Opening day Blues or all White on the night? Ipswich (A) Saturday 30th July. 3pm KO

[BWFC_Insane]

Only watched a bit of it, but we did seem fortunate to take a point.

Trafford produced some excellent saves, but also some worrying moments. I think he may well be the best shot stopper in the division, but he’s not yet Ederson with his feet.

Bradley looks a player and I think will be a huge asset for us this season. Maybe might need to adjust to the physicality of the division, but quick and classy on the ball.

Dion and Dapo is a good combo and will be a nightmare for the poorer teams in the league.

John is a bit boom or bust. Moments of brilliance going forward, inter dispersed with sloppiness and soft defending.

MJ’s lack of mobility costs us when teams are breaking on us.

Dion and Dapo could be a decent pair but as yet for me haven’t shown it. In the friendly and today I thought they were not great tbh.

Thought MJ was excellent today. Lee had one of the poorest games I’ve seen him have.

Bradley looks a good player but I’m not completely convinced he’s what we need this season. Time will tell.

Larry_David_shocked.gif

He’s talented beyond belief but physically I worry about his ability to play the number of games and stand up to the physical demands of league one.

Looks like a gust of wind would blow him over and we’ve seen talented players like that struggle here over time.

He will probably find a way though.

Just need to wait and see.

[TANGODANCER]

Looks like a gust of wind would blow him over and we’ve seen talented players like that struggle here over time. He will probably find a way though.Just need to wait and see.

Luka Modric isn't exactly Superman; I'm sure he will be fine.

[irie Cee Bee]

Dion showed a little more in the 2nd Half but we need a lot more from him to keep DadBod and Baka out of the starting line up. Lee, MJ and Morley were excellent in the 1st half, but all 3 completely ran out of steam in the 2nd half. Declan must stop looking to play the ball backwards as his first option. Trafford's distribution was worrying. Santos, Jones and Johnston stood up manfully to the onslaught in the 2nd. They deserve a lot of credit. Dapo never really got going. Connor looks a player. He had Davis on toast in the 1st half but when Leigh came on for them on the left, he had less joy against a big strong attacking player. He will learn. Again happy that we went home with a point.

All the criticism in this post could have been posted about a number of our performances in the tail end of last season.

Charles running a lot but not quite doing it, Dapo not quite turning it on, Trafford's distribution being worse than a Hermes driver, etc.

Another cheap goal against. Again struggling to create chances against a good side. Getting overrun in midfield once they found their feet.

Not really a surprise given that only one starter wasn't here last season.

True. We really haven't strengthen the starting 11, even though we have more depth. We need a couple from higher up the League chain to come in before the window closes.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Interesting game. Opinions can go either way, and frequently did.

Good to see 'Aaron Molby' is on pengy duty. Pengy won by Bradley, who played very well, venturing into their area and drawing a daft foul. We won't get those every week but we'll get more if our wingbacks are rotating into the area.

MJ grabbed the ball and handed it to Morley, disappointing the waiting Dapo and Dion, but the decision wasn't questioned. I liked that.

We got worse after scoring, but I don't think that was a conscious decision. They had to come at us more. And they did, but not tremendously well. If that's one of the two best teams we'll face this season then we'll be alright - they looked good on the ball but with no cutting edge. I suspect they might get better and sharper with practice but dear me they wasted chances.

That said, not sure we had a shot at all in the second half. Maybe one from Bradley on the edge instantly blocked. Ipswich didn't look top-two but neither did we, all told.

Had we been offered 1-1 we'd have taken it. Had we gone 1-0 down instead of up en route we'd be happy. It's a change from last season when we won every time we scored first; but if we're accepting the chat and odds that Ipswich are top-six, it's also a change from most of last season in that we didn't lose when visiting a top-six team – Wigan D 1-1, Rotherham L 1-2, MK Dons L 0-3, Sheff Wed L 0-1, Sunderland L 0-1, Wycombe L 0-1. Add in 7th-placed Plymouth (L 0-3) and it's a shower of results. We have to do better, and we did, so there's that.

