| Hey Bluefish........... 14:45 - Oct 12 with 7575 views | BlueNomad |
Is your avatar for real?
At least you came first in this race I suppose. |  | | |  |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 10:19 - Oct 13 with 1039 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 09:59 - Oct 13 by Herbivore |
Then why are we squarely in the bottom half of the table for xG, shots on goal, shots on target etc. if we're playing such exhilarating front foot football? There seems to be a real disconnect between what we're actually producing and what some fans say they are witnessing. |
We're joint top scorers in the league. |  |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 10:30 - Oct 13 with 1004 views | Darth_Koont |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 06:01 - Oct 13 by Bluefish |
I'll be delighted to see him succeed, sadly he had shown no signs of achieving that. We are no further along. There is always a point where you have to say it hasn't worked especially when it was seen as needing to get out of a division straight away |
Blimey! I hadn’t even got the cones out.
Admire the attitude but this sort of random, unstructured stuff isn’t going to help. |  |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 10:35 - Oct 13 with 992 views | dirtyboy |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 09:59 - Oct 13 by Herbivore |
Then why are we squarely in the bottom half of the table for xG, shots on goal, shots on target etc. if we're playing such exhilarating front foot football? There seems to be a real disconnect between what we're actually producing and what some fans say they are witnessing. |
I'm a numbers man, I often can be heard saying, numbers don't lie, but football isn't quite like that is it?
Expected goals doesn't determine who wins, it's only showing what our chance quality is and even that's subjective when considering the types of chances we're having, we've seen a few strike the ball from further out now, so inevitably, xG as a metric will be skewed as it's just not as effective....but gets you off your seat if it's close right? We're seeing that in person and it's, well, enjoyable I guess. |  | | |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 10:42 - Oct 13 with 974 views | Herbivore |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 10:35 - Oct 13 by dirtyboy |
I'm a numbers man, I often can be heard saying, numbers don't lie, but football isn't quite like that is it?
Expected goals doesn't determine who wins, it's only showing what our chance quality is and even that's subjective when considering the types of chances we're having, we've seen a few strike the ball from further out now, so inevitably, xG as a metric will be skewed as it's just not as effective....but gets you off your seat if it's close right? We're seeing that in person and it's, well, enjoyable I guess. |
Fair enough. Donny game aside I've not really seen what you're seeing in the matches I've watched, which is just under half of them in all competitions. We haven't created a lot in the games I've seen and the stats seem to bear that out as well.
I don't doubt people are enjoying it. There's optimism around the club after the takeover, we've signed some exciting players, and it's great to be able to go to the footy again after 18 months of varying degrees of lockdown. But taking some of the emotion out of it are we actually playing really well? My view is we aren't based on what I've seen, not overall. Some odd patches of good play but an awful lot of slow and disjointed football as well. Let's hope it clicks and those patches become the norm rather than the exception. |  |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:01 - Oct 13 with 940 views | TooManyCooks |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 10:42 - Oct 13 by Herbivore |
Fair enough. Donny game aside I've not really seen what you're seeing in the matches I've watched, which is just under half of them in all competitions. We haven't created a lot in the games I've seen and the stats seem to bear that out as well.
I don't doubt people are enjoying it. There's optimism around the club after the takeover, we've signed some exciting players, and it's great to be able to go to the footy again after 18 months of varying degrees of lockdown. But taking some of the emotion out of it are we actually playing really well? My view is we aren't based on what I've seen, not overall. Some odd patches of good play but an awful lot of slow and disjointed football as well. Let's hope it clicks and those patches become the norm rather than the exception. |
I've ignored everything to do with stats and league position etc and based my previous post on my feelings towards games. The good feeling is back for me, I don't mind not knowing if we will win or lose, but to know I will get to see ITFC having players bombing down the line and whipping crosses in to an in-form goal scoring machine is all I need.
I always used to be envious of the way some teams played compared to us, going back many years, that ability to counter at lightning speed with fast wingers and now we've got it and I'm going to allow myself to enjoy it, forget everything else for now Herbs, just try and enjoy there being a good feeling around the place under new owners and players, what will be, will be. |  |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:08 - Oct 13 with 927 views | Herbivore |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:01 - Oct 13 by TooManyCooks |
I've ignored everything to do with stats and league position etc and based my previous post on my feelings towards games. The good feeling is back for me, I don't mind not knowing if we will win or lose, but to know I will get to see ITFC having players bombing down the line and whipping crosses in to an in-form goal scoring machine is all I need.
