| We’re going to finish a max 13:06 - Apr 20 with 2169 views | Vic |
of 3 points better off than last season, and quite possibly a place or two lower!
I’m loving what KM is doing, but he really has got to get the team performing at a step level above what he’s done so far. I’m confident that he will, but really we’ve fallen a long way short and it’s not all Cooks fault. |  |
| |  |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:08 - Apr 20 with 1669 views | J2BLUE |
Average McKenna's points per game over a season and we would be sitting sixth and that's in a crazy season where the top 6 just don't seem to drop points. |  |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:19 - Apr 20 with 1593 views | Chrisd |
I agree Vic. I think what KM has done since he's arrived has been good on the whole, but as we have all seen, there is still plenty of work that needs doing to be recognised as genuine title contenders next season. 15 points from our last 11 games shows it wasn't good enough to seriously trouble the top 6. Nevertheless, it's the most hopeful I've been heading into the summer than I can remember. Lets not forget all the other good work that is happening off the pitch too. I do believe the club is beginning to turn in the right direction, after years of stagnating, however it's going to take a little longer to right itself. |  |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:20 - Apr 20 with 1596 views | itfcsuth |
To follow on from J2BLUE very good point.
We have played 21 games under KM, picked up 37 points. When the season concludes KM will have had 23 games, exactly half a season.
If the side picks up just 1 win out of Crewe or Charlton we will finish minimum 40 points under KM over half a season - 80 points over a full season. That would have you in the play-offs every single year prior to this season.
KM has done a terrific job in his first half a season in management - and has really developed this squad into his style in such a short period of time, of course that will develop further with further transfer windows, pre-seasons, full seasons etc. |  | | |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:21 - Apr 20 with 1593 views | STYG |
McKenna came in at the end of 2021 and has brought in a couple of loans only, neither of which are players expected to score.
What he did with 12 clean sheets in 19 off the bat is nothing short of miraculous for a team that was conceding plenty.
Add to that the fact that he had Bonne who'd scored 12 in 22 or whatever it was at that point. The goals had started to dry up, but it looked like a blip. We had a 20 goal striker from last year who'd not been given a chance and another striker in Norwood that looked like he could get a few goals.
McKenna couldn't have anticipated then the shocking wastage in front of goal. Absolutely we have drawn too many games and a few of those we've created little in the way of clear cut chances. But most of those we have had a hatful of chances.
We should have beaten Plymouth by 4 or 5, could have had 3 against Pompey. We missed bags of chances at Morecambe and could have had 10 if their keeper hadn't had a worldie and Bonne missed three sitters, had several decent chances against Cheltenham and even at Rotherham, Norwood misses a sitter, nobody gets on the end of Wolf's ball. The list goes on.
We know we can keep clean sheets, we have regularly outplayed many of the top teams in the division of late, have the highest possession in the division and create enough chances to win any game, let alone when we concede very few.
It's an exceptional division points wise, so we may finish worse off in points and position, but there's absolutely no way that we aren't better off.
It's really like tearing down your entire rotting lounge and building it again with a massive budget to make it extravagant. At the moment it can look like it's not much better than before it was tore down, but anyone lacking the vision to see what it's likely to be when completed and how close we are to that is crazy. | | | |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:30 - Apr 20 with 1553 views | Vic |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:21 - Apr 20 by STYG |
McKenna came in at the end of 2021 and has brought in a couple of loans only, neither of which are players expected to score.
What he did with 12 clean sheets in 19 off the bat is nothing short of miraculous for a team that was conceding plenty.
Add to that the fact that he had Bonne who'd scored 12 in 22 or whatever it was at that point. The goals had started to dry up, but it looked like a blip. We had a 20 goal striker from last year who'd not been given a chance and another striker in Norwood that looked like he could get a few goals.
McKenna couldn't have anticipated then the shocking wastage in front of goal. Absolutely we have drawn too many games and a few of those we've created little in the way of clear cut chances. But most of those we have had a hatful of chances.
