| How soon is now?!…. 21:16 - Jul 31 with 2904 views | unstableblue |
… one theme with Ipswich over the last few seasons, has been signs of real improvement and the feeling we’d go from positive performances into a real run of form… we saw that in part when McKenna first came in and then fizzled out.
There were lots of positives yesterday - eventually dominating a good team, coming from behind, waves of attacking play, clear chances to win it, great moments from Ladapo and JJ, glimpses of what Leif and Harness can do. Our already settled and gelled back 3 and keeper purring, Morsy dominant. (Negatives of course including strange Leif selection, not testing their keeper enough, not sending 26.5k home with a win).
But I’ll say it again ‘How Soon is Now?’ when as a club are we going from talk to delivering? From promise to true run of wins and serious points on the board? We simply won’t leave this league unless we do.
This league (for all those who state we don’t belong here, or it’s a sh!t league) is tough… and it looks perhaps even tougher watching Peterborough’s strike force, or Pompeys goals, or Plymouth clicking, or Derby going straight into winning mode, of three attendances above those in the Championship.
BUT, the talk needs to end - NOW is WHEN. We need to beat Forest Green, don’t we? And then take that into at least +12 August… is Forest Green ia ‘Must Win’? People will say of course not. But if we keep kicking the can down the road, waiting for the inflection point…. Suddenly two teams get away from us at the top of the league… a la Wigan and Rotherham.
What DO YOU THINK? How soon do we need a run?
For context Wigan lost their first game, then went WDWWWWW… so in their first 6 was only 12… but first 8 was 18
Rotherham first 6 was only nine points… but that was 3 wins… after that they went on a bender of wins. Crazy run.
I don’t think you can afford to wait this season. As stated some teams will storm away. And I can see why the EADT boys called us finishing third.
In an early post I suggested the below from August:
Bolton (h) - 1 point
Forest Green (a) - 3 point
Mk Dons (h) - 3 point
Burton (a) - 3 point
Shrews (a) - 3 point
Barnsley (h) - 1 point
Getting us 14… looks ambitious… and maybe it is seeing harness, Leif and Ladapo are bedding in and ball is injured.. and there’s probably another striker incoming… but bring them in slowly
We NEED 3 wins in August, minimum, in my view, just to keep the pressure off the project and players.
No more talk, no more tomorrows… LETS GO |  |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 22:01 - Jul 31 with 2471 views | JDB23 |
Yeah, we really don't have much time to get motoring. If we still look a bit weak in front of goal after 5 games then I fear that's how we will remain for most of the season. We have a pretty settled squad and group of staff who know how we want to play which means we're unlikely to have huge room for improvement on what we'll be like in the first month.
MK at home will be a good test of our automatic promotion credentials. |  | | |
| How soon is now?!…. on 22:20 - Jul 31 with 2403 views | unstableblue |
| How soon is now?!…. on 22:01 - Jul 31 by JDB23 |
Yeah, we really don't have much time to get motoring. If we still look a bit weak in front of goal after 5 games then I fear that's how we will remain for most of the season. We have a pretty settled squad and group of staff who know how we want to play which means we're unlikely to have huge room for improvement on what we'll be like in the first month.
MK at home will be a good test of our automatic promotion credentials. |
MK are very well coached… and so will do a number on us… but Cambridge put two past them to win
The excellent Town in 5 emphasised the strength of Bolton defence, but also what great chances we had. Love JJ, he exites, but is he a 10-15 goal striker?!
Coming back to my post look at the Rotherham result sequence below… a few losses at the start but packed in with wins.. Then they go on a 16, SIXTEEN game streak without a loss, with only 5 draws.. ELEVEN wins… and they scrape in at the end to automatics
As fans, as a club, WHEN IS NOW!! Forest Green is 3 points
https://fbref.com/en/squads/375d66f1/2021-2022/matchlogs/s11163/schedule/Rotherh | |
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| Also JD… it’s 27 wins out of 46 games on 23:42 - Jul 31 with 2316 views | unstableblue |
| How soon is now?!…. on 22:01 - Jul 31 by JDB23 |
Yeah, we really don't have much time to get motoring. If we still look a bit weak in front of goal after 5 games then I fear that's how we will remain for most of the season. We have a pretty settled squad and group of staff who know how we want to play which means we're unlikely to have huge room for improvement on what we'll be like in the first month.
