Hey all - actually do still know the password! Magic. I thought I'd drop by and give my thoughts on all things tractor boys - I still read most of the articles, I was just spending too much time before commenting. However my thoughts - * Lambert new 5 year deal - cry me a river. He's won 28% of games here. That's JUST over 1 in 4. 28%. Jesus wept. We have won THREE games in EIGHTEEN. Beyond me. I thought he was going to get sacked, not a bloody new contract. The sooner this clowns out, the better. I've been laughing my head off at Lambert's ' pin a tail on a donkey ' rotation crap all season. Absolutely out of his depth this chancer. ' The fans have been brilliant I've won the champions league ' bore off you absolute melt. I don't listen to his nonsense anymore. All I WILL give him is like Mick, he keeps everything inhouse. I like that. I don't like anything else. He's NOT won ONE big game in his entire tenure. Not one. Okay, you could perhaps say ' well he beat Leeds 3-2 last season ' that was last kick of the game, and Leeds had an eye on the play offs. League 1 - * Beaten Rotherham? Course not. Sunderland? No. Pompey? Don't be ridiculous. Posh? Weed all over us? How about Oxford or Coventry!?!!? haha - NO. Errmmm.... Doncaster? NO I don't see us top 2, play offs possible but under this melt, not a guarantee. Lambert is INCAPABLE of beating good teams, so that's us in League 1 another year. Problem with that - is SCMP. We have a financial advantage this season over 21 teams in this league ( I hear laughter but it's true. ) Next season, 75% of spend on budget would drop to 60% allowance. Hard to do business. Hursts remaining pile WOULD be factored into the numbers............. and sadly we have quite a few players who will have turned 21 who we'd also have to factor into the budget ( U20s are excempt ) Coupled with that, gates WOULD be down, so that's an exciting recipe for success if we don't go up this time. Saw an article about QUALITY players on the other page, Downes + Wolf are the two pots of gold. The rest............. Bishop and Huws are sadly made of glass. Dozzell has passing ability you cannot teach, but the rest of his game isn't up to professional football. Why do people think Judge came here? His body hasn't recovered from Hyam nor will it ever get him back to just how good he was before. Was upset we didn't take the £££££ for him when offered as he was miles off the pace last season. His ' performance ' at Sheff Utd was akin to Dozzell at Accrington, or Kenlock on a weekly basis. Absolutely pathetic. May look busy and want the ball, but completely upsets the formation, makes holes for the opposition, adds naff all assists and goals, and is a headless chicken we could very much do without. May HAVE quality, technical ability, but is miles off what he was and unlikely to regain past glories. I went to Exeter in the paint pot as back for a bit, wanted to see a live game. Plenty others I could have attended but I have lost interest. We're a club going nowhere, I hate Lambert, and am quite fed up by it all. Was great to meet Huws and Downes, nice lads. Dozzell showed in the flesh just how powderpuff he is, an under 14 could knock the overrated lad off the ball. Must sort out the physical side of the game, it's not all pretty passes Andre. Learn to at least CHALLENGE for a header, this is professional football not Leisure leagues mate with over headheight banned. You might be a good Leisure league player, you're a passenger with a sirname right now. I don't really know what else to say. Lets say we fluke promotion, then what? Look at the bottom of the champ and the teams down the bottom - Charlton 19th Barnsley 23rd and Luton 24th. I think the best we can hope for as a club, is promotion, and a struggle to survive in the league above. Our budget would be naff all. Make no mistake though, if we don't go up this season, more assets WILL be sold, and next season would be a lot more unlikely for promotion in my view. I'll pop on over end of the season, contribute more thoughts as a collective - I think that's the capacity that suits me best. Hope you're all well, and you never know what CAN happen. C O Y B
Westy, me old mate, good to hear you! Swing by briefly, wise words indeed and we are all pretty cheesed off. Unless we start a winning run like now, there is only one way and that is to mid tabe mediocrity and doomed another season in lower leagues. We are talking about our beloved Ipswich, such a rich & glorious history. Faded glory, faded paint, low morale, unbelievable how all those fans still turn up - not next season they wont. Get back on here soon, Westy. Take care and keep positive whatever you be up to.
Welcome back Westy. Sunderland is now a must win. Lose and we’re effectively out of the play off zone. We need to realistically win three of our next six or we will all but be out of the play off challenge (in line with my pre-season expectations) and if that happens the five year deal starts to look rather ridiculous. We are not out of it yet though.
Good to hear from you on here, Westy. Your comment on the SCMP situation is a good one, and something that has slipped most of us by in the day-to-day conversation about the club. The poor form against the top eight is of course concerning, but hopefully will be helped by a win at Sunderland tomorrow. I do think we're in for a season of struggle if we do get promoted back to the Championship. But I'd rather that than having to sell off Downes and Wolfenden, and try to cobble together an even cheaper squad to meet regulations and attempt a second push at promotion. As clubs like Leeds, Sheffield United, and the likes of Portsmouth are showing - it's tough to get out of the division when you miss your first attempt at getting promoted.
I gotta say, even though i don't want to encourage gambling, i see the bookies all of a sudden have us as 28/1 to win the league (and 4/1 just to get promoted). I think thats a cracking bet, especially seeing our run in, with 13 pretty easily winnable games. Other than Pompey and Coventry home, the rest are all in the bottom half.
As always, the bookies never lose. Our odds are long because it’s very unlikely we will win the league. Promotion - we are one of about eight teams going for one play off place so our probability is really something more like 8-1 or 10-1 if we reverse our slide immediately and a lot longer in a few weeks. As always the bookies give you shorter odds than the real probability. Peterborough and Pompey will both go up and I don’t even think we will be in the mix come the end of the season to battle it out with the likes of Rotherham. Our form is horrendous.
