Back From The Game - Ipswich Town

[Hoop Blah]

As brendy said, I enjoyed last nights game for what it was, a real battle and although neither side deserved to win it, and the general quality of our attacking play was poor, it's a great 3 points.

The game was made for Karacan really. A hustle and bustle midfield battle where tackles and running counted for less than passing, and Jem made the most of it. If he could only pass the ball and add a bit physically then he'd be an excellent player. As it is he's a bit of a nearly man, but he was crucial in the 3 points last night.

Pearce was an absolute rock too and looked every part the commanding centre back he could potentially be. Again, the game favoured him as they didn't really looked to get behind us through the middle or work the channels too much, but every thing Pearce did he did well. Shame the same can't be said about his centre back partner.

I was really disappointed in McAnuff though. It was never a game for anyone in his position to flourish, but I really hoped he'd bring a bit more to the table than he did. With our lack of options I'm sure he'll get another go in there (assuming Kebe is fit) but it wasn't a promising start.

Long was another who still disappoints too. He worked hard, and as said earlier, he took a lot of abuse for the team but he's just too easy to beat to the ball too often. When he gets it he shows too much to a defender and losses possession. At times he looked really good last night, but those times were too few and far between.

Less said about Antonio the better!

All in all a great result, a hard working performance, but our lack of quality is still a worry.

[Ryn]

Antonio has enough about him to become a good winger in the future. He won't improve without game time at this level though.

[Four Of Clubs]

Groundsman - Obviously didn't realize they switched round at kick-off and watered the wrong end at half time!

...probably GN was in 'brain switched off automatic pilot mode' - forgot we were playing the wrong way round - presumably that was Ipswich winning the toss and opting for that?

... as for Hyam vs ShLong - the witless Nerk obviously didn't realize that being a Tipperary-Lad, Shane's got no sense and even less feeling above the knees - continually bundled him over and clumped him off the ball - much like the Big No. 4 on occasions. Nasty little *&^% did manage to rake Shane's ankles at one point though.
... and their No. 8 got away with a phenomenal number of blocks trips and barges too.
I thought Shane (as well as Jobi/HRK and although somewhat more random - Antonio) ran their back four into the ground - bit unlucky with that back header flick just before he came off - and probably why they were half-asleep when Churchy knocked it in.

... and from where I sit up the very back of the North Stand, Jem's shot looked as if it was going well wide.

... did anyone else notice - just before the Red card - Long leapt for the ball for the umpteenth time above everyone over on their left and then made sure he landed with as much bulk as possible on ... Hyam! ... he was furious!

... was a time-bomb from then on ....

[Terminal Boardom]

Best game I have seen Pearce have. He was everything that a CB should be. He ran the back 3 last night. I say 3 because there was no point Mills being there. Complete tool for getting sent off.

What happened to 'no more Egodome til the old coot leaves', TB ?

daft old coot - get it right Went with a colleague who is a Tractor Boy.

[Terminal Boardom]

Pearce put in a Captain's perfomrance last night. he was constantly communicating with the players around him. Mills, as captain, did none of this.

Where I was sat, Mills deliberately blocked the Ipswich player and deserved to go. However, TBIFOM was convinced that Mills just stood his ground.

[facaldaqui]

Antonio has enough about him to become a good winger in the future. He won't improve without game time at this level though.

Is ball control natural, though, or can it be learned?

[Svlad Cjelli]

Which one was the number 2 btw? The left back?

Yes. He was awsome. Kebe wasn't fully fit but the number 2 (Peters I think his name is) had him sussed from the outset, never gave him any time on the ball and timed tackles perfectly. Not short of pace either. Preimership bound on that display.

Absolutely - superb defensive performance. Did the same with Antonio, too.

[Sarah Star]

Antonio has enough about him to become a good winger in the future. He won't improve without game time at this level though.

Is ball control natural, though, or can it be learned?

