To be fair to Wolfy, he was a bit better in second half. I don't like Evans but thought he done ok today. Penney, not convinced by him, ok going forward but defence wise....weak! Nogood was bang average, crossing dire but was johnny on the spot! Carroll .....WHY did we sign him???? He is shiiiitttt!!! Edmundson and Donacien quality!!
I felt I had to be there tonight. So much noise it was great to be in a full PR. from my view by the touch line in the Cobbold it seemed a very very scrappy game but we defended so much better abs wolf moves the ball into midfield instead of the hoofing we’ve had from toto. Neither team could string more than 2 passes together but hey, we won, and but for an unbelievable save by their keeper we’d have 2. nogood tucked in on the left to help Penney a lot and he worked his ass off. We seemed unable to win the midfield battle which is annoying given we have two big guys with big reputations in there. and then there’s carrol….how is he a professional footballer….
Brilliant atmosphere this evening, reminiscing of the evening matches in the late 90s and 00s (apologies in advance that my memory doesn’t go back far enough!) I thought it was a professional and largely composed performance. Coming into the game, Wycombe’s unbeaten run of form and strong away record meant this was going to be a challenge. The most notable difference under McKenna’s system was that players were not afraid to run at the opposition. There was not much sedate recycling of the ball in our own half, we were purposive on the ball and, when the match neared the end, savvy enough to control large parts of the match (despite Wycombe’s threatened resurgence). It was very stop/start on the ball though and we did struggle to put together flowing moves. Two up top meant we looked more threatening taking chances, as Norwood’s fortunate goal proved, but we did struggle to create sustained chances. A massive three points, a much improved defensive performance, and after having to self isolate over most of the Christmas period - I was happy to get out of the house!
Maybe all Paul Cook needed to do was play Norwood and Bonne together and he’d still be in a job. Maybe Woolfy‘s Town career isn’t done and dusted yet after all.
Scrappy win against an awkward Wycombe side,I’ll take that.McKenna must slowly be getting a full picture of his task in hand.
Sounded like we managed the game much better. Only got snippets of how we played and seen the highlights but pleased Bonne and Norwood are playing up top, not the best of goals but he was there to miss and that's what I like about Bonne and Norwood, they take up good positions in the box and attack the ball, we haven't had that from strikers for years think Alan Lee was probably the last player to do that on a consistent basis. When ever I watch highlights this season I swear half of them are Burns running down the wing crossing the ball for Bonne.. great to have Burns back in the teams, he's such a positive yet solid player. Also great to see the CBs pushing up, again we haven't had that for years... it means we don't play pointless football in areas which won't hurt the opposition and means the midfielders have more of a licence to push forwards like Morsey did today.
Just got home from the game and would like to give a shout out to 2 of our more maligned players. Thought Penny had his best game in a town shirt (I admit that it’s not too difficult) and I also thought Evans all round play was better - actually rolled his sleeves up and got stuck in. Other than that, it was a workmanlike performance and delighted with the 3 points. Was not overly impressed by Wycombe apart from their number 12 who looked their best player by a mile
Has anyone listened to McKenna’s post match interview with the club media? Intelligent, reasoned observations, specific tactical points raised, and an avoidance of cliches. We’re not used to that!
Totally agree Nuggets,I thought it made a refreshing change.We’ve obviously got a real thinker there,just hope he’s given time as there are bound to be ups and downs along the way.
