Pompey tonight...

Any strikers out there that we feel are the quality we need, that we can afford and that we can actually prise away from their club? Names please boys

 

I’m far from convinced that the lack of a proven striker is our biggest problem.We are after all highest scorers in this division (and have even scored more and conceded less than Argyle!).I think we need to do more to stop conceding silly goals from aimless balls pumped into our area.How many times this Season has that been the cause of dropped points?

 

4-4-2?! Revert to a effing 4-4-2 when we’re four points off top, dominating teams pretty much every week, and currently the league’s top scoring side?! “Shot down” - consider this the firing squad, Spanish, it’s a terrible idea to change a winning formula

I think anyone watching our games would consider this the best Ipswich side in the last couple of decades. Yes, there is still half the season to go and we are in the third division. But we’ve not finished above ninth in this division for the past three years. The last time we saw a promotion season was in early 2000. We actually have a team that look incredibly confident on the ball. If we can replicate this style of play and system in the Championship (if we get there), I think we’ll be well set up.

In terms of signings, a centre forward who can consistently score goals would be welcome. He’d have to fit into the profile of a McKenna centre-forward - who would do a lot of pressing and holding up - but it would be good to have a prolific striker as an option to bring on. Competition in central midfield with Ball out would be another wise move. An alternative to Burns, as other pointed out, would also be a good move.

 

Nuggets, we have to be able to change formation, have a plan b and sometimes changing to 442 will work. Today i thought we looked dodgy when they attacked us, a better side would have punished us! Who's to say that with this current crop of players, we wouldn't have been higher playing 442, had we played 442 we may have been top and not second, just saying!!
Anyways, it's just my personal opinion, we all have terrible ideas sometimes.....like sticking with dodgy managers for too long, whilst others are, correctly, screaming for change

Bigal, we may be top scorers but ...i just think a more prolific 9 would be what takes us up.

 

Sticking with dodgy managers for too long? I think with Paul Cook, this team would comfortably be 8th (I really need to get a photo with the new messiah!)

I agree that we lack a Plan B, although I'd argue our Plan A more than does the job for a majority of matches. I'd like us to get in a more prolific centre-forward, which is the consensus on here anyway, and that would feed into a Plan B approach. I'd argue 4-4-2 would not work as well with this current batch of players because a) we don't have two good centre-forwards; b) we don't have a good defensive right-back; and c) we'd possibly look less defensively secure by dropping a third centre-back. If we get in a prolific centre-forward and a good defensive-minded right back, then 4-4-2 or even 4-3-3 (arguably a better formation reflecting our style of play) would provide that extra firepower when we need it.

 

With people banging on about a decent centre forward, would be interesting to know about Ladapo's conversion rate.
I know we tend to have 15+ shots per game, but from the games I've watched, our shots tend to come from our wider players (chappers, harness etc).

Re: 442 - with the players we have, and the style we play, this is an awful idea...but I do get we need a plan b, maybe not so much in L1, but we definitely will do if we go up

 

Most will be happy that we came away with a point having been behind twice at Fratton,a difficult away game. Equally, with our dominance and slick passing, and resilience to come back and fight to the end showed much more character than in previous regimes. We werent at our best last night and gave away 2 more silly goals, free kicks and didnt defend them well. But we were way better than Pompey. I suspect they will be calling for DC's head soon.

A Pompey fan writes after the match: " Being totally honest, a draw flattered us and if we had held on to a 2-1 win, Ipswich would have been robbed. They are going up unless something drastic happens, they were by far the best team at FP this year"

I am no expert on who to bring in, but we are all agreed that we do need a top striker - we would all feel more comfortable. Ladapo has been showing his determination and much movement & drawing defenders, but he doesnt have that killer, poaching instinct, even tho he is finding the net more than perhaps we believed. I thought Jackson was a waste of space on the right when he came on. So, yes, a new player to rival Burns who mixes some lovely purple patches and wicked crosses, with unreliable wasteful play.

But, hey, we are 2nd into January. That will do for me.

 

Stretchy - it’s not only about goalscoring. Ladapo doesn’t contribute enough. He’s capable but he’s lazy.

Bigal - I reckon we can do a lot better from the number of chances we create and the opposition would have to set up differently if they knew they couldn’t venture forward with such freedom and be in with a decent chance of picking up points. We should be looking to defend from the front and either be in with a good chance of converting or keep the ball. We need to be a lot tighter with our possession. Aside from that, I reckon we need to sign a master at centre back with the quality Morsy gives us in midfield. You can see it in glimpses when Keogh plays but he’s not got the legs.

 

As I’ve said elsewhere a “Mowbray” and a “Stewart” are all we’re lacking!

