Pwoite

Not Edozie, please. He’s fine going forward if you forgive the lack of end product, but poor at tracking back and defending. I do wonder, though, how close we might be to completing our summer business, with Fraser and Sugawara. I suspect that there might be no more than four more deals, possibly five: * Downes or equivalent * O’Riley or equivalent. Ghoddos? * a striker * a keeper, though maybe another Lumley, or maybe Lys. would we need any more than this? Okay, can seeing us looking to upsell on Manning, Bree, etc, replacing Janny B if necessary, but in terms of additions, I think four more.

And it has to be easier to rip up trees at Forest than anywhere else!

Whilst such an approach makes sense, presumably the club needs to find teams playing Russball, which might be a bit of an issue. I guess any playing time is better than none, but a team playing hoofball or a high press might not be much better than the U21s playing a more familiar style, though we know U21 is not great preparation for big boys football.

All this talk of new players, but nothing on this forum about integrating our existing youngsters, apart from Meghoma. Are they all considered too raw. Lawrence made the bench last season. Is he way below Nathan Wood? Ballard got injured, but will be play a part? Are Dibling and toned for season long loans? Will Bragg get a look in?

Downes certainly went to school in Brentwood, but whilst I agree he has two options, a failure to take our one could see his choices halved, if he go elsewhere. Can see some brinkmanship coming into play on this one, and us potentially lining up our own Plan B, to push forward a conclusion.

Shopping list: Re-sign McCarthy, and bring in new keeper, so they compete to be number 1. New left back Additional central defender, or ABK if he is over his injury issues Sign Downes Additional defensive midfielder Sign Fraser Potentially additional attacking midfielder, dependent on Stuart A staying, Alcatraz upping his game, and Salamana being moved on. New striker, possibly two, if Che leaves. Move on Mara

Do we have a potential ‘golden generation’? Dibbling, Meghoma, SAA, Bragg, Lawrence, Ballard, never mind some potentially outstanding U17s….. or will some or all flatter to deceive and become Ryan Seagers? I was talking with someone who is close to the Liverpool academy, and their approach, despite the size of the club, is very similar to ours, in that they take on around a dozen kids each year, and develop them individually to play the way the first team does, and teach them how to handle themselves in the public eye. This is in contrast to the football farms of youngsters at Manchester City, Chelsea, Man United or Arsenal. No doubt someone will produce a study of the relative successes of the two differing approaches, perhaps comparing the costs per first team appearance or something. We certainly appear to have got it right in recent years, after a decade, nearly, where our famed academy had come off the rails, whether through organic growth or acquisition as is the case with SAA and Meghoma. Potentially exciting times.

Is this chicken or egg? (Certainly, not Egg!) Was Holgate not replaced because of Lawrence? And Charles, of course. Guess it’s too early for a bench appearance tonight.

At least the benefit of that is that I won’t have to listen to the prick being a pundit.

Needs a statue!!

You're saying their forum has a consensus view? Wow. I hadn't realised such things were possible.

Was Payne sent on loan for experience or to put him in the shop window? As has been said before, not that many of our loans seem to help the individual, though I had thought Payne had been seen as a strong prospect. Will he end up like Vokins, Small and many others….

Tella? Smallbone? Oxlade-Chamberlain? Define a regular, but whichever way you look at it, the cupboard is bare..... How many of Dibling, Ballard, Bragg, SAA, Meghoma, Edwards, Rodriguez, (add as appropriate) will be automatic match day players in two, three years' time?

Back up for Stewart…….LLSS. One obvious conclusion, bit left field

I thought a testimonial came after ten years. But is that ten years on pro terms? Otherwise every seventeen year old, who joined at seven, would expect a night in the lights..... Maybe this is Kamari Doyle's issue!!

Most of the Ipswich squad were in League 1 a year ago and are still young, hence the low wages due to existing contracts. Things will change once the vultures start circulating and players start expecting to be paid the ‘true’ wealth.

