Ipswich Town v Huddersfield Town preview and matchday thread

[hallamblue]

MMs post match comments.....

I feel sorry for Tommy Oar because it turns out he’s got concussion and I didn’t know that when I took him off,” said the Blues boss. “It happened after that ‘collision’. That was a nasty one that. If I can’t say anything pleasant about that I won’t say anything more.

“He (Oar) didn’t play well, but neither would anyone else if they were concussed. He got a right smack in the hooter. It quite clearly affected his performance.

[J4ck22]

I did not understand the substitution of Oar. Bring Mcgoldrick and Murphy by all means, but to take the player off who can supply the ammunition for them?

Other than that massive hit he took from the Huddersfield keeper? Nah, no reason really...

[Mr.Punch]

good summing up from hallamblue.

a terribly frustrating game all-round, the ref and lino lost control and made some poor decisions - at least it fired the crowd up because the team did nothing to get anyone excited.

too many players are off their game at the moment - in fact the 10 outfielders that started, even sears didn't do a lot today.
i'm not sure what position ainsley niles was playing, he seemed to be in the middle a lot of the time, instead of driving at the defence or getting round the back down the wing.

we should have dominated huddersfield today, they are not world-beaters - they should have been scared stiff about facing ipswich at portman road but far from it.

just heard mick mccarthy on the radio, very positive as always but i wonder what he really thinks? he said nobody is singing 'super mick' anymore! - the game ended in boos...

[lucy]

I did not understand the substitution of Oar. Bring Mcgoldrick and Murphy by all means, but to take the player off who can supply the ammunition for them?

He took a battering from the Huddersfield goalie who didn't even get a Yellow for it. He was attacking every ball and started off well a shame he got injured.

[J4ck22]

just heard mick mccarthy on the radio, very positive as always but i wonder what he really thinks? he said nobody is singing 'super mick' anymore! - the game ended in boos...

That was rather pathetic if you ask me. Doesn't do anyone any good.

[ipswichtownNo1]

just heard mick mccarthy on the radio, very positive as always but i wonder what he really thinks? he said nobody is singing 'super mick' anymore! - the game ended in boos...

That was rather pathetic if you ask me. Doesn't do anyone any good.[/quote]

Totally agree, whats with all the booing? I think we should all be upstanding for a totally pathetic performance, a round of applause for the hoofball and a pat on the back for for the tactical master class from MM. After all, MM said that nobodys place was secure yet starts with practicallly the same trusted 11 who did nothing to suggest town will be anywhete near the top 6 at the end of the season. How dare people show their frustration at that shower of sh!te when paying for one of the most expensive championship tickets.

[J4ck22]

just heard mick mccarthy on the radio, very positive as always but i wonder what he really thinks? he said nobody is singing 'super mick' anymore! - the game ended in boos...

That was rather pathetic if you ask me. Doesn't do anyone any good.

Totally agree, whats with all the booing? I think we should all be upstanding for a totally pathetic performance, a round of applause for the hoofball and a pat on the back for for the tactical master class from MM. After all, MM said that nobodys place was secure yet starts with practicallly the same trusted 11 who did nothing to suggest town will be anywhete near the top 6 at the end of the season. How dare people show their frustration at that shower of sh!te when paying for one of the most expensive championship tickets.

Show your frustration by not going next time if it bothers you that badly.

We may have been poor, but at least it's never by lack of trying. They don't deserve that.

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

Show your frustration by not going next time if it bothers you that badly.

We may have been poor, but at least it's never by lack of trying. They don't deserve that.

didn't look much to me like they were trying. If they were, maybe it's time they considered a different career, because they clearly can't cut it as footballers.

[hallamblue]

Problem is fans booing at the end of the game can be for a number of reasons, and not necessarily be aimed at the players. Tgats just an assumption being made isnt it.

The apology for a referee alone deserved to be booed off the park. The Huddersfield players were a f**king joke tbh. It would not be too much of an exaggeration to say that Ive never seen such of bunch cheating barstewards as that Huddersfield team today. But the ref allowed to do as they wanted. How else can a frustrated fan let their feels be known? They boo!

[bluejacko]

I did not understand the substitution of Oar. Bring Mcgoldrick and Murphy by all means, but to take the player off who can supply the ammunition for them?

He got concussed after being walloped by their goalie.

