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Lambert: We Have to Stop the Basic Defensive Errors
Wednesday, 28th Nov 2018 22:42

Boss Paul Lambert was frustrated by his side’s failure to stop crosses from coming into their penalty area after losing 3-2 at home to Bristol City. Lambert was pleased with his team’s overall display - and two-goal striker Freddie Sears and midfielder Cole Skuse in particular - but was again left bemoaning “basic errors” at the back.

“I thought we were controlling the game, thought we played really well,” Lambert said. “Freddie Sears is playing unbelievable football at the minute.

“I think his [first] goal was exceptional, the move was exceptional leading up to it. We controlled the game.

“And then the first [Bristol City] goal is an honest mistake from Bart, he’s tried to stop it from going in, that happens.

“But the next two goals were really poor. We’ve got to stop crosses, you can’t play the game of football if you can’t do that basic, stopping crosses into your box and we never dealt with that.”

Reflecting on his team scoring goals at one end but also conceding at the other, he added: “It’s four games we’ve been here and we’ve taken the lead in three. Whether the lads are not used to taking the lead, I don’t know. As I say, I’m not long in the door.

“But I’m really happy with the way we’re playing football and the way we look a threat but again the basics of the game, if you can’t stop crosses coming into your box you’re always going to have confusion in your box.

“We’ve got to do better at stopping crosses. Football-wise, I can’t fault the lads, the way they’re trying to it and trying to play.

“I wish Skuse was 27, I really do, because I think the way he’s playing football at the minute, left and right foot, playing two-touch, he looks absolutely brilliant. He’s 33 years of age.


“But you have to do the basics of the game, there’s no other way to put it. It’s black and white - stop crosses coming into your box, you’ll be fine.”

He admitted it was a missed opportunity with results elsewhere yesterday going in the Blues’ favour.

“Yes, and because of the way we’ve been playing as well,” he continued. “We’re playing really well. I can only see with my own eyes for four games and the lads are doing everything I’m asking, playing the game, we’re working on everything in training, trying to get as much information to them as we can.

“But again, the basics of the game. It doesn’t matter how much training you do, the basics of the game, you have to stop crosses coming into your box, especially in this division when there are a lot of crosses going into the box. You have to stop them.”

Lambert has got his team playing positively and with confidence but the continued wait for a win won’t help him to maintain that.

“That’s my job and I’ll do it absolutely no problem whatsoever,” he insisted. “That’s the way I am as a person. If you don’t have energy and you don’t have passion, you’re never successful.

“There are no secrets in football. I’ll always have it, I won’t get downbeat, I’ve never been downbeat in my whole football career. I tend not to be downbeat here.

“We’ve a great crowd behind us, you can feel it. We need a little bit of help, as I said before, but the energy levels will never drop.”

Lambert is confident Town can bounce back from yet another body blow: “Absolutely, the overall picture when it dies down, we’re playing well. But we can’t doing what we’re doing and scoring, you have to stop the basic errors. If you stop the basic errors then you’re halfway there.

“Football-wise and creating things, I can’t ask any more than that but the actual defending, especially tonight, I thought was really sloppy.

“We lost a poor goal at Reading, the equaliser, Preston was a set play, West Brom we got caught at the back post, allowed the cross to come in and got caught at the back post.

“We’ve lost poor goals, I think, at critical moments, in critical games and tonight was another example of that.”


Robins boss Lee Johnson, whose side are up to 14th, was pleased to get the win after four successive defeats.

“It’s a big relief, it gets that monkey off the back," he admitted. "It’s a difficult place to come. You can see Paul Lambert has got this Ipswich side going, working their socks off for each other.

“He’s got people working hard for each other and they’ve got a threat. A difficult game, I’m very, very pleased to come out with three points.

“I thought in the first 10 or 15 minutes we were excellent. We kept them in and then I think their shape got the better of ours a little bit.

“Skuse is a good player, I know he’s my mate but he’s also a very good player, he’s evasive, he builds the attack, he’s an experienced player, he sort of slips your markers if you know what I mean and their three-v-two in the middle just got the better of us really on too many occasions and then I thought we looked a bit nervous after that.

“At half-time, it wasn’t a biblical speech or anything, it was the classic, ‘Come on boys, I’d rather get beaten five and go for it’.

“I thought Lloyd Kelly epitomised that with his attacking intent down the left and Famara Diedhiou gave us a physical platform for all the busy little bees and I’m delighted he scored because he’s probably the biggest confidence player we’ve got.”

