| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable 10:31 - Feb 2 with 5431 views | IP1Blue |
If we don’t sign a striker, that is borderline unforgivable which as it stands is looking likely!
We knew Liam Delap was leaving from March last year when we let him start taking to other clubs around the country.
Ivan Azon we only signed in the last week of the summer window (after turning the deal down earlier on in the window) as we failed to sign anyone else.
To now go through 2 consecutive windows without signing a quality striker is borderline unforgivable especially if we don’t end up going up. |  | | |  |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:58 - Feb 2 with 756 views | jasondozzell |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:46 - Feb 2 by mrshallisfit |
God where will you be when we fail to get top 2 this year? Even worse, where will you be if we fail in the play offs? Would you stick with McKenna if we are still in the Championship (I know what your answer is to that question). |
I will be where I was at the beginning of the season. I said top 6 would be what we should expect, hopefully top two.
I think we'll win the league
But if we finish third will I think it's an utter disgrace and the manager needs changing?
No. |  | | |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:59 - Feb 2 with 755 views | surreyblue |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:10 - Feb 2 by IP1Blue |
What are you on about?
You can be critical of something but still support it. |
There is a difference between being critical and calling something "unforgivable" though.
Perhaps you are just using hyperbole for effect. Or perhaps you are more forgivable of unforgivable actions than I am. | | | |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:00 - Feb 2 with 756 views | Guthrum |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:40 - Feb 2 by TownieRob |
I see a lot of “remember where we came from”, and I get that. Perspective matters. However, it can’t be selective. You can’t use that argument and then discount 23/24 as that season happened, and it was very good. We’re allowed to remember that as well.
We’ve since spent serious money. If money doesn’t translate into progress, then it hasn’t been spent particularly well. That isn’t negativity or entitlement, it’s just being honest.
And saying we need a striker to help shouldn’t even be controversial. It’s an obvious gap, not a meltdown.
The club is in good health, and no one’s denying how far we’ve come but that doesn’t mean we pretend everything’s perfect. The amount of chances Hirst and Azon have missed, proves this. |
We've spent serious money, but quite a lot of that has gone back out of the door again (Delap, Hutchinson, Muric, Phillips' loan fee and wages).
The other thing is looking at what progress really means. The spending is to progress a team recently out of League One into a promotion-from-the-Champ challenging squad. We can't expect to replicate the miracle of 2022-24, that was a one off, something which happens incredibly rarely (especially without the use of play-offs). It was a time and a place, not something which can be made or bought.
Much of what we have done is simply catching up with our peers after the years lost in the mid Evans era decline and League One. We are nowhere near the "just visiting from the Prem" level of a 2009-10 or 2016-17 Newcastle. When you look at what Leicester or Southampton have spent over the last decade to be where they are currently, it puts what we're doing in a much different perspective.
ITFC are truly running on fast forward, whatever the situation of the last couple of games might suggest. |  |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:04 - Feb 2 with 726 views | Herbivore |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:51 - Feb 2 by TripSwitch |
Any chance of answering the point? Thought not. Great contribution as ever, champ. |
I mean, I've answered your point elsewhere in the thread. Options looked fine, all have underperformed, it's a risk to go into the rest of the season with Hirst and Akpom out of form and Azon not clinical enough. I think it's too dramatic to say it's the difference between top 2 or top 6. A new striker might come in and also be shit. Hirst and/or Azon might score tomorrow and go on a run. We're well in the top 2 mix with our current options all not performing as we'd hope so even if they don't improve we should still be in the mix and if they do improve then we'll definitely be up there. If the right striker is available today I'd ideally like us to strengthen but I don't want us signing just anyone and I'm not going to lose any sleep if we don't sign someone. |  |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:04 - Feb 2 with 726 views | portmanking |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:58 - Feb 2 by jasondozzell |
I will be where I was at the beginning of the season. I said top 6 would be what we should expect, hopefully top two.
I think we'll win the league
But if we finish third will I think it's an utter disgrace and the manager needs changing?
No. |
If we finish third and fail in the playoffs, Kieran won't be here. Not because we fire him, but because he moves on to bigger and better things. *That* alone is why it's imperative we back him with the tools needed to get out of the division.
Hirst and Azon's inexplicable lack of clinical finishing means the margins have to fall our way with moments of magic elsewhere, rather than depending on a striker to put away solid xG opportunities.