[ipswichtownNo1]

Show your frustration by not going next time if it bothers you that badly.

We may have been poor, but at least it's never by lack of trying. They don't deserve that.

didn't look much to me like they were trying. If they were, maybe it's time they considered a different career, because they clearly can't cut it as footballers.

Ahh, well thats ok then , im sorry. I didnt realise they where trying. Maybe ill give portman road a ring cos i could try my hardest every week for half what they get paid. See how many games before you start calling for me to be dropped, or would you support me, after all, i would be trying.

[J4ck22]

Show your frustration by not going next time if it bothers you that badly.

We may have been poor, but at least it's never by lack of trying. They don't deserve that.

didn't look much to me like they were trying. If they were, maybe it's time they considered a different career, because they clearly can't cut it as footballers.

Ahh, well thats ok then , im sorry. I didnt realise they where trying. Maybe ill give portman road a ring cos i could try my hardest every week for half what they get paid. See how many games before you start calling for me to be dropped, or would you support me, after all, i would be trying.

You clearly don't get it.

[J4ck22]

Problem is fans booing at the end of the game can be for a number of reasons, and not necessarily be aimed at the players. Tgats just an assumption being made isnt it.

The apology for a referee alone deserved to be booed off the park. The Huddersfield players were a f**king joke tbh. It would not be too much of an exaggeration to say that Ive never seen such of bunch cheating barstewards as that Huddersfield team today. But the ref allowed to do as they wanted. How else can a frustrated fan let their feels be known? They boo!

You're right, it can be a number of things. Although judging by other responses, it probably was aimed at Mick/the players

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

Problem is fans booing at the end of the game can be for a number of reasons, and not necessarily be aimed at the players. Tgats just an assumption being made isnt it.

The apology for a referee alone deserved to be booed off the park. The Huddersfield players were a f**king joke tbh. It would not be too much of an exaggeration to say that Ive never seen such of bunch cheating barstewards as that Huddersfield team today. But the ref allowed to do as they wanted. How else can a frustrated fan let their feels be known? They boo!

You're right, it can be a number of things. Although judging by other responses, it probably was aimed at Mick/the players

and IF it was - and I say IF - then I think it was justified and deserved. That display today was totally abysmal.
In fact, I think the club should be renamed to ITC - Ipswich Town Club - because there's precious little football being played at Portman Road lately.

[arana peligrosa]

Sometimes it's necessary to think long and hard before you attempt a response as a scene may arise : in so many other words you bite your f**king tongue - no sense in hostilities - but without seeing todays game, and having to make do with some sporadic updates as the game entered it's final stages, have read enough reaction to realize the number for those wishing for McCarthys departure, would seem greater than those wishing him to remain in position.

Did a piece on this some months back and some 90 per cent were heavily against the idea of having anyone else in charge, and any mention of hostile words in the managers direction would result in a certain level of castigation. Point being it's evident (now) that many are wanting a new name to take over i.e. fresh ideas, a more positive outlook, someone that has an idea of what they want the club to achieve - and how to go about it.

Today wasn't just disappointing (and another missed opportunity) you only need look back at previous games to see this isn't a one-off. Reading was in so many words, an embarrassment, the throwaway at Brentford on opening weekend, the Bristol game, blank at Blackburn, and "that" other fixture, that needs no elaboration. Got some awkward games coming up against Cardiff and Forest for instance and not to look too far ahead, doesn't exactly fill with confidence.

There's points being dropped left and right in recent weeks and against opposition sides we really should be doing better with, and as some have alluded to before, this isn't a damn stumble, it's becoming a bit too regular to offer the opinion it's only a minor setback.

Only problem is if McCarthy was to vacate, then who could take over and get us back on course - before it's too late. Bottom line, been an eventful year or two, but if we really want to make progress i.e. get out of this damn league, then guessing our current manager may not be the solution.

[hallamblue]

Not that we are anywhere near that point of sacking,if Mick was no longer Town manager, id like to see Lambert here. We'd see attacking football for sure!

[Charnwood]

The only positive....

.......it gave me and my mates a decent treble, Town, The Foxes & The Owls all to draw..... we do the same bet every week and today it paid out £553.35..... the first time it's paid out this season.

That said, 3 points would have made me much happier.

