Here you can chat about everything and anything related to ITFC and other football issues. This forum also hosts the now Internationally famous TB.com ITFC match previews which contain insightful pre-match thoughts, previous highlights, news links relating to Town, form guides and other bits and pieces. Feel free to discuss meet ups/travel plans in here as well.
So Saturday's trip to Burton Albion saw us get back to winning ways and halt our Three game losing spell and while the win and the points are most welcome the performace still left a lot to be desired and the "papering over the cracks" debate is set to rumble on for a good while yet. Being perfectly honest we were dire and second best for much of the match, yes we came alive in the final Twenty minutes and got the job done, credit must be given to the lads for keeping it going to the very end but this is Burton Albion! With all due respect to them they will be going down on what I saw and yet we allowed them to dictate play for Seventy odd minutes, again it looked very much like we were more concerned at what they were going to do rather than we are capable of doing to them, maybe against a few of the better teams that kind of approach is understandable but with teams down at the bottom we really should be taking it to them as we did at Millwall etc, aside from anything else it makes for far more enjoyable entertainment as opposed to the dross I witnessed Saturday. In essence the defence "did ok", Bart made One or Two saves but they didn't have the capability to break us down, the worrying thing was the amount of time they seemed to spend coming forward compared to us and how they were passing it around while we were lobbing the damn ball 100 feet in the air and then chasing it down in a hopeful manner akin to a Sunday morning game. Our Midfield just did not function at all until the latter stages, losing Adeyemi was again a blow as Skuse, Nydam and Sears really could not impose themselves on the game at all, plenty of running and endeavour but little quality and end product. Despite every Town fan seeing what was needed MM has his own "belligerent" way of doing things and he will argue it worked because we won but surely it was a game calling out for Bersant Celina much earlier than 10 minutes from the end ? When he did finally get on he turned the game in our favour, yes it was at a time when we had got back level and on top but even so the impact Celina made in such a short space of time really does make the decision to bring Ward & Bru on before him even more staggering although to be fair to the "unwanted" Kevin Bru he did well and coming from me that is saying something.
The name of Celina has been very much the name on everyone's lips lately and not always for the right reasons, suddenly there seems to be grumblings of his off field actions and while rumours are often just that equally there is often no smoke without fire and unfortunately some evidence is out there to suggest he has done himself no favours where MM is concerned, thankfully he doesn't seem to be totally out of favour but one would hope this blows over pretty quickly as to lose such a talent in January would be disappointing to say the least, if anything we need to be looking to strengthen further come the window not replace what we already have. I actually do think Bersant Celina is a bit of a luxury when starting games as his tracking back etc isn't great and I can see why MM often prefers Sears, coming off the bench suits the kosovan more and while he will not agree with that he does seem to be more useful when he hasn't started, what he does need is a lot longer than 10 minutes, especially when we are chasing a game that is there to be won !
Following Saturdays win I really am in Two minds as to exactly where I stand on the Mick in Mick Out debate, it is no secret that I have probably been one of his biggest supporters as for the most part I have felt some of the criticism levelled at him has been a tad OTT and not warrented. On the one hand we sit handily placed with a game in hand that with a win could see us potentially back up to Fifth in the Championship table, add to that I think I am right in saying only Three teams have won more games than us so far, winning/losing is better than these draws we kept picking up last campaign. On the other hand there are signs recently that our style of football is going back to the negative, boring style witnessed so often last season when it really did get hard work watching it every week, there is no doubt fans are turning again, the negative chants and songs etc bare witness to that, I really can't face going through another Thirty Three games of that, but most importantly for me Mick's post game outburst against us fans and indeed Bersant Celina was just too far, OK have a problem with a player then sort it in private but he made it clear there are issues there to be dealt with and now everyone knows, that is bad man management, to rip into the fans and to be so bloody minded about it by telling us he is the boss and whatever we say he will do the opposite just puts a big divide between manager and fans again, he was never going to get a large percentage of the fans back on board but this has made it worse. I actually think it is the death knell for MM and time is running out, as laid back as Marcus Evans is he cannot possibly be happy at seeing the club he owns being represented in such an amateurish and poor way with the paying customers, no business can be successful if you p*ss off the people that keep it alive each and every week. Sorry Mick you lost a big part of me saturday and what will be will be, maybe the strain is getting too much and change is now imperative, the next Four or Five games could force the issue.
