| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. 09:51 - Jan 10 with 3520 views | homer_123 |
Before the season started the squad was ridiculously strong for L1.
With our January dealings, so far (not very cryptic from ITFC on that front), our squad is now utterly ridiculous for L1.
The challenge for KM is going to be giving enough game time to keep players happy and rotating enough to ensure people are performing at their best.
I have to say, very impressed with our signings this window. Luongo gives us quality options in the middle of the park given our current injury issues.
Broady, at 24, looks like an excellent signing and clearly one that builds the squad towards Championship quality and Hirst could be both an excellent short term bolst to our forward options and when we go up, quite possibly another signing that gives us more Champ quality.
In short, it's mad, after so so many years of 'short-termism' to see us building like this but with sensible shorter terms signings that we need to get out of this sodding division. [Post edited 10 Jan 2023 12:03]
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 09:57 - Jan 10 with 3427 views | vilanovablue |
It all very positive and I have a sneaking suspicion that we are not done yet. I can see on more coming in but if not we've been very skillful in terms of what has come in.
Hopefully these signings get us over the line though!. |  | | |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 11:33 - Jan 10 with 3113 views | BigCommon |
There's a few posts suggesting that the pressure on KM will be a burden..... I actually think the exact opposite...The only times I've seen him frustrated, is when he's had a lack of bodies to play with. I strongly believe, that, giving him this backing and extra quality brought in, will only serve to relax KM a bit...I also think, that he's had a year with most of these players now.A year to identify what some of them can and cannot do. And a years worth of opportunity for some of those players to improve and kick on.So if we were to bring anyone else in.It would be for good reason.Imo.
As for game time? 5 subs, lots of rotation in game. For the forward players..Luongo is a straight replacement for Ball, so he'll know his role as a back up before he signed. Humphreys will be used wisely and seems happy with how things are going..When I Look at some of the defensive players that are not getting many minutes, they've all contributed in some capacity. They should be professional, get their head down, and wait for an opportunity, like Burgess and Woolfy have had to do at various times over the last 2 season's. And try to contribute . [Post edited 10 Jan 2023 11:35]
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:04 - Jan 10 with 2896 views | FrimleyBlue |
All KM needs are players who can understand what he wants and go onto that pitch and do it.
It must be very frustrating when you've got 95% of the game in your control but the lack of quality in certain positions ends up ruining the opportunity to get the 3 points.
Imagine picking a harness Chaplin combo but not knowing which version of Harness is going to show up. |  |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:25 - Jan 10 with 2755 views | clive_baker |
I think we've got very good squad for this level, and I think we'll go up. Especially since the latest couple of additions which have added much needed quality to an area of the pitch where we're lacking.
I do think fans are often quick to buy in to their players and overhype them sometimes though. We have a very good squad but we're not Man City. Academy graduate at centre half alongside Burgess who cost a bit as we panicked, but had hardly had a glittering career at Accrington and Scunthorpe. Donacien is a player who has been amazing, but again a couple of hundred grand from Accrington and was on the bin list not so long ago. Greg Leigh signed on a free from Morecambe. Ball on a free, Evans on a free, Luongo, Aluko and Edwards also. Ladapo was on a free. They all need wages of course and we're clearly very competitive on that front. Burns was relatively low cost from Fleetwood. I'm not sure Jackson would get in many of the top sides in L1. Ahadme even less.
We do have that handful of players that take us to a next level though, Morsy, Davis, Walton, Chaplin, Broadhead. I'm not denying that we've spent money, we certainly have, but I would say our recruitment has been really smart on balance and where we've spent transfer fees we've given ourselves the best chance of buying longer term assets. |  |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:28 - Jan 10 with 2717 views | Kieran_Knows |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:25 - Jan 10 by clive_baker |
I think we've got very good squad for this level, and I think we'll go up. Especially since the latest couple of additions which have added much needed quality to an area of the pitch where we're lacking.
I do think fans are often quick to buy in to their players and overhype them sometimes though. We have a very good squad but we're not Man City. Academy graduate at centre half alongside Burgess who cost a bit as we panicked, but had hardly had a glittering career at Accrington and Scunthorpe. Donacien is a player who has been amazing, but again a couple of hundred grand from Accrington and was on the bin list not so long ago. Greg Leigh signed on a free from Morecambe. Ball on a free, Evans on a free, Luongo, Aluko and Edwards also. Ladapo was on a free. They all need wages of course and we're clearly very competitive on that front. Burns was relatively low cost from Fleetwood. I'm not sure Jackson would get in many of the top sides in L1. Ahadme even less.
