I know it seems a long time ago now but that utterly dismal performance against our local rivals must surely have given our players the kick up the arse they needed! It was a truly deflating result and to top it all seeing our gloating rivals walk back to the train station with huge grins over their smug faces just made it harder to take. We had the international break straight after that game and Mick must have got them on the training field and worked bloody miracles with them because since then results have been amazing and we look a totally different team. Meanwhile our Budgie friends have been stuck in reverse gear and today a dismal result against Reading sees them 7 points below us in the table. Who would have thought that this would happen after that depressing display and who would have predicted that we would now be second in the League? I for one thought we would be in for a season of struggle and would have to suffer another season of the budgies crowing above us! But hey football really is a funny old game! ITID
Not sure it was the turning point but so far it has been the low point, you may be right since then we have hardly looked back, only problem now is staying there till the end!
There's still a long way to go but from that game until now we have just gone about the business of getting results. Sure it's not pretty at times, the game today was a turgid affair and at times tedious to watch, but we came away with three points nonetheless. With Mick and TC in the tractor's driving seat I have no worries that we can't continue picking up results through until May and we'll see where we end up.
Surely it must have really hurt the players and Mick because deep down they knew that this is the one game that means so much to the supporters. If someone had told me directly after that game that by the end of November we would sit 2nd in the league I would've said that they must be on drugs! Yet here we are and one of the reasons for this must go down to that dismal performance. We haven't played as badly as that since!
MM and TC must've said and done something after said game and I'm sure it was more than that was unacceptable. We seem to go into games with a plan,watching the game away to Wigan was a huge difference,we looked like the home team. So he's working nigh on miracles with freebies,loanees and acadamees!!! With this and confidence being sky high not only are we now hard to beat we are getting results where we might not have in previous seasons. Had we not dropped points to florist and Huddersfield we'd be clear. Lets enjoy the moment and hope it continues and maybe,just maybe we can finally get out this bloody league.
I had a feeling your boys would do better than most thought. Second, you must be in dreamland. I'm not surprised that my lot are struggling, I had this feeling when we went down. Seems Norwich got too complacent after winning four in a row and as we know, it is such a hard division to get out of. Norwich have got the so-called 'best squad' but that's not good enough with an inexperienced manager and players who think they are too big for the Championship. Ipswich have a great mix of managerial experience and a squad willing to play for each other, rather like Lambert's years.
JWM - No, it wasn't the turning point. Canarian - no we're not in dreamland. Dreamland for Town fans is top six top flight, bit different for your boys I know.
Don't think it was a turning point as such, it certainly provided a wake up call but you just have to love what is happening at our club at the moment.
I remember after that horrible Saturday afternoon the abuse we got from those of green & yella.. I said at the time it was void of anything you'd expect from a MM team (fight, bloody mindedness & determination).. and wasn't a true representation of the team. Clearly that wasn't listened too as we were told how dreadful we were. The interesting/ironic part of it all is that when had a shocker, we learnt from it and haven't dropped to that low since as (I'm guessing MM gave them quite the bollocking) but when 'them up the road' hit a sticky spell, it all comes apart and no one is able to pull them back into line and find a solution
I said at the time that I didn't think we were THAT bad against Norwich. We had a game plan to stop them playing and aside from a goalkeeping error it would have worked. We've definitely improved since but the performance today was, IMO, very similar, slow to attack, disjointed Midfield, reliance on some good last minute defending after being caught on the break. What the difference today was the self belief that we would win. I'm not disputing that after Norwich MM and TC probably did up the training, but I would assume there wouldnt have been a knee jerk reaction from the management and coaches and the International break would have had the same effect whatever the result against Norwich.
I think Billy grew his just to rival Gerks. I have to say I thought he had a good game today and I prefer him to Gerken between the sticks at the moment.
That was probably the lowest point in Micks tenure, we looked awful. You accept that with Mick you're not going to get pretty football much of the time and that game we certainly didn't get that but by the same token we didn't get much else either, there was no intensity to us. But I don't think it was a big turning point we just continued steadily from there, one of Micks greatest managerial traits is his attitude after a win, loss or draw is generally pretty stable. I think the one of the biggest turning points has been going from 442 to 433. It means we have stopped playing ineffective wingers like tabb and Anderson and maybe even Hunt who in a 442 would be so narrow and industrious rather than creative and we've got players come in like Williams, Bishop and Bru who've added a bit of creative and attacking quality in the midfield. I'd also point out that whilst Sammon been the best playing him and Hunt upfront has completely changed the dynamic of how we play as they do alot of running off the ball creating space for others, Murphy and McGoldrick are quite static strikers which means they rely on alot of runners around them in a 442 with ineffective wingers we only really scored from set pieces or worldys. The change to 433 has made us more dynamic and attack more as a team than anytime under Mick and I think this has played a big part in our transformation
I agree with most of that PTC, the only thing is that going to a 433 kinda cements Skuse place in the team even more, most of our other midfield options be they Hyam, Bru, Bishop, Hunt, Ando and to a lesser extent Tabb are forward thinking players, Hyam mainly because MM has told him to get further forward this season, that then Leaves Skuse as the natural buffer in front of our back four?
Signing Jonny Williams. The confidence radiated out to the rest of the team, to McGoldrick, to Murphy.
