| Still some negativity out there about the performance? 10:11 - Dec 11 with 1075 views | baxterbasics |
There really shouldn't be, KM is right, that was better than the 3-0 v Coventry, a score which flattered Town a little, whilst last night's flattered Stoke.
My first attended game of the season. First sign it was going to go well was walking up the steps to the north lower to hear Firestarter playing. Then when players came on and being introduced, it was Breathe. Is there a Prodigy fan in the PA team?
Light show and (not quite fully functioning) pyro was nice I guess, though I did wonder why?
The goal was almost as sublime in the build up as Jaden's strike was. I still see ignorant moaning online about "p!ssing about at the back" (and even heard a little in the stands) but in this case, and throughout the game , this was executed well before the ball was sent up towards Jaden.
When that went in I felt maybe this was gonna be floodgates. Didn't turn out so, and the narrow lead meant tension in the stands throughout as we all expected a silly mistake at the back to lead to the equaliser.
But the mistake never came. That was as good a defensive display as I've ever seen from Ipswich, I reckon. That goes for the whole team, not just the back line. The structure and discipline was top notch for most of the 90. I think this is why McKenna was so pleased.
The one remaining missing piece of the puzzle is in our attacking prowess. I think this might be why some fans still interpreted this game as a poor performance - they want the goals, they want the blistering attacks. McKenna knows it takes more than that. Azon gets stick for the howling miss and a few slips, but I still saw lots to like in his general play. He's not awful, as I sadly heard some call him. There are things he offers Hirst does not. Philogene is becoming a more rounded player before our very eyes. Results of McKenna coaching? Akpom also looks useful and I reckon if he was getting regular starts goals would follow.
Last 20 mins were true brown trousers time and I has to resist the urge to get out early and just find out the result later. Glad I persisted.
On this evidence and the general trajectory of the team (as well as of rivals), we are going to be league champions. |  |
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:14 - Dec 11 with 1034 views | FlittonBlue |
Tend to be saving the pyros (and the light show) for the live Sky games these days - which says to me its more about projecting the club onto a wider stage than anything for the in ground crowd...which is fair enough, we are there to watch a game of football after all! |  | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:16 - Dec 11 with 1015 views | FlittonBlue |
Oh and the funny thing was the collective 'oh s**t' from the early leavers when the board went up with just 2 minutes added time - surprised the Stoke fans didnt chant about a fire drill with the speed the early leavers shot from their seats!!! | | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:19 - Dec 11 with 971 views | victorysquad |
I think it is because we let them have a lot of the ball, which is maybe not what we are used to seeing in recent times. Would be interesting to see our stats, but I imagine our Xg would have been very high, and I loved the fact we were counter attacking with pace. We looked far more threatening and the opportunities created were far better imo. I don't care if they had more of the ball, let them have it, they looked like we normally do, slow and predictable in their build up play and not particularly threatening our goal. | |
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:21 - Dec 11 with 948 views | vilanovablue |
I felt we kept Stoke at arms length for most of the game and looked superb in defence and controlled the game. A shame we couldn't take a few more chances but a wins a win and beating both Cov and Stoke should give the team confidence moving forwards. |  | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:23 - Dec 11 with 925 views | _CliveBaker_ |
Back to back wins (against 1st and 6th(?)), back to back clean sheets, 4 goals scored and good ones at that, it could've been more. Walton not having a huge amount to do but doing what's been asked of him brilliantly, O'Shea looking like an absolute monster, Kipre too. Davis looking more like the Davis of 2 years ago by the game, Furlong steady and doing an excellent job on the very dangerous Thomas last night. Defensive unit looking settled now and growing in confidence. Taylor & Matusiwa growing as a pairing, combative, turning the ball over it, looking after it and using it well in possession. Nunez, Philogene and Walle-Egeli delivering what we know they're capable of. Hirst hopefully starting to find some form and took that goal against Coventry brilliantly. 3 perfect touches off that ball from Nunez.
