Championship - Bristol City vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

[JohnnyB]

9 points clear of third place with a game in hand - and that game is Rotherham. That's four games for Leeds or whoever to win while we lose. Can anyone really hope to catch us now?

[hallamblue]

Sccchhhhhh!!!!

[hallamblue]

Gotta ask this of you guys. Can anyone see what McKenna seems to see in Scarlett? To me he’s slow, heavy, off the pace , comes in and doesn’t even put pressure on their defenders. What is the point of him?

My gran would be quicker than him if she was still alive

I actually thought Hirst played well, in defence also. He did tire though but he gives so much to the team. He seemed to slow right down after getting clattered by their goalie.
We also at times looked so rusty but 3 points is massive, really great result and bet Mark Ashton is a happy chappie

He did miss some chances through poor touch , but I think so many of the players had a poor touch tonight, and missed chances too. So not just him. But Guess that’s the rustiness you get from not playing for nearly three weeks. Normally after a break Town traditionally lose the next league match …. It bodes well doesn’t it, 3 points when not at our best .

[Andym]

To me, Hirst works his socks off but his touch and padding aren’t great. Jackson was the biggest concern, but in a GIF position on a number occasions, beat the defender with his pace but the delivery was poor every time.
A comfortable first half (air the first 5 minutes), the second half more even and they came at us at the start and end of the second half, but overall wet were The better side. We play with such confidence on the ball, it’s lovely to watch.
Oration win to go above Leeds, so we are 9 points clear of 3rd with a game in hand. Still early days and not getting overconfident - look how last season turned round - but it’sa good place to be. And the quality of play on the ball is just amazing.

[hallamblue]

Yer…. Just keep thinking Sheffield Weds and the lead they squandered… it can happen. Playing teams a second time round May well be a big big test . Fingers crossed eh

[number 9]

Not sure what KM sees in Jackson, to be honest. He works his socks off, but not good enough for ITFC now. It seems like Scarlet was a favour, and it isn’t working out. Too bad his last name isn’t Johansson.

[number 9]

Wish that third kit was solid white with blue cuffs. Not a fan of pin stripes.

[Mauswara]

Table looking good, the gap between 2nd and 3rd is bigger than that between 3rd and 21st.

[Andym]

Table looking good, the gap between 2nd and 3rd is bigger than that between 3rd and 21st.

That is an amazing statistic.

[hallamblue]

Lap it up guys/ gels this is a Helluva stat

https://twitter.com/Between_TL/status/1 ... record%2F2

[Bluemike]

To me, Hirst works his socks off but his touch and padding aren’t great. Jackson was the biggest concern, but in a GIF position on a number occasions, beat the defender with his pace but the delivery was poor every time.
A comfortable first half (air the first 5 minutes), the second half more even and they came at us at the start and end of the second half, but overall wet were The better side. We play with such confidence on the ball, it’s lovely to watch.
Oration win to go above Leeds, so we are 9 points clear of 3rd with a game in hand. Still early days and not getting overconfident - look how last season turned round - but it’sa good place to be. And the quality of play on the ball is just amazing.

He does work his socks off and I have really warmed to him, but second halves of most games he looks shot to bits, he got clattered by their keeper in the first couple of minutes after the break and wasn't the same after that, his touch can be off and while it's frustrating at times I can live with that, it's more this apparent burn out that concerns me, that said I'd rather have a One legged Hirst than Scarlett tbh.

[Bluemike]

Having caught the highlights again I have to say Hirst's lay off to Broady for the goal was quality touch so he has got it at times and in essence it won us the game.

[marko69]

Great win last night. Played absolute pants second half but still managed 3pts……. That’s what promotion chasing teams are all about.
Well done all, players, managers, travelling fans.

[Bluemike]

The Leicester fans are very very complimentary about us this morning, to a man they are saying we are doing incredible and hope we go up with them, so nice to read.

