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Thread | What do we, and what do the club want from the remaining games?!
at 13:16 22 Mar 2025
Season been disappointing but not disastrous.
Think we’ve performed admirably in many games… but fallen the wrong side of margins, felt the player quality gap, or (and this is the disappointing bit) failed to turn up with enough belief/energy plus maybe got the team selection slightly wrong.
There have been highs, many away from home. And the away end support has been remarkable.
Yes we’re pretty much down - an unlikely win at Bournemouth and a Cunhaless wobble against West Ham, and suddenly we’d all feel very different going into the Wolves home game.
But if the Championship is the destination - WHAT DO WE WANT AS FANS? and WHAT WILL THE CLUB BE AIMING FOR? in the last 9 games.
For me I want to get the first win of 2025 asap, and I want to end the season with some decent performances and to not go out with a whimper. Simple as that.
As for the club. I just cannot call whether McKenna stays, the training ground, his stock having fallen, settled family in Suffolk, huge salary… that makes me think he stays.
As for the team… I’ve been disappointed that Burgess has not been starting over Greaves and we haven’t given Hirst, Clarke and Broadhead more starts. But Greaves was our best player at the start of the season, and he’s the future. And he maybe he needs to play back into form. Similarly I think Philogene is good - and needs a goal. But him and Omari in the same team makes us lightweight.
Enciso is a loan.
They’ll want to keep fighting until mathematically certain. Then rethink.
What do you want from the remaining games below? What about the club?
Bournemouth (a)
Wolves (h)
Chelsea (a)
Arsenal (h)
Newcastle (a)
Everton (a)
Brentford (h)
Leicester (a)
West Ham (h)
I’m convinced if we beat Wolves at home… we’d pick up a few more wins before season end.
[Post edited 22 Mar 13:17]
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Thread | Belief has gone
at 15:54 15 Mar 2025
Not the same team that played at Palace in terms of confidence
Even when we went forward pretty well in first 5-10mins there wasn’t a belief in the players we’d score
Enciso needed to step up in that period and was poor on multiple occasions
Forest are good at what they do sit deep and wait and then brilliant quality on break.
Hope we can find some energy and ‘win’ the second half. Must void a true drubbing
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Thread | COYFB - BACK THE BOYS - let’s go out with a bang…
at 13:46 15 Mar 2025
… not a whimper
Look we’re probably down, it’s been a difficult season, close margins, but moments of joy, many away from Portman Road.
But there’s 10 games left… let’s enjoy each game… our final in the Premier League for a while.
I believe the players will continue to leave everything on the pitch… they did at palace… hopefully the fans will leave nothing on the terraces
Anyway - COYFB
And for some optimism, this a message from a Forest fan:
“As for Forest I do have a feeling you may get your win. Just have a really bad feeling”
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Thread | Team Selection? ‘Project First Win of 2025’
at 16:45 14 Mar 2025
Picking up this from Phil presser write-up:
“Next two games ahead of Wolves game important. Want to stay in fight. Challenges we've had, not fielded same team week after week, usually had a debut. A lot of ways we're trending upwards but not on points, which we obviously need to do.”
It feels like we have got a settled team incoming for the final
push of ten games.
We’ve had fine margins against Forest - but the issue is Nuno and Forest respect us, and will know they’ll need to fire up.
They have the chance to get close to Arsenal and away from Chelsea in the Champions League mix.
I believe we’ve tended to go 4 at the back against Forest to date?
So anyway team:
———- Palmer
OShea Wolfie Greaves Davis
————Phillips—Cajuste
—- Omari —- Enciso— Philogene
—————-Delap
What do you think? Bring Burgess back in to handle Woods?
Let’s give the boys some really serious support tomorrow… make it like an away game in Portman Road. As Phil shared on TWTV - McKennas view is we just need that first win, from there you build, but we have to start with our first 3 points in 2025, can we do that?!
10 games left, 2.5 weeks till next game, need to avoid going 9 clear of Wolves - we may well be down but let’s go out as a club and fans in style.