We've seemed to have a false dawn before but this feels different. Its not just the results picking up but the performances too, especially with the context of the opposition. The 2 2nd halves have been excellent in particular. The patterns are emerging, we look solid at the back and dangerous going forward, that's always a recipe you want to see.
If we can be no further from 2nd than we are now at the turn of the year I think we'll be in a good spot. I have a feeling Jan - Feb - March will be fruitful. |  | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:26 - Dec 11 with 898 views | TractorJack |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:23 - Dec 11 by _CliveBaker_ |
Back to back wins (against 1st and 6th(?)), back to back clean sheets, 4 goals scored and good ones at that, it could've been more. Walton not having a huge amount to do but doing what's been asked of him brilliantly, O'Shea looking like an absolute monster, Kipre too. Davis looking more like the Davis of 2 years ago by the game, Furlong steady and doing an excellent job on the very dangerous Thomas last night. Defensive unit looking settled now and growing in confidence. Taylor & Matusiwa growing as a pairing, combative, turning the ball over it, looking after it and using it well in possession. Nunez, Philogene and Walle-Egeli delivering what we know they're capable of. Hirst hopefully starting to find some form and took that goal against Coventry brilliantly. 3 perfect touches off that ball from Nunez.
We've seemed to have a false dawn before but this feels different. Its not just the results picking up but the performances too, especially with the context of the opposition. The 2 2nd halves have been excellent in particular. The patterns are emerging, we look solid at the back and dangerous going forward, that's always a recipe you want to see.
If we can be no further from 2nd than we are now at the turn of the year I think we'll be in a good spot. I have a feeling Jan - Feb - March will be fruitful. |
That's without mentioning the options we have off the bench. Cajuste and Clarke so good for running at tired legs plus you can see how determined Sammie is to make an impact, he's an absolute pest and will get goals soon I'm sure. |  | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:29 - Dec 11 with 881 views | baxterbasics |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:23 - Dec 11 by _CliveBaker_ |
Back to back wins (against 1st and 6th(?)), back to back clean sheets, 4 goals scored and good ones at that, it could've been more. Walton not having a huge amount to do but doing what's been asked of him brilliantly, O'Shea looking like an absolute monster, Kipre too. Davis looking more like the Davis of 2 years ago by the game, Furlong steady and doing an excellent job on the very dangerous Thomas last night. Defensive unit looking settled now and growing in confidence. Taylor & Matusiwa growing as a pairing, combative, turning the ball over it, looking after it and using it well in possession. Nunez, Philogene and Walle-Egeli delivering what we know they're capable of. Hirst hopefully starting to find some form and took that goal against Coventry brilliantly. 3 perfect touches off that ball from Nunez.
We've seemed to have a false dawn before but this feels different. Its not just the results picking up but the performances too, especially with the context of the opposition. The 2 2nd halves have been excellent in particular. The patterns are emerging, we look solid at the back and dangerous going forward, that's always a recipe you want to see.
If we can be no further from 2nd than we are now at the turn of the year I think we'll be in a good spot. I have a feeling Jan - Feb - March will be fruitful. |
I honestly don't recall our defence ever being as strong as it is now, in all my 25ish years of following. Though that might not be a high bar given there's been a lot of bad times in those years, but even in the better seasons there's often been an element of "yeah we'll concede one or two, but we can score more than you" (looking at you Joe Royle) | |
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:31 - Dec 11 with 853 views | J2BLUE |
It was very good. We just need to be a bit sharper going forward but it's clearly coming together. The defence was immense and looked so composed and assured.
A little sensible rebalancing of the squad in Jan and we will look pretty good IMO. |  |
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:37 - Dec 11 with 792 views | homer_123 |
I said it last night, apart from that 5 to 10 min spell after we got the early goal. We nullified Stoke pretty much completely.
The only criticism you could possibly say about last night is that we should have had 1 or 2 more goals and put the game to bed. But in the wider context of a really, really good defensive display - we never looked like needing another goal.
