Ipswich Town vs Wolves Preview & Matchday Thread

[Bluemike]

In the grand scheme of things losing to the runaway League leaders is not a surprise and for most expected and yet some Town fans I spoke to before the game fancied us to at the very least take something from the game, alas that was not to be and the outcome ended up being as predictable as Town's second half performance. The Line up saw Jordan Spence thankfully return to the RB slot with Iorfa ineligible to play against his employers while Stephen Gleeson came in to Midfield for the injured Cole Skuse.

The game was barley a minute old befire our wonderful Left back Knudsen was out stripped and left for dead resulting in him having to concede a freekick in a dangerous position, thankfully the danger was averted. It was actually Town who had the better of the next few minutes, popping the ball around nicely and pushing forward, Connolly in particular was looking lively and trying to get forward, in fact it was he who had the first effort of the game but John Ruddy was not overly tested in saving it. Not long after Martyn Waghorn tried an audacious lob from distance but again Ruddy was equal to the task but at least it was another Town effort on target. Surprise surprise, out of the Blue Wolves take the lead with their first real attack of the game, again Connolly doing some good work in our box to track back and stop the attacker form getting in on goal, unfortunately Wolves still fashioned a cross into the box and there at the far post was Doherty to head into the ground with the ball finally nestling in the back of the net, quite what the Town defenders were doing at the back post god only knows but I can't help but think that yet again it comes through our RB area were Knudsen & Celina just stood there rooted to the spot and watched the guy head home, not good enough from either of them, Bart seemed to be fixed to the spot too as he made no effort to at least get across to it, not good enough from him either !!!

Despite the set back Town were actually playing quite well and trying to take the game to the visitors, we still had a bit of swagger to our play, something rarely seen these days, Connolly and Gleeson were getting through lots of work in the Middle while Didsy was having one or Two good moments mixed in with several p*ss poor ones, Waghorn & Garner were largely ineffective with the latter virtually anonymous. One crunching tackle from Gleeson was applauded by all inside the ground except for the ref who deemed it a foul and a yellow card ! It was as good a tackle as you will see and he clearly got the ball, thankfully Bart pulled of a good save from the freekick to keep it at 0-1. At the other end Town were having a few sights of the Wolves goal, again the very impressive Connolly was denied a goal from distance by Ruddy and not long after Celina let rip with another shot that beat the keeper all ends up but went wide of the far post, despite still being behind Town were playing some half decent stuff and if anything had looked slightly the better team. There was still just time for Town to fashion another good chance, this time Celina was provider for Didsy who saw his goal bound effort tipped over the bar by the in form Ruddy, scummy Norwich b*stard.

Despite going in a goal down Town could feel well pleased with their efforts in the opening 45 minutes and it gave hope that something could still be taken from the game, one moment of sloppy defending had cost us yet again but how many damn times do we say this ! We just needed to be a bit more clinical in the second half as chances had come our way, the one negative point for me was the no show of Garner and to a lesser degree Waghorn, both needed to get into the game more although it has to be said the Wolves back line are a big strong unit.

Quite what goes on in our dressing room at half time I don't know but what we witnessed after the break was so disappointing, gone was the crisp passing Town had been doing in the opening period, the body language of several players in blue seemed lethargic and lazy all of a sudden, players were trying to get foprward and time and time again no Town player offered any support, Spence in particular was trying to get forward down the Right and every time he had nobody to pass to, it was as if we had given up believeing from the restart. Wolves were now very much on top and Twice Bart was called upon to pull off good saves, one save in particular was an excellent piece of goalkeeping as Jota charged in one on one. Moments later Wolves again broke through and looked certain to score but the ball across to the umarked striker was played behind him and we escaped again. Then again Bart saved well as Costa was through and looked for all the world like he was going to make it Two. this was a shadow of the Town team we had seen in the first period and up front we were offering little, it was crying out for change but no sign of Mick doing anything. Finally waghorn had a shot which flew harmlessly into the side netting but in truth it was a token gesture and Ruddy barely even moved to attempt to save it. Two more very good saves from bart kept the scoreline respectable but by now Wolves were getting through our defence pretty much at will, then finally with about Five minutes left we bring on all Three subs !! What is the point !!! So little time for them to influence the game especially after they had been warming up for nigh on Twenty bloody minutes, it was ridiculous in the extreme. We did have one small rally where we got into their box but again a lack of composure at thge crucial time saw any chance of a Town leveller disappear.

