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Comment | Former Blue Evans Promoted From League One Again
at 12:48:47
Poor blighter must be wondering what he has to do to stay out of League 1!
Congratulations Evo - i still think ITFC miss your distribution and i'm gutted your progress under McKenna was so cruelly cut short. Good luck for a proper season in the Champ if you can agree new terms with Pompey. |
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Comment | Williams at Town Today as Blues Close in On Fifth Signing
at 11:49:29
It's a really interesting one. Presumably not being signed to share the role with Leif or be the 60 minute sub each week.
Perhaps 4-4-1-1 with Leif & Wes either side of Mass and Morsy, and two from Chappers, Hirst and Broadhead in the 9 and 10 slots.
Or perhaps a five at the back behind Mass and Morsy, with a dynamic three up top of Broadhead, Chaplin and Hirst. That would mean benching either Clarke, or, presumably, Burgess, with Clarke moving inside alongside Woolf and Williams.
I think this latter option gives us the best 11 we can put out and the most opportunity to change systems in game to meet different situations on the pitch, but would we miss Cam's aerial ability? Is it too much to ask of Leif and Wes?
All very exciting options and insight into KMc thinking. He's certainly a step or two ahead of us fans (thankfully!).
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Comment | Fine Margins and Five Matters
at 10:58:17
Excellent blog - i really enjoyed that. And the xG table is a much 'fairer' representation of our season to date. Once we get out of this league - hopefully this season - i think we're in a great position to kick on. Every game at the moment feels like we've been drawn against lower league opposition in the cup and they all set out to give everything to -maybe- get lucky and nick a draw or even an upset. In the Championship we'll be facing more teams who will expect to do well against us (like Burnley did) and i think we'll be in for a feast of good football, rather than hoping we don't spurn a dozen opportunities and then get hit by a long range deflection or a second ball from an up and under. |
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Comment | Warburton Delighted By Bonne's Town Start But Cool on Recall Talk
at 13:37:52
I think league position in January might play a factor here - if we're there or thereabouts, perhaps a permanent deal would be possible then - certainly a cheeky bid would seem worthwhile. But i suspect that even in that scenario the loan will go to the end of the season as he'd probably be worth a punt for a championship team at the end of the campaign (assuming he keeps up his form) even if he has no likely route back into plans at Loftus Road.
In that (more likely) scenario, if we're heading to the Champ and he's still playing well, then i think he signs, and if we miss out, then he'd certainly consider the option of a Champ team. In that scenario, again, assuming he's carried on scoring, then his love and support of the club might keep us in with a shout of keeping him? We can but hope!
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Comment | Cook on Calls For Him to Bring in Assistant
at 12:28:05
I understand the frustration here.
For me, i feel like some managers do adapt better but i also think this is about the approach and mentality that we take into games. Mourinho is a great example of a tactically astute coach who builds a defensive base and adapts it game on game to nullify opponents. Rightly or wrongly, Cook's approach seems to be more akin to Klopp or Pep - not so much in terms of formation/style, but rather in terms of imposing our style of play on the opposition and trusting it, rather than changing to counter threats. Thus personnel changes are the most he will do (and hasn't, quickly enough in some games, for my money), and they have a limited (but not negligible) effect as different players naturally have different attributes even in similar roles.
You don't see Pep changing style when his team go behind - or ahead, for that matter, nor Klopp. They both have the players to play their systems (as different as they are) and stick with it to great effect.
In this league, we SHOULD be like City or Liverpool. The Ipswich way, i believe, is to pass the ball and build attacks etc. There is much to admire about teams that defend deep and hit on the counter, or teams that are very hard to score against and hope to nick it from a set piece, but i am glad that is not the route we are going down.
The reason Cook is pointing at individual mistakes costing us is because the fundaments of Ipswich performances this season are, in the main, promising. We have a lot of possession, make a decent number of chances, score pretty regularly, and (Bolton aside) are the victims of a few moments in games, rather than getting played off the park. So his focus is on resolving those fragilities.
A decent win (hopefully soon), a bit of confidence, and fewer mistakes and the fundaments of the performances will shine through and we'll be on the up and winning.
On the flip side, if we never get going, then come Christmas, we'll be shopping for a new boss, and rightly so. |
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Comment | Cook is No Gamechanger
at 15:20:39
Good blog, and an interesting read from a long-suffering Town fan - albeit with the happy memories most(?) Town fans don't have. I wish i could remember the cup final or UEFA Cup, but i wasn't born for the first and was a baby for the second, so my earliest proper memories are Duncan era.
I agree and disagree with a lot of this blog - but i'd certainly be one of the "happy clappers" in the author's mind, i suspect.
I felt a bit for Lambert - he was ousted at a strange moment - we seemed (to me) to finally be on a bit of an upward trajectory, form-wise, and looked like making the playoffs, to me. Cook's record to the end of the season was awful, and he deserves little sympathy for the abject and sorrowful demise of the last campaign.
