A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road 13:41 - Nov 29 with 5847 views | BonneNIL | That's what it felt like yesterday. The enthusiasm of a new manager and ownership change, alongside a brand new "Championship" quality squad has pretty much evaporated and yet it's only November. Yesterday a massive cloud of negativity, disappointment, and disillusion hung over the crowd in a way we've not seen since the end of Mick as manager. The general feeling around the ground was pretty grim, people were tetchy, fed up, and to a point angry at what they were seeing. The win, which should have been something to celebrate felt much like a defeat after the final whistle, as we'd put together yet another frankly dismal display and against one of the worse teams in the league who can feel unlucky they didn't come away with something. The question I raise is, given how bad yesterday felt, and talking to people during and after the game who felt much like that, will the new owners and Ashton be worrying? This isn't just about where we finish for them, the business revolves around keeping supporters happy, selling ST and shirts, and enthusing people to turn out. Ipswich supporters generally will accept a bad result if the game was fun and the football reasonable but yesterday the impression I got is the majority are fed up with the current situation and I can see a loss of ST numbers next season IF this continues. We won and people were still angry because we played poorly. There was nothing to get excited about outside of the wonder goal. We struggled to beat the bottom side at home and we looked bad doing it. How much money are Gamechanger and their pension fund prepared to lose on this? They have spent £40mil on the club, a bought a raft of expensive players, and expensive contracts and there is absolutely nothing to show for it. This may be an unpopular opinion but had Lambert still been here, with the same squad we had last season we'd be a few places higher in the league because as a team they were just better than what Cook has put together here, and that's not me saying that we should have kept anyone or Lambert it's a sad fact about what is happening here. Are they prepared to lose the 100mill plus Evans did? Because if they aren't they really should be looking to act, and fast before the goodwill evaporates and we're back down the gates of sub-12k and routinely losing £10mil a year. I don't think signing another boatload of players will fix this either, I think our managerial and coaching setup is failing the club and any investment outside of making changes there will be pouring money down the drain. |  |
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A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 18:48 - Nov 29 with 979 views | gazzer1999 |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 18:41 - Nov 29 by Yallop | How many did Mick sign? How many did Burley? I don't see how pointing at how many Sir Bobby signed as relevant. He's had 35 games and one transfer window. That's a fact. |
I have watched ITFC since around 69, in all that time including during the dark lords time I have never been bored or couldn't care less if I was watching. Yesterday gave me a big kick up the backside, if it wasn't for a piece of individual brilliance it could look even bleaker. We are stumbling along hoping that it will click. The same cook supporters will after the next window will keep saying this team need a full pre season together. Hopefully game changer are monitoring this forum and realize the natives are restless. [Post edited 29 Nov 2021 18:50]
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A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 18:59 - Nov 29 with 954 views | _sanctimoanious_ |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 13:45 - Nov 29 by itfcjoe | Good post, and the worst thing about all this apathy that has returned is that it is all so unnecessary and we are just squandering away such a big opportunity for some real good will, engagement and catching lightning in a bottle. If there is one thing we've consistently done since our relegation in 2002, it's waste any opportunities we are presented with - when was the last time we really grabbed something with both hands? |
It’s so easy isn’t it. You make it sound like. they’ve decided they don’t want to be top 2 right now! Why the hell have they chosen to be mid table?? Madness, who makes these decisions? |  | |  |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 19:00 - Nov 29 with 956 views | Yallop |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 18:48 - Nov 29 by gazzer1999 | I have watched ITFC since around 69, in all that time including during the dark lords time I have never been bored or couldn't care less if I was watching. Yesterday gave me a big kick up the backside, if it wasn't for a piece of individual brilliance it could look even bleaker. We are stumbling along hoping that it will click. The same cook supporters will after the next window will keep saying this team need a full pre season together. Hopefully game changer are monitoring this forum and realize the natives are restless. [Post edited 29 Nov 2021 18:50]
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Well good for you. I've also been going a longtime and have a different view. All the best. |  | |  |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 19:40 - Nov 29 with 900 views | King_ding_a_lin_g |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 15:16 - Nov 29 by BlueBadger | If we finish this season in the third division, we will lose a fair chunk of the playing squad as well and the myth of the 'long term build' will be laid bare. |
Isn't that just hyperbole though? I mean, you don't actually have a clue how next season's transfer or wages budget will shape up compared to this season's, do you? |  | |  |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 19:51 - Nov 29 with 874 views | nodge_blue |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 13:55 - Nov 29 by portmanking | I think most Town fans with their feet on the ground can see that Rome was never going to be built in a day. God knows how some fans on this forum would have fared during the Burley era of four failed playoff campaigns. How many times do you keep hitting the reset button until you say enough is enough and give someone a chance to properly build a winning culture? |
The burley era was very different. We were seeing some excellent football and generally getting a bit closer each year. You could see things coming together then. Right now it's hard to see that. Cook isn't getting this lot firing. He needs to very quickly now. |  |
