| So, February has been a pretty good month so far 07:35 - Feb 20 with 2440 views | Steve_M |
With the only real disappointment that we haven't taken another four points from the Reading match and Saturday. It's not just the results but the cumulative improvement in performances, albeit with some notable exceptions, since December.
What has really changed? A combination of McCarthy letting go a bit, a second transfer window where we failed to replace out main striker (pointing to the fact that the biggest problem at the club probably ) isn't the manager and the addition of some good quality, experienced players. Now it's a shame they are only loans but, as far as this season goes, the injection of quality and freshness to the side has been welcome.
Saturday was good from everyone, players who had been a little inconsistent looked far more comfortable, Berra made two good interceptions early on and did nothing wrong all match, Knudsen looks far more comfortable when he knows the ball will be in front of him that at full back and Sears had probably his best match in 18 months, particularly in the first half he was buzzing all over the place again and took his goal very well.
Leeds had the first five minutes of the match, one ball across our area midway through the first half and the goal. If only we had defended that properly, then we would have won. Spence should have done better, although there is a suggestion he was fouled first. A shame as he was really good too for the rest of the match.
For all of our second half pressure, I don't think we quite did enough to win it. We didn't force Green into any difficult saves , although that was partly due to some excellent defending - the one taken off McGoldrick's toe in particular. In hindsight, I wonder if bringing Pitman on at 80 minutes would have been a good idea, ideal time for him to nick a winner.
Instead, I think it showed that a fair few players haven't played a lot of football lately. Yes, we probably missed Lawrence and that extra bit of quality at the end, but we didn't for most of the match. Good, positive signs.
Not that everything is great all of a sudden, there are still too many questions about the end of this season and how much Marcus Evans' superficial Five Point Plan translates into competitive on the pitch but the rest of this season looks far more enjoyable than it did a month ago.
And so to Sunday then, I note from the highlights that John Ruddy looks in fine form which is always good to see - there is a tradition for him to keep to. For all of Norwich's plethora of good attacking midfielders they still rely on Jerome for goals and can be shaky at the back. Add in the fact that losing after so long will hurt them more than us and they'll be as nervous as for the play-off match. Come on Town, it's more than time. |  |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 07:52 - Feb 20 with 2044 views | taximan |
win a couple
lose a couple
draw a couple
this is where we are at
classic recipe for mid table |  | | |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 08:46 - Feb 20 with 1981 views | PJH |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 07:52 - Feb 20 by taximan |
win a couple
lose a couple
draw a couple
this is where we are at
classic recipe for mid table |
Not only Derby but Ipswich as well are like that. |  | | |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 08:51 - Feb 20 with 1964 views | Steve_M |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 07:52 - Feb 20 by taximan |
win a couple
lose a couple
draw a couple
this is where we are at
classic recipe for mid table |
We've been doing that all season, it's why we've been mid-table all season. There's a bit more about us than that at the moment. | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 08:55 - Feb 20 with 1945 views | hype313 |
Decent little read that Steve, can't disagree with it.
Been some far more positive performances over the past few weeks and I'm a little more optimistic with CR on the horizon.
My only reservation in all of this is our reliance on loans, I appreciate this is where we are as a club now, but it seems our blueprint going forward will be to hopefully nick a couple of PL youngsters in the mold of Lawrence and hope that we can rely on their respective qualities to get us up. |  |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:06 - Feb 20 with 1910 views | Steve_M |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 08:55 - Feb 20 by hype313 |
Decent little read that Steve, can't disagree with it.
Been some far more positive performances over the past few weeks and I'm a little more optimistic with CR on the horizon.
My only reservation in all of this is our reliance on loans, I appreciate this is where we are as a club now, but it seems our blueprint going forward will be to hopefully nick a couple of PL youngsters in the mold of Lawrence and hope that we can rely on their respective qualities to get us up. |
I don't see how we can avoid it and, with the right players, it brings in real quality that we could otherwise not afford. However, such players needs to be a final piece as Fraser, Lawrence and Williams (first time) are or were. Even a developmental one like Colback or AMN is fine if for a whole season.
I think the stopgap loans - Varney, Chaplow, Taylor, Paul Green etc - are probably necessary at times too with a smaller squad. Especially for the second half of the season when such players are not featuring elsewhere and may be cheaper as a result.
