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Reply | (loss of) Tuanzebe > (loss of) Cunha?
at 16:01 5 Mar 2025
Sorry, but this isn't even close. Cunha is their talisman. Meanwhile, Axel is dependable and I'm glad we have him, but I'm not panicking if O'Shea or Johnson plays in his place. |
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Reply | Maybe it is just me
at 14:17 11 Feb 2025
Couldn't you say exactly the same about Liverpool, Brighton, Everton against us this season? In a huge number of games, it isn't about dominating an opponent, but rather making the most of the chances you get. We did that very well against Cov. The game was all but won by HT, so there wasn't the need to press on and dominate and move the ball quickly and break them down. Yes, it's nice to see, but the only stat that matters is goals scored being higher than the other team! |
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Reply | Beginning of the end.
at 11:59 9 Jan 2025
But at the same time, I'm not sure many of these players genuinely saw themselves playing Premier League football. Burns and Burgess were rummaging round the lower leagues before, even Morsy - not sure he expected to be captaining a PL team week in week out!
A bunch of this squad have lived out their childhood dreams in the past few months. Dreams that they probably thought would never materialise, so I hope that they can look back at Town with the same fondness that we'll look back at them with. |
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Reply | A few thoughts in light of day
at 10:24 4 Dec 2024
This is a great - and balanced - summary.
One of the things I found frustrating yesterday, was that it was a bit like watching Southgate's England. Plenty of possession, but most of it sideways and backwards. We need to be braver.
I think Burns has hit his ceiling. He has always relied on raw pace to get past players, and the athleticism in the Prem means that no longer works.
The thing that is a key challenge for us, is that fundamentally most of our subs are a drop down from our starters now. Al Hamadi is not as good as Delap. Taylor is not as good as Cajuste. In the Champ, our squad was probably more balanced and had greater depth, which is why we scored so many late winners.
I'm still torn on Muric. It's not his ability, it's his hesitancy. He seems to get stuck in no mans land quite a lot. I really would not be averse to giving Walton a run out, he is a great shot stopper and very calm. He knows the squad etc, so I don't think it would be a massive change for the defence?
The positives:
- Cajuste looks very good. Super calm, can help set the pace of the game, and definitely supplements Morsy. Makes me far less nervous of losing Morsy to a suspension. Could a middle three become an option, Phillips or Morsy just in front of the Defence and then two in the middle?
- I agree with the points around Phillips and Johnson. We need those with Premiership experience to step up, lead by example and teach us how to get results in this league. Ultimately we can't look at O'shea for that, because Burnley didn't get results in this league! But others can for sure.
- Delap is an absolute workhorse. Should we try and temper that slightly, though? Whilst Al Hamadi puts in a lot of effort, it feels less structured and more chaotic, and I just feel that Delap is far more likely to bury a half chance than Al Hamadi...
- Over the game, our defence is looking better than previously. That does beg the question about my comments about Muric, and do we want to disrupt that - but our defence has been disrupted by Tuanzebe and Greaves' injuries.
Am I disappointed? Yes. Am I nervous? Getting there. But I agree with the Blue Monday podcast that we're the best coached new team, and probably the fittest. I think we have a higher ceiling as a squad, and we only need to string together a few good results and the complexion is very different.
Finally, worth noting that Armando Broja still hasn't played for Everton - looks like his most recent game was for the U-21's, so probably a good move stepping away from that one, given how close we are to the Jan window! |
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Reply | no news is censored news
at 11:06 21 Sep 2024
There would have been a confidentiality / contract breach somewhere.
I don't think there's an argument that news should be censored. It's what gets to "the news" in the first place. By that logic, insider trading etc would be legal.... |
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Reply | Just saw Cieran Slicker in London
at 11:49 22 Aug 2024
It's been the stated intention I believe, from both Cieran and McKenna? Of course, the actual departure may be contingent on us picking up an additional keeper, but perhaps something in the works? Would assume there would be quite a few clubs keen to pick him up! |
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Thread | Just saw Cieran Slicker in London
at 11:40 22 Aug 2024
95% sure I just saw Cieran Slicker (and a lady), both in full Town training gear near Bank station. Wonder if he's meeting his agent or similar for a loan move...? |
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Reply | I no longer recognise my Ipswich
at 11:22 22 Aug 2024
I think the question is, what's the bigger gamble: Trying to survive in the Premier League with a L1 / Championship squad, or risk disrupting the dressing room with a large number of signings that's required for us to be able to reasonably compete at this level?
Not investing in new players would - I believe - be embracing becoming a yo-yo club of parachute payments. Hardly the ambition that the new ownership has shown over the past two years.
We always use our five subs, so our 11 is actually a 16. Broadhead, Chaplin, Burns, Morsy, Woolfie, Tuanzebe, Omari, Leif will all have significant roles to play, even if not as starters. There really isn't that 'hierarchy' in this squad - the finishers are just as important as the starters. Sarmiento last year is a great example of that.
Yes, many of our squad players will move on, but they will be heroes here, and will have benefited greatly from the experience and coaching. I wonder if some of those would have left anyway if we stayed in the Championship and wanted to improve our promotion chances. |
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Reply | Cajuste
at 15:28 20 Aug 2024
I know it's not their forte, but wonder if we'll see any of them operating in a bit more of a box-to-box role if we were to use three of them? Almost more of a 4-2-1-2-1, with say Cajuste in a single pivot in front of the two DMs (although would likely see significant rotation between the three of them)...
Purely guesswork, and thank god I'm not a manager! |
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Reply | Szcmodics Deal update 10000
at 13:45 15 Aug 2024
I would love to know more detail on this! Although I suspect the answer is "it depends on the Club..." |
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Reply | Medical
at 15:25 14 Aug 2024
Ben Foster did a really interesting piece on his podcast about medicals. It seems you don't "pass" or "fail" them. Rather it's an assessment of your overall health/injury status and potential, and then the buying Club makes an informed position based on the findings. A "failed" medical essentially means "this is too much risk for us to take for £XXm".
So in this case, Brentford may have found something to make them think "we're not willing to be on the hook to buy this guy for £20m next year". But a club would be willing to take a bit more risk on an injury record / finding for a player coming in on loan, which is why we may well be willing to pick this guy up and Brentford not. |
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Reply | Kloop linked with USA job.
at 09:11 17 Jul 2024
Do you really "stay focused" on your sabbatical? I thought the point was you chilled out! |
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Reply | Southgates decision?
at 13:05 15 Jul 2024
International football - in particular tournaments - is a results business. By that metric, Southgate has done better than his predecessors. That cannot be questioned. And success is not as simple as win the whole thing or bust (didn't Georgia have a great tournament?). It's relative. That said, I would agree that with the players available, England should be contenders at most major tournaments. But you could have said that for the last 30 years, and we've got closer recently than ever before.
Southgate is becoming England's MM. Effective but boring. With the exception that England needs enhancement and taking to the next level, not a rebuild like what we required after Mick! We can be incredibly grateful for the comradery and pride produced. I think he really has created a really solid platform for someone else to take us to the next level.
Southgate has been great. He can hold his head up very high. I will definitely read his book which will inevitably come out. But this feels like it should be a new chapter.
I think - given his results - he is pretty much unsackable by the FA, and we also have to ask who we want as a successor? I have no idea who the FA would want, but get it wrong, and it could undo the hard work of recent years. Is there a a plan for Southgate to remain within the FA (a GM/Director of Football to oversee transition from youth to senior level for example?)?
Luckily, there is time. We don't need to make a decision today. But I would like Southgate to stay in role until a successor is found. |
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Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 28 | | Comment Votes: | 33 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 61 |
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