Ipswich Town vs Derby County Match Thread

[Zag zig]

Just want to say despite the the disappointment off not winning , thanks to Gibbo who who asked Frank and the subs wh9 were where warming down to have their pics taken with me long after the ground had emptied at 10.00

Had a good chat with Gibbo and have to say he’s not a yes man but a decent guy ?

[RamNut]

I don't think johnson was the issue. He was one of the better performers in the first half, and it would be unfair to single him out. Obviously Frank doesn't think huddlestone can cope with 3 games in 8 days, or doesn't fancy him away from home.....or both.

Despite the gushing over reaction to a home win, away performances like this have been a fairly regular recurrence and are the reason why we aren't capable of mounting a challenge for the top two. Its hard to imagine us doing a Bristol city and winning 9 on the trot. Our best hope is still to finish 5th or 6th and enter the lottery.

p.s. Tomori has now overtaken Wilson as the Player of the season for me. 

[Anag Ram]

It was such a poor performance last night that it’s hard to pick out positives.

Johnson battled away manfully in a team that otherwise wimped out. Roos looked quite composed in goal and Tomori was probably our best player.

Our crossing and passing was again abysmal though so few of our players enter the box with intent that it must be hard to know what type of ball to play in.

My heart sinks when Nugent and Bennett come off the bench. I’d rather the academy lads be given a go.

Wilson and Lawrence are potentially our most creative players but both have been poor of late. In Lawrence’s case, we were back to the lethargic petulant version of last year. There can be no place for that attitude in any team.

[BathRam72]

1 hour ago, RamNut said:

I don't think johnson was the issue. He was one of the better performers in the first half, and it would be unfair to single him out. Obviously Frank doesn't think huddlestone can cope with 3 games in 8 days, or doesn't fancy him away from home.....or both.

Despite the gushing over reaction to a home win, away performances like this have been a fairly regular recurrence and are the reason why we aren't capable of mounting a challenge for the top two. Its hard to imagine us doing a Bristol city and winning 9 on the trot. Our best hope is still to finish 5th or 6th and enter the lottery.

p.s. Tomori has now overtaken Wilson as the Player of the season for me. 

There may be something in this, however my thoughts are that maybe Frank under-estimated Ipswich and maybe he though playing a team with a few that where not fully match fit/current would be enough and saving Huddlestone for the weekend.

The only thing that does go against this theory is that he didn't bring him on when they scored and clearly the mid field needed bolstering.

I am probably way off the mark.

 

[QuitYourJibbaJivin]

Woke up this morning and I’m still pissed off with last night. We seem to walk out on the pitch in these sort like we’ve already won the game, we started well, got the goal and thought we were in for an easy ride. It’s not like it’s the first time this season either, we’ve dropped points in other games where a team challenging at the top should go and win.

Too many changes to the team again. We need to put a proper run together in the league, we’ve stuttered in the league literally all season, how many times have we strung together a run of wins? The strongest team should have started last night, got us into a decent position then rested a few key players for Saturday. Seems like we had one eye on the cup before the game even kicked off last night.

Is there nobody in the U23’s that’s worth giving a go rather than Nuge? Cresswell scores for fun, even Jack Stretton. Nuge has 3 chances to win the game last night and missed them all, he’s constantly missed big chances all season thank god his time is nearly up here, great player but we signed him 4 years too late.

[Premier ram]

was there last night , and while i agree we were not at it , i think Ipswich should get some credit for that , going behind early on they could of folded but they came out fighting and deserved a point , our biggest crime was perhaps protecting what we had a little bit too much , a second goal in my opinion would have killed them off , a point is not the end of the world , the last few seasons we would of lost that game , one last thing from me , the critiscism of Bradley Johnsons performance last night is wide of the mark , yes he has his limitations but he battled manfully in midfield , mostly on his own until Brys came on and was only shaded by Tomori as my Rams man of the match , welcome back Brad

[DesertRam]

I've put this behind me now, time to move on.

Hopefully we'll be able to make amends at Brighton, and that will

carry us on to get 6 points at Villa and you know who.

[SSD]

Realistically, we need to aim for cementing a play-off spot now. We've been dreadful away from home against the "poor" teams this season. Automatic promotion contenders would've taken care of tonight's game. And we aren't quite at that level yet.

But then this is what I expected from us this season so I can't moan too much. We're not underachieving.

