Post Match Ipswich (home) 1-1

[city-faithful]

Our fans are shit, our manager is shit and our team is playing shit.

I think the latter implies the former. One or two good performances can change a season, and I'd wager that if we'd have hammered Ipswich today things would be altered drastically. I'm not saying that we're just one win away from a monumental season, but it's not a case of us being terminally shit, each slice of the shit cake is completing the dessert, if you understand the analogy.

 

[Kingy_85]

We could have played untill next Xmas and we wouldn't have scored today. That penalty was a get out of jail card and playing against those hack and dash Jewellers makes a draw just as hard to accept.

WHY we persist in aiming for Bamba from corners and freekicks is beyond me. The goon cannot direct an attacking header to save his life!

Ipswich bullied us today. It was too exact opposites .... tough tackling Bowyer/Andrews/Bullard Vs Pussy Willowed King/Wellens/Abe.

WHERE IS FERNANDES? surely he should be given a try?

Underwhelmed... annoyed... and praying for a change.

 

[TornadoShaunUK]

Fear not all. Soon it will be January. We can buy a new team. (Hopefully we've learned our lesson... or rather our owner's have learned their lesson)

Nige will sort things it if he is given time - give him time.

On a side note, I also thought Beckford looked ok today but nothing special, Kasper and Konchesky both looked good again and Bamba had a good game other than a few really dodgey moments in the first half (one obviously led to the goal). Also impressed with Abe. The over all performance was pretty garbage still. Just like the last game I expected a much improved performance today and didn't get it - disappointed. I just really wish Pearson would drop Wellens - he dwells on the ball alot and slows down our own attacks, never mind giving the ball away.

Alot of players need to improve their off the ball movement, there are only one or two you can see are making this kind of effort at the moment when most of the team should be doing it. Everyone take a leaf out of Konchesky's book.

 

[Lako42]

I only pay £13

Obviously I was not talking about season ticket holders.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

I think Beckford has played well in recent games, but I too can't believe the people anyone watching the game today is defending him today, he was dreadful and I really can't excuse "lack of service" today either.

A striker has to create these chances for himself as well as the midfield and he wasn't doing that at all, his movement today was dreadful, hiding behind defenders and not attacking the ball at all, there were plenty of half-decent crosses in decent areas today which he could well have got the end of if he'd tried to attack the ball and get in front of defenders instead of running away from them to the back post to get 2 or 3 defenders between him and the crosses, one of whom much taller just in front of him and always likely to win the ball. What can the person crossing actually do in that situation? He's never going to get it to Beckford, he was so static today and was so easy to mark.

Beckford isn't the scapegoat at all, the midfield is, he is supposed to be a goalscorer yet has scored 2 goals in 16 games, you'd expect even Doncaster's or Coventry's leading striker, both of whom have much worse service than us, to have done far better than that. There are just as many underwhelming and inconsistent performances from the defence and attack as well and I really don't think it's a case of "get a decent midfield and Nugent and Beckford will start scoring loads/our defence will stop conceding silly goals" at all, as some keep suggesting.

 

[camberwell fox]

I can't think of any 'unit' of our current team that is performing even adequately at the moment except kasper.

He will surely piss off in January though having already saved us 7 points plus. Without these 7 points we would really be in the mire at the moment. I watched the Thai link today and it confirmed what I have thought recently - that we are completely impotent. Watching that today was a throw back to 10 years ago and I haven't got a fecking clue how we ended up here or how we move forward from this.

All I know for certain (in my own mind that is of course) is that NP is not the answer. I also don't want to see him sacked either, so I have absolutely not the faintest idea how we get out of this hole.

Absolutely fecking unbelievable...

 

[Si Nick]

I thought Abe was our best player today, broke up a number of Tractor attacks before they got to the back 4. Also thought Peltier played well.

Up front we were toothless, and where as the last home game I thought Beckford was better than Nugent, today Beckford was the worst of the 2, failing to challenge on a number of occasions & not looking for the right runs, eg late 2nd half when Abe played a good ball down the left & Beckford didn't think of the obvious run to make.

Be interesting to see what changes are made for Pompey now.

However - we failed again as fans today, what happened to loud demands from all 4 sides of the ground for a red card for "the last man offence". You could clearly hear the opposition fans howling for Mills to go when he was red carded. We just don't put enough pressure on the officials

 

[homer]

However - we failed again as fans today, what happened to loud demands from all 4 sides of the ground for a red card for "the last man offence"

Maybe it was because we have a fair smattering of fans who understand that there is no such thing as 'the last man offence', and that loud demands for it would have betrayed them as ignorant feckwits who don't actually know the rules of the game ?

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Agreed. It wasn't a red card, there were 2 players who would easily have covered him to the side of him, so I could hardly call it a clear goalscoring opportunity.

No idea why some were slagging off the ref today, he helped us out: the only big decision the ref really made wrongly was our penalty, which just hit their defender's arm and was never a deliberate handball in a million years.

 

[TornadoShaunUK]

Agreed. It wasn't a red card, there were 2 players who would easily have covered him to the side of him, so I could hardly call it a clear goalscoring opportunity.

No idea why some were slagging off the ref today, he helped us out: the only big decision the ref really made wrongly was our penalty, which just hit their defender's arm and was never a deliberate handball in a million years.

