 | News
Comment | McKenna Named Manager of the Month
at 11:12:09
It's a mark of him as a leader that whenever he is recognized for his achievements, he uses it as an opportunity to recognize his players and staff. That's how you build a tight-knit team that can punch above its weight. |
| News
Comment | Town Announce New ÂŁ105m Investment From Bright Path Sports Partners
at 18:59:26
Churchmans: you're absolutely right. We should go and talk to all those Englishmen who were looking to invest in the club when Evans wanted to sell and see if they're still interested. Also, look at all the great work Evans himself did when he was in charge. Who needs Americans with their capital and proven management concepts? |
| News
Comment | The TWTD League Calculator 2023/24
at 16:29:43
I have us finishing third. On 102 points! But games are played on grass, not paper, i.e. I didn't predict the Leicester and Leeds results last week. It'll be an interesting couple of months.
Team Pld W D L F A W D L F A Pts GD
Leicester City 46 17 2 4 45 14 16 4 3 48 21 105 58
Leeds United 46 19 4 0 52 17 13 4 6 37 20 104 52
Ipswich Town 46 17 5 1 57 32 13 7 3 35 24 102 36
Southampton 46 16 3 4 53 23 12 6 5 34 28 93 36
West Brom. 46 17 3 3 39 14 9 7 7 33 21 88 37
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Comment | Williams: Town Goals Were Unnecessary
at 11:56:26
I hope after 24 hours, he can reflect on how he has defined that we were better than his team and there was actually quite a lot in it.
"They played the ball square, no one steps forward to press, the backline, the distances are wrong between players and the backline." Yeah, that's the definition of a team that's static and uncoordinated. We'll beat that kind of team all day long. |
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Comment | Leeds United 4-0 Ipswich Town - Match Report
at 14:34:37
Well, that was a wake-up! Second to every ball, no fight, and no ideas when they stopped us playing. I know some will say, “They’re full of Premier League players,” but who do you think we’ll be playing if we go up? We’re still in the driving seat for promotion, but if Ashton is as good a planner as he says he is, he’ll be buying players in January who can not only contribute to promotion but also compete at the highest level.
A win against Leicester is now a must, not only for the points but for the damage a defeat will do to the team’s confidence if they know they can’t beat our rivals for automatic promotion.
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Comment | Ashton: Character is a Huge Part of It
at 17:14:54
N2 Blue: Are Ladapo and Jackson any better than Norwood? Do they belong at this level? What options does McKenna have when an opposition defence bullies our three forwards into silence, e.g. West Brom?
I agree that Norwood's drunk-driving offences made it easy for Ashton to get rid of him, but there was no evidence whatsoever that he was disruptive in the dressing room. So, I fail to see how his presence would upset the current team dynamic.
Also, it's OK to disagree with someone else's opinion, but you don't have to question their sanity. |
| News
Comment | Ashton: Character is a Huge Part of It
at 14:30:29
I guess this is why he forced Norwood out? I always liked Norwood: a natural goal scorer, not afraid to mix it up with opposition defenders, and always gave 100% for the team. He gave an interview towards the end of his time here in which he said Ashton ordered McKenna to stop playing him, and that was that. I never heard any of the players complain about him, though. It's a shame, because I think he could still do a job for us, especially against the teams who try to bully our front line. |
| News
Comment | McKenna: A Really Complete Performance
at 16:09:32
I think McKenna knows he has a long career ahead of him and that the big six clubs will still be an option in a few years' time. He is in an ideal place professionally with the support to build a whole club in his image, so why rush to a club with a fickle board and fanbase, where a string of bad results could get him the sack and put him back where he started? Once he's "taken Ipswich as far as [he] can," he can accept the offer to manage a "bigger" club, but until then, I think he's clever enough to know how good he has it with us. |
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Comment | Town Drawn Away Against AFC Wimbledon or Ramsgate in FA Cup
at 13:21:23
McKenna has stated neither of the cups is a priority, so hopefully we go out against Wimbledon and can concentrate on promotion. If he wants to give fringe players minutes in meaningless fixtures, we can organize a behind-closed-doors friendly during one of the international breaks. I don't need any more nights like Fulham, thanks. |
| Blog
Comment | Opposition Preview - West Bromwich Albion
at 15:34:28
"With the front four they have pace on the break and they also threaten from set pieces with four goals from defenders so far." You called it there. |
| News
Comment | Phoenix Rising Win USL Championship Title
at 17:48:18
From a business perspective, the NFL is the model to emulate. 30 of its 32 teams are in the 50 most valuable sports franchises in the world, even though it's impossible for most of them to be regularly successful. For example, the Dallas Cowboys are the most valuable sports team in the world, even though they haven't won a Super Bowl since 1996. American football teams make a lot of money from TV rights and merchandising by just playing every week. The owners would never tolerate putting their investment (and guaranteed profits) at risk by being relegated to a league nobody watches, no matter how exciting it is for everybody else.