However, the core of the squad needs some attention. A point oft repeated but a crucial one nonetheless is that in Mick's first Summer we brought in Murphy, McGoldrick, Skuse and Berra as established Championship players. Since then only Bart and Sears really fit that criteria. I don't think it's a coincidence that Huws, Taylor and Diagouraga have all come in and made a difference - it is the level of player we need to progress (or maybe even to stand still). [Post edited 20 Feb 2017 9:22]
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:22 - Feb 20 with 1850 views | Radlett_blue |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:06 - Feb 20 by Steve_M |
I don't see how we can avoid it and, with the right players, it brings in real quality that we could otherwise not afford. However, such players needs to be a final piece as Fraser, Lawrence and Williams (first time) are or were. Even a developmental one like Colback or AMN is fine if for a whole season.
I think the stopgap loans - Varney, Chaplow, Taylor, Paul Green etc - are probably necessary at times too with a smaller squad. Especially for the second half of the season when such players are not featuring elsewhere and may be cheaper as a result.
However, the core of the squad needs some attention. A point oft repeated but a crucial one nonetheless is that in Mick's first Summer we brought in Murphy, McGoldrick, Skuse and Berra as established Championship players. Since then only Bart and Sears really fit that criteria. I don't think it's a coincidence that Huws, Taylor and Diagouraga have all come in and made a difference - it is the level of player we need to progress (or maybe even to stand still). [Post edited 20 Feb 2017 9:22]
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the fact that our best player this season is a loanee & that a recent improvement in form has coincided with the introduction of a couple more loanees is a real concern. I'm all in favour of season long loans & maybe we can unearth another Lawrence for next season, maybe not. Of the new introductions, I reckon Diagouraga is a possible signing with only a year left on his contract, but we might not want to offer too good a contract to a 30 year old who was frozen out at Leeds. I bet we can't afford Huws as he is seen as a talent & has 2 years left on his Cardiff deal. Even if they wanted to sell, I'm sure they would want a hefty fee. However, he is exactly the sort of player we should be looking to sign if Evans is interested in Town making progress, rather than surviving in this league. |  |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:35 - Feb 20 with 1816 views | flimflam |
Not that it will happen but all of the remaining fixtures are winnable on our day.
The only really tricky ones are Scum and Newcastle.
If we carry on playing how we are could see us finishing in the top 8 which given how dire it has been would be quite an achievement |  |
| All men and women are created, by the, you know the, you know the thing. |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:49 - Feb 20 with 1768 views | CaptainObvious |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 07:52 - Feb 20 by taximan |
win a couple
lose a couple
draw a couple
this is where we are at
classic recipe for mid table |
we haven't even 'won a couple' recently, I can't believe how much people are getting carried away. I guess it's all relative, if you are absolutely dire at some point in the season, then that exaggerates any average form that follows |  |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:51 - Feb 20 with 1752 views | SomethingBlue |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:49 - Feb 20 by CaptainObvious |
we haven't even 'won a couple' recently, I can't believe how much people are getting carried away. I guess it's all relative, if you are absolutely dire at some point in the season, then that exaggerates any average form that follows |
"Absolutely dire" + "average" = mid-table? | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:59 - Feb 20 with 1726 views | CaptainObvious |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:51 - Feb 20 by SomethingBlue |
"Absolutely dire" + "average" = mid-table? |
what? | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:08 - Feb 20 with 1694 views | Radlett_blue |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:59 - Feb 20 by CaptainObvious |
what? |
Much of the football in this league is pretty poor. Many of us haven't been very impressed with Town's performances this season, but we're very much an average, mid table team. | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:30 - Feb 20 with 1657 views | Steve_M |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:22 - Feb 20 by Radlett_blue |
the fact that our best player this season is a loanee & that a recent improvement in form has coincided with the introduction of a couple more loanees is a real concern. I'm all in favour of season long loans & maybe we can unearth another Lawrence for next season, maybe not. Of the new introductions, I reckon Diagouraga is a possible signing with only a year left on his contract, but we might not want to offer too good a contract to a 30 year old who was frozen out at Leeds. I bet we can't afford Huws as he is seen as a talent & has 2 years left on his Cardiff deal. Even if they wanted to sell, I'm sure they would want a hefty fee. However, he is exactly the sort of player we should be looking to sign if Evans is interested in Town making progress, rather than surviving in this league. |
I think it's also clear that Warnock doesn't want Huws and needs to offload players to bring new ones in. He can't resist buying strikers so probably wants about six more of them...
Whether that means we can afford Huws is another matter but he might just want to get his career going again above all else. That's a more persuadable argument with more certainty about who our manager will be next season.
It will be a big Summer again which is partly why we should just enjoy playing well for a bit. | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:39 - Feb 20 with 1634 views | SomethingBlue |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:30 - Feb 20 by Steve_M |
I think it's also clear that Warnock doesn't want Huws and needs to offload players to bring new ones in. He can't resist buying strikers so probably wants about six more of them...