 

I disagree to an extent - being a #9, it should be about goals. I don't care how lazy he is, as long as he scores/assists.
He's not the type to run around like a headless chicken, we'll leave that for the chaplin and burns. 10 in 27 (incl. sub appearances) isn't a bad return.
Obviously on slightly different level, but it's the same argument there has been talked about Ronaldo, and even Haaland - other than score goals, what else do they contribute? They don't press and have very few touches.
Not sure what more you want him to do, other than put away more chances (but then he wouldn't be playing in L1 if he did)

 

Definitely need a quality striker, i had hoped a fully fit Ahadme would be the answer but hes not even on the bench now, Jackson has stolen a living for over 3 years, and Ladapo scores but misses sitters so not enough quality to lead the line, and while we are in January could we please get a defender who knows that covering the far post and stopping crosses coming in is part of bloody job.

 

Hey what? When Ladapo is getting about a goal a game at the top level it’s a comparison. He can’t even get close to that in the third tier.

 

Ok, so it was a crazy comparison, but the point i was trying to make, is that the main job of #9 is there to score goals.
You have to put it in perspective - this is the 3rd division. If he was scoring more goals, then he'd be in the championship.

 

We have shown we can attract quality with some of our signings, so no reason why we couldn't attract a decent championship striker. People can see what direction we are heading and hopefully help make us an unstoppable force!!

 

I think the centre-forward role in McKenna's system is there primarily to press, bring others into play, and get the odd goal every few matches. I see the role similar to Bobby Firmino's at Liverpool, when the player was in his prime. Judging Ladapo on that criteria, rather than number of goals scored, would suggest he's actually a decent striker.

My main issue with Ladapo is that he isn't this tireless pressing machine that McKenna arguably wants, and that Ladapo often drifts in and out of games. I'd argue his first touch isn't great and that while he has scored several goals this season, he isn't the most prolific of strikers when he does get good opportunities in and around the box. At his best, he seems a brilliant fit for the team. And he has had some excellent games for us. But over the last several games, I don't think we've seen the best of him.

The issue with Ladapo's consistency then gets highlighted because of two issues. Firstly, while we have a frequent knack of dominating possession, we can struggle to turn that into frequent opportunities because we can look overly cautious on the ball. We appear to be mindful of being caught on the counter - which has led to a lot of the goals we've conceded (that and set pieces). While I understand the caution, it does mean chances can be at a premium in certain matches and Ladapo just isn't prolific enough to put a scarcity of chances away. The second issue, for me, is the lack of depth we have at centre-forward. Jackson is a willing runner and very quick. However, his end product leaves a lot to be desired. I am concerned he's getting a lot of gametime, because I haven't seen much from him that suggests he can be a back-up centre-forward in a promotion-chasing team.

In January, if we can get a pressing forward that has good hold up play and is a strong finisher - then we're laughing. The problem is we're a third division team (albeit a quite rich and ambitious third division team) and I'm not sure if we can find someone of the required quality to turn this great Ipswich team into a strong League One title winning side.

 

Exactly this nuggets. We need our striker to have the same intensity as the players around him, press and chase back and make tackles when the other side is on the front foot and have the ability to bust a gut and get into the box from a deeper position when we break. We can make allowances for a lot of things at the level we’re playing at but we can’t make allowances for his work rate. If he played his heart out then his touch in front of goal would improve too.. at the moment he’s not sharp enough to take his chances. We can see the unfulfilled potential.

 

Ladapo seems to prefer playing with his back to goal. He doesn’t make the darts across defenders and his anticipation and movement are not the best - not sure if this can be coached or is instinct. Can’t remember who we were playing but he came on for Jackson who hadn’t scored (no surprise there) but had harassed the opposition defence for 75 odd minutes. When he come on, I expected the same effort and commitment but it wasn’t there. I think there is a decent player in there but does he want it enough? You need talent and hard work to get the best out of yourself

 

It was against posh....I noticed that too

 

I get frustrated with the team in general on this, we seem to play the same pace whatever the score and when we're losing or trying to get a winner it can be quite frustrating. No fast throws, no quick free kicks, no quick throws or kicks from Walton. Sometimes we need abit more forcing the situation and not let the opposition get back in their shape. Despite having pace in the side we very rarely score on the break or force the defence into mistakes

 

I think in some games the striker in our team has a difficult task. Yesterday I couldn't really critique Ladapo that much, he didn't do an awful lot wrong, the service to him wasn't good enough and when he did get the ball he was often crowded out with not enough players around him, but we also did allow Portsmouth to sit deep.

I'd say Ladapo is a decent striker and if he keeps his scoring record up, he'll likely be our 20 goal a season striker. He's also alot better than any of our strikers last season at holding onto the ball but for me he lacks what you have identified that movement in the box or even outside. When he doesn't get alot of service I'd say he does very little else to impact the game off the ball, not in terms of chasing down but making runs on the shoulder or darting across defenders in the box. For all the failures of Norwood and Bonne, their movement was pretty good and even if they didn't get the service defenders would know they were in for a game against them. We need abit more of that explosiveness upfront even if just to change the game as an impact sub.

From what I saw of Ahadme playing for Burton this season he really could be the type of striker we need however for whatever reason (mainly injury I think) he hasn't really had a sniff here so far.