 | News
Comment | Salary Cap Could Be Put Back Until Next Year
at 17:58:43
We have a one season window before its a level playing field for all league 1 clubs and we need to maximise this advantage.
Evans and Lambert need to rethink their strategy and make this season a promotion season.
No excuses. |
| News
Comment | Wark Tops Stand Pillar Poll
at 18:03:06
Have we missed a trick?
Making Tony Mowbray one of the legends might have enticed him to come and be our manager. |
| Blog
Comment | John Cobbold’s Ace Gardener
at 00:24:31
I was in the North stand when he played his debut against Portsmouth.
One of his goals was a diving header that went up about 15 ft and dropped into the far post. You could hear the intake of breath from the North stand fans as it looped up, then a moment of silence followed by a crescendo of noise as it went in.
Thanks for the memories Elephant. |
| News
Comment | MK Dons 0-1 Ipswich Town - Highlights
at 13:35:25
@BlueInBerks - Last season in the Championship our players passed in the penalty box instead of shooting. This usually meant the defence cleared the ball. It was frustrating.
Sometimes last year we had to wait until the 2nd half for a shot and sometimes we didn't even record a shot on target in the whole game.
I much prefer quantity to quality as it's more exciting and a lucky deflection or a goalkeeper caught on the wrong foot gets a goal.
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| Blog
Comment | Does the NFL Point to Football’s Future?
at 12:42:37
I understand where you're coming from as regards the distribution of cash amongst the teams. They also have the draft where new players are chosen by the clubs in a fair way that stops the richest clubs getting all the talent.
However, there are only 32 teams in a country that has a population of 325 million. There are other Gridiron leagues in the USA but these don't have much money and some have disbanded, merged and been relaunched.
The teams are franchises that can be bought and moved. If the owner wants to move to another city then there seems to be little to stop them. There may be protests about the move but everyone seems to "move on" once its done. The animosity between MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon suggests that that model won't be accepted in this country and there's little space for brand new stadiums and little money to build them.
English football has Club academies eg ITFC Academy. The USA has college football. There is a lot of money in schools running a college football team and the players don't get paid although they get "paid" indirectly by free tuition, free accomodation, free everything really.
The structure of American Football from youth to professional is vastly different from English football in that it appears to me to be exclusive rather than inclusive.
My football life started down the park with jumpers-for-goalposts. That's the essence of our game - just a few mates and a bit of space needed for a kickabout. I saw yanks from the airbases on Felixstowe beach when I was a kid - throwing a football to each other but they weren't having a game with downs,punts etc. Nowadays, there's more kids playing soccer in the parks of the USA than there are throwing egg-shaped balls.
If the USA has just 32 top teams that get all the focus and thereby the money, then maybe England can only realistically support 2 leagues - the Premiership and the Championship. Leagues 1 and 2 will become semi-professional minor leagues with no promotion to the championship.
Our model is bust - no question. There's too much money at the top and not enough at the bottom. There needs to be a redistribution of cash to the lower league clubs somehow and I don't have that answer. Even if the EFL lost 20 clubs, there is no appetite for fans to migrate to other teams. Bury and Bolton fans are definitely not going to transfer their allegiance to the club down the road as they have been bitter rivals for their entire life.
You say English football will be forced to reorganise and that time cannot be far away and you're 100% right about that. If we keep sugar-daddy Marcus then Town will be part of that reorganisation rather than one of those teams left to wither and die. |
| Blog
Comment | The Nearly Men
at 23:25:08
I remember all those players apart from John Peddelty who I must have seen but just don't recall.
TWTD |
| News
Comment | McCarthy: I Hope Fans That Hounded Me Out Enjoy the Sexy Football in League One
at 19:35:40
Mick loved the club. The staff and players liked him. The atmosphere within the club was very good and it seems it was a nice place to work with Mick as the boss.
If any of you have ever lost a great job in a really good company because of a personality clash (which I have) then I say you have every right to be bitter (which I still am).
But we've all moved on haven't we?
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| Blog
Comment | The History Boys
at 21:49:06
Owners, managers and players come and go but us fans we stay forever.
I have friends who support clubs that have never played in the Championship. A mate who supports Bristol Rovers tells me that one Saturday night the table published in the Bristol version of the Greenun' showed them in 6th place in division 2 (now the championship). That's as high as they've ever been according to him. That's their "history" and he's proud of it. He won't ever give up supporting Rovers.
... and I won't give up supporting Town, I can't explain why - it's just in my blood.
Looking forward to next season. COYB. |
| Blog
Comment | John O’Rourke – Unsung Hero
at 20:05:58
Thanks for that - a good read and many memories.
Hegan, O'Rourke and Chopper were always crowd pleasers. Chopper Jeferson would play 1 game sit out 3 (banned) if he played today.
67/68 was the first season where I could attend every match apart from mid-week evening matches. Before then I had to go with my dad or older brother and they couldn't be bothered to go half the time.
2/- to get in! That was 10 No6. In todays money that would be about £6.
Those who sell an addictive product (Tobacco,football) have certainly exploited their customers for all their worth. |
| Blog
Comment | Where Did It All Go Wrong for Paul Hurst?
at 13:21:08
Good blog.
Lambert will realise on day one that the squad is lacking in depth and quailty.
Will he mouth that off to the press as an excuse as to why we are going to struggle or will he work at these problems on the training ground.
You suggest that PH didn't work on defending set-pieces and as we keep conceding from set-pieces, I have to agree with you. This is where I think PL should start. He must organise the defence to defend set-pieces properly and adequately. I also think that our corners have been a catalyst for the opposition to start an attack against us. This has to stop too so he needs to find a corner taker who was as consistent as Waghorn.
PL has a tough job ahead of him, confounded by a weak and disillusioned team. I think PL man-management skills and his experience at this level is something PH lacked and which ultimately cost him his job. |
| News
Comment | Let’s Hope Ipswich Don’t Get a Dead Cat Bounce on Saturday - Notes for Millwall
at 12:20:56
Thanks Harry, your analysis is always a good read and something I look forward to before each match.
rfretwell - ref: Sports science. Throughout my working life I've had accountants with a spreadsheet telling me something can't be right because of what the spreadsheet says only to tell them to open their eyes and see for themself. "Maybe your spreadsheets wrong" I tell them, but they always found that hard to accept. |
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