Championship - Leicester City vs Ipswich Town Preview & Matchday Thread

[ashfordblue]

He brought on the tre i said and it completely changed the game

Yep, you only got one wrong there, Ash. Good stuff. ......, if you become boss, will we Simpson anytime soon?

You can bank on it Marko a shame Axel didn't come on to make 4

[hallamblue]

Talking on Suffolk Radio re striker needed , and it’ll cost in this window.

Well my thoughts are

Cost of Striker vs rewards of promotion!!!

[ashfordblue]

I think it is a priority now to get a striker or 2 through the door by next week let's hope Aussie get knocked out of the Asian Cup and get Burgess back

[Charnwood]

McKenna as usual very measured in his post match interview but I detected him being fairly confident of a new front man arriving through the door sometime soon. I think a deal is imminent, I certainly hope so.

[Charnwood]

When’s the soonest we could expect Cameron Burgess back ?

[Andym]

Shocking first half. We looked like we were scared of them. Missed Morsy and no target man to hold up play. Midfield pretty well anonymous. Only Burns looked decent. We couldn’t get hold of the ball and when we did we gave it away too easily.
Much improved second half, so good to get an equaliser again.
We so often fall behind. That’s a definite problem, our greatest weakness.
But. Isn’t it wonderful to have a manager who can turn things round? I lose count of the seasons where we would regularly have a decent first half but the opposing manager would out-think us and turn it round. We finally have a manager who can do that for us.

[Cabanas Blue]

I think we are all happy with a point and a good second half performance, and that result will do their confidence a lot of good, let's hope we can get the forward we need in this week. COYB.

[hallamblue]

When’s the soonest we could expect Cameron Burgess back ?

Think he’s away a month … so half way through it now are we?

[number 9]

Shocking first half. We looked like we were scared of them. Missed Morsy and no target man to hold up play. Midfield pretty well anonymous. Only Burns looked decent. We couldn’t get hold of the ball and when we did we gave it away too easily.
Much improved second half, so good to get an equaliser again.
We so often fall behind. That’s a definite problem, our greatest weakness.
But. Isn’t it wonderful to have a manager who can turn things round? I lose count of the seasons where we would regularly have a decent first half but the opposing manager would out-think us and turn it round. We finally have a manager who can do that for us.

Agree!

[QldBlue]

When’s the soonest we could expect Cameron Burgess back ?

Think he’s away a month … so half way through it now are we?

Yeah, even though our team is one of the weakest in a while, the whole tournament looks below par in quality so I would still expect us to reach the quarters or semis. Unless we have a Barry Crocker, I don’t think Cam will be back on the team sheet until 2nd week of Feb.

[number 9]

Broadhead’s pass to Luongo created the shot & eventually Sarmiento’s goal. Happy with the comeback, but for me our best attacking players were on the bench at the start. Why?

Because Kieron McKenna hasn't got a f**king clue what he's doing.

Jeezo, 9. COME ON, mAN!!

Haha yes I can be the perfectionist, although I have more faults than San Andreas! COYB!!!!!!!!

[Charnwood]

Not many of us predicted 1-1, even a few dis hard were looking at a defeat so I guess a draw especially after that first half feels like a win for many of us.

One thing for sure there won’t be many Championship teams reach the end of the season undefeated to Leicester City.

[Shed on tour]

I’m getting too old for this! Absolute scenes in the away end when that equaliser went in. Moments like that make all the travelling worthwhile. COYB!!!

[number 9]

If you look at the remaining schedule, it looks like we have an advantage over the current 6 teams. Our two toughest games will be against Norwich and Southampton. Obviously we need a replacement for Hirst, but I’m beginning to think KM etal are willing to move on with what we have. I hope that’s not the case, but in KM we trust.

[QldBlue]

Not many of us predicted 1-1, even a few dis hard were looking at a defeat so I guess a draw especially after that first half feels like a win for many of us.

One thing for sure there won’t be many Championship teams reach the end of the season undefeated to Leicester City.

These late kick offs are a godsend for us down-under fans!

Funny how the result was such a mirror image of the home game with that late goal.

I was one of those die hards; honestly didn’t think we would get a point without the presence of Morsy… so happy to be wrong!

[QldBlue]

If you look at the remaining schedule, it looks like we have an advantage over the current 6 teams. Our two toughest games will be against Norwich and Southampton. Obviously we need a replacement for Hirst, but I’m beginning to think KM etal are willing to move on with what we have. I hope that’s not the case, but in KM we trust.