Woah woah, I'll disagree on that. It was a stone wall penalty IMO. Maybe there is an argument for it being accidental but that would be irrelevant anyway. His hand was up, stupid to have it up there in the first place and it definately looked like hand to ball rather than the other way around as well.

 

[MKFox]

Was visiting me ma today and a few of us ended up at the game last minute.
Truly fecking awful.
My heart goes out to those with season tickets.
The ref was a twat, beckford is a knob, ks proved he can only stop shots and is a flawed in most other areas, abe couldn't pass, woeful, utter shite.
At least bamba tried to entertain.
£38, ****ing joke.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Woah woah, I'll disagree on that. It was a stone wall penalty IMO. Maybe there is an argument for it being accidental but that would be irrelevant anyway. His hand was up, stupid to have it up there in the first place and it definately looked like hand to ball rather than the other way around as well.

Eh? That isn't irrelevant at all, in fact it's the only thing that matters. A handball has to be deliberate. Whether his hand was up or not is though one thing that is completely irrelevant and make no impact on whether a handball is deliberate or accidental. To me, it just looked like the ball his his arm and there was certainly no deliberate intention to handle the ball.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

Was visiting me ma today and a few of us ended up at the game last minute.
Truly fecking awful.
My heart goes out to those with season tickets.
The ref was a twat, beckford is a knob, ks proved he can only stop shots and is a flawed in most other areas, abe couldn't pass, woeful, utter shite.
At least bamba tried to entertain.
£38, ****ing joke.

Bit harsh blaming Kasper for the goal imo. It was Mills and/or Bamba's ball, both were much nearer and Kasper shouldn't really have been expected to get it ahead of them, but both of them just seemed to stare at each other and watch the ball drop and let Ipswich in. Would be interested to see the replay but it looked like dreadful defending from Mills and Bamba rather than from Kasper from where I was sitting.

 

[David Gwilliam]

Not quite the way I would have expressed (i.e. we wont get relegated) it but in essence I think you are right.

To switch from Sven to Pearson was a mega change not just a change of name I'm not a bit surprise that we are having a bad time. Pearson is not a fool and he will want to change the shape and structure of the squad.

But I think its unrealistic to expect these changes to be made in January - this transfer window is expensive and for the desperate. We aren't going to get promotion this season so I expect him to take his time. We've run out of the sacking of managers option for the time being so he does have some time on his side.

A sensible post. I hope you are right about not sacking managers. I believe any manager deserves a close season.

I am trying to remember the last time a player divided opinion as much as Beckford (only a few people supported DJ). It is as though people are watching a different player. There are people who see him playing well in match after match and I have to admit it escapes me. This is not to scapegoat him today since a number of players did badly.

It seemed to me that their first goal came from a lack of confidence in the defence. We had just given away a penalty and the defenders were concentrating on doing the right thing. In the penalty area you don't have time to think about things you need to do it instinctively - muscle memory

To change tack completely well done to Nigel Pearson before the game started when he went outside his area over to sign a kiddies autograph book saw that there was a disabled person further along wanting to shake hands with him took time out to do both.

 

[Brauny Blue]

To change tack completely well done to Nigel Pearson before the game started when he went outside his area over to sign a kiddies autograph book saw that there was a disabled person further along wanting to shake hands with him took time out to do both.

You sure he wasnt asking them if they had got their boots with them...

 

[Motown Fox]

Perhaps he recognised their body language

Pearson said: "People have spoken about the body language of the players this season when the team has gone behind in a game. Today, I think they gave everything, so we can at least take some positives from that.

"It is clear that there is a need for some tweaking to the side in January and also we need to work on cultivating a positive mental attitude, but it will come I am certain of that."

Pearson felt that the visitors offered little from an attacking perspective after their impactful start, but was still frustrated with the result.

"As I've said, the players gave everything and I think that perhaps, on another day, we could have snatched all three points.

"We know that we need to do better and we will. The first-half of the season was not up to the standards that a Club of this size wants, with the ambitions we have. That is shown by the fact that we have failed to record back-to-back victories. I feel that with the staff, the players and the scope to do something in January, we will definitely have a stronger second-half to the season.

So it could all start happening within the next week

 

[MKFox]

Forgot to mention that Ipswich were wasting so much time for throw-ins etc, how only 2 minutes were added at the end of the first half I'll never know.

 

[Profondo Rosso]

I have a football team, I watch them all year long, they make me want to kill myself.

We won't be happy with them, but give them one more chance, we won't be happy anyway.
Why do we still watch them, with this repulsive team? All our friends support Man U.

 

[Kingy_85]

NP out!

 

[Redditch Fox]

I have a football team, I watch them all year long, they make me want to kill myself.

We won't be happy with them, but give them one more chance, we won't be happy anyway.
Why do we still watch them, with this repulsive team? All our friends support Man U.

Its partly because LCFC is so focussed on marketing itself as being wealthy, quality squad, going places etc that its lost touch with how ordinary it is on the football pitch. Lots of money spent (but not as much as implied by the media); lots of hype and not much substance. Sven used to talk about the club as a "project", I'd rather have a bit more of old fashioned blood and guts like Jock Wallace or commitment to playing pleasing football like Jimmy Bloomfield. Good luck Nigel!