Whether that means we can afford Huws is another matter but he might just want to get his career going again above all else. That's a more persuadable argument with more certainty about who our manager will be next season.
It will be a big Summer again which is partly why we should just enjoy playing well for a bit. |
I was just watching yesterday's Goals on Sunday actually — Warnock was on there and it was quite obvious that, as you say, he'll need to lose a few players to get the guys he wants in. I'd be surprised if Huws was part of that even if he keeps doing well here. Hopefully we'll cough up, and he'll be interested. | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:39 - Feb 20 with 1633 views | Radlett_blue |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:30 - Feb 20 by Steve_M |
I think it's also clear that Warnock doesn't want Huws and needs to offload players to bring new ones in. He can't resist buying strikers so probably wants about six more of them...
Whether that means we can afford Huws is another matter but he might just want to get his career going again above all else. That's a more persuadable argument with more certainty about who our manager will be next season.
It will be a big Summer again which is partly why we should just enjoy playing well for a bit. |
Sure, Huws seems keen to play & rightly sees that as necessary to get his career back on track. If he thinks he'd be a key player at Town next season, that could help him want to come. I agree Warnock might be keen to sell, but the better Huws plays the less likely we can afford the transfer fee as I'm sure plenty of clubs with deeper pockets will have an eye on him. | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:41 - Feb 20 with 1624 views | bluewein |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 07:52 - Feb 20 by taximan |
win a couple
lose a couple
draw a couple
this is where we are at
classic recipe for mid table |
I'd happily take mid table as long as we were playing some entertaining football.
That's basically what people have been saying this season, isn't it? And yet, when we do start playing some nice stuff (I've really enjoyed the last 4 games) it's still not good enough for some.
I'm guessing the fans who "just wanted entertainment" didn't really just want entertainment at all, did they? |  |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:42 - Feb 20 with 1628 views | ClausThomsen |
Is this the new spin?
We've played well since December?
Compared to the 12+ months previous you've got a point! January still contained the QPR game which we looked like winning until MM's Douglas sub, Lincoln full strength at home and the shambles replay on BBC, Huddersfield away and the Derby shambles.
We've played consistently well since the window shut, maybe January was the transition from "matching up" to a style of our own, but we still had 4 stinking performances that month.
Will we stick with 352 or "match up" to Norwich? And if we lose to Norwich will we "matching up" for the rest of the season?
This fear MM has about the opposition has to recede completely for me, and he'll have the rest of the season to show that it has. We've proven this month that we don't have to fear anyone, we've created chances and been more than competitive against 4 top sides - and that's with injuries.
Norwich are nothing to be scared of, are they? | | | |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:47 - Feb 20 with 1604 views | LankHenners |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:42 - Feb 20 by ClausThomsen |
Is this the new spin?
We've played well since December?
Compared to the 12+ months previous you've got a point! January still contained the QPR game which we looked like winning until MM's Douglas sub, Lincoln full strength at home and the shambles replay on BBC, Huddersfield away and the Derby shambles.
We've played consistently well since the window shut, maybe January was the transition from "matching up" to a style of our own, but we still had 4 stinking performances that month.
Will we stick with 352 or "match up" to Norwich? And if we lose to Norwich will we "matching up" for the rest of the season?
This fear MM has about the opposition has to recede completely for me, and he'll have the rest of the season to show that it has. We've proven this month that we don't have to fear anyone, we've created chances and been more than competitive against 4 top sides - and that's with injuries.
Norwich are nothing to be scared of, are they? |
Yes, it is a shame that every other team has won every match they've played 5-0 and have played the opposition off the park every time. |  |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:49 - Feb 20 with 1591 views | artsbossbeard |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 09:49 - Feb 20 by CaptainObvious |
we haven't even 'won a couple' recently, I can't believe how much people are getting carried away. I guess it's all relative, if you are absolutely dire at some point in the season, then that exaggerates any average form that follows |
I don't believe people are getting carried away - just simply enjoying that through the addition of a couple of loan players (where deals are possible) and and a low fee player, we're suddenly playing decent footy & competitive.
After the guff that's been served up for most of the season, I'm taking the above as a positive step. |  |
| Please note: prior to hitting the post button, I've double checked for anything that could be construed as "Anti Semitic" and to the best of my knowledge it isn't. Anything deemed to be of a Xenophobic nature is therefore purely accidental or down to your own misconstruing. | | Poll: | Raining in IP8 - shall I get the washing in? |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:57 - Feb 20 with 1552 views | Steve_M |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:42 - Feb 20 by ClausThomsen |
Is this the new spin?