Miovski

I missed the second anniversary of Sport Republic's purchase of our Club, but a few days past that occasion, is it now time to re-evaluate their performance, contribution and impact? Nine months ago the standing of SR reached an all time low. Relegation, a season with three managers, a squad in disarray, players underperforming and potential financial implosion beckoning. Now, a little more than halfway into the following season and we are riding high in our division; have a squad firing on all cylinders; a manager who has won over a disbelieving fanbase; a director of football who quietly, anonymously, has ploughed a very successful course, and an unbeaten run beating anything achieved for over a century. So, is this great planning, good luck, or a combination of both? Have the cards fallen fortuitously, or has there been clever sleight of hand behind the scenes? If we go back two years, we had a manger who was running out of ideas, and a squad that was a patchwork of poor deals, cheap solutions and uninterested personnel. With hindsight, SR failed to react quickly enough, allowing the situation to drag on, in terms of the manager, for nearly a whole year. Yes, we liked Ralph, certainly initially, and enjoyed his enthusiasm, but the directors should have seen that the players were divided, and that he had largely lost the dressing room. Things weren't much better in the board room, and the laissez faire policy towards allowing the Southampton board to continue to run the club was also showing signs of cracks. Again, reaction was too slow. In terms of the transfer market, new players had been brought in, and certainly money was spent, but with a manger in decline and senior players increasingly apathetic, with a captain not strong enough to pull it all together, the impact of the purchases was less than had been hoped, and many failed to fulfill potential. Then came last January. Panic. A disastrous choice of new manager, and last minute acquisitions who failed to fit in or provide the expected lift. The inevitable happened. Then came the clear-out. Board, manager, players. Not all was entirely planned, or wanted, but some was financially necessary and the rest strategically so. In came Wilcox, shortly followed by Russell Martin, who was greeted with an air of disappointment, incredulity or surprise. Parallel with this there were changes and appointments to a number of senior positions within the club, and, it has to be said, a steady stream of departures. An indifferent first month, a disastrous second, then it all started to pull together. Several key players went, including JWP and Tella as the transfer window started to close. My suspicion, based on no inside knowledge whatsoever, is that the club were quite happy to see James leave. great guy, terrific front man for the media, and incomparable for free kicks, but what else? As a captain, he seemed too weak. As a defensive midfielder, too ineffectual, particularly without Romeu alongside. Nathan Jones played him further forward, where he seemed more at home, but others were potentially seen as more natural in that role, so under Seles he became more defensive again. Now, we seem to have an effective manager, a united squad, positive support from the stands, and an ever upwards progression. Have Sport Republic played a blinder, found the DoF we needed and a manager who can get unity and success, and did all those moves in September actually form part of a master plan to get rid of the bad eggs and the expensive but ineffective soufflés? My opinion, for what it is worth, is that it was probably 80% planning, 10% circumstance and 10% luck. However, the result has to be that SR have partially, maybe largely, restored their reputation, but more importantly, our club, together, has turned it round.

Yes, but who was Allen Tankard? I don't remember that name, though Google suggests he carved out a career in the lower leagues. Guess he had Frannie occupying the berth he wanted.

It would be hard to believe the Club hasn't got a replacement, lined up, in the wings, ready to drop, but there again, no club would accept a deal from us solely on the grounds that we might, or might not, sell Che Adams. equally, those clubs, if they are listening to offers from us, are listening to similar offers from other clubs, and on occasions, what the likes of Hull offer can be more enticing than what we can. Still, the last three windows, SR have delivered a striker every time, so what could possibly go wrong!!!!! Summer '22 - Mara Winter '23 - Tall Paul Summer '23 - Stewart Recipe for .........

Interesting point about our loanees. I'd presumed we would never see any of them again, and that whether or not announced, every one of these players would be sold in 2024. If we did get promoted, something we increasingly need to consider, who might we expect to return to the first team squad? ABK would certainly strengthen it. Not sure about Perraud. Who else?

I think that horse has bolted!! Cheap, one year deal, costing us buttons. There might be another deal coming after McCarthy is moved on.

I’m surprised more hasn’t been said about size and physicality. We are a small, lightweight team. All very well bringing in a set piece coach but without more aerial presence it is useless. We wasted most corners on Friday.

The one, huge, disadvantage of WHU is that the he will be taking the position of Declan Rice, a fans' hero, and unless he plays as well as the English midfielder, the crowd will be on his back. Without Rice, West Ham aren't that great a squad, and their recent season partially proved that. A few back results and the fans will be baying for blood, and if could be James'.

Ralph was 2022, so it would have to be Martin and two more, and even that is going some for SR.