We should have beaten Plymouth by 4 or 5, could have had 3 against Pompey. We missed bags of chances at Morecambe and could have had 10 if their keeper hadn't had a worldie and Bonne missed three sitters, had several decent chances against Cheltenham and even at Rotherham, Norwood misses a sitter, nobody gets on the end of Wolf's ball. The list goes on.
We know we can keep clean sheets, we have regularly outplayed many of the top teams in the division of late, have the highest possession in the division and create enough chances to win any game, let alone when we concede very few.
It's an exceptional division points wise, so we may finish worse off in points and position, but there's absolutely no way that we aren't better off.
It's really like tearing down your entire rotting lounge and building it again with a massive budget to make it extravagant. At the moment it can look like it's not much better than before it was tore down, but anyone lacking the vision to see what it's likely to be when completed and how close we are to that is crazy. |
There’s a lot of ‘Coulda, woulda, shoulda’ in there!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pouring cold water on things, just musing that next season will not be a walk in the park and we must be careful we don’t get over confident. I love to hear Waltons comments about wanting to be where Wigan are this time next year - but we’ve got to earn the right.
I take the point about the points under KM would see us in the PO’s if worked out over the whole season - but to be 6th with this squad? Personally I’d expect better, and I think it might be a touch arrogant to expect the other teams to be worse than this season. Why should they be? The football in this league is improving season on season - I’m not convinced next year will be any different.
Time will tell and I’m confident we will make the PO’s. It’s just annoying/surprising that we are only 3 pts better than last year which we all said was so rubbish! | |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:35 - Apr 20 with 1523 views | STYG |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:30 - Apr 20 by Vic |
There’s a lot of ‘Coulda, woulda, shoulda’ in there!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pouring cold water on things, just musing that next season will not be a walk in the park and we must be careful we don’t get over confident. I love to hear Waltons comments about wanting to be where Wigan are this time next year - but we’ve got to earn the right.
I take the point about the points under KM would see us in the PO’s if worked out over the whole season - but to be 6th with this squad? Personally I’d expect better, and I think it might be a touch arrogant to expect the other teams to be worse than this season. Why should they be? The football in this league is improving season on season - I’m not convinced next year will be any different.
Time will tell and I’m confident we will make the PO’s. It’s just annoying/surprising that we are only 3 pts better than last year which we all said was so rubbish! |
The issue is that we have about 7 quality players that suits how McKenna likes to play.
It is clearly a good squad and with the money spent and the players we have attracted, even with the unusually high points, we should expect 6th as the minimum.
However, we were in a shocking position with a stupid amount of ground to make up. Someone posted earlier we'd have to have been projected to get 104 points over a season (a divisional record or thereabouts) during McKenna's half season just to make the playoffs.
The fact is that since he took over we are 6th and that's without the last few players he needs, crucially including a striker. We have three forwards who between them have scored less than Wigan's second top scorer. | | | |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:36 - Apr 20 with 1507 views | Marshalls_Mullet |
Have you even looked at KM's PPG?? |  |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:41 - Apr 20 with 1465 views | homer_123 |
I'd disagree.
If we look at chances created vs goals scored - I think we can see where the main problem lies. Not saying it is an easy solution but the reality is we have more than enough about us defensively and enough creativity to be top six in this division - we have lacked the ability to put the ball in the back of the net - yet, when factoring this in - KM has still managed a PPG return that was simply beyond Cook with a firing Bonne and virtually the same squad.
I'm no 100 points, 100 goals fanboi - I'm cautiously optimistic for next season. |  |
| |
Login to get fewer ads
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:47 - Apr 20 with 1439 views | NthQldITFC |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:21 - Apr 20 by STYG |
McKenna came in at the end of 2021 and has brought in a couple of loans only, neither of which are players expected to score.
