| New year.. old problem 06:41 - Dec 30 with 2015 views | muccletonjoe |
We have been in a similar position under Marcus Evans stewardship.
Near the top of the championship going into the new year, needing new blood to sustain a challenge.
On that occasion we recieved nothing from Evans to help us maintain a challenge.
I think we will see significant signings this January. But will it be enough to hold our position in the top 2 ?
Personally , looking at that performance last night against QPR , I think it is highly unlikely we can afford or remain in FFP rules to strengthen this squad enough to gain automatic promotion.
If McKenna does achieve it with the 3 or 4 we will get through the door next month , It would be possibly the greatest achievement any manager has performed at the club. |  | | |  |
| New year.. old problem on 07:09 - Dec 30 with 1919 views | PioneerBlue |
Possibly but unlikely given the form of Soton. That’s why either we go short term looking to take advantage of the now, or longer term looking to this and seasons beyond as a top level champ side as is today. I guess it will be a mix but 2-4 players are probably needed to bridge gaps,
Striker - Fix the Hirst injury and emerging Ladapo issue
Attack 10 - Fix the cover for Burns and long known Jackson issue
CM - Fix the no natural cover for Morsy midfield general issue
Fullback - Fix the inexperience cover and minutes sharer Leif issue |  |
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| New year.. old problem on 07:09 - Dec 30 with 1915 views | BcarefulwhatUWish4 |
at the very least:
2 strikers
A very solid CB
Going to be very tough with FFP.
Someone like Mark McKenzie (who would improve us in that area) would cost us at least 3 million. And good strikers are never cheap. |  | | |
| New year.. old problem on 07:46 - Dec 30 with 1852 views | blueprint |
Whatever happens we need to do our business early doors . We cannot be playing the waiting game when it comes to negotiating with another side. |  | | |
| New year.. old problem on 07:56 - Dec 30 with 1805 views | Powrigan |
| New year.. old problem on 07:09 - Dec 30 by PioneerBlue |
Possibly but unlikely given the form of Soton. That’s why either we go short term looking to take advantage of the now, or longer term looking to this and seasons beyond as a top level champ side as is today. I guess it will be a mix but 2-4 players are probably needed to bridge gaps,
Striker - Fix the Hirst injury and emerging Ladapo issue
Attack 10 - Fix the cover for Burns and long known Jackson issue
CM - Fix the no natural cover for Morsy midfield general issue
Fullback - Fix the inexperience cover and minutes sharer Leif issue |
Southampton will drop off at some point |  | | |
| New year.. old problem on 09:18 - Dec 30 with 1638 views | homer_123 |
| New year.. old problem on 07:46 - Dec 30 by blueprint |
Whatever happens we need to do our business early doors . We cannot be playing the waiting game when it comes to negotiating with another side. |
Ifeal to do our business as soon as possible but I also don't want us panic buying. |  |
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| New year.. old problem on 09:31 - Dec 30 with 1572 views | Guthrum |
| New year.. old problem on 07:56 - Dec 30 by Powrigan |
Southampton will drop off at some point |
I agree that's likely. While Southampton have beaten some decent teams in their present run, a lot of the victories have been over lower-half-of-the-table teams. They also have yet to play Leicester, Leeds, West Brom or ourselves away. |  |
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| To clarify - Evans did offer funds to strengthen in Jan 2015 on 09:34 - Dec 30 with 1549 views | unstableblue |
But the then manager felt he didn’t want to disrupt the squad with incoming players
A bit of a myth that one
The January window has yet to open, so we don’t know the level of backing yet. But FFP may restrict. [Post edited 30 Dec 2023 9:38]
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| New year.. old problem on 09:36 - Dec 30 with 1523 views | Herbivore |
| New year.. old problem on 07:09 - Dec 30 by BcarefulwhatUWish4 |
at the very least:
2 strikers
A very solid CB
Going to be very tough with FFP.