We've played well since December?
Compared to the 12+ months previous you've got a point! January still contained the QPR game which we looked like winning until MM's Douglas sub, Lincoln full strength at home and the shambles replay on BBC, Huddersfield away and the Derby shambles.
We've played consistently well since the window shut, maybe January was the transition from "matching up" to a style of our own, but we still had 4 stinking performances that month.
Will we stick with 352 or "match up" to Norwich? And if we lose to Norwich will we "matching up" for the rest of the season?
This fear MM has about the opposition has to recede completely for me, and he'll have the rest of the season to show that it has. We've proven this month that we don't have to fear anyone, we've created chances and been more than competitive against 4 top sides - and that's with injuries.
Norwich are nothing to be scared of, are they? |
"With notable exceptions" being the key phrase in that statement - and we played well at QPR even after the substitution.
What did you make of Bishop's performance on Saturday by the way? | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 11:12 - Feb 20 with 1510 views | ClausThomsen |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:57 - Feb 20 by Steve_M |
"With notable exceptions" being the key phrase in that statement - and we played well at QPR even after the substitution.
What did you make of Bishop's performance on Saturday by the way? |
It's the key phrase to you - Blackburn at home was a good performance and a great chance to finally get some momentum (maybe even back to back wins), so what does MM do after that? He completely changes the team and sends them out on national TV with no gameplan whatsoever for the most embarrassing performance and result I've experienced in 20+ years as a fan.
In January we had 3 good performances, 1 bad one and 3 absolute stinkers. We won one game.
Bishop did cack in his cameo but he's perhaps a little rusty? McGoldrick's rust seems to have gone after a few games, I'm looking forward to Bishop being afforded the same patience. He certainly deserves it. | | | |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 11:14 - Feb 20 with 1491 views | Bluebell |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 11:12 - Feb 20 by ClausThomsen |
It's the key phrase to you - Blackburn at home was a good performance and a great chance to finally get some momentum (maybe even back to back wins), so what does MM do after that? He completely changes the team and sends them out on national TV with no gameplan whatsoever for the most embarrassing performance and result I've experienced in 20+ years as a fan.
In January we had 3 good performances, 1 bad one and 3 absolute stinkers. We won one game.
Bishop did cack in his cameo but he's perhaps a little rusty? McGoldrick's rust seems to have gone after a few games, I'm looking forward to Bishop being afforded the same patience. He certainly deserves it. |
I wondered how long it would be before you mentioned Bishop.
I didn't have to wait long! |  | | |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 11:33 - Feb 20 with 1437 views | Guthrum |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:49 - Feb 20 by artsbossbeard |
I don't believe people are getting carried away - just simply enjoying that through the addition of a couple of loan players (where deals are possible) and and a low fee player, we're suddenly playing decent footy & competitive.
After the guff that's been served up for most of the season, I'm taking the above as a positive step. |
Ironically, the results are actually worse (1.17 points per game) since the 28th January than they were in the two and a half months before that (1.33 points per game).
However, that doesn't take into account the tough opposition: 3 teams in the top six (4 if you include Hudds), plus Preston, Derby and ex-Prem Villa. Or the reduced frequency of losses. Or the improved quality of football and the fact we've managed to continue it despite yet more injuries and the suspension of our top goalscorer. |  |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 11:49 - Feb 20 with 1377 views | CaptainObvious |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:08 - Feb 20 by Radlett_blue |
Much of the football in this league is pretty poor. Many of us haven't been very impressed with Town's performances this season, but we're very much an average, mid table team. |
just below average i'd say but not worth quibbling over the semantics. i think it's fair to say we were dire around the lincoln games though. | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 11:52 - Feb 20 with 1367 views | Steve_M |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 11:49 - Feb 20 by CaptainObvious |
just below average i'd say but not worth quibbling over the semantics. i think it's fair to say we were dire around the lincoln games though. |
It's fairer to say that we were dire in those games, and against Fulham and Derby, rather than in the other matches surrounding those. | |
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| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 12:25 - Feb 20 with 1258 views | Reuser_is_God |
| So, February has been a pretty good month so far on 10:39 - Feb 20 by Radlett_blue |
Sure, Huws seems keen to play & rightly sees that as necessary to get his career back on track. If he thinks he'd be a key player at Town next season, that could help him want to come. I agree Warnock might be keen to sell, but the better Huws plays the less likely we can afford the transfer fee as I'm sure plenty of clubs with deeper pockets will have an eye on him. |
A Forest fan I know reckons they want him in the summer to replace Lansbury. |  |
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