Often Partisan

It’s Not Good Enough, Clarky. Ipswich Reflections

Here are my reflections on the game between Birmingham City and Ipswich Town.

1) Sorry Lee, Blues didn’t deserve to win

I was listening to Clarky on Radio WM on the way home and he said he thought that Blues deserved to win; that Ipswich didn’t “batter” us. Well, let me tell you Mr Clark there is no way that Blues team deserved to win. It doesn’t matter that Ipswich used timewasting techniques, that Stuart Attwell was a crap ref or that the team made “bad decisions”, Blues didn’t deserve to win.

Don’t get me wrong, Ipswich were poor. A better team would have given us the kind of tonking Barnsley did – Blues were that bad first half. When we had the ball there was no space because Ipswich closed us down, when we didn’t they had wide open spaces to ping the ball around in. Nathan Redmond and Wade Elliott would hog the touchline waiting for the ball and when they got the ball they cut inside. Not one winger – Redmond, Elliott or Burke beat a man on the outside; the only cross of note came from King and because of it we were starved of service up top.

2) What needs to change for the next game

I’m actually struggling at the moment to see how Blues can improve with what they have. Bouba Diop would give us some muscle in the middle but he looked massively unfit for the reserves. Zigic had some great movement, won headers and made some nice passes… and missed a sitter. I think Blues need to return to basics; wide players on the wings – and at that a left-footer on the left and a right-footer on the right. If I was Keith Fahey I’d be wondering why the bloody hell I’m not playing; Mullins was ineffective and Ambrose is way too lightweight to play next to Morrison. Wade Elliott; whilst it’s nice you can do a full 360 on the ball on a sixpence it would be nice if you could find a blue shirt with it afterwards.

It’s all about tempo; Blues are way too languid for too long and only start playing when they’ve given an opposing team a one or two-goal headstart. It’s not hard; pass and move – you get the ball, you pass it to a team-mate and move into space. Keep doing that, retain possession and you’ll create enough pressure to exploit a gap. When you don’t have the ball, hassle and close down to cause them to lose the ball. Blues are just not doing that.

3) Any positives?

Again, I’m struggling. The club is flat from top to bottom and nothing short of a change of ownership is going to change that. That’s reflected on the terraces – there wasn’t any noise from Blues fans and there seemed to be some very unhappy people out there. I’d actually consider throwing on Callum Reilly or Mitch Hancox on the left on Tuesday with the reasoning the crowd might get behind them because they are young. One thing I agree with Clarky on is that the team need to start quickly and put the opposition on the back foot. I’m not sure what the problem is but they aren’t doing that – and conceding early on is killing us.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank EZE Group, Helen Tims, Kevin the Stadium tour guide and all the other wonderful people behind the scenes at BCFC for making my daughter’s birthday special. If the team put in the effort you guys did we wouldn’t be in this pickle!

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64 Responses to “It’s Not Good Enough, Clarky. Ipswich Reflections”

  • Kaje says:

    “Mullins was ineffective and Ambrose is way too lightweight to play next to Ambrose.”

    Might need to tweak that one, but I agree 100% with everything else.

    It’s a sad time to be a Bluenose. Let’s just hope we’re bought soon and the new board install a competent manager!

  • Duncan says:

    Until the ownership is sorted out we’re stuck with him(LC) aren’t we?

  • AuldBertie says:

    Oh well, at least your daughter had a nice day (well partially anyway). I agree we were very poor and devoid of any tactical nous especially first half. That said though, we still should have come away with an undeserved 2-1 win as how Zigic missed those two chances I’ll never know. The header was the worst of the two which he couldn’t even hit the target with! Can’t see anything changing tuesday, but after an largely unimpressive run of games by Redmond I feel it’s now time to revert him to an impact player to see if we can glean the sort of cameos he gave last season. It seems this season that the road is going to be a particularly long and arduous one :(

  • Mark says:

    Did Clark really come out with that flannel? it’s a bit like the Millwall statement when we all know it was the players who upped their game to avoid embarrassment and Millwall politely crumbled.

    I tried to defend him but there comes a point when you lose faith. Today we were second to every ball until the last 25 minutes but even then the visitors were always going to surrender possession late on as with most teams scrapping for their first win in ages.