Could Lambert have done the rebuild that Cook has? I don't think so - but i could be wrong. Has Cook done a good job of the rebuild? It certainly looks like it in terms of the quality, and he's been backed very well. If this team comes together and builds on the promising passages of play we've seen with more solid defending and fewer mistakes, then we could be in for a treat. So much exciting talent that will light up a winning team - Celina and Edwards, Bonne, Chaplin etc.
As for whether Cook remains the right person to get the new team performing, it seems too early to tell, so i certainly don't think we should be changing anything. The players that have come clearly have faith in him, and most of them are accustomed to being fairly successful at a higher level.
The frequent changes in leadership of the past 15 years were perhaps understandably failures without the changes off the pitch that it seems we needed so badly (jury is out on the coaching side - i can't disagree with the author on that). Now we have the root and branch change we needed, further change would surely be unsettling. If we got to Christmas and were in the bottom three, then of course, something has to give, losing is a horrible habit that requires a gamble at times - and half a season of relegation form would warrant that throw of the dice.
If we got to the end of the season and remained bottom-half with Cook, then i'd also wonder if someone else should take pre-season (depending on who was available/interested).
But for now, we must be patient, in my opinion. Once we get a win or two under the belt and build some confidence i can imagine us putting together a really good run and this dismal start being a fast fading memory.
Importantly, i can only see another change at this point being disruptive and pushing us backwards. At some point we will need to be patient and settled, so the sooner we are, the sooner we'll be moving forwards and upwards again.
Let's remove that unsettling variable of "new" from our thinking for a few months and see how we are. |
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Comment | Ipswich Town 1-2 West Ham U21s - Match Report
at 22:08:03
We've been undone again by a couple of mistakes here. But overall a pretty telling reflection on where we are at. Several decent players and some genuine quality coming through, but can't buy a win, can't catch a break, and arguably don't deserve much more than we're getting. Carol was awful. Holy was awful. El Miz, who I have liked when I've seen previously was poor. KVY a shadow of his former self. Wolfy good, Armie looks a super player, lovely feet, great reading of the game. Chaplin looked great when he came on. Morsy looks very solid and a good buy. Norwood deserves great credit for endeavor, without really troubling the centre backs. Penny okay, but not offering much. Jackson okay without offering much. Siziba looks a prospect.
We need a win or two and I think it will all start coming together. We'll see.
West Ham kids, for their part looked really solid at the back, physical and organised - dangerous on the break too. Gutting to be turned over by kids, but they deserved to still be in the game, and ultimateky took their chance to pinch it.
Ipswich aren't getting outplayed from what I've seen this season and I'd still rather watch us playing this brand of football than the rubbish we've been served for the past ten years or so, and I believe the results will come.
Coyb |
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Comment | Penney: The Game Should Have Been Done at Half-Time
at 14:09:00
It'll come. I watched the game last night and we played good football in spells - we now have some real quality all over the pitch (though perhaps, as has been said, not enough at full back on either side yet, though Penney and Donacien didn't let us down per se).
I agree that in the second half Cheltenham did a better job of closing down and we started to miss the midfield out, which meant we couldn't get up the pitch and they just slung it up top in hope of getting a throw - sh!t football, but at least we don't have to watch it every week. We need to manage that sort of thing better. We didn't actually defend the throws so badly, there were just too many of them - they are easily as dangerous as corners and we gave them 20 or so, which led to the inevitable goal from an unlucky bounce etc.
The thing is, we are not like Chelts, and good luck to them, they will do fine this season playing like that, a la Stoke defying expectations to stay in the Prem so long. I would be devastated if Town played like Cheltenham did yesterday, and if that was our plan, our identity, because it wouldn't be enough to get us promoted. Our mission is different to Chelts. What we are building is a team that passes the ball properly, dominates possession and plays itself out of this league with the building blocks for next season in the Champ. We will see off Cheltenham and teams like them and Morecombe once we gain a bit of confidence and get a few results on the board, i'm sure.
It's tough to suffer a poor start, but i hope we stay behind the team and trust the process, because then the results will come, then the confidence and the goals that put this kind of game out of reach of the oppo much sooner and turn into comfortable, expected wins. We've lost three on the bounce, the cup game despite laying siege to their goal for 90 minutes, one league game because of a missed pen and cheap pen decision conceded, and last night because we missed a tap in and then didn't cope with a sh!t game plan of winning throws, hurling the ball in and hoping. All games that any right-minded neutral would have said we didn't deserve to lose, and any self-respecting Town fan should accept as being the rub of the green, not a reason to doubt the plan or personnel.
Over 46 games, our style and quality will out unless we turn on the team and Cook and destroy their confidence. This team will get us promoted this season unless we change manager or create an atmosphere so toxic that our players are afraid to make passes. I, for one, am really pleased with how we are playing - we look like Ipswich for the first time since Magilton was in charge. On the evidence of the season so far, from a purely footballing perspective, i would rather be a Town fan than support any of the other teams we've played. We haven't come up against any real footballing sides yet but we've bossed the ball in every game, completed more passes at a better accuracy rate, we've had shots on goal and we've not got the results we deserve. But we will, and it will be brilliant to be a Town fan again, because we'll play great football and win a lot.