We do have that handful of players that take us to a next level though, Morsy, Davis, Walton, Chaplin, Broadhead. I'm not denying that we've spent money, we certainly have, but I would say our recruitment has been really smart on balance and where we've spent transfer fees we've given ourselves the best chance of buying longer term assets. |
Spot on. I wonder once we get promoted to the Championship, we'll smarten up on our recruitment even more (certainly if we can somehow tap in to the foreign market - Ashton has plenty of history with recruits from France). |  |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:32 - Jan 10 with 2644 views | bournemouthblue |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:28 - Jan 10 by Kieran_Knows |
Spot on. I wonder once we get promoted to the Championship, we'll smarten up on our recruitment even more (certainly if we can somehow tap in to the foreign market - Ashton has plenty of history with recruits from France). |
Nodge's policy under Webber has been the foreign market for better value whilst nurturing promising youngsters
It's worked for the Championship so far |  |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:33 - Jan 10 with 2631 views | Kieran_Knows |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:32 - Jan 10 by bournemouthblue |
Nodge's policy under Webber has been the foreign market for better value whilst nurturing promising youngsters
It's worked for the Championship so far |
No doubt they'll head back to the German market now Wagner is in charge (just like they did with Farke, and just like Wagner did at Huddersfield). | |
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| Not as easy now.... on 12:38 - Jan 10 with 2551 views | Bloots |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:33 - Jan 10 by Kieran_Knows |
No doubt they'll head back to the German market now Wagner is in charge (just like they did with Farke, and just like Wagner did at Huddersfield). |
....work permits for "German players, with potential" won't be easy to come by.
In effect, the model that Webber has used successfully in the past is broken now.
(it's a rare positive from brexit!) |  |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:38 - Jan 10 with 2523 views | portmanking |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 12:33 - Jan 10 by Kieran_Knows |
No doubt they'll head back to the German market now Wagner is in charge (just like they did with Farke, and just like Wagner did at Huddersfield). |
Hasn't Brexit put the kybosh on tapping into the likes of Bundesliga 2 and Ligue 2 now? |  | | |
| Not as easy now.... on 12:40 - Jan 10 with 2481 views | Kieran_Knows |
| Not as easy now.... on 12:38 - Jan 10 by Bloots |
....work permits for "German players, with potential" won't be easy to come by.
In effect, the model that Webber has used successfully in the past is broken now.
(it's a rare positive from brexit!) |
I keep forgetting about the old Brexit rule!
Hopefully that means they'll keep signing players in the Grant Hanley mould, terrible footballer. | |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 13:49 - Jan 10 with 2105 views | Chrisd |
It's been years, we've been feeding off scraps under ME and we were meant to feel happy with the crumbs of comfort we were given off the table trying to convince ourselves signings were quality additions. Now, our new owners are showing us the light what has been achieved off the pitch has gone hand in hand on it. KM has been a masterstroke appointment as our manager, yes there's still plenty for him to learn but he's made a huge impact over the last 12 months. However, I'd also say MA has been equally as good in his role. He gets these deals over the line and we come to expect it now, that's how good he is. He's the one driving this club forwards with his high expectations and it might upset a few along the way. He certainly seems a good fit for us, well they both do!
You just get the feeling ITFC is at the foot of the mountain, beginning it's climb back up to the league's summit due to the good work on and off the pitch at Portman Road, there's momentum building. If in doubt, simply look how the fans are voting with their feet the belief is starting to spread. | |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:23 - Jan 10 with 1820 views | clive_baker |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 13:49 - Jan 10 by Chrisd |
It's been years, we've been feeding off scraps under ME and we were meant to feel happy with the crumbs of comfort we were given off the table trying to convince ourselves signings were quality additions. Now, our new owners are showing us the light what has been achieved off the pitch has gone hand in hand on it. KM has been a masterstroke appointment as our manager, yes there's still plenty for him to learn but he's made a huge impact over the last 12 months. However, I'd also say MA has been equally as good in his role. He gets these deals over the line and we come to expect it now, that's how good he is. He's the one driving this club forwards with his high expectations and it might upset a few along the way. He certainly seems a good fit for us, well they both do!
You just get the feeling ITFC is at the foot of the mountain, beginning it's climb back up to the league's summit due to the good work on and off the pitch at Portman Road, there's momentum building. If in doubt, simply look how the fans are voting with their feet the belief is starting to spread. |
Spot on Chris. This isn't a veiled criticism of the individuals working for ME as I do think some of them were dealt a tough hand, but the reality is we were so unloved, undercapitalised and spectacularly mismanaged for a long, long time. We've got a very competent CEO now whose been there and done it, has vast experience in this industry and crucially he's been given the financial backing to build an excellent team around him. It's staggering how much change the club has seen over the last couple of years, both on and off the pitch.
