Town boss Paul Cook was scathing about his side’s performance as they drew 0-0 at home to AFC Wimbledon, declaring the first-half display perhaps the worst he’s ever seen from one of his teams and that the Blues were like a “Sunday league team that’s won a cup to come and play at Portman Road.”

Asked his assessment of the game, Cook said: “I know I can’t shut up and I’ve got to be careful because I don’t want to go on, so I’ll try and be as brief as I can.

“The first half was possibly, and I’ve got to have a good memory, the worst performance of one of my teams I have ever seen in my whole managerial career.

“I’ve never seen a team play like that, I’ve never seen a team lack every quality on a football pitch, including the biggest one, honesty.

“Including winning contact, winning the second ball, doing basic stuff well. And it’s so disappointing.

“But nothing will sway me now. I’ve been of a mindset for a period of time, before Marcus left the club and the new ownership came in, what needs to happen. The plans behind the scenes haven’t changed.

“I just feel like we’re not far off a Sunday league team that’s won a cup to come and play at Portman Road.

“You look at the stadium being empty and you’re so thankful that it is empty because the first half was an absolute shambles of a performance.

“In the second half I thought we were honest, we did a lot better. Dobs [Armando Dobra] came on and gave us a lift by just purely wanting to play football and being a kid that just loves football.

“You look at some of ours and it’s like they don’t like being footballers. They won’t have to wait too much longer for that to happen.”

Quizzed on whether there have been a few harsh words at half-time, Cook continued: “I’m not coming out to say that, I’ll give you my honest assessment, as I always will. I’m the manager of this team.

“I can’t stand watching us play, and that breaks my heart as I stand here privileged to be manager of the club. That team does not epitomise what I like about the game, it’s just the total opposite.”

Town have now gone more than 10 hours - 619 minutes - without a goal and are closing in on their all-time record of 714 minutes from the 1994/95 season in the Premier League.

has he known a spell like this one? Can the Blues end it before the season’s over? “How long’s left? Three 90s? I reckon our fans are going to have to get ready for more.

“We had a couple of chances second half, Keanan Bennetts has gone clean through in the first half and you can see that sometimes when we get in those positions our confidence isn’t there.

“That’s something that you can speak about for ever, confidence, it becomes boring. Go and be the one who does it. Go and be the one who gains confidence by taking a goal and taking an opportunity.

“There have been enough excuses round here now. I might even ban you all for the next three games because it’s going to actually be quite pointless, isn’t it?

“I think we have a good relationship but it’s pointless me coming out trying to show I’m a tough guy and all the above. I don’t like watching us play. I don’t think that team represents [me].

“I think we’re soft, I think we lack character and we lack big players and I hope and I pray that I’m the one that can change that.”

One positive was the second half display of Armando Dobra having come off the bench: “He came on and he looked like he wanted to play football, and that shone through in a really poor team today, and that’s something I have to deal with.

“We’ve got two weeks to go, the season now that’s fallen completely flat from being in a great position, and that’s under me, a really strong position to wilting away, to becoming a soft touch, becoming easy to beat where teams like Wimbledon come to Portman Road and from the first minute were probably the better team on the pitch. And that’s sad.

“I’m not disrespecting Wimbledon, by the way, please don’t take my comments the wrong way. It’s sad that the best we can offer is not a lot.”

Asked about the change of keeper, Dai Cornell starting and Tomas Holy dropping to the bench, Cook said: “I think you’ve seen with the team, big Oli [Hawkins] came in and did OK. He’s as honest as the day at the top end of the pitch. Dai’s made a few saves including the penalty, which were good saves.

“I think in general now I think we’ve seen everyone and you guys have seen them more than me. There’ll be no stupid statements from me, I think I’ve made one or two there, haven’t I when look back, but I don’t think I need to make many more, do I?”

Cook said after the defeat at Northampton that the criticism of the players had to stop but with performances like the first half they’re making that difficult.

“It has to stop, doesn’t it?” Cook added. “You know me, you’ve been around me a little bit. I’ll always be as honest as I can.

“I’ve enjoyed managing and this is a period where I was out of work for eight or nine months and couldn’t wait to get back in and the way my team’s playing at the minute I’ll be out of work again very soon.

“That’s not me. I don’t represent the football club like that. The players are representing us at the minute.

“I know the fans know. I know that. Whatever I say can’t change anything, so even with you [the media] next week I’m going to try and be a little bit quieter, I’m not going to discuss everything you might want me to and let’s just wait for the changes to come.”

Wimbledon head coach Mark Robinson was disappointed that his side didn't claim all three points.

“I have mixed feelings after that result,” he told his club's official website. “We were excellent in the first half. I hope the fans can see that we were excellent in the first half because I’m sure the fans, like us, are disappointed we only came away with a point.

“The chances were there, they’ve put in a couple of great blocks. We’ve also missed chances that we should’ve scored and the lads know that. The game could’ve been over in the first half an hour, so we’re disappointed.

“We started bright again in the second half. Ayoub [Assal] could’ve scored when he cut inside and tried to round the keeper. After that Ipswich came at us for 20 minutes, they flashed a couple of crosses across the face of goal. I don’t think Nik [Tzanev] has made a save.

