 | News
Comment | Morsy: Muric Has Become a Little Bit of a Scapegoat
at 10:35:54
The Muric situation is rather more nuanced than some on here seem to understand. Simply dismissing him as 'awful' or 'Sunday League' demonstrates the kind of ill-informed and scapegoating mentality to which Morsy refers. Walton is a sound goalkeeper and by all accounts a decent bloke. However, there is a reason that he has been number 2 for the last season and a half. Muric has a far higher ceiling and the potential to be a very good Premier League goalkeeper. Of course he has made errors, it would be foolish to deny that, but as others have pointed out some of his stats are the best in the league. So do we bin him and take a huge financial hit as some seem to be suggesting, or do we trust our coaches to work with him to reduce errors and develop his full potential? We bought him in large part because he suited the way McKenna likes to play, whereas Walton, for all his strengths, was perceived as not being suited to that style. It was noticeable that he went long quite often against Chelsea. That might eliminate the risk of conceding from a mistake playing out, but that needs to be offset against the dangers of constantly surrendering possession to top flight teams. That in itself creates huge pressure and more often than not in the Premier League will result in conceding goals. We got away with it against a profligate Chelsea side, but won't be so fortunate every week. McKenna is pragmatic, he was probably right to rest Muric, but make no mistake he is still our number one keeper and when McKenna feels the time is right, he will bring him back. Greaves returned despite Burgess' fine form in his absence because he is a better player. However well Walton does and obviously I hope it is very well, I suspect Muric won't be sidelined for too long because he is viewed as the better keeper and we have invested a great deal in him. McKenna will remain confident that he can get a good return on that investment. |
| News
Comment | Town 'On Brink' of Agreeing Phillips Loan
at 09:45:41
As Sir Bobby once said "good players don't turn into bad players overnight". If we can get him match fit, motivated and firing on all cylinders, that's hell of a signing and probably beyond our dreams. |
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Comment | Town Ball 12 in Carabao Cup Draw
at 16:19:08
As Norwich is further north than Walsall, why are they not in the Northern section and Walsall in the Southern section? |
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Comment | Szmodics Talks Still Ongoing as Another Bid Turned Down
at 09:45:15
A lot of people in panic mode. We are looking to secure players for the next 2-5 years, not a scramble to have them in for Liverpool in two weeks. The first two games will not define our season. Injured players won't be out forever. Let's stay calm and see where we are when the window closes. |
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Comment | Town Dismiss 400 Staff Tickets Claim
at 11:23:28
Even if it was 'only' 200, and I think the club needs to be transparent about that figure, it is still wrong. Why did Bailey Clements and others deserve to be there more than someone who has clocked up miles and points all season? Secondly, if this is usual practice, then the club needs to make that very clear when taking £40 from supporters for memberships. "The club reserve the right to to take the ticket that you have earned and give it to someone else at our discretion". |
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Comment | Ashton: There'll Be at Least Two or Three More Coming In
at 15:42:53
"we've got to really add quality now to the starting XI" Sounds very exciting - and possibly quite expensive. May include a top quality Premier League loan too. Given the squad restrictions I also fear for the futures of Jackson, Evans and one of Edwards or Harness. |
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Comment | Morsy Left Out of Egypt Squad
at 23:51:56
Plymouth will be missing Azaz, a big player for them this season, so although its only one player, they are arguably worse affected than Town who have good cover for Burns and Leigh probably wouldn't have started anyway. Having just been booked on Saturday, taking Davis off was probably both a precaution against him getting a red and losing him for Plymouth through suspension, but also to ensure that he ia able to play a full 90 minutes against Plymouth with no Leigh on the bench. |
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Comment | Harris Applies For Town Job
at 14:35:32
To be honest I haven't seen a REALISTIC candidate mentioned that I'd rather have than Paul Cook. Let's hope Ashton can pull something out of the hat. |
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Comment | Town Close in On Celina Loan Signing
at 09:33:19
I'm a bit guarded about this. Taking the sentiment out, we have a player not yet fit and with the long term effects of his illness unknown. Will we see the same Celina? An unexpected signing that also makes you wonder whether some of our other injury issues are more serious than have been revealed. Don't get me wrong, a fully fit Celina would be fantastic, I just hope that is what we are getting. |