COYFB [Post edited 14 Mar 16:51]
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Thread | Palace roll call, pre-match pub?
at 12:54 7 Mar 2025
Who’s heading down to Selhurst Park for some eagle taming in the spring sunshine?
Strangely buoyant about this one - Hughes and Mateta out… time for our players to galvanise themselves, put the season to date out of mind… and play up to our potential on a warm March afternoon.
Hoping Enciso and/or Omari fit, and Phillips in. And we go for the five with Wolfie, and Johnson.
Ground guide suggests The Prince George at Thornton Heath for an away boozer - anyone going there?
Think we’ll stop off at Borough Market from London Bridge and hit the Market Porter… always good in the sun and for a London game.
Enjoy - and COYFB!!
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Thread | Can this team beat Palace?
at 09:42 4 Mar 2025
————————Palmer
———-OShea—-Wolf—-Greaves
Johnson—-Morsy—Cajuste——-Davis
————-Philogene—Clarke
————————Delap
Limited bench - Hirst, Broadhead, Luongo, Townsend
Away end must deliver its best performance in what has been a very good season for travelling blues support
Perhaps Omari and Encisco back? Phillips? |
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Thread | We started second half, and extra time well; Taylor off form
at 21:46 3 Mar 2025
Cajuste has improved us
Jack Clarke is hugely improved defensively - he did brilliantly to make himself space for a shot that he fluffed a little
Wolfie doing well
Delap not clicking yet.
Hirst was pretty good when on.
Forest near full strength now. [Post edited 3 Mar 21:46]
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Thread | The Trump/MAGA alignment/appeasement to the Kremlin is becoming significant
at 13:47 3 Mar 2025
For many years now there has been an alignment between Russian talking points, propaganda and misinformation and the media / social media that feeds the MAGA movement.
The point of this post is that is alignment is now moving into policy and action by the US government, including into political, defence and security decisions.
I am sure there a few even on this board that have some sympathy to these original MAGA views: NATO provoked Russian, the build up of Ukrainian troops threatened Moscow, Crime and the East of Ukraine are Russian enclaves. And the more extreme propaganda / conspiracy about bio-weapon labs, and investment funds, and nazi leadership in Kiev. etc etc
These MAGA views have been cemented by the likes of Tucker Carlson, the alt-right ex Fox news commentator, who seems a Russian patsy, and yet was give centre stage in the Trump inauguration. A dangerous individual.
Stepping back I think we all are very keen to see a lasting peace in Ukraine, to see our taxes spent not on defence but on health and education. We don't want escalation or British troops on the ground. But also I think people realise emboldening Russia now, will lead to further cost down the line. Sadly Russia was close to defeat, stagflation at home, a crippling of the economy by the defence footing - but the new US government has emboldened them.
But of course the facts remain that Putins has written a meif kampfesqe essay on Ukraine (mandatory reading for Russian military) which confirms his wish to expand the Russian motherland into Ukraine, is an ex-KGB operative who spied on western embassies, has murdered dissidents/opponents (including on foreign soil), has total control of Russian media, has been involved in conflicts in Georgia and Syria, has brought North Korean troops and sent 10,000s of conscripts to their deaths in Ukraine, has launched huge cyber warfare campaigns and is attacking western infrastructure, etc etc etc
Indeed last night Moscow launched a large scale aerial offensive against Ukraine with multiple military and civilian casualties.
Meanwhile in Washington, Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence spouts pro-Kremlin and anti-Ukraine rhetoric. Musk amplifies Moscow messaging against Ukraine and Zelensky on X. Trump and JD Vance go after Zelensky in public. All of them parroting the original MAGA messaging that is in fact Kremlin misinformation that has been fed via cyber warfare into the US psyche.
