of the tunnel
Lambert blames the media and fans for being so negative when we have so many injuries and thinks it’s harming the young players.
On a positive note, if we can stay in or around the top 6 by the end of the year, then we'll have a great opportunity to kick on when we get some of the injured back (assuming we don't get any more injuries). I still think we'll at least make the play offs, this is a poor division with poor teams (which we are one of), but still think we have the capabilities of mounting a challenge with our squad (obviously the caveat is that we get them back soon, and not have any more injuries)
Trouble is this is is exactly the same situation as we were in at this stage last Season and I see no reason to expect a better outcome.
I think we've all been clinging to the hope that all will be well after our injured players return whenever that maybe, we've had no updates on KVY, Skuse, Wilson, Downes, etc so will they return in the New Year ? No ones saying anything at all.
What's wrong with talking to the fans ? After all no fans no Club so what's the secrecy all about ? We were here long before any of the current regime and will be here long after they've gone and forgotten all about ITFC, this reclusive bollocks from a ticket seller has been hard to tolerate and even harder to understand from the word go, so take your head out of your arse Evans and explain to us how you've failed this Club on every level, I think its reasonable to give the only people that actually care our Club an explanation.
What's wrong with talking to the fans ? After all no fans no Club so what's the secrecy all about ? We were here long before any of the current regime and will be here long after they've gone and forgotten all about ITFC, this reclusive bollocks from a ticket seller has been hard to tolerate and even harder to understand from the word go, so take your head out of your arse Evans and explain to us how you've failed this Club on every level, I think its reasonable to give the only people that actually care our Club an explanation.
On one hand, I can see Lamberts point...for whatever reason, there IS an air of negativity around the place, which has been there since after the play off loss, where it all started to go downhill.
But this happens to the best of them, bigger clubs than us have also been down here, and for longer...
Looking at the table, were still not in a bad position. Other than Hull, everyone is getting beaten..we are 5th, playing sh!t with a depleted squad.
I still have faith, and I believe we will come good this year...as I've mentioned before, if we can get our sicknotes back, and we hold on to Flynn and Wolfy
But this happens to the best of them, bigger clubs than us have also been down here, and for longer...
Looking at the table, were still not in a bad position. Other than Hull, everyone is getting beaten..we are 5th, playing sh!t with a depleted squad.
I still have faith, and I believe we will come good this year...as I've mentioned before, if we can get our sicknotes back, and we hold on to Flynn and Wolfy
Good points stretchy, I suppose there's quite a few of us getting very disillusioned and not a little angry at the plight of our Club, we see Clubs of a similar size and smaller playing at a much higher level than us, I'm thinking of Rotherham, Wycombe, etc while we struggle along held back by our useless owner.
I don’t think it has much to do with injuries. We play excellently for patches but rarely over an hour out of 90 minutes, which is the minimum requirement for a promotion hunting side. We also can expect some injuries and having no right back cover (aside from the unflavoured Donacien) and nowhere close to the striking options we would need to consistently win matches even if they were all fit is just terrible forward planning.
It depends for how long. It gets a hell of a lot tougher after two seasons.
I can’t see where the upward trend is coming from. But fans returning might flip things even if there aren’t any changes at the club.
I'm not feeling overly optimistic, if we managed to get KVY, Downes, Norwood and Edwards fit for the rest of the season without many other injuries I think we could be okay but that is unlikely I think its very rare players come back after injury to have good seasons.
We started very well this season, the football we played in the first few games was outstanding, the best I've seen in years but then I really don't know what happened, its gone off the boil and perhaps teams have figured us out.
To be fair much like last season we were relying on a number of players who have not either proven themselves at this level or lack general first team I experience. Whilst Dozzell and Bishop have generally done well I always felt like due to their inexperience and lack of match fitness over the past few years, they were never going to have that consistentcy to keep playing that well over an extended period of time and injuries to those players and that's it. It was similar to our start last season we had 2 fit senior strikers who were in a good run of form but neither had a great deal of experience and to expect them to keep it up all season was a bit far fetched. We went off the boil when Lamberts 2 star signings got injury (KVY & Norwood)
In terms of league position and points I'm not overly disappointed all things considered with regards to injuries and the players we've had to play in terms of the numbers of academy players plus the lack of reinforcements in the transfer window however its Lamberts stubbornness in terms of sticking to a philosophy that he didn't have last season including playing 433, when its been clear to me playing 2 upfront in a 442 or 532 would have been suitable in alot of games this season. In addition to the overkill of playing the ball out from the back, im a big fan of passing football but I also understand you need to sometimes be pragmatic and mix it up. As I've said its like he thinks he's manager of an under19s team. It does make me wonder whether ME has intervened more in the footballing side of things than is being let on.
We started very well this season, the football we played in the first few games was outstanding, the best I've seen in years but then I really don't know what happened, its gone off the boil and perhaps teams have figured us out.
To be fair much like last season we were relying on a number of players who have not either proven themselves at this level or lack general first team I experience. Whilst Dozzell and Bishop have generally done well I always felt like due to their inexperience and lack of match fitness over the past few years, they were never going to have that consistentcy to keep playing that well over an extended period of time and injuries to those players and that's it. It was similar to our start last season we had 2 fit senior strikers who were in a good run of form but neither had a great deal of experience and to expect them to keep it up all season was a bit far fetched. We went off the boil when Lamberts 2 star signings got injury (KVY & Norwood)
In terms of league position and points I'm not overly disappointed all things considered with regards to injuries and the players we've had to play in terms of the numbers of academy players plus the lack of reinforcements in the transfer window however its Lamberts stubbornness in terms of sticking to a philosophy that he didn't have last season including playing 433, when its been clear to me playing 2 upfront in a 442 or 532 would have been suitable in alot of games this season. In addition to the overkill of playing the ball out from the back, im a big fan of passing football but I also understand you need to sometimes be pragmatic and mix it up. As I've said its like he thinks he's manager of an under19s team. It does make me wonder whether ME has intervened more in the footballing side of things than is being let on.
