Match Day Thread Too Posh to push

Before the season started I would have taken our current position and points haul at this stage.

I think autos is beyond us but that we will hover around the play off places until the end of the season.

I’m much more concerned by our lack of strategy and leadership than our form - if we are promoted how can we survive in the Championship having not improved the squad? If we are not promoted how are we going to get out of this division facing diminishing returns?

I don’t think Lee O’Neill has the credentials for his position. It’s good to have a genuine supporter of the club in that role and I’m sure he works hard - but he has no experience above coaching and no contacts in the game, which is why we’ve failed to make anything happen in the window.

 

It's just more of the same from Evans, another transfer window passes when we really need to strengthen to try to secure promotion and yet we do nothing except sign an injured loan player who can't play.
I suppose we shouldn't be surprised really because the idiot inexplicably did the same a few seasons ago when we were on the verge of the promised land, a promotion which would have been a financial bonanza and again some, when things don't add up methinks there's more to this than meets the eye.

 

For me, i think we have some very good players for this division...the problem, though, lies in the coaching and the management. PL, and his coaching staff don't seem to be good enough. No plan B, no tactical nous whatsoever.
And a five year contract??? have a word

 

Who is a very good player for this division?

 

Downes, wolfy, judge, bishop, huws, Norwood, Garbutt..pretty much all of them can play in the championship

 

Downes - first full season with us not got alot of first team experience

Wolfy - ditto

Judge - nearly 4 years since he broke his leg, not shown any signs of returning to form since, so basically not played consistently for 4 years after returning from a horrific injury.

Bishop - made of glass, played very little football over the past 4 years

Huws - Was getting very little game time so loaned to us consequently injured for over 2 years. So very little game time over the past 4 years

Norwood - had 1 very good season in league 2 last season which was bar 4 appearances at league one level the highest level he has played.

Garbutt - played 1 season at Championship level 4 years ago

I agree we have talented players but they are players who are inexperienced, from the academy or have terrible injury records.

This team is basically the same team which was bar far the worst team in the Championship last season and a squad which we all agreed wasn't good enough and needed to be strengthened if we were to have a good season this year? The team against Peterborough bar Wilson and Garbutt was the same team which took us down last season.

I think our great start hid the lack of quality or more so game time and experience we have.

We relied on Jackson and Norwood for most of the season, apart from Jackson's awful season last year in the Championship we bought them on the basis of one good season in league 2.

 

If you look at the starting elevens of teams like Wycombe, Sunderland, Rotherham, Portsmouth, and Coventry - you’ll struggle to pick out players that have performed consistently well at Championship level or above as well. A lot of young players are included in those line-ups, as well as players with a point to prove or ones that have come up from performing well in League Two. No difference to us really. Coventry could finish above us and get promoted. Coventry! They don’t have a pot to p1ss in. Several years ago, we would laugh at the idea of Oxford, Rotherham, Peterborough, and Wycombe being the favourites coming to Portman Road and beating us … but they are.

What we have that all bar a couple of League One teams have is proven Championship experience. We’ve got a spine of players in Chambers, Skuse, Huws, Judge, Sears, and Keane (and to a lesser extent Kenlock and Bishop) who have spent most their career in the Championship, typically with mid-table sides before last season, and should in theory be well-equipped to adapt and impress a lower level. I also think it’s unfair to write off Downes, Wolfenden, Garbutt, and Norwood as weak players just because they don’t have much experience or performed better at a lower level. Several players this season have been consistently good, despite our poor form over the past three months. I’d include KVY in the list of impressive players this season, presuming he can return to the first team and pick up where he left off. With this squad, we’re comfortably beating weak teams and edging out the mid-table ones, but because we don’t have a particularly bright manager capable of setting us up with a consistent system, we’re unable to beat even semi-decent teams in this league.

But I take your point that we were abysmal last season and struggled to cope with Championship teams. The theory that we’d prosper more against teams in League One - particularly as most the Hurst signings that came in last summer had come off the back of impressive campaigns in the third tier (such as Edwards and Nolan) - has not really come to fruition, considering our current form and record against the better League One teams.

