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Lambert: We Lost to the Better Team
Saturday, 1st Feb 2020 18:29

Boss Paul Lambert admitted the Blues were beaten by the better team after Peterborough left Suffolk having defeated Town 4-1.

Posh, who are up to third having won four in a row, were victorious at Portman Road for the first time in the league with their only previous win a 3-2 defeat of the Blues in the FA Cup in 1960 when a non-league club.

“We lost to the better team, the better team beat us. The goals were the most disappointing thing about the whole thing,” Lambert said.

“The first goal was really poor because I thought we should have won the ball in the middle of the pitch and then the penalty, it looked like a penalty from where I was standing.

“The second goal [when Sammie Szmodics took the ball off keeper Will Norris], you can’t legislate for that, that was probably a big moment in the game.

“But Will’s been great for us and he probably knows himself if you make a mistake as a goalkeeper you tend not to get too many second bites at it. We tried to rectify the mistake and the ball ends up in the net. That gave them a position to hold on to.”

With the scoreline 2-0 at the break Lambert brought on James Norwood for Alan Judge ahead of the second period.

“Just to change something and we started the second half not too bad,” he added. “For the third goal, Will [Keane] controls the ball great in the middle of the pitch, then the pass just gets cut out and they score a good goal, and that puts you on the back foot from there.

“We kept on going. The fourth one was similar to the third one but we kept going. We got the penalty, whether it was a penalty I don’t know.”

Lambert said the mood was unsurprisingly downcast in the dressing room but pointed out to the players that the overall situation the Blues are in is positive.

“Yes, but as I said to the lads, you’re four points from the top, you’ve got 15 games to go, there’s a helluva lot of football to be played and we’re going to have to handle the expectancy level at home, we’re going to have to handle that,” he said.

“But they shouldn’t have been too downbeat, yes, downbeat with the game definitely, but we’re five points from the top, there’s nothing in it and there’s a helluva lot of games to be played.”

Town had appeared to have turned a corner after their poor run during November and December but the defeats to Rotherham on Tuesday and now Peterborough have brought that revival to an abrupt halt.

“Yes, that happens,” he reflected. “If you’re going to go negative, negative, negative you’re going to kill the guys, the guys are going to get killed.

“We’re four points from the top, we have to stay with it. Peterborough are ahead of us, they’ve played a game more, there’s a helluva lot of games to get played and, as I said before, let’s see what happens in May.”


One again Town have come up short facing a team currently in the top eight with their results in their 10 matches against those sides, drawn six, lost four.

“In the six draws there are some games we should have won, we definitely seen them through. That’s the disappointing thing,” Lambert said.

“What’s put us in this position is the the whole season, not just the [games against] the top six or eight teams, everybody will say the same.

“It’s a difficult league, you’re not going to get it all your own way. If it was that easy, a massive club like Sunderland would have done it.

“You have to take the bumps. Five points is nothing really, that can easily be brought back.”

Lambert has admitted that the Blues were beaten by the better team in their last two games, should that be a concern for fans?

“It shouldn’t because the lads will bounce back as quick as they can,” he insisted. “We’re five points off it, it’s not a major disaster because we’ve so many games, even though teams are going well.

“Fifteen games is a helluva lot of football, the Easter games will determine a lot of stuff. There’s really a long, long way to go.”

Large numbers of fans left at 4-0, while there were sarcastic chants of second-choice keeper Tomas Holy’s name after Norris’s error and boos at the end.

“They pay a helluva lot of money to come and watch,” Lambert said when quizzed on the crowd’s reactions. “It won’t help the guys when things like that happen, but the guys under stand it.

“They’re young guys playing in front of big crowds every single week and it happens. You have to be big enough and brave enough to take it on the chin.

“All the fans want to do is see us win, everybody wants to see us win. The guys are big enough and brave enough.

“It’s not nice to hear because it’s our team and our player, but the fans pay a helluva lot of money and they’ve been brilliant, 22,000 in here is absolutely brilliant.”

