| Everything is awesome 21:52 - Aug 15 with 20848 views | Mullet |
Having seen both league games thus far, it's pretty clear that Cook's decision to be "Demolition Man" might well render his time here a cult classic, rather than the blockbuster we are budgeting for.
It wasn't necessary to rip apart the whole team, it was a decision and direction decided upon, and the first few steps have seen us in the gutter haven't they? Overloaded with attacking depth but unable to find a front 4 that doesn't limit Piggott to playing second balls to new runners or empty spaces for most of his time on the pitch.
He and Fraser have been devastating at this level for smaller teams, as with most of the individuals you can see the potential there but that doesn't mean we are yet. Lots of possession and a clear intent to strafe wide and overload fullbacks. It's ironic we conceded in that way against Burton. KVY finding himself further forward than he managed prior, the whole side gets caught out and once again it's one shot and we are behind.
Cook has been here months, he couldn't make it work with what he had, he has been given way more than anyone else for a long time. It's all well and good pointing to his past at other clubs, but his past at Ipswich and thus his present, is closer to the bloody woeful we've been accustomed to. Pointing that out is not the TWTD equivalent of going to the Vatican and giving the Pope a kick up the ass.
You can probably be assured Cook and his staff will be unhappy with the points tally and the manner in which we've been so generous to teams with far smaller budgets and even more churn in the case of Morecambe.
More worryingly for them might be Ashton and the higher ups. They clearly didn't appoint Cook, they perhaps didn't see prudence in removing him right away either financially or morally when taking over. This is a marriage of convenience in some respects and this summer seems very much like Cook is backing himself, using the dollars available. That could all change very quickly without promotion on the table.
Pretending promotion is beyond this club is equally laughable, especially given all the chiding about "ambition" in recent years and when we were looking to do it in the league above. It absolutely must and should be the minimum we expect. 3 teams will go up, we should be one of them preferably as champions - otherwise this recall to Cook's CV is fairly moot. Let alone the fact we've got rid of Evans' approach and been told everything we wanted to hear for years.
Harper and Edwards look like they belong on the path to being in the league above already, and will hone that claim with game time. The lovely shapes Harper made when we got the ball down and he broke the play up were even better than the few times Dobra and Fraser did it. The fact we then didn't see players getting off shots and were reduced to hoping that flashes across the goal might be turned in yesterday, speaks to how disjointed we are.
The manner in which we conceded a second against Morecambe, seemed to plague us up top yesterday and with so many personnel changes it's not that surprising. Adding Burgess in will help breed some confidence amongst players and fans alike, it's a late but welcome addition in my opinion.
Woolfenden won a fair amount yesterday, Donacien again showed he's incredibly dependable but will never really excel. Given KVY seems to have lost a yard in his feet and another in his head, whether it's fear of getting hurt or a lack of fitness, the idea of replacing him with JD makes the whole system Cook is trying to employ, severely hampered. Regardless he hasn't managed many games for us yet and assuming he should or will is risky still.
Penney like many others seems to have the right ideas but not the right amount of belief or understanding around him. Sometimes maybe good, sometimes maybe sh1t seems to be the pattern of play we've settled for so far. But that will improve as time goes on. If it doesn't then we truly are a managerial graveyard and need something else drastically.
Fans haven't been in the grounds for over a year and that seems to play on everyone concerned. When we concede the atmosphere whooshes out and away almost instantly. People either side of the lines are unsure about what to say and do, particularly when things don't go as we'd like. But no amount of thought-policing and insistence on being cheery about failing to beat not one, but two teams, we'd never consider rivals to promotion is as wrong as it is tiring.
Just as it seemed there was a place for Toto and Norwood, there now doesn't unless they cycle in as others replace them on the treatment table and the timescales to get the spine sorted makes it little wonder why we've come out of the season crawling along.
Pointing to when and what side X or manager Y did is fairly irrelevant. There isn't a context which lends itself to ITFC completely changing in a matter of weeks and with it expectations and the ability to meet them.
Hladky has looked a far more rounded keeper, our central midfielders as good as those we just sold to promotion chasers in the league above, there's an abundance of threat up top but so far less return than we needed. But we've failed to keep teams out with barely a fight.
This has the makings of the most exciting season since the playoff campaign (because of where it sets us up to be) and there is enough about us to see us do well, but thinking we can just will that into existence is stupid. The longer we ponder and fail to produce wins with regularity the speed with which this league will leave us behind is the one thing we should have gotten used to in the years we've been down here.
