| 'Appalling' season on 09:03 - Feb 25 with 1226 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| 'Appalling' season on 08:51 - Feb 25 by ibbleobble |
Can’t believe you’re actually back on here and that’s the best you could do. Probs best you leave again, it’ll save your sanity.
Son and De Bruyne are at the end of their careers. They are having poor seasons and have played the same way all their careers. To afford them the time and space we did, especially Son is poor. Arguing any different is naive. It’s OK to criticise. It’s what KM and the whole back staff do every week when they debrief on games. It’s professional sport. |
If you think defending against Son and De Bruyne should be bread and butter to anyone then it's you who is naive. |  |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:04 - Feb 25 with 1244 views | bsw72 |
A few things which annoy me in this article, as it is a good example of lazy journalism that pads out internet pages, but actually says very little. I could rant about the lazy use of partially subjective statistics like xG rather than analysis of playing style, unsettled starting XI and mixed recruitment - but let's focus on just the financial aspect only.
The use of £130M to benchmark how we should be doing better this year - the comment "Ipswich spent to consolidate in the Premier League and they have failed miserably." is not really true, I think we have tried to establish (language semantics I know - but this guy is a journalist), but also with an eye on the future and staying with PSR, and we are starting with a weaker starting XI than any of the other PL sides.
Based on spend this year Liverpool have only spent £35M - should we be better then them - oh, no, of course the quality of the squad and level of improvement required at the start of the season needs to be taken into account.
What would be an interesting comparison is how much Ipswich have spent over the last 3 years to build their squad versus the other PL sides.
Since the start of 2022-3 season, the first full McKenna season, we have spent a total of ~£135M. In that period there have been 24 teams who have played PL football, we rank 22nd, ahead of Sheff Utd and Luton. Excluding loans we have brought 31 players into the club while 30 have left, but that is as we have climbed through 3 divisions (well maybe climb in the PL is wrong term, cling?).
If we want to compare against one of the more established PL sides that we have aspired to replicate such as Brighton - they have spent over £400M with a similar player turnover. That is what we are trying to achieve, but we need a base to begin with, and with the gap between PL and Champ as it is now, that is next to impossible within the confines of PSR.
Forest had to breach the PSR rules to effectively stay up in their first season - for which they were fined 4 points last year but I would suggest that the risk paid off as look at them now.
Luton made the decision not to spend big, rely on their squad and add a couple of players - that has certainly backfired - luckily we are no Luton and have invested money in a squad which by and large will still be with us in August. Sheff Utd are an interesting anomoly in this list - but the fact that they had a couple of PL seasons from 2019 they had the opportunity to build their base.
As it stands, I do consider this season a failure if it ends in relegation as we hoped for better, and want to be proven wrong with a 5 match winning run starting tomorrow evening - but it is a long way from appalling when understand the context of the team and the challenge we faced from those around us. I would say Leicester and Southampton have been Poor and Appalling, while we have at times flattered to deceive and ultimately been a disappointment. |  | | |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:04 - Feb 25 with 1226 views | bluefunk |
| 'Appalling' season on 08:39 - Feb 25 by ibbleobble |
We’re talking about objective criticism and what a £140m investment has yielded. Why do you feel the need to turn it into a personal attack about people being negative? It’s an objective view not a witch hunt.
A lot of demographic on this forum have never played sport to any level, have never achieved much professionally in business and sit on the General thread moaning about life choices. It’s OK to love McKenna and have a negative point of view on things he’s done at the same time. It’s sport. It’s business. It’s not been a good season. With 3-wins and our ppg is going in the wrong direction. How can anyone argue differently at this stage? It’s f course that can change but we’re praying it will rather than seeing signs that it’s on an upward trajectory aka Everton and Wolves. |
No one is arguing that this season has been great. The positive view arises from context, the context of a double promotion, from mid table league one to the Premier League in three seasons. We were never LIKELY to stay up no matter what we did because you can’t remake a squad to compete in the Premier League in two transfer windows, so we were always going to be up against it.
You refer to this as a business, and as such, the money spent this season has produced a squad with a significant number of young players who are/will be worth more than we paid for them. Speaking personally, I find it irritating that we have a number of posters on here who fail to recognise the context, and endlessly provide negativity (whether they’ve achieved anything in life or not, I have no way of knowing). You say it’s not a witch hunt yet at times it does have feel of one (Muric hatred anyone?)
