JHRover

If we really want him prising him away from Charlton shouldn't be an issue. Like us with Premier League clubs if a player attracts attention from a richer club in a higher division he will be interested. Charlton are still in takeover limbo so imagine their board will cash in on a player out of contract if an offer comes along.

Seriously? That's a strange thing to do. Sounds like they're betting the ranch on promotion under Bruce to sort themselves out.

Good appointment by them. Must be expecting to have sorted their FFP troubles out as I doubt Bruce would go there under an embargo.

Lambert prioritises himself, his reputation and his position. Given his recent history of only lasting a matter of months at Rovers, Wolves and Stoke he's probably going to have to do things differently this time at Ipswich. If he packs in during or just after relegation his reputation will be tarnished as someone who cannot last at clubs. The flip side is if they go down he'll have to get to work in the world of the 3rd division where I doubt Ipswich will be as well equipped as Sunderland, Rovers and Wigan were down there. It will certainly dent his ego to be turning up at Stanley etc. in the 3rd tier. Having said that Ipswich fans seem to like him and many blame their position on Hurst and their owner, so Lambert might fancy sticking around at a relatively normal club and seeing if he can get another promotion under his belt. I still have a sneaky feeling they'll manage to get out of it. They've got Rotherham next which is a must win, if they do they'll be 7 points behind. With Bolton and Reading in the mire and Rotherham a hard working but very limited side they'll have a slim chance.

With WBA fans being placed downstairs it is clear the club was ancitipating them selling significantly more than they did. Birmingham came to town the other week, sold 2000 or so and were still upstairs in the DE, because the suits didn't expect Birmingham to travel in large numbers, this time they expected promotion chasing Albion to bring 3000+ so immediately shoved them in the lower tier, however unfortunately the plan backfired as only 2000ish came. The club can feel hard done to with the fixtures this Xmas - with two games vs promotion chasing sides in Norwich and WBA only seeing about 3500 away fans (less than usual as they were poor times of the year for away games) and both games over the Xmas week away from home, the club has missed out on a bumper attendance. Then again if you stick to Category A pricing on New Years Day you aren't exactly encouraging hung over tired folk going back to work this week to chuck £30 at buying a ticket after they've spent heavily over Xmas. Basic common sense. £15 ticket offers like Birmingham have done twice recently v Stoke and Reading would likely have seen at least a couple of thousand more on and a better atmosphere if nothing else.

But it isn't just these last 3 or 4 games against good sides that people are concerned about. We had Wigan, PNE, Rotherham and Birmingham just before and picked up a poor points return and performed even worse against those sides than we did at Leeds and Sheffield. When you only win 1 in 10 or 11 you can't hide behind a few tough fixtures. You have to either grind out results or make hay when playing the poorer teams, like 1 win in 13 Wigan.

Another from the favoured catalogue of young players who were at big club academies but seem to have lost their way in recent years. Sam Hart, Jacob Davenport etc. Roll the dice and if one comes off happy days. Suppose at his age if he gets playing in the U23s it might be ok. Is it too much to ask to sign 2-3 quality players who will IMPROVE the first XI?

Mowbray is getting patience. We are on an awful run, shipping goals, lacking creativity, sliding down the league. Yet despite that other than one or two people 99% of comments I have seen whilst critical of Mowbray aren't suggesting he should be sacked at this point. I've been very critical of some performances and games this season but I've stopped short of calling for Mowbray to go and don't expect to be at that stage unless something horrific unfolds through January. Mowbray is a big boy and experienced in this industry. He should be able to handle criticism and pressure and shouldnt be given carte Blanche to do as he pleases just because he got us up last season. He oversaw awful runs at Boro and Cov prior to leaving them and will know if we continue as we are there is only one way it will develop.

No doubt Rovers will be keen to jettison Gladwin as soon as possible. He'll be out in the summer if not before then so imagine Rovers will be working trying to find someone to take him off our hands.

Not a big club. A good side going for promotion yes. I notice that for all of Mowbray's complaints about the referee at Sheffield United and for his suggestions that Smallwood was unfairly done to in being sent off we didn't even bother to submit an appeal.