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A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 21:07 - Nov 29 with 820 views | pointofblue |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 19:51 - Nov 29 by nodge_blue | The burley era was very different. We were seeing some excellent football and generally getting a bit closer each year. You could see things coming together then. Right now it's hard to see that. Cook isn't getting this lot firing. He needs to very quickly now. |
Also the expectation for Burley in his first full season was survival - we were expected to fall through Division One we were perceived to be in such a mess. The fact we fell just short of the play offs was seen as a success. |  |
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A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 21:27 - Nov 29 with 808 views | Churchman |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 18:48 - Nov 29 by gazzer1999 | I have watched ITFC since around 69, in all that time including during the dark lords time I have never been bored or couldn't care less if I was watching. Yesterday gave me a big kick up the backside, if it wasn't for a piece of individual brilliance it could look even bleaker. We are stumbling along hoping that it will click. The same cook supporters will after the next window will keep saying this team need a full pre season together. Hopefully game changer are monitoring this forum and realize the natives are restless. [Post edited 29 Nov 2021 18:50]
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First game - 1968. There have been many desperate periods in that time. Periods of epic tedium. Bobby Ferguson’s relegation and dismal play off effort, two years of Duncan hoofball, the dreadful relegation season with McGiven, Keane’s rubbish team, Jewell’s farcical efforts, McCarthy’s tedious one up front against dross with the dream triumvirate of Skuse, Duggie and Hyam. Two touches, hoof. Then Hurst and Lambert, god forbid. The last nine months have been the most exciting since the Burley era. That Cook has been poor to date and the team is ranging from excellent in some games to pitiful in others is bitterly disappointing but to suggest this is the bleakest period of the club’s history is not something I agree with. That sits with last 14 years and shameful administration before it. The team is half formed hoping to click. In 1979, Robson’s team was formed but waiting to click at this point in the season. The grumbling considerable, though without the personal abuse. It then came together and the rest is history. Different time, better manager of course, but you never know. There’s some decent players of the right age in that team. |  | |  |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 21:41 - Nov 29 with 801 views | gazzer1999 |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 21:27 - Nov 29 by Churchman | First game - 1968. There have been many desperate periods in that time. Periods of epic tedium. Bobby Ferguson’s relegation and dismal play off effort, two years of Duncan hoofball, the dreadful relegation season with McGiven, Keane’s rubbish team, Jewell’s farcical efforts, McCarthy’s tedious one up front against dross with the dream triumvirate of Skuse, Duggie and Hyam. Two touches, hoof. Then Hurst and Lambert, god forbid. The last nine months have been the most exciting since the Burley era. That Cook has been poor to date and the team is ranging from excellent in some games to pitiful in others is bitterly disappointing but to suggest this is the bleakest period of the club’s history is not something I agree with. That sits with last 14 years and shameful administration before it. The team is half formed hoping to click. In 1979, Robson’s team was formed but waiting to click at this point in the season. The grumbling considerable, though without the personal abuse. It then came together and the rest is history. Different time, better manager of course, but you never know. There’s some decent players of the right age in that team. |
I don't disagree about the players, but they are being coached by a very poor setup of mates with little experience and a kitman. |  | |  | Login to get fewer ads
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 21:49 - Nov 29 with 800 views | Keaneish | Lambert’s side were “just better”??? The same Lambert side who struggled to get a shot on goal? The same side who never got behind the defence? The same Lambert side whose only real attacking threat was the combination of Jackson and Norwood, two strikers vilified by many on here who everyone agrees aren’t close to starting for good reason. Talk about selective memory! |  |
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A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 23:09 - Nov 29 with 747 views | Churchman |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 21:41 - Nov 29 by gazzer1999 | I don't disagree about the players, but they are being coached by a very poor setup of mates with little experience and a kitman. |
Between the manager and the three coaches, they have made over 2000 professional appearances. Cook has managed for 15 years. I haven’t bothered to include the goalie coach, Peter Reid or the other coaches including KD. How much more experience do you need? They know everything there is to know. This is about forming a competitive football team, not planning DDay. Dale Roberts played 200 games, mostly for Hull, and I don’t remember when Burley’s team were struggling anyone saying he needs a better coach. People rightly held GB to account and didn’t know or care what the coach did or didn’t do. How many people remember who Bobby Ferguson’s coach was? I don’t and I didn’t care as they made a fool of themselves at Selhurst against Charlton (Jim Melrose - shudder). It was down to him. If the fit of the players is wrong, too many lack bottle and ability, no coach in the world will change that. Where we are is down to Cook and him alone. It what happens next. There was a suggestion of see where we are at the end of December yesterday. I agree with that, in the cold light of day. |  | |  |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 07:40 - Nov 30 with 665 views | gazzer1999 |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 23:09 - Nov 29 by Churchman | Between the manager and the three coaches, they have made over 2000 professional appearances. Cook has managed for 15 years. I haven’t bothered to include the goalie coach, Peter Reid or the other coaches including KD. How much more experience do you need? They know everything there is to know. This is about forming a competitive football team, not planning DDay. Dale Roberts played 200 games, mostly for Hull, and I don’t remember when Burley’s team were struggling anyone saying he needs a better coach. People rightly held GB to account and didn’t know or care what the coach did or didn’t do. How many people remember who Bobby Ferguson’s coach was? I don’t and I didn’t care as they made a fool of themselves at Selhurst against Charlton (Jim Melrose - shudder). It was down to him. If the fit of the players is wrong, too many lack bottle and ability, no coach in the world will change that. Where we are is down to Cook and him alone. It what happens next. There was a suggestion of see where we are at the end of December yesterday. I agree with that, in the cold light of day. |