Someone like Mark McKenzie (who would improve us in that area) would cost us at least 3 million. And good strikers are never cheap. |
We have far more pressing needs that a CB. Not sure why some are keen for us to use our limited funds on an area of the team where we're well stocked. If not for our regular CBs we'd have lost last night, they and Luongo were the only ones last night who looked genuine top level Championship players. |  |
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| To clarify - Evans did offer funds to strengthen in Jan 2015 on 09:40 - Dec 30 with 1500 views | PhilTWTD |
| To clarify - Evans did offer funds to strengthen in Jan 2015 on 09:34 - Dec 30 by unstableblue |
But the then manager felt he didn’t want to disrupt the squad with incoming players
A bit of a myth that one
The January window has yet to open, so we don’t know the level of backing yet. But FFP may restrict. [Post edited 30 Dec 2023 9:38]
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And there wasn't quite the same need to sign players in January as the loan option was open for while afterwards. And we did sign Freddie Sears to add to the options up front, of course, although in the end he just replaced David McGoldrick after he got injured. |  | | |
| New year.. old problem on 09:50 - Dec 30 with 1413 views | Pinewoodblue |
| New year.. old problem on 09:31 - Dec 30 by Guthrum |
I agree that's likely. While Southampton have beaten some decent teams in their present run, a lot of the victories have been over lower-half-of-the-table teams. They also have yet to play Leicester, Leeds, West Brom or ourselves away. |
Ironically we have only managed a draw against 4 of the bottom 5. |  |
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| New year.. old problem on 09:54 - Dec 30 with 1381 views | Guthrum |
| New year.. old problem on 09:50 - Dec 30 by Pinewoodblue |
Ironically we have only managed a draw against 4 of the bottom 5. |
The block is our Achilles heel, has been since before last season. Middle and upper teams don't do it to the same extent. | |
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| New year.. old problem on 09:59 - Dec 30 with 1356 views | Herbivore |
| New year.. old problem on 09:50 - Dec 30 by Pinewoodblue |
Ironically we have only managed a draw against 4 of the bottom 5. |
We've beaten two of the bottom five in QPR and Sheffield Wednesday. We've played all of them away from home (other than QPR who we've now played twice) where they all tend to be far more effective than they are on their travels. Leeds only drew at Rotherham, Leicester only drew at Hillsborough. Saints eeked out a 1-0 win at QPR in a tight game, much as we did. | |
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| New year.. old problem on 10:01 - Dec 30 with 1343 views | Guthrum |
| New year.. old problem on 09:36 - Dec 30 by Herbivore |
We have far more pressing needs that a CB. Not sure why some are keen for us to use our limited funds on an area of the team where we're well stocked. If not for our regular CBs we'd have lost last night, they and Luongo were the only ones last night who looked genuine top level Championship players. |
I think that comes from the number of goals we've conceded. Which is a structural, rather than a personnel problem.
The team setup is so committed to attacking and regaining the ball well forward that when the opposition breaks through, we only have two backtracking defenders and the (often retreating from nearer the halfway line himself) goalie to stop them. The best CBs in the world would unlikely be watertight under those circumstances - and ours are selected as much for their ability to start off attacking moves as defensive prowess. | |
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| New year.. old problem on 10:09 - Dec 30 with 1307 views | Basuco |
Not at all, Southampton and Sunderland fans must have felt the same when we beat them earlier this season, it shows the huge leaps we have made that an established Championship side with decent seasoned Champion players, is not able or willing to take us on with open football. We are a newly promoted side playing an incredible level of football, we will see many more teams come to Portman Road and play like this. That is a big complement to the players and coaching staff that so many fans "expect" to win against "lowly placed" opposition. We didn't lose, we gave it a good go, we just need to move, smile and think of the amazing journey we have been on over the last two years. |  | | |
| New year.. old problem on 10:12 - Dec 30 with 1284 views | Herbivore |
| New year.. old problem on 10:01 - Dec 30 by Guthrum |
I think that comes from the number of goals we've conceded. Which is a structural, rather than a personnel problem.
The team setup is so committed to attacking and regaining the ball well forward that when the opposition breaks through, we only have two backtracking defenders and the (often retreating from nearer the halfway line himself) goalie to stop them. The best CBs in the world would unlikely be watertight under those circumstances - and ours are selected as much for their ability to start off attacking moves as defensive prowess. |
Absolutely, we concede a lot so people assume it's the fault of the CBs when actually there's a lot more to it than that. You can probably count on one hand the number of goals we've conceded that are directly attributable to an individual error from one of our CBs, their performances have generally been very good but the way we play can leave us exposed. Our lack of pace in central midfield is a bit of a factor in this for me as well, neither Morsy nor Luongo are quick and so when we lose the ball midfielders often run past them and they can't get back, which means we end up overloaded in defence. | |
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| New year.. old problem on 10:16 - Dec 30 with 1256 views | CopfordBlue |
Completely irrelevant. The current manager and owners managed a very similar position last year very well. The way the club is run now bears no relation to the shambles we had to endure under Evans. | |
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| To clarify - Evans did offer funds to strengthen in Jan 2015 on 10:42 - Dec 30 with 1190 views | unstableblue |
| To clarify - Evans did offer funds to strengthen in Jan 2015 on 09:40 - Dec 30 by PhilTWTD |
And there wasn't quite the same need to sign players in January as the loan option was open for while afterwards. And we did sign Freddie Sears to add to the options up front, of course, although in the end he just replaced David McGoldrick after he got injured. |
Yes forgot Sears joined in that January, and hit the ground running with a goal against Brighton. Got 9 goals that season.