He added: “I thought we showed unbelievable spirit. I’m telling you, they will get out of trouble. They are a decent side. They need a couple of January additions but they know that. There’s a lot of energy and a lot of quality in that team."


Photo: TWTD



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Daleyitfc added 22:45 - Nov 28
New goalie and 4 new defenders needed, by Saturday.
16

skusesrightpeg added 22:46 - Nov 28
Start by dropping Bart , and getting rid of Spence absolutely gash and that so called international left back Knudsen absolute embarrassment tonight
19

blueboy1981 added 22:49 - Nov 28
Paul you're right - the only person that can do that is you, and the only remedy is to remove the culprits, who time and again are the same players.
17

raycrawfordswig added 22:50 - Nov 28
No Manager can polish Turds.
8

cromwellblue added 22:53 - Nov 28
We are what we are about to become
2

Bert added 22:56 - Nov 28
Take the positive vibe from Lambert, drop those who cannot defend and it may just be possible.
8

lightingblue added 23:00 - Nov 28
We have a perfectly good defender in Emmanuel along with Kenlock. I appreciate one is injured and the other is on loan, but for the love of god these lads need chances. We have Woolfenden at Swindon. Now there's a start. As for Bart. Has the World Cup gone to his head? I said we should've sold him. It's a bit of a mcgoldrick kind of situation. When it comes to chambers, my Nan is better than him and she's been dead 30 odd years. It is a total embarrassment. I wanna know what's wrong with Dozzell. Clearly there is some kind of issue there. We've heard for the last couple of years how good the lad is but can't even keep the bench warm!! Can't put it down to his age. We have Lankester and Downes playing who are pretty much the same age.
Now I can guarantee that if any of us lot put in a display like that I'd get a hole inserted. Keep that performance up and I'd be sacked. Simple really. Not rocket science.
9

Suffolkboy added 23:08 - Nov 28
Seems only too obvious the downbeat comments and frustration are getting a forceful airing ; not too surprising given the history of the last season in particular AND the dreadful mess created by , and left behind by PH ,It's not going to miraculously change , and will take time BUT PL is not pulling punches in his interviews :and almost certainly did not when he met with M.E .Be reminded PL carefully pointed out he'd discussed the need to strengthen in certain areas & implied ME would support .We still need to achieve that ; the stupidity of the loan system this season has helped nobody and is already under review .Lets look back and remember those who were with us in the last two or three seasons & who made a critical contribution .
It's gong to be difficult to gain real momentum but for certain it'll not assist if the only evidence here is of negativity !
Put away the frustrating history book , accept the battle and give positive support : it's surely the only way now !
COYB
17

Devereuxxx added 23:22 - Nov 28
And the two players most culpable for that? Spence and Knudsen, who both wander about the pitch like they're trying to work out if they've left the iron on. No positional sense, intensity, pace or any of the attributes a fullback requires.

And it looks like Hurst has completely broken Bart. Gerken has to come back in - you can't pick a goalkeeper based on past form if he is costing you points.
14

peteswindon added 23:22 - Nov 28
Why not try the youngsters in defence? can they be any worse? Sorry Bart I love ya but you need dropping again. Problem is I don't really rate Gerks
8

TimmyH added 23:25 - Nov 28
Start by dropping some of McCarthy's 'undroppables'...Chambers should be one of them but as he's captain it's never going to happen, Knudsen and Spence should join him.

What a mess we're in, feel sorry for Lambert and the home support who have had to endure no wins since April...real sad state of affairs for a once proud club.
11

ITFCZombie added 23:26 - Nov 28
Drop Spense, drop Chalobah
Give Donacien a chance at right back and pick Bishop or Dozzell to replace Chalobah as we need more creativity in the middle

12

shakytown added 23:45 - Nov 28
We need to spend a lot more than the mooted 10 mil if we are going to get out of this mess. Mid field is the big problem as we just are completely hopeless in the middle of the park and lose the 50 50 challenges most of the time. 5 years of little investment in the squad is now coming home to haunt us. League 1 is now a reality and we just need to start planning for it unless we spend a big wad of cash in January and even then it will probably be to late.
5

mattwin added 23:48 - Nov 28
Am I watching a different game to anyone else?? PL keeps saying we are playing well but I can't honestly see it? Maybe I'm expecting too much!? I know we are never going to play like Liverpool but in my eyes we actually do nothing. It's so frustrating, it's boring and I have lost all belief!! When we do cross the ball into the box there's knowone there to attack it! When we get a corner we can't get it past the 1st defender or like Flynn's corner in the 1st half keep the ball on the pitch.....I hate to say it as I'm an avid supporter and generally up till tonight thought we can get out of this mess but I think it's beyond us too stay up......Sad sad times
12