What he did with 12 clean sheets in 19 off the bat is nothing short of miraculous for a team that was conceding plenty.
Add to that the fact that he had Bonne who'd scored 12 in 22 or whatever it was at that point. The goals had started to dry up, but it looked like a blip. We had a 20 goal striker from last year who'd not been given a chance and another striker in Norwood that looked like he could get a few goals.
McKenna couldn't have anticipated then the shocking wastage in front of goal. Absolutely we have drawn too many games and a few of those we've created little in the way of clear cut chances. But most of those we have had a hatful of chances.
We should have beaten Plymouth by 4 or 5, could have had 3 against Pompey. We missed bags of chances at Morecambe and could have had 10 if their keeper hadn't had a worldie and Bonne missed three sitters, had several decent chances against Cheltenham and even at Rotherham, Norwood misses a sitter, nobody gets on the end of Wolf's ball. The list goes on.
We know we can keep clean sheets, we have regularly outplayed many of the top teams in the division of late, have the highest possession in the division and create enough chances to win any game, let alone when we concede very few.
It's an exceptional division points wise, so we may finish worse off in points and position, but there's absolutely no way that we aren't better off.
It's really like tearing down your entire rotting lounge and building it again with a massive budget to make it extravagant. At the moment it can look like it's not much better than before it was tore down, but anyone lacking the vision to see what it's likely to be when completed and how close we are to that is crazy. |
Bang on. The foundations are there for a really excellent season next year. |  |
| # WE ARE STEALING THE FUTURE FROM OUR CHILDREN --- WE MUST CHANGE COURSE # | | Poll: | It's driving me nuts |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:49 - Apr 20 with 1436 views | BonneNIL |
McKenna can't really be blamed for anything at this stage. There's an argument that his style of play may not see us through a season, but we can't judge how much of the style is being dictated by a needs must approach due to his knowledge of what this squad can actually do. If he fails after a few months into next season, I would expect Gamechanger and Ashton will look elsewhere. I imagine they are going to be even more ruthless given they have swallowed quite a loss between the purchase and the campaign this season, something to the tune of £60million which is about $80mil which isn't too far off what Evans lost in the early days here also.
I do blame the local press for overhyping this team, the narrative that this was a Championship squad too good for this league hasn't helped anyone and frankly been utterly disproven throughout the course of the season. Aside from Walton, Edmondson, Burns, and Morsy, who's really looked consistently that good this season? Wolfie? Donacien has had a great season, but Championship quality? Edwards and Harper... Championship quality? Bonne? Fraser? ... Norwood... Piggott... Carroll...I wouldn't have most of them in any Championship side, it's nonsense. Bonne will be back in this league next season as QPR will offload. Morsy is already drawing interest, but we need to get real.
The season has been a disaster, let's not dress it up, Gamechanger are still having a honeymoon period with the supporters but if there's no improvement in a year's time I can imagine the natives will become restless again, so a lot rides on the summer. Cook rightly paid the price but whoever signed off on that wholesale change, the delay in signing Walton/Morsy, and whoever agreed with appointing that laughable coaching team in the summer should also go, in my view, as that is what killed our chances before it even started. It wasn't just Cooks mess. |  |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:49 - Apr 20 with 1436 views | jayessess |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:30 - Apr 20 by Vic |
There’s a lot of ‘Coulda, woulda, shoulda’ in there!
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pouring cold water on things, just musing that next season will not be a walk in the park and we must be careful we don’t get over confident. I love to hear Waltons comments about wanting to be where Wigan are this time next year - but we’ve got to earn the right.
I take the point about the points under KM would see us in the PO’s if worked out over the whole season - but to be 6th with this squad? Personally I’d expect better, and I think it might be a touch arrogant to expect the other teams to be worse than this season. Why should they be? The football in this league is improving season on season - I’m not convinced next year will be any different.