    The only major bonafide chances were the two big Zigic had and to be honest had he buried them it would have been a further cover up of how poor we now really are. Even when we do win they are narrow wins. We have no shape, we seem devoid of any real plan A let alone plan B.

    To be honest you could predict this shower happening and I had them on a treble because I thought I may as well earn some money on the back of my genuine misery at present.

    Kids for a quid and that included under 19’s and we still can’t even enthuse 20,000 down there. Have said it before make it free and we still wont fill the place. After many many many many rebirths too many fans have been worn down by a combination of bad ownership and now bad management.

    Lee Clark do us all a favour and quit now because these clowns wont sack him because why spend money and time on BCFC when you have no desire to be here.

    Another limp display lies in wait on Tuesday and what I believe will be our lowest home league gate for some time.

    February 2011 the absolute joy to February 2013 bottom of the league that is my prediction if both management and ownership remain in place. You would say only in blues world!!

  • Steve says:

    Pass and move..exactly what i was saying at the game. No tempo until the big man wins a few headers and we then try to get back in the game in 20mins. Too many performances like this all season. Time to go Clark.

  • Mickey07 says:

    Even if clark gets the sack (which he will) when the new owners come in who do we go and realIstically get??(arry aint coming either guys so don’t use that one)……we are dying a slow death at present..

  • Bcfc1955 says:

    Today was abysmal
    Murphy poor looks like he is carrying an injury
    Caldwell this is a season too far
    Davies struggling for consistent form
    We have an ageing left back playing right back who does not have any energy to get forward in support of the winger
    Our two central mid fielders must be the worst in the division, Mullins is no longer able to do it and Morrison drifts out of the game for long periods not surprising given the few games he has played at this level
    Redmond and Burke are completely devoid of any confidence
    Elliot is average at best
    King lita and zigic could potentially deliver but with the complete lack of any cohesive build up play they do not have much of a chance
    Finally we have a manager who looks out of his depth

    In 58 years of support this is arguably the lowest point in that time even matching the John bond/altrincam low

  • skareggae72 says:

    I doesn’t get any worse than losing to the basement side at home,this to me,looks like the perfect time for Yeung and co to take the £30m offering and clear out fast before the club loses even more value.

    If it is Paladini/big ron then hopefully they can bring a bit of beleif and confidence back to St Andrews,which is desperately needed.

  • skareggae72 says:

    The Gold/Sullivan era was far from perfect but at least they did get the right manager at the right time !

  • Blueboy88 says:

    Difficult viewing……Ipswich for Gods Sake,,,stranded at the bottom of the league…..

    Paladini & Gus Poyet In….Quick…!!!

  • Alan Watton says:

    John Bond & Altrincham ? last week our worst manager died and Alti lost to Solihull Moors. No real reason for that comment just interesting.

    Anyway today’s performance was a bit gound hog day. I was not so enthused about the performance against Leicester and 4 hme games we have scored one goal. 3 out of 3 goasl have come down that ‘inside right’ channel. That is exposed because Murphy (no right foot) and caldwell (finished) have no protection.

    Mullins fails to give that protection. George N’daw did that job for us and did it for Ipswich today. When Zigic came on it caused N’daw to change roles and injured himself . Ipswch were all over the place but we missedd chances.

    Redmond should have been removed as soon as his error . He was useless from that point onwards. Zigic like him or not creates chances and should start. the rest can fight for a place along side him. redmond or Lovencrantz wide left Burke right. Anyone but Mullins with morrison.

    Robinson left back and Packwood on the right until caddis is back.
    Sod the passing game lets go long. Quick tempo pressure pressure pressure!

    • Mortonsblue says:

      Anyone but Mullins agreed……..why can’t Clarke see what a useless, lightweight, lost little sheep he is?
      Why sign Diop and not play him, he might have won a few headers in the middle of the park and held onto the ball, only Morrison looks like he can do that at the moment and Clarke didn’t play him at all until the fans got on his back! Now we need to get on his back to play Gomis alongside Morrison.