Asked what Norris had said in the dressing room afterwards, Lambert said: “Obviously apologetic for what happened. He’ll know himself, he’ll be down, that’s for sure. But, as I said before, he’s a big enough character to bounce back from it.

“But he knows himself that if you’re a goalkeeper and you make a mistake, you’re the last man.

“An outfield player somebody’s back, if you’re a goalkeeper you’re the last line and you make a mistake things like that can happen.

“But I’m not going to chastise Will Norris or any of the guys because what they’ve done for me has been absolutely brilliant.

“We’re in a really good position, I’m really happy with the guys. OK, we’ve lost a couple of games but I’m not going to sit here and chastise anybody because they’ve been brilliant for me.”

Lambert says he’ll make a decision whether to stick with Norris at Sunderland next Saturday over the course of the week.

“I’ll do what I normally do, analyse, speak with the guys next week and see from there,” he said.

Regarding Luke Garbutt’s injury, he added: “Looks like his thigh at the minute. We’ll see how he feels, I don’t know about him.”

The Blues will be without Gwion Edwards at the Stadium of Light, the Welshman having picked up his 10th booking of the season.

“Yes, for two games,” Lambert said regarding his right wing-back. “I thought Gwion did alright today, he did OK.”

Lambert is hopeful that Emyr Huws (ankle) and Teddy Bishop (knee) will be fit for the visit to Wearside, but defender Josh Earl (cheekbone) is more of a doubt.

“There’s a good chance of they keep progressing,” he said of Huws and Bishop. “If there was a game midweek, I’m not sure but Saturday might give us that time.

“Josh Earl, we’ll see how he is. At the minute we don’t know about him yet, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Posh boss Darren Ferguson said: “To come to Ipswich and score four goals and win 4-1 is a fantastic result for the team.

“It was a real team effort, I thought my team were excellent, right from the off.

“The opening period of the game in any match is very important but today we thought that if we could get the first goal it would give us a right chance and that was the way it turned out.”

He added: “We went through a bad phase, which happens to most teams, but good players don’t become bad overnight.

“We have now won four on the trot and beaten the top three — the belief and confidence is back.”



Photo: TWTD



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iaintaylorx added 18:31 - Feb 1
Holy MUST start against Sunderland. He is the better keeper, and it is baffling to see Norris starting ahead. Norris a bad goalkeeper, but there are so many errors in his game and has cost us a fair few points this season.
29

TractorCam added 18:32 - Feb 1
“But Will's been great for us and he probably knows himself if you make a mistake as a goalkeeper you tend not to get too many second bites at it".

He's actually made many mistakes, if that game doesn't get him dropped then nothing will.
31

WirralBlue added 18:33 - Feb 1
Lambert out Warnock in. Now
-7

midastouch added 18:34 - Feb 1
All these managers called Paul aren't working out so well are they!
Paul Joke Jewell, Paul Worst Hurst, Paul Shambert Lambert!!!
All in all Paul, utterly A-PAUL-ing!
25

Mark added 18:37 - Feb 1
That's twice in a week we have been well beaten by a better team. We are in League One! When you look at our squad and wage bill these performances are embarrassing. It makes me wonder whether the management and coaching staff are failing to get the best from the players, or whether the players are not good enough. Either way, losing at home to a third tier side like that today was a new low.
24

davidsc1971 added 18:37 - Feb 1
'It's a difficult league'? It shouldn't be if you have a Championship squad with one of the largest budgets and a millionaire owner. The excuses being wheeled out for mediocracy week after week are the only creativity this team is capable of. Awful, abject, shambles. So annoyed
30

MrTown added 18:38 - Feb 1
That is his assessment. Put me in the f*cking dug out, collect £5k a week and give me a 5 year deal. Just as useful as - We Lost to the Better Team.

Stevie Wonder could have seen that at Portman Road today.
12

RegencyBlue added 18:38 - Feb 1
We didn't just lose, we were completely humiliated with our limitations ruthlessly exposed!