It's also worth reading this: https://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/2
McKenna's vocal nature about mentioning 3 wasted big chances at Sheff Utd. He's not normally so publicly critical. He knows we're not at it in the final third. The fact we offered contracts to Bamford and Wilson prove he's not happy. We need to be creative and find a solution this afternoon. [Post edited 2 Feb 12:17]
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:06 - Feb 2 with 713 views | Guthrum |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:46 - Feb 2 by mrshallisfit |
God where will you be when we fail to get top 2 this year? Even worse, where will you be if we fail in the play offs? Would you stick with McKenna if we are still in the Championship (I know what your answer is to that question). |
I will absolutely stick with McKenna if we don't go up. Compared with any other manager for a decade at least, he has proven to be the best chance of guiding us to promotion. | |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:07 - Feb 2 with 710 views | TripSwitch |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:04 - Feb 2 by Herbivore |
I mean, I've answered your point elsewhere in the thread. Options looked fine, all have underperformed, it's a risk to go into the rest of the season with Hirst and Akpom out of form and Azon not clinical enough. I think it's too dramatic to say it's the difference between top 2 or top 6. A new striker might come in and also be shit. Hirst and/or Azon might score tomorrow and go on a run. We're well in the top 2 mix with our current options all not performing as we'd hope so even if they don't improve we should still be in the mix and if they do improve then we'll definitely be up there. If the right striker is available today I'd ideally like us to strengthen but I don't want us signing just anyone and I'm not going to lose any sleep if we don't sign someone. |
So you do have reasoning and rationale and just felt like being a d1ck then. Ok, gotcha. |  |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:12 - Feb 2 with 685 views | Benters |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:07 - Feb 2 by TripSwitch |
So you do have reasoning and rationale and just felt like being a d1ck then. Ok, gotcha. |
Fight ! |  |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:13 - Feb 2 with 669 views | pointofblue |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:40 - Feb 2 by Guthrum |
Eight points, not 11.
Also, I don't see how you can say there's no improvement, or that we're being found out 'more often than not'. For the full season, our win rate is 48%, since the close of the transfer window 56% and over the last 10 games 60%. |
Just checked again - after 29 games in 23/24 we were on 62 points. This season we're on 51. Unless I'm misreading something!
My argument is the same issues remain a before, especially going forwards. A failure to convert chances. We can look to bring in someone to solve this, or we can hope something clicks with those in place. At the moment we sit adrift of top spot, and that will be the case even if we win tomorrow's game in hand. This is the perfect opportunity to get promoted - I just hope we make the right decisions to achieve it. | |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:14 - Feb 2 with 658 views | Herbivore |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:07 - Feb 2 by TripSwitch |
So you do have reasoning and rationale and just felt like being a d1ck then. Ok, gotcha. |
It's a bit of banter, mate. Ulla gets similar as a Norwich fan posting on here, fans of other sides often get a gentle ribbing here and there. For what it's worth, I think Leicester have enough about them to stay up. | |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:16 - Feb 2 with 646 views | SuffolkPunchFC |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:40 - Feb 2 by TownieRob |
I see a lot of “remember where we came from”, and I get that. Perspective matters. However, it can’t be selective. You can’t use that argument and then discount 23/24 as that season happened, and it was very good. We’re allowed to remember that as well.
We’ve since spent serious money. If money doesn’t translate into progress, then it hasn’t been spent particularly well. That isn’t negativity or entitlement, it’s just being honest.
And saying we need a striker to help shouldn’t even be controversial. It’s an obvious gap, not a meltdown.
The club is in good health, and no one’s denying how far we’ve come but that doesn’t mean we pretend everything’s perfect. The amount of chances Hirst and Azon have missed, proves this. |
"We’ve since spent serious money. If money doesn’t translate into progress, then it hasn’t been spent particularly well. That isn’t negativity or entitlement, it’s just being honest."
I think it's clear to anyone that the squad has progressed. If you compare our squad from 23/24 to now, there is so much more quality in depth.
Some keep claiming that the Championship is poor this season, the justification being that no clubs have run away with it points-wise, and there are so many teams still well in contention for promotion.
Alternatively it's entirely plausible that more teams in the Championship have improved, be it through an injection of money (Birmingham, Wrexham, etc) or squad stability (Hull, Boro, etc).
Without a doubt, more money has come into the Championship (regardless of there still being a huge gulf to the PL), allowing for better players to enter or stay in the league. I would argue that year-on-year, the challenge in the Championship is on an upward trajectory, and many teams have progressed well beyond what was in the division 2 years ago. Therefore to progress ahead of the pack is even more difficult, without bringing in players from the PL that are surplus to requirements. And pulling those into the Championship is not easy.
