| A positive outlook 07:34 - Sep 2 with 793 views | ITFC_Esquire |
I’ll start with a confession: I’m an optimist by nature, and tend to see the world through ever so slightly blue tinted goggles - and I’m happy with that. It may not be the prevailing mood on the forums right now, but a little positivity might not go amiss.
Yes, it’s painful to see the old guard dismantled. From a sentimental point of view, it feels like losing more than just players — it’s saying goodbye to the best Town side many of us (younger fans) have ever watched. And yet, as one poster rightly noted recently, modern football leaves little room for sentiment if you want to succeed. Looking at the squad, the only players I genuinely felt could have stayed on ability and ambition were Burgess, Woolf, Tuanzebe, and perhaps Morsy as a club captain. But very few remain, and like everyone else, I’ll miss them.
Still, I can’t help but reflect on where we’ve been. Rewind to League One under ME: a squad full of dysfunction, entirely unfit for purpose. A total rebuild, and McKenna inherited a disjointed side of individuals capable of not only escaping League One but being competitive from the Championship. What he/they went on to achieve was overachievement by any measure. The reality, however, is that group was never going to carry us to the ultimate goal — becoming a competitive Premier League club.
This is where the current rebuild draws a clear parallel. Once again, the slate has been wiped clean. But this time, with a much heavier heart and the loss of so many heroes. Now, the profile of player is different: these are top-end Championship footballers, designed to dominate the league we’re in now and set the foundations for making it to the Prem again. Last year’s signings were clearly pragmatic, made with one eye on survival. If we make it again I think we can be far more ambitious now, having a squad of good championship players already.
McKenna has already shown he can extract results from players who weren’t his. Now, with a squad built to his design, there’s every reason to believe he can not only take us back up but make us competitive at the next level. Progress might not come instantly — it didn’t last time — but there’s no need for panic. Yes we need to see progress, but even if we only start to click into gear by mid-season, we could easily ride that momentum into the play-offs and finish the campaign the way we stormed through League One.
I honestly believe if we give this group time to become a cohesive unit under McKenna, the rewards will follow.
UPPA.
[Post edited 2 Sep 7:35]
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| A positive outlook on 09:27 - Sep 2 with 626 views | Jammstar |
You honestly can’t win on this forum sometimes. Last week it was the worst transfer window of all time because we hadn’t got anyone in, this week it’s the worst of all time because we’ve brought too many in!
It is hard to see the double promotion heroes move on, but that is football, and if we want to make way for new heroes we have to let the old ones go. It’s a lot of signings in one window, and it’s been a poor start to the season. But my god is it more exciting than the days of our marquis signings costing less than 1 mil.
I share your optimism, the last 3/4 years have been the most exciting and engaging as a town fan for a long long time, we’ve become accustomed very quickly to the silly money of the prem and it’s easy to lose sight of just how much the club and its financials, goals etc have changed. I think we will do just fine this year and with the absence of the old heroes comes space for new ones to step up. | | | |
| A positive outlook on 09:31 - Sep 2 with 611 views | WeWereZombies |
Good post. I think we have a few players who are more than top-end Championship though, Dara O'Shea has played two seasons in the top flight (albeit both were relegation seasons), Jaden Philogene (who is still only twenty three) has almost one season and with the experience of two different clubs to boot, Jack Clarke, Sammie Smozdics, George Hirst and even Aro Muric (although like O'Shea two relegation seasons) should he return after his loan can put the top tier on their curriculum vitae. Hirst, Smozdics, O'Shea and Muric have regular international appearances now, Jaden U20 and U21 appearances and plenty of room for development, Jack Clarke some England U20 appearances although they were pre-pandemic. I think these players can have realistic ambitions to have a few more seasons in the top flight, hopefully with Town.