“When you’re away from home, teams are always going to have a spell but we nullified that and had our own little spell where we created a couple more chances.

“Probably not as many as we wanted but it shows how far we have come, we’re coming to Portman Road and we’re disappointed with a draw. We just need to put [relegation fears] to bed on Tuesday.”

Photo: TWTD

itsonlyme added 20:28 - Apr 24 Hi Everyone, look at it this way:- despite a late rally in Paul Lamberts last few games, we were never really going to make the playoffs, so nothing has changed under Paul Cook. Even if we did make the playoffs we would have been an embarrassment as we haven't been able to beat almost all of them all season. We have to calm down and give Paul Cook the benefit of the doubt. Yes it's extremely disappointing that PC hasn't got more out of the squad, but give him till October before we shout out for a replacement.

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Drifter3012 added 20:30 - Apr 24 Jimmyjuan & itfcserbia, I get your point and I had not considered that but it seems clear some of these players have no hope of staying and the loanees will never wear a Town shirt again so I still don't get their inclusion. However maybe keeping Nydam, Gibbs etc away from the first team squad is a good thing in the long run.
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TractorBeezer added 20:31 - Apr 24 Agreed that first half poor. Also that Cornell and Dobra good changes. Now Cookie, I have the same question that I posted last week. "At the minute" what is your take on man management and motivating. Doesn't cost anything but can work wonders.
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Saxonblue74 added 20:32 - Apr 24 Why do some believe these poor little snowflakes dont deserve the treatment they're getting? Man up or move on, if you can find a club! All manner of approaches from Lambert, and indeed Cook, have yielded nothing. Stop pussy footing around and move them out. Player power is too prominent in football, good to see things changing at Portman Road.
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WhoisJimmyJuan added 20:38 - Apr 24 Drifter3012. Spot on mate. My thought might explain why some players are being left out, but not why loan players are being played. If its to avoid injuries to players he wants to keep, then that would suggest he is happy to lose games in the short term. Not a crowd pleaser for sure. Personally I'm with others who are giving PC the benefit of the doubt for now. Its all hard work emotionally tbh!

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Saxonblue74 added 20:40 - Apr 24 Alex Ferguson was one of the last of his generation of manager, and had huge success. His style was "my way or the highway". He turned good young players into outstanding professionals. They respected him or they moved on. Players cannot be allowed to rule the roost, PC clearly is not allowing it and its exposing their very poor characters and levels of professionalism. Better now than the beginning of a new season. How many of them will we remember in the way we do so many from our past? Maybe we will, but for all the wrong reasons!

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Monkey_Blue added 20:40 - Apr 24 It's not about getting what they deserve it's about a manager getting the best out of players. He's getting far less out of them than PL and it's his job to get them playing. Which players form hasn't seriously dipped since he arrived? You can't say they all don't care. You have 20 odd different personalities in the squad. Maybe Leam Richardson was the key to cook's success, not cook. As man management goes he's making Keane look like a well balanced man

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Lightningboy added 20:51 - Apr 24 Do this squad of players actually have the brain power to realise what an absolute embarrassment they've been to our club over the last 3 years or do they just not care anymore? The loanees have been the worst batch I can ever remember at our or any club tbh & it goes to prove what a waste of time it has been (again) bringing in so many of them. Watching the MLS at the as I type this - unbelievable the passion & skill American soccer teams are showing compared to my beloved Ipswich...astonishing how far our standards have fallen. Really is shameful what's been allowed to happen at our club.

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DaGremloid added 20:54 - Apr 24 But he keeps on playing the same shyte, so-called footballers! That's what I don't get. And he even gives the captaincy to one of the worst!
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bingboast added 21:03 - Apr 24 Thanks Paul Lambert for your efforts at the start of the season if it was not for your efforts & points then we would be relegation fodder now. You had your good points, thanks for keeping us in division one.
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DaGremloid added 21:03 - Apr 24 I have to laugh about this 'big clear out' in the summer. What club in their right minds would want any of our fake footballers??? The only ones any club will be interested in are the ones we'll want to keep! That said, at least (hopefully) we've got enough financial backing to take a hit on getting rid of most of them for nothing. Not ideal though.
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Norwichbeater added 21:14 - Apr 24 U lot are bonkers and clueless. PC hasn't got a clue. Far worse than PH as in division below. I have never ever ever ever seen a manager lose a dressing room room before he has even stepped into it. PC has. Absolute rubbish and his comments are all over the place. Blame the players then don't. Blame me then don't. God give me strength. But will agree players are a disgrace. Chambers and co must go.