When people say they are content for Town to sit 5th in League One I just can’t get my head around it. We have all the resources to fly out of this division but we don’t have any strategy to accomplish that. The strategy seems to be only to not spend much cash and make excuses.
If we had a fully fit squad I would agree with you but if you'd told me at the start of the season the players we have had to rely on:
Chambers at RB
Nsiala & Wilson the main CB partnership
Dozzell and Bishop in midfield
Hawkins and Drinan to be as relied upon as they have
And our current injury list i would be content with 5th place in touch with automatic promotion with lots of players to come back, I would've been content. The performances and tactical performance from the manager make me concerned.
So Yorkie do you think based on the team we've been able to field the past few games we should be top? A forward line of Drinan, Bennetts and Dobra who haven't made 10 first team appearances between them
I'll judge the team and the management around Feb/March.
If we don't get in the play offs at a minimum, then i agree that Lambert needs to go. Changing a manager now won't do any good, he won't be able to bring in any (decent) signings, and the players would have to play to (another) system.
Hopefully, the new system will finally click into place, and we go on a decent run
If we don't get in the play offs at a minimum, then i agree that Lambert needs to go. Changing a manager now won't do any good, he won't be able to bring in any (decent) signings, and the players would have to play to (another) system.
Hopefully, the new system will finally click into place, and we go on a decent run
But we can't score goals and if you can't score you can't win the match, sometimes taking a chance on lower league players because they are comparitively cheap works and sometimes it doesnt, the trick is recognising when you've got a wrongun quickly and shifting them out which we haven't done, that's how we have finished up with sick notes and poor quality players by repeating the process for years on end, you don't have to be a genius to see this doesn't work but still we carry on, the question is why doesn't Evans want us to get back to the Championship ?
My main concerns with the club is that it does not come across as ambitious. To me, it appears too complacent, comfortable, paranoid, and sensitive to recognise and meet the expectations fairly placed upon it. A majority of the players seem quite content to cash in their weekly pay cheque and do not appear to take much pride in pulling on an Ipswich shirt. At this level, the technical difference in quality between clubs' players is not that wide - and for a club that has been a second-or-first tier outfit for many decades, it is shocking to see how slow we are to react to the changes in this sport. The best teams in football, across all professional levels, benefit from embracing technology and innovation, identifying marginal gains, and having a recognisable identity. Other than sedately passing the ball around in our own penalty area, there is no identity or game plan for this Town side. We are stifled by a manager who clearly does not give a monkeys and is sitting on a nice potential pay-off as his contract - inexplicably rewarded to him despite achieving NOTHING of note here - runs out in 2024. 2024! There will be another US election by then!
This is a group of players who, a couple of months ago, were putting fingers in their ears celebrating goals. They genuinely believed results like a 2-0 win over a cobbled-together Wigan youth side was a statement of intent and a middle finger to the critics. Entitled and sensitive, they have seemingly bought into a victim complex - engineered and stoked by the last few managers - that seems personally affronted and sneeringly dismissive of Town fans who rightly criticised last season's 11th place finish. They forget this is a generally patient fanbase and one that applauded them off the pitch when they were relegated two years ago. Applauded off the pitch after finishing bottom of the table with a few wins. At what other club in the UK - with the exception of a small club that's lucked into a division typically above their standard - would you see that? And at almost any other club, a manager that oversaw such a disappointing season and collapse in form and performances - as our last season - would have been sacked. His coaching staff would have gone with him. And there would have been a serious appraisal of what players deserve to continue playing for Ipswich. Our owner shrugs and says 'have another go'.
This is a club that has banned a journalist from the stadium and the press conferences, because one person posted the team sheet on a forum a few hours before a match. Rather than look within and identify the leak, the club - seemingly riven by paranoia - is lashing out at 'outside interference' and is doubling down on an 'us vs them' siege mentality. It's pathetic. It's cynical. It's making me re-evaluate my weekends. Watching Ipswich on a Saturday - to the tune of £10 of week on a dodgy app - is getting further down my list of priorities.
This is a group of players who, a couple of months ago, were putting fingers in their ears celebrating goals. They genuinely believed results like a 2-0 win over a cobbled-together Wigan youth side was a statement of intent and a middle finger to the critics. Entitled and sensitive, they have seemingly bought into a victim complex - engineered and stoked by the last few managers - that seems personally affronted and sneeringly dismissive of Town fans who rightly criticised last season's 11th place finish. They forget this is a generally patient fanbase and one that applauded them off the pitch when they were relegated two years ago. Applauded off the pitch after finishing bottom of the table with a few wins. At what other club in the UK - with the exception of a small club that's lucked into a division typically above their standard - would you see that? And at almost any other club, a manager that oversaw such a disappointing season and collapse in form and performances - as our last season - would have been sacked. His coaching staff would have gone with him. And there would have been a serious appraisal of what players deserve to continue playing for Ipswich. Our owner shrugs and says 'have another go'.
This is a club that has banned a journalist from the stadium and the press conferences, because one person posted the team sheet on a forum a few hours before a match. Rather than look within and identify the leak, the club - seemingly riven by paranoia - is lashing out at 'outside interference' and is doubling down on an 'us vs them' siege mentality. It's pathetic. It's cynical. It's making me re-evaluate my weekends. Watching Ipswich on a Saturday - to the tune of £10 of week on a dodgy app - is getting further down my list of priorities.
Absolutely right Nuggets and we all have other priorities right now, like our mental health, and one thing for sure supporting ITFC is not good for our well-being!