[Dazzz67]

Speaking to my BC mate this morning, obviously not happy in the loss but he was full of compliments.....

very clever the way they play
everytime you want forward you had 5 up front
never seen that before
although theres no wonder you conceed as many as you score lol

Dont think you guys have anything to worry about this season, best footballing team Ive seen in years
Confidence just oozes from that team
Im jealous


He is a good lad and I do hope BC are up there come Spring.

[hallamblue]

Having caught the highlights again I have to say Hirst's lay off to Broady for the goal was quality touch so he has got it at times and in essence it won us the game.

I think his game has developed in the short time he’s been at the Club . He’s not the finished article by any means yet. I do get frustrated when he fluffs easy looking chances, it’s very frustrating, but I think there’s a really good player in there . He’s only just turned 24yrs this week I think, so consistency in front of goal is his next learning curve , which I feel comes with greater experience…Freddie being an example of that. But his ability to lead the line is fast developing and he reads the game so well . I think his game goes off when his legs tire, naturally,

Dane Scarlett is actually a lot younger than I thought he was, at just 19yrs of age. So maybe I’ve been a bit harsh on him. But he does look slow, heavy and lethargic to me. Lots to develop there then …..

[Steve]

After watching re run of the game last night so seen it twice, what really showed is we really missed Wes Burns and Freddie Ladapo

Jackson for me was wasteful, All the pace but couldn't pick out a town player when crossing. Maybe just too quick and no Town player could keep up.
The amount of time he went charging up the line to only whip across the ball straight to a City defender or the keeper. He never looked up just banging the ball in.

I know Wes isn't every bodies cup of tea but he is far more aware of his team mates and doesn't just keep banging in hopeful cross balls like Jackson does. Having said that Kayden Jackson has improved under Kieran management, really need to look up more and be aware

I thought Hirst was awesome especially in the first half. Has Mike mentioned his layoff for Broadhead to score was sublime. His finishing is erratic, reminds me a bit of Shefki Kuqi far as finishing but he bundles defenders over, he runs his socks off, he presses and hold the ball up. Great at defending set pieces. What we missed is Freddie to come on and give the opposition something else to think of.

Hopefully Dane Scarlett will offer something, just as yet cannot see anything in him

[hallamblue]

Yes I’d agree re Jackson. His choice of pass and execution lets him down. There’s no end product, well certainly not last
night. I think these qualities were emphasised last night due to the 3 week break. All the players were rusty. Burns will be rusty when he comes back into the side.

[Steve]

Wes Burns is a natural in that right side position. Jackson, rusty or not, chalk and cheese those two are

Jackson will do good things but Burns is far more natural out there than Jackson.

[Ricco]

I wish this flipping website would tell you you're not signed in before you write a post, not just after when you press submit and it wipes any memory of what you've just written!!! Ah well, I suppose that occasionally spares some of you lot my gibberish.

although theres no wonder you conceed as many as you score lol

Fair comment from your mate Dazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, but I was surprised to see that only Leicester have conceded fewer goals than Town this season now, with a note that most have played 13 games to Town's 12, but still, I found that surprising.

Then I wrote something about Hirst never likely to bag many goals unless he hits a rich vein of form, but he does so much in his hold up play, first line of defence and pulling defenders about all over the place, but he could pick and choose when to use up his burst of energy a bit more wisely.

And another good game for Hladky, he's more comfortable on the ball than the two centre backs and really adds another dimension to building from the back.

[Bluemike]

I knew Hirst had a good first half but until I watched it back I didn't realise just how good tbh, in our own box he popped up couple of times with crucial clearances too. As Hallam says he is still pretty young and this is the first time he's really settled anywhere. We deffo need Freddie fit though cus by the hour mark Hirst needs a breathing machine.

[patthegimp]

Whats the timeline on Freddy. As posted we do need him for the last 15-20.

9 points clear with a game in hand. Who would have thought ( except the bookies!!)

Keep it going. COYB

[hallamblue]

Interesting post from Clive baker ( ex Town GK who was at the game last night), and a response post regarding Hirst, his qualities and his role in the team.