The EPL was designed to become like the NFL: a standalone league with no relegation. The ESL was another crack at that idea. Obviously, the ethos in England does not support that, and the moneymen have backed off. But make no mistake, in a world run by ESPN and Citigroup, Real Madrid would play Man. Utd. at least four times a year, and people would pay a lot of money to watch them.
The promotion/relegation race that makes European football so exciting is replicated in American sports to a lesser degree by the playoffs, which we can relate to. But the opportunity for development and achievement is at the individual, player level. Thus, in the US, they have the draft, where the big teams compete for the best players and it's a media event. We copy that to a lesser degree with deadline signing day, but it's not the same. The opportunity for advancement for Phoenix Rising would be for one of their players to be bought by an MLS team. That capital could then be reinvested in the club, thereby attracting more capital, and when MLS floats the idea for an "expansion franchise," i.e. promotion by making the league bigger, Phoenix could be positioned to buy its way to the top table. I would bet that's the Three Lions' strategy. |
| News
Comment | Life's a Pitch TV - Episode Six - David Sheepshanks
at 15:15:35
Mr. Sheepshanks's reputation as a Blue is not in question, nor his motivation for the decisions he made, but many of those decisions were terrible. He was in charge when we went into administration and started our long slide to the Third Division. He has to take responsibility for that, and as Petersongoal said above, he continued to take a salary out of the club as he was laying off staff who had worked here for years. While those people struggled, he went on to run St. George's Park, no doubt with a nice salary from the FA.
I remember being at an AGM around that time where Phil grilled him about a five-figure bonus he had given himself, and he became increasingly agitated and annoyed with the line of questioning. You didn't see any of that last night. He's a nice guy and a true Blue, but I don't think it's right that he gets to jolly it up with other supporters and criticise Marcus Evans as if it was nothing to do with him. |
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Comment | Vote TWTD and Life's a Pitch TV! Football Content Awards Nominations Close Today
at 11:06:44
I really enjoy the content that TWTD (and now "Life's a Pitch") provides, and I'm going to be voting for them. Phil, Gav, Mark, and the rest of the team put in a lot of hours so that we can have a quality site with news and information that we can trust. Take a look at what some other teams in this division (and above!) have to put up with, and you'll see just how lucky we are. I hope you would join me in voting for them so they can receive the recognition they deserve. Thanks. |
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Comment | Life's a Pitch TV - Episode Four - George Burley
at 09:13:01
I love the format of this show. It's informal but informative and addresses a lot of topics you don't usually hear in the press. Keep it up (both the show and Phil's ball juggling). |
| News
Comment | Town Appoint New Commercial Director
at 09:37:33
So, this is why Rosie was shown the door (after landing Ed Sheeran, probably the biggest commercial deal in years): Ashton was waiting to bring in his mate.
Mr. Wooldridge has some big shoes to fill. I expect to see him land some big accounts, and quick. |
| News
Comment | Town Joint-Fifth Favourites For Promotion
at 14:25:37
I agree with Baxter. Until you know each club's final squad and level of investment over the summer, these odds are pretty much worthless. What I would take from these odds is an opportunity to lock in a bet on a team that looks like an outsider now but could quickly see those odds shorten, e.g. any of the 15/2 bets. |
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Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 3 | | Comment Votes: | 606 | | Prediction League: | 54 | | TOTAL: | 663 |
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