He reminds me of Kebe though - before he became consistently brilliant. Flashes of genius surrounded by silly mistakes. Get rid of the mistakes and you have a fine footballer. With McD's record of producing silk purses I wouldn't write him off just yet.

[strap]

Gotta be close to the youngest first team plus subs for both sides combined in any game at this level? Stattos?

Rather sadly I do have the raw data that will allow me to caculate that, well for RFC teams back to 1920 and for opponents temas back to 1970.

Give me a day or to to knock up a bit of code and I'll be back. (I really need to get some work don't I?? )

[Row Z Royal]

Cummings' booking was fcking brilliant. "Don't panic lads, I've got this one" *smack*

Cummings knew exactly what he was doing - take the booking and let everyone get back.

[TFF]

Which one was the number 2 btw? The left back?

Yes. He was awsome. Kebe wasn't fully fit but the number 2 (Peters I think his name is) had him sussed from the outset, never gave him any time on the ball and timed tackles perfectly. Not short of pace either. Preimership bound on that display.

Absolutely - superb defensive performance. Did the same with Antonio, too.

I thought Peters had a cracking game but Jimmy definitely had his clown trousers back on too. The few times he did get away from the left back his touch was dreadful.

The real Jimmy back for Preston please.

[toppy]

Yes. He was awsome. Kebe wasn't fully fit but the number 2 (Peters I think his name is) had him sussed from the outset, never gave him any time on the ball and timed tackles perfectly. Not short of pace either. Preimership bound on that display.

Absolutely - superb defensive performance. Did the same with Antonio, too.

I thought Peters had a cracking game but Jimmy definitely had his clown trousers back on too. The few times he did get away from the left back his touch was dreadful.

The real Jimmy back for Preston please.

I would think the slight niggle put him off his A game

[Maguire]

Cummings' booking was fcking brilliant. "Don't panic lads, I've got this one" *smack*

Cummings knew exactly what he was doing - take the booking and let everyone get back.

That's what I said

[Ryn]

Antonio has enough about him to become a good winger in the future. He won't improve without game time at this level though.

Is ball control natural, though, or can it be learned?

He reminds me of Kebe though - before he became consistently brilliant. Flashes of genius surrounded by silly mistakes. Get rid of the mistakes and you have a fine footballer. With McD's record of producing silk purses I wouldn't write him off just yet.

And like Kebe, the lad needs confidence, which you don't get through not playing. 2 seasons ago he was playing non-league; he needs time to develop.

I believe he will develop into a fine, hard working winger over the course of this season who will be able to provide cover for Jimmy where needed. Granted his first touch isn't his best asset, but his grit and determination will serve him well, and McD's influence can only help.

[Woodcote Royal]

I think some people on here may need to seriously reassess their opinion of what this season might hold in store for us .................................and I'm guessing many of them have so far failed to express a view on last nights performance

By general consensus, Ipswich were the best side we have faced this season. By general consensus, they will be in the mix at the end of the season and whilst, IMHO, neither side deserved to lose, we were the ones who went home with all three 3pts.

I worry for who those failed to enjoy a tactical battle between 2 good sides..............................the Championship close to it's best, in my view.

Like others, I said Pearce would have to play well for us to win and, in fact, I would not have picked him, but he had one of his best ever games for RFC. That's why we should all be beside ourselves with joy at having Brian McDermott as our manager.

Whilst some of our "wonderful" fans have slagged off the likes of Kebe to the point where the player felt inclined to cup his ear to the East Stand after scoring a goal, and no one could have blamed Cummings for taking the first opportunity to exit by the back door, many of these players are now putting in the kind of shifts that suggest they are more than capable of becoming top performers at this level and possibly higher. Brian is doing a fantastic job for this club.

Add to the mix his astute signings such as Harte (inevitably slagged when signed by those who had never seen him kick a ball ) and other products from our academy such as MoM Jem Karacan (yes, at long last, Sidwell has been replaced!!!) whom he has given the time and space to flourish, and assertions that mere survival is all we can hope for are looking more ridiculous by the day.