But we won't get very far if we insist on conceding from set-pieces. I've said it before and I can't wait to be wrong: that's the thing that could cost us promotion.

Player by player:

Trafford - one or two great saves (although Ipswich might see them as missed chances). Three or four misplaced passes. The latter can improve.

Jones - an assured leader, a solid defender. I still worry he can be bullied by bigger attackers - Ipswich didn't have anyone the size of say Sam Vokes, who will rumble into town next week, but they still wrestled him to the ground quite a lot.

Santos - better than Ipswich's attack. At one point in the first half their wide attackers (Harness and Burns) in Ipswich's Liverpool-like 4-3-3 pulled very wide to try to get round our CBs and behind our WBs, but for some reason they didn't stick to that plan. Maybe they shoulda – it's the weakness of the WB system.

Johnston - talk is of how he's good on the ball and suspect defending. Today – against admittedly not the most physical side - it was often the other way round. A superb block from a goalbound Ladapo first-half shot; then late on, in one of our rareish attacks, he was set up for a cross and delivered one of the worst I've seen in years - it actually set up a counterattack. I suspect Iredale will be in vs Wycombe for his height; let's see what happens thereafter.

Bradley - our MOTM. Had a snarling battle with their £1m left-back Leif Davis, which our boy won so comprehensively Ipswich subbed their lad off. Looks brittle but really isn't. Rattled into tackles - one of them, second half, as last man with a perfectly-timed dispossession after Johnston and Santos had been bamboozled. Oh and in one first-half break, with Dapo on the ball, he absolutely bulleted down the pitch at a pace that Fossey would admire. He doesn't have the American's athleticism - he took a breather after that - but the boy ain't slow and he ain't scared either.

Morley - Aaron Molby was his usual best self - pinged a couple of passes about, enjoyed shushing the home fans, but also got dispossessed whenever he desperately tried to turn onto his right foot. If he had a left peg he wouldn't be ours - he might not even be in this division. But he's a good lad, and it'll be interesting to see if he shades Sheehan when the Welshman's back.

MJ - very good, I thought. Full of running and organisation and, when needed, b0ll0ckings for team-mates. I did worry sometimes when he lurched into tackles and left a space behind him, but he usually got it right. Was needed today and stepped up to that plate.

Lee - again, was typical Lee: not fast, but determined, never flustered. I don't think he influenced the game as much as he'd like to, except in the worst way: when he went off we suffered.

John - I understand why he winds people up, because he does frequently play the safer pass. I didn't dislike him, but I didn't think he looked much like hurting them.

Dapo - not his best game, mainly because we weren't on the front foot. Usual dazzling close control but didn't run the game. Was very briefly reverted to 10 when Baka replaced Lee, but only very briefly - he seemed to me slightly unwilling to do it (we were defending at the time) and was subbed soon after. I could be wrong, we could have gone 3-4-3, but it was a thought. Wouldn't be the first time he'd been displeased on the pitch - think Cheltenham - but he doesn't hold grudges after the match.

Dion - again, typical Dion - the version that looks a nightmare to play against (his pestering caused two chances) and a joy for his manager, but also the version that didn't look awfully like scoring.

Sub: Baka - never really got into his 20-goals position - the 12 yards in front of goal. And his 'pass' to Bod was again one of the worst I've seen in years - it went off for a throw. Not his game. His game will come.

Sub: Bod - didn't win a header, even on one occasion when he wasn't being challenged (it bounced off his bonce and went to their surprised but pleased defender). Didn't often get the chance to look up with his foot on the ball, which is when he's best. Had one driving run toward goal from inside-right and I would have liked him to have shot rather than try to find a pass - Ipswich keeper Christian Walton could have done a crossword for most of the second half.

Sub: Kacha - hmm. I'm beginning to wonder precisely what he brings. Brought on at 10, but as Flanners rightly said, he neither made us more solid nor made us more threatening. Like my old mate BWFCi, with whose views I so often concur, I would have brought on Sadlier at 10 - it would have given us cover if Bradley snapped. Sads feels like a match-changer. Right now, Kacha simply doesn't.