[hallamblue]

Well in that case you can obviously afford to buy yer own orange juice the next time we meet up then! Going to Forest game by any chance?

[Charnwood]

Well in that case you can obviously afford to buy yer own orange juice the next time we meet up then! Going to Forest game by any chance?

Unfortunately not Liz. We're living in Spain at the moment and I'm not sure when I'm going to get to my first game this season, when I do I'll let you and Mike know so we can meet up. I'll try to make sure it's before all the winnings have been lost!

[Bluemike]

Having had time to reflect on yesterday's effort here are my thoughts on the game.

Basically was certainly no better than the last Two home games against Birmingham & Bristol City, in fact taking into account that in all probability Huddersfield are the worst team we will face this season it was even worse from us yesterday. The so called shake up of the team failed to materialise with only Oar & pitman coming in for Fraser & Murphy.

For me I think we look a team totally shot of confidence and devoid of any belief that we can actually beat anyone at the moment, I suppose it's sods law that we actually manage to keep a clean sheet only for the strikers to misfire, Sears has gone off the boil and Pitman chased shadows all afternoon and offered no goal threat whatsoever. Clearly it improved after Didsy & Murphy came on and as others have said you could see their understanding of each others game is still there.

The midfield continues to take a lot of stick and rightly so because we aren't creating anything for the Strikers to feed off, however for me Skuse was our MOTM yesterday and had a really solid game, not many will agree but who cares, to me that was the case. Maitland-Niles worries me, suddenly he looks so lightweight and and a bit of a headless chicken, again his defensive work is p*ss poor and leaves Chambers totally isolated at times, thankfully we just about got away with it yesterday. Tommy Oar came in and did err....not much, clearly he wasnt helped by the clattering he took from the keeper who was lucky not to see Red but Oar needs time and games, not fair to judge on half a game.

One point I have to make about the Midfield is the continued slagging off of our latest scapegoat Jonathon Douglas. I accept that he and Skuse together cant really continue but the guy is being told to do a particluar job and that is to be defensive most of the time. One thing that makes me laugh is the derision that is aimed at the players whenever we hoof the ball, but for those that actually watch the game closely Douglas is the ONLY player that time and time again at least tries to bring the ball under control and play a pass, albeit a lot of simple passess but pass it he does, I counted only one time yesterday when he hoofed the ball away, the guy is able to take more than one touch without getting into a panic which is more than most of the others can do, I think people need to give him a break.

The defence will take credit for a clean sheet but I think a few of us from off here would have kept a clean sheet against that p*ss poor attack that Huddersfield had, Berra did improve slightly on recent performances while Smith was his usual self, Chambers had one or two iffy moments thanks in no small part to having no cover from AMN while for Knudsen was again very shakey and just looks plain ordinary, Jonathon Parr must be a better option ?? I have already singled out SAkuse as my MOTM but Gerken was not far behind him and again pulled off a really good save to keep us level, like Hallam I too thought he looked far more assured throughout and that will do his confidence the world of good.

So to sum it up I feel a draw was the right result and in the cold light of day and taking into account the quality of the opposition it was a very poor outcome and Two more points leave PR to a team we really should be putting away. We can talk about it all as much as we want but the back line is what we will see again at Hull on Tuesday as MM will say they bounced back with a clean sheet but what were they up against ? I would still like to See Parr come in and maybe even Emmanuel but it won't be happening anytime soon. Kevin Bru is a must to give us a bit more up front, If Oar is not fit then we are looking a little limited on the wings again, AMN flatters to deceive and we haven't really seen enough of Toure to pass judgement. One win in Seven is not great and with Two tough away fixtures coming up it could get worse before it gets better. For me MM is still very much the man to take us forward, absolutley no doubt about it in my eyes but he does need to tinker a bit more or he will lose more and more fans who are still behind him. As for the booing yesterday, does it really surprise anyone, we all have a right to an opinion and mine is they are a bit dim, had the late strike from Didsy gone in it would have been fist pumps and smiles with the poor performance forgotten, that is the fine lines we deal with in some quarters.

[larrylamb]

MM is not taking us forward , quite simply we overachieved last season...and this season it,s turned into more of the same...one dimensional , dire to watch , long ball..and all this with supposedly a better squad on paper.!!..he is stubborn and appears ti be unwilling to change tactics..how in any way shape or from is MM going to take us forward...we have gone backwards recently..with some of the worst to watch football available.!!

