Town boss Mick McCarthy had no complaints about Jordan Spence’s red card which he felt changed the game as Fulham came from behind to beat the Blues 4-1 at Craven Cottage.

Responding to a reporter saying the Cottagers are capable of doing that to any team on their day, McCarthy said: “They can against 10 men, that’s for sure. It didn’t look like happening while we had 11 men on the pitch.

“They started well, they had a good first half. But I thought when we settled into the game we frustrated them, got our goal from a freekick and, well, I’ll never know what would have happened because we got reduced to 10 men.”

Regarding Spence’s dismissal, Town’s first of the season, he added: “It’s a sending off. What’s Jordan said? Sorry. A moment of madness has cost us. That result’s not going to happen with 10 outfield players on the pitch, that’s for sure.

“My beef is with the decision before because I thought [Aboubakar Kamara] fouled Freddie [Sears], I thought he barged Freddie.

“Apparently it was a f***ing shoulder charge, shoulder to shoulder. Not while I’ve got a hole in my backside was it a shoulder charge, it was from behind.

“And the other thing wouldn’t have happened either. It was all borne out of frustration. I don’t think that was the case, I think it was a foul.

“I think [Jordan’s] gone to go and put a sturdy tackle on him and he’s got there late and he’s followed through with it, which was stupid. I’ve no argument with the sending off at all.”

McCarthy had no complaints about his 10-men, despite them conceding four goals in a seven-minute spell.

“I’ve no qualms about the lads out there, they were sticking at it,” he said. “Fulham had opened us up with 11 men in the first half a few times.

“The first goal we got done by the one-two on the halfway line and we didn’t stay with the runner.

“But then I’ve got players playing out of position and doing a really sterling job for me. We just got done and they finished it off.”

In addition to the defeat, McCarthy says the Blues lost another player to an injury: “Wardy’s got a sore groin. I’ve got a three-match suspension for my full-back and that’s not going to help either.

“Callum Connolly was getting to the stage where he could have got injured and I wanted to put Luke Hyam on for 10 minutes to get him on the field.

“If there’s a positive from the game, Luke Hyam’s back playing in the first team, which was lovely. So, we’ll be down to a 14-man squad on Saturday.”

The Town boss admits he’s pleased that the Blues have an FA Cup tie at home to Sheffield United at the weekend when he is likely to include a number of fringe players: “Yes, I’m glad it’s not a league game on Saturday.”

However, he is hopeful that, among others, Adam Webster, who missed tonight’s game with the achilles problem he suffered on Saturday, could be back for the Leeds match the following week.

“I hope so,” he said. “Adam Webster, the best case scenario, the anti-inflammatories work and he’ll be back for Leeds. Worst case scenario he could not be back for Leeds, he could be longer. We need a few bodies back.”

McCarthy says he’s not close to making any additions to his squad - “No, I’m not” - and kept tight-lipped regarding developments on Kieffer Moore’s situation: “There’s always going to be talk about him. I can’t tell you anything.”

However, he confirmed that if the striker who has been recalled from his loan spell with Rotherham plays for Town he can’t play for anyone else other than the Millers this season due to FIFA’s three-club rule.

“That’s correct, or stay with us,” he added. “He can’t play in the cup anyway. That gives us a bit of thinking room, I guess.”

Regarding new signing Aaron Drinan, he says he’s not sure whether the Irishman’s international clearance has come through but hopes he is available for the Sheffield United match.

“I don’t know as yet, we should have it for the game on Saturday. I hope so anyway.”