It's a massive stain on this club being relegated to this level. It's still very much all over us for now. There's nothing wrong with facing up to that regularly either is there? They've been pretty open with us how long it will take to sort off the field, but on the field it should definitely be a much shorter timescale. |  |
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| Everything is awesome on 08:34 - Aug 16 with 2735 views | itfcjoe |
| Everything is awesome on 08:32 - Aug 16 by gordon |
Think this is the naive take on the situation - of course Cook is a respected, competent manager who has achieved success at this level before, so obviously the new owners most sensible strategy was to publicly back him once the takeover was complete.
They are hardly going to come out and say, "well, there were 3 or 4 managers we were considering and Cook was one of them but actually we were going to try and get Appleton - but to be honest now he's signed a new contract at Lincoln and Cook is in post we've decided to get behind him." |
I think everyone assumed new owners had a hand in Cook as is a logical view to take on it, but both TWTD (Phil Ham) and EADT (Andy Warren and Stu Watson) have all stated that this wasn't the case and that Cook hadn't spoken to them at all before the takeover.
Those 3 guys are all very well connected, and when they've all gone that strongly on that opinion I tend to think they are right. |  |
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| Everything is awesome on 08:35 - Aug 16 with 2729 views | Dubtractor |
| Everything is awesome on 08:21 - Aug 16 by Herbivore |
Nobody has called for his head, nobody is mad with him. I'm not sure why so many fans are overreacting to stuff that's not being said. |
This is what I just don't understand - I haven't seen anyone calling for his head, just a few people asking questions, on a forum for talking about the club.
I'll repeat that I was one of the main cheerleaders for Cook's appointment when we gave Lambert the push, and I still think he will see us good, but I really don't see any problem in pointing out that it hasn't been good enough so far. And this idea that we should ignore last season is just bonkers.
I do get why people are keen to be positive, as a town fan the last 15 years have been utterly miserable, and there really is lots of stuff off the pitch that we can be delighted with. But lets not paint the on pitch stuff as something that it isn't. Not just yet anyway.
Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but after the initial excitement for Keane, Jewell, Hurst and Lambert I'm going to keep my powder dry a little longer for now. |  |
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| Everything is awesome on 08:39 - Aug 16 with 2711 views | Churchman |
I agree with much of the OP. However, I believe it was necessary to rip apart the whole team and I don’t have regrets on any of them going with perhaps the exception, oddly, of Bishop. Downes wanted out a long time ago and showed it and Dozzell had a release clause so fair enough.
Of what remains of last year’s sorry shower, I’m glad Dobra, LW and Holy have stayed. The latter will do as back up. Norwood - on balance I’d have no problem seeing him go. Not because he’s an idiot, but because of fitness. 20 games a season isn’t enough for me.
The Chairman or somebody said Cook was appointed by Evans with no objection by them. They’ve not lied about anything so far so I’m not inclined to disbelieve them.
As for it being a stain on this club being at this level, I don’t see it that way. We deserve to be here. We are an established mid table League One club, no better than Morecambe, Gillingham or anyone else. We are what we are. The trick is to strive to be better on and off the field in equal measure.
The club’s potential of the club is obviously there. I’m confident we will improve not particularly because of the players or Cook, but because foundations and structure are being put back in the club. It all depends on the owners being true to their word. I’ve seen nothing yet to say they won’t be. |  | | |
| Everything is awesome on 08:41 - Aug 16 with 2698 views | itfcjoe |
| Everything is awesome on 08:35 - Aug 16 by Dubtractor |
This is what I just don't understand - I haven't seen anyone calling for his head, just a few people asking questions, on a forum for talking about the club.
I'll repeat that I was one of the main cheerleaders for Cook's appointment when we gave Lambert the push, and I still think he will see us good, but I really don't see any problem in pointing out that it hasn't been good enough so far. And this idea that we should ignore last season is just bonkers.
I do get why people are keen to be positive, as a town fan the last 15 years have been utterly miserable, and there really is lots of stuff off the pitch that we can be delighted with. But lets not paint the on pitch stuff as something that it isn't. Not just yet anyway.
Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but after the initial excitement for Keane, Jewell, Hurst and Lambert I'm going to keep my powder dry a little longer for now. |
Yep - and for me people who demand last season and what happened is totally written off.
Here's what happens - we start winning games, we are in the top 2 and looking good - no one gives a toss about last season and it is totally forgotten.....
......or we are sitting 9th in the table losing as many games as we are winning and it's October - and last seasons record will be being put back into things. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 08:43 - Aug 16 with 2699 views | PhilTWTD |
| Everything is awesome on 08:16 - Aug 16 by Coco |
The rumours months before we even dreamed of a takeover stated the new owners want Cook in as the new boss. What a mad coincidence. The takeover was 99.999999% done when Lambert was sacked! I’m sure Evans thought “how can i best screw this deal up!”
