Dusic

Makes complete sense but also worth stating that whilst getting us into 4th with usual auto promotion PPG he has also totally overhauled the style of play - which was clearly a massive part of why he was brought in. Always a sign of a good manager when they can quickly get a team playing the style they want and RM has undoubtedly done that, even if its jot everyone's cup of tea. As was obvious at the time we recruited him for the reason above, with the hope/expectstion that with better players he would get better results than he has at previous clubs where he also successfully instilled his style. So far it appears that its going the way that the club wants - hopefully that continues.

Another Crooky special: https://x.com/reptracker/status/1722954038562508838?t=pZrNdlsemYUisRo6JgFvMg&s=09

The gap between U21 star and pro mens football is massive and I don't think he would have got many minutes here given the pressure to win and the fact we went out the EFL Cup so early. Sure this loan will do him plenty of good and hopefully for him he will have a long pro career and not end up as another Seager, Hesketh etc who were excellent at youth level and couldn't translate it to the senior game. He definitely has something about him and seems mentally strong.

Easy to see why players seem to want to play for him and that is half the battle. Must be so draining being a manager with the pressure and scrutiny, so being clear on what you want and sticking by that when the inevitable bad runs happen is a good thing IMO. Pretty much all our best managers have been seemingly decent people.

Steven Davis was a much better player than Stuart Armstrong. He is a decent player for our current situation and overall has been a good signing but his contract isnt really a cause for concern.

Watched the first half today and it was very clear that without the star names of Doyle, SAA, Dibling etc the vast majority of the young lads playing toda will never make it at a high (PL/EFL) level. The CBs were awkward on the ball and the midfielders lacked any real authority. It was a bit of a patchwork XI and Bragg looked decent at times but just highlights how far below pro mens level this really is...and I can only assume Vokins is still playing there because he is on a big contract he has no chance of replicating elsewhere. Of course at this level its more about producing good individuals than a good team and we have a handful of really top players in this age bracket but a huge drop off when they don't play. Also...Doyle out injured at the moment but I think his contract ends at the end of the season. He strikes me as a quality technical player who once the physical stuff comes could be an excellent player. Would be a big blow to the academy to lose him but no reports of any agreement imminent and he hasnt been involved first team wise despite the relegation.

Watched the Jomes CV thing and pretty much the only bit of interest was that when he spoke about Sekou Mara he said he is/was "probably the best finisher at the club". He obviously scored in that game but interesting that RM has also been positive about him recently and Ralph was also keen to give him a chance so he obviously shows something at Staplewood if not really in the games. Aside from that we were really aggressive and stuff.

Once Stewart is up and running I don't think we will go for a nrw striker even if Adams goes. Stewart, Armstrong, Mara, Alcaraz seems fine as options for essentially one position, anyone else would barely feature.

He is definitely not going to go from no football for 10/11 months to suddenly starting a game. Personally expect he will either be an unused or very late sub vs WBA or will feature on the bench after the next Intl break. Looks like Adams is back training so really no point rushing Stewart, there will be plenty of games for him to make a big impact this season.

Imagine we will try to get a fee for Adams in January so good to get RS up to speed by then. Also end of December Ipswich and Leeds both have much tougher games than us on paper so good to have all the options we possibly can around then due to the tight (ridiculous) schedule.

This post is just wrong. He wants both the wide players (Sulemana and Arma in the main) to come inside because thats where they are a threat. Arma is up with the top scorers from this position largely because he is enabled to come inside by the fact KWP goes on the outside of him to provide the attacking width. Sulemana they want running with the ball into the box, thats obvious based on every game so far where he has attacked the full back and ran towards goal, not stayed wide and put crosses in. KWP is our best player and an excellent attacking RB so asking him to "concentrate on disciplined defence" would be an awful use of his skills. Utter dross.

Had earmarked this as a perfect game for Bree to be a front sweeper covering the whole pitch and stopping attacks. Would bring him in for Adam Armstrong who didn't score many in the PL the last two seasons. That means Holgate in for Manning and Safri to give Smallbone a rest.

If Adams goes (last chance to get some cash) then we need another forward. Otherwise aside from maybe LB cover I don't see much happening unless we have an injury crisis. Again, keeping KWP will be huge.

Very good win, especially considering how many players had been away and Hull's home record and great to be the team putting pressure on in the latter stages. Nothing to fear in this league and should still be aiming for the 2nd automatic slot.

Highly doubt he will be involved in the squad seeing as we havent seen any pics or videos of him training with the team and surely after such a long injury he would need some U21 game time or friendlies etc?

Holgate or Charles? Surely got to be Holgate as he is actually a CB. Obviously poor start but he might get a run now in his preferred position.

So basically it was good until the bit of the game where the players probably needed a bit of a boost from the fans.

Perhaps what he is saying is that its a small part why their form has been so good, because the stadium gets behind them in the tough moments? Sure it helps when you are winning a lot but we always did it in the 90s despite some genuinely terrible football. Our players probably prefer playing away at the moment and that certainly doesn't help us get more points.

The booing is ridiculous but not surprising. Interesting that Connor Chaplin said on Sat one of the reasons Ipswich have been so good for the last yesr or so is because in the tense moments the fans get behind the team. At the moment ours don't and it doesn't feel like there is any real relationship there. Of course people were frustrated by the result but booing should be reserved for the genuine dross like Forest at home, not a game where you batter someone and they get out of jail with a point.

We had more than enough chances to win that game comfortably. Probably nine times out of 10 thats what happens. Very frustrating not to win, but the reason wasn't Russell Martin.

A midfield 3 in most games of Ndidi, Winks and Dewsbury-Hall helps a lot. In many games they have Iheanacho on the bench. Doing really well but have a superior squad to anyone else, which in most positions has pretty proven PL/Intl players!

Personally find a lot of this OTT. With ever so slightly better finishing and/or a GK not having one of those games and we are on 9pts from the week and sitting in the top 6 despite having lost 4 in a row recently. In the Stoke game if we take one of the massive chances (Armstrong header, Sulemana, Mara) then we win comfortably. For me its the same today. I can see improvements in defence, a team that is dominating the opponent and now creating good chances. The last two games we have probably had 7 or 8 very decent chances that we havent scored. On Tuesday it didnt cost us, today it did. Personally don't see why thebresult today has anything to do with the manager, it was the players not adding a second goal that was the issue. We look like we will be well in the mix for the playoffs, I will be majorly suprised if we dont finish comfortably inside the top 6. Leicester are clearly the best team, they have the best squad by a mile. Ipswich currently on an incredible run and are a team with positve momentum who have been together for a while. If they win 9 of each 11 for the rest of the season then they fully deserve auto. If they don't (more likely) then we need to make sure we are there to capitalise.

RM dis say in the embargoed section with Alfie House that he would make one or two changes today as some players aren't used/able to start 3 games in a week. Would imagine Stu Armstrong is high on that list and he hinted they might need to think about Alcaraz too considering he will be doing a lot of travelling. I reckon Adams will start this one.

The previous regime were absolutely dross at contracts. Protecting our best assets is really important and for most signings you can tell in 6months if they are really going to contribute so when they do and will clearly attract interest then it makes sense to be proactive. Good to see and I'm sure it strengthens our hand for the next couple of windows as far as he is concerned.

Might as well give Stu another start before the inevitable Scotland injury that seems to happen every Intl break.