RobsonWark added 23:48 - Nov 28
Blah, Blah, Blah...I'm losing confidence in you now PL. Week in week out we've heard it from MM then PH and you PL since yo have been here, that we need to stop conceding poor goals...but you all keep picking CAPTAIN FANTASTIC Chambers! You are all supposed to know about football yet neither of you can see how pathetic he is. Do yourself a favour PL and get rid of him before you are the next manger to be sacked from our club.
-7

mattwin added 23:50 - Nov 28
Chalobah is awful.........Nothing else to add
8

Surco72 added 00:04 - Nov 29
I have been saying he same thing for years our full backs are poor , in Spence and Knudsen are awful whoever the manager. Stop crosses coming into the box, Bart used to provide miracles to get us out if trouble now he has run out of them . Midfield three with no recognised ball player also poor , PL you have now played 4 games without a clean sheet time yo change selection
6

Adrian_Paz added 00:23 - Nov 29
It hurts seeing this happen to the club but can we not turn on PL already. He is clearly trying desperately to instil a positive vibe throughout the club, but the reality is we are so bereft of championship quality that his task is nigh on impossible. We have to brace ourselves for relegation as we are just not good enough. Even if he is given a Jan warchest, what players of genuine quality will be willing to come here knowing there is every chance they'll be playing league 1 footie next year? Evans should be the target of any derision right now. He doesn't share the values of this club. He values profit over ITFC and that is not likely to ever change.
5

iaintaylorx added 02:01 - Nov 29
Still don't think we will go down, but PLEASEEE drop Spence! Never looks like he can be bothered and a terrible footballer! I feel for Bart. Change of goalkeeper coach is a big factor in my opinion. Lambert will keep us up. Playing good football but we need that win soon. 6 points is nothing - put a decent run together and we'll be fine. There are definitely 3 worse teams than us in this league!! COYB!!
5

iaintaylorx added 02:03 - Nov 29
Nice words from Lee too!
1

harlingblue added 02:08 - Nov 29
Drop Spence for Donacien, the only decent signing along with Edwards that Hurst made.
Bring back Woolfenden, Emmanuel from loan spells, they have actually been playing, and Nydam, wasted at St Johnston. What can PL do with Nsiala? A big unit, has no pace, can't pass, impetuous in the tackle, perhaps good in the air?
We have been left with our good, but lesser skilled senior players from last years squad, losing Garner, McGoldrick, Webster, especially Waghorn, plus loanees Celina and Carter-Vickers, PL has a big job ahead, I for one will be fully behind him.
7

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 04:54 - Nov 29
Yes, let's not turn on PL. Of course, he's putting positive spin on pretty awful performances, but what else to you expect him to do? He's not going to get far by saying how poorly we are playing in most areas. He has been dealt a very dud hand, and he's trying to make the best of it. I too will be fully behind him.
18

sotd78 added 05:37 - Nov 29
For those that actually went to the game we saw a poor Chalobah, a poor Spence and then an unconfident Bart. Other than that keeping on at Knudsen and Chambers as scapegoats is not true. Both played relatively well. Pennington lost his player for two of the goals. People really should report what they saw not want they want to believe.
24

smithy0981 added 06:05 - Nov 29
Firstly well done to Freddy and skuse, they were both amazing last night it's just very unfortunate the rest of the team were/ are so bad. Anyone calling for Bart to be dropped has a short memory you were moaning when he was dropped by hurst. Bart had a bad game, he don't have many but on the odd occasion goalies do have a bad game.

The defending was shambolic in the 2nd half it was men against boys it really was. Does spence actually get paid to play football or does he play as a hobby? I have never witnessed a worse right back in all the years I've watched football, plus he looks like he just doesn't care. Recall Emmanuel or even put Donacien in there, anything is better than spence.

We have wasted too many chances to win and tonight was the nail in the coffin, we are a relegated team pasingvthe time but my real worry is that this team of players will struggle in league one. I fair with Evans at the helm we will be the next Coventry or Blackpool. This really is a sad time for this once great club. I like lambert but he has been left with such rubbish no one can save us now and it will be impossible to get any players in January, players don't want to come to ipswich at the best of times let alone being bottom of the table.

Will keep supporting the team and renewing the season ticket but this is a bitter pill to swallow.
2

BlueMachines added 06:09 - Nov 29
Then we need some new defenders because I've been reading this since the Paul Jewell days.
0


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