Photo: TWTD

martin587 added 08:23 - Jan 3 Swn98. How many good referees are there these days.You can count them on one hand.We cannot always blame the ref. I must agree though the ref and his two officials were well below par.! Sometimes the ref is only as good as his two line officials.!
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Battyboy added 08:26 - Jan 3 MM and his merry men will soon be looking for a New Club. The new addition to the squad Aaron Drinand going straight in the squad for the weekend is very strange in advance of a number of promising 23 forwards.
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BullardsMagicMullet added 08:31 - Jan 3 Anti-football McCarthy. Home or away sets up to attempt to play on the counter attack, back to the horrible negative hoofball of the last 2 seasons. Constant injuries picked up on the training ground. But he knows his job is safe as Evans won't pay out with just 4 months left on dinos contract, just got to put up with it until the summer.
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Crawfordsboot added 08:31 - Jan 3 Prebbs007 “retarded deluded stubborn idiot” You and your ilk make me despair for my club that I have supported for 60 years. You react like spoilt children in a hysterical paddy - grow up. Fulham are a quality side with financial clout. We were a goal up and holding them by virtue of hard work from 11 players, albeit that we were beginning to tire. The comes a dumb sending off, not the managers fault, and with 10 on the pitch the legs go after all the hard work that went before. Last night I was so flat after the game but this morning the sun rose as usual I didn't feel the need to berate and insult the club I support. Life goes on

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blueherts added 08:46 - Jan 3 We all want to succeed but until MM - AS A DEFENDER - sorts out our defence we will never progress - we actually have some ok players going forward but defensively we have been bad for a long time - Without Bart - we would be in a lot worst position
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BobbyBell added 08:52 - Jan 3 We have been riding our luck recently and a hammering from someone was on the cards. We can't play this negative football and get away with it week after week. IT DOESN'T WORK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have been outplayed by every team in this league with the exception of Sunderland who were actually worse than us. I personally think our best players are up front so why don't we attack and not keep sitting back allowing other teams to have the ball for 60 to 80% of the game????? This won't be the only hammering we get this season unless a new attack minded manager comes here. I here Luton have a good young manager??

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blueherts added 09:13 - Jan 3 BobbyBell spot on and yes Luton have a very decent young manager .Plays some good football .
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roytheboy added 09:27 - Jan 3 That's what happens when you try to defend a one goal lead for 45 minutes, very poor display, changes required very soon.
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Nazemariner added 09:35 - Jan 3 He quite rightly should not be critical of the players, as they go out and play the way he instructs them to. There lies the problem i'm afraid.
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cat added 09:57 - Jan 3 May i suggest a reality check is in order here, or some of them nasty smelling salts you used to snort up your bugle on the pitch back in the day, not only did they knock your nut off & numb the pain, they also cleared the mind, because last night was always going to be a tough ask, even if we had the luxury of a fully fit team. The players (Spence & the Defence inc Bart) were last nights culprits and should be held accountable. I'm not suggesting we would have won, but a draw might have been possible. Don't get me wrong here, I've been one of the staunchest MM outers on here and remain so, even when things have taken an upturn in fortunes, and this aint changed, but last nights failures need to be kept in perspective. The early season promise has clouded the mind somewhat and set the bar way above the level where we are actually at. Whilst touching on the subject of our manager, the more i think about them Cowley Bros running the show, the more of a buzz I'm getting. Young forward thinking managers who have clearly launched Lincoln over the last couple of years, playing an exciting brand of football and fairly local to Ipswich by all accounts. I'm not frightened of relegation and will take what comes, but we desperately need entertainment, and a style of football which is pleasing on the eye to attract the crowds back, and that should be at the forfront of ME's mind when hopefully choosing a new manager at the end of the season. Onwards and upwards as they say, cause its going to be a long, tedious and tough second half to our season.

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whosroundisitanyway added 10:09 - Jan 3 kizaitfc Thought you were gonna burst into a chorus of 'One man went to mow'!
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poldark added 10:13 - Jan 3 Imagine if any of you so called McCarthy fans stood up at PR and shouted the language used by this moron you would be thrown out of the club as should McCarthy
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WBBlue18 added 10:16 - Jan 3 Interesting views on here re the game. From what I saw: - Apart from one time in the first half, when we had 11 on the ptich Fulham did not open us up like they did at PR - The referee, and one lino, were poor. At least 4 free kick and corner decisions wrong and he lost the game as was evident from the players - It WAS a foul on Sears. From behind, no way shoulder to shoulder. It was bookable - The sending off was probably right - at least an "orange" - Iorfa cannot defend. 2 of the goals were probably down to him losing sight of his man. Would have been better to put Connally at RB. Can't see what he offers above Emmanuel - we should be blooding our own player as back up to Spence - We may have been better able to cope with 10 men if Ward had still been on the pitch. Sears really offered nothing in defence or attack other than "legs"