I still think we’ll get someone 11th hour.

[arana peligrosa]

Team struggled first half, failed to make an impact ? Hell can't imagine why. Might have something to do with pinning hopes on Jackson as a loan attacker and leaving Broadhead and Aluko to warm asses on the bench. This was a game where the emphasis was to attack, we needed the points to get back to the auto positions. They got whacked by Coventry just recent, playing defensive wasn't in our best interests for the trip there.

Somewhere along the way the light bulb was invented and McKenna changed it so it could work for us. We've done well, got late goals in both fixtures but held probably the best team in the division to draws and avoided defeat. We got a sure win game with Maidstone coming up fast, place in Round Five and back in the top two promotion places so what's not to like.

Seems it were a game of two halves (involving us). Not the first instance, it won't be the last but we can procure results even with pivotal players out and playing essentially crap for 45 minutes of an entire duration. It were imperative not lose. Couldn't allow them to break further away and drop points with it ourselves. Didn't recognize the scorer at first, one of the new kids we brought in but what a time to make impact.

We haven't won many league games from the last 7 or 8 but remained largely unbeaten with it. Leicester appear shaky maybe. Bullseye's on their chest, everyone's trying to shoot them down or waiting for the fall. Recent scores make you wonder if they'll be where they are by final game of season but right now would choose to concentrate on our own objectives. Seems Vaclav did well again, if or when we get a promotion he would have played his part in that particular success. Not sure however when Walton will feature again.

[Bluemike]

McKenna as usual very measured in his post match interview but I detected him being fairly confident of a new front man arriving through the door sometime soon. I think a deal is imminent, I certainly hope so.

I felt exactly the same

[JohnnyB]

Not many of us predicted 1-1, even a few dis hard were looking at a defeat so I guess a draw especially after that first half feels like a win for many of us.

One thing for sure there won’t be many Championship teams reach the end of the season undefeated to Leicester City.

These late kick offs are a godsend for us down-under fans!

Funny how the result was such a mirror image of the home game with that late goal.

I was one of those die hards; honestly didn’t think we would get a point without the presence of Morsy… so happy to be wrong!

I'm normally an optimist but I thought we'd lose last night. Very very glad to be proved wrong (except for in the prediction league )

[Blue Wilf]

KMc certainly going to have to earn his money today if we’re gonna get anything out of this game.

Fortunately our bench looks as strong as our team so plenty of option for the boss to utilise. Let’s hope he can muster up some magic.

Just reading through this after a joyous away trip to Leicester. A draw that felt like a win - was buzzing for ages afterwards! You called it right when you asked for 'magic' Charny as the chorus of 'oh oh oh he's magic - you know - Jeremy Sarmiento' after he scored and after the game will live long with me. Such happy scenes and why I love football - away games in particular. COYB's. Leicester 'fans' were awful btw - so quiet and almost no support at all. It was so nice to score against them.

[hallamblue]

I’m getting too old for this! Absolute scenes in the away end when that equaliser went in. Moments like that make all the travelling worthwhile. COYB!!!

Bloody hell Tony that’ll get yer ticker pumping …. It’ll keep you young ha ha

ALL I could hear on tv ALL through the game was our fans. Absolutely awesome support. Leicester fans dang probably three times the whole game. I think they actually feared us!

Town can push in from this now. Take a look at Saints fixtures in March and early April lol

[hallamblue]

QldBlue: where in the World do you actually live . Don’t know why but I get feeling it’s South Africa?

[hallamblue]

McKenna’s post match interview :

Town boss Kieran McKenna said he really liked his side’s performance in the second half as they drew 1-1 away against leaders Leicester City, the team showing a real conviction after a first period in which he admitted they had been unable to impose themselves on the game.

Jeremy Sarmiento netted an 89th minute equaliser to seal the point, a Leif Davis own goal having given the Foxes the lead just after the half hour.

“I think the second half was much more like ourselves and we can take a lot of confidence and a lot of lessons from that and I thought on the balance of the second half, we probably deserved to get something from the game,” he said.

'Some good things some bad' | Rooney...
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“The first half was difficult. I don’t think we managed to impose ourselves on the game as we would have liked to and we didn’t play with the conviction on or off the ball that we would like to.

“But it’s a big step up, there’s no doubt about it, and I think it felt like that in the first half for the players on the pitch.

“It’s a big step up in terms of the level of the opponent and we’ve come a long way in a short space of time.