Of course they can’t say they were scheming behind Lamberts back and that it all kinda just worked out how they all wanted. Really is naive to think Gamechanger played no part in it. Lol. |
One report said Cook would come in as part of the takeover. It was wrong, he was Marcus's appointment at a time Marcus hadn't decided to sell the club, indeed he was trying to work a situation where investment came in rather than a takeover. Once he was in position, Gamechanger weren't too unhappy, hence their public backing, but from what I was told prior to the Cook story their preferred candidate was Michael Appleton, who MA and MOL had previously worked with at West Brom and Oxford.
Cook very definitely didn't know anything about the takeover, other than what had been reported, until it happened. He was shocked when it went through as he'd not been kept in the loop while discussions were ongoing.
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| Everything is awesome on 08:48 - Aug 16 with 2650 views | BarcaBlue |
| Everything is awesome on 08:35 - Aug 16 by Dubtractor |
This is what I just don't understand - I haven't seen anyone calling for his head, just a few people asking questions, on a forum for talking about the club.
I'll repeat that I was one of the main cheerleaders for Cook's appointment when we gave Lambert the push, and I still think he will see us good, but I really don't see any problem in pointing out that it hasn't been good enough so far. And this idea that we should ignore last season is just bonkers.
I do get why people are keen to be positive, as a town fan the last 15 years have been utterly miserable, and there really is lots of stuff off the pitch that we can be delighted with. But lets not paint the on pitch stuff as something that it isn't. Not just yet anyway.
Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but after the initial excitement for Keane, Jewell, Hurst and Lambert I'm going to keep my powder dry a little longer for now. |
Pretty much spot on. It's not about being pessimistic but apart from Edwards' 25 minute cameo on Saturday there wasn't really anything to get excited about. The Morecambe match suggested there might be more to come but on the back of the end of last season I need more than that to get positive about Cook's early days in charge.That's the reality of it, it's not calling for his head, not setting a date for when he should be showing us his worth , just ITFC recent history suggests caution over hyperbole. |  | | |
| Everything is awesome on 08:54 - Aug 16 with 2636 views | Herbivore |
| Everything is awesome on 08:43 - Aug 16 by PhilTWTD |
One report said Cook would come in as part of the takeover. It was wrong, he was Marcus's appointment at a time Marcus hadn't decided to sell the club, indeed he was trying to work a situation where investment came in rather than a takeover. Once he was in position, Gamechanger weren't too unhappy, hence their public backing, but from what I was told prior to the Cook story their preferred candidate was Michael Appleton, who MA and MOL had previously worked with at West Brom and Oxford.
Cook very definitely didn't know anything about the takeover, other than what had been reported, until it happened. He was shocked when it went through as he'd not been kept in the loop while discussions were ongoing.
This post has been edited by an administrator |
You're being very naive here Phil, apparently. |  |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:06 - Aug 16 with 2623 views | Coco |
| Everything is awesome on 08:54 - Aug 16 by Herbivore |
You're being very naive here Phil, apparently. |
Oh wind your neck in. All depends on what versions you really choose to believe.
Many City definitely weren’t talking to Grealish all summer.
The Russians knew nothing about the US elections.
I mean if Cook et al say they knew nothing then they certainly knew nothing. For sure. [Post edited 16 Aug 2021 9:11]
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| Everything is awesome on 09:12 - Aug 16 with 2601 views | Mullet |
| Everything is awesome on 09:06 - Aug 16 by Coco |
Oh wind your neck in. All depends on what versions you really choose to believe.
Many City definitely weren’t talking to Grealish all summer.
The Russians knew nothing about the US elections.
I mean if Cook et al say they knew nothing then they certainly knew nothing. For sure. [Post edited 16 Aug 2021 9:11]
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You’ve been completely shown up here. A simple recognition of that from you and the others who believe in these alternative facts would be the right way to go. I’m not offended you got it so wrong, it’s ok to be mistaken as a lot happened in quick succession. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:13 - Aug 16 with 2592 views | Herbivore |
| Everything is awesome on 09:06 - Aug 16 by Coco |
Oh wind your neck in. All depends on what versions you really choose to believe.
Many City definitely weren’t talking to Grealish all summer.
The Russians knew nothing about the US elections.
I mean if Cook et al say they knew nothing then they certainly knew nothing. For sure. [Post edited 16 Aug 2021 9:11]
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Lolz. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:18 - Aug 16 with 2583 views | Mullet |
| Everything is awesome on 08:35 - Aug 16 by Dubtractor |
This is what I just don't understand - I haven't seen anyone calling for his head, just a few people asking questions, on a forum for talking about the club.