Time will tell and I’m confident we will make the PO’s. It’s just annoying/surprising that we are only 3 pts better than last year which we all said was so rubbish! |
We took 36 points from our first 23 games last season vs. 29 this one. So we're already up on last year's total.
A manager takes over mid-season, what you want is progress on the last guy and we've definitely had that. McKenna's improved the group and some of the individuals. Anything more than that probably required as much good fortune as it did improved performances and we've had virtually none of that.
McKenna's the first Ipswich manager to register a significant points per game increase in their first part season since McCarthy! A good sign. |  |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:49 - Apr 20 with 1433 views | Radlett_blue |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:21 - Apr 20 by STYG |
McKenna came in at the end of 2021 and has brought in a couple of loans only, neither of which are players expected to score.
What he did with 12 clean sheets in 19 off the bat is nothing short of miraculous for a team that was conceding plenty.
Add to that the fact that he had Bonne who'd scored 12 in 22 or whatever it was at that point. The goals had started to dry up, but it looked like a blip. We had a 20 goal striker from last year who'd not been given a chance and another striker in Norwood that looked like he could get a few goals.
McKenna couldn't have anticipated then the shocking wastage in front of goal. Absolutely we have drawn too many games and a few of those we've created little in the way of clear cut chances. But most of those we have had a hatful of chances.
We should have beaten Plymouth by 4 or 5, could have had 3 against Pompey. We missed bags of chances at Morecambe and could have had 10 if their keeper hadn't had a worldie and Bonne missed three sitters, had several decent chances against Cheltenham and even at Rotherham, Norwood misses a sitter, nobody gets on the end of Wolf's ball. The list goes on.
We know we can keep clean sheets, we have regularly outplayed many of the top teams in the division of late, have the highest possession in the division and create enough chances to win any game, let alone when we concede very few.
It's an exceptional division points wise, so we may finish worse off in points and position, but there's absolutely no way that we aren't better off.
It's really like tearing down your entire rotting lounge and building it again with a massive budget to make it extravagant. At the moment it can look like it's not much better than before it was tore down, but anyone lacking the vision to see what it's likely to be when completed and how close we are to that is crazy. |
I disagree that the problem has been the strikers missing too many chances. We have 3rd tier players & they aren't going to convert every chance. The problem has been that we haven't been creating enough chances & testing the opposition goalkeepers. The reasons are slightly complex.
1. None of our strikers have been much good (apart from early season Bonne).
2. The wing threat comes only from Burns on the right.
3. The rotation of Celina, Chaplin & Aluko has never quite clicked. For me, Celina is too lightweight & often peripheral for this league & while he is technically excellent, I wouldn't agitate to have him next season. Aluko is worth a year as back up, although 3 goals in 36 games is not enough.
4. Assuming we are going to focus on 3-4-2-1 next season, we need a left wing back, a striker who can hold the ball up & another attacking midfield player who also offers goals. |  |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:50 - Apr 20 with 1428 views | J2BLUE |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:41 - Apr 20 by homer_123 |
I'd disagree.
If we look at chances created vs goals scored - I think we can see where the main problem lies. Not saying it is an easy solution but the reality is we have more than enough about us defensively and enough creativity to be top six in this division - we have lacked the ability to put the ball in the back of the net - yet, when factoring this in - KM has still managed a PPG return that was simply beyond Cook with a firing Bonne and virtually the same squad.
I'm no 100 points, 100 goals fanboi - I'm cautiously optimistic for next season. |
I don't expect it to win but I am going to have a little bet on Town to win the league, 100+ points, 100+ goals and conceding less than 50 goals in they will give me a price. | |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:51 - Apr 20 with 1416 views | homer_123 |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:50 - Apr 20 by J2BLUE |
I don't expect it to win but I am going to have a little bet on Town to win the league, 100+ points, 100+ goals and conceding less than 50 goals in they will give me a price. |
Would it clear the mortgage if it came in? | |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:53 - Apr 20 with 1409 views | C_Jam_Blue |
Your post made me take a look at how teams promoted from League 1 performed the season before their promotion. This is such a bonkers league as there is virtually no connection between finishing position and the following season's performance. Of all the promoted teams from the last 3 seasons, none finished higher than 6th the previous year. Also interesting that only 4 of the 9 teams relegated from the Championship went straight back up.