Midfield and our forward players must take the lions share of responsibility for last nights performance. They couldn't control the game, hence wave after wave of Ipswich attacks. 

Frank shouldn't have started 2 players in midfield who haven't played much competitive football recently. Play one or the other. I don't understand why he's playing Johnson again all of a sudden. Another player out of contract in the summer, on big money too, hasn't started for awhile, what's he trying to achieve out of it? Not slating Johnson, I don't understand why Frank's brought him out of the cold all of a sudden?

[angieram]

I was at the match last night (still in Ipswich) and just catching up with this thread. My first observation is that there are about 9 different 'scapegoats' mentioned. We all agree we were slightly off it, but everyone has a different reason why. 

That says more about how we were set up and why that didn't work than it does about individuals.

What a great start and did we score too early? There's never a bad time to score in my opinion but it did spur Ipswich on in front of a pretty poor crowd who weren't expecting much. However, our inability to counter-attack with more ruthlessness helped to get them onside.

Despite what people say , I thought our movement off the ball was good last night and we did find ourselves in some promising situations around the box but wasted them either looking for a better angle to shoot from or not shooting at all! At that stage I thought a second goal would come. The pitch wasn't really suited to a slick passing game hence the misplaced passes; couple this with some pernickity refereeing leading to a lot of soft free kicks against and our intent seemed to diminish.

I thought Johnson played well first half BTW. King showed one or two nice touches but not really up to the pace of the game - he's badly in need of match time which is hard to come by at this stage of the season.  Wilson needs to be playing in the Prem as he's just a target for physical attention, as was Lawrence - both carrying knocks from relatively early on. 

Second half I think that King and Johnson's lack of game time started to show and our stupid free kick (when wIll we start managing those better?) for an equaliser that gave them and the crowd the confidence they needed to be more creative. How we didn't concede again during that time I am not sure and I have to mention the superb clearance off the line from Holmes, who otherwise had a patchy game.

At this stage things needed changing badly and I thought Frank was a little slow to react. 

It wasn’t until all three substitutes were on the pitch that we started to gain back some control and this was mainly due to Bryson replacing King, who did little second half other than cause the poor play that led to their goal. 

I have read a lot of negative comments about Nuge's finishing and don't disagree, but it was his presence that enabled us to win some aerial duals and help get that ball into the box and bring Waghorn back into play, helping to create those late chances so it wasn't all a negative for me.

We seemed to have several of those chances in a hectic last ten minutes but not the right bounce or first time shot to get the winner. It would have been hard luck on Ipswich if we had. They fought really strongly throughout whereas we seemed to be playing with one eye on Saturday ( the players as well as the manager.) 

A disappointing but not devestating result, given how other games finished last night. We'll see whether the sacrifice was worth it on Saturday.

[Gone]

1 hour ago, Anag Ram said:

My heart sinks when Nugent and Bennett come off the bench. I’d rather the academy lads be given a go.

Couldn’t agree more, neither offer anything and should be 1st our the door in the summer. Due to that I agree let’s see what youth we have and give them a go. We can’t do any worse than those pair. 

[desirelines]

We scored too early ???

[Zag zig]

Another sat in Ipswich , we didn’t score too early Norwich did the same on Sunday. Sat with my Ipswich mates and we gave it away, they said as much. They pressed Norwich the same but the Canaries found gaps we didn’t.

After the game I hung around and had a chat with Gibbo waiting for Frank as all the unused subs plus Bryso, Nuge and Mason did a warm down around 10.00 in a near empty stadium. Even he as a club man was baffled why we didn’t perform the whole game like the last 10 minutes; it was like a switch discovering urgency. Had we done so, we would have won.

There was no single scapegoat, they were all guilty of mid firing in a bitty game. The best thing to say is we didn’t lose but in the last 10 games Ipswich have won 1 against Rotherham, drawn against us and lost the other 8, which says everything about the opportunity lost for me. We simply didn’t boss the game or take our chances, which gave them encouragement.

Never mind, we move on.

[NottsRam77]

8 hours ago, cannable said:

I actually don’t think tonight was ‘sloppy’, per say. I think we produced the beginnings of some really nice moves today that ended prematurely because of no link between the midfield and the front three.

We sucked them in fairly well but Wilson didn’t link well enough and none of our midfielders could make the final transition. Playing him at #10 is alright but only if your aim is to have him not doing anything but finding pockets of space and shooting, like Vydra.

