Play up Pompey, we're doomed, doomed i tell ya!

A lot to work on but a lot of things are better in forward areas already.

 

Dobra certainly adds some twinkle. We can go on to win this, push on Town, great 3 pts to grab.

 

Rubbish goal, straight past 4 or 5 defenders.

 

OK, KVY, lets have a cracker solo run and a blistering goal.

 

It is the hope that kills you !

 

And Jackson up front with Nors. Fresh formation.

 

Judge has been taken off gaffer, might as well pack up now & let them have the 3 points !

 

So, bad defeat, but now PC has seen most of his squad and has a full week to sort things out. Promising periods, but some elementary defensive errors, and scrappy 2nd goal.

One bright spark is the return of KVY.

Very disappointing.

 

Bollocks, just got up to watch the match and find out it was a 1pm kick off I hadn't noticed. I've seen the score already, guess I'll watch the replay sometime this week now.

 

I do admire the eternal optimism we see on this forum! And we all need a bit of it. But to be realistic isn’t this kinda where we’re at? I maintain we have a weak flow of good quality youth, blame it on Cat B, the 90 mile rule which pushes our catchment into the North Sea, whatever, I have seen enough to think that if you’re good enough you’re old enough. You don’t need good senior pros around you to shine if you’re decent enough. Although I’m sure it helps; a blend Norwich get right, hard as it is to say.

as for the excuse we’ve got for a first team, judge was a peripheral reject from the club that had the good fortune to sack him off onto us. I never understood why he was somehow going to tear up trees for us all of a sudden.

there’s no point picking it all apart player by player. Mostly, we need a clear out of players (they play like they have a job for life here!) and a new owner with cash to fund a professional team in the upper tiers of English football. Easier said than done.

 

Nothing changes while Evans holds the keys.....of that I’m sure.

 

Frustrating game to watch to be honest. We looked good in the first half, but as soon as they got the equaliser just before half time they looked a better team. That was their first chance of the game too. Second half we just looked like pushovers.

I think it’s absolutely crucial KVY comes in at right back, Wolfenden comes back into the team, and Kenlock returns for Ward. I don’t think Chambers or Ward gives us enough pace and we were ripped apart down the flanks in the second half. The Cowley brothers pegged that as a weakness and fully exploited it. Some of our play in the attacking third looked okay, but moves were still falling apart at the last part. Hopefully that gets resolved with time on the training pitch.

We have a generous looking run-in for the last ten games now, and hopefully we can do enough to break back into the top six. I have next to no faith that we’ll win the play offs, but hopefully some signs that this is a team in progress.

 

So now after Lambert has left do people still think that this squad is the best in this division? I appreciate Paul Cook hasn't had a lot of time on the training pitch but just interested to see if people still think this squad is good enough as it is with a bit of better coaching or do they think we need quite a bit of strengthening? This is also probably the strongest squad we've had in terms of injuries since we've been in League 1

 

I see many are in meltdown on TWTD over the KVY/Wilson/Chambers sub. There really are a lot of short sighted people on there who change opinions every damn match. Calling for Cook out, not seen any change yet, blah,blah,blah. Since the man has been here it's been Saturday/Tuesday matches and you expect to see massive changes in the style etc already. Yeah, ok.

Maybe Cook moved Chambers into the middle so that he could see how he does. Wilson has been solid, not much more he'll learn about him that he hasn't already seen. Looking at Chambers at CB is a must for Cook though as he looks to bring KVY back. I haven't seen the game yet and I heard it wasn't a good one from Chambers, just commenting on why Cook may have made that particular switch.

I think Paul was slightly more serious than people thought when he jokingly commented in one of his first interviews about needing 8 transfer windows. It could take that long to get us on the right track. Not that he'll get that long because he'll get hounded out for us not progressing fast enough!

 

Who said it’s the best squad in the division? I don’t recall anyone thinking that. we are miles away from that.

 

I must've just imagined it Hampy add to that perhaps I just imagined you saying we should be aiming for the autos this season under our last manager who had a poor CV. We must've had something about us as a manager with a poor CV and a squad who are miles away from being the best squad in the division must have something about them to make you think they should make the autos?

 

I think anything less than the autos with our resources is a disgrace but that’s where we are. It is not happening this year that’s for sure. We definitely have a shot at the play offs though.

 

Talk of changing the manager is absurd. We have literally lucked out on who we've managed to attract as our manager.

No doubt Paul Cook can be successful here but he needs to be consistently given decent resources able to build a balanced squad, something none of our previous 4 managers have been given.

 

I think he just needs time. I think he will do it without a hefty transfer budget just by getting round pegs in round holes, reducing our injury tally and making a few astute signings. We’re really crying out for creativity and fire power, I think the rest of it can be papered over at this level. I always expect Norwood to score but Jackson not to. We need several more players who will perform 8/10 in 9/10 matches.

 

My personal stance is that, as a club, we should be targeting promotion. While no club has a divine right belonging to a division, I believe we should be a Championship level side, based on history, stature, and the fact we are really the only top professional team in Suffolk.

My opinion on Paul Cook is that we are fortunate to have him and that he has made some encouraging signs with the team. Particularly working on the patterns of play, where we appear a lot more comfortable controlling games. The issue is a complete lack of presence and character throughout the full 90 minutes. We are in danger of being a soft touch, as a team. Cook says the right things in press conferences and he does have a good record in management. You couldn’t say the same about Paul Lambert. Ultimately, sacking Lambert was the right decision and it should have been done a lot sooner. My sympathies with Lambert, and indeed with every manager over the last decade and a half, is that they are working for a financially cautious owner who lacks football knowledge, passion, and strategy. I don’t believe the managers here have been well supported by the backroom structure and staff. The stalled takeover has been really disheartening for me, as I really want a new owner in charge who will provide investment and actually give a damn (even if it is just making money).

Regarding the squad, I admit I’ve rated some of these players higher than their natural ability. I still believe a good manager, ideally with a good support structure, will get some of these players playing to a promotion-achieving standard. However, it’s a squad filled with a lot of over-the-hill players and some players who, whether true or not, look like they aren’t bothered or are too complacent. We need a clear out this summer and maybe five or six good signings.

As I’ve mentioned countless times on here before, the number one problem at the club is Evans. And it has been for several years. We have no direction, we have no philosophy, and we have no recruitment plans. We continually fail to get good money for players and either cash in at the wrong time or let them go far too cheap or for free.

I still don’t rate a lot of teams in this division. I do think it’s filled with a lot of averageness and even highly fancied teams like Hull, Sunderland, and Portsmouth haven’t consistently impressed me. I think sneaking into sixth place is still achievable, looking at the upcoming fixture list. But it’s clear we need to make use of what we’ve got in this squad. We really should be building around the likes of Wolfenden, KVY, Downes, Bishop, Judge, Parrott, and Norwood for this run in. I know Judge gets a hard time on here, but for the last few months I think he’s been one of our best players. The news about his mum’s passing has clearly affected him in recent weeks. Personally, I think players like Chambers, Ward, Nsiala, Skuse, Sears, and Drinan shouldn’t be anywhere near the first team. I’d like to see more of Matheson, Harrop, and Lankester. And the likes of Bishop, Dozzell, Edwards, and Jackson need to be doing better over the next few weeks. These are lads I’d expect to be a lot more consistent at this level based on what we’ve seen from them earlier this season/last season.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we finished outside the play offs. But I’d be disappointed. These players need to show ownership, desire, and both mental and physical strength. We’ve been a club drifting for years. Time for these players to show some character and fight. If Cook can’t do that, than who can?