36 minutes ago, Neverbefore said:

I'm also not having anyone downplaying ipswich's performance. They nullified us and didn't let us lay a glove on them. There was no accident or luck about that, they just simply had our number, like Coventry last year. It happens in this league sometimes. They're the most effective opposition I've seen this season. 

We did have chances though, at least chances to make something. We had times when we got the ball behind their midfield and made nothing of it because of players not working well together. There were a fair few poor passes in good positions, a lot of them revolving around Crooks. I'm not gonna say Ipswich weren't good because they were but I think it's really hard to say they just completely disrupted our rhythm and that's that. There was something in that game for us if we were at the races.

They only truly started to open us up after they got their first, also. And I'm not sure how that can not be attributed to luck. The ball is heading straight at our keeper's midriff and a reasonable defensive reaction to stick a head out has caused the ball to go into the goal. Nobody was particularly to blame, Chaplin took his effort well and it was a threatening shot but it only goes in because of Clarke's reaction.

I'm not gonna moan about it because we are what we are right now and that is, as per the many reasons you listed prior to this post, quite understandable to me. But I think there was points in that game for us if one or two individuals played better on the day and more to the level we've come to expect of them. It is what it is, though, onto the next one.

23 hours ago, Redcar Rioja said:

"As individuals, Ipswich are a decent team but nothing special at this level. Their togetherness, sympatico and understanding separates them from sides with a similar quality level of squad."

There are teams with far better individuals but collectively Ipswich are greater than the sum of their parts because of their understanding or being "well drilled" as you put it. It's not intended to be disparaging towards them, it's a compliment.

yep and that is the way I see us getting promoted when it happens, everything just falls into place that season and the sum of the parts just clicks and works that year 

19 hours ago, AnglianRed said:

But aren't you frustrated by this?

How we can put in disciplined or great attacking performances against the likes of Leicester and Preston, yet be plodding, pedestrian and disorganised, letting teams like Bristol, Ipswich beat us without trying too hard...and completely lose the plot against Leeds?

Its like some weeks we decide to turn up and others we barely even try.

I just can't understand how we can be so schizophrenic. Maybe someone can educate me?

Also, as I mentioned before, the "on again, off again" performances can be traced back to the Stoke game, so it started before injuries became a critical thing.

most of the championship are off again and on again all the time, its pretty inconsistent outside of the top positions. this is where we are so for me its par for the course of where we are currently in the championship rat race.

and with the squad being relatively thin it's only going to get in the way of us finding some consistency again.

8 hours ago, AnglianRed said:

My point (which some people can't seem to grasp) is that we were just so bad.

Yes Ipswich have had an amazing season so far, but I don't think they played particularly well against us. The reason we lost was more down to how poor we were, rather than how good they were.

If they'd battered us, played us off the park, I would happily hold my hands up and say we got beaten by the better team. 

I mean, we still got beaten by the better team, but it was largely a result of our own passivity and incompetence. If we'd played anywhere near what we are capable of on a good day, we'd have got at least a point.

Even Ipswich's own fans have been saying they have been punching above their weight and they expect to run out of steam at some point, so its not like they are juggernauts of the league or anything.

I don't understand why we keep turning in such Jekyll and Hyde performances from one game to the next.

I don’t disagree that we definately don’t help ourselves in some of the things we do. But on the other hand you don’t factor in at all the opposition, they are 2nd and 3rd for a reason, maybe they are doing things off the ball to disrupt how we want to play thus making us look pretty poor? They are probably better than other teams at doing it hence why they’re so high in the table.

It’s unfair not to factor it in imo, not everything can be the players/managers fault. It’s impossible that every single defeat is down to us making mistakes with no credit at all going to the opposition who will have spent all week planning how to beat us.

We are going to lose games, we are going to play badly, it’s just football and it’s just what happens and we can’t melt down and write the whole season off everytime it does. 

1 hour ago, LinoJo3 said:

It’s unfair not to factor it in imo, not everything can be the players/managers fault. It’s impossible that every single defeat is down to us making mistakes with no credit at all going to the opposition who will have spent all week planning how to beat us.

There's some truth to all that mate but having seen the second goal we conceded, I think that is entirely down to Carrick, and a couple of the players.  A straight ball through the lines because we refuse to have a player protecting our back four again  Howson is actually back but over to the left, and further back than some of the defenders.  Then we have Engel once again playing the opposition onside like he's never played a game of football before.  Repeated mistakes have to be down to us although I dare say that opposition coaches have seen enough of them now to try and create those mistakes with their own play.

Edited December 11, 20232 yr by Changing Times