Sub: Thomason - God loves a trier and Evatt loves Tomo, who will come on and stick his foot in. But when, two minutes after his arival in the 83rd minute or whatever, he let their man Morsy walk past him into the area and onto the end of a move, I could quite happily have slapped Tomo across the chops. This was a game that needed the introduction of Dempsey, who gets more knocks than the social-club domino table.

Evatt - 6/10. Picked the right XI but was slow to react as it surrendered the initiative. I think Ipswich brought on their fourth sub when we brought on our first, and it's not like the XI had lasted well. Overlooked Sadlier for Kachunga. Didn't use his fifth sub. It's a 16-man game now and we have to get the 'finishers' right. I believe (though Flanners disagreed) that each substitution made us worse rather than better, and that's not a good use of the strongest squad he's ever had.

We also have to note that other teams can also make five subs, and while they might not all have the squad depth, they can all bring on fresh legs. The old idea of "waiting for them to tire on 70 minutes" might not work as much now. But we have the best squad we've had in a good while, and it's up to the manager to sort that out. Oh and to sort out f**king set-piece defending. It's bastard Wycombe next week.

So overall, a curate's egg of a game and one whose importance will be decided by subsequent events. Beat Wycombe and it's a strong four-point start. Lose to Wycombe, as we always have thus far, and it's uglier.

[OrtonCakeBingoBongo]

If I were you I'd be more than pleased with that result. Thought you were fortunate, very really, to take anything from today. Really should have won it second half and if not for your goalkeeper at the end would have done so.

Big crowd today, you didn't bring many down for it and a loud partizan home support but we couldnt get the win our second half performance deserved. Unfortunately we often only play well in one half and not the other and today was no exception. It cost us promotion last season but lessons will have to be learned. Something we need to work on big time if getting out this miserable league is to be a reality.

Just over 20 years ago both teams were in the top league and looking to accomplish something. Things were expected. Suppose hindsight can make one philosophical but really, its a terrible shame the way things have fallen away.

[The_Gun]

Good write up, DSB.

I was disheartened when Kachunga and Thomason were brought on. My stance on the both of them remains unaltered. Kachunga is a last resort option if we have injuries, and Thomason should be loaned out.

[BWFC_Insane]

It’s a really good write up that DSB and I agree with most of it but obviously I was watching on the telly which is different to being there so I will defer to your view.

I want to pose a question - in February and March last year we looked electric at times. The most exciting I’ve seen us be in a long while. I’m wondering since then what has happened. Yes we know Fossey isn’t here but that’s maybe just part. Charles doesn’t look as threatening in behind and Dapo has definitely gone off the boil. Is it that simple or is there an ingredient we could add that would restore our former electric performances somewhat? We know wing back is one area but what about midfield? Are we missing something there?

I do like John but I feel that someone who offers something more explosive down that side would really help in some games and I feel that LWB is a position we could improve in depth and options terms even if not in absolute quality.

[sonicthewhite]

How about it's the first game of the season. Pre-season means nothing as it's only for getting fitness levels up and trying to work on tactics. Now they've played for real then the real work on the training ground can begin.

[nicholaldo]

It’s a really good write up that DSB and I agree with most of it but obviously I was watching on the telly which is different to being there so I will defer to your view.

I want to pose a question - in February and March last year we looked electric at times. The most exciting I’ve seen us be in a long while. I’m wondering since then what has happened. Yes we know Fossey isn’t here but that’s maybe just part. Charles doesn’t look as threatening in behind and Dapo has definitely gone off the boil. Is it that simple or is there an ingredient we could add that would restore our former electric performances somewhat? We know wing back is one area but what about midfield? Are we missing something there?

I do like John but I feel that someone who offers something more explosive down that side would really help in some games and I feel that LWB is a position we could improve in depth and options terms even if not in absolute quality.

I imagine our opponents altered their match tactics against us as our new signings began to exert their influence on our performances and our results began to improve. The bottom half clubs - of which towards the end we played many - might've fancied it against the standard of starting eleven we were naming at the end of the last calendar year but not against the standard of starting eleven we were naming as the season drew to a close.

