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Thread | I've been a reader of this forum on and off over the years...
at 19:34 8 Feb 2020
...I think I did actually register at one point before now, but maybe not...
Anyway, I've registered again this evening, as like many, I'm just disappointed and dejected. Yes, there's lot of football still to be played, but the way we are playing of late means it will make little difference.
I don't profess to be any great footballing tactician; I just try to observe... and end up swearing now and again... well, quite a lot lately. As a football club, we do seem to get some of the basics wrong (repeatedly).
Goalkeepers... any team needs a consistent keeper at the back they can rely on, who's MO they know. The current swapping of Holy and Norris reminds me of a similar situation with Marshall & Sereni nearly 20 years ago. Holy has done little wrong as I recall, whilst Norris pretty much dropped us 2 points at Wycombe... and then there's just no excuse for what happened for the 2nd goal against Peterborough. There's a reason he's on loan from Wolves (a Premier League team) with us (a League One team) at 26 years of age!
Our possession stats for most games are usually good, but that's hardly surprising given the amount of sideways and backward passes. When I watch the highlights from ours and other divisions, I'm always struck by some of the great goals scored from players just taking a shot, often from distance. We rarely seem to have done this over the last few years, seemingly obsessed with trying to pass our way to the edge of the 6-yard box, where the move invariably breaks down, if not before. Why don't we take more of a chance, especially when the weather is wet or windy? Take a shot and mistakes can happen - the ball may take a deflection, the keeper can spill it, we could gain a penalty from a handball. We just rarely take a chance to ever see any benefit or stroke of luck and it feels like we just over-complicate things.
Strikers... Norwood and Keane are both average in my book, nothing more. Sears is still coming back from a long injury. I have no time for Jackson. The guy is just not a natural striker. Yes, he has pace and runs around a lot, but not always in the right direction! His reading of the game and where he needs to be is poor, his body language is shocking at times; his shoulders drop like Harry Enfield's 'Kevin' character way too often for my liking. The guy always wants an extra touch and with that extra touch the moment/chance is usually gone.
Lambert - talks a lot of bland footballing clichés - "all the gear, no idea" as a tennis coach friend of mine used to say - but he's had over a year now and his win ratio during that time is poor. I cannot fathom why Evans gave him a 5-year contract? Based on his recent managerial record, was he really going to be poached from under our noses? I think not. He may yet still get us up, but if he doesn't get found out before then, he certainly will in The Championship.
With an average home crowd circa 20,000 per game, Portman Road should almost be 'fortress-like' in this division, but for whatever reason, it clearly isn't.
Anyway, enough rambling for my first post; I'm just depressing myself even more...
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