And Marcus certainly backed with loans with Chaplow, Chris Wood, Varney, Sammon, Johnny Williams… some good players.
It’s often stated that Evans lack of backing was the reason we didn’t do better in the play-offs, but there was a gulf in coaching, as well as player quality, also the Town season was somewhat inflated by just how good Murphy was playing, how McKenna would kill for that quality. We didn’t have to craft goals.. Murphy just made them himself, see Brentford away. Indeed keeping Murphy was an Evans commitment:
"There's nothing I can do if someone wants to bid for the players. All I know is he'll (Marcus Evans) turn it down.
Mick McCarthy, Ipswich Town manager
But again Evans will say like Mick that squad harmony was a driver in only limited incomings:
“If you think about it, we were top, we were doing incredibly well, Daryl (Murphy) was scoring all those goals. We had a settled squad and we wanted to ensure nothing was done which would upset what we had unless it would obviously improve us.
“It wasn’t for lack of looking and lack of trying, and we didn’t want to throw out the dynamic of the dressing room and what we’d created.
“I know fans find it difficult to understand why we didn’t do something at that time, but it wasn’t ‘we don’t want to do it, forget it’. It was thought through.” | |
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| New year.. old problem on 11:04 - Dec 30 with 1116 views | BcarefulwhatUWish4 |
| New year.. old problem on 09:36 - Dec 30 by Herbivore |
We have far more pressing needs that a CB. Not sure why some are keen for us to use our limited funds on an area of the team where we're well stocked. If not for our regular CBs we'd have lost last night, they and Luongo were the only ones last night who looked genuine top level Championship players. |
We are losing Burgess and Baggott for most of January. | | | |
| New year.. old problem on 11:05 - Dec 30 with 1108 views | Herbivore |
| New year.. old problem on 11:04 - Dec 30 by BcarefulwhatUWish4 |
We are losing Burgess and Baggott for most of January. |
And we'll still have Woolf, Tuanzebe and Edmundson. We aren't going to sign a CB for the sake of four matches where Burgess is on international duty. | |
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| New year.. old problem on 11:37 - Dec 30 with 1006 views | ITFCBlues |
| New year.. old problem on 11:05 - Dec 30 by Herbivore |
And we'll still have Woolf, Tuanzebe and Edmundson. We aren't going to sign a CB for the sake of four matches where Burgess is on international duty. |
It would look like Edmundson going out and perhaps u grading him to a player of better quality to compete with Burgess. |  |
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| New year.. old problem on 11:38 - Dec 30 with 995 views | ElephantintheRoom |
Personally I think you’re being ridiculous. What Alf Ramsey did with the same players and no money doping from abroad was vastly more impressive.
And it’s a bit daft pressing the panic button after a sub par performance with a virus running through the team. Leeds have gained no ground since showing themselves to be vastly superior and Southampton have benefited from the franchise playing top teams - and whilst Leicester look home and hosed (at present) the franchise looked as good as them more or less Believe it or not no team wins every game.
I suspect Town are doing well precisely because they didn’t make any signings - apart from the now absent striker who clearly wasn’t first choice - but had already proved himself to look good in this team. | |
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| To clarify - Evans did offer funds to strengthen in Jan 2015 on 12:08 - Dec 30 with 940 views | Mookamoo |
| To clarify - Evans did offer funds to strengthen in Jan 2015 on 10:42 - Dec 30 by unstableblue |
Yes forgot Sears joined in that January, and hit the ground running with a goal against Brighton. Got 9 goals that season.
And Marcus certainly backed with loans with Chaplow, Chris Wood, Varney, Sammon, Johnny Williams… some good players.
It’s often stated that Evans lack of backing was the reason we didn’t do better in the play-offs, but there was a gulf in coaching, as well as player quality, also the Town season was somewhat inflated by just how good Murphy was playing, how McKenna would kill for that quality. We didn’t have to craft goals.. Murphy just made them himself, see Brentford away. Indeed keeping Murphy was an Evans commitment:
"There's nothing I can do if someone wants to bid for the players. All I know is he'll (Marcus Evans) turn it down.
Mick McCarthy, Ipswich Town manager
But again Evans will say like Mick that squad harmony was a driver in only limited incomings:
“If you think about it, we were top, we were doing incredibly well, Daryl (Murphy) was scoring all those goals. We had a settled squad and we wanted to ensure nothing was done which would upset what we had unless it would obviously improve us.
“It wasn’t for lack of looking and lack of trying, and we didn’t want to throw out the dynamic of the dressing room and what we’d created.
“I know fans find it difficult to understand why we didn’t do something at that time, but it wasn’t ‘we don’t want to do it, forget it’. It was thought through.” |
Didnt think much of him when he was here, but Chris Wood is a good No9 for McKennas system.
Maybe if we did go up, he is one we would look at. |  | | |
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