Starting with the top 3 this season and how they did in 2020/21
Wigan............48pts 20th position
MK Dons........65 pts 13th
Rotherham.... Relegated from Champ
2020/21
Hull...............Relegated from Champ
Peterboro.....59pts 6th
Blackpool......45pts 13th
2019/20
Coventry.......65pts 8th
Rotherham...Relegated from Champ
Wycombe.....53pts 17th
2018/19
Luton...........Relegated from Champ
Barnsley.......Relegated from Champ
Charlton......71pts 6th | | | |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:55 - Apr 20 with 1395 views | J2BLUE |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:51 - Apr 20 by homer_123 |
Would it clear the mortgage if it came in? |
I'm expecting the price quoted to be about 25/1. Nothing too dramatic. | |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:08 - Apr 20 with 1351 views | tractorboy1978 |
Come off it, we had 29 points from 23 games when McKenna came in. Come the end of the season he is going to have needed to accumulate something like 52 points from 23 games to have got us in the play offs, i.e a 104 point season.
We are a miles better side now than we ever looked under Cook. There are areas we need to improve but any team that concedes 11 goals in 21 games and dominates the ball in the manner we do is going to be there or thereabouts with a couple of tweaks in the summer. | | | |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:12 - Apr 20 with 1332 views | BlueBadger |
Cook left him far, far too much to do. Sure he's made mistakes, but he's been an upgrade of Cook in every single department. |  |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:15 - Apr 20 with 1315 views | pointofblue |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:36 - Apr 20 by Marshalls_Mullet |
Have you even looked at KM's PPG?? |
Yes.
First ten games - 2.1 points
Last ten games (before yesterday) - 1.4 points
I think Cook left with a record of 1.4 points per game from his final ten (or was that his overall time in charge this season?) Either way, not much different there. I said on another another thread, I’d be happier if we took 1.4 ppg from our first ten and 2.1 ppg from the next ten as that would show progress. As it is, points wise, we’re slipping backwards.
Add to this we haven’t kept a clean sheet - our strength - in four games, our defending from set pieces and long throws looks increasingly dodgy and we don’t create enough compared to the amount of possession we have; we scored nine goals in McKenna’s first five games in charge at nearly two goals a game but have only netted 15 in the sixteen matches since.
As for the quality of the squad, whilst people question it’s quality, on paper whose squad would you swap it with given the opportunity?
McKenna’s done a good job since taking over and two performances akin to yesterday will give me a little more confidence heading into the summer. I am looking forward to what he’s going to do with the squad. But I still have some nagging doubts I can’t shift. I’m not pleased or proud that they’re there but they are, and that’s because of the above. | |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:19 - Apr 20 with 1286 views | abracaDOBRA_ |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:15 - Apr 20 by pointofblue |
Yes.
First ten games - 2.1 points
Last ten games (before yesterday) - 1.4 points
I think Cook left with a record of 1.4 points per game from his final ten (or was that his overall time in charge this season?) Either way, not much different there. I said on another another thread, I’d be happier if we took 1.4 ppg from our first ten and 2.1 ppg from the next ten as that would show progress. As it is, points wise, we’re slipping backwards.
Add to this we haven’t kept a clean sheet - our strength - in four games, our defending from set pieces and long throws looks increasingly dodgy and we don’t create enough compared to the amount of possession we have; we scored nine goals in McKenna’s first five games in charge at nearly two goals a game but have only netted 15 in the sixteen matches since.
As for the quality of the squad, whilst people question it’s quality, on paper whose squad would you swap it with given the opportunity?