Those 'improvements' at Burnley consist of them filling in two corners to enable them to provide sufficient disabled seating in line with Premier League regulations. They've no choice in the matter and it seems are doing it as quickly and cheaply as possible by building on the corners rather than a new stand. I expect if we were to reach the Premier League again we would be under pressure to increase our disabled offerings which at present consist of putting people at pitch level often exposed to the elements. I would think we would also need some media improvements as the demands of live broadcasts through Sky and BT are much greater and need more space than they did 10 years ago.

Pretty much bang on there. Trouble is it has been that way most of the season, although earlier on results were papering over cracks. We don't actually do much of the important stuff very well. Plenty of possession and at times nice passing football but minimal penetration and defensively suspect. Other clubs fans can see it so surely Mowbray can.

Sheffield Utd's ground holds 32,000, they rarely fill it, yet their owner has released plans for expansion up to 38,000. Brentford don't fill Griffin Park but because it is run down and not up to standard they are building a new stadium. Preston built their new stand when they only get 10,000 on games. If you are serious about getting to the Prem you don't wait until getting there before work begins on the stadium, you do it in advance. If by some miracle we got to the Premier League and then decided to start work we would likely have a 3 sided ground and reduced capacity stadium for at least 12 months, better doing it whilst crowds are lower and the work can be done as easily as possible. Can't imagine much happening on this front mind.

Money spent on the squad comes into FFP calculations, so there is a limit as to how much can be done, especially having splurged a fortune on Armstrong and Brereton. Money spent on facilities does not come into FFP calculations, so there is nothing stopping the owners investing into that to whatever level they might wish. Investing into facilities is a much safer long term thing than investing into players. The club/stadium would be worth more with a new Riverside than without and might also help the club develop revenues. If there was a hotel/conference centre etc. run properly and making a profit of a few hundred grand a year then over say 10 years it would probably pay for itself. I do think this is something Waggott is keen on. He mentioned it a while ago at the forum and whilst he didn't go into much detail it was obvious he had been thinking about it. Can't imagine Venkys pushing the idea although if it can be argued that it will reduce reliance on them in the long run it might be the sort of thing they approve.

Yeah, a 4000-5000 capacity stand, single tier as it is now, all seats covered, with internal space which can be used to generate non matchday income, remove the old floodlights and jumbo screen and incorporate into the design. In the scheme of things we've more urgent issues to worry about but if the club wishes to grow, progress or develop it needs doing sooner rather than later. In an era of Ffp, especially for a club with lower end crowds, we need to make every penny possible on non matchday. Office space, conference venue, hotel etc. It's one of the worst stands in the Championship these days, rivals have built new modern facilities.

If Mowbray genuinely thinks that the referee was to blame for yesterday's capitulation then we're in a bigger mess than I thought. I'll be the first to moan about referees but the responsibility for yesterday lies in house.

Interesting. I've said before it needs doing soon if the plan is to ever get promoted or even survive in this division. There were also rumours that structurally it would need doing soon as the riverbank isn't stable, not sure how true that is. I just hope if it is done it is done to a decent standard and improves the ground. It needs to be nearer the pitch and designed so that it is in keeping with the other 3 stands, not done on the cheap or much smaller.

Our game management is atrocious. Having played relatively well up until their red card that should have been the game changer that would see us press home our advantage by pressuring them for a long period and testing their keeper and defence. On the contrary as soon as they went down to ten and they sat back we had no idea what to do, how to break them down, or how to take advantage of numbers. We could have played all night at 11 v 10 and wouldn't have scored. I said to my mate when the red was issued that it probably wouldn't help us in any shape or form. I also said that the referee, having had grief from the home ends throughout, would embrace any opportunity to even the numbers up and get home fans back on side and so what do we do? Throw away our advantage by committing a stupid foul in a secure position. It really is amateurish. Sadly a trait of this team though. Weak, clueless, no plan b, poor substitutes that never change games. Sheffield went down to 10 they made changed and adapted their approach. We resorted to our clueless passing around our defence with no idea whatsoever of how to try and break them down, whereas we are wide open and all over the place as soon as we go down to 10. No adaptability or flexibility. I've a confession to make. I walked out after their 2nd goal and went back to the car. Something I very rarely do and have always been against doing. But I was so thoroughly peed off and sick of watching it that I wasn't prepared to stay. As soon as their 1st went in I knew that the floodgates would open. It's a shambles. The manager has to sort it but our problems are so numerous and deep running I don't think it is as simple as making a few signings or changes to the line up. It runs deeper. It is mental and physical, ingrained in the psyche of the team and manager. It was there last season if you look back. Mowbray is showing no signs of turning it around, and needs to do so very quickly. We can't defend and can't create, we're dull to watch yet that isn't offset by being hard to break down or beat. I don't know what Mowbray really wants to do.