I'll repeat that I was one of the main cheerleaders for Cook's appointment when we gave Lambert the push, and I still think he will see us good, but I really don't see any problem in pointing out that it hasn't been good enough so far. And this idea that we should ignore last season is just bonkers.
I do get why people are keen to be positive, as a town fan the last 15 years have been utterly miserable, and there really is lots of stuff off the pitch that we can be delighted with. But lets not paint the on pitch stuff as something that it isn't. Not just yet anyway.
Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but after the initial excitement for Keane, Jewell, Hurst and Lambert I'm going to keep my powder dry a little longer for now. |
It’s that simple disconnect between the dream being sold and the reality isn’t it? We’ve had a pandemic, the worst football possible, a relegation and people trying to mitigate their own miscalculations as well as those they have no control over.
It’ll be more rewarding when the final whistle goes on that first three points. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:28 - Aug 16 with 2564 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Everything is awesome on 08:41 - Aug 16 by itfcjoe |
Yep - and for me people who demand last season and what happened is totally written off.
Here's what happens - we start winning games, we are in the top 2 and looking good - no one gives a toss about last season and it is totally forgotten.....
......or we are sitting 9th in the table losing as many games as we are winning and it's October - and last seasons record will be being put back into things. |
About the only thing we can be certain about is if PC doesn’t produce results he won’t last as long as Roy Keane did.
PC really has put himself under a lot of pressure hopefully he will come good. |  |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:28 - Aug 16 with 2567 views | Garv |
| Everything is awesome on 08:43 - Aug 16 by PhilTWTD |
One report said Cook would come in as part of the takeover. It was wrong, he was Marcus's appointment at a time Marcus hadn't decided to sell the club, indeed he was trying to work a situation where investment came in rather than a takeover. Once he was in position, Gamechanger weren't too unhappy, hence their public backing, but from what I was told prior to the Cook story their preferred candidate was Michael Appleton, who MA and MOL had previously worked with at West Brom and Oxford.
Cook very definitely didn't know anything about the takeover, other than what had been reported, until it happened. He was shocked when it went through as he'd not been kept in the loop while discussions were ongoing.
This post has been edited by an administrator |
That last paragraph is incredible to read. How could he have been 'shocked' when the takeover had been so heavily reported? Sounds naive on Cook's part to me. |  |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:29 - Aug 16 with 2562 views | Garv |
All fair points but ultimately we're two games in. You can't look far past that at the moment. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:31 - Aug 16 with 2557 views | Coco |
| Everything is awesome on 09:13 - Aug 16 by Herbivore |
Lolz. |
lolz indeed. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:34 - Aug 16 with 2543 views | Herbivore |
| Everything is awesome on 08:35 - Aug 16 by Dubtractor |
This is what I just don't understand - I haven't seen anyone calling for his head, just a few people asking questions, on a forum for talking about the club.
I'll repeat that I was one of the main cheerleaders for Cook's appointment when we gave Lambert the push, and I still think he will see us good, but I really don't see any problem in pointing out that it hasn't been good enough so far. And this idea that we should ignore last season is just bonkers.
I do get why people are keen to be positive, as a town fan the last 15 years have been utterly miserable, and there really is lots of stuff off the pitch that we can be delighted with. But lets not paint the on pitch stuff as something that it isn't. Not just yet anyway.
Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but after the initial excitement for Keane, Jewell, Hurst and Lambert I'm going to keep my powder dry a little longer for now. |
Absolutely. Of the established managers Cook was very much my first choice, the romantic in me liked the idea of Dyer with some experienced assistance alongside him but looking at the situation now I think a rebuild would have been too much for him (though arguably, he wouldn't have needed to go full rebuild).
It is possible to look at Cook's record and think he was a good appointment and to still be hopeful that he'll do well here whilst also acknowledging that he's been poor so far. Results and performances last season weren't good enough. There are mitigating factors, but he came in and failed to get a tune out of anyone and we actually ended up doing worse than we'd been doing under Lambert. It's natural for that to raise a few question marks.
This is a new season with a new team - his team that he wanted to build from scratch - and he has to get it right. I remain very hopeful that he will, but I'd also hoped we'd pick up an early win given the fixtures we've had. So long as we pick up a win - ideally at least 4 points actually - this week then it won't matter, it will have been a pretty okay start.