AND crucially today: "The US has suspended operations and planning for offensive cyber operations against Russia"
Previous US governments, the FBI and CIA have proven the huge threat from Russia from their cyber operations, multiple enquiries and reports. And yet this administration are shutting down efforts to prevent and stop:
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/02/politics/us-cyber-operations-russia-suspend/i
These are remarkable events and times. |
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Thread | Wolves lose with a whimper... When Cunha drops...
at 21:26 25 Feb 2025
... they have nothing. When he goes quiet, they have not ideas or bite. He'd get into any team in the Prem team. Their final form this season completely reliant on him.
That lack of a proper suspension for what was a clear major disciplinary offence by Cunha was another one of those margins this season.
And Fulham were without Jimenez for most of tonight, and when he came on he missed sitters! (old club nerves?).
But in the end it was quite easy for Fulham!
A shard of light opens on our survival - can we do something amazing at Old Trafford!? [Post edited 25 Feb 21:33]
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Thread | Ipswich Town squad age - looking ahead
at 11:58 25 Feb 2025
Thought interesting that of our permanent players at PR, only 6 (of 29) are 24 or younger
Slicker 22
Jacob Greaves 24
Hutchinson 21
Philogene 23
Jack Clarke 24
Liam Delap 22
We're midtable on Premier League average age at 25.7, Chelsea and Brighton youngest on 23.5 and 24.2 respectively.
Players who are 28 or over (although playing age much later now):
Palmer 28
Walton - 29
Burgess - 29
Townsend - 31
Morsy - 33
Luongo - 32
Szmodics - 29
Burns - 30
Chaplin -28
(Note: Phillips - 29; Cajuste 25; Godfrey 27)
Bit like my Tuanzebe PPG thread, not sure this tells us much really. Apart from maybe the changing of the guard of League One players, is as much an age thing as quality (we know they can work in Champ) and our central midfield needs some younger players.
You could say that next season - the likes of O'Shea, Broadhead, Jack Taylor, Tuanzebe, Wolfenden, Davis are hitting peak performance age? towards end of some sales value as well.
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Thread | Tuanzebe inclusion Town form - updated
at 22:43 24 Feb 2025
When Axel has started Ipswich results
Played - 12
Won - 1
Drawn - 6
Loss - 5
PPG - 0.75
When Axel is missing or sub (1 game - 26mins against Man City)
Played - 14
Won - 2
Drawn - 2
Loss - 10
PPG - 0.57
Not a huge difference - But I think he makes us a much better team.
Damn that washing liquid bubble obscured washing up bowl
[Post edited 24 Feb 22:57]
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Thread | Watching the football league show on catch-up.. pub teams
at 00:30 23 Feb 2025
Watching the ITV EFL MOTD equivalent …. Jesus wept … the quality level in the Championship looks miles miles off the Premier League across all the games
I don’t remember it being this low last season [Post edited 23 Feb 0:31]
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Thread | Is Saturday when Town ‘click’ into gear?
at 15:48 20 Feb 2025
Over the last few seasons Dec, Jan and early Feb have tended to be mixed… losses to Leeds, Maidstone, Preston, draws to West Brom, Stoke… before kicking into gear and going on a run. In League 1 we’d really slipped back in the same period with a myriad of draws and losses to the likes of Wycombe, Pompey, Oxford, Lincoln, Plymouth, and memorably Bristol Rovers on Valentine’s - before going on a ballistic run.
Just felt at Villa Park that we were beginning to see some of the belief, momentum and passages of play return. Players such as OShea, Cajuste, Delap are established. Clarke, Phillips and Johnson beginning to settle. Depth improving with Jaden and Godfrey. And the goalkeeper issues seemingly tackled with safe palms Palmer.
It’s a shame Spurs are getting their real talent going forward back - although still no Solanke. But their defence remains a little weaker and central midfield can be got at.
I just feel the McKenna Premier League side and project is perhaps maturing. Clicking into gear. Just really need some belief and energy, and the home crowd backing.
I’d kill for a win to take to Old Trafford, a tall order if you match up player for player.
Time for the home crowd to fire up. The away ends this season have been remarkable. And we’ve certainly had some results on the road. |
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