Yet the decline of this club is much wider than what we’re seeing on the pitch. And nothing symbolises this quite so accurately than Portman Road, as a post on TWTD forum demonstrated. Look at our tired stadium with the moss and mould growing on the roof and above Sir Bobby’s stencil above the club shop. Look at the faded seats. Look at the fact we’re one of the few teams without a big electronic scoreboard at the ground … even Colchester has one. Look at the fact that some parts of the ground still do not have cashless payment systems in place. Look up at the windows of the Cobbold Stand and you’d have to squint past the grime to notice if anybody was standing the other side of it. Compare it to most grounds in League One alone, where the stadiums (despite being smaller) at least get cared for and generally look better.

 

I would also add (as stated many times previously) that our training facilities cannot be up to much. I've never seen a squad have so many long term injuries, it can't just be down to bad luck. Unfortunately, we are now in a position where we as fans care more about the club than the owner, manager, players etc. I know this has always been the case but don't think the gap has ever been as wide as it is now

 

Pride in the Club/facilities (or lack of it) was one of the problems PL flagged up shortly after joining us.Either he’s become complacent after being “rewarded”(for nothing) with a long contract or he got fed up with banging his head against ME’s wall!

 

Certainly not denying we have a talented squad but it's very inexperienced or had major injuries which players have yet to come back from. I'm not saying they are bad players I just think given their circumstances we as fans have overestimated how good this team is at present. The players you mention for example:

Chambers & Skuse - yes these are about the only durable players we have who have proven they can play consistently (average or below) for seasons
Huws - at 26 he's played just over 100 first team games. If I say the club he's played most for is us, shows you actually he hasn't played alot of football. Didn't have a pre-season
Judge - since 2016 has made only 60 first team appearances the majority of which are for us and many as a sub. Didn't have a pre-season
Sears - injured for a year
Keane - injury prone. 27 and made less than 100 first team appearances, scoring a grand total of 9 league goals. Didn't have a pre-season.
Kenlock - made under 100 first team appearances.
Bishop - under 100 first team appearances of which the majority were 5 years ago. Didn't have a pre-season.
Downes - under 100 first team appearances
Woody - under 100 first team appearances
Garbutt - has had a couple of injuries this season. Made 25 appearances in the Championship
Norwood - injured for parts of the season. Before this season has made 4 appearances at this level or above.
KVY - is injured and has only played 9 games at this level or above.

The number of players who have been injured in recent season's and lack of a pre-season takes its toll. not denying we have a talented team above that of the majority of teams in this division but it's a team with little first team experience or high level experience over the past few years considering all this for us to be where we have been this season I believe deserves alot of credit.

You're right about the slow decline and I think Lambert had attempted to change alot of these things, he's the only manager to stand up to ME. I think the lack of activity in the January transfer window will return to bite us again (like a few years ago). We don't have enough strength at CB or upfront.

 

Fair enough on identifying the relative lack of first team games for some of the players, itfcptc, but I still stand by my opinion that most of these players are experienced in the Championship and used to training with and being part of a squad with higher standards. I think my point about the similar standards of our promotion rivals, most notably teams like Wycombe, Coventry, and Oxford still stands. While I'm sure I am overestimating some members of this squad, a squad I've been relatively critical of for the last couple of years, I have overestimated the difficulty and strength of the opposition in League One.

Honestly, I feel this squad is good enough to get promoted and getting out of this division at the first attempt. I don't think it's quite at the level to stay up in the Championship, but that's a different debate. Based on what we've seen from our competitors, if we fail to get promoted this season, then Lambert is going to have to shoulder a proportion of the blame. Next season will look more difficult with the quality of potential teams to come down, particularly if you get teams like Huddersfield and Stoke down at this level. If we fail to get promoted this season, then Lambert will have overseen a year and a half of failure and I would hope the club has managerial targets in place to identify somebody who would do a better job getting the best out of these players.

 

Apart from Downes and Woolfy who are these " very talented " players in our squad ?

 

We could do with that French talent Allan Saint-Maximin to score a few for us, what a goal that was v Oxford last night, absolute stunner!

We can only dream!

 

Vincent-Young perhaps, some of the youngsters yet to break through. For the present matchday squad those two are about it though. Huws potentially but yet to prove himself.

 

It's crazy that Woolfy and Downes have been the most consistent players in their first full seasons at the club.