Whilst I agree he spoke very intelligently and from a fan point of view it was interesting to listen to perhaps it's my cynical mind working but when he was talking I thought this guy needs some media training as he's seems a bit green, I'd be very surprised if in a few years time he speaks as openly as that, perhaps it's after years of having proven managers who give very little away about what's going on behind closed doors. He clearly loves coaching and could talk all day about it...albeit doesn't seem overly charismatic so far but then George Burley wasn't either
Give him more time itfcpc, we cant all be savvy and media trained, I refer his honesty tbh! First up, delighted that some of you got to the game, something I can only dream of, and to witness that old roaring PR crowd. Last night was a good result and already shows some of the new thinking and game management. A tigerish, combative display with some periods of more fluent football. Of course, there is much yet to be worked on, and KM will have seen more of the things that need sorting, like why on earth did he pick Carrol to come on?! What I liked mostly is the players played as tho they knew what was expected of them, and produced over the 90 mins a solid if unspectacular team effort, and not several individual moments of flair. The important differences for me were: Our CBs moved forwards with the ball and surged threateningly into space Balls were kicked into the box early Early balls forward and more pressing and won more 2nd balls We cleared our lines when they posed more of a threat in 2nd half. TBH, not impressed by Wycombe. How did they get to 4th? We showed some great spirit and for once we won a close game, and hello, at Portman Road after a dreadful run of Home matches last 9 months. We have not done that for ages. I saw more game management tonight under McKenna than I saw in all the games with Cook. Good subs at the right time. So, much to be pleased with tonight, much more to improve, and I am sure there is much more to come. Mckenna is clearly well liked by the players, warm smiles, and went off with Woolfy. I like the way he speaks too in front of the camera. Agree with Spanish, Carroll was poor. Haldky surprised us all and maybe he will see more games. Evans fought well and had one of his better games, Penney played ok, Morsy purposefully drove from back to front, Norwood battled away all over the park tho not convinced he is No 9 material, but hey, he does pop up and score goals! Above all he & Bonne are a right in yer face pain in the arse for defenders to cope with. Woolfy blossomed in 2nd half after a few errors and I really liked the way he strode forward, he is clearly regaining his confidence, and Aluko was the MOM for me. If Chaplin had finished our best move of the game not hitting the post, 2-0 would have been an excellent result. As it is, we doggedly beat a top 6 side when did we last do that? Oh, against Wycombe of course!
iFollow showed the whole game live last night itfcpc, for a tenner, better quality these days too. They are showing all mid week games and Saturdays you can watch with a VPN from 'abroad'. I go on an away day to Holland!
I agree with you,my initial impressions are very favourable. But…..we’re between a rock and a hard place here.I can see him doing really well and as a result we lose him as he moves onto what he perceives as being bigger and better things,or………he fails and we’re back to square one.Is there any sort of middle ground which most of us would settle for?
In our favour - if he has ambitions to manage Man United or Tottenham he’ll need to succeed in at least getting us into the Championship and taking another step. Also in our favour - we’d all settle for being back in the Championship within another 18 months. Also in our favour - if he does even better and gets us into the Prem then nobody will be complaining. Not seeing any negatives unless he fails and then where he goes next doesn’t concern us either.
Watched the replay last night as I couldn't see it live, too much going on at my new house that I moved into on Tuesday. Anyway, it was a decent game, not one of free flowing football but one of dogged determination and the willingness to run and compete for the whole 90 minutes. All three defenders took chances to bring the ball forward when the opportunity came, helping to cause an overload that was needed because the formations of both teams meant it was man for man all over the park. Bonne and Norwood are a handful up top and Aluko is being used in the best position for his skill set and lack of desire to stay wide. Morsy and Evans were good in midfield, Evans especially got stuck in and did little wrong. Burns v Obita was a good watch, both capable of beating each other when attacking but I would say that Burns had more influence for us than Obita did for them. I enjoyed the match and thought we should've scored more, that last chance when Morsy got free and played Chaplin in was a mistake in my opinion. If he had looked to the right he would have seen that Piggott was actually the better option as the keeper had already moved to his right to close the angle on Morsy. Piggott had more space in the goal to aim at. I did see in the news comments on TWTD that the team now report to Playford Road on home match days and travel to the ground together by coach. That comes across as very professional. Instead of the players arriving separately in dribs and drabs they are now together for an amount of time before reaching the stadium. I think this is brilliant, it will get the lads into game mode and feel more together as a unit by the time they take the field. This change alone could help improve performances by getting the players focused and ready for action as a team. It gives them an opportunity to discuss the upcoming match, assuming they're not all sat on the coach with headphones on
I'm assuming they then go back to the training ground together, giving them time to revel/ponder on a good/bad result as a team too. I think this will go a long way to building spirit and bonding.
I think it’s all part of the modern coaching philosophy of all the small positive steps adding together to increase performance/results. Weren’t the Sky Tour de France Team one of the first sports set-ups to pioneer this marginal gains idea?How come it’s taken ITFC so long to buy into it when most sports fans can see it’s the way forward?