Lil Duane carries the ball through the thirds well when played centrally and Huddlestone switches the play often making the transition from midfield to attack easier… but even with those pair we’re still crying out for a new Hughesy.

Have to disagree mate

we were sloppy 

the goal we conceded itself summed up our lack of care with the ball on the night 

For a “passing” side ... that was terrible stuff quite frankly 

positives were that the back four defended well .. keogh particularly but again the midfield and attacking players need to have a look at themselves 

have to say too Bogle frustrated me last night, he didn’t play terribly of anything but he has a habit of carrying the ball into the space towards his intended target thus eating up the space and killing his man

noticed it several times when an early pass would have given both him and his teammate more room to manoeuvre.

insted he carried the ball to him then lays off a short pass, no one has any room and they snatch the ball cos he’s played us into an impossible situation 

he did it numerous times 

I was shouting,early early early 

killed me it really did 

[Danelaw Rams]

9 hours ago, mwram1973 said:

Didn't give it away in the build up to the goal though did he?

There were a lot more players who had a worse game than him tonight, wilson and holmes.

Wilson and Holmes didn't have as bad a game as Johnson! it's just that you expect so much more from them pair. Johnson on the other hand gives the ball away in crucial areas,  where you find yourself actually shouting out aloud " don't f☆■king lose the ball there"! He has limited skill , speed, & composure , panics when getting closed down.....in fact hes poor with the ball and without the ball. He is consistent,  consistently poor.....unlike the other players, and that's why he has found himself out of the 1st team. Lampard hinted in his post match interview Johnson was in because of the busy fixture schedule. I doubt we'll see him again in a Derby shirt...but I'd love to see him in a forest shirt. Just to clarify,  at 6k  He is a HUGE disappointment! 

[MACKWORTHRAM]

I keep seeing people say that if we want top 2 then we have to be beating teams like that. No. If we want top 6/top 10 then we have to be beating teams like that. They're awful. Absolutely awful. They've won 3 games all season and are arguably one of the worst teams we've seen in the championship. They didn't have their centre half or their main attacking threat playing.

There's no excuses for not winning that game last night.

Ipswich, Bolton, Rotherham and Millwall all occupy the bottom 5. We've accumulated 1 point from those away games. Which to be honest is pathetic. If we'd have won 2 of those then we'd be right in the hunt for a top 2 finish. That is ultimately what will cost us.

Still don't understand taking Wilson off last night. Yes he didn't do much he wasn't at his best. But he's the most likely to get a goal from nothing. I would have took Holmes off and moved Wilson out wide. 

Johnson coming from absolutely nowhere to starting games is beyond me. He's not going to be here next season so why play him?

Last night we should have played Huddlestone and maybe King and Holmes in midfield. 

Second half at Norwich we were good but since then away from home it's been terrible. The midfield has been all over the place. 

We play Huddlestone against Hull who controls the game completely. He gets left out and the midfield is sloppy and has no control. Not a coincidence is it.

 

 

[Day]

7 minutes ago, MACKWORTHRAM said:

I keep seeing people say that if we want top 2 then we have to be beating teams like that. No. If we want top 6/top 10 then we have to be beating teams like that. They're awful. Absolutely awful. They've won 3 games all season and are arguably one of the worst teams we've seen in the championship. They didn't have their centre half or their main attacking threat playing.

We’re not the only top 6 hopefuls to go to Ipswich this season and come away with a 1-1 draw and beating them on home turf. (Sheff Utd yet to play at home)

I know this is little comfort after last nights performance, but we’re not the only team that struggles against teams down the bottom end of the table. 

Ipswich 1-1 Derby

Ipswich 1-1 Sheff Utd

Ipswich 1-1 Norwich 

Ipswich 1-1 Villa

 

Derby 2-0 Ipswich

Norwich 3-0 Ipswich 

Villa 2-1 Ipswich

[RamNut]

1 minute ago, David said:

We’re not the only top 6 hopefuls to go to Ipswich this season and come away with a 1-1 draw and beating them on home turf. (Sheff Utd yet to play at home)

I know this is little comfort after last nights performance, but we’re not the only team that struggles against teams down the bottom end of the table. 

Ipswich 1-1 Derby

Ipswich 1-1 Sheff Utd

Ipswich 1-1 Norwich 

Ipswich 1-1 Villa

 

Derby 2-0 Ipswich

Norwich 3-0 Ipswich 

Villa 2-1 Ipswich

 but.....1-0 up in two minutes against a team with 18 points from 31 games.

