peter-plastic

"....all way down the league" Can hope.

Ah, right. Yeah ... Cantwell. All makes sense now!

I make that only 6 home grown players - Krul, Aarons, Lewis, Marshall, Godfrey and Rhodes. Have I misunderstood the rules?

Really pleased for Srbeny. Pukki won an important header just inside our half to keep the ball in play that finds Srbeny. Great run past a couple of challenges and just before the ball to Onel, Morrison, I think, the Brum right back, goes down having ran into Rhodes. Loved Onel''s reaction - just made a beeline for the unassuming Srbeny after the goal.

You''re not excited by the race for 12th spot? I must admit, you do have a point.

I am really sorry. I didn''t mean to cause any offence. I made my earlier comment merely to draw attention to the YouTube guy''s cool name, which he shares with a very famous American Educational Psychologist / Writer (quite surreal to hear an Ipswich fan sitting in his car introducing himself as Benjamin Bloom). I didn''t give it a second''s thought after posting. Of course, Ricardo''s match and AGM reports are also excellent, and a big part of this forum. Please accept my apologies, Ricardo. In future, I will be more careful before posting throw-away comments.

Have to agree. An excellent report from ... Benjamin Bloom no less on YouTube

I have watched far more of the series than I had any intention of doing. It''s been pretty enthralling on the field, right from the 1st test when SA made a credible go at the 4th innings target. The sandpaper moment happened at a critical moment. 4 match series, 1-1, SA building a sizeable lead in 3rd innings of the 3rd match, their best batsman (by a mile) at the crease, series slipping away from the Aussies, desperate not to fall further behind in the test rankings. They had to make a move, and to accelerate the introduction of reverse swing, which had bought about SA''s first innings collapse, was it. It was a desperate, illegal move which backfired monumentally! I suppose there wasn''t a joint presser as they all went back to different parts of Australia. We also don''t know the depth of the fall out between Warner and the others. How on earth do they behave when they go for their blood tests, Crabby? I mean it can''t take long. Surely easy enough to be civil and polite?

Have to agree GJP and Woodman. I think it''s wishful thinking to imagine him coming back on loan. He''ll be 22 before the year is out. Look at the dozens his age and younger currently establishing themselves in the top flight. He''s only a few months younger than Dele Alli. If he went to one of the big six and subsequently out on loan, it''ll be to a lower PL team, just like Kasey Palmer, Loftus Cheek, etc. who have been loaned out from likes of Chelsea. He obviously loves being here, but for his own ambitions, he surely has to take the next step asap. He''s ready for top flight football. It''ll surely be to one of the top 6 or one of the few sides you would currently class as safe mid-table, like Leicester / Everton.

Eadie, other than having floppy locks at the time, doesn''t fit the description of player B in the article - a new signing. He came through the youth system, as did Mills (A), a couple of years later. Player A was already here when player B signed.

We won at OT in 1989/90, so there''s still hope MP. You might want to check your arithmetic, though. There''s another 9 years between 1986 and 2015. 😂

If the season started at Christmas, we''d be comfortably in the play-offs, and maybe a tad disappointed not to be nearer the top 2. 5 wins 5 draws and 1 defeat in 11 since Brentford (H). 20 points from 11. We have made ground on all the teams above us up to 6th, except for Millwall, who have come from below. Last year, with a record of 47 points from 34 games, there would have been no chance of 6th place. This season is a bit different. 6th place last year was worth 80 points; this season, as things stand, around 74-75. Teams just above us, like Preston and ''Boro, have maintained virtually the same form throughout the season. ''Boro, for instance, have taken 17 points from the last 11, which is exactly the same as their record over the whole season (17 / 11 x 34 = their current points total for the whole season). If we''ve managed to take 20 from 11, I can''t see any reason why are form should drop off. The January signings are settling, and most importantly, the new regime has had more time. Many on here, at the start of the season, expected things to be slow to start with and to pick up in the 2nd half of the season, and that seems to be precisely what''s happening. I can see us getting around 23 points from the remaining 12, leaving us on 70 points, and agonisingly close to 6th. Probably Sheff. U or ''Boro will take the last spot, but we are still an outside bet, in my book, if we manage a winning streak in March. Big ''IF'', sure. Let''s not forget 1982. we had 37 points from 28 games, exactly the same record as we had after Sheff U at home this season, and were languishing around 12th / 13th. We ended up 3rd!

Basically, I feel we just need to improve the execution the system that we have been playing. It needs the creative players like Leitner, Madison (when he comes deeper), etc to draw the opposition''s defensive midfielders out of position and exploit the space. We seem to be getting better at it, playing better passes and creating options and space for the likes of Reed. I''ve been quite impressed by some of his runs, while playing at right back. He gets into the middle, not just the flanks. There seems greater options in recent weeks. I think the January signings of Leitner and Hernandez could prove inspired in the final couple of months. We''re still slow and safe at times. Not always sure that Klose is such a great option joining the midfield. OK, he is very useful in the box, and for the odd cross from the left but think he''s not quick thinking enough in his passing and decision making to add much when we are trying to break teams down. Certainly at times in matches, we are playing fairly safe passes that have been easy to defend. However, there are some promising signs. Consequently, NO has been more prominent recently.

Couldn''t call it to save my life. First, it seemed Bournmouth''s time was up. Now look where they are. Swansea looked no hopers, now they"ve improved. Whoever is in the bottom 3 at the time are my choice to go down. My predictions change on a weekly basis. WBA seem to be the only constant. Not expecting things to get any better for them against Chelsea. Maybe i will be wrong again.

A factor that would have contibuted to Wes not being in the squad for the middlesbro game is that he isn''t ''homegrown''. Essentially, he is now battling it out for one of the 11 places that can be given for non homegrown players. The 7 ''home'' players virtually pick themselves as there are so few fit. Farke couldnt have swapped Watkins for Wes last week because we would then have been down to just six ''homegrown'' players in the matchday squad. Wes, when he comes in, will basically be replacing a ''foreign'' player in the squad. I still think Wes has another season in him at a top half championship side. Think there''ll be plenty of interst in the summer.