The worrying thing is that we didnt use the youngsters for the game. It was basically a team of players who have been seen regularly throughout the season. Having said its a worry, I didnt hear the game and havent seen any highlights so Im not sure if we were unlucky or deserved defeat. Regardless I was expecting us to do better with that team. Going back to previous points in the thread, although I would love to see us do well in both the league and cup, with such a small squad then we only really have the likelihood of doing well in one and our priority has to be the league, for financial reasons if nothing else. Winning the cup would be a thing of immense pride for the club but if we are stuck in this league next season with another small squad and European football we would suffer.
I'm sure everyone here would like us go win every game but that is very unlikely, in my opinion losing in the cup is not a major worry at least we didn't drop any points and now we can concentrate on the league which is the important thing I don't think we could win the cup this season so it doesn't matter when we get knocked out. Are our injuries serious or did we just rest players? As I've said before I'm happy with our small squad and am not fussed about bringing new faces in I just think we need to get back to a settled side of the strongest eleven.
I'm not overly concerned about last night, the thing that does concern me is the amount of mistakes that are creeping in, perhaps this is down to tiredness as we have kept a pretty much solid lineup. We need reinforcements, so we can give players a rest, physically and mentally because we are now getting to business end of the season, and we need to be at our best!
Hopefully conceding 6 in two second half's (especially going from winning to losing in a space of 1 minute!) will act as a wake up call to the whole squad.
i'd pretty much agree with that guru. last night wasn't the be all and end all. i don't want to see us lose but i want to see us push on in the league. Mick is gonna have to do a little shopping surely,he can't keep putting the same 11 out week on week and not expect them to get tired. a few injuries are creeping in too and back up seems to be a little thin on the ground. i see saturday as a must win before we pick up the losing habit and we lose touch with the top 6.
Mental and physical fatigue are an issue in every level of sport. In my job I have to deal with long term athlete development for Junior players at national level in their sport.. The psychological effects of consistent regular competition do catch up and sufficient 'down time' is needed, regardless of how well conditioned (or how well payed) you are Every club has it's own psychologist, physio, strength & conditioning staff so should be able to keep these athletes in as good a shape as possible (physically & mentally) but every athlete has different tolerance and so some will be affected greater by 'overplaying/overtraining' and burn out in different ways and at different stages
you'd like to think so weighty,most of us normal folk work 8/9 hours + a day at least 5 days a week and tiredness is not an option. but wouldn't you agree some back-up is required,now i don't want Mick just getting any one in to make up the numbers he needs to find someone who will add something to the team.
I can understand with youngsters that are still developing, I just don't see that the amount and frequency of games should be a problem for the professional players. That said, I do concede that I don't know anything about the science behind it all so my view is not that informed.
I'm not totally against bringing in a player if they fit in and improve our starting line up but I think we should try to solve any problems on the training pitch first and foremost, I have got fed up with the high turn over of players not just at Ipswich but in the game as a whole, it's nice to have players that you can get to know a little and get behind and support their strengths and weaknesses and also get a feeling that they actually care........
It's a great point Weighty. gone are the days when a squad of 14 would see you thru a season a you felt like you knew each player individually. I'm pleased we're now away from having a dozen loanee's on the pitch,i think i called most of them mercenaries last season,because your right their not 100% to the cause. i'd just like to see a couple of fresh,quality faces come in,permantly,and aid our push for top 6