MK at home will be a good test of our automatic promotion credentials. |
Or maybe 24 if you’re lucky… but this season with Derby, Sheff Weds, Peterborough maybe it’s going to be 29 or 30 to take one of the top two places
McKenna will have mapped out the games where he’s expecting those wins, he’ll say it’s game by game, but he’ll have mapped it out… Forest Green, burton, shrews… wins
27/46….that’s around 60% of games you have to win, 3 out of 5..
Last season… drum roll… we won 18.. 40% of our games we took the 3 points
Keiran is currently on 46% from his time at Ipswich.
Wins… not in September, not with a great run at the end of season… wins now… and lots of them…
I feel I may have laboured this point enough now?!?! | |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 07:57 - Aug 1 with 2116 views | Vic |
You partly answer your own question when you say - “Rotherham first 6 was only nine points… but that was 3 wins… after that they went on a bender of wins.”
In other words, no FGR isn’t a ‘must win’. That said it would be nice to go there and get a result; it’s the sort of game we’ve drawn or lost in the past so it really would be good to go and get a win. |  |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 08:32 - Aug 1 with 2041 views | GeoffSentence |
| How soon is now?!…. on 22:20 - Jul 31 by unstableblue |
MK are very well coached… and so will do a number on us… but Cambridge put two past them to win
The excellent Town in 5 emphasised the strength of Bolton defence, but also what great chances we had. Love JJ, he exites, but is he a 10-15 goal striker?!
Coming back to my post look at the Rotherham result sequence below… a few losses at the start but packed in with wins.. Then they go on a 16, SIXTEEN game streak without a loss, with only 5 draws.. ELEVEN wins… and they scrape in at the end to automatics
As fans, as a club, WHEN IS NOW!! Forest Green is 3 points
https://fbref.com/en/squads/375d66f1/2021-2022/matchlogs/s11163/schedule/Rotherh |
Brilliant that they got Frodo Baggins to greet the players |  |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 08:46 - Aug 1 with 1972 views | bobbyramsey |
I just can’t see it happening, we don’t score enough goals and don’t really look capable of changing that. |  | | |
| How soon is now?!…. on 09:04 - Aug 1 with 1893 views | unstableblue |
| How soon is now?!…. on 07:57 - Aug 1 by Vic |
You partly answer your own question when you say - “Rotherham first 6 was only nine points… but that was 3 wins… after that they went on a bender of wins.”
In other words, no FGR isn’t a ‘must win’. That said it would be nice to go there and get a result; it’s the sort of game we’ve drawn or lost in the past so it really would be good to go and get a win. |
Hmmm…. I think what I meant to say was Rotherham didn’t go straight into their rich run of wins, BUT even in the first six games where there were 3,losses they got wins straight away… it was WLWLWL
They won their first game and that was against Plymouth, their losses were actually Wigan and Sheff Weds.. then they beat Morecombe away…
I get you’re saying that we get to the end of six games, and assess whether we got 12… or 9… and what’s the difference if the wins come at the end.. which is logical
But we’ve seen this pattern for a while now… “oh we drew/lost against Forest Green, oh we’ll beat MK Dons, oh… it’s ok we’ll beat the Shrews…. “ ad inifinitum
This team has been together long enough, McKennas been in place for a lot of games, we’ve had a good pre season … NOW is 3 points… it’s Forest Green Rovers | |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 09:30 - Aug 1 with 1820 views | davblue |
Forest Green will be a tough game i suspect. Just promoted, 1st game at home they and their crowd will be up for it. We need to manage that, if we do we have a chance. |  | | |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 09:31 - Aug 1 with 1785 views | GeoffSentence |
| How soon is now?!…. on 09:30 - Aug 1 by davblue |
Forest Green will be a tough game i suspect. Just promoted, 1st game at home they and their crowd will be up for it. We need to manage that, if we do we have a chance. |
All vegans aren't they? They will be wan and lifeless. | |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 09:32 - Aug 1 with 1753 views | davblue |
| How soon is now?!…. on 09:31 - Aug 1 by GeoffSentence |
All vegans aren't they? They will be wan and lifeless. |
well they promote it! | | | |
| How soon is now?!…. on 09:45 - Aug 1 with 1682 views | unstableblue |
| How soon is now?!…. on 09:31 - Aug 1 by GeoffSentence |
All vegans aren't they? They will be wan and lifeless. |
Carbon neutral club... vegan pies... solar panels... electric team bus... commendable in these concerning times...