However we have to remember that our player trading has had the flavour of moneyball for at least the last couple of years. We should expect more ins and outs during every transfer window whilst our club is in the hands of investment businesses (not necessarily a bad thing as it provides funding that seems adequate and enduring.) Progression up this league and promotion back to the Premier League is always going to be a target but the reasons will include an eye for making money on a deal, no one can know for sure but I will always have a suspicion that some first team appearances will be with a view to keeping a player happy or in the shop window, a problem for McKenna alongside all the other challenges of tactical and fitness management. I doubt whether the togetherness and spirit of the squads of 2022/23 and 2023/24 are going to be seen for a long time to come, but that doesn't stop Town challenging to win games and trophies at the highest levels. |  |
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| A positive outlook on 09:37 - Sep 2 with 578 views | trncbluearmy |
100% this
Was about to write much the same but you have done it for me
Cheers
COYB |  | | |
| A positive outlook on 09:45 - Sep 2 with 564 views | _clive_baker_ |
Well said, and its right to take emotion out of it when you're looking at the here and now and readiness to outpace the competition at this level. We rode the crest of a wave at this level last time, it became our superpower, but after last summers recruitment that was no longer true whether that group stayed or not. Objectively speaking we've upgraded significantly, we've signed players from Serie A, Ligue 1, Ajax, Premier League. Last time out at this level we had Harness, Jackson and Dom Ball filling the bench, now we'll have players who would walk in to most teams at this level. Those we've actively moved on have all moved down the chain, I didn't see a plethora of premier league or top end Champ clubs clamouring over them. Those we've reluctantly sold have gone up, but for big money or for reasons outside of our control in Axel, Omari, Delap.
Chaplin is the only call I don't agree with, not for sentimental reasons, simply because I still think he had a role to play and the make up of the squad feels more lacking a player of his ilk than Harry Clarke, and the financial upside feels immaterial. Otherwise there isn't a departure in this window I disagree with tbh, whether it be the financial justification or a footballing one.
The evolution was inevitable, and necessary in the main if we're to get to the PL and establish ourselves there. It might not feel like it now after the start we've had, but we're better on paper as a result. Now its time to show we're also better on grass. We need wins pretty quickly alongside that growth curve, but I'm very confident that will materialise. |  | | |
| A positive outlook on 10:17 - Sep 2 with 486 views | itfcjoe |
| A positive outlook on 09:45 - Sep 2 by _clive_baker_ |
Well said, and its right to take emotion out of it when you're looking at the here and now and readiness to outpace the competition at this level. We rode the crest of a wave at this level last time, it became our superpower, but after last summers recruitment that was no longer true whether that group stayed or not. Objectively speaking we've upgraded significantly, we've signed players from Serie A, Ligue 1, Ajax, Premier League. Last time out at this level we had Harness, Jackson and Dom Ball filling the bench, now we'll have players who would walk in to most teams at this level. Those we've actively moved on have all moved down the chain, I didn't see a plethora of premier league or top end Champ clubs clamouring over them. Those we've reluctantly sold have gone up, but for big money or for reasons outside of our control in Axel, Omari, Delap.
Chaplin is the only call I don't agree with, not for sentimental reasons, simply because I still think he had a role to play and the make up of the squad feels more lacking a player of his ilk than Harry Clarke, and the financial upside feels immaterial. Otherwise there isn't a departure in this window I disagree with tbh, whether it be the financial justification or a footballing one.
The evolution was inevitable, and necessary in the main if we're to get to the PL and establish ourselves there. It might not feel like it now after the start we've had, but we're better on paper as a result. Now its time to show we're also better on grass. We need wins pretty quickly alongside that growth curve, but I'm very confident that will materialise. |
And for all talk of having an unbalanced squad, realistically if you swap a spare RB for a 9/10 then you basically where you need to be within the constraints set
It does feel like the plan was to move on a Johnson or Clarke, but we weren't able to so elected to do Chappers instead - I'd agree that isn't what I'd have wanted to do.
Relaistically, all going well - these players will accumulate 90% of our starts available this season
GK - Palmer
RB - Young,Furlong
LB - Davis
CB - O'Shea, Greaves
CM - Matusiwa, Nunez, Cajuste
RW - McAteer, Walle Egeli
10 - Szmodics, Akpom
LW - Philogene, Clarke
ST - Hirst
If those 16 stay fit and available for the majority of the season and the other 10* start a handful of games between them then we will be in a great position to go straight back up
*Walton, Button, Johnson, Clarke, Baggott, Kipre, Taylor, Humphreys, Burns, Azon.
[And there are some very good players in that 10] |  |
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| A positive outlook on 11:13 - Sep 2 with 399 views | _clive_baker_ |
| A positive outlook on 10:17 - Sep 2 by itfcjoe |
And for all talk of having an unbalanced squad, realistically if you swap a spare RB for a 9/10 then you basically where you need to be within the constraints set
It does feel like the plan was to move on a Johnson or Clarke, but we weren't able to so elected to do Chappers instead - I'd agree that isn't what I'd have wanted to do.