Anyway, do by all means, go about achieving more in life than most of the positive fans one here, I’m going to carry on trying to find positives and have faith (however misguided that appears to you) that it ain’t over till the fat lady sings. [Post edited 25 Feb 9:09]
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:07 - Feb 25 with 1215 views | Deano69 |
| 'Appalling' season on 06:24 - Feb 25 by Blue_Heath |
I posted something along a similar vein but not so damning a weeks back and people didn't like it.
Can someone tell me a worse season please because there is now way of dressing it up, it's been horrible. |
Mid table in league one 4 years ago?
There are many more. |  |
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:08 - Feb 25 with 1211 views | SitfcB |
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:18 - Feb 25 with 1161 views | SuffolkPunchFC |
| 'Appalling' season on 06:24 - Feb 25 by Blue_Heath |
I posted something along a similar vein but not so damning a weeks back and people didn't like it.
Can someone tell me a worse season please because there is now way of dressing it up, it's been horrible. |
If you believe this, then your expectations for the season were way off reality. Relative to the other squads in the division, including those that came up with us, any finish above 20th is an over-achievement. |  | | |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:18 - Feb 25 with 1160 views | Herbivore |
| 'Appalling' season on 08:54 - Feb 25 by ibbleobble |
😂 - you took a break from here and now you’re back with the same litter. Healthy mate. |
Tell us the one about Badger and Mullet killing the club again, mate 😂
Oh, and the one about how you know everything about professional football because you played 20 minutes in the Ryman League once 😂
😂😂😂😂😂 |  |
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:22 - Feb 25 with 1137 views | SaffronWaldenBlues |
| 'Appalling' season on 08:04 - Feb 25 by Yppswyche |
Agreed that all of these seasons were worse. The wider context needs to be taken into account inn regards to this current one. Football isn’t one long upward trajectory, fans want the moon on a stick these days. The vibes around the club are the best they’ve been for decades |
In the context of where Ipswich should be, which is at worse a top-12 Championship side, many of those seasons were unforgivable for so many reasons and much worse than being in the top 20 teams in the country. |  |
| An East Anglian Town overtaken by Londoners |
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:26 - Feb 25 with 1125 views | StokieBlue |
| 'Appalling' season on 08:54 - Feb 25 by ibbleobble |
😂 - you took a break from here and now you’re back with the same litter. Healthy mate. |
Didn't you get banned? Not sure you're in a position to be taking pops at other posters behaviour.
Hang your head in shame.....
SB |  | | |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:28 - Feb 25 with 1109 views | OldFart71 |
I think it pays to look at the table and see that the two other clubs that came up with us are most likely going down with us and that, if it happens, will be two seasons running. Luton who went down are most likely to go down again and Norwich City have I believe had three stints in the Premier League and are now struggling to even manage a top six on the Championship. Both Man Utd and Man City have struggled this season despite multi million pound squads. How many can say they have made money betting on football results this season ? It's a nightmare. Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle have all been turned over. That's why Liverpool are top because they at least have been consistent. One of the few. Yes you could say our buying of players hasn't been up to it, that's debatable. I think we got the best we could for the money paid and within the rules. We are learning a hard lesson but I don't see teams like Sheffield Utd staying up if they get promoted. | | | |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:31 - Feb 25 with 1094 views | RadioOrwell |
In what way are we quietly getting away with anything ?
PS
I just checked and before recent relegation Southampton had 11 season in the Prem.
Leicester had 9.
Before promotion we had 4 season in Div 1 and 17 in champ / Div 1.
I would call that heroic.
PS
I know a sports writer on the ' i paper ' and I'm seeing her Dad this week.
I'll pass on a full and frank message to this guy. [Post edited 25 Feb 9:44]
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:34 - Feb 25 with 1083 views | Vaughan8 |
I see people linking the amount of money we've spent and saying "you spent all that blah blah".
We essentially played out or skins as well as a few teams failing towards the end to secure promotion last year. Lets be honest, not many of our players were "Premier League ready" and so we've had to spend that just to get to the level we are now.
Would we have done any worse if we didn't spend as much...…..maybe not. We've made a few errors/players aren't ready in the transfer market.
However, going down and IF we come straight back up, we'll be more equipped.
The other 2 promoted teams did have a lot of players from the Premier League still there. | | | |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:40 - Feb 25 with 1043 views | IPS_wich |
| 'Appalling' season on 08:39 - Feb 25 by ibbleobble |
We’re talking about objective criticism and what a £140m investment has yielded. Why do you feel the need to turn it into a personal attack about people being negative? It’s an objective view not a witch hunt.
