League 1 - Morecambe FC vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

[mendipblue]

We f*cked up against Cheltenham and Morcombe at the start of the season now we are doing it again

[JamessB]

Get in Wes Burns, now push for late winner

[Bluemike]

Get in Burns !!!!

[Denny61]

Ah well.at least we avoided relegation

[Bluemike]

sh*t we nearly won it

[Charnwood]

sh*t we nearly won it

I’ve no idea how Carson saved that.

[Charnwood]

Celina made a real difference, surely he has to start.

[mendipblue]

Shame Town don't play at that tempo from the start.

[ashfordblue]

22 shots 8 on target and 1 goal are not bloody good enough scoring stats Keiran, get your striker coach to earn his fooking corn or fooking sack him, as from where we are he's bloody useless.
Also, get Bloody Simpson in the squad pronto plus El Mizuni, and do not play Norwood, Bonne, Thompson, or Carroll, do not put Chaplin or Celina on the bench they are auto starters

[Blue Wilf]

Its a real shame but as Hallam said... we never win when it matters - and its been that way for years, sadly.

[MasseyFerguson]

I can't believe somebody has voted for a Morecambe win. They are shambolic and managerless. A win is an absolute must.

Bigger challenges ahead but a comfortable win here keeps us hanging on with an outside chance of making the playoffs. It's out of our hands, as I keep saying, but all we can do is continue to rack up as many points as we can and see what happens with the teams around us. 0-3.

Reverse psychology Massey?

Also the manager who brought League 1 football to Morecambe for the first time, Derek Adams, has returned to the club!

www.morecambefc.com/news/2022/february/ ... s-returns/

While they are perhaps in a mess, never underestimate what a new manager can being, especially one no doubt popular with the club and fans?

Exactly. And after all we are talking about Ipswich Town here . If any team can f*ck up a dead cert win it’s us !

Both of you prove again that you know more about football than me. I really thought this was a banker.

[Bluemike]

The thing is we played some super stuff, the first half was excellent football, McKenna cannot account for the sort of miss Bonne was guilty of nor can he envisage a goalkeeping display like Carson did today, yes there is an issue with our strikers but there is very little wrong with the way he is getting us to play, even Mathie who is normally a tool was drooling over us at times.

[Shed on tour]

Same old story plenty of possession but unable to turn it into goals. Imo Bakinson and Thompson just not good enough. Anyhow, now off to get some grub and forget about football for a few hours.

[Charnwood]

Well said Mike. I didn’t see the first half but when you think about that second 45 mins, apart from a small number of individual errors we didn’t do too much wrong and played some great football until it came to the end product. Carson who must surely have been MOTM made some great saves albeit from less than clinical finishing. Again the Morecambe commentary team were saying Ipswich is the best team they’ve seen all season which is something we hear so often maybe soon we’ll start believing, we certainly didn’t roll over and could easily have nicked it. I haven’t given up yet but each time we drop two potential points the dream drifts further away.

[Steve and Jo]

The thing is we played some super stuff, the first half was excellent football, McKenna cannot account for the sort of miss Bonne was guilty of nor can he envisage a goalkeeping display like Carson did today, yes there is an issue with our strikers but there is very little wrong with the way he is getting us to play, even Mathie who is normally a tool was drooling over us at times.

Totally agree with you Mike

Thing is start of the season people were drooling over Bonne, remember we watched him missed an absolute sitter at Cheltenham, Two foot out after doing all the hard work in lobbing the keeper he missed from basically on the goal line. His work rate is normally great. I get he's an Ipswich lad but he doesn't half miss lot of chances. there's more strikers miss firing than just Bonne though

This result is hard to take because a win would been far more important than the quality of play. Remember we scrambled a win against Gillingham and Doncaster not long ago. Lots were not happy then. I'm not happy now but we are going to hammer a team, it's just got to happen quickly and still giving enough games to get into that top, for if we do get into it. No team like to play us

[Bluemike]

McKenna is without question building something special and thoroughly enjoyable to watch, it could just be beyond us this season but once he's put his stamp on the team in the summer, especially the striking department I don't think many will stop us over a full season. I'm really looking forward to the future under KM

[Steve and Jo]

Likewise Mike

Kieran is without doubt for me the up and coming manager we all wanted. Got to keep hold of him though

[marko69]

Getting close to the honeymoon period being over and………. WAIT! PUT YER WIGS BACK ON, its not going to be a KMcK attack……. but really looking to these strikers (or other strikers) making Ipswich that cut above the rest. The decent stuff being played is great, but need the complete package which is that great play + GOALS.

Last two games v Cheltenham Town and Morecambe……
39 shots
Only 14 on target
And only 1 goal…….. thats v Cheltenham & Morecambe.

Need to “BE” Rotherham in next seasons 4TH Year in League One. Clinical. Get the job done.
Be Lamberts flukey double canary promotion team.

Quite pi$$ed off with the result today but (^^above^^) trying to be something that seems lost in the world at the moment —->> diplomatic.

[Kerry Blue]

McKenna is without question building something special and thoroughly enjoyable to watch, it could just be beyond us this season but once he's put his stamp on the team in the summer, especially the striking department I don't think many will stop us over a full season. I'm really looking forward to the future under KM

Agree Mike and if or when we can't get into the top 6 I would like to see KMc leave the loan players out and give our own players the chance to show him if they are good enough of not.

[hallamblue]

Ah at last Jacko, Chaplin, and Celina now just F*****g start scoring PLEASE

That’s how we should have started the game…WHY did McKenna feel the need to rotate these players yet again??? This is part of the problem up front.

STICK with the same three players for a run of games. Give them a chance to work up an understanding on the pitch and in games. It’s not bloody rocket science.