Give it till xmas..then for me it,s a rethink if no improvement.

[J4ck22]

MM is not taking us forward , quite simply we overachieved last season...and this season it,s turned into more of the same...one dimensional , dire to watch , long ball..and all this with supposedly a better squad on paper.!!..he is stubborn and appears ti be unwilling to change tactics..how in any way shape or from is MM going to take us forward...we have gone backwards recently..with some of the worst to watch football available.!!

Give it till xmas..then for me it,s a rethink if no improvement.

He's continuously taken us forward every season and we're only two months into a season where it hasn't gone our way yet.

[larrylamb]

I don't think we are anyway near a promotion side , so for me it,s not even about our position...more the dire crap we have to watch and this has been a fairly constant with MM , And i also am thankful for what he did when he did come in..but imo we are going backwards to dull...dire..football , it,s meant to be entertainment and we are not getting that by a long shot..do i think within the constraints that MM is working in and his management style we are ever going to progress beyond a mid table side...a resounding no i don't...have we got a better squad...many would say yes..but MM appears not to be able to use his squad to any effect and is stubborn beyond believe, it appears he is unwilling to change it , his press conferences are the same repetitive grind week in week out...but as i said...you have to give the guy some time...and until xmas is fair "if no change on the pitch" then it should be very carefully looked at if we should retain MM imo...crowds are going to drop and crowds will get on the teams back and from there it,s a downwards spiral..and it really seems we are on the edge of that from those around me at the ground and on many of the comments from various boards..if that's right or wrong is everybody's own opinion..but the fan disquiet .is a fact of life for the club at the moment, and it will only build if things do not improve on the pitch fairly swiftly.

[barmy billy]

Having had time to reflect on yesterday's effort here are my thoughts on the game.

Basically was certainly no better than the last Two home games against Birmingham & Bristol City, in fact taking into account that in all probability Huddersfield are the worst team we will face this season it was even worse from us yesterday. The so called shake up of the team failed to materialise with only Oar & pitman coming in for Fraser & Murphy.

For me I think we look a team totally shot of confidence and devoid of any belief that we can actually beat anyone at the moment, I suppose it's sods law that we actually manage to keep a clean sheet only for the strikers to misfire, Sears has gone off the boil and Pitman chased shadows all afternoon and offered no goal threat whatsoever. Clearly it improved after Didsy & Murphy came on and as others have said you could see their understanding of each others game is still there.

The midfield continues to take a lot of stick and rightly so because we aren't creating anything for the Strikers to feed off, however for me Skuse was our MOTM yesterday and had a really solid game, not many will agree but who cares, to me that was the case. Maitland-Niles worries me, suddenly he looks so lightweight and and a bit of a headless chicken, again his defensive work is p*ss poor and leaves Chambers totally isolated at times, thankfully we just about got away with it yesterday. Tommy Oar came in and did err....not much, clearly he wasnt helped by the clattering he took from the keeper who was lucky not to see Red but Oar needs time and games, not fair to judge on half a game.

One point I have to make about the Midfield is the continued slagging off of our latest scapegoat Jonathon Douglas. I accept that he and Skuse together cant really continue but the guy is being told to do a particluar job and that is to be defensive most of the time. One thing that makes me laugh is the derision that is aimed at the players whenever we hoof the ball, but for those that actually watch the game closely Douglas is the ONLY player that time and time again at least tries to bring the ball under control and play a pass, albeit a lot of simple passess but pass it he does, I counted only one time yesterday when he hoofed the ball away, the guy is able to take more than one touch without getting into a panic which is more than most of the others can do, I think people need to give him a break.

The defence will take credit for a clean sheet but I think a few of us from off here would have kept a clean sheet against that p*ss poor attack that Huddersfield had, Berra did improve slightly on recent performances while Smith was his usual self, Chambers had one or two iffy moments thanks in no small part to having no cover from AMN while for Knudsen was again very shakey and just looks plain ordinary, Jonathon Parr must be a better option ?? I have already singled out SAkuse as my MOTM but Gerken was not far behind him and again pulled off a really good save to keep us level, like Hallam I too thought he looked far more assured throughout and that will do his confidence the world of good.