As it is losing to Wolves is no disgrace but again I felt at HT they were their for the taking if we stepped up our first half efforts another 10/15% but instead we don't even turn up, I do not believe Wolves changed anything after the break, we just failed to deliver in any way, shape or form. Too many players hid when we needed them, Didsy's body language sucks these days and he really has his head elsewhere, get rid, Garner was a total non entity and this is happening too often for me, he really did nothing, OK after the break we lumped it high too much but even in the first half when we played some good stuff he was not in the game, Waghorn too has hit a bit of a buffer in recent games and needs a goal, Celina has moments going forward but the defending yesterday left a lot to be desired, Knudsen needs no summing up, for me he is and alwasy will be a p*ss poor LB, again today he lost the ball upfield and instead of busting a gut to get back he practically walked while watching the action unfold, it happens every game and is not acceptable, at least Spence looks like he is trying even if idt does not always come off, Knudsen & Celinas efforts at defending the goal cost us the game, it's as simple as that. For me Connolly was excellent and my MOTM alongside bart who made a string of second half saves, I still think he looked poor for the goal too, Gleeson again did a lot of good things and seems a decent addition to the team, the CB'S were ok and with Carter-Vickers having only just arrived we need to give the partnership time to gel, this is for me the one area where a good understanding is important but it doesn't come after just Two games, but over all I thought they were ok in patches.

Bart (8) Spence (6) Chambers (6) Carter-Vickers (6) Knudsen (5) Gleeson (7) Connolly (8) Didsy (6) Celina (6) Waghorn (5) Garner (5)

I think for us to make up an Eight point deficit on the top six is a tall ask and the reality is that we probably won't, however the next two at Sunderland and home to Burton are winnable so you just never know but which Town turns up ? If it is the first half Town we have a chance against anyone but we are so hot and cold it is untrue, Mick jarred me off again with his reluctance to change things yesterday when it clearly wasn't happening on the pithc, OK I don't like Sears and Ward hardly set's the world alight but why not at least try something ! I was also pissed off at not having Aaron Drinnan on the bench, insead kevin Bru is there ?? I just don't get it at all, we had enough Midfield options without bru being included surely to god. All in all a disappointing end to something that started quite hopeful but we seem incapable of playing well for Two halves. We must get a couiple of good results under our belts as we go into the Norwich game so a minimum of Four points from Sunderland & Burton is a must for me.

[ashfordblue]

It gets embarrassing 3 subs with 5 mins to go, shows the f*****g intelligence of MM, why of F*****G why cant we play a complete game well, 1st half good, 2nd sh*t, I cant wait for the end of the season and McCarthy F***s off, with the talk of One of our old players John McGreal a replacement, ??? he was a good player, probably would get shouted down as Micks replacement, but the way ME finances the Squad, we will be arsehole lucky to get any worthwhile applicants,

[Bluemike]

I'm still hearing talk of Taricco so who knows.

[marko69]

Thanks for the conclusive match report there. These literal games of two halves are a real head scratcher for you attending fans. And with the 2nd half being devoid of imagination from the start, that 85th minute must've felt like an absolute eternity in eventually arriving. Very frustrating indeed.

The Kay-Nood-Zen situation must be highly irritating for the fans also. I'm counting 5 games (I may be wrong on that) where Jonas has been very effective being moved into the CB role; one of those games I saw for myself through extended highlights. Clearly the lad struggles at LB, so why bring in Carter-Vickers? Can only assume there is a quality LB shortage down there. I mean, yes, Carter-Vickers is definitely adding quality to the team, but it's also keeping a proven, extremely mediocre "LB" @ LB. Just don't get it.

And why was Aaron Drinnan not even on the bench? Has he been injured in training?

[marko69]

.... we will be arsehole lucky to get any worthwhile applicants.

Never heard that one before, Ash.

Should it read:

We will be lucky to get any worthwhile applicants who are not arseholes.

?

[herforder]

I'm still hearing talk of Taricco so who knows.

Pretty sure he’s joined up again with Gus Poyet, who’s just taken over as manager of a French outfit - whose name escapes me: (either Dior or Cardin Wanderers). That said, he could still end up here.....

[Bluemike]

I'm still hearing talk of Taricco so who knows.

Pretty sure he’s joined up again with Gus Poyet, who’s just taken over as manager of a French outfit - whose name escapes me: (either Dior or Cardin Wanderers). That said, he could still end up here.....

Is that right ? If correct the links to us must be bullcrap.

[Charnwood]

According to last weeks Mail on Sunday Mauricio Taricco was appointed as assistant to Gus Poyet at France Ligue 1 side Bordeaux. This was also confirmed on Twitter either Friday or Saturday last week.

[Bluemike]

More hope dashed then

[Charnwood]

To be honest Mike there are probably quite a few British managers out there who would be more than happy to come to Ipswich Town, I guess in the grand scheme of things it’s still a quality job given that Premiership clubs search globally when looking for a new manager with most Brits hardly getting a look in.

Tony Mowbray is doing a cracking job on limited resources at Blackburn and could be a good candidate, I know he turned us down in 2006 but i’m not aware of his reasons but maybe his circumstances have changed.