But what I don't get is that anyone pointing out the obvious underperformance last season and thus far this season is shouted down as a heretic who is anti-Cook. Anything other than unfiltered positivity about the performances this season is seen as being outrageous criticism. It's really bizarre. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:37 - Aug 16 with 2533 views | C_HealyIsAPleasure |
| Everything is awesome on 09:29 - Aug 16 by Garv |
All fair points but ultimately we're two games in. You can't look far past that at the moment. |
I did think that but depends what conversations had been held with Evans. If Evans assured him as part of his appointment that it was just rumours and he wasn’t looking to sell, then of course he would have been shocked |  |
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| Everything is awesome on 09:54 - Aug 16 with 2487 views | Coco |
| Everything is awesome on 09:12 - Aug 16 by Mullet |
You’ve been completely shown up here. A simple recognition of that from you and the others who believe in these alternative facts would be the right way to go. I’m not offended you got it so wrong, it’s ok to be mistaken as a lot happened in quick succession. |
the mad thing is you're wrong, but I won't get all sanctimonious about it. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 10:04 - Aug 16 with 2459 views | Herbivore |
| Everything is awesome on 09:54 - Aug 16 by Coco |
the mad thing is you're wrong, but I won't get all sanctimonious about it. |
Is he wrong? Phil and the local journos seem to think otherwise, and I suspect they know more about what goes on at the club than you do. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 10:06 - Aug 16 with 2452 views | BlueOsterClub |
| Everything is awesome on 08:32 - Aug 16 by gordon |
Think this is the naive take on the situation - of course Cook is a respected, competent manager who has achieved success at this level before, so obviously the new owners most sensible strategy was to publicly back him once the takeover was complete.
They are hardly going to come out and say, "well, there were 3 or 4 managers we were considering and Cook was one of them but actually we were going to try and get Appleton - but to be honest now he's signed a new contract at Lincoln and Cook is in post we've decided to get behind him." |
We have been building an amazing team and have not had a great deal of luck yet on the Pitch. We also have not had our new defenders playing( a part from Penney) yet but once we do we will see a huge difference.
Our great team of 79/80 got off to a poor start , I think we were changing our style of play and it took a little time to get used to it. We then went on an amazing run of wins and beat Manchester United 6 -0 who where second in the league at the time. The following season we were chasing the treble and won the UEFA cup.
We are at the start of something amazing so embrace and enjoy the ride because its coming , look at the quality of the players we have signed.
I do feel Frazier should play more central which is his natural position and we will get much more out Piggot once Cook moves him there.
We will get promoted as Champions |  | | |
| Everything is awesome on 10:32 - Aug 16 with 2414 views | HighgateBlue |
| Everything is awesome on 06:38 - Aug 16 by Keaneish |
If only TWTD gave out awards for prose, this would surely be up there! I’m in agreement with you. This post picks holes in plenty of positives about the team but frames them as negatives only adding fuel to the more moronic posters.
I find it incredible after what sounds like one poor performance, KVY is being dug out now too. Sure, there are things to improve in that side but it’s night and day from last season. However, I guess when you e nailed your colours to the MM mast for so long and there’s now not a shred of it left, change doesn’t come easy to some. |
It is indeed night and day compared with last season.
Last season our first six league games were five wins and a draw. |  | | |
| Everything is awesome on 10:34 - Aug 16 with 2413 views | gordon |
| Everything is awesome on 09:37 - Aug 16 by C_HealyIsAPleasure |
I did think that but depends what conversations had been held with Evans. If Evans assured him as part of his appointment that it was just rumours and he wasn’t looking to sell, then of course he would have been shocked |
Yes, it was clearly reported at the time that Evans had told Cook there was investment coming in, but Evans was still going to be in charge. That's why Cook was shocked at the takeover. |  | | |
| Everything is awesome on 10:56 - Aug 16 with 2379 views | HighgateBlue |
| Everything is awesome on 08:54 - Aug 16 by Herbivore |
You're being very naive here Phil, apparently. |
MInd blowingly so, in fact. | | | |
| Everything is awesome on 11:21 - Aug 16 with 2353 views | Coco |
| Everything is awesome on 10:04 - Aug 16 by Herbivore |
Is he wrong? Phil and the local journos seem to think otherwise, and I suspect they know more about what goes on at the club than you do. |
You'd genuinely be surprised. Maybe sensitivities and NDA's will relax soon. | |
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| Everything is awesome on 11:48 - Aug 16 with 2335 views | timothyeo |
| Everything is awesome on 11:21 - Aug 16 by Coco |
You'd genuinely be surprised. Maybe sensitivities and NDA's will relax soon. |
Yeah, nah, Phil def knows more than you. Deary me, cringe. | | | |
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