Recruiting KM was an excellent coup, but equally I think we sometimes underplay how attractive a proposition the club is to outsiders. This isn't rose tinted specs but outside of the Premier League there aren't many clubs that tick the boxes ours ticks by way of history, facilities, catchment, investment, potential and opportunity to join a project in its infancy. Most Championship clubs are skint, and yo-yoing or treading water. We're certainly lucky to have KM, but I would say he's lucky to have what he's got at Ipswich too. | |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:26 - Jan 10 with 1791 views | SamWhiteUK |
pafcprogs summed it up I think, with the line (paraphrasing) "No one at Portman Road is going to finish in the playoffs and say job well done" |  | | |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:27 - Jan 10 with 1779 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:23 - Jan 10 by clive_baker |
Spot on Chris. This isn't a veiled criticism of the individuals working for ME as I do think some of them were dealt a tough hand, but the reality is we were so unloved, undercapitalised and spectacularly mismanaged for a long, long time. We've got a very competent CEO now whose been there and done it, has vast experience in this industry and crucially he's been given the financial backing to build an excellent team around him. It's staggering how much change the club has seen over the last couple of years, both on and off the pitch.
Recruiting KM was an excellent coup, but equally I think we sometimes underplay how attractive a proposition the club is to outsiders. This isn't rose tinted specs but outside of the Premier League there aren't many clubs that tick the boxes ours ticks by way of history, facilities, catchment, investment, potential and opportunity to join a project in its infancy. Most Championship clubs are skint, and yo-yoing or treading water. We're certainly lucky to have KM, but I would say he's lucky to have what he's got at Ipswich too. |
Quite Simply, If results on the pitch follow what's happening off the pitch, then the skys the limit to what Town COULD be in years to come. The catchment area to obtain future generations of supporters is massive compared to any other club in East Anglia ;), There is no reason that with the right manager, support financially etc, that this club couldn't be a championsleague club in the making.. BUT we've got to get out of this league asap before that enthusiasm from those above disappears ala Evans. | |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:28 - Jan 10 with 1760 views | J2BLUE |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:27 - Jan 10 by FrimleyBlue |
Quite Simply, If results on the pitch follow what's happening off the pitch, then the skys the limit to what Town COULD be in years to come. The catchment area to obtain future generations of supporters is massive compared to any other club in East Anglia ;), There is no reason that with the right manager, support financially etc, that this club couldn't be a championsleague club in the making.. BUT we've got to get out of this league asap before that enthusiasm from those above disappears ala Evans. |
Love the optimism. Deluded as hell, but I love it! |  |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:33 - Jan 10 with 1699 views | FrimleyBlue |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:28 - Jan 10 by J2BLUE |
Love the optimism. Deluded as hell, but I love it! |
It's not really when you look at what we do have around us.
Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, only 1 other club really that takes supporters in this part of the country, those who follow the colchesters etc, would easily transfer if you've got liverpool etc visiting Portman Road again. If we're filling PR in league 1, what could we do with year on year prem football..
The ability to transform PR in anyway you want with support from the council, waterfront, and other areas of town which could easily be transformed.
Of course it's years away, we're league 1 afterall, but i can see why the owners brought us. And you hear of the 'project' and Ashton talking about the opportunities we have as a club. | |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:36 - Jan 10 with 1678 views | Chrisd |
| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:33 - Jan 10 by FrimleyBlue |
It's not really when you look at what we do have around us.
Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, only 1 other club really that takes supporters in this part of the country, those who follow the colchesters etc, would easily transfer if you've got liverpool etc visiting Portman Road again. If we're filling PR in league 1, what could we do with year on year prem football..
The ability to transform PR in anyway you want with support from the council, waterfront, and other areas of town which could easily be transformed.
Of course it's years away, we're league 1 afterall, but i can see why the owners brought us. And you hear of the 'project' and Ashton talking about the opportunities we have as a club. |
I've no doubt that MA can already see those opportunities. | |
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| Let's be frank and honest for a moment. on 15:44 - Jan 10 with 1624 views | itfcsuth |
Would anticipate that is business done unless somebody moves on.
Luongo is a really shrewd deal with no fee, and of course the option to negotiate beyond 6 months if required - not long turned 30 and has vast vast experience at international and Championship level.
Broadhead looks exactly the type of profile of striker KMc likes, quick, physically and technically very good at this level and at a good age to have upside value in the future.
Hirst - not sure on yet, but KMc clearly sees something in him, as he has been a top target, so in KMc we trust. |  | | |
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