Farke Me! That was Klose!

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

That game said everything about our season - toothless up front and a striker who doesn''t suit the system.

But it also showed the spirit amongst this group of players.

That spirit would serve us well if we made it to the play-offs but the lack of goals surely means there is no chance of that.

Still, some outstanding performances from Lewis and Hanley (even before his assist) and Maddison (although he couldn''t find the corner of the goal.

The main reason 1p5wich are where they are is that goalkeeper and if Gunn leaves at the end of the season we should consider a cheeky bid.

But half way through the second half, when it looked like a 0-0 I asked myself whether I wanted us to press for 3 points to try to go for 6th place or would I be happy to accept a draw and keeping the run over 1p5wich.

After Chambers scored (and apparently gave two fingers to the stands) and McCarthy told us to FO from the bench I took a draw because not losing to that bunch meant everything.

[Boris 56]

[quote user="RUDOLPH FARKE"]That game said everything about our season - toothless up front and a striker who doesn''t suit the system.

But it also showed the spirit amongst this group of players.

That spirit would serve us well if we made it to the play-offs but the lack of goals surely means there is no chance of that.

Still, some outstanding performances from Lewis and Hanley (even before his assist) and Maddison (although he couldn''t find the corner of the goal.

The main reason 1p5wich are where they are is that goalkeeper and if Gunn leaves at the end of the season we should consider a cheeky bid.

But half way through the second half, when it looked like a 0-0 I asked myself whether I wanted us to press for 3 points to try to go for 6th place or would I be happy to accept a draw and keeping the run over 1p5wich.

After Chambers scored (and apparently gave two fingers to the stands) and McCarthy told us to FO from the bench I took a draw because not losing to that bunch meant everything.[/quote]

McCarthy told FO away location i belive...

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

He obviously has a good relationship with his supporters then, Boris.

[The gut 0]

There is no striker that suits our system!

While Farke is at the helm we may as well stick an extra centre back up there.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

We need a striker who can bring others into the game. Jerome did that even though he lacked goals. Or even a striker who can harass defenders and move them around.

[sonyc 5,482]

We needed to have the belief today of an additional striker and 2 CBs.

MM shouted FO twice to his own supporters Rudolph

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

Eadie made the point about our lack of width going forward.

Maybe we need to look at not just 3 CH''s but also 3 CM''s plus Harrison Reed - doing a great job but never a wing back.

[Rogue Baboon 0]

I felt Reed played more as a right back today, where Pinto would have played more as a wing back.

Too many times there was no width on the right and Ipswich could easily play there way out from that position

[Mason 47 1,373]

I currently work at a hotel over the blue border and had a doorbell ring at about 94m 50s.There was no one there when I opened the door.

[Rudolph Hucker 0]

The big topic on TWTD''s is MM shouting FO twice at his own fans when they scored.

Besides that they are very deflated even though they were seconds away from mugging us.

They are taking it hard I''m pleased to say.

[Guest]

Is it wrong that I almost felt sorry for the crestfallen, pathetic bunch of "supporters" in the away end at the final whistle? "Champions Of Europe" they chanted, despite the fact that most of them probably hadn''t even been born when they won that second tier European competition.

I like Oliveira, but there''s simply no way he''s suited to playing the lone striker role in this formation. You could count the number of times he challenged for headers on one or two hands, and he simply does not cause enough problems for defenders, or bring others into the game enough. Just not his natural game.

We''re not far off challenging for the top 6 - a decent target man and more powerful winger and I think we would have much more of a Plan B against organised teams that we struggle to break down. Keeping hold of Maddison is looking unlikely though.

[The Great Mass Debater 1,075]

I''ve been very impressed with the defensive side of our formation and the personnel of late. Klose Zimmermann and Hanley seems to be working very well, Pinto suits a wing-back system and Jamal Lewis will surely only develop further. Though perhaps need to be a bit worried about the back-ups. Not seen enough of Husband to comment on whether he suits a WB position, and its not really Stiepermann''s position. Reed doing an ok job, but not even our player so we need another RB. I cant imagine Russ has much of a future now. The Russ of old could certainly play well there but is that beyond him now? Franke if we give him another shot is perhaps better suited to a back three so this might mean we see the real player. Raggett seems a fair way off this standard at present.

We dont have the right players for the top ened though, this is clear. Josh doesnt fit this system, he''s looked poor every time I''ve seen him this season. I think he''s a cracking player, but doesnt suit this system. Oliveira certainly has a lot in his locker, but again seems wrong for this system. Seeing as we dont play wingers Im not sure why he has brought in Hernandez, unless its simply to give us ''Plan B'' which is no bad thing. Jarvis and Wildschutt have questionable futures, though the latter did a good job playing out of position. Think Watkins is unlikley to stay, was he signed before Farke came on board?

Maddison is the tricky one as we really dont know how much we can plan around him. Wes was vital, but we were able to keep him for a decade. Madders wont be Wes'' long-term replacement.

I do get the feeling though that, with the right keeper as well (as of course Gunn is not our player) we are only a few astute signings in the summer window away from being able to take the next step.

Defensively we seem solid, the philosophy/work-ethic is filtering though, but we now need the players at the top end who suit the system that can turn draws into wins.

Get this next transfer window right and we could be challenging next season.

We should definitely be viewing this season as transition and remain positive

[The gut 0]

I really am surprised at what hope fans have. It is clear what Farkes tactics are. They are so rigid it is unbelievable. He must have an easy week, he certainly doesn’t have to waste any time on working on his system. It seems so unlikely that the tactics will change, what makes people think this is transition to better things. What makes people think our transfers will be stronger, my guess is we will be worse off. We are playing with 7 defenders. We play the ball around with the players least capable of doing so. Our hopes of attack are pinned on Murphy and Maddison. It will be a miracle if we hold on to both of them.

[The Great Mass Debater 1,075]

[quote user="The gut"]I really am surprised at what hope fans have. It is clear what Farkes tactics are. They are so rigid it is unbelievable. He must have an easy week, he certainly doesn’t have to waste any time on working on his system. It seems so unlikely that the tactics will change, what makes people think this is transition to better things. What makes people think our transfers will be stronger, my guess is we will be worse off. We are playing with 7 defenders. We play the ball around with the players least capable of doing so. Our hopes of attack are pinned on Murphy and Maddison. It will be a miracle if we hold on to both of them.[/quote]

I do agree that we are over-reliant on Maddison and Murphy, that''s why its such a shame we couldnt keep Pritchard. But you build from the back and after some shambolic defensive performances earlier in the season the defence looks solid. My hope is that, as it is clear the players up the top end that we have at present dont really have the right attributes to make this system effective, the right players to do so are out there and they can be found and acquired. With the right signings we could make the system more effective. Its a big IF though