“But I really liked the second half, there was a real conviction in the dressing room at half-time that we might lose the game, but we were going to do our utmost to play in our identity and if we were going to lose, we were going to do it in our style. And I thought the second half was much closer to that, I thought it was a good game.

“Of course, there’s a chance that they get the second goal when the game really opens up, but I also thought that we had enough chances and really good situations that should have been chances if we’d had been a little bit more clinical to deserve something from the game.”

Sarmiento, who joined the Blues on loan from Brighton earlier in the month, became the latest Town sub to score a vital goal, something which has been a regular feature of McKenna’s Town over the last couple of years.

“It’s a been a common thing since I’ve been here,” he reflected. “I think the forward players in our team know that it’s very, very rare that they’re going to play 90 minutes.

“We try and play with an intensity that’s hard to maintain for 90 minutes and everyone in the squad knows that, especially in those forward areas, if you don’t start, there’s a very good chance that you’re going to come on in the decisive part of the game and have a big impact.

“That was the case last season as well and certainly was the case tonight. We knew that it was going to be a big physical effort. We started with as much physicality in the team as we could, really.

“And we knew that if we managed to stay in the game, ideally ahead or level but in the worst case if we were just behind, we knew that we had really good impetus that could come off the bench and really take the game to the opposition in the late stages and get a goal if we needed to, and that’s how it transpired.”



Regarding the goal, he added: “It’s good habits to follow it in and it was quite an awkward one because he had to jump to get over the ball to try and get it down, so he did well to get it on target and I’m pleased that it just managed to slip in.”

Sarmiento has made an impressive start to his time with the Blues, making three bright substitute appearances so far, although McKenna says the Ecuadorian international, who spent the first half of the season on loan at West Brom, came close to a full Town debut.

“We really like him, we’ve liked him for quite a long time, to be fair, and tried to bring him to the club in other windows as well,” he said.

“We’re glad that he’s here. He’s had little knocks since the Sunderland game, so other than that, there was a good chance he would have started tonight but it was considered better for him to come off the bench and he’s bringing us good things.

“There’s still always a process to adapt to the intensity that we train and work at to start games, but we don’t think he’s far away and he’s certainly a really talented player on the ball.

“But I think what’s more important sometimes and what really endears you to the supporters and to the group is the commitment that you show off the ball, and he’s shown that from the get-go really, which is a made it really for the players to take to him, as they have.”

Town have now taken 21 points from losing positions and McKenna was asked what be believed that was down to.

“Different things,” the Northern Irishman considered. “I think coming back a lot and not losing many games, which we haven’t done, is a good reflection on the culture in the group and the togetherness in the group.

“In general, there’s a real belief in how we play and what we do and a belief that if we do that for 90-plus minutes then we’ll give ourselves a good chance to win games or to score goals.

“And tonight was a little bit different. I actually thought in the first half the biggest issue was that we didn’t manage to find that belief in ourselves and that conviction in ourselves.

“But we had a good chat at half-time and there was a real intent to go out in the second half and show that.

“Again, I think the players really believe that, they believe in how we train and how we work and if we stick to the plan and try and do the right things for 90 minutes, we can score more goals than the opposition quite regularly.

“The players have been through a good bit with the group now and when new players come into the group now, they’re initiated pretty smoothly and I think there’s generally a good belief in the group about doing the right things throughout the course of the game, believing in what we do and trusting that we’ll get the rewards more often than not.”


Southampton have now climbed above the Blues into second twice having played a day or so earlier, but on both occasions Town have pegged them back. McKenna was asked whether that sent a psychological message to the Saints and other clubs.

“That’s certainly not our radar at all, to be honest,” McKenna insisted. “Maybe for people externally, they look at things like that, but honestly we don’t mention it and I can’t see us mentioning it probably for another 15 games, possibly.

“There’s so long to go, we just have to focus on ourselves. We know that we’re 28 games in and we’re competing with teams on a points tally-wise that we’ve got no right to, really.

“Our focus remains as it always has been on just trying to perform as well as we can. We didn’t manage to do it in the first half, the second half was much better.

“We’ll learn and reflect on that and we’ll try and go out and perform as well as we can and our mantra really is just taking each game as we can, focusing on performances not results and we’ll see what the outcomes are at the end.

“We know we’re up against… we’re not up against [just them] because there are a lot of good teams in this division, but we know the three teams closest to us at the moment are abnormally strong for the division and are on course to get really, really, really high points totals.