The only way you would know if this squad has progressed significantly compared to 23/24 would be to travel back in time, and have this squad replace that squad. I'm pretty confident it would have stormed the league that year, but the challenge has shifted up a level or two this year. We will, of course, never be able to prove that one way or the other ... | | | |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:19 - Feb 2 with 629 views | TripSwitch |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:14 - Feb 2 by Herbivore |
It's a bit of banter, mate. Ulla gets similar as a Norwich fan posting on here, fans of other sides often get a gentle ribbing here and there. For what it's worth, I think Leicester have enough about them to stay up. |
Fair enough - apologies for being too uptight, then.
Leicester should be able to stop up you shouldn't go down with the likes of Vestergaard, Winks, Fatawu, Jordan James in the side at this level, but going down might force the owners out which would be a good thing. | |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:26 - Feb 2 with 601 views | Herbivore |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:19 - Feb 2 by TripSwitch |
Fair enough - apologies for being too uptight, then.
Leicester should be able to stop up you shouldn't go down with the likes of Vestergaard, Winks, Fatawu, Jordan James in the side at this level, but going down might force the owners out which would be a good thing. |
I do wonder if a few might down tools now that you're out of the promotion hunt. That's always a risk, quite a few players who'll expect to be off in the summer and might not be bothered over the remaining games. There should still be enough quality there though. Would have liked us to sign Jordan James, really good player. | |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:26 - Feb 2 with 605 views | TownieRob |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:00 - Feb 2 by Guthrum |
We've spent serious money, but quite a lot of that has gone back out of the door again (Delap, Hutchinson, Muric, Phillips' loan fee and wages).
The other thing is looking at what progress really means. The spending is to progress a team recently out of League One into a promotion-from-the-Champ challenging squad. We can't expect to replicate the miracle of 2022-24, that was a one off, something which happens incredibly rarely (especially without the use of play-offs). It was a time and a place, not something which can be made or bought.
Much of what we have done is simply catching up with our peers after the years lost in the mid Evans era decline and League One. We are nowhere near the "just visiting from the Prem" level of a 2009-10 or 2016-17 Newcastle. When you look at what Leicester or Southampton have spent over the last decade to be where they are currently, it puts what we're doing in a much different perspective.
ITFC are truly running on fast forward, whatever the situation of the last couple of games might suggest. |
In this squad and those who didnt start Saturday.
Palmer, Johnson, Young, Greaves, Mcateer, Akpom, Szcmodics, Egeli. There's some serious money spent there and not one of them improves our first 11, if they did they would be in the side.
I get football is a squad game and possibly our squad is 'better' than it was. But is it really? | | | |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:28 - Feb 2 with 590 views | Guthrum |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:16 - Feb 2 by IP1Blue |
We don’t have the best strike force in the league 🤣🤣 not even sure it’s the best in east anglia to be perfectly honest!
Akpom wasn’t signed as a striker, I’m not sure why he keeps getting bought up!!! He had one good goal scoring season, that’s it in his whole career! |
Over the last 6 games (standard form table), we are joint second highest scorers in the division, behind only Boro (whose total includes two four-goal wins).
Nine of those eleven goals came from our "strike force": Clarke Philogene, Akpom, Szmodics and Burns. | |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:30 - Feb 2 with 573 views | TripSwitch |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:26 - Feb 2 by Herbivore |
I do wonder if a few might down tools now that you're out of the promotion hunt. That's always a risk, quite a few players who'll expect to be off in the summer and might not be bothered over the remaining games. There should still be enough quality there though. Would have liked us to sign Jordan James, really good player. |
They've been downing tools all season mate! | |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:41 - Feb 2 with 550 views | Herbivore |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:26 - Feb 2 by TownieRob |
In this squad and those who didnt start Saturday.
Palmer, Johnson, Young, Greaves, Mcateer, Akpom, Szcmodics, Egeli. There's some serious money spent there and not one of them improves our first 11, if they did they would be in the side.
I get football is a squad game and possibly our squad is 'better' than it was. But is it really? |
Yes, our squad is really better than it was 2 years ago. 2 years ago Kayden Jackson and Marcus Harness were getting decent minutes for us. No disrespect to either of them but they wouldn't get close to our bench now. | |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:43 - Feb 2 with 543 views | WarkTheWark |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 10:53 - Feb 2 by JakeITFC |
Maybe there just aren't many good strikers about - in previous times we might be in for a forward struggling for form at Prem level like Strand Larsen, instead now he goes for £50m because there is so few premium number 9s.