The first of those next Five games is a trip to Cardiff City who it has to be said have surprised many fans up and dwon the county, myself included, with the wily old dog Neil warnock at the helm they were always going to be competitive but to be in and around the Top Three all season is surely overachieving and can't possibly last, can it ? This will be my Third trip to Cardiff and the last Two have both ended in defeat on the back of really poor Town performances, can this be a case of Third time lucky ? I am not holding my breath but in true MM fashion you just never know when we will pull an unexpected rabbit out of a hat. Unfortunately I can see no further than another defeat to keep the pressure on the gaffer, so that probably means a 1-0 Town win the Bersant Celina bagging a stunning winner !!!! COYB'S
The Opposition – Cardiff City FC
Riverside A.F.C. was formed in 1899 as a way of keeping players from the Riverside Cricket Club together and in shape during the winter months. In 1905, Cardiff was granted city status by King Edward VII, and as a result the club put in a request to change their name to Cardiff City, but the request was turned down as they were deemed to not be playing at a high enough level. To combat this, they arranged to join the South Wales Amateur League in 1907 and the following year they were granted permission to change the name of the club to Cardiff City.
Over the next two years, the club welcomed many of Britain's top sides to Cardiff, including Middlesbrough, Bristol City and Crystal Palace, with the matches being played at various grounds in Cardiff and nearby towns. The club would eventually move into their new ground, Ninian Park, in 1910.
With the new ground in place, Cardiff joined the Southern League Second Division. Their first match was a 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa. They stayed in the division for the next decade, apart from when the league was suspended due to the outbreak of World War I.
The club's most successful period so far has been the 1920s, in which they finished runners-up in the old Football League First Division, followed by two FA Cup finals in 1925 and 1927, the latter against Arsenal. The final against Arsenal saw Cardiff become the only team to have taken the FA Cup out of England, with a 1–0 victory. The final was also notable as it was the first to be broadcast to the nation by BBC Radio.
On 30 August 1920, Cardiff City played their first Football League match at Ninian Park.
This early Cardiff City team showed more than enough class to match others in the league, and they were promoted to the top flight of English Football at the first attempt.
1923–24 has proved to be the best ever in the league for Cardiff City. After a dramatic season in which they and Huddersfield Town tussled for the Championship title, Cardiff would have to settle for 2nd spot on goal average.
The following season was the first time Cardiff City appeared at Wembley Stadium in an FA Cup final, versus Sheffield United, which they lost 1-0, and, as mentioned above, in 1927 they won the FA Cup final against Arsenal.
That FA Cup win was not the end of their cup exploits that season; they also won the Welsh Cup, defeating Rhyl by a scoreline of 2–0, and would go on to win the FA Charity Shield after beating the Corinthians 2–1 at Stamford Bridge.
In the 1928–29 season, Cardiff City were relegated from the First Division of the Football League. However, this was only a sign of things to come for the Bluebirds, and after two seasons in the Second Division, they were once again relegated in 1931 into Division 3 South, and in 1934 they had to re-apply to stay in the Football League after finishing last.
They were crowned champions of Division 3 South and returned to the Second Division in the 1946–47 season. Finally, they finished second level runners-up and returned to the top level after 23 years in the 1951–52 season.
During the 1960s, Cardiff began qualifying for European competition for the first time through the Welsh Cup. Two years later, the club would go on to reach the semi-final of the Cup Winners’ Cup, the furthest any non-top division club has ever gone in European competition.
The club remained in the old Second Division except for the 1975–76 and 1982–83 seasons.
Between 1985 and 1993, Cardiff were continuously in the lower two divisions of the league after being relegated to the Third Division. They were relegated to the Fourth Division once in the 1985–86 season and were promoted to the Third Division in 1987–88 as runners-up. Two years later, they dropped into the Fourth Division for the second time. Cardiff won the new Division Three championship in 1993 but were relegated two years later, and in 1996 finished in their lowest ever league position – 22nd of 24 in Division Three. They finished third in Division Three in 1999 and won automatic promotion to Division Two.