“And if we spend any energy worrying or thinking about them, we certainly won’t have enough energy left to be as competitive as we want to be in every game, so that’s where our focus is.”

Massimo Luongo returned to the side having missed the Sunderland match after turning his ankle in training on the preceding Thursday.

“He got a couple of days’ training in before the game, so he missed a good bit of time after the Sunderland game but he’s been back in training for the last few days,” McKenna said.

“He’s a really important player for us and he’s a warrior as well, so it was good to have him back tonight.”

Quizzed on whether Town are any closer to new signings with two strikers almost certainly top of the list, McKenna said: “I’ll catch up with [CEO] Mark [Ashton] in the morning now after the game because my focus has been on this over the last few days.

“Other than that, we know what position and positions that we want to add to the squad, we have our targets, the club are working really hard within the limitations that we have and I know they’re going to work really hard to improve the squad and we feel that we need to do that just to stay competitive in this really tough league.”

McKenna confirmed that loanee full-back Brandon Williams is still with his parent club Manchester United being assessed having been injured and ill in the period prior to Christmas.

“He’s back at Man United at the moment and still being seen by their medical team,” he added. “At this stage we don’t have a definite timescale on if or when he’d be back with us.”

But McKenna says he’s keen for the 23-year-old to return to Portman Road: “If he’s fit and well, then he’s shown in his short space of time here that he can be a really good player for us and a good player at this level.

“But he hasn’t been that in a while, so the hope is now he can get back to that level and join for the later stages of the season, but we’re not sure if that’ll be the case.”

[trimleyblue]

QldBlue: where in the World do you actually live . Don’t know why but I get feeling it’s South Africa?

I suspect it's Queensland, Australia

[hallamblue]

Ah…. The “QLD” ?! Yes of course

[rossi]

Great result in the end, but the first half performance still worries me - they pressed us high and fast and we didn't seem to like it or have any answer to it.

One thing it proved to me - Leicester have better players than we do in every position, and it's a hard fact of life that with parachute payments this is a problem every season for non-relagated teams. But the fact that we were able to match them second half speaks volumes for the mentality of the team, and that can be more important that outright technical skill.

We still look ponderous at times, and we need to move the ball a hell of a lot quicker and not so many backwards passes. If we can address that, I'm not sure that a new striker would make a lot of difference - no striker on earth would have done much first half as the ball was simply not there for him.

[herforder]

Interesting comments by KM on BW - particularly the last bit. His overall summary, as ever, was honest, balanced and totally accurate. No cliches or managerial gooblededook - very refreshing!

Acknowledging, publicly, the need for quality reinforcements, to continue the journey, was the other stand out comment. Yes, we all know it to be true - but getting an unequivocal statement from KM is significant. Possibly a guarded nudge towards our owners?

Onwards and upwards!

[WarsawBlue]

At half-time I was worried enough to check if our holiday was scheduled over the Wembley play-off final day! Fortunately, KMcK has more faith in his boys, and sent them out looking like a team that won't need another Super Sunday.

[QldBlue]

Ah…. The “QLD” ?! Yes of course

Good work detective! I grew up in Suffolk following Town as a kid in the late 70s and early 80s. I remember going to Portman road during a training session to get some autographs. BR was so warm and friendly, cracking a joke when he signed my crappy notepad. All the greats were there - Mariner, Mills, Wark, Muhren. Eric Gates was a grumpy bugger though, swore & refused to sign. At the time though I was more taken aback by how short he was! I moved over here 30 years ago. Haven’t had this much fun as a supporter since that amazing season in the Prem League which seems so long ago. It’s tricky to catch games live with the time difference but always worth it (maybe not the Leeds game ). Watching the Exeter game live last year was just awesome.

[number 9]

Ah…. The “QLD” ?! Yes of course

Good work detective! I grew up in Suffolk following Town as a kid in the late 70s and early 80s. I remember going to Portman road during a training session to get some autographs. BR was so warm and friendly, cracking a joke when he signed my crappy notepad. All the greats were there - Mariner, Mills, Wark, Muhren. Eric Gates was a grumpy bugger though, swore & refused to sign. At the time though I was more taken aback by how short he was! I moved over here 30 years ago. Haven’t had this much fun as a supporter since that amazing season in the Prem League which seems so long ago. It’s tricky to catch games live with the time difference but always worth it (maybe not the Leeds game ). Watching the Exeter game live last year was just awesome.

Welcome to the forum, QLD! Do you run into many Ipswich fans downunder?