Maybe we should start our own shortlist.

[Bluemike]

I wouldn't want Mowbray under any circumstances, he may be doing a decent job at Blackburn in league One but for me he has been a dreadful manager, i would rather keep McCarthy any day of the week.

[herforder]

Can’t believe i’d forgotten it was Bordeaux - heaven knows I’ve sampled enough of its principal output over the years! But then that’s probably why I’d forgotten in the first place....hic!

[marko69]

I certainly wouldn't close the door fully on the possibility of Tony Mowbray. He's won the championship league before with WBA. Ok, he had a few extra quid with para-payments but, historically, it's not been a cut & dry scenario that these relegated clubs bounce back. He done well with WBA. The EPL definitely a step too far I'd say though.

I'll throw my ITFC scarves off the new Queensferry crossing if Terry Butcher gets the gig.

[herforder]

I wouldn't want Mowbray under any circumstances, he may be doing a decent job at Blackburn in league One but for me he has been a dreadful manager, i would rather keep McCarthy any day of the week.

Which remains a realistic possibility. Question is, who decides...ME or MM?

As for Mowbray - still don’t think he would want to come here. (Although his wife’s an Ipswich girl).

[ashfordblue]

.... we will be arsehole lucky to get any worthwhile applicants.

Never heard that one before, Ash.

Should it read:

We will be lucky to get any worthwhile applicants who are not arseholes.

?

pmsl

[Frosty]

Really well written report Mike, I always look forward to reading them.


Cheers Dave

[Charnwood]

I wouldn't want Mowbray under any circumstances, he may be doing a decent job at Blackburn in league One but for me he has been a dreadful manager, i would rather keep McCarthy any day of the week.

...but you also said Harry Kane was crap and you wouldn’t ever want to see him Portman Road...look what he’s doing now.

As for Mowbray at least he’s passionate about Ipswich Town which is more than you can say about McCarthy.

You also have to remember that transition from player to manager doesn’t happen overnight and there has to be a period of learning which isn’t always successful. Those that are really dreadful at management disappear eg the Jim Magiltons etc, and others that want to stay in the game move on to become pundits, eg Alan Shearer, Alan Hanson, or become football ambassadors and /or directors like Bobby Charlton.

Even great managers like our own Sir Bobby often endured difficult times in their early managerial career, in his first appointment Sir Bobby was unceremoniously sacked by Fulham before coming to Portman Road, and had he been anywhere other than Ipswich he would probably been sacked early on after four very mediocre seasons before starting to find his way.

I certainly wouldn’t write Tony Mowbray off yet as a Championship manager as I think he may still have a lot to offer, albeit not necessarily in the Premier League which could prove to be a step too far.

[herforder]

Mowbray has acquired a significant amount of managerial experience - and no doubt learned from past mistakes or poor judgements - probably sufficient to work successfully in the C’ship. However, I believe it preferable to appoint any MM successor who does not come from the ranks of ex-players, who inevitably have emotional and historic ties to the club. Whilst the criteria should ideally be ‘best available for the job’, there’s an additional dimension of supporters’ expectation and burden of the past when appointing a former player. Better to appoint someone who can operate without those constraints, and is able to bring a degree of detached professionalism to the job. That’s not to say he should lack passion for the game - but then if that were the case, he has no business being in it.

As for Mowbray being more passionate about the club than MM, based on a conversation I once had with him (Mowbray) at Hintlesham Hall, I am not sure that’s necessarily the case. But appreciate perceptions are not invariably accurate.

[Bluemike]

Bloody hell Andy, where did the Harry Kane thing come from ? Trust you to remember that lol, he is crap anyway.

On a more serious note, I still remain of the opinion that no way do I want Mowbray here, i am dead against ex players coming back to manage their club, for me it smacks of laziness on behalf of the owner, lets have a little inventiveness and go down a different route. Very interesting comment from Herforder though regarding his chat with mogga.

[Bluemike]

Really well written report Mike, I always look forward to reading them.


Cheers Dave

Thanks Dave.

[Charnwood]

Bloody hell Andy, where did the Harry Kane thing come from ? Trust you to remember that lol, he is crap anyway.

On a more serious note, I still remain of the opinion that no way do I want Mowbray here, i am dead against ex players coming back to manage their club, for me it smacks of laziness on behalf of the owner, lets have a little inventiveness and go down a different route. Very interesting comment from Herforder though regarding his chat with mogga.

Hey Mike, I’ll always remember that comment of yours only because your opinion of HC was so much different to mine. I think he’d been on loan at a Leicester City at the time and was available again and I suggested we might be interested, .... that was probably the first time you said he was crap and clearly you still think the same.