[Prufrock]

I've gone on at length about the tension between the system and the style. But yesterday was a prime example of it for me. That wasn't anything hybrid, that was a proper back 3/5, and while Dapo and Lee had freedom on the ball, they were central off it, which makes it v hard to press. Ipswich had a back 3/5, but they only had Ladapo central and Harness and Chaplin either side.

We ended up looking like England v Croatia, couldn't get the ball off them, wingbacks got pinned back as through Morsey they went down one side then back out and down the other, and then so presence up top so couldn't get out.

We've got good players and had a good spell in that first half, and tbf while Ipswich had all the ball they didn't create that much. A set piece, a good move where Morsey should have scored (both really good saves from Traf) but beyond that it was half chances.

These things aren't absolutes, we'll still win games and I think do well. But I do think that tension will hold us back against the good sides who can keep the ball.

It's probably much less of an issue next week, against everyone's favourite parody, who managed to concede 57% possession at home to fecking Burton! But didn't concede any goals and won comfortably.

I'm still livid at Declan John. I think the idea players are lazy is often itself the lazy view, but he just cannot be arsed going that other way. They played a 1-2 around him and Johnstone for Wes Burns in the first half and you could see him watch him and just jog, hoping the pass wouldn't go but once it did he belatedly got his arse in great but no-one near in time to stop the cross. Second half he was up the pitch on a number of occasions and then ambling back as they broke. Fecking DadBod ended up filling in their on both occasions, the second one overtaking John to do so. He can feck right off for me. He's not doing us a favour.

Going the other way though? Oh flying.

[BWFC_Insane]

One of my concerns with having two more conventional defenders rather than out and out winger style wing backs at least on one flank is that we will often end up looking like a back five. Fossey gave that ability to play more in a hybrid way as he could comfortably play in the front three for large parts of a game and allowed John to maybe be a more comfortable attacking LB with Jones playing more like a CB/RB hybrid.

I think the balance with wing backs now isn’t as good.

It might be more of an issue next week against Wycombe who will invite us to try and open them up and I worry that we might look flat in home games with what are 5 defenders rather than having at least one wing back far more dangerous down their end.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

It’s a really good write up that DSB and I agree with most of it but obviously I was watching on the telly which is different to being there so I will defer to your view.

I want to pose a question - in February and March last year we looked electric at times. The most exciting I’ve seen us be in a long while. I’m wondering since then what has happened. Yes we know Fossey isn’t here but that’s maybe just part. Charles doesn’t look as threatening in behind and Dapo has definitely gone off the boil. Is it that simple or is there an ingredient we could add that would restore our former electric performances somewhat? We know wing back is one area but what about midfield? Are we missing something there?

I do like John but I feel that someone who offers something more explosive down that side would really help in some games and I feel that LWB is a position we could improve in depth and options terms even if not in absolute quality.

I suspect some selective memory, mate.

We did indeed play *some* electric football in Feb/Mar. We beat Wimbledon (who finished 23rd and were relegated) 4-0, Gillingham (21R) 3-0, Lincoln (17th) 3-1. But we were also held twice by Morecambe, lost to MK and Plymouth and were humbled 3-0 at Burton.

Burton was a wash for a number of reasons, but let's look at the forum reaction to the Morecambe games. For the away game, Ghost said “Midfield isn't working and needs a change” and "We've been poor today." Mar said "we've not really been at it today" and "Morecambe were the better team."

For the home game, DJBlu described us as "Making the simple stuff look difficult," Mar said "The idea is right, execution is terrible," BWFCi said "Playing too slowly for me...the playing in front of them trick that does nothing, achieves nothing" and some bloke called DSB decided "We quite simply haven’t asked enough questions."

(Oh and in one of those games, BWFCi said he'd sell Dapo for a bag of cheesy Wotsits.)

So it wasn't all electrifying.

Then there's the games against promotion rivals, a category into which Ipswich fit snugly. We didn't score at MK or home to Plymouth. At least yesterday we did, even if our longstanding enemy The Set-Piece Concession is still hanging around like a shit-stain on the carpet.