On the back of the Coventry win, it's an excellent result and a really professional performance. No complaints from me. |  |
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:40 - Dec 11 with 775 views | gainsboroughblue |
Nothing wrong with a good old 1-0 now and again. I'm happier that we've kept two clean sheets in a row against two sides that have been in the top 2 (one still is obviously) very recently.
I think game management is a crucial thought here. We have a punishing schedule and maybe would have pushed on more if not for these back to back to back games. There were some tired legs out there on both sides but we made Stoke expend more energy due to being behind.
Leicester will be interesting on Saturday. |  |
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:46 - Dec 11 with 723 views | _CliveBaker_ |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:29 - Dec 11 by baxterbasics |
I honestly don't recall our defence ever being as strong as it is now, in all my 25ish years of following. Though that might not be a high bar given there's been a lot of bad times in those years, but even in the better seasons there's often been an element of "yeah we'll concede one or two, but we can score more than you" (looking at you Joe Royle) |
Agree, I really like the profile of Furlong. He's big and strong, athletic, and while Tuanzebe's were going to be big boots to fill I've been impressed with Furlong. He's just that solid, experienced and dependable 7/10 that we need there. I don't think he'll be on many people's POTS card but that's fine, he just needs to stay dialled in at this level for 20 odd more games. He did a really good job on Thomas last night who is, IMO, a really lively player. I don't think its a stretch to say O'Shea is the best defender in the division, I said it before that for all that fell short at Premier League level he wasn't one of them and really could and should be playing there. Kipre's a beast next to him and Leif is Leif, a victim of his own success really as we all set such high standards of him that performances like last night are just expected of him, but he was class yet again. Matusiwa offering the protection in front of them, picking up 2nd balls, turning over possession, using it well too.
That's the unit now, we need to run with it. We've got enough quality in the front 4, they can rotate as and when needed but in terms of the foundations that defensive unit needs to stay free from injury and keep up these recent performances. | | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:46 - Dec 11 with 716 views | homer_123 |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:40 - Dec 11 by gainsboroughblue |
Nothing wrong with a good old 1-0 now and again. I'm happier that we've kept two clean sheets in a row against two sides that have been in the top 2 (one still is obviously) very recently.
I think game management is a crucial thought here. We have a punishing schedule and maybe would have pushed on more if not for these back to back to back games. There were some tired legs out there on both sides but we made Stoke expend more energy due to being behind.
Leicester will be interesting on Saturday. |
You 'could' go as far as saying that we've kept clean sheets against two of the divisions best attacking sides.
I know Cov were slightly under strength but they have been scoring for fun. You can also see why Stoke have done well this season, a really good attacking side. | |
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:54 - Dec 11 with 667 views | JakeITFC |
I actually thought it was the best team performance of the year thus far - in other games we have had more dominant wins down to individual quality but I thought last night saw the best of us in terms of blossoming of relationships and patterns of play (plus a really solid defensive unit).
Rotation needs must over the Christmas period, but you'd have to say that XI with Hirst in for Azon is our strongest atm. |  | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 11:19 - Dec 11 with 571 views | GlasgowBlue |
Azon scores that sitter and we go on to win the game 3 or 4-0. |  |
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 11:24 - Dec 11 with 554 views | SitfcB |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 11:19 - Dec 11 by GlasgowBlue |
Azon scores that sitter and we go on to win the game 3 or 4-0. |
Horrific.
Really glad it didn’t cost us! |  |
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 11:32 - Dec 11 with 488 views | Churchman |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 11:19 - Dec 11 by GlasgowBlue |
Azon scores that sitter and we go on to win the game 3 or 4-0. |
We do. There were one or two other good opportunities in that first half too, despite Stoke’s monopoly of the ball.
Nothing wrong with that performance. Defensively they were all excellent., the midfield stayed solid and we carried a threat all evening.
Azon is a good little player. Not been with us long, still settling in, young at 22, very enthusiastic so snatches at his chances a little, but I think we will see a lot more from him as the season unfolds.