But i'll do anything for 3 points... let's install a BBQ in the away dressing room and force Ladapo, Harness and Chaplin to consume a rib-eye pre-match... and enter the pitch in a V12 American muscle car.... show them our POWER | |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 10:12 - Aug 1 with 1643 views | unstableblue |
| How soon is now?!…. on 09:30 - Aug 1 by davblue |
Forest Green will be a tough game i suspect. Just promoted, 1st game at home they and their crowd will be up for it. We need to manage that, if we do we have a chance. |
It will be a really tough game, they won their first game, they have the promotions buzz, first League One game at their place, and we are a MASSIVE scalp, they are high on complex vegetable proteins...
... this league is hard we have no divine right to leave, there is no HMS P!ss The League... but if you simplify my mad rambling on this thread.... automatic comes from real winning form, not from 'oooh we're almost there, the play is promising'.. and then run can't wait given the quality of opposition this season.
Not winning at Forest Green significantly increased the pressure on the MK Dons game... etc etc... and on we go | |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 10:34 - Aug 1 with 1559 views | JDB23 |
| How soon is now?!…. on 10:12 - Aug 1 by unstableblue |
It will be a really tough game, they won their first game, they have the promotions buzz, first League One game at their place, and we are a MASSIVE scalp, they are high on complex vegetable proteins...
... this league is hard we have no divine right to leave, there is no HMS P!ss The League... but if you simplify my mad rambling on this thread.... automatic comes from real winning form, not from 'oooh we're almost there, the play is promising'.. and then run can't wait given the quality of opposition this season.
Not winning at Forest Green significantly increased the pressure on the MK Dons game... etc etc... and on we go |
They were a league 2 team last year and have just lost their manager and 3 best players. If we struggle to win against them then its not a good sign. I think we'll come away 2-0 winners. | | | |
| How soon is now?!…. on 10:41 - Aug 1 with 1523 views | unstableblue |
| How soon is now?!…. on 08:46 - Aug 1 by bobbyramsey |
I just can’t see it happening, we don’t score enough goals and don’t really look capable of changing that. |
Despite being tagged as the big optimist, and despite the fact I'm loving watching this style of football again at PR, like you I'm yet to be convinced the goals will flow with the necessary volume!
On the positive Ladapo does look a step up and I am convinced Harness is going to give us much more intent and get the ball forward quicker.... and work well between the lines...
I also think Bolton's defence were excellent, and we won't come up against much better.
But certainly Jackson and JJ don't fill me with confidence as lethal finishers.
My blue addled and positive mind is now begining to think "well Forest Green is a lottery so if we only take a draw, and maybe we can take a draw against MK.. and then we can get two wins against Shrews and Burton and we'll have 9 points going into Barnsley"... arghhhh
WINNING, GOALS, WINNING... ASAP | |
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| Agreed... on 10:42 - Aug 1 with 1513 views | unstableblue |
| How soon is now?!…. on 10:34 - Aug 1 by JDB23 |
They were a league 2 team last year and have just lost their manager and 3 best players. If we struggle to win against them then its not a good sign. I think we'll come away 2-0 winners. |
... its now a MUST WIN...
How Soon is Now? JD... How Soon is Now? | |
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| Agreed... on 10:46 - Aug 1 with 1482 views | GeoffSentence |
| Agreed... on 10:42 - Aug 1 by unstableblue |
... its now a MUST WIN...
How Soon is Now? JD... How Soon is Now? |
It's the beginning of the season. Win, draw or lose, what difference does it make? | |
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| Agreed... on 11:07 - Aug 1 with 1429 views | JDB23 |
| Agreed... on 10:46 - Aug 1 by GeoffSentence |
It's the beginning of the season. Win, draw or lose, what difference does it make? |
All points count the same no matter when they come. I suppose all those dropped points at the start of last season were irrelevant to us finishing 11th because they happened in August?
If we want to be a big boy team and actually get top 2, we can’t slip up too much, even at this stage of the season. No single game in August is a “must win”, but fail to beat FGR and I think it would be right to be concerned about our automatic promotion credentials. | | | |
| Agreed... on 11:23 - Aug 1 with 1375 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| Agreed... on 10:46 - Aug 1 by GeoffSentence |
It's the beginning of the season. Win, draw or lose, what difference does it make? |
It'll make every difference if come the end of the season, we're two points short of the automatics.
