 | News
Comment | McCarthy Issues Apology for Language
at 07:47:36
If the bad language is the problem, I don't remember too many fans being so upset when Luke Chambers dropped the F bomb on national tv after the Charlton match. I also don't remember too many fans being upset with the style of football we played when Murph was banging the goals in & we got to the play-offs. |
| News
Comment | Lincoln City 1-0 Ipswich Town - Match Report
at 22:29:58
Just wish he was honest. Either admit that he can no longer get anything out of the squad & walk, or tell the fans that he has no financial support from Evans & gets sacked. Either way he keeps his dignity & it forces Evans hands. |
| News
Comment | Town 0-2 Middlesbrough - Match Report
at 08:55:42
Great performance for the first 60 minutes. We had 3 really good opportunities to take the lead, but their 'keeper made 2 fantastic saves. We were playing good passing, attacking football, for long spells in the Boro half. They scored, and once we had to chase the game we did not have the personnel in midfield or on the bench to do this. It was noticeable that Leadbitter & Clayton were more prominent in the second half, once they had scored.
A couple of points: AMN was absolutely knackered when he went off, which might explain why he was subbed (he is only 17). MM had already said that DMcG only had about 10 minutes in him.
Possibly one of the best games of football I have seen at PR in the since MM arrived, unfortunately the result was not in our favour.
As usual, there seems to be a lot of people with unrealistic expectations of what we can achieve. There's no point blaming anyone for this. ME is an astute businessman & therefore will not throw money at something without a good chance of getting a quick return. Just remember, it is his club after all, and he is a far better owner than a lot at other clubs.
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| News
Comment | McCarthy: Season May Have Taken Toll on Backline
at 08:36:34
Whilst I agree that changes need to be made to the team, I also think that MM has done the best he can with the resources he has available. Up until this weekend S Hunt, Hyam & Ambrose have all been injured, and that has left him with back-up players like Henshall & Connolly, who are very inexperienced (Stewart not getting in the match day squad is an odd one, but MM was proved right with Taylor). This has forced MM to play Tabb each game, and also Parr in midfield. Because Parr has been playing in midfield, MM has no options to change the back 4, because again Clarke is inexperienced. I do find it incredibly frustrating that in the transfer window we did not take advantage of any loans until the end of the season, and again, it is frustrating that Derby have picked up the likes of Bent & Lingard, and Norwich Dorrans, while the best we can do is Varney, Chaplow & Wood. However, having said that, we do not have the resources of Norwich, and probably not Derby either, so we have to make do with what we can get.
In hindsight, it would have been wise to keep St Ledger until the end of the season, to give some more experienced cover for the defence. I would also like to point out that most successful teams try to change their back 5 as little as possible through the course of the season.
I think as long as we are no lower than 7th going into the international break, I think that we will still make the play-offs, as we should be seeing players returning to fitness by then with still 7 games to go.
Worst thing we did this season was get into the top 2, no matter how briefly. |
| Blog
Comment | A Lack of Spending Will Curtail Progress
at 22:31:04
Has it not occurred to anyone that just because MM says he has no budget, it doesn't mean to say that he has no budget? MM has shown time and time again that he will not discuss any transfer dealings with the press until it is a done deal. He has played hard ball with Notts County, and potentially saved the club a few quid into the bargain. Also, just because a player is out of contract doesn't mean that he must have been unimpressive with previous clubs. Just take a look at the number of players we have had that have walked away from club after letting their contracts wind down. This is just the smart way to handle your career if you are a footballer outside of the premier league - it gets you a fat signing on fee plus higher wages because there are no transfer fees. And who said footballers are thick?
This is just another aimless discussion by people with too much time on their hands. Ultimately MM & ME know more about what is going on, and what the FA are likely to do by way of sanctions to those that break FFP, than most, if not all of us. Just let them get on with it and judge it at the end of the season. |
| News
Comment | No Plans to Build on Training Ground
at 07:48:26
I really don't think that ME would be investing time, money and effort into getting category 1 status for the academy to then sell off the ground. If they even sold off the Bent Lane part, it would cause a problem, due to Playford Road side being for day-release by academy boys most days, so where would the first team train?
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| News
Comment | Lee a Better Player Since Return to Town
at 13:16:16
Could someone talk David Wright out of retirement as we need a right back. Saw him coachibg at the academy last night, just seems a bit of a waste that he has not been asked to help out. |
| News
Comment | Southend 2-1 Town
at 22:30:33
Jas0999
You got me all excited by saying that was your last post, and then you went and spoilt it. |
| News
Comment | Clegg: Academy is a Jewell Priority
at 09:05:35
I think you missed the piont that PJ takes time to watch the matches that are bing played. Will also talk to the boys during the breaks in play. I can only speak as I find, and I can say that PJ does take the time to see for himself what is happening. Doesn't make him a great manger though, just someone who is putting in more effort than he is given credit for. Let's not get started about who he has bought and how old they are. |
| News
Comment | Clegg: Academy is a Jewell Priority
at 09:45:42
up_the_town4, I have seen him there with my own eyes, and indeed I have spoken to him myself. I can guarantee that he has been at the training ground on Sunday mornings, even if the first team are not in for training. Might not be every Sunday, but at least he makes more effort that RK.