We can be glad that we got a point at Ipswich, because last season we probably wouldn't have done so from that sort of game. (Yes, we won at Ipswich, but an Ipswich in disarray – 16th-placed after W0 D3 L3 in their first six games.)

Doesn't mean we don't have the right to ask for more, because more will be needed if we're to have a serious promotion attempt. But let's not get into the fantasy that the spring team would have gone to a promotion rival and dominated.

Are we flat-track bullies? Possibly.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

One of my concerns with having two more conventional defenders rather than out and out winger style wing backs at least on one flank is that we will often end up looking like a back five. Fossey gave that ability to play more in a hybrid way as he could comfortably play in the front three for large parts of a game and allowed John to maybe be a more comfortable attacking LB with Jones playing more like a CB/RB hybrid.

I think the balance with wing backs now isn’t as good.

It might be more of an issue next week against Wycombe who will invite us to try and open them up and I worry that we might look flat in home games with what are 5 defenders rather than having at least one wing back far more dangerous down their end.

Balance is always a problem with wingbacks as you're asking one player to cover an entire flank. By common consensus, Fossey wasn't nearly as good defending as attacking. Bradley looked good defending and promising going forward but he was pinned back by Harness and LB Leif Davis. Football's a game between two teams, neither of which exists in isolation. We can play a more attack-minded player on that side - Sadlier the obvious choice - but it might cost us goals.

Personally I also think Declan John is far better at attacking than defending. So it's not that, IMO.

I see Nicky Cadden played LWB for Barnsley yesterday, at Plymouth. He hit the bar but they only managed one effort on target and lost.

Against Wycombe I expect to see Iredale and Bodvarsson in, for Johnston and probably Lee, to add height for defending. Drop Dapo back to 10. We will see whether Bradley is as effective on the front foot but to be fair, if we are comparing, Fossey didn't always seem the answer either against low-block, possession-surrendering teams. He had his best performances against Oxford, who tend to fly forward and leave spaces, and some of the gumby teams struggling against relegation. To be fair, the same applies to most of our team, then and now.

[BWFC_Insane]

Pace in wing backs means they are more comfortable when attacking in their ability to recover defensively.

Fossey was an outlet and that gave us real shape in a system.

I think wing backs need to stretch teams both wide and also right against their defensive back line and not sure John or Bradley are that good at doing that.

It’s definitely going to be interesting over the season to see how the system works and how we break teams down in different scenarios.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Fair points as usual Pru but their wide-righter was Wes Burns (Chaplin was the narky little git as one of the free 8s ahead of Morsy in their Kloppish 4-3-3.)

I make this point as I'm mildly fascinated with Burns. Last season at theirs against us he looked brilliant (including an assist), and he ended up top-scoring with 13 goals + 7 assists.

Just looked at who they were against, out of interest. Goals:
Wimbledon (23rd)
Portsmouth (10th - the fourth in a 4-0 win)
Wycombe (6th – the third in a 4-1 win)
Oldham (23rd in 4th-tier – FA Cup game)
Gillingham (21st)
Accy (12th)
Wimbledon (23rd)
Wimbledon (23rd)
Burton (16th)
Morecambe (19th)
Lincoln (17th)
Charlton (13th)
Charlton (13th)

Assists:
Wimbledon (23rd)
Bolton (9th - in a 5-2 home defeat)
Doncaster (22nd)
Doncaster (22nd)
Burton (16th)
Fleetwood (20th)
Oxford (8th)

Maybe it's not just us who were flat-track bullies. And while any player's ability to put also-rans to the sword is welcome, given that their second-top scorer, 12-goal loanee Macauley Bonne, has returned to QPR, you wonder where their goals are coming from this season - a question that wasn't really answered yesterday as they wasted majority possession and their occasional chances. Put it this way, I could see why Orton's pre-match prediction had them down in 5th-10th. Should they stay down, that would require a fifth season at this level - humbling, perhaps, but that's where our clubs are at, and Ipswich have only had two top-flight seasons in the last 28.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Pace in wing backs means they are more comfortable when attacking in their ability to recover defensively.

