Ipswich Post Match

[WetFlannel]

He was going on about how he was elated when Nemo's dad found Nemo, and when Shrek got Fiona back, obviously talking about the X-mas TV. And said he nearly hung himself after watching Eastenders. Random ramblings Love it!

He truely is a god, and thanks for the info

[Thracian]

3 months i've heard from other sources.

Apart from his injury, how long do hernias take to heal?

[Bert]

Apart from his injury, how long do hernias take to heal?

You should know that!

Ollie said, he'd not been pain free for 2-3 years and when he went out the other day, it'd been the first time he'd been pain free.

They've stretched his ligaments, which was the main problem i think.

[MC Prussian]

Just gimme the same feeling comes Saturday and 2007 is saved...

Oh, we're playing Charlton at home.

Bring it on.

[Daggers]

And there in lies the problem, we can't afford 3 non-prolific strikers. I'm not convince about Hume but he has scored a few recently.

What we really need is a striker that can stretch defences like John and chip in with a few goals aswell.

Agreed.

If all we need is someone fast to occupy the centre backs (without requiring them to do anything romtely like finding the net) then we may as well stick on Elvis Hammond [ankle].

[Joe.]

Sounds like Stearman's finally getting his act together.

He's definitely deserved all the stick he's got so far this season, but I'm glad he's finally decided he wants to play football for us. If he keeps this up I'll be delighted for him, and he deserves some credit.

Let's hope this continues.

As for today, was gutted I couldn't make it, had to work in the end.

Sounded like a performance that just got the job done and grabbed us the 3 points. Great stuff.

[Bert]

FAO Matt - We had Mike Dean against Wolves.

[Daggers]

Sounds like Stearman's finally getting his act together.

He's definitely deserved all the stick he's got so far this season, but I'm glad he's finally decided he wants to play football for us.

Erm...a couple of perfromances hardly makes him Player of the Season.

He's played well off and on before - it's all about him doing it week in week out and cutting out the showboating overhead kick crap.

[Thracian]

A valid point.

Some folk may call for the return of a Hume-Fryatt strike partnership. That would be a serious error. They've proved before they're nowhere near productive enough for this league.

The trouble is that John is being played as a centre-forward and he doesn't really have the aerial strength for that. Steve Howard is the type of player we need (and may well get) next month.

Overall it was a decent performance, nothing more. The defence managed to cope with the pressure caused by a largely non-functioning midfield (Clemence's two setpieces apart), while Fryatt showed signs of recovering form.

But Holloway will surely know that rebuilding work on this side is still needed.

You're dead right about Hume-Fryatt. Look where our goals came from again today. Big men attacking set-pieces. Just like in the MON days. Kisnorbo and McAuley can always be dangerous but they need help from others who require attention. Hume and Fryatt aren't normally dangerous from free-kicks.

Both did well in their particular ways today but, as Futter says, strikers need to be scoring and making goals and Fryatt, despite his excellent performance today, didn't score, didn't look like scoring and hasn't scored nearly enough goals since he joined us.

Any manager looking to improve our team would have to require more goals from all our main strikers. But, confidence plays a part too and on that score it is early days. Holloway would seem to be making progress.

This was arguably our best home performance since Watford. There was energy for 90 minutes, previously faltering players looked revitalised, we had people driving from midfield into the box at times, we made some chances and had some shots, there was movement for one another, we didn't loft the ball hopefully so much and we didn't back off when we were winning.

That, to me, reflects significant progress as did Fryatt's individual contribution. And if those alements continue to improve then perhaps so will Fryatt's goals ratio. But whether it will ever be enough for a first choice striker I still have my doubts.

[Webbo]

Agreed.

If all we need is someone fast to occupy the centre backs (without requiring them to do anything romtely like finding the net) then we may as well stick on Elvis Hammond [ankle].

Good point.

[James.]

Erm...a couple of perfromances hardly makes him Player of the Season.

He's played well off and on before - it's all about him doing it week in week out and cutting out the showboating overhead kick crap.

It WAS a magnificent overhead kick.

[Alexikokopops]

It WAS a magnificent overhead kick.

That was brilliant.

[DB11]

How do you know he's got a strange spot on his head?

eg. the temple or something

[Theboybroome]

It wasn't THAT good!!!!

Compared to recent performances it was miraculous!

[davieG]

eg. the temple or something

That's not strange everyone has a temple in fact I have two!

[Simi]

A decent performance, although Ipswich were well and truly awful.

It's good to finally see Stearman showing the commitment and confidence on the ball which helped us a lot today although his final ball always seemed to lack in quality.

Fryatt played well but seemed to always take one touch to many and was painfully caught offside when he was looking right down the line. He needs to get in the box more and he'll score more goals, that's where he's best, not lurking outside the area. Problem is this seems to be the space that John likes to occupy. I'd like to see John on the shoulder of the last defender and looking to get the ball down the wing. Whatever we do we certainly need to create some more clear chances.

N Gotty was solid once again as he was at Wolves. However he does seem to creep up the pitch a bit to much at times leaving a bit of a whole. His passing wasn't great but he stopped a lot of there pressure.

Clemence seemed to boss the midfield a lot better today, having N Gotty around him seems to help him a bit more.

Charlton will be the real test for us now, Ipswich offered hardly anything and never really looked like scoring.