McKenna’s done a good job since taking over and two performances akin to yesterday will give me a little more confidence heading into the summer. I am looking forward to what he’s going to do with the squad. But I still have some nagging doubts I can’t shift. I’m not pleased or proud that they’re there but they are, and that’s because of the above. |
Did you expect Mckenna to win virtually every game to put us in the top 6? Never happening when every team above us is winning every game. Yes weve tailed off, but had KM been here from the start, his overall PPG would have us top 6, and in a normal season points wise, top 2. |  | | |
| Actually... on 14:22 - Apr 20 with 1263 views | unstableblue |
| We’re going to finish a max on 13:08 - Apr 20 by J2BLUE |
Average McKenna's points per game over a season and we would be sitting sixth and that's in a crazy season where the top 6 just don't seem to drop points. |
... if we extrapolate McKenna form - take his current PPG over the full season, and given our Goal Difference over his tenure so far, we'd actually be joint 6th with Wycombe and Sunderland, but behind them on 77.
Also six points and an even bigger goal difference from the automatic spots.
So its not quite so rosy in the grand scheme of things. HOWEVER - Frankly that's still a miracle given how badly we played and how low our morale looked after Charlton and Barrow, and we have basically being playing without an effective striker (Bonne is shot, Jackson injured, and Norwood is just off the pace).
I have every faith McKenna can recruit what we need and continue to develop the system to get more goals. Last night's second half performance, where we did play with more tempo and get more players forward - against a strong side - has gotten rid of some of my niggling concerns over the 3-4-2-1 formation.
As for this being a 'crazy season' can see it repeating itself next term, given the quality in the top 8-10 sides. We're finishing 11th for a reason.
COYB |  |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:23 - Apr 20 with 1261 views | J2BLUE |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:19 - Apr 20 by abracaDOBRA_ |
Did you expect Mckenna to win virtually every game to put us in the top 6? Never happening when every team above us is winning every game. Yes weve tailed off, but had KM been here from the start, his overall PPG would have us top 6, and in a normal season points wise, top 2. |
This is without a proper transfer window as well. Yes he had January but he didn't know what we needed.
He now sees exactly what we need and will likely be backed up by deep pockets. | |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:27 - Apr 20 with 1237 views | pointofblue |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:19 - Apr 20 by abracaDOBRA_ |
Did you expect Mckenna to win virtually every game to put us in the top 6? Never happening when every team above us is winning every game. Yes weve tailed off, but had KM been here from the start, his overall PPG would have us top 6, and in a normal season points wise, top 2. |
I didn’t expect him to win every game, hence I said I’d feel more comfortable if we’d picked up points in reverse - had a slow start under him and them found momentum. The trailing off is why I’m slightly nervous. | |
| |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:33 - Apr 20 with 1198 views | abracaDOBRA_ |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:27 - Apr 20 by pointofblue |
I didn’t expect him to win every game, hence I said I’d feel more comfortable if we’d picked up points in reverse - had a slow start under him and them found momentum. The trailing off is why I’m slightly nervous. |
It happens at the back end of a season. Weve had Fridge, Evans and Morsy injured for a big chunk of that as well where weve tailed off | | | |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:38 - Apr 20 with 1171 views | pointofblue |
| We’re going to finish a max on 14:33 - Apr 20 by abracaDOBRA_ |
It happens at the back end of a season. Weve had Fridge, Evans and Morsy injured for a big chunk of that as well where weve tailed off |
Guessing you mean Jackson rather than Morsy? He didn’t start until McKenna’s eighth game in charge (MK Dons away) - our goal scoring in the run between then and Portsmouth, when he went off injured, was eight goals in six matches, three of those coming against Burton.
Admittedly missing Edmundson (why is he known as Fridge) has admittedly hurt our defence. I think Bakinson has done well since arriving and I have no idea why Carroll was preferred against Cambridge. | |
| |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