A lot of demographic on this forum have never played sport to any level, have never achieved much professionally in business and sit on the General thread moaning about life choices. It’s OK to love McKenna and have a negative point of view on things he’s done at the same time. It’s sport. It’s business. It’s not been a good season. With 3-wins and our ppg is going in the wrong direction. How can anyone argue differently at this stage? It’s f course that can change but we’re praying it will rather than seeing signs that it’s on an upward trajectory aka Everton and Wolves. |
You asked for objective criticism about what $140m investment has yielded.
I refer you to the FA Cup fourth round but a mere 2.5 weeks ago, where:
- Ipswich comfortably beat Coventry 4-1 away
- With pretty much our reserve side
- At a time when Coventry were the form side in the Championship and who are currently in seventh place, one point outside the play offs.
Compared to the penultimate game of last season where:
- Ipswich scraped a 2-1 win away to Coventry
- With a full strength team
- At a time Coventry were 9th/10th in the Championship
So, objectively, what the $140m investment has yielded is we now have a squad that is much much much stronger than last year; where our second XI can stroll to victory against a team we only just managed to beat nine months ago when we were in the same league.
Objectively, our squad (despite the $140m investment) is still the lowest cost squad in the Premier League.
Objectively, our squad is worth a lot more than we paid for it - even if that increase in value is primarily down to the appreciation in value of Davies and Delap since we signed them. So, we're not in a situation of having a squad filled with overpriced journeymen whose value is depreciating.
Objectively, if we get relegated then we will be one of only three, maybe four, teams in the Championship next season with parachute money (depending on whether Burnley can get themselves up with Leeds and Sheff Utd).
Objectively, the only side in the last 4-5 years to get relegated from the Premier League having chosen not to spend big to try and compete in the Premier League is Luton - and look at the good that has done them.
Has the season been a disappointment, objectively and subjectively it has, but it takes a blatent disregard of the economics of the Premier League to take the position that $140m investment should have guaranteed a better outcome than we've achieved so far.
Maybe we're about to become a yo-yo club for a few seasons alongside the likes of Leeds, Leicester (FFP penalty aside), Burnley, Sheff Utd and Southampton - but objectively that's a huge step up from being mid-table in League 1 three years ago. | | | |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:47 - Feb 25 with 1019 views | RadioOrwell |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:07 - Feb 25 by Deano69 |
Mid table in league one 4 years ago?
There are many more. |
That's 3 seasons right there. [Post edited 25 Feb 9:48]
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:48 - Feb 25 with 1018 views | Guthrum |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:34 - Feb 25 by Vaughan8 |
I see people linking the amount of money we've spent and saying "you spent all that blah blah".
We essentially played out or skins as well as a few teams failing towards the end to secure promotion last year. Lets be honest, not many of our players were "Premier League ready" and so we've had to spend that just to get to the level we are now.
Would we have done any worse if we didn't spend as much...…..maybe not. We've made a few errors/players aren't ready in the transfer market.
However, going down and IF we come straight back up, we'll be more equipped.
The other 2 promoted teams did have a lot of players from the Premier League still there. |
Thinking that we wouldn't have had Delap, Hutchinson, Szmodics, O'Shea, Greaves or Cajuste without having spent so much money, there is a very strong likelihood of Town being in a considerably worse position, with less hope even than Southampton. |  |
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:55 - Feb 25 with 989 views | Benters |
Jeez if they think that’s bad they want to try sitting through some of MickMacs dross on a rainy Tuesday night freezing your nuts off. |  |
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| 'Appalling' season on 09:57 - Feb 25 with 974 views | FromReuserWithLove |
I posted this yesterday and got six downvotes. Go figure. |  | | |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:58 - Feb 25 with 973 views | Guthrum |
| 'Appalling' season on 08:48 - Feb 25 by ibbleobble |
You missed the point as you do constantly. It’s not that it’s their ability it’s that there’s a repeated pattern to work out how to mitigate and we failed which is why questions need to be asked. How about the fact we had 5 defenders around Foden and he has a tap in the 6-yard box? Is that because he’s world class? Wake up.
If it were up to a bunch of folk I. Here who dare not rock the boat, Muric would still be in goal. |
The problem being that if we rearrange things to help out the fullbacks, that's taking players away from elsewhere on the pitch. Leaving holes in other places for the best squads in world football to find ways through.
It's not about covering all the bases, so much as mitigating the approaching disaster sufficiently to perhaps grab a goal or two ourselves.