  • Dan B says:

    I’m sure I recall Lee Clark saying he was a man of honour & intergrity & thats why it hurt him so much for the way Huddersfield disguarded him so why doesn’t he be honest, show us some intergrity & resign, Hughton’s brief was 1st for promotion and then it was altered for us to make the play-offs which he managed so why can’t Lee Clark, for me it comes down to player motivation & again for me Clarky isn’t motivating or getting the best out of any of his players.
    In regards to changing it up I’d go 4-3-3 in the following way:

    Butland
    Robinson Davies Caldwell Murphy
    Fahey Gomis
    Morrison
    Burke Lita Lovernkrands

  • Art Watson says:

    I notice Clark has publicly blamed Redman for the goal.

    This says a great deal about him and his management style.

    It’s no wonder the players aren’t motivated and turning in poor performances and what impact will his comments have on such a young talent?

    The guy is a complete fake and hopefully will be sacked soon.

    • NooBloo says:

      It is disgraceful when a manager singles out a particular player after a match. If you listened to CH last year, he always praised his players publicly, even if he perhaps gave then a rollocking in the dressing room.

      The fact is we are on the road to league one if we dont buck up our ideas. Everyone thought Coventry, Southampto, Leeds, Forrest, and the Sheffield clubs were too big to drop that far down the leagues but it happened.

      We need a new manager in quckly and if it costs a million quid to get rid of LC and his staff then it will be money well spent because the drop to league 1 would cost at least that in TV rights alone

  • Solblue says:

    Unfortunately we are stuck with him and his backroom staff until any takeover is completed, I would be surprised if his reign lasts beyond the day of completion. We just have to hope that by that time the damage done in terms of league position and the confidence and mindset of our playing staff is not beyond recovery. For me if we can have a change of owners, management team and retain championship status this season it will be a good result.

  • Dave Sherlock says:

    I repect your opinion OP but I think this blog has been written out of frustration.

  • Bluenosejohn says:

    Our manager gives interviews as though he is a fan and he although he can comment on performances there is nothing he can do about it.

    Shocking game. At least Barnsley and Huddersfield came to win and deserved it. Ipswich would have taken 0-0 at the start and after being gifted a goal that ended their pretence at playing. Regretably we played at too low a tempo for most of the game and were generally clueless which fitted in well with the referee who was oblivious to 80 minutes of time wasting.

    All credit to DJ Campbell who was respectful when he scored and barely celebrated. He also started clapping the home fans when substituted before he remembered he was playing for Ipswich and turned to the travlelling support!

  • Kevin Collins says:

    Thanks for your comments.It is appreciated.

  • rob78 says:

    Lee Clark is a pretender

  • Ali Duncan says:

    I hope the upper Echelons of the club read this site.

    Today was awful. I was frankly disgusted. My cousin couldn’t hold himself back and felt compelled to run down to the tunnel at the end and tell LC what he thought.

    My major gripe is a man on 50k a week couldn’t do what he is paid to do. Those chances , especially the header, we’re bread and butter chances for any striker. How many premier league strikers on half that wage (read Danny Graham or yourGrant Holts of this world) would have murdered those chances?

    So angry!!!!!!!

  • KeepRightcroydOn says:

    I’m no longer in denial. I accept now that getting to the play offs is no more than a pipe dream. Mid table respectability is the best we can hope for come May. I only hope that I do not have to bring myself to say this too was a pipe dream come season’s end.

    I really believed LC was the right man for us when he was appointed. How wrong I was.

  • Chris Smith says:

    If it wasn’t for that sloppy pass it would have been a draw. But to be honest, after Cardiff away, Millwall, Forrest and Brighton I’m gonna say that lc can happily keep us in this division. There have been some damn good performances in various half’s. Apparently when that happens it’s the team. When we loose it’s lc. What the f*ck are people on about. Did lc tell Wade Elliott to do a Norman wisdom impression every five minutes? Did he tell redmond to pass sloppily into an opposing player? No, of course he didn’t. At the start we had defenders mucking up, against forest the team lost concentration, against Barnsley… There was a reason we ended up with a five man midfield, the four man wasn’t doing it’s ducking job. The fifth man was supposed to go in and get them moving and make the tackles. They. Did. F*ck. All. You can only go so far with tactics, but a team that pisses up as much as this lot could have Versengetterix in charge (remember him, beat the crap out of julius ceaser before being seized and defeated during troop rest) and be cained 15-0. This isn’t f*cking fifa, lc has no magic controller wireless link to the players. As much as we lost, the loss was down to the team and there were some damn good bits of play from both sides, as well as calamity episodes. We do have some shite shirked, fact is they did well last season and are on frees. To a team with bugger all budget who else were we gonna get?