So to sum it up I feel a draw was the right result and in the cold light of day and taking into account the quality of the opposition it was a very poor outcome and Two more points leave PR to a team we really should be putting away. We can talk about it all as much as we want but the back line is what we will see again at Hull on Tuesday as MM will say they bounced back with a clean sheet but what were they up against ? I would still like to See Parr come in and maybe even Emmanuel but it won't be happening anytime soon. Kevin Bru is a must to give us a bit more up front, If Oar is not fit then we are looking a little limited on the wings again, AMN flatters to deceive and we haven't really seen enough of Toure to pass judgement. One win in Seven is not great and with Two tough away fixtures coming up it could get worse before it gets better. For me MM is still very much the man to take us forward, absolutley no doubt about it in my eyes but he does need to tinker a bit more or he will lose more and more fans who are still behind him. As for the booing yesterday, does it really surprise anyone, we all have a right to an opinion and mine is they are a bit dim, had the late strike from Didsy gone in it would have been fist pumps and smiles with the poor performance forgotten, that is the fine lines we deal with in some quarters.

Good review Mike.
Your comment about Douglas being defensive because that is how he has been told to play does make me wonder if some of our problems are as a result of coaching/tactics issues rather than tbe player himself. After all, didn't be score a few from midfield at Brentford?

Quite unfairly perhaps, the player is the ready target.5

[Bluemike]

Having had time to reflect on yesterday's effort here are my thoughts on the game.

Basically was certainly no better than the last Two home games against Birmingham & Bristol City, in fact taking into account that in all probability Huddersfield are the worst team we will face this season it was even worse from us yesterday. The so called shake up of the team failed to materialise with only Oar & pitman coming in for Fraser & Murphy.

For me I think we look a team totally shot of confidence and devoid of any belief that we can actually beat anyone at the moment, I suppose it's sods law that we actually manage to keep a clean sheet only for the strikers to misfire, Sears has gone off the boil and Pitman chased shadows all afternoon and offered no goal threat whatsoever. Clearly it improved after Didsy & Murphy came on and as others have said you could see their understanding of each others game is still there.

The midfield continues to take a lot of stick and rightly so because we aren't creating anything for the Strikers to feed off, however for me Skuse was our MOTM yesterday and had a really solid game, not many will agree but who cares, to me that was the case. Maitland-Niles worries me, suddenly he looks so lightweight and and a bit of a headless chicken, again his defensive work is p*ss poor and leaves Chambers totally isolated at times, thankfully we just about got away with it yesterday. Tommy Oar came in and did err....not much, clearly he wasnt helped by the clattering he took from the keeper who was lucky not to see Red but Oar needs time and games, not fair to judge on half a game.

One point I have to make about the Midfield is the continued slagging off of our latest scapegoat Jonathon Douglas. I accept that he and Skuse together cant really continue but the guy is being told to do a particluar job and that is to be defensive most of the time. One thing that makes me laugh is the derision that is aimed at the players whenever we hoof the ball, but for those that actually watch the game closely Douglas is the ONLY player that time and time again at least tries to bring the ball under control and play a pass, albeit a lot of simple passess but pass it he does, I counted only one time yesterday when he hoofed the ball away, the guy is able to take more than one touch without getting into a panic which is more than most of the others can do, I think people need to give him a break.

The defence will take credit for a clean sheet but I think a few of us from off here would have kept a clean sheet against that p*ss poor attack that Huddersfield had, Berra did improve slightly on recent performances while Smith was his usual self, Chambers had one or two iffy moments thanks in no small part to having no cover from AMN while for Knudsen was again very shakey and just looks plain ordinary, Jonathon Parr must be a better option ?? I have already singled out SAkuse as my MOTM but Gerken was not far behind him and again pulled off a really good save to keep us level, like Hallam I too thought he looked far more assured throughout and that will do his confidence the world of good.