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Razor added 10:19 - Jan 3 This down to 10 men is just a convenient excuse to cover up the managers inabilities. I believe there was a team on Saturday down to 9 men, possibly before half time even, who held on for a 1-0 win. That takes some organising and effort----enough said. Glad I am away on Saturday as MM will just take the piss again----crowd of below 10,000? (especially as you can not automatically count the season ticket holders for cup games)

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baxter7 added 11:10 - Jan 3 May cant come quick enough to get rid of this dinosuar
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Steelmonkey added 11:17 - Jan 3 I find it amazing how ineffectual we are against ten men.
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blueherts added 11:24 - Jan 3 Iorfal is one of the worst defenders we have had in a long while - QPR stood out . Yes he can run forward , occassionally keeping the ball under control , but defend he cannot Bring back Josh . It is not the losses to Villa , Boro Derby wolves cardiff that get me - its the poor performances against poor opposition like QPR , Sheff W , Norwich where we have really been sloppy . even the games at Millwall and Burton we struggled over the line Never been convincing this season and it is all down to our poor defensive unit . We have some attacking players who can hurt teams but we are and have been so poor at the back for several years .

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PutneyBlue added 11:44 - Jan 3 Not sure how many of you were at the game. I was, and the referee was poor. The Fulham midfield had a good passing game, which made the difference when they had the extra man. Prior to that, it was pretty balanced.
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PutneyBlue added 11:45 - Jan 3 Oh and by the way, when you're 1-0 up away and you've lost a defender, you put another one on. Simples.
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PutneyBlue added 11:49 - Jan 3 Well said WBBlue18
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Facefacts added 11:49 - Jan 3 I can't see why people are moaning so much. Unless it's to be annoyed at Jordan Spence. Spence so stupid to react like that. Yes it was a foul on Sears, but these things happen, you don't get many decisions in these games. Refs/Linos are so poor. No one knows whether the Ref said to the Lino, I'll take all the fouls. It's up to the individual Ref to decide. You can't just assume that the Lino is going to take any responsibility. We were winning 1 - 0 with 11 v 11, and needed to keep a lid on the discipline as Fulham players were quickly losing theirs. The tactics were working. A moment of sheer quality for our goal. Just defend with 11 men for 90 - 98 minutes, we should have been able to do that. We were frustrating them and needed to hold out till the bitter end. That was how Chelsea beat Barcelona in the Champions League, one chance in the whole game for Didier Drogba and he absolutely milked it. That was always how Mick was going to approach this game, definitely no blame to Mick for this. Stupid giveaway. And people are playing out of position due to injuries/illness, of course they are, there is very little choice. Saturday, FA Cup, same again, same injury situation every season. Hope we can somehow scrape a win. Kieffer Moore, looks like the Posh have taken the bait, we need to sell him now while anyone wants him. Clearly a judgment's been made that he won't be good enough to play for us in the top half of the Championship. I did see his cameo/debut at Huddersfield Town last season, and he couldn't trap a bag of cement. Looked like a giraffe on ice to me. Couldn't jump or win anything in the air. We will have watched Rotherham videos too. Sell him while we still can, if we think we're going to get 500K for him from League One, dream on, Mick totally right to say nothing about it.

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blueherts added 11:55 - Jan 3 Putneyblue - Unfortunately we had to put Iorfa on - ball - defender ? No .Plus with 10 men it is about showing discipline and organisation and having a leader on the pitch . Shipping 4 goals in 7 minutes is not acceptable for an U15 team let alone Pros We can blame refs and linos all we want - but they did not ship 4 goals in 7 minutes
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Rensham added 12:00 - Jan 3 So its the U-23's vs Sheffield Utd in the Cup. Please boycott this game. If ITFC and MM can't be bothered, don't waste your £10.
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Rensham added 12:02 - Jan 3 What is the point of Big mick continuing as ITFC manager. Surely you sack him now and get a new man in asap.
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Theipswich added 12:49 - Jan 3 1 shot on goal tells the sad tale of McCarthy's football.Should have resigned this morning......in fact should have done ages ago. Bad manager ..useless for us
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