I always used to be envious of the way some teams played compared to us, going back many years, that ability to counter at lightning speed with fast wingers and now we've got it and I'm going to allow myself to enjoy it, forget everything else for now Herbs, just try and enjoy there being a good feeling around the place under new owners and players, what will be, will be. |
The problem is that once you realise there's a disconnect between your feelings and what's actually happening you can't ignore it. | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:11 - Oct 13 with 910 views | Bluefish |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:08 - Oct 13 by Herbivore |
The problem is that once you realise there's a disconnect between your feelings and what's actually happening you can't ignore it. |
It is the same old stuff we heard last season and the season before about improved performances and better match day experience.
There is a desperation to mask the truth of how far we have slipped and how we aren't turning it round |  |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:24 - Oct 13 with 891 views | TooManyCooks |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:11 - Oct 13 by Bluefish |
It is the same old stuff we heard last season and the season before about improved performances and better match day experience.
There is a desperation to mask the truth of how far we have slipped and how we aren't turning it round |
Our league form over the last 10 games is mid table (despite people assuming it was worse) our league form (points gained) over the last 5 games is 4th in the division, we are joint top scorers in the league, we have the second highest goals scored in the league in the last 5 games, we have the best record in the league defensively over the last 5 games.
There's a time and a place to moan about how we are playing and whether the manager is doing a good job, but this is neither. Your views on the team and manager might have been afforded some credence, by a few, at the beginning of the season, but now they hold none whatsoever, our progression in form is undeniable. | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:42 - Oct 13 with 861 views | dirtyboy |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 10:42 - Oct 13 by Herbivore |
Fair enough. Donny game aside I've not really seen what you're seeing in the matches I've watched, which is just under half of them in all competitions. We haven't created a lot in the games I've seen and the stats seem to bear that out as well.
I don't doubt people are enjoying it. There's optimism around the club after the takeover, we've signed some exciting players, and it's great to be able to go to the footy again after 18 months of varying degrees of lockdown. But taking some of the emotion out of it are we actually playing really well? My view is we aren't based on what I've seen, not overall. Some odd patches of good play but an awful lot of slow and disjointed football as well. Let's hope it clicks and those patches become the norm rather than the exception. |
I completely agree that we're only playing well in patches, but it is heading in the right direction, that slow football really is frustrating and much of it is a weird reactionary response that needs nipping in the bud quickly.
That being said, the side is starting to look settled, only a few changes here and there and I think that's key too.
I just feel we're doing things in the right order, just not been as easy as many wanted/expected. | | | |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:49 - Oct 13 with 839 views | TooManyCooks |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:42 - Oct 13 by dirtyboy |
I completely agree that we're only playing well in patches, but it is heading in the right direction, that slow football really is frustrating and much of it is a weird reactionary response that needs nipping in the bud quickly.
That being said, the side is starting to look settled, only a few changes here and there and I think that's key too.
I just feel we're doing things in the right order, just not been as easy as many wanted/expected. |
The last sentence sums up my view, the expectation levels were way too high. It was easy to get carried away on cloud 9 with new owners, investment, a whole new squad etc, but the reality was that the huge amount of change was going to see an initial decline in performance, before things, hopefully, got better. The good news is, things got better, now we need to try and maintain some consistency, an ingredient that has eluded many sides in this league over the years. | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 12:04 - Oct 13 with 796 views | Darth_Koont |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 11:08 - Oct 13 by Herbivore |
The problem is that once you realise there's a disconnect between your feelings and what's actually happening you can't ignore it. |
I’ve seen all the games and we definitely look more solid at the back over the past month or more and Morsy has given us a better foundation in midfield. We also conceded 15 goals in our first 6, and have only conceded 5 in the 5 games since, while still remaining one of the top scorers in the division.
We’re yet to see the same incremental improvements with the ball, but as Fraser noted in his interview there’s been a fair bit to come to grips with. But the scope and potential for improvement in attack is certainly there.
I think if people are too attached to their damning predictions re: last season and the start of this then they’ll struggle to accept that. | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 12:55 - Oct 13 with 731 views | Herbivore |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 12:04 - Oct 13 by Darth_Koont |
I’ve seen all the games and we definitely look more solid at the back over the past month or more and Morsy has given us a better foundation in midfield. We also conceded 15 goals in our first 6, and have only conceded 5 in the 5 games since, while still remaining one of the top scorers in the division.
We’re yet to see the same incremental improvements with the ball, but as Fraser noted in his interview there’s been a fair bit to come to grips with. But the scope and potential for improvement in attack is certainly there.