As for Mogga, one night circa 2001 after a Town midweek home game me and the missus were invited into the Directors Lounge at Portman Road by Charlie Woods who introduced us to Mogga who then took the four of us out for dinner. During the couple of hours we were together he came across as being very passionate about Town and football, although to be fair he was new to coaching and probably grateful for the opportunity he was being given by ITFC. At that time I’d worked as a Management Consultant and we talked about his transition from coaching to management and about his ambitions. Since then I’ve followed his career with interest.
Whilst I have reservations about employing former players as managers, as I did with Jim Magilton who had no management experience, I have less concern when they’ve learned their trade elsewhere and come back with relevant experience and an appropriate track record. Thinking of ex Town players I can’t think of any other than Mowbray who would fit the bill, maybe Frank Yallop if he were interested in coming back to the UK, but even then his recent record isn’t all good, plus I think you need Championship knowledge to be effective in this very demanding league.
Maybe my personal contact with Mogga has affected my judgement given that my first impressions of him were so good, however I wouldn’t write him off just because he is an ex player.

[Bluemike]

Thats a fair point Andy and it maybe that I am being a bit harsh on the guy, anyway time will tell, i wonder if he would even leave Blackburn for us anyway.

For the record, I dont still think Harry Kane is rubbish lol, that is something I got totally wrong, probably said it cus of his Norwich connection.

[Charnwood]

Back on topic, thanks for the report Bluemike I just got round to reading it properly as opposed to skim reading as I had earlier.

For me the worry is ....“what the f*ck did McCarthy say or do at half time”.. that impacted so negatively on our second half performance. Shed made a similar comment on Saturday evening and this isn’t the first time it’s happened. The norm would be for a manager to address under performance at half time and players come out inspired in the second half, this is usually the way it works.

My second concern is his lack of use of substitutes to change the way a game is going, I have no problems with three being used at the same time, but with only 5 minutes of normal time remaining, isn’t this a tad too late, especially when you’re still chasing the game and you take off two strikers.

I’ve no idea what he’s doing these days and I find his post match interviews repitive and thoroughly boring, whereas there was a time when he was funny and entertaining and displayed good knowledge of the game, those qualities appear to have been lost along the way.

In good times an 8 point deficit at this time of the season wouldn’t be unbridgeable, after all there’s nearly always at least one team that comes off the pace to make the play offs and often makes it through to the final too, however with the situation as it is I don’t think it will be us this season. Maybe that team this year is Fulham who were 6 points behind us the week before Christmas, and now seven games later have an 8 point lead. That’s one helluva turnaround in six weeks.

[charlton837]

to give my opinion on a couple of bits of this thread;

The match itself - I thought we started the match quite well, we were probably edging the match until Wolves scored, it was a very poor goal though. I was mostly disappointed by our 2nd half performance and the squad that Mick picked. He was saying he couldn't change it up as "all his goalscorers were on the pitch", but he does have Aaron Drinan (no idea how good he is) and he does also have Ben Morris who has been scoring goals for fun. If we need to use them players then do it. McGoldrick - Someone please take him, the guy has lost it, I see no point in keeping him here anymore. Wolves were good but I think they will play better. I know some Ipswich fans want to believe they are the best team you have ever seen but for my money I thought we made them look good in the 2nd half. Theres no doubt they have some good players but if you let them play through you and you constantly pass them the ball back then of course they will punish you, we were lucky that Bart had a great game. I also heard Town fans saying that's the difference in ambition, lets face it Wolves isn't the norm, we will not be spending 10-15m on individual players, we cant expect to use them as a model, just as 95% of the league cant, should we spend more money? yes but lets be realistic. HOWEVER this doesn't mean we cant compete, and given Wolves were a little out of form I thought we could have had a better crack at them, we went 1-0 down and showed the white flag in the second half.

Managers - I know there have been mentions of McGreal and Mowbray on here, would either be my first choice? no but I would take them to be honest. I don't think Mowbray is a terrible manager, I think he could do a decent enough job, hes had a mixed managerial career but when hes got it right he has done well. I guess McGreal would be realistic and perhaps if the club think hes someone to nurture young talent here it could happen. I still think MM might be here next season, I hope to god not but he swans around like he owns the place, and its clear he knows he can say/do what he wants without risk of being reprimanded. I watched his live pre match press conference on Friday, I thought it was embarrassing the level of sarcasm and just generally how rude he was. I cant imagine other clubs allowing this to be their image to the press that represent the fans.

[Watership Down]

Waghorn & Celina sounds like a law office.

"Hello Waghorn & Celina, how may I help?"
"Hi there, my name is Glenn Murray and I'm looking for some help. You give advice on the side, for cash, yeah?"

Err...... Hold on I will have to ask my Manager ....... although he's out of ideas