Understand what you are saying, but this notion that you've got the whole season to work at it, doesn't go us any favours at all, we've got 45 games left to play, we need to take them one at a time and take the maximum points we can on the day from each of them. |  |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 11:33 - Aug 1 with 1341 views | BlueBlood90 |
I still think our fortunes may have been different last year if Scott Fraser had scored his penalty at Burton away in our first away game .
It's a similar scenario here after drawing at home first game but we need to go to Forest Green and put a marker down this year and win that game. |  |
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| Agreed... on 11:53 - Aug 1 with 1303 views | unstableblue |
| Agreed... on 11:07 - Aug 1 by JDB23 |
All points count the same no matter when they come. I suppose all those dropped points at the start of last season were irrelevant to us finishing 11th because they happened in August?
If we want to be a big boy team and actually get top 2, we can’t slip up too much, even at this stage of the season. No single game in August is a “must win”, but fail to beat FGR and I think it would be right to be concerned about our automatic promotion credentials. |
Top post
I think the key dimension we've not talked about is WHO not when!
We have Forest Green, Shrewsbury and Burton... in our first 6, we've dropped points against Bolton, and perhaps we will against MK and Barnsley.
Rotherham beat Doncaster and Morecombe even as they 'wobbled' by only taking 9 from the first six games... and then (let me repeat) they went on an orgy of wins and points for months.. 16 unbeaten... 11 wins... they weren't hanging around.. it gave them some padding when they lost a few towards the end
Wigan wobbled against Sunderland in first game with a loss.... then won 7 in a sequence with only one draw in it.... in their first 6 they beat Accrington, Donny and Cheltenham... Wigan never looked back.... occasional loss only.. and in all their 8 losses only 2, TWO, were against weaker teams... Lincoln and an in form Cambridge
We need to go early against the weaker teams.... now more kicking the can down the road people | |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 11:59 - Aug 1 with 1269 views | unstableblue |
| How soon is now?!…. on 11:33 - Aug 1 by BlueBlood90 |
I still think our fortunes may have been different last year if Scott Fraser had scored his penalty at Burton away in our first away game .
It's a similar scenario here after drawing at home first game but we need to go to Forest Green and put a marker down this year and win that game. |
Bang on... its fine margins... and as I keep banging on about.. and Burton penalty is a classic moment
You can kick the can down the road.. with maybe's... "oh if only Morsy had scored that 90th min chance against"... everytime we don't win we increase pressure on ourselves ever more for the next game
Forest Green is a marker, a test | |
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| How soon is now?!…. on 12:49 - Aug 1 with 1192 views | FrankfurtBlue |
Now has to be the next game and every game afterwards. I don't believe that KMc goes into any games ever thinking anything else. Winning early is so important, especially if you deserved those wins, as it sets a mentality not only for your own players and staff, but for those of the opposition. Half the battle in top class sport is self-belief.
If we aren't looking to double teams like FGR, we will not be top 2. |  | | |
| How soon is now?!…. on 13:02 - Aug 1 with 1132 views | TRUE_BLUE123 |
| How soon is now?!…. on 09:30 - Aug 1 by davblue |
Forest Green will be a tough game i suspect. Just promoted, 1st game at home they and their crowd will be up for it. We need to manage that, if we do we have a chance. |
If we cant beat that FGR team then we should pack it up. They have lost their 3 best players, their best striker is injured. Lost their manager.
Should be an easy 3 points, no two ways about it. |  |
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| Agreed... on 13:06 - Aug 1 with 1114 views | bobbyramsey |
| Agreed... on 10:46 - Aug 1 by GeoffSentence |
It's the beginning of the season. Win, draw or lose, what difference does it make? |
Eh?? Shall we start after Christmas? | | | |
| How soon is now?!…. on 14:47 - Aug 1 with 970 views | ElephantintheRoom |
Basically you have 46 games to finish ahead of the team coming third. That might be a gap of 1 point or zero points. And even if you’re the better team, as MK Dons clearly showed last season coming third is no good at all.
On the other hand you can be useless all season long, sack your manager and sneak into the play off on your hands and knees. That worked for Sunderland
Basically you are overegging it. Town need to string some wins together - quite when is clearly immaterial. | |
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