Relaistically, all going well - these players will accumulate 90% of our starts available this season
GK - Palmer
RB - Young,Furlong
LB - Davis
CB - O'Shea, Greaves
CM - Matusiwa, Nunez, Cajuste
RW - McAteer, Walle Egeli
10 - Szmodics, Akpom
LW - Philogene, Clarke
ST - Hirst
If those 16 stay fit and available for the majority of the season and the other 10* start a handful of games between them then we will be in a great position to go straight back up
*Walton, Button, Johnson, Clarke, Baggott, Kipre, Taylor, Humphreys, Burns, Azon.
[And there are some very good players in that 10] |
Agree with that, there's realistically a core 17-18 plus a further 8 who will play a supporting role (including 2 x keepers, Baggott, Humphreys, H. Clarke, Burns in the short term etc).
The other point is that its not the full season, no doubt we need to start motoring pretty quickly so as not to leave ourselves too much work to do, but there's some very obvious makeweights in this squad for when Jan rolls around in 20 games time. | | | |
| A positive outlook on 11:25 - Sep 2 with 374 views | Whos_blue |
That's a great OP to read.
Any football forum relies solely on opinions to exist. Some we'll agree with. Some we won't.
That said, I find the positive posts are generally better written and more eloquent than the negative. Not always of course and only my opinion.
Many of the more negative posts just seem so unnecessarily abrasive and antagonistic.
I suppose you naturally drift to your own, so maybe some of our more negative friends find threads like this equally infuriating. |  |
| Distortion becomes somehow pure in its wildness. |
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| A positive outlook on 12:39 - Sep 2 with 321 views | backwaywhen |
POTD | | | |
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| A positive outlook on 13:12 - Sep 2 with 233 views | darkhorse28 |
We were where we are now under Evans.
We weren’t a league one club most of the time…, his average position is above where we are now!
Let’s not try to revise history to make it fit a narrative.
Where we are now, with the resources McKenna has had, is the wirst this club has done for a very long time…, £ for £ it’s woeful.
We’re one of the richest clubs in world football, and our manger is paid a champion league contract, and we spent £200 million on new players.
You can’t conflate that to Evans.
Even Keane wasn’t this wasteful. | | | |
| A positive outlook on 13:20 - Sep 2 with 190 views | BeachBlue |
I enjoyed reading the original post. |  |
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| A positive outlook on 14:06 - Sep 2 with 138 views | SenatorBlue |
Perfectly put OP! [Post edited 2 Sep 14:11]
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| A positive outlook on 14:14 - Sep 2 with 109 views | Swansea_Blue |
I’m a positive person too: I’m positive we’re screwed!
Actually, I’m still optimistic about the future. Disappointed with the start, but the only way is up and all that. I’m looking forward to seeing if, and how, KM can mould this lot together. If he gets it right we should be immense. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Egeli and how he develops, whilst recognising he’ll need time and space to get used to this league. |  |
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| A positive outlook on 15:35 - Sep 2 with 43 views | dirtyboy |
| A positive outlook on 13:12 - Sep 2 by darkhorse28 |
We were where we are now under Evans.
We weren’t a league one club most of the time…, his average position is above where we are now!
Let’s not try to revise history to make it fit a narrative.
Where we are now, with the resources McKenna has had, is the wirst this club has done for a very long time…, £ for £ it’s woeful.
We’re one of the richest clubs in world football, and our manger is paid a champion league contract, and we spent £200 million on new players.
You can’t conflate that to Evans.
Even Keane wasn’t this wasteful. |
We're nowhere near where we were with Evans and you know that.
Season doesn't finish on 2 September.
There's not a genuine Ipswich fan out there who'd say give me back the Evans era and for many good reasons.
You're looking at a league table a paltry 4 games in, cherry picking the £200m figure, whereas with Wolfenden, we're around £125m net spend since Gamechanger took over.
Like Newcastle, it's irrelevant being rich with PSR in effect.
And there's probably an argument, taking into account football is much greater than 'normal' inflation, that Keane spent a modern day equivalent of ~£40m to get us sat in the same position we are now, playing absolute dog pile football.
Let's then add that the club is now active in the community doesn't make a differene to us sat there at 3pm on a Saturday, but it does to others, the training ground is being invested in, we finally got a Cat1 Academy that fans have wanted for years. The stadium itself has had more than a touch of paint.
There's countless things to be thankful for, not least, two of the best seasons in modern times we've ever experiences.
There's no 'right' to success in football, just make the most of it when it's there. |  | | |
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