I think if people are too attached to their damning predictions re: last season and the start of this then they’ll struggle to accept that. |
I hope we maintain the recent form, it'll be interesting to see if we can carry on in this vein when facing tougher tests than home games against the bottom 2 in the league (whose combined away record is 0 wins, 1 draw, and 11 defeats). When we faced a slightly sterner test in Accrington away - though they themselves were on a poor run - we came up short. Our expectation this season is promotion, we're a way off being in the race for that currently. Hopefully that will change but for me it's way too early to say that we've turned a corner yet. | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:05 - Oct 13 with 712 views | Darth_Koont |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 12:55 - Oct 13 by Herbivore |
I hope we maintain the recent form, it'll be interesting to see if we can carry on in this vein when facing tougher tests than home games against the bottom 2 in the league (whose combined away record is 0 wins, 1 draw, and 11 defeats). When we faced a slightly sterner test in Accrington away - though they themselves were on a poor run - we came up short. Our expectation this season is promotion, we're a way off being in the race for that currently. Hopefully that will change but for me it's way too early to say that we've turned a corner yet. |
Agreed. We need to continue improving to maintain the current points haul as we’re going to be facing better sides and more away games too.
And I’m never going to say we’ve turned a corner. Partly because of previous experience of false dawns but also those “corners” won’t make sense as our team has slowly settled and emerged. The gains are marginal anyway (as have been the margins between success and failure) but it’s the gradual shift towards a proper team that will keep building and challenging.
Just little things like we’re the top scorers in the division but we’ve still only played well in patches and flashes are hugely encouraging. | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:07 - Oct 13 with 706 views | Bluefish |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 12:55 - Oct 13 by Herbivore |
I hope we maintain the recent form, it'll be interesting to see if we can carry on in this vein when facing tougher tests than home games against the bottom 2 in the league (whose combined away record is 0 wins, 1 draw, and 11 defeats). When we faced a slightly sterner test in Accrington away - though they themselves were on a poor run - we came up short. Our expectation this season is promotion, we're a way off being in the race for that currently. Hopefully that will change but for me it's way too early to say that we've turned a corner yet. |
It is just dressing it up all the time. We are always pointing to how we have improved but improved vs what? Improved vs our worst maybe but nothing to suggest anything has clicked
Our defence is better than at our worst but we had a solid defence at times under shambert too. It isn't a great measurable | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:16 - Oct 13 with 683 views | Herbivore |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:05 - Oct 13 by Darth_Koont |
Agreed. We need to continue improving to maintain the current points haul as we’re going to be facing better sides and more away games too.
And I’m never going to say we’ve turned a corner. Partly because of previous experience of false dawns but also those “corners” won’t make sense as our team has slowly settled and emerged. The gains are marginal anyway (as have been the margins between success and failure) but it’s the gradual shift towards a proper team that will keep building and challenging.
Just little things like we’re the top scorers in the division but we’ve still only played well in patches and flashes are hugely encouraging. |
I think a big part of the reason we're top scorers is that we scored 6 against Doncaster. That's nearly a third of our goals coming in one game. That result aside, we've done okay on the goalscoring front but nothing spectacular. We're also scoring more than would be expected given the number of chances we're creating and that probably won't last forever. Likewise we were conceding more than would be expected in the early part of the season and that's levelling off somewhat. | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:26 - Oct 13 with 660 views | itfcjoe |
Actually an interesting thread in palces when able to wade through the rubbish.
Within 5 games or not we'll know whether Cook ahs turned things round - 4 of the next 5 are away - which will balance us out to 8 at home and 8 away after 16 games..
Our away form has been beyond awful under Cook - if that carries on over the next 5 games, and we only manage to pick up 6 points or so then the season is screwed and he will be out of a job and quite rightly.
With regards to the 'quality of football', I really feel standards are dropping so far - it's not enough to just score a load and concede a load in this division. That may be 'entertaining' but it's not sustainable and certainly doesn't show 'quality'
We have very good players for this level, we create very little still - in both of the last two games we haven't had a single shot after a Macauley Bonne goal. Our numbers compared to the rest of the division are nothing special - but we have been clinical (as have the opposition against us sadly!)
Saturday is another 'must-win' game, which hopefully gives us some momentum going into the tough run. But things have to improve a lot, and have to improve quickly as we've not played any of the top sides as yet and are nowhere |  |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:31 - Oct 13 with 652 views | hype313 |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:26 - Oct 13 by itfcjoe |
Actually an interesting thread in palces when able to wade through the rubbish.
Within 5 games or not we'll know whether Cook ahs turned things round - 4 of the next 5 are away - which will balance us out to 8 at home and 8 away after 16 games..
Our away form has been beyond awful under Cook - if that carries on over the next 5 games, and we only manage to pick up 6 points or so then the season is screwed and he will be out of a job and quite rightly.