I honestly still feel in Hirst, Azon and Akpom we have the best strikeforce in the league. |
Ugh "I'm so balanced" give it a rest ;-) |  | | |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:46 - Feb 2 with 532 views | Guthrum |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:13 - Feb 2 by pointofblue |
Just checked again - after 29 games in 23/24 we were on 62 points. This season we're on 51. Unless I'm misreading something!
My argument is the same issues remain a before, especially going forwards. A failure to convert chances. We can look to bring in someone to solve this, or we can hope something clicks with those in place. At the moment we sit adrift of top spot, and that will be the case even if we win tomorrow's game in hand. This is the perfect opportunity to get promoted - I just hope we make the right decisions to achieve it. |
You may be looking at matchday 29, the Rotherham H game which was postponed. After the 29th League game on 3rd Feb ("matchday 30"), we were on 59 points (W17 D8 L4).
Thing is, most of the time we create so many chances that missing a few doesn't matter. Which is why Town still has a win rate pretty comparable with the other top teams. What we suffered with against SheffU (I didn't see Sat's game) was lacking the frequency of those chances. We couldn't get the ball forward enough without interception. | |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:49 - Feb 2 with 522 views | nrb1985 |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 10:33 - Feb 2 by TRUE_BLUE123 |
Think the club had a lot of faith in Hirst. Which I do understand to an extent. |
This.
He did fine in the PL and had an excellent pre season.
Nobody could have foreseen how this would unfold.
He has been absolutely abject and has really put us in a tight spot. I don't particularly blame anybody at the club for that. | | | |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:51 - Feb 2 with 516 views | Sugito |
I feel like this problem with signing a new/starting striker is a problem that first started in January -24 window when we solved it by signing Moore on loan. After that we haven't really solved it: I think Delap wasn't thought of being our first choice striker in the Premier League, he just hit the ground running and we didn't manage to get another number nine in that transfer window or in January -25. When Delap left, we were basically two strikers short and basically we only have acquired Azon after that; I feel McKenna was quite clear that he viewed Akpom as a number 10 first and foremost. | | | |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:53 - Feb 2 with 508 views | SuffolkPunchFC |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:13 - Feb 2 by pointofblue |
Just checked again - after 29 games in 23/24 we were on 62 points. This season we're on 51. Unless I'm misreading something!
My argument is the same issues remain a before, especially going forwards. A failure to convert chances. We can look to bring in someone to solve this, or we can hope something clicks with those in place. At the moment we sit adrift of top spot, and that will be the case even if we win tomorrow's game in hand. This is the perfect opportunity to get promoted - I just hope we make the right decisions to achieve it. |
Definitely 59.
13 off Leicester.
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:55 - Feb 2 with 481 views | TRUE_BLUE123 |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:49 - Feb 2 by nrb1985 |
This.
He did fine in the PL and had an excellent pre season.
Nobody could have foreseen how this would unfold.
He has been absolutely abject and has really put us in a tight spot. I don't particularly blame anybody at the club for that. |
Good point on Pre season.
Looked really sharp, was scoring seemingly every match. |  |
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| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 13:05 - Feb 2 with 423 views | ReusersTown |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 11:40 - Feb 2 by TownieRob |
I see a lot of “remember where we came from”, and I get that. Perspective matters. However, it can’t be selective. You can’t use that argument and then discount 23/24 as that season happened, and it was very good. We’re allowed to remember that as well.
We’ve since spent serious money. If money doesn’t translate into progress, then it hasn’t been spent particularly well. That isn’t negativity or entitlement, it’s just being honest.
And saying we need a striker to help shouldn’t even be controversial. It’s an obvious gap, not a meltdown.
The club is in good health, and no one’s denying how far we’ve come but that doesn’t mean we pretend everything’s perfect. The amount of chances Hirst and Azon have missed, proves this. |
We don't NEED a striker, and the way it was presented is indeed a mrltdown. | | | |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 13:07 - Feb 2 with 414 views | nrb1985 |
| Not getting a good striker in is unforgivable on 12:55 - Feb 2 by TRUE_BLUE123 |
Good point on Pre season.
Looked really sharp, was scoring seemingly every match. |
Started the season well too.
Feels like the various big chances he missed vs. Norwich, followed up with the penalty miss vs. Boro has really knocked the confidence out of him. Which if true, doesn't reflect very well on him tbh.
Personally, I think most of the stick that's come his way has been justified this season. Albeit I would never condone people doing it during the game - which I think is moronic. | | | |
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