I enjoyed last night. It was interesting too. After all, that’s the whole point of going isn’t it? |  | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 12:29 - Dec 11 with 355 views | bsw72 |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 10:46 - Dec 11 by _CliveBaker_ |
Agree, I really like the profile of Furlong. He's big and strong, athletic, and while Tuanzebe's were going to be big boots to fill I've been impressed with Furlong. He's just that solid, experienced and dependable 7/10 that we need there. I don't think he'll be on many people's POTS card but that's fine, he just needs to stay dialled in at this level for 20 odd more games. He did a really good job on Thomas last night who is, IMO, a really lively player. I don't think its a stretch to say O'Shea is the best defender in the division, I said it before that for all that fell short at Premier League level he wasn't one of them and really could and should be playing there. Kipre's a beast next to him and Leif is Leif, a victim of his own success really as we all set such high standards of him that performances like last night are just expected of him, but he was class yet again. Matusiwa offering the protection in front of them, picking up 2nd balls, turning over possession, using it well too.
That's the unit now, we need to run with it. We've got enough quality in the front 4, they can rotate as and when needed but in terms of the foundations that defensive unit needs to stay free from injury and keep up these recent performances. |
Not forgetting the tracking back of Philogene, Egeli, Taylor and Nunez (plus subs).
It's not so much about the back 4 as it is about defending as a whole team as needed. |  | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 12:32 - Dec 11 with 346 views | bsw72 |
Weirdly I never felt the anxiety of the 1-0 lead last night, I always felt it was under control and we would not concede.
Don't know why - last time I felt like that at a Town game was May 4th 2024, it was just always going to be a Town win after we went in front. [Post edited 11 Dec 12:32]
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| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 12:34 - Dec 11 with 333 views | _CliveBaker_ |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 11:24 - Dec 11 by SitfcB |
Horrific.
Really glad it didn’t cost us! |
He really needs to be hitting the bottom tier from there at the very least... | | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 12:36 - Dec 11 with 316 views | _CliveBaker_ |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 12:29 - Dec 11 by bsw72 |
Not forgetting the tracking back of Philogene, Egeli, Taylor and Nunez (plus subs).
It's not so much about the back 4 as it is about defending as a whole team as needed. |
That's certainly true, to be fair to those not in the side that's rarely an issue. McAteer does some good work too, I think its a given in a McKenna side and very much a prerequisite. That defensive base is so important though, Cov and Stoke have had very little change out of us, O'Shea and Kipre are beasts in the air and can play as well, been very encouraging to see. | | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 13:30 - Dec 11 with 168 views | itfc48 |
Thought we were very well organised. Still a few sloppy moments but on the whole very solid.
One thing that did puzzle me though, was the free kick we won on the right-hand touchline in the first minute. Was the perfect opportunity to get a ball in the box early doors but we went backwards before hoofing an aimless ball forwards, which shortly after left Furlong one v one against Thomas. Ok, we scored a minute after but it's a recurring theme where we turn down a good opportunity to do something progressive under minimal pressure only to go backwards, meaning a tricky pass then has to be performed under greater pressure, often ending up with lesser quality and a much higher chance of a turnover. | | | |
| Still some negativity out there about the performance? on 13:50 - Dec 11 with 109 views | dirtyboy |
I thought we looked much better organised and Stoke looked decent too.
Appears we're now a lot more comfortable letting the other team have the ball and aim to find space at the right times, so a small shift in how we're approaching things which is odd to watch as we're so used to have most of the ball, but I like what i'm seeing.
Enjoy us playing out from the back still, when it works, it works well and we should be used to it by now!
On the pyros. Wife and I were watching the sprinklers systematically shower the one nearest the north stand, so no surprise it didn't work lol!
Quite enjoyed the lights off moment before the 'show', very moody and atmospheric, think that would be a really cool way to come in to the stadium, but obviously players need light on pitch for warms up lol.
Didn't think the last 20 were that worrying to be honest, last corner was the only time I was concerned! |  | | |
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