Bristol City match thoughts.... rusty, patchy, but still showing quality on 10:57 - Oct 26 by _clive_baker_

It wasn't a vintage performance by any stretch, but when you're going away from home to a middling Championship side you're going to come under pressure, especially when you're defending a lead.

I think Hirst is doing exactly what McKenna expects of him, he's a bit of an old school centre forward, works his balls off and his movement is of a really high standard. The amount of times he pulls their back line out of position to create space for those around him, hold up play is generally on point, pretty good in the air, deceptive pace, can finish. He's got a couple of goals to his name already and I wouldn't rule him out hitting double figures. The issue we've got is with that level of physical output he wont do 90 minutes Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday and I agree with you that we could do with more depth.

Saturday feels made for a vintage performance. We'll be back at home in front of a packed out PR, on that surface and with the rustiness of a long break behind us. I would anticipate one or 2 changes in the team selection, perhaps Hutchinson coming in from the start. It promises to be a good game, I really want to get one over on Plymouth having not achieved it last season.


I thought Hirst was excellent last night, blown after 60 minutes (ooh-er!) but his disruption of their centre backs was excellent, hold up, ball stealing and work rate terrific. I think KMc has done a superb job of educating the majority of Town fans to understand that 'No. 9' in our system is probably more about creating space and opportunities for others than scoring or even directly assisting goals.

Saw a discussion on the Leicester forum saying "Why didn't we keep Hirst?" to which replied "He's only scored 2 and created 3." - I think the bulk of our fans understand that you don't need a big lump up front to get on the end of crosses in the 2020s.

[Ricco]

Spot on with Hirst, he adds so much to a team, just because he's the one furthest up, doesn't mean he needs to score the most goals.

He knows he's only going to play 60 minutes, as do a few others, it means they can work 10-20% harder, which is often the difference to get a goal or two. They've done it for a while in rugby, but now with these 5 subs, love it or hate it, it brings new approaches and McKenna is taking full advantage of that.

[Bluemike]

Fair comments, although my concern has nothing to do with Hirst's goal ratio, its his lack of fitness over 90 minutes and his tendancy at times to have a poor touch, that said his first half last night was indeed very good.

[Cabanas Blue]

Whats the timeline on Freddy. As posted we do need him for the last 15-20.

9 points clear with a game in hand. Who would have thought ( except the bookies!!)

Keep it going. COYB

I think KMc said Freddie could be back for Saturdays game

[Ricco]

Fair comments, although my concern has nothing to do with Hirst's goal ratio, its his lack of fitness over 90 minutes and his tendancy at times to have a poor touch, that said his first half last night was indeed very good.

He'd last 90 minutes just fine Mike, he'd just be less effective, he's been told to run harder and only last an hour, so if he's blowing up and crawling off the pitch at that point, he's got it just right. It's just a shame we haven't got the same quality in the second wave replacements, but it ain't bad.

[Bluemike]

Freddie coming on is more than adequate cover in my opinion, it is after that I worry, Jackson is no striker and Scarlett thus far is just baffling to me.

[Ricco]

Freddie coming on is more than adequate cover in my opinion, it is after that I worry, Jackson is no striker and Scarlett thus far is just baffling to me.

Yes when fit, but also the whole 3 or 4 player switch I was talking about. Last night was a perfect example, a 1 goal lead against a decent team and the players are coming on to see it out. He defended well, but that right side with Williams tiring and a young Hutchinson coming in worried me. The genius of McKenna switched a fresh Ball to help them and moved Morsy over. But it might not always be that simple, especially with a few winter injuries, it might cause some problems when in a tricky game you then have to bring on the next wave of players... ask the England Rugby team how that turned out for them against SA!

[Mariner67]

Good win away,that goal line clearance was scary,agree about Scarlett but Williams was poor to start with,now a key player.managed to watch it after work on Town tv,good to see Wes Burns,good night for town,may it continue.