I'm just going on the experience of this clubs and others when they have players with a lack of experience, youngster making a breakthrough and the injuries we've had. In fact over the years I struggle to think of many (If any players) have come back anywhere near the same level as they were after a serious injury.

Based on our pre-season predictions most of us would have taken where we are now. I seem to remember most people said a good season would be if we were in and around the playoffs, alot of us predicted a mid table finish (may still happen). So what changed to make us suddenly think we now have a team who 'should' be in the top 2 or it's a failure? Was it the signing of a RB from Colchester who's been injured for months or an injury prone 27 year old striker who's scored 6 league goals in his entire career before this point?

 

Before the season started, I was quietly confident that we would make top 2. Once I realised the difference in standard between championship & league 1 (& there is a massive gap) I was even more confident. I think after beating Rochdale, we were 2 points clear at the top with 2 games in hand & looking really good for 1 of the automatic slots. Since then, it has been a sharp decline. The fact that we haven't beaten a top 8 side is embarrassing (hope I'm wrong, but don't see that changing against Sunderland) & we're just plodding along with not much of a plan a let alone plan b

 

For some reason the Norwood / Jackson partnership that was so fruitful earlier in the season has been broken up. Garbutt is less effective. Edwards has been forced further back and we desperately miss KVY.

I think our decline in form is of our own making. Bad selection decisions - making changes for changes sake - and a lack of depth in the squad in defence and striking positions.

 

Jackson and Norwood started really well but based on their careers it was probably too much to expect the same level of consistency throughout the season. Also Norwood has been injured. We also have had very few other options than to play them. For a long period of time they were our only strikers, now we have Keane and Sear both whom have had long injuries, so we can't rely on them really.

Garbutt has also had a couple of injuries. And KVY played 9 games before getting a big injury. So alot of those situations aren't our own making (apart from the continued deteriation of the squad over a number of years).

Whilst on the face of it I see what people were saying with regards to rotation and problems being of our own making but I actually think we've had a bit of a make shift team with loads of injured players, and the squad had to be managed.

People asked why Lambert kept making the changes but sometimes he had to change the formation because we didn't have enough fit strikers. Other times we didn't have enough CBs to play 3 at the back and then we didn't have a fit RB. Sometimes this was all in the same game so formations and therefore personnel had to change. Add to that we had a number of players injured coming back from injury or with a niggle plus youngsters who aren't used to playing sat, Tues, sat and it becomes a difficult situation to manage.

 

Back in the summer, I recall that most of us had Town tipped for top six place, and possibly going up via the play offs. Back then, most of us presumed that League One was going to be a tough division, particularly myself. I actually recall Hampy consistently saying that the quality in League One isn't as good as some of us were believing, and I think he's been proven right - so far - this season. However, Sunderland and Portsmouth, among of the summer favourites for promotion with us, have seemingly discovered some method of winning and playing well, which does not bode well for us.

Understandably, expectations have changed for most supporters over the course of the season, on the basis that there has been no stand-out good team in this division (and the league table reflects that). Factor in our early good form and encouraging performances by the likes of Wolfenden, Wilson, Garbutt, Downes, Jackson, and Norwood. I think if you said to anybody in the summer that we wouldn't have finished in the top six, it would have been considered a failure and there would have been a consensus that Lambert should then quit or be sacked. If we had finished outside of the play offs, but there were strong signs of development and identity on the pitch, then maybe it would have been forgiven by some elements of the fanbase.

Put simply, if you're not getting good results and good performances with one of the biggest and most expensive squads in the division, then you should rightly be concerned about your job security. Unfortunately for us, we have arguably one of the worst owners in English football. The level of decline he has overseen has someone not been protested by the fanbase yet. This owner also rewarded Lambert with a four year contract extension, despite the poor form at the time and his role in relegating us (however minor or major we deem that role). This is a staggering level of incompetence. Ultimately, that's why as bad a job as I believe Lambert has done (and let's be brutally honest, at best - he's been nothing special), it is Evans who should take the most responsibility for the poor running of the club and its failure over the past several years.

 

I’m sorry, but injuries are of our own making - our training and conditioning and our choice not to have strong replacements when inevitable injuries happen.