As for watching the U18's, it will obviously depend on whether 1st team are home or away, but I have seen him at Playford Road on at least half a dozen occaisions on Saturday mornings. |
| News
Comment | Clegg: Academy is a Jewell Priority
at 13:26:43
I think a few more people should make the effort to go and watch the youth teams (and I don't just mean the U18's), and then we can have a serious debate about how good these players are before we start slating the club for releasing them.
I know for a fact that PJ will spend time on a Saturday morning before a home game watching both the U16's and U18's. In addition to this, PJ will be at the training ground most Sunday mornings to have a look at various age groups from U9 to U15. Not only is PJ there, but also Chris Hutchings & Sean McCarthy, so I think it is safe to assume that they take the academy seriously.
I don't agree with some of the contracts that have been offered, but this is more in terms of the length of contract offered - 3 contracts with players loaned out for first 2? I would love to see a team of home grown talent, but academies will only produce 1-2 players per season, so overall we're not too bad.
The bigger issue is that the club has allowed the strength of the first team squad to fall to such a low level, and the inability to fund adequate replacements. Perhaps this is the long term result of going into administration, and will take even longer to get out of. |
| News
Comment | Clegg: We've Got It Right on Academy
at 13:07:12
@Walberswick
"Cat 1 teams only play Cat 1 teams. Fact."
There is no way that this is the case as they will have no one to play. The only clubs that I have heard are going to go Cat 1 in this area are Norwich & Crystal Palace. I would also imagine that Chelsea will also go down this route as well. Hardly much competition is it - a 3 team league?
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| News
Comment | Clegg: We've Got It Right on Academy
at 09:18:30
I have to say that I think that ITFC have got it right when applying for academy Cat 2 status. Norwich may have "applied" for Cat 1 status, but their current facilities are no better than ours so, if they are prepared to invest the significant extra funds to achieve this, good luck to them. From what I hear, Arsenal will only be looking to go Cat 2 next season, which is a prudent approach, considering no one knows how this will play out. With regards to who will be playing who, I also understand that Cat 2 will be able to play Cat 1, so there will be no change to the fixture list.
One point I would like to raise is that no one on this site seems to appreciate is how going Cat 1 would affect the academy players and their families. From what I have been told NCFC are planning to take the boys out of school for 2 days per week, as opposed to the Barcelona utopia of boarding type schools where the boys maintain their education, whilst gaining the extra playing time that is deemed so vital. How many parents would condone this happening to their son on the slim chance that they might actually make it as a professional footballer? For boys that do not live locally, how are they expected to travel to Ipswich for this, without increasing the burden on their parents? As it stands, until we can see the benefits of the new system, Cat 2 has to be the best solution. As Clegg has pointed out in the past, we can always change to Cat 1 at a later date. |
| News
Comment | Clegg Not Speculating on Klug Return
at 12:28:50
Just a quick point, but Sammy Morgan is not the youngest, and whilst this does not detract from his capabilities to perform his dutiues, he may actually want to retire? |
| News
Comment | Portsmouth Turn Down Three Pearce Bids
at 16:33:11
Offer them a ludicrous amount for these players, and then let the deal drag on past the deadline. They then go into administration and have points deducted, which will take them below us in the table. Once they go bust, we pick up the players for free.......simples!
Slightly gratifying that Norris's contract is not worth the paper it is written on now - so much for a 3 year deal. Hope the money was good while it lasted.
Me bitter?? |
| News
Comment | Trust Launches Academy Petition
at 13:38:28
Does anyone know if the headline figure of a £2.5m cost per year for category 1 status includes the subsidy from the FA? If not, then this would considerably reduce the actual cost ME would have to pay out, as I believe that this is in the region of £750k. Also, does anyone know how much our academy costs to run currently? I have heard figures of in the region of £1m, which would mean that the additional cost to the club/ME would not be as onerous as the headline £2.5m.
I think it would be folly to adopt the policy of not trying to attain category 1 status. We currently suffer from have a large percentage of our catchment area in the North Sea, which puts us at a disadvantage, especially when compared to clubs in heavily populated areas. We need to be able to recruit talent from the largest pool available, so we must have that option, which we can only achieve through category 1 status. |
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