With regards to the 'quality of football', I really feel standards are dropping so far - it's not enough to just score a load and concede a load in this division. That may be 'entertaining' but it's not sustainable and certainly doesn't show 'quality'
We have very good players for this level, we create very little still - in both of the last two games we haven't had a single shot after a Macauley Bonne goal. Our numbers compared to the rest of the division are nothing special - but we have been clinical (as have the opposition against us sadly!)
Saturday is another 'must-win' game, which hopefully gives us some momentum going into the tough run. But things have to improve a lot, and have to improve quickly as we've not played any of the top sides as yet and are nowhere |
I do wonder if we start to see the real us when we play the teams at the top, I do wonder if there has been an air of "Just turn up" and expect to beat these sides like Morcambe, Fleetwood and Accy.
I remember when I used to play Football, Rugby and Tennis and when I/we played inferior opposition our standards dropped dramatically, almost used to play at their level. Will be interesting to see if we step up against stiffer opposition. |  |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:48 - Oct 13 with 622 views | timothyeo |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 09:34 - Oct 13 by TooManyCooks |
"The Cook football isn't any better"
Except for the most exciting front foot football, goal scoring loveliness we've seen at the club for about 14 years |
Jesus christ. Midtable in the third tier of English football, with poor stats for xPG, shots on target etc. What you want to see isn't what's actually happening.
However, we have scored goals because we have, for this division, players that are top tier, and incredibly clinical. | | | |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:52 - Oct 13 with 615 views | dirtyboy |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:31 - Oct 13 by hype313 |
I do wonder if we start to see the real us when we play the teams at the top, I do wonder if there has been an air of "Just turn up" and expect to beat these sides like Morcambe, Fleetwood and Accy.
I remember when I used to play Football, Rugby and Tennis and when I/we played inferior opposition our standards dropped dramatically, almost used to play at their level. Will be interesting to see if we step up against stiffer opposition. |
I've said this before, playing badminton at County level then playing say a decent kid at school with some natural hand eye coordination would give me all sorts of issues - they just don't do what you train to go up against.
I think that's perhaps disengenuous towards all teams in League One though, the tactics employed are similar, but the quality of players vary massively.
We do look like we have some very talented players, but they're not performing consistently how we should.
As Joe says, 8 away 8 home....good marker to be fair....I'd like to see what we do with Plymouth and Wycombe, they're the measuring sticks to look towards as they've shown so far that they're at the races, win those....things can look very different very quickly. | | | |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:53 - Oct 13 with 618 views | timothyeo |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:26 - Oct 13 by itfcjoe |
Actually an interesting thread in palces when able to wade through the rubbish.
Within 5 games or not we'll know whether Cook ahs turned things round - 4 of the next 5 are away - which will balance us out to 8 at home and 8 away after 16 games..
Our away form has been beyond awful under Cook - if that carries on over the next 5 games, and we only manage to pick up 6 points or so then the season is screwed and he will be out of a job and quite rightly.
With regards to the 'quality of football', I really feel standards are dropping so far - it's not enough to just score a load and concede a load in this division. That may be 'entertaining' but it's not sustainable and certainly doesn't show 'quality'
We have very good players for this level, we create very little still - in both of the last two games we haven't had a single shot after a Macauley Bonne goal. Our numbers compared to the rest of the division are nothing special - but we have been clinical (as have the opposition against us sadly!)
Saturday is another 'must-win' game, which hopefully gives us some momentum going into the tough run. But things have to improve a lot, and have to improve quickly as we've not played any of the top sides as yet and are nowhere |
Probably the best post on this thread, although I agree with some of what BF has said too.
The obvious problem is we've won a couple of games against the worst sides in the division, but for the quality of players we have we still don't look a top-tier team in this league, which without a shadow of doubt we should.
Equally, fans will have to take blame again. Cook has shown absolutely nothing. Because we've won a few matches due to individual quality (much like under Lamberts reign) fans immediately fall in love with the manager again. It is purely an Ipswich thing, you don't see this elsewhere. A real determination to love the manager and big him up for a year regardless of results and performances.
And because of that, you're right in saying we'll know the direction of things in 5 games. Because the fans aren't going to put any pressure on getting rid of him now.
After those 5 games, assuming i'm correct in my judgement of Cook, it'll likely be too late and another season completely wasted. Unless we can do what we done under Lambert and rely on individual quality in spite of a poor manager, but actually scrape the play-offs. | | | |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:54 - Oct 13 with 612 views | TooManyCooks |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:26 - Oct 13 by itfcjoe |
Actually an interesting thread in palces when able to wade through the rubbish.