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churchmans81 added 21:17 - Apr 24 Leadership is based on inspiration, not domination; on cooperation not intimidation. PC may have a good footballing brain (we may or may not see that yet) but for emotional intelligence he scores zero. A bit like the team for the past 10 hours or so under his ‘leadership'. 🙄
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YorkshireBlue1967 added 21:27 - Apr 24 Cook says we're soft, lack characters and have no ‘big' players...and he's right! Just hope the new regime hold their nerve and he's in the job long enough to make a difference in the summer. Up the Town!
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Help added 21:32 - Apr 24 @phil1969 I agree but that is how it happens, and you are still employed and you still have to work. If you dont want to work, then leave, then you dont get redundancy. However that is the reality of the real world and not Football, which as we all know is not the same as the world we live and work in.
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Saxonblue74 added 21:32 - Apr 24 .....and a winning team is built on determination, not capitulation. Fight, not flight. Many of abject failure of a team are on their 3rd or 4th manager, it's made no difference!
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Saxonblue74 added 21:35 - Apr 24 I ask this of the "Cook out" brigade, how many of the squad would you be happy to keep if we changed manager yet again?
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ArnieM added 21:35 - Apr 24 SaxonBlue. Spot on but for some reason a few on here can't seem to grasp that simple fact. 3 more games then they can form an orderly queue behind several hundred out of work, so called, “ professional “ footballers.
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Help added 22:01 - Apr 24 Can we please look at this situation based on the timescales and event timings. You are a player whose contract ends at the end of the season. You have a stable manager (5 year contract) and owner (been here 14 years), who you may in the past have got a new contract from. You are thinking play well??, get in the play offs, or get promoted, I might be offered that 1 year extension or a new contract?? . Also you, your agent and the club have known for some time that your contract is up, but there has been no discussions. You are wondering what is going on, why are we not in talks, why have they not started. Then you hear rumours that the club is up for sale, or the owner is after more finance. Fans are calling for the manager to go, and the owner. All this is going on whilst you are trying to play football. Let's be honest although we were hanging around the middle to play offs under PL, we were not setting the world on fire were we. The existing manager has a breakdown and rants to the local media about a club with a rotten core. But he never clarifies who or what that rotten core is. Then PL has two wins under his belt, from nowhere. Then the manager is gone and the temp takes over. You get another win. 2 points off the playoff's somehow. Then it is confirmed there is a new manger coming in. Then the owner sells the club. Suddenly things look not so rosy. Because you now think is this why ME has not been in contract talks. Maybe that first meeting with the new manager did not go so well. There are things we as fins do not know what is going on. But as a player you suddenly think. Maybe the new man does not like me. I am not getting a new contract as both are gone. Would you play. There are many factors we can only speculate. But think of the facts we know. think of what happened when in the timescales. Put yourself in each parties position. Player, manage, owner, new manage, new owner. How would you feel in each case. Stand back and look at it abjectly, open your eyes and look at the big picture. 14 months negotiations were going on. Why would ME get into contract negotiations. New owners did not want PL?? Both parties wanted PC?? An agreement is made that he can decide whom he wants and does not from the existing squad once he has had a look at them all.?? None of us know all the facts, but a lot of what we are experiencing makes sense as to why it is happening. Maybe it would have been better to keep PL till the end of the season or until he did or did not get us promoted, or into the play off's. But we will never know. Decisions are made by people with out need for explanation. Yes I have speculated, but no more than any other fan on here posting. But consider what we know and when things happened that might help put things into perspective a little more.

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Saxonblue74 added 22:18 - Apr 24 Help, the only thing you havent covered is why would they not play for a future? Either at this club or the next. Thousands of kids every year have dreams shattered, released without a pro contract. Our lot are priveliged, I see why Cook gets so annoyed with them.
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Bert added 22:19 - Apr 24 As Help has said in his post there is a litany of issues that have contributed to the position the club is in. Everyone involved has to take their share of the blame but soon this self inflicted agony must stop. I have no idea whether Cook is the right person for the job but with new owners and new investment we all need to get on this life raft and hope and pray that the bad times will soon be behind us. With half the squad working out their notice it is a crazy situation for any supporter to stomach. We deserve better.

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Pezzer added 22:45 - Apr 24 There has been something wrong with our team ever since towards the end of McCarthy's tenure. Now that Paul Cook is going to undertake a root and branch rebuilding we are already judging him on the results. This season is over, the idea that we are good enough to get promotion at the moment was fanciful. Let the rebuilding happen then judge Paul Cook.
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WonTheCupin78 added 23:21 - Apr 24 Honestly, can think of maybe 10 (at least) games where we have played worse than that. That's how bad we have been Mr. Cook. Sunday League is a good way to describe it. Been mentioned many times in the news and forum. Looks like the kind of stuff we see on those YouTube clips sometimes. It's appalling and really embarrassing. Norwich fans are viewing us as a twice weekly comedy show when they view our "highlights". Good that you are not going to stand for it. I think we've lost a lot of fans the last few years due to the lacklustre way we play.

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WonTheCupin78 added 23:32 - Apr 24 One very small criticism is, why do we keep playing some of these players and expecting a different result? There are players in the U23's who are desperate to prove themselves (Tyreece Simpson etc). These players would give their all right now for one chance in the team. Cook may have already made his mind up on some of these players (I don't know), but give a few the chance to change his mind.

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Gforce added 23:55 - Apr 24 As Joey Barton recently said of his Bristol Rovers players, I can't turn water into wine.
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