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DE.

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DE. last won the day on December 2 2023

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  1. Ipswich have scored the most goals in the league and lost the least games in the league (5 out of 38). A point behind Leicester and Leeds and eight points ahead of Southampton on a fraction of the budget. They're an incredibly well-drilled team with an extremely strong mentality. We haven't seen that in well over a decade. That isn't talking them up or talking us down, it just is what it is, and at this stage of the season the table doesn't lie. You don't fluke 81 points, 80 goals and 5 defeats across 38 games. With that said, of course they're beatable. Any team in this league is, especially when you're at home. They've conceded 49 goals so their defence can be breached, and they've actually conceded the most goals of anyone in the top eight save for Norwich. Our problem is that we now don't score many and our defence is still pretty dodgy, despite improvements in that regard since Eustace came in, so it's going to be a very difficult match to get anything from. We can match them if we're up for it, and they've shown they can have off days - Cardiff recently - but the reality is we will need to have a solid game plan and the players up for it from the first whistle if we want all three points. It's obviously galling to see a team come up from League 1 and do something we haven't managed in 12 years of being in this league (excepting L1 season), but there you go. That's what a combination of good ownership and management can do. Perhaps one day we'll experience that again, when Venky's finally disappear.
  2. Ipswich will be coming to Ewood to win, no question about that. They're gunning for top two and will be desperate to take advantage of Leicester stumbling at the finish line, also aware that Leeds' imperious form over the past few months leaves little margin for error in terms of keeping pace with them. Ipswich's playoff spot is essentially secured, so they can afford to put it all on the line in every match. Very little pressure either, as the team are already performing high above expectations. It remains to be seen how a Eustace-managed Rovers will deal with this. Ipswich are top scorers in the division by some margin (80 goals scored, Leicester next best with 74), so the chances of our sub-standard defending not being punished at least a couple of times seems small. Holding out in general seems unlikely, but try to fight fire with fire and it could be back to getting properly hammered. Don't really envy Eustace in preparing for this one.
  3. Good point in isolation. Two previous games are where we fucked up, unfortunately. Will see at the end of the season how costly those dropped points are. This one is a good one.
  4. That's good news, I just hope we're careful with them - JRC especially. Problem is we're desperate for points and need our strongest team out there where possible.
  5. I'm not so sure, Garret aside I'm not sure how many of our players would cope with the rough and tumble of L1. Last time we had multiple players who were clearly well above that level - Raya, Mulgrew, Dack, Graham, Lenihan, Armstrong - this time we'll have players who may be suited to that level but not many who I'd consider above it based on what I've seen from them this season.
  6. Looks like the WBA manager made it clear their first half performance was unacceptable, they're much more up for it in the second half.
  7. "Steve, how do we bridge the financial gap if we get relegated?" "The owners have assured us that they will continue to fund the club." "What if the Indian courts are still refusing to allow them to send money to the club?" "The owners have assured us that they will continue to fund the club." Rinse and repeat... we'll get nothing useful from Waggott. Realistically there would have to be a firesale and what remains in terms of playing assets will be sold. If that isn't enough they'll look at what else they can flog to raise money. I don't think anything will be off the table.
  8. JDT did well in his first season. Obviously the second half of 22/23 was pretty galling, but when you've got a squad filled with weak-minded players it's somewhat inevitable. We also had our main goalscorer totally lose form after Christmas and stop scoring, which was a hammerblow to our chances of keeping up with the teams around us. This season we were doing fine until November, at which point injuries crippled us and the proverbial chickens came home to roost insofar as our dismal recruitment and financial cutbacks are concerned. The players seemed to lose faith and confidence (doesn't take much with this lot) and we went on a huge downward spiral. JDT was either unable or unwilling to change how we played to try and shore up, so we were just conceding ridiculous amounts of goals with no end in sight. The manager's position had become untenable by January as seemingly the "senior committee" of players had lost their trust in him and the relationship between JDT and the higher-ups was irrevocably fractured. It probably had been since the summer when he first offered his resignation. I think we only got to see glimpses of what was possible under JDT as he wasn't suitably backed for the project he had signed up for. I'm sure he was clear on what he saw as requirements to succeed before he was appointed, so that's on the owners and upper management if they were not able to commit to the manager's vision during the course of his contract. Obviously things can change financially, but at that point JDT did the right thing and offered to leave and the owners stubbornly refused to let him go. Again, that's completely their fault. Nobody with a modicum of sense would force the manager to stay in that scenario. JDT was never the problem, and the truth is neither is Eustace. The owners have always been and will always be the problem. They aren't capable of running this club properly and they've had long enough to prove otherwise. Until they go we are stuffed no matter who comes in. At best treading water in the Championship, at worst hurtling down the leagues if things really do start to unravel.