So to sum it up I feel a draw was the right result and in the cold light of day and taking into account the quality of the opposition it was a very poor outcome and Two more points leave PR to a team we really should be putting away. We can talk about it all as much as we want but the back line is what we will see again at Hull on Tuesday as MM will say they bounced back with a clean sheet but what were they up against ? I would still like to See Parr come in and maybe even Emmanuel but it won't be happening anytime soon. Kevin Bru is a must to give us a bit more up front, If Oar is not fit then we are looking a little limited on the wings again, AMN flatters to deceive and we haven't really seen enough of Toure to pass judgement. One win in Seven is not great and with Two tough away fixtures coming up it could get worse before it gets better. For me MM is still very much the man to take us forward, absolutley no doubt about it in my eyes but he does need to tinker a bit more or he will lose more and more fans who are still behind him. As for the booing yesterday, does it really surprise anyone, we all have a right to an opinion and mine is they are a bit dim, had the late strike from Didsy gone in it would have been fist pumps and smiles with the poor performance forgotten, that is the fine lines we deal with in some quarters.

Good review Mike.
Your comment about Douglas being defensive because that is how he has been told to play does make me wonder if some of our problems are as a result of coaching/tactics issues rather than tbe player himself. After all, didn't be score a few from midfield at Brentford?

Quite unfairly perhaps, the player is the ready target.5

Jonathon Douglas believe it or not was 15th in the Championship goalscoring charts last season, his game is based on being an midfielder who gets into the box and finds the target, 8 goals last season speaks for itself. He is being played totally differently here and this ios one thing where I do agree with the critics of MM, what I am saying is that it is NOT the fault of the player and he is far from the disaster many are making him out to be, what is clear is that we lack the attacking threat from Midfield that either Bru or more so Bishop would offer.

[ashfordblue]

So what happens when Bishop, & Hyam are back??? and with Bru, this is a good midfield, but what gets me is Micks attitude and comment towards the fans, with, (the more the fans sing and call for Bru to be played, the less likely I will do it, (I picked and choose who plays, not the bloody fans???) sorry Mick but comments like this are not good enough, the fans are frustrated at your constant lack of selecting the real attacking formation, I would have said that 90% of the fans would have started with McGoldrick & Murphy up front with possibly Sears or Pitman tucked behind, with Scuse & Bru feeding, also I don't want to knock Knudson too much, but we do need another LB with a bit more flare and ability, Knudson to me is still learning, and we are not as strong as when we had Cressy and Mings, and we know Parr can play there, but I think Parr would be better served just in front of Chambers rather than the lightweight AMN, until we get another RB with some real ability, of which Chambers lacks big time, not his fault the guy's a CB not a fullback, so going on from here, going on these current performances, do I think we are heading in the right direction to the premiership, not a cat in hells chance, and if we continue to play and get these results up to the Christmas period, then I can see Mick getting pushed out along with Terry by Marcus, there are more beneficial & Tactical equipped managers out there that could get us back to playing the Ipswich way, and get us out of this league into the premiership, I would go for Warburton or Holloway, BUT that's only my choice there's others that could also do a very good job, but lets see how we get on against Hull & Forest, the way we are playing I can see a good spanking on the cards again, just like the Reading result, i hope not but I think its just around the corner waiting to happen

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

MM is not taking us forward , quite simply we overachieved last season...and this season it,s turned into more of the same...one dimensional , dire to watch , long ball..and all this with supposedly a better squad on paper.!!..he is stubborn and appears ti be unwilling to change tactics..how in any way shape or from is MM going to take us forward...we have gone backwards recently..with some of the worst to watch football available.!!

Give it till xmas..then for me it,s a rethink if no improvement.

I have to say that this post succinctly describes our present predicament.
It makes so much more sense than the blinkered views of the post immediately above it.

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

Having had time to reflect on yesterday's effort here are my thoughts on the game.

Basically was certainly no better than the last Two home games against Birmingham & Bristol City, in fact taking into account that in all probability Huddersfield are the worst team we will face this season it was even worse from us yesterday. The so called shake up of the team failed to materialise with only Oar & pitman coming in for Fraser & Murphy.

For me I think we look a team totally shot of confidence and devoid of any belief that we can actually beat anyone at the moment, I suppose it's sods law that we actually manage to keep a clean sheet only for the strikers to misfire, Sears has gone off the boil and Pitman chased shadows all afternoon and offered no goal threat whatsoever. Clearly it improved after Didsy & Murphy came on and as others have said you could see their understanding of each others game is still there.