Fossey was an outlet and that gave us real shape in a system.

I think wing backs need to stretch teams both wide and also right against their defensive back line and not sure John or Bradley are that good at doing that.

It’s definitely going to be interesting over the season to see how the system works and how we break teams down in different scenarios.

It is, already.

I noticed particularly in the second half yesterday that at our goal-kicks, Bradley was very high indeed - right up on the attacking line, basically in the top corner of our half (to avoid the flag-loving lino) – whereas John tended to be much deeper, only five yards or so advanced of Santos and Johnston on the edge of our box.

That's partly about patterns of play - we tend to pass out left more than right, partly as the Johnston-Bradley diagonal has gone well in preseason - but also partly our wonky system, which isn't in rigid lines. I suspect it was also a reaction to Ipswich subbing their £1m left-back Leif Davis, who looks the typical modern young full-back (ie more of a winger), for their other summer left-back signing, the older and considerably doughtier ex-Morecambe LB Greg Leigh. I suspect McKenna sacrificed the more attacking Davis, who admittedly only joined last week, to make sure Bradley didn't break through on that side.

As I say, Bradley flew through the gears on a couple of notable occasions yesterday. One was attacking - first half, Dapo dribbling forward, the kid absolutely exploded up the inside-right channel on an 80-yard underlap that made me tired watching it. The other was defensive - second half, when he'd been upfield and they counter-attacked down our left: he sprinted back not just down his channel but toward the centre, thusly being brilliantly placed to perfectly execute that last-man tackle.

[truewhite15]

Can we place some sort of charity "swear jar" on here? A quid goes into it anytime anyone (but particularly one individual) names a certain mop-haired American wing-back.

Sick and tired of hearing him held up as this paragon of effectiveness. He's not ours anymore. Move on.

[Worthy4England]

It's going to be a mighty long season, if every time we're not at 100%, the conversation reverts to Fossey. It's a bit like wondering why we didn't sign Sturridge. I'd also be very wary if the only way we could get this to work was through one outlet. Doesn't take too long for teams to work that out.

Yesterday, we didn't retain possession very well (lots of wayward passes) and it kept coming back at us. I'm struggling to think of decent chances we created. 4 shots and one on target (which I assume was the spot kick). Defending was sometimes a lot more "last ditch" than controlled. We allowed Morsey too much space.

There were lots of things we didn't get right. Which is sorta good news, because there's plenty of room to improve those things.

[BWFC_Insane]

Yeah I think Bradley is a good player and willing to do that higher up the pitch role I noted that in the friendly and yesterday. I’m just not sure he’s naturally suited for it. Though as you note he’s not slow and seems to get his head down.

More about the balance for me and whether we might want to look at the other side and add a bit more dynamism there as an option. You’ve noted why John can be frustrating and maybe there is at least a backup who offers a different style for some games. My issue with a lack of adequate wing backs cover still stands.

[Dave Sutton's barnet]

Yeah I think Bradley is a good player and willing to do that higher up the pitch role I noted that in the friendly and yesterday. I’m just not sure he’s naturally suited for it. Though as you note he’s not slow and seems to get his head down.

More about the balance for me and whether we might want to look at the other side and add a bit more dynamism there as an option. You’ve noted why John can be frustrating and maybe there is at least a backup who offers a different style for some games. My issue with a lack of adequate wing backs cover still stands.

John seems to frustrate people - notably but not solely Prufrock - principally because he doesn't defend. If I'm reading you correctly, you want someone even more attacking on that side (as has Ghost with Cadden) - and yet you've often said that Sadlier doesn't have the skillset to be wingback.

Whoever we play there - and this includes Swear Jar - doesn't have the full skillset. Options, yes. But at the minute John is our "attacking" LWB, Iredale our "defensive" one. I fully agree that Iredale would not be suitable at home or even away to some low-block teams, but he's the alternative - unless we play Sadlier, whose best position is still arguably as a Dapo-style inverted LW, there.