Chelsea will recall Palmer, there's no point in leaving him here given the amount of time he's spent on the pitch, and will send him somewhere like Hull or Ipswich where he will play every week.

Pre-season has been inadequate for years. Another symptom of being run by Venkys with their bonkers June summit meeting - nothing can be done or planned until they approve it. I'd bet other clubs at this level would already have outline plans for recruitment, friendlies and training camps for next summer, I'd also bet that we'll have none of those, the manager won't have the first idea what the plan or budget will be and won't find out until we're playing catch up. We need a Technical Director who knows the industry who can be on with this sort of thing now so we can hit the ground running in future, not running around at the last minute.

The problems we have are a result of failing to recruit properly last summer, along with the team not being fit enough and not knowing how to see games through. I'm of the belief that merely signing a few more players in January isn't going to be a magic wand that sorts all our problems out. The stuff we're witnessing at the moment goes way above and beyond personnel. It is fitness, mentality, game management - all not what they should be. The manager needs to inject it quickly or vacate his position for someone who will do.

A lot of people saying this is going to be a season of consolidation and that we should be happy with a mid table finish. That's fine but to do that we are likely to require another 25 to 30 points. Usually pushing 50 to secure survival and another 10 to reach mid table status. Until we are at 50 there can be no consolidation, no pats on the back. We can't just turn around after each painful defeat and argue that as we are on course to achieve safety there's nothing to worry or complain about.

Exactly. This isn't a product of being in a higher league or up against better sides. The problem has been lingering for the last 18 months and the main difference now is it is costing us more than it did last season. Mowbray either will not or cannot stop it. It could be personnel, it could be fitness, it could be tactics and organisation. Either way the responsibility lies at the managers feet.

Not sure I would agree with some of those verdicts. Rotherham I thought we were poor in the first half and barely had a chance and were lucky to be 0-0 at half time. Another one of those games we had an awful first half with no goals and very few chances. We upped the tempo in the second half and had a few decent chances and they were on the rack but then went down the other end and scored with their only chance, which then cost us 2 points as we needed 2 to win. Preston and Wigan were abysmal and embarrassing. Wigan's only win in about 13 games and we barely laid a glove on them. Sheffield Wednesday were at the height of their crisis when we played them. Telling that they are the only side we've beaten by more than a single goal margin. Birmingham - threw away 2 points - again - having barely been troubled. Incompetence. Leeds took it to new levels - regardless of the opposition to take the lead in the 90th minute and end up losing is a travesty and brings our failings into the spotlight. It would have been a smash and grab job had we got the win but you need a few of them over a season. Once again the goals came through a couple of set-pieces dispatched well by Mulgrew rather than through open play - another issue we have - very rare we score unless through Dack, Graham or Mulgrew.

I wish I shared your confidence. Next two are tough games which we'll do well to get anything out of. On paper we have a kinder run in January and February beginning with a trip to struggling Millwall, but given the way we are playing would you fancy us going down to the Den and getting a win against a Millwall side fighting for their lives? Our record this season against the bottom half sides is very poor. Failed to beat Preston, Wigan, Rotherham, Ipswich, Millwall, Reading, Bristol City and scraped wins against Bolton, Brentford and Hull. That will have to change. We SHOULD have enough to survive in comparison to the likes of Ipswich, Bolton and Rotherham but strange things happen. A lead of 10 points+ over them going into the 2nd half of the season SHOULD be a good gap. But we're on a slippery slope and I honestly wouldn't fancy us to beat anyone at the moment. We have a knack for snatching a draw or defeat from the jaws of victory and have done all season. The only thing keeping us going is the camaraderie in the squad and the presence of Mulgrew/Dack/Graham who between them can deliver the goods infront of goal.