The midfield continues to take a lot of stick and rightly so because we aren't creating anything for the Strikers to feed off, however for me Skuse was our MOTM yesterday and had a really solid game, not many will agree but who cares, to me that was the case. Maitland-Niles worries me, suddenly he looks so lightweight and and a bit of a headless chicken, again his defensive work is p*ss poor and leaves Chambers totally isolated at times, thankfully we just about got away with it yesterday. Tommy Oar came in and did err....not much, clearly he wasnt helped by the clattering he took from the keeper who was lucky not to see Red but Oar needs time and games, not fair to judge on half a game.

One point I have to make about the Midfield is the continued slagging off of our latest scapegoat Jonathon Douglas. I accept that he and Skuse together cant really continue but the guy is being told to do a particluar job and that is to be defensive most of the time. One thing that makes me laugh is the derision that is aimed at the players whenever we hoof the ball, but for those that actually watch the game closely Douglas is the ONLY player that time and time again at least tries to bring the ball under control and play a pass, albeit a lot of simple passess but pass it he does, I counted only one time yesterday when he hoofed the ball away, the guy is able to take more than one touch without getting into a panic which is more than most of the others can do, I think people need to give him a break.

The defence will take credit for a clean sheet but I think a few of us from off here would have kept a clean sheet against that p*ss poor attack that Huddersfield had, Berra did improve slightly on recent performances while Smith was his usual self, Chambers had one or two iffy moments thanks in no small part to having no cover from AMN while for Knudsen was again very shakey and just looks plain ordinary, Jonathon Parr must be a better option ?? I have already singled out SAkuse as my MOTM but Gerken was not far behind him and again pulled off a really good save to keep us level, like Hallam I too thought he looked far more assured throughout and that will do his confidence the world of good.

So to sum it up I feel a draw was the right result and in the cold light of day and taking into account the quality of the opposition it was a very poor outcome and Two more points leave PR to a team we really should be putting away. We can talk about it all as much as we want but the back line is what we will see again at Hull on Tuesday as MM will say they bounced back with a clean sheet but what were they up against ? I would still like to See Parr come in and maybe even Emmanuel but it won't be happening anytime soon. Kevin Bru is a must to give us a bit more up front, If Oar is not fit then we are looking a little limited on the wings again, AMN flatters to deceive and we haven't really seen enough of Toure to pass judgement. One win in Seven is not great and with Two tough away fixtures coming up it could get worse before it gets better. For me MM is still very much the man to take us forward, absolutley no doubt about it in my eyes but he does need to tinker a bit more or he will lose more and more fans who are still behind him. As for the booing yesterday, does it really surprise anyone, we all have a right to an opinion and mine is they are a bit dim, had the late strike from Didsy gone in it would have been fist pumps and smiles with the poor performance forgotten, that is the fine lines we deal with in some quarters.

I do not understand this at all. You make observations that the midfield is not creative, that the team is disjointed, players played out of position, players that you think should be playing - all very true and I think that most people would agree with you.
But then you state that Thick McNumpty is still the man to take us forward. Given that he picks the team, decides the tactics etc, I do not see how the 2 ideas tally - they are miles apart. You cannot have it both ways.

For what it is worth, I thought yesterdays display was the worst I have seen for a very long time - an awful game between 2 very poor sides, neither of which have any hope at all of escaping mediocrity this season. It's got to the stage where I am totally fed up with the crap being served up by MM and the players - to the point that I have decided that I have better ways of spending my time than watching the poor excuse of football being served up, both home and away.
We are not moving forwards, we're unfortunately going backwards, and the sooner MM is no longer here the better I will like it. But there again, I'm hardly changing my opinion.

[marko69]

Probably best using some hindsight and locking the f**king thread now.

[arana peligrosa]

Unable to find a response (at least printable) to one of the above comments, but last word on this game in question, and gave it some thought (as if any was really necessary) that wouldn't say no at all if McCarthy were to depart before end of year - preferably within the immediate weeks ahead - so as to bring in someone new to salvage the season before all is pretty much lost. We'll be fortunate to get beyond round four of the FA Cup if our now manager is still in charge at time of event, and as for the league, once again, there's been too many poor results, not enough fight shown etc to feasibly believe we can obtain a promotion if McCarthy were to stay put until end of season.

The squad (when fully fit and available) is competent, but as before, the problem lies with the one responsible for putting it together and overseeing what needs to be done : that one name is sadly lacking. Prepared to give it a little more time and see if there's a marked improvement and can get back on course before it's too late, but don't have a good feeling about where this will end.