Having sold his interests in Wimbledon, Sam Hammam purchased control of Cardiff City in August 2000. Shortly after he took over at Cardiff, the club crest was redesigned. This new design incorporated the Cardiff City bluebird in front of the Flag of Saint David, and featured the Club's nickname superimposed at the top of the crest. Lennie Lawrence guided Cardiff to promotion via a Division Two play-off triumph in 2003.
The Bluebirds established themselves in Division One during the 2003–04 season, finishing in 13th position. They struggled to a 16th position finish at the end of the 2004–05 campaign and ended the 2005–06 season with an 11th position finish.
After failing to get the new stadium plans agreed by Cardiff Council due to concerns over financial security in 2006, Hammam agreed to a takeover by a consortium led by new chairman Peter Ridsdale but the club remained £40 million in debt.
Datuk Chan Tien Ghee (TG) took over as chairman on 27 May 2010 after a meeting on the same day. Vincent Tan also invested and joined the board.
Cardiff changed their home colours to red and black, as well as their badge, from the 2012–13 season in exchange for an investment plan from the Malaysian owners, including a new training facility, stadium expansion and a transfer budget. Cardiff topped the Championship and with it gained promotion to the Premier League for the first time, but were relegated after only one season with 30 points from 38 matches.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær was sacked on 18 September 2014, and replaced by Leyton Orient manager Russell Slade.
On 2 January 2015, Cardiff beat Colchester United in the FA Cup in front of the lowest ever recorded crowd of 4,194 at the Cardiff City Stadium, which prompted an emergency meeting of the Cardiff Board. A week later, the club announced an official statement, saying that, after deliberation with members of the board and chosen fans, the club's home colours would be changed back to blue with immediate effect.
On 5 October 2016, Neil Warnock was appointed First Team manager of Cardiff City, guiding Cardiff to a 12th place finish in the Championship.
That is an excellent match preview, arguably the best so far this season. Very level headed response to Micks recent shenanigans....... for me, always better to read borderline discontent towards the manager in that ^^^^ diplomatic way.
Fk off, Mick!
Anyway...., a few wanted Warnock at Town...... I was one of them. But, knowing now how little Mevans gets his wallet out, I don't think Warnock would've been a success at ITFC. But I like Neil Warnock, and (AFTER this game) I wish him all the best. What happened to Pathay?
Only a draw can possibly be achieved in this fixture. Head is thinking a convincing 3-0 defeat though. Hopefully not. Enjoy the game those who are making the lengthy trip.
NEIL: Throw in, ref?
Ref: Corner, Neil
Throw in...
Corner
Naaa, throw in
Corner
THROW IN FFS
Corner
Jaysus H, that was a throw in
Corner
Ffs. Come on. Throw in
Corner
IT WAS A THROW IN REF!
Corner
Let's not waste time, voted for the home victory and furthermore would be very surprised to see anything other, coming from this fixture. May be worth seeing in the event of a Town victory the number pronouncing McCarthy as some level of savior once again and we're a club in calm waters. Could be humorous but the issue is, they're essentially serious with it.
Bloody hope so its a hell of a trek but a positive result will make it all worthwhile. I was a bit concerned to read that Bru could possibly start depending on what formation we go with, not in favour of that, Flynn Downes needs to be in there.
As you say they are struggling for goals atm so if just for once we can avoid silly individual errors you just never know, it looks like they are without danger man Zohore as well as Gunnarsson and Bennett which helps our cause. Fingers crossed.
saint jude wrote:Let's not waste time, voted for the home victory and furthermore would be very surprised to see anything other, coming from this fixture. May be worth seeing in the event of a Town victory the number pronouncing McCarthy as some level of savior once again and we're a club in calm waters. Could be humorous but the issue is, they're essentially serious with it.
Cardiff City 2 Ipswich 0
As has been stated on numerous occasions, particularly recently, you have to respect everyone'e opinions, whether they are positive or negative about the current situation.
There was a period of five consecutive seasons up to 2013 when Cardiff was a happy hunting ground for Town with us coming away with three wins and two draws even when the odds were stacked against us. However since then we’ve not picked up a single point.
McCarthy’s record there with Town isn’t brilliant, just one point from a 0-0 draw soon after his appointment which at the time was probably a good result. Since then we’ve lost three on the bounce.
Lucky for us Cardiff aren’t playing too well at the moment and three of their last four home games have been drawn the latest two both 0-0 v Millwall and Derby County. Knowing our Mick I suspect 0-0 will be his game plan and a point would be good, although one mistake and that becomes a 1-0 win to the home side.