[Fez of Mahrez]

If Clemence can produce set pieces like that on a regular basis then we won't need Sheehan and we can bring in a proper left-back to whom Mattock can be a decent understudy. Mattock has struggled the last few games and he needs a rest in my view. They're both poor players for this league although hopefully Mattock will improve over time.

[The People's Hero]

If Clemence can produce set pieces like that on a regular basis then we won't need Sheehan and we can bring in a proper left-back to whom Mattock can be a decent understudy. Mattock has struggled the last few games and he needs a rest in my view. They're both poor players for this league although hopefully Mattock will improve over time.

We should have signed Capaldi ages ago.

Never understood why we signed Peter Sodding Gilbert from them instead.

[Thracian]

If Clemence can produce set pieces like that on a regular basis then we won't need Sheehan and we can bring in a proper left-back to whom Mattock can be a decent understudy. Mattock has struggled the last few games and he needs a rest in my view. They're both poor players for this league although hopefully Mattock will improve over time.

The Clemence free kicks were quality but to suggest they suddenly put him in Sheehan's class as a dead ball specialist is something else.

Sheehan to me has far more variety and considerably more power when it comes to shooting.

As for suggesting that Mattock is somehow everything Sheehan is not as a left back, even in the recent poll Sheehan attracted roughly twice as many votes as Mattock as first choice left-back and yesterday only demonstrated why.

Mattock did nothing particularly wrong but he made nothing happen either. And to be honest that has been the case all season. He's learning and improving his reliability but he's nothing like either Stearman or Sheehan in what he gives us going forward.

Hopefully Holloway is working on Sheehan - he certainly seemed to track back pretty urgently when he came on as sub. But even in that short cameo appearance Sheehan started one move that might well have led to a goal, which is as much as Mattock managed all match and why you should seem so dismissive of these qualities I don't know.

I don't even agree that both are poor players at Championship level. I think few left-backs offer what Sheehan does in an attacking sense and, as an 18-year-old, Mattock is becoming increasingly assured.

In both cases we are talking about footballers with less than 30 games experience and both would seem to improving steadily.

[Asha]

Clemence's set pieces were good, but no consistant. Some of his corners were woeful. We need free-kicks like Lennon's and Izzet's from days gone by, where every one would be on Matty or Gerry's head...and would produce so many goals.

[The People's Hero]

I don't even agree that both are poor players at Championship level. I think few left-backs offer what Sheehan does in an attacking sense and, as an 18-year-old, Mattock is becoming increasingly assured.

Indeed, but for the main part they tend to be able to defend.

[Asha]

We should have signed Capaldi ages ago.

Never understood why we signed Peter Sodding Gilbert from them instead.

Brings back memories. God he was shit.

[Fez of Mahrez]

The Clemence free kicks were quality but to suggest they suddenly put him in Sheehan's class as a dead ball specialist is something else.

Sheehan to me has far more variety and considerably more power when it comes to shooting.

As for suggesting that Mattock is somehow everything Sheehan is not as a left back, even in the recent poll Sheehan attracted roughly twice as many votes as Mattock as first choice left-back and yesterday only demonstrated why.

Mattock did nothing particularly wrong but he made nothing happen either. And to be honest that has been the case all season. He's learning and improving his reliability but he's nothing like either Stearman or Sheehan in what he gives us going forward.

Hopefully Holloway is working on Sheehan - he certainly seemed to track back pretty urgently when he came on as sub. But even in that short cameo appearance Sheehan started one move that might well have led to a goal, which is as much as Mattock managed all match and why you should seem so dismissive of these qualities I don't know.

I don't even agree that both are poor players at Championship level. I think few left-backs offer what Sheehan does in an attacking sense and, as an 18-year-old, Mattock is becoming increasingly assured.

In both cases we are talking about footballers with less than 30 games experience and both would seem to improving steadily.

Here we go, the spin doctoring again. Why must you always try to read things that aren't there? I said they're both poor but that Mattock has more potential. I actually voted for Sheehan in that poll you refer to because, as I said, Mattock has struggled recently. But the vast majority of people only wanted him in for his free kicks and corners, something we have been equally good at for the last couple of games without him. I also said "if" regarding Clemence's free kicks. The same applies to Hume's direct free kicks after his goal at Wolves.

If If If If If If If they continue to do these sort of things, we can bring in a left-back who is quicker than Sheehan, who is not as raw as Mattock, who actually closes down when wingers want to cross the ball and who can provide quick and effective support to the attack.

And if we can't find someone who can do all of that then we shouldn't sign them.

For someone who is always on about improving things I don't know why you wouldn't be open to bringing in a better player in any position.

[The People's Hero]

For someone who is always on about improving things I don't know why you wouldn't be open to bringing in a better player in any position.

Stop trying to understand him, mate.

You know an infinite amount more about football than Thracian does.

He's obviously hankering for an argument and reading in insinuations which aren't made. I wonder if we leave him long enough if he'll start arguing with himself.... or god forbid, his staunch ally in spin, Ultra.

[Daggers]

It WAS a magnificent overhead kick.

That was brilliant.

It was funny and irresponsible in equal measure; controlling the ball and passing would have prevented it leading to another Ipswich attack.

I don't want to negate a decent performace from the gangly-one, but his performance was not the God-like one people are wanting to portray. He has to find a consistant maturity and confidence in his play on a regular basis before he can start indulging himself.