  9. The form table for the last six games, in regards to us and the teams below us: Plymouth - 4 points Rovers - 5 points Stoke - 9 points QPR - 10 points Birmingham - 7 points Huddersfield - 7 points Sheff Weds - 12 points Extrapolate that over the next six games (I know it isn't that simple, but just as a comparison point) and the table would look like: Stoke - 50 points Sheff Weds - 50 points QPR - 49 points Rovers - 46 points Birmingham - 46 points (game in hand) Plymouth - 45 points Huddersfield - 44 points (game in hand) Rotherham - 19 points (let's just assume they'll lose every match at this point, doesn't matter either way) Obviously that deosn't take into account who each team is playing during the next six games, so form can drop quickly, but even if the likes of QPR, Sheff Weds and Stoke stutter a little and drop to 5/6 points over the next six we will still be well in the mire unless our own form picks up dramatically in games we are unlikely to get anything from. We really need to hope Plymouth, Birmingham and Huddersfield continue to falter alongside us, as if that is the case we will probably just about finish above them. That does rely on us continuing to pick up around 5 points from our next 6 matches and, considering our last 6 were against teams we'd be expected to get something from, and the next 6 are Boro (a), Ipswich (h), Sunderland (a), Southampton (h), Bristol City (a) and Leeds (a) ... well, you can predict three easy defeats there immediately. To replicate our current five points from six we would likely need to beat one of Boro, Sunderland or Bristol City - all away - and draw the other two. At least one must win and the other two must not lose. Away. We've won 5, drawn 3 and lost 10 of our away matches - but our last six away matches read LLLDDL. So yeah, I really think we are in the shit and we are going to be relying on other teams staying as bad as they are or getting worse. In some cases a lot worse.
  10. All I can say is I don't think I've ever watched a losing team so devoid of attacking intent. It wasn't just that we were poor, we didn't even attempt to threaten them. It was absolutely deplorable, a national league team would have put up more of a fight than we did on that day.
  11. Mowbray won two of his first three matches (away draw against Burton two days after he was appointed, two home 1-0 wins against Derby and Wigan). We then only picked up 4 points from the next 21 available, a run which basically relegated us. Four draws in a row and then three defeats. We finished the season with three wins and two draws, but the damage had been done. Most likely Mowbray's initial results will prove to be slightly better than Eustace by way of those early two victories, but there won't be much between them. Goes without saying that the reason Mowbray probably got less flak was because he took over from a dismal joker in Coyle, who the majority of the fanbase hated. Eustace has taken over from JDT who was nowhere near as reviled, albeit sections of the fanbase never took to him after he spoke the truth rather than pretend everything was OK.
  12. I'm always careful with my wording for a few reasons, but I believe you.
  13. If true then I can't pretend it surprises me in the least. We're a rudderless ship. Standards aren't just low, they are effectively non-existent as the CEO talks of having no pressure on results and the latest manager praises today's pathetic showing as an "amazing effort". The players won't be answering to Eustace, Waggott won't care and who knows if the owners even know we played a match today.
  14. I hope you're right, but for the past four months or so we've been neck and neck with Rotherham as the worst team in the league. Extrapolate that to another two months and I think it sees us playing League 1 football next season, and deservedly so. Ironic if the likes of Gallagher then leave due to contract expiry, as he might finally have found his level otherwise. To quote an old nemesis of ours - "miracles now, I'm afraid it's miracles now". That's how it feels, anyway.
  15. Why even say "no excuses" when every interview is littered with them. Simply because it's an empty 'positive' cliché.
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