Thats got to lead to a comfortable win. Very hard to accept the sloppy stuff that allowed them to become the better side for the majority of the game.

 

[AdamRam]

10 minutes ago, David said:

We’re not the only top 6 hopefuls to go to Ipswich this season and come away with a 1-1 draw and beating them on home turf. (Sheff Utd yet to play at home)

I know this is little comfort after last nights performance, but we’re not the only team that struggles against teams down the bottom end of the table. 

Ipswich 1-1 Derby

Ipswich 1-1 Sheff Utd

Ipswich 1-1 Norwich 

Ipswich 1-1 Villa

 

Derby 2-0 Ipswich

Norwich 3-0 Ipswich 

Villa 2-1 Ipswich

For me it wasn’t the result that was a concern but the performance. It wasn’t that Ipswich raised their game, it was our levels that were very poor and we looked more like a relegation side than one battling for promotion. 

An opportunity missed in my opinion.

[SaintRam]

Looking at the numbers, our ball retention was worse than I thought.

Only one player in the starting line-up finished with more than 80% pass completion (King, 94%). Of the subs, only Bryson managed it (100%, 18 passes).

Roos: 16% down on his average. (43%)
Bogle: 4% down. (77%)
Keogh: 15% down. (69%)
Tomori: 13% down. (69%)
Malone: 19% down. (50%)
Johnson: 2% up. (76%)
Holmes: Average. (77%)
Wilson: 2% up. (78%)
Lawrence: Average. (75%)
Waghorn: 13% down. (62%)

 

That means our entire starting XI (minus King) were, on average, 7.6% worse at passing than they usually are. Which doesn't sound like much but is a pretty huge margin.
The back 5 in isolation were a crazy 13.4% worse at passing the ball.

 

For reference, against Hull, we had 6 players in the starting XI with at least 80% pass completion (Roos, Keogh, Tomori, Huddlestone, Bryson, Holmes) and every player, bar Jozefzoon, beat their average.

['Rambe33]

Was disappointing last night in the fact that we didn't go for the jugular after going in front. Had we pressed them and kept the ball better after the first goal a second quick fire goal would have killed it. 

Was very frustrating watching. Other teams in and around us kill off these teams and we just never produce. These games I'm afraid highlight we need more character and desire in the side in games like last night. Its not a new thing that we struggle against lesser sides its happened for years. To concede in that manner from our own free kick was embarrassing. A lack of common sense and also decision making cost us. 

That being said it was screaming out for a Huddlestone. The amount of times I was screaming at the TV for us to hold onto the ball for a bit was ten-fold. If he really can't do two games in a short space of time then fair enough, this needs to be addressed that we either bring in an adequate long term replacement (I don't see one in the club at the moment) or we learn to play a different way when he isn't there. 

For what its worth I thought Johnson did well as did King in the first half but we needed more control in there. We are missing Mason Mount a lot as well. He is the one who can take a game to a team and make something happen. Hopefully get him back soon and we are still in contention. 

I also think our wingers don't help us at times. I think maybe one of them should start way more narrow and one right out wide giving the oppo back-line more to think about. We still aren't seeing enough from the wings and haven't cracked this since we had McClaren first time around with the two who started giving everything, if it wasn't working McClaren would hook them for two off the bench. That's one thing I think Frank could learn with his subs. As Mourinho used to do a lot and was never scared of a sub. 

Nugent is just not up to it. I get that he hit the bar and if it had gone in we wouldn't be discussing this but he didn't score and that is more poignant from someone who is supposed to be a "poacher" and a proven goalscorer. If he is going to be on the bench you want an impact. He hasn't provided that impact for weeks and weeks. I think he's a great guy but sadly his time is up. 

Consistency is lacking. Yes we are still unbeaten in Feb but this was two points dropped no doubt about it, a missed opportunity. I really hope it turns out to be a good point by March. If we can win at home to Millwall and then the dreaded Florists it will be forgotten but a derby match can be a lottery. I still think we will make the playoffs although the so called easier/favourable run hasnt been that fruitful and with Forest and Villa coming up they aren't easy games.

Its games like last night that we all tear our hair out because it was a massive missed opportunity and also the manner in which we dropped points frustrates us like hell. Like I said before we have seen it countless times and it hasn't been addressed. Anyhow a free hit this weekend. Hope we can get a result and also see a couple of the championship results go our way as well.