The alternative is grim defensiveness, holding out for 0 - 0, maybe the occasional one-goal win over fellow strugglers. It's (just about) worked for Sean Dyche teams. But I can't see our fans being happy with such an approach. Let alone that it would require an even more extensive rebuild of the squad. | |
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| 'Appalling' season on 10:00 - Feb 25 with 961 views | Benters |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:57 - Feb 25 by FromReuserWithLove |
I posted this yesterday and got six downvotes. Go figure. |
Sorry it was a tap in. | |
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| 'Appalling' season on 10:05 - Feb 25 with 934 views | Guthrum |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:40 - Feb 25 by IPS_wich |
You asked for objective criticism about what $140m investment has yielded.
I refer you to the FA Cup fourth round but a mere 2.5 weeks ago, where:
- Ipswich comfortably beat Coventry 4-1 away
- With pretty much our reserve side
- At a time when Coventry were the form side in the Championship and who are currently in seventh place, one point outside the play offs.
Compared to the penultimate game of last season where:
- Ipswich scraped a 2-1 win away to Coventry
- With a full strength team
- At a time Coventry were 9th/10th in the Championship
So, objectively, what the $140m investment has yielded is we now have a squad that is much much much stronger than last year; where our second XI can stroll to victory against a team we only just managed to beat nine months ago when we were in the same league.
Objectively, our squad (despite the $140m investment) is still the lowest cost squad in the Premier League.
Objectively, our squad is worth a lot more than we paid for it - even if that increase in value is primarily down to the appreciation in value of Davies and Delap since we signed them. So, we're not in a situation of having a squad filled with overpriced journeymen whose value is depreciating.
Objectively, if we get relegated then we will be one of only three, maybe four, teams in the Championship next season with parachute money (depending on whether Burnley can get themselves up with Leeds and Sheff Utd).
Objectively, the only side in the last 4-5 years to get relegated from the Premier League having chosen not to spend big to try and compete in the Premier League is Luton - and look at the good that has done them.
Has the season been a disappointment, objectively and subjectively it has, but it takes a blatent disregard of the economics of the Premier League to take the position that $140m investment should have guaranteed a better outcome than we've achieved so far.
Maybe we're about to become a yo-yo club for a few seasons alongside the likes of Leeds, Leicester (FFP penalty aside), Burnley, Sheff Utd and Southampton - but objectively that's a huge step up from being mid-table in League 1 three years ago. |
Yo-yo has frequently been the route to eventually staying up in the Prem. West Ham and West Brom being relatively recent examples*.
* Maybe we should rename ourselves West Ipswich Town?? | |
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| Excellent post on 10:13 - Feb 25 with 890 views | Dyland |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:40 - Feb 25 by IPS_wich |
You asked for objective criticism about what $140m investment has yielded.
I refer you to the FA Cup fourth round but a mere 2.5 weeks ago, where:
- Ipswich comfortably beat Coventry 4-1 away
- With pretty much our reserve side
- At a time when Coventry were the form side in the Championship and who are currently in seventh place, one point outside the play offs.
Compared to the penultimate game of last season where:
- Ipswich scraped a 2-1 win away to Coventry
- With a full strength team
- At a time Coventry were 9th/10th in the Championship
So, objectively, what the $140m investment has yielded is we now have a squad that is much much much stronger than last year; where our second XI can stroll to victory against a team we only just managed to beat nine months ago when we were in the same league.
Objectively, our squad (despite the $140m investment) is still the lowest cost squad in the Premier League.
Objectively, our squad is worth a lot more than we paid for it - even if that increase in value is primarily down to the appreciation in value of Davies and Delap since we signed them. So, we're not in a situation of having a squad filled with overpriced journeymen whose value is depreciating.
Objectively, if we get relegated then we will be one of only three, maybe four, teams in the Championship next season with parachute money (depending on whether Burnley can get themselves up with Leeds and Sheff Utd).
Objectively, the only side in the last 4-5 years to get relegated from the Premier League having chosen not to spend big to try and compete in the Premier League is Luton - and look at the good that has done them.
Has the season been a disappointment, objectively and subjectively it has, but it takes a blatent disregard of the economics of the Premier League to take the position that $140m investment should have guaranteed a better outcome than we've achieved so far.
Maybe we're about to become a yo-yo club for a few seasons alongside the likes of Leeds, Leicester (FFP penalty aside), Burnley, Sheff Utd and Southampton - but objectively that's a huge step up from being mid-table in League 1 three years ago. |
nft [Post edited 25 Feb 10:13]
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| Excellent riposte to an execrable article on 10:17 - Feb 25 with 866 views | Dyland |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:04 - Feb 25 by bsw72 |
A few things which annoy me in this article, as it is a good example of lazy journalism that pads out internet pages, but actually says very little. I could rant about the lazy use of partially subjective statistics like xG rather than analysis of playing style, unsettled starting XI and mixed recruitment - but let's focus on just the financial aspect only.