Lambert needs to grow a pair and put the blame exactly where it belongs, Evans. He was showing signs of doing that but it looks like the five year contract was to buy his silence.
14

Cloddyseedbed added 18:40 - Feb 1
Are they financially richer than us? Do they have a better manager/coaches? Do they have better players? We have a huge playing squad but can't compete against many of the teams in div 1. The sooner they work out why the better as we are year on year dropping down in league positions. You don't need me to tell you crowds will go down too.
9

Suffolkboy added 18:44 - Feb 1
What a load of hype !!– sure we lost ,but does anybody trul believe on CALM assessment that we are,or were, good enough to do a Liverpool at this level ?
Sadness is materialising in to awful vitriol on TWTD ,and this can't be right !!
So COYB ,let's go forward together and fight back !
-6

BlueParadigm added 18:44 - Feb 1
You can understand why great Premier League Managers like Klopp and Guardiola are incentivised to remain with their clubs for long periods. These great Managers are excellent leaders; brilliant strategists; shrewd operators in the transfer market; have a superb understanding of tactics; can motivate players; engage with the fans and are skilled media operators. Why on earth did ME give PL a 5 year contract?
14

ArnieM added 18:53 - Feb 1
I honestly would lay too much by this 5 yr contract . Evans will have clauses in there that allows a get out of jail. He gave it to end speculation and try to maintain an modicum of stability

The players need to look at themselves frankly . Too many think they are billy big bollox and just aren't performing good enough . I'd start by hoofing out Norris and Judge. Both flatter yo deceive.

NB : if there's typo errors in this post it's because half the f licking screen is covered by g lucking adverts , and I can't see the page !!!!
21

TractorRoyNo1 added 19:04 - Feb 1
No kidding, Sherlock
0

TimmyH added 19:07 - Feb 1
Get a grip @Suffolkboy - 'lets go forward together and fight back!' what are you on about?...It's in the hands of our newly promoted 5 year manager and his staff and poor decision making owner, we can support the team all we can and back them up on match days (as well as the fans have over the last year or so) but it won't make a jot of difference with so much incompetence at certain levels of the club...
9

raycrawfordswig added 19:07 - Feb 1
Sort it out Lambert that's what you get paid for .
10

tractorboybig added 19:07 - Feb 1
do us a favor...f off
3

Moisha added 19:11 - Feb 1
We would swap their front line for ours.
We would swap their keeper
We would swap their central defenders

So yes, they have a better team than ours!!
12

Cakeman added 19:19 - Feb 1
I don't disagree with much that our Manager says but if he thinks “Will's been great for us” then either the clubs desired standards are much lower than I thought or he needs to get to Specsavers on the hurry up!
Holy may not be brilliant but he is a different class to Norris.
11

Westy added 19:25 - Feb 1
We should have had enough to beat Peterborough. They aren't a better team but won today because their tactics were better because they have a better manager. Until Lambert grows some and drops Will Norris we will not improve.
7

eddiespearitt03 added 19:43 - Feb 1
...and Lambert still rolling out the one-liners. Any ol waffle to smooth over what is clearly wrong at this club.
5

midastouch added 19:47 - Feb 1
Caretaker Klug calling till the end of the season! 4 nil away to Reading wasn't it?
0

midastouch added 19:48 - Feb 1
Time to pull the Klug!
0

Bluespeed added 19:49 - Feb 1
Dear oh dear what was my keeper doing?
Dear oh dear Still we are 4th !
Dear oh dear poor Marcus he invests so much !!
Dear oh dear what do you supporters want ?
Dear oh dear my players are ........ ??
1

Lathers added 19:51 - Feb 1
There's no point moaning about Evans (private equity in disguise, stripping the club of its assets, but failing miserably to fatten it up for a sale) or Paul ‘5 year deal' Lambert here to stay. So I'm just going to sob quietly in to my pillow tonight.
-4

blue75 added 19:55 - Feb 1
How much are we getting paid to play Norris over Holy? How many goals does Norris have to be at fault for before he's dropped?
8


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