As ever, I note that Long is still getting more than his share of slagging but what made Jason Scotland's performance, the type of established striker many have been craving for, in any way superior to Shane's? I would suggest that if the Ipswich striker had been wearing the hoops his poor finishing would now be receiving some serious stick. Long and Kebe were clearly feeling the effects of running themselves into the ground on Saturday..................what was Scotlland's excuse?

On the night we matched Town in every department and probably edge it over all. With Federici, Stretch and Cummings also putting in excellent shifts, poor performances were thin on the ground. McAnuff didn't set the world alight behind Long but, I agree, he deserves another chance.

From what I saw last night, we are one or two signings away from making QPR look over their shoulder. Bring it on.

[West Stand Man]

I don't yet see us as 'signings' short of pressuring QPR. We are a bit of 'experience' away from it. The rate of development of some of this squad is remarkable and could easily fill the gap that new signings would otherwise do. They all have off days (if they didn't they'd be in the PL with one of the big 4 but when you look at how most (if not all) of the current batch of youngsters have come along this season there is real hope for success. Cummings is a revelation, 12 months ago he looked out of his depth, struggling to make any impact. Last night he looked like a top quality RB who is brimming with confidence; he will never be a Murty or a Griffin but that is not his game anyway. Pearce looks stronger each week and when you balance him against the first choice pairing of Mills and KZ we look comfortable in that area. Karacan is shaping up really well and is turning in the type of battling performance that we have craved for a while. Even Mills is still a relative youngster and he is a top CB who has a bit of an attitude problem (but that is not necessarily a bad thing either for a CB). HRK and Michail Antonio have improved significantly and now look like first team starters (Antonio is still only 20 so lets cut him a bit of slack in the experience department) and there are others coming through too. I haven't forgotten Williams either, who still has time to develop as well.

RTG? Maybe. I am definitely a fan, and I am still confident that this will be a season of some success - not going to predict what success means yet but it certainly starts with being in the top half of this league.

[Row Z Royal]

Cummings' booking was fcking brilliant. "Don't panic lads, I've got this one" *smack*

Cummings knew exactly what he was doing - take the booking and let everyone get back.

That's what I said

Oh.

[RoyalBlue]

I think some people on here may need to seriously reassess their opinion of what this season might hold in store for us .................................and I'm guessing many of them have so far failed to express a view on last nights performance

Well here we go then:

A good team performance and some excellent individual ones: Jem, Pearce, Cummings and yes, Long.

However, we still lack strength and quality in depth, still can't trust Madejski not to discover another black hole in January and flog off someone like Kebe (anyone who heard the BBCRB interview with BBCRB can be in no doubt as to which side was really pushing for his transfer to go through) and anyone who denies that we still need to do something about our largely impotent strike force is as stupid and/or blind as Madejski himself.

From what I saw last night, we are one or two signings away from making QPR look over their shoulder. Bring it on.

There we agree, there is the crux of the matter and there is where I fear Madejski's pigheadedness/arrogance/lack of vision/lack of ambition/mistaken approach (delete as appropriate) will let us down.

[mzungu_royal]

I've never been a big fan of Karacan and I openly slag him off. The guy looks like he is a tough fella and he showed it last night, but he needs to bulk up a bit, because he'll get the run around otherwise.
Big shout out last night for Pearce who seemed to get everything right. He got up to meet everything that went his way and when in trouble did the sensible and slammed into Row Z. Mills needs to be sorted out, he's a liability. 2 reds already this season, stattos could probably predict how many reds he will get this season at this rate. HRK looked dangerous 1st half, he tormented their right back and their right back wasn't far from going as well. HRK found acres of space 1st half, but we constantly used the right side. HRK will be good in the future and he showed touches that caused problems for their defence. Long played amazingly as well. @ O'Dea for a blatant push on Long from a long throw second half, he reminded me of Keano on a bad day. Long also defended pretty very well as well.

[Focher]

RwC - you were there??!

RWC was spotted by me before the game in the jazz