Within 5 games or not we'll know whether Cook ahs turned things round - 4 of the next 5 are away - which will balance us out to 8 at home and 8 away after 16 games..
Our away form has been beyond awful under Cook - if that carries on over the next 5 games, and we only manage to pick up 6 points or so then the season is screwed and he will be out of a job and quite rightly.
With regards to the 'quality of football', I really feel standards are dropping so far - it's not enough to just score a load and concede a load in this division. That may be 'entertaining' but it's not sustainable and certainly doesn't show 'quality'
We have very good players for this level, we create very little still - in both of the last two games we haven't had a single shot after a Macauley Bonne goal. Our numbers compared to the rest of the division are nothing special - but we have been clinical (as have the opposition against us sadly!)
Saturday is another 'must-win' game, which hopefully gives us some momentum going into the tough run. But things have to improve a lot, and have to improve quickly as we've not played any of the top sides as yet and are nowhere |
You make some interesting observations and I feel you are correct with regards to the number of chances and subsequently, the number of shots we have at goal, but we have indeed been clinical up top.
I don't agree that standards are dropping, I feel that on the whole we are showing much improvement in many areas and that's despite injuries/absence of some of our perceived better players which means we still aren't a settled 11 (or 18) yet.
I do feel it was unnecessary to revile other peoples opinions as "rubbish" in your opening statement, even Bluefish is entitled to his opinion, as much as I may often disagree with it. | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:58 - Oct 13 with 593 views | hype313 |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:52 - Oct 13 by dirtyboy |
I've said this before, playing badminton at County level then playing say a decent kid at school with some natural hand eye coordination would give me all sorts of issues - they just don't do what you train to go up against.
I think that's perhaps disengenuous towards all teams in League One though, the tactics employed are similar, but the quality of players vary massively.
We do look like we have some very talented players, but they're not performing consistently how we should.
As Joe says, 8 away 8 home....good marker to be fair....I'd like to see what we do with Plymouth and Wycombe, they're the measuring sticks to look towards as they've shown so far that they're at the races, win those....things can look very different very quickly. |
Yep, I played Tennis for Suffolk for a couple of years in my Teens and when we played other counties I played far better against stronger opposition, but when I went back to my Club my game was sub standard against average players.
But that's probably more down to my mentality rather than linking it to a whole team of professional footballers.
We will find out in the coming weeks I guess, I believe we have the players to beat anyone in this division, but we look mentally fragile at the moment and that needs addressing. | |
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| Amazed that you are still.... on 14:00 - Oct 13 with 587 views | Bloots |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:53 - Oct 13 by timothyeo |
Probably the best post on this thread, although I agree with some of what BF has said too.
The obvious problem is we've won a couple of games against the worst sides in the division, but for the quality of players we have we still don't look a top-tier team in this league, which without a shadow of doubt we should.
Equally, fans will have to take blame again. Cook has shown absolutely nothing. Because we've won a few matches due to individual quality (much like under Lamberts reign) fans immediately fall in love with the manager again. It is purely an Ipswich thing, you don't see this elsewhere. A real determination to love the manager and big him up for a year regardless of results and performances.
And because of that, you're right in saying we'll know the direction of things in 5 games. Because the fans aren't going to put any pressure on getting rid of him now.
After those 5 games, assuming i'm correct in my judgement of Cook, it'll likely be too late and another season completely wasted. Unless we can do what we done under Lambert and rely on individual quality in spite of a poor manager, but actually scrape the play-offs. |
....keeping up this pretense.
Ya daft budgie. |  |
| "The sooner he comes back the better, this place has been a disaster without him" - TWTD User (July 2025) |
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| Amazed that you are still.... on 14:03 - Oct 13 with 563 views | hype313 |
| Amazed that you are still.... on 14:00 - Oct 13 by Bloots |
....keeping up this pretense.
Ya daft budgie. |
He's not got much to write about on his own forum has he, "So another loss this weekend then gents"?
"Let's make it interesting, how many will we concede?" | |
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| Hey Bluefish........... on 14:04 - Oct 13 with 551 views | Bluefish |
| Hey Bluefish........... on 13:58 - Oct 13 by hype313 |
Yep, I played Tennis for Suffolk for a couple of years in my Teens and when we played other counties I played far better against stronger opposition, but when I went back to my Club my game was sub standard against average players.
But that's probably more down to my mentality rather than linking it to a whole team of professional footballers.
We will find out in the coming weeks I guess, I believe we have the players to beat anyone in this division, but we look mentally fragile at the moment and that needs addressing. |
Can we just clarify this is not acceptable for our football club. Cook should have a plan A, B and C to carefully plot out for each opposition. Teams that do well fond a way to beat all types of opponent | |
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