So if its not the players or the management, why are we in 11th position and only won 2 games on the bounce once? |  | |  |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 07:49 - Nov 30 with 661 views | chrismakin |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 21:49 - Nov 29 by Keaneish | Lambert’s side were “just better”??? The same Lambert side who struggled to get a shot on goal? The same side who never got behind the defence? The same Lambert side whose only real attacking threat was the combination of Jackson and Norwood, two strikers vilified by many on here who everyone agrees aren’t close to starting for good reason. Talk about selective memory! |
Ipswich v rotherham "92 minute, ipswich shot on target, Pigott" Our only shot on target in the whole match. That's of course 1 example. This baffling selective memory of Lamberts football being completely different and boring to what we're being served up is incredible. we have potentially better players doing it now, but the football is the same. Occasional glimpses of excitement. The biggest difference however, Lambert tried to play from back and retain the ball PC gets his keeper to hoof it to Bonnes closest defender and hope we pick up the 2nd ball. if we do, we have an opening, if not, we then have 3/4 opponent players against our 2 CB's. [Post edited 30 Nov 2021 7:52]
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A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 07:59 - Nov 30 with 648 views | DavoIPB |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 16:07 - Nov 29 by Churchman | There is a degree of looking through rose coloured spectacles at the Burley era and others. Some of it was turgid and frustrating to say the least. Nobody cheered when Dyer was flogged off because nobody knew at the time how much if any of it would be reinvested. Great days like Marshall’s stunning volley in a 2-0 win at Charlton are counteracted by the miserable play off display against them at the Valley a season later. Even in the promotion season we had a few miserable days, given the runaround by Norwich and a hiding by QPR to name just a couple. As for somebody suggesting the Duncan years offered more hope, I have to disagree. I was there and they were largely awful. Hoofball badly done managed by a nice man that was beyond clueless in front of less than 10,000 miserable people. A couple of seasons of that took some stomaching. A legacy from Robson’s time, theclub had a sort of identity throughout all that time and Burley’s team began to play to a pattern when Magilton, Holland and D Johnson got going with existing characters like Scowcroft, Naylor and R Wright. I liked that. A chunk of this clubs identity was destroyed when it went bust. The rest was flushed down the pan by Evans and his bozos. I am sure things will improve for us. It all feels like early steps in a long journey for me. Cook is if necessary a dispensable part of the journey, but I hope they are clear sighted on who to replace him with. [Post edited 29 Nov 2021 16:08]
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The most reasonable post on here that I have read so far. I really enjoyed the Burley days but we did actually over achieve for the players we had and in some games we really did not perform well. I enjoyed the football though. A good attacking style at times with exciting players. The play off game we won against Bolton I was in the stands and what a game. Felt like we deserved it and played really well. Looking at a replay we were actually outplayed and Jim single handedly won us the game. If I was a Bolton fan I would have been absolutely fuming and felt like I had been robbed. I was gutted after the Rotherham game because it did feel like a bubble had been burst and we really hadn't made any progress. However I'm going to apply the same principle I did whilst watching Burley's Ipswich. Just enjoy the moments in games that are brilliant, i.e. Celinas goal and some of our attacking play. I'm sure we will be fighting for a play off place so enjoy that too. |  | |  |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 08:16 - Nov 30 with 634 views | Churchman |
A massive cloud is back hanging over Portman Road on 07:59 - Nov 30 by DavoIPB | The most reasonable post on here that I have read so far. I really enjoyed the Burley days but we did actually over achieve for the players we had and in some games we really did not perform well. I enjoyed the football though. A good attacking style at times with exciting players. The play off game we won against Bolton I was in the stands and what a game. Felt like we deserved it and played really well. Looking at a replay we were actually outplayed and Jim single handedly won us the game. If I was a Bolton fan I would have been absolutely fuming and felt like I had been robbed. I was gutted after the Rotherham game because it did feel like a bubble had been burst and we really hadn't made any progress. However I'm going to apply the same principle I did whilst watching Burley's Ipswich. Just enjoy the moments in games that are brilliant, i.e. Celinas goal and some of our attacking play. I'm sure we will be fighting for a play off place so enjoy that too. |
You are dead right about the Bolton game. I too was there. We were second best for much of it and actually played a lot better in the previous season’s second leg when away goals did for us. As you say, great moments tend to be the thing one remembers. A classic is Bryan Gunn’s air kick. I was right in line with him and it’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in a football ground. It’s long forgotten that Norwich fully deserved a point from that one. Moments - like Celina’s goal the other day. If we go on a run, nobody will remember the Rotherham runaround or Crewe struggles any more than the thrashing served up by QPR at home in GBs promotion season. Fingers crossed you are right and we start challenging. It’s possible. |  | |  |
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