It'll come. |
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Comment | Ipswich Town 2-1 AFC Wimbledon - Match Report
at 13:43:30
Delighted with that result - fragile confidence is growing, belief starting to return to the team (if not the fans, quite yet!).
Winning is a habit. I think the stats from last night show that we dominated the game and if we can maintain that then we'll be there or thereabouts come the end of the season, i reckon. Sometimes it won't get us the win, sometimes we may even lose, as we might have done last night, but over the course of a season, we'll get what we deserve.
Sorry to hear Dozzell (and even Norwood) come in for criticism - Dozzell's through ball in the first half is the kind of pass that wins games, so i hope his all around contribution can improve so he stays in the team.
No problem for me if we play five across midfield as long as we are not too flat, which with both Downes and Skuse playing is quite likely. Need a Judge or a Nolan in the middle if we play that system and have one of the wide men tuck in for cover when we have possession (both when we don't).
Conversely, if we do play 442, i like Downes and Skuse together - not likely to be overrun in there with those two - but places creative onus on the wide midfielders. In Dozzell and Giorgiou, with overlapping full-backs who can cross, we will be able to make that work i think.
Keep it up Town and keep the faith everyone - this season is already the most enjoyable in years, if we don't get promoted, at least we'll have another season where hope and expectation of winning a few games will keep it interesting! |
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Comment | What Is Love? The Magic Of Moments
at 09:28:51
Ah, what a fantastic blog!
Great read, beautifully written. An ode to football that cuts through the negativity and cynicism so abundant in the modern game.
Thanks so much. More please! :) |
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Comment | Donacien Expected to Sign Tuesday
at 13:51:42
I think Hurst is all about his system. He's buying players he can afford who will fit into his culture of football. The power of having a squad that buys into a way of playing is greater than a more talented squad that doesn't fit a system. There are countless examples of it over the years - Leicester's still recent Premiership title an obvious one. Who would have thought Vardy had that season in him? Or that that squad were potential winners of the league, bar, perhaps, Mahrez. The point is that they all played their roles in that system and they ended up waltzing to the title using Vardy's pace, shifting the ball to Mahrez really quickly, pulling teams onto them and working really hard to win the ball back in their own third. Our style under Hurst appears to be more akin to LIverpool under Klopp - a much higher press. So we need ball playing centre-backs, and all out energy everywhere else on the pitch, allied with confidence to pass through teams on the deck, and win the ball back very quickly when we break down.
We all (almost) wanted something different and to get back to the Ipswich way, or a version of it. The players who will deliver this are either too young to have shown their full value yet, or playing in a system that doesn't suit them at the moment. The ones who already do it well are already at Liverpool or similar. So our only option is to get youngsters in from unfashionable clubs. It doesn't matter where they come from though, it's all about whether they can do the job.
Bring on the weekend - i can't wait to see how we get on! |
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Comment | Updated - Marcus Evans Interview
at 12:50:02
A very polished media performance from a very smart man.
It would be much easier for him to issue a gung-ho rallying cry that would probably please a lot of fans, but he's stuck to thoughtful and pragmatic answers.
As owners go, we're very lucky to have him, in my opinion. Grounded, honest, consistent, and building for the future. He's overseen the club through times that have seen many other similar sized and positioned clubs lose out badly through mismanagement and changes in the regulations (FFP, growing parachute payments, academies etc).
Fair criticisms would be about managerial appointments (Keane/Jewell) and perhaps sticking with Mick for too long, as well as the season ticket pricing that he admits. The type of football on offer is down to who he chooses to manage the club, so by extension, the loss of 'the Ipswich way' is also partly his responsibility.
But, sticking with managers is 'the Ipswich way' too, and the rebirth of the academy shows that we have someone capable of bringing better times back - if he can find the sort of coach that can build on our foundations.
My final thought here is to consider what we might have without him. It's easy to imagine that it could be much worse.
Great to see him raise his head and take some questions, good to really see the person and hear his knowledge and thinking. He should/could have had better fan support if this was a more regular approach, and that would help the club immeasurably.
After ten years, he knows his stuff and has learned from the mistakes. I think the club is in safe hands and i am honestly hopeful that with the right manager, Marcus Evans has every chance of being a Premiership club owner.
COYB |
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Comment | A Decade Apart: 2005 v 2015
at 12:47:05
Mate - you're not getting enough credit for this blog - it's brilliant!
I'd maybe have scored it differently too - but that's what it's all about. :-)
Bent would get my nod over Dids (despite how classy Dids is) and i like the argument for Tommy despite his occasional clanger, but i'd be hard pressed to disagree the two sides are evenly matched.
Squad game, and i suspect our bench is a bit stronger now than it was - and, as you mention, it's hard to separate the fact that many of the 2005 team have the benefit of longer ITFC careers to be judged on. I wonder if we'd take Magic over Bish if we did this in 2020...
Super stuff though man, very enjoyable read. |
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Comment | Town XI Draw at Hampton and Richmond
at 22:44:38
Yup, the lad Keiran was the best player on the pitch in my humble opinion... Great report - who wrote that?? Efficient. :) lw |
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