[Ricco]

If Bonne had stuck his head on a chance or two, or Aluko or Burns etc etc in the first half like they should have, then it could have been 2-0, 3-0 at half time and we'd all instead be saying how amazing McKs rotation was to pick the right players and save legs etc.

Sometimes football is like that and we should live with it, Bonne doesn't become Priskin in a matter of months, they deserve their inclusion too. Its a miracle to anyone in the football universe that all the strikers at the club have seemingly gone cold, none of the players on the bench are scoring goals either. At the start of the season we were the highest scorers in the league, now we creat 30 gilt edge chances a game and score none, that doesn't mean the management should be criticised its just bloody odd.

[arana peligrosa]

Only got score some ten minutes ago, seems did well to give it a miss. Can't believe we were five minutes away from a defeat but put in prediction league it would be a 1 - 1 draw so did kind of well so to speak. Seems we battered them throughout with chances and possession but could not find a way through. Had we lost the reaction would have been something but just relief to have taken something from the trip out there.

Arguably some of our forwards aren't up to much, guess some names will be moved on in the summer. McKenna is still doing a commendable job it's only our finishing and converting chances you can call into question. Aim to catch game highlights some time soon although it never really provides a real insight to what occurs.

[Charnwood]

Look at tonight’s League Table and you can see how costly these two latest draws have been;

5 Sunderland 35 17 8 10 14 59
6 Sheff Wed. 33 16 10 7 12 58
7 Plymouth. 33 16 8 9 15 56
8 Wycombe. 34 15 10 9 9 55
9 Ipswich. 35 14 11 10 14 53

Just think where we would have been with 2 wins and 57 points.

Thankfully Plymouth and Wycombe both lost but Sunderland sprung a real surprise at Wigan. Ok the season is still far from over but we’re really making it difficult for ourselves.

[Bluemike]

If Bonne had stuck his head on a chance or two, or Aluko or Burns etc etc in the first half like they should have, then it could have been 2-0, 3-0 at half time and we'd all instead be saying how amazing McKs rotation was to pick the right players and save legs etc.

Sometimes football is like that and we should live with it, Bonne doesn't become Priskin in a matter of months, they deserve their inclusion too. Its a miracle to anyone in the football universe that all the strikers at the club have seemingly gone cold, none of the players on the bench are scoring goals either. At the start of the season we were the highest scorers in the league, now we creat 30 gilt edge chances a game and score none, that doesn't mean the management should be criticised its just bloody odd.

I would be amazed if anyone was seriously criticising McKenna, it beggars belief and that is why Town fans deserve what they get at times. This guy WILL get us promoted, probably too much of an ask this season.

[hallamblue]

I don’t think there’s anything wrong in saying a particular aspect of the manager’s approach doesn’t look right . No one is absolutely perfect . McK has and is doing a fabulous job since he’s come in . His stats back that up , but ALL of our strikers since he’s come in appear to have gone off the boil . Which is pretty remarkable and the question surely has to be asked - why? If we in life never question things, then nothing changes . You can bet your last £1 on McK questioning, reviewing and reflecting on what he does . That’s why he’s so good , so methodical, attending to every little detail, and acting on his findings.

In the Cheltenham game I criticised Thompson for not getting forward in support of Celina , and getting to the by line. I noticed yesterday he did on a couple of occasions. McK would have spoken to him I think , because he’s not done it since he’s been here. ( I don’t think it a natural part of his game tbh snd on that basis doesn’t fit McK’s bigger picture - I wouldn’t sign him in the summer).

Back to the strikers :

ALL of them are well out of form and have been for a while now . So, they are either not good enough to do what McK wants then to do, or McK is rotating them too much. A change of the front 3 every game, I suggest, is too much.

Or .. maybe ( because life is never straight forward ), it’s a mixture of the two, the players can’t adapt to chopping / changing every game and being asked to play their less favoured role / position , eg Norwood wide, not central. Or there’s no time for players to build up an understanding between each other in games, because they are then rotated out and player comes in.

By comparison, the same defensive players are picked week in week out and the result is there for all too see. Prior to that we couldn’t keep a clean sheet .
So why is the attacking end of the pitch any different.

This is NOT condemning KMc but I’m questioning WHY he’s doing it and maybe he needs to rethink that approach because ALL the strikers are rock bottom atm.

[Bluemike]

Liz, not for one second did I think you were complaining about KM and you are right to a point about the constant rotating of the strikers but I think he's just trying to find a combination that works and so far none of them has come up trumps, you say about sticking with a pairing fir a period of games but we did that with Bonne and everyone then said he should have been dropped weeks before. As for Norwood he flatters to deceive beyond belief and Jackson has only just been brought in from the cold. Pigott has been given a few run outs now and looks woeful tbh. I actually think would we be better to go with none of the Four but play Celina and Chaplin up top, or god forbid dare I say it Ash's Simpson theory.

[hallamblue]

I agree with you Mike … I think it’s looking increasingly likely that not many of them will be here next season.

It’ll be interesting to see who we bring in … and it’ll be based hopefully on McK’s specific target backed up by Ashtons data analysis

I just wonder what TYPE ( or as McK says , “ profile) of striker McK is wanting in his system ?

[Bluemike]

For me we need a Darryl Murphy type striker, big, powerful, good in the air and good hold up play

[ipswichtownNo1]

For me we need a Darryl Murphy type striker, big, powerful, good in the air and good hold up play

Just seen the highlights from yesterday. Dear oh dear the finishing let's town down. The performance looked great but that's not good if they can't put the ball in the net. I really hoped for 6 points against Cheltenham and Morecombe as im going up to fleetwood next weekend. Would have been great going up there within a whisker of the top six.

[number 9]

From what I've seen in the last few games is strikers missing open chances, especially Bonne. There's not much any manager can do to remedy that...except for maybe rotating the strikers.