    comment edited – please can you asterisk the f word? ta – almajir

    • Ali Duncan says:

      I disagree. It is almost the same team as last campaign….it’s down to the manager!

    • Sirharry1875 says:

      I also disagree. When do start blaming the manager? We go a goal down and it’s game over. The move for the Zigic one on one was excellent but other than that it was dreadful.

      • Ali Duncan says:

        I was embarassed today. Bought a mate up from the smoke for his first game at Stans (AFC Wimbledon fan) and I was horrified how poor we were. He has seen many gutsy away games with Blues and enjoyed the way our club have set themselves up in games over the years. Today we just didnt try. No heart!

    • surreybluenose says:

      All of the good performances, Brighton, Forest, Cardiff, Millwall Leeds have all been away from home. Is there a problem with playing at home? Are they too worried about making a mistake and the supporters getting on their backs?

    • RichardM says:

      Same team bar one player as last season. Rant all you like, something ain’t right – the only major change has been the management team. To me it seems the players don’t believe in LC and that’s reflecting on the pitch. You have to admit, some of LC’s decisions are bizzare – i.e. the CONTINUAL selection of Mullins, no matter how badly he plays, while ignoring Gomis who does a job when he comes in. The ostracisation of Morrison. The signing of Boupa Diop who is then left to rot on the bench. The perseverance with Caldwell who seems not only to be past it, but not enjoying his football anymore (and thus denying the opportunity to a rising star like Packwood).

      Then there’s the confidence of players like Burke and Redmond who were on fire last year and now seem shot to peices, not helped by LC’s management naievety in singling out a young player like Redmond to take the blame.

      To me it seems as if the players have already sussed out LC and can see through him, and their lack of confidence in their leader means their heads are bowed, I can’t think of any other explanation as to why Blues are so languid this season. Let’s face it we’re stuck with LC till the new owners come along (whenever that might be) – so it’s up to the players themselves to bond together and fight – they need to show the same qualities they showed at Millwall second half.

  • Sirharry1875 says:

    Numerous occasions last season we went a goal down but I was always confident we’d get back in it. How different it is now! That is down to the manager 100%. Redmond was shocking today and needs some time out. And even though he missed sitters Zigic should not be on the bench. There was more urgency when he came on. He creates havoc and with so many players losing confidence he is an outlet for a long ball rather than a poor short pass. Keep the faith and get behind the Italian Job because whether we like it or not it’s the only hope we have. Nobody else wants us.

  • tc says:

    Yet again we constantly ball watch and gave the ball away.Lita was poor but with no support from midfield i felt sorry for the forwards.Burke came on and did nothing again and i’m sick of saying it but if theres a worse midfielder than mullins to ever wear a blues shirt it must have been before i was born.HE IS GARBAGE.
    Elliots free kicks and corners were dreadful,his passing is poor and i still dont think redmond is good enough to play 90 minutes.The defence look fragile and murphy was dreadful first half and not much better 2nd.
    Sadly i can’t see it improving tuesday and clarke won’t quit and the board won’t sack him ,its already getting ugly on the terraces with fans turning on each other as they did today so if this continues i can’t see us anywhere but relegated with under 10k crowds in 2013 which is a disaster for everyone who cares about our club.

    • Ali Duncan says:

      Agreed about no midfield. I am not a fan but I would like to see Fahey start – Mullins just isn’t working. LChas to accept that certain signings haven’t worked and it’s time for something new.

  • dcp says:

    any idea whats happened to morgaro gomis? he might not be the best technically but he’s twice the player of mullins, we need someone with some balls in the midfield
    agree on wade elliott, show pony, it was his fault for leicester’s equaliser in our last home game and for all the pretty touches there’s just no end product