The use of £130M to benchmark how we should be doing better this year - the comment "Ipswich spent to consolidate in the Premier League and they have failed miserably." is not really true, I think we have tried to establish (language semantics I know - but this guy is a journalist), but also with an eye on the future and staying with PSR, and we are starting with a weaker starting XI than any of the other PL sides.
Based on spend this year Liverpool have only spent £35M - should we be better then them - oh, no, of course the quality of the squad and level of improvement required at the start of the season needs to be taken into account.
What would be an interesting comparison is how much Ipswich have spent over the last 3 years to build their squad versus the other PL sides.
Since the start of 2022-3 season, the first full McKenna season, we have spent a total of ~£135M. In that period there have been 24 teams who have played PL football, we rank 22nd, ahead of Sheff Utd and Luton. Excluding loans we have brought 31 players into the club while 30 have left, but that is as we have climbed through 3 divisions (well maybe climb in the PL is wrong term, cling?).
If we want to compare against one of the more established PL sides that we have aspired to replicate such as Brighton - they have spent over £400M with a similar player turnover. That is what we are trying to achieve, but we need a base to begin with, and with the gap between PL and Champ as it is now, that is next to impossible within the confines of PSR.
Forest had to breach the PSR rules to effectively stay up in their first season - for which they were fined 4 points last year but I would suggest that the risk paid off as look at them now.
Luton made the decision not to spend big, rely on their squad and add a couple of players - that has certainly backfired - luckily we are no Luton and have invested money in a squad which by and large will still be with us in August. Sheff Utd are an interesting anomoly in this list - but the fact that they had a couple of PL seasons from 2019 they had the opportunity to build their base.
As it stands, I do consider this season a failure if it ends in relegation as we hoped for better, and want to be proven wrong with a 5 match winning run starting tomorrow evening - but it is a long way from appalling when understand the context of the team and the challenge we faced from those around us. I would say Leicester and Southampton have been Poor and Appalling, while we have at times flattered to deceive and ultimately been a disappointment. |
nft | |
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| 'Appalling' season on 10:18 - Feb 25 with 866 views | Asa |
Very easy to say Ipswich have spent £130m.
What they fail to mention is before that the squad had cost £10m to put together and every other club sitting above us in the table have starting line ups that cost £300m - £800m to put together!
It's like saying a bloke should be getting a podium in F1 because he's bought a £120k Aston Martin and not mentioning everyone else has a £5m F1 car. | | | |
| 'Appalling' season on 10:18 - Feb 25 with 867 views | Churchman |
| 'Appalling' season on 09:55 - Feb 25 by Benters |
Jeez if they think that’s bad they want to try sitting through some of MickMacs dross on a rainy Tuesday night freezing your nuts off. |
My mind always turns to a home game v Nottingham Forest. Freezing cold, 2-0 down at half time sitting in a shabby run down old stadium and looking forward to another 45 mins of Skuse, Hyam and Douglas stumbling about. The highlight was the sh£thouse in the corner of West Stand where overpowering stench aside, you could at least get a little warmth from the steam rising from the floor and the tin traps.
Sadly, that was by no means the worst either. Polish Pete looking like he’d won the local boozer raffle to turn out for the club before his next shift on the building site. The laughter watching Nouble fall over like a new born calf, nobody in sight; Mick trying to convince us on Radio Suffolk that ‘Cokey is a proper bloaaak’. Crowd speculating while being schooled by the likes of Rotherham how much material was used to make Ellington’s enormous shorts or how Bullard had turned himself into Orca once he’d conned a new contract out of Evans.
The list of awfulness is long. Years of cack, before we get to Keane and poor old John Duncan. Stockport at home, Sheffield Weds at home after a Jewell went where the team quite literally gave up. Same Lyall and co left and Carlton Palmer became the new Maradona because our players couldn’t be @rsed. You want ‘appalling’? That was appalling.
At least the players and all at the club are trying their best, even if they coming up short and while they do that, I can live with it. [Post edited 25 Feb 10:23]
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| 'Appalling' season on 10:28 - Feb 25 with 832 views | monty_radio |
| 'Appalling' season on 07:48 - Feb 25 by SaffronWaldenBlues |
1994/95 (although we may finish with fewer points this season)
2001/02
2009/10
2010/11
2011/12
2012/13
2016/17
2018/19
2019/20
2020/21
2021/22
All come to mind. |
I appreciate that it can't come to mind if you weren't there, but I raise you 1963/64. | |
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