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Comment | Cook: Amazing Feeling For Bonne
at 00:47:32
Paul Cook promised what would be different from last season was the work rate, commitment and intensity. Today Morecambe worked harder, won more first and second balls and showed greater desire than us. People can talk about defensive mistakes and refereeing, but for me he has to address this first. As the old saying goes hard work will beat talent when talent fails to work hard. |
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Comment | Dozzell's QPR Move Confirmed
at 16:11:57
Really wish him luck. A very talented player who will without question have a very good career. Much as the new ITFC era excites me, I still can't help feel a certain amount of sadness in parting with Dozzell, Downes and possibly Wolfenden. |
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Comment | Town Takeover Close
at 15:10:49
I remember the excitement when Marcus Evans took over. Let's just be cautious until the full story is revealed and hope that it's the real deal. |
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Comment | Taylor: The Way We Started the First Half Wasn't Good Enough
at 21:09:32
Anyone using the three week break excuse should watch Accrington's win at Charlton yesterday. They look fresh, lively and up for it. We had passengers out there today. Huws and Jackson in particular looked totally disinterested. Possession football is only of any use if you stretch and tire your opponent. You don't do that by passing harmlessly along the back line and allowing them to get into shape. |
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Comment | Injury-Hit Town Look to Bounce Back at Oxford
at 10:43:46
When we are lacking in confidence it seems sensible to shore things up a bit. How about moving Chambers back into the middle and bringing Donacien in at r/b? Hawkins is also an option at c/b. McGuiness will be an excellent player in time but has looked shaky lately. Bennetts will scare the hell out of defenders in this division, he needs a decent run and a more central and forward position. He's been too deep and too wide so far. You can't ignore 12 injuries especially when many of them would be first choice if fit, KVY, Bishop, Edwards, Norwood etc. Lambert needs to take a more pragmatic approach. I like the 443 system but you need good technical, forward thinking players prepared to take chances and work their socks off.. It is no good keeping possession for the sake of it, you've got to have forward movement and the creation of space. We play too much in areas that create no threat and build no pressure. The default ball is always backwards and sideways, Judge despite his industry, being the worst offender. Dozzell, is too deep, he can make a killer pass but needs to be in the right place to do so. He also needs movement in front of him, pulling defenders out of position opening up space for others to break into. Static strikers like Hawkins are totally pointless in this system. Given the injury situation and some pretty bad luck (Lincoln, Sunderland) I don't think things are quite as bad as some are making out. There is nothing wrong with the system, we just need to move the ball quicker and get better movement off the ball. That requires understanding and familiarity which the players are not getting with so many injuries and changes. We do need to be a bit more solid just now and grind out some points, but in the long term I'd like to see us stick with the system and entrench those principles into the club, so that they are natural to the players in the way we saw with Crewe who performed well with lesser players than we have. I'm not sure that Lambert is the man for the job, but lets not throw the baby out with the bathwater. The Cowleys, as some have suggested would be a backward step. We need someone with intelligence, vision and a plan to play modern football at pace. We also need someone who will shake players out of their comfort zone (Chambers, Skuse, Sears etc) and get rid if necessary. For me they are part of the problem rather than the solution to it. Our workrate without the ball has to improve - that's a minimum requirement. We need some hunger and desire. Ipswich has been a cosy little number for far too long. it needs a shake-up. Joey Barton anyone? |
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Comment | Blues Among Clubs Linked With Striker Ball
at 17:00:02
I taught David Ball when he was at school and have followed his career closely since. He is a neat and tidy player with a good touch. He's also a very nice lad from a good family. However, he doesn't have the quickness or pace that is required to be a top player. He was well regarded at Manchester City and scored bags full of goals in their youth sides, but that lack of pace was why they ultimately let him go. Since then he has been a bit of a nomad. His five seasons at Fleetwood were probably his best and I would say that is about his level. Frankly, he's not really at the level most Town fans would be expecting us to sign. He's also had more than his fair share of injuries..... |
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