God forbid he sets us up to win then I still think we could come away with a point and i’m Sure a 2-2 draw would be a far more enjoyable game to watch especially if Celina scores one of them for the fans.
I’m hoping for a point but if i’m honest a home win by the odd goal is far more realistic.
Im expecting Town to get thumped.......MM fielding a side devoid of tactics and wanting to prove a point to the fans that hes a god and we are just fodder.....5-1 cardiff
Will be extremely surprised if we get a win tonight considering all the negativity surrounding MM..Like the last poster,will go for a heavy defeat against a good team without issues.
marko69 wrote:That is an excellent match preview, arguably the best so far this season. Very level headed response to Micks recent shenanigans....... for me, always better to read borderline discontent towards the manager in that ^^^^ diplomatic way.
Fk off, Mick!
Anyway...., a few wanted Warnock at Town...... I was one of them. But, knowing now how little Mevans gets his wallet out, I don't think Warnock would've been a success at ITFC. But I like Neil Warnock, and (AFTER this game) I wish him all the best. What happened to Pathay?
Only a draw can possibly be achieved in this fixture. Head is thinking a convincing 3-0 defeat though. Hopefully not. Enjoy the game those who are making the lengthy trip.
NEIL: Throw in, ref?
Ref: Corner, Neil
Throw in...
Corner
Naaa, throw in
Corner
THROW IN FFS
Corner
Jaysus H, that was a throw in
Corner
Ffs. Come on. Throw in
Corner
IT WAS A THROW IN REF!
Corner
Still about Marko 69 and still occasionally visiting the Forum so I can keep my neighbour updated on fan's views. He is a IT supporter. But about tonight . I don't know how to call this one and it depends on who Warnock picks and who is available because we have a number of injuries. But Warnock has done well down here and spent very little on a squad which I believe can challenge to the end of the season. He has off loaded the high earners and brought in some outstanding free signings. The one outstanding signing is Mendzie Lang who we had as free agent having been let go by Rochdale, and the other is Goalkeeper Etherage from Walsall, Warnock has been promised further money in January by our owner who has now established a better relationship with fans so we are confident of at least a top six position. But there again there is many a slip between cup and lip so we will have to wait and see but Warnock has shown what can be done with very little money
pathay wrote:Still about Marko 69 and still occasionally visiting the Forum so I can keep my neighbour updated on fan's views. He is a IT supporter. But about tonight . I don't know how to call this one and it depends on who Warnock picks and who is available because we have a number of injuries. But Warnock has done well down here and spent very little on a squad which I believe can challenge to the end of the season. He has off loaded the high earners and brought in some outstanding free signings. The one outstanding signing is Mendzie Lang who we had as free agent having been let go by Rochdale, and the other is Goalkeeper Etherage from Walsall, Warnock has been promised further money in January by our owner who has now established a better relationship with fans so we are confident of at least a top six position. But there again there is many a slip between cup and lip so we will have to wait and see but Warnock has shown what can be done with very little money
Yes, a lot of time for Neil Warnock. He knows his stuff and seems to get the respect he deserves.
To hell with what McCarthy says we need a result here ..... a draw at least. We cannot afford to lose games against clubs above us if we want a chance to be in a playoff spot. He must start the same forwards... Waghorn, Garner, Didsy, and Celina. Give it a shot. If we lose by an avalanche so be it, but, we could snatch a point or even win with an attacking attitude..
I think he's done it on purpose, all this bloody way for that line up, i really hope i make myself look a right tit (some would say again) but this is gonna be painful !!!
I understand the changes, Spence hasn't been playing well, Webster should be nursed back from injury, Bru is playing for a contract, Celina deserves a chance and Ward will do more work than McGoldrick who hasn't been great recently. Perhaps still a weak team, but a decent bench against tired legs.
Just home and trying to catch up, first observation is the strange team selection which is neither one thing or another... had to think if we were playing a cup match
I can understand McGoldrick being given a rest but expected Waghorn to start.
To be honest I was hoping for a clean sheet especially given Cardiff’s recent scoring record and lack of goals. I guess we’re now likely to struggle given our recent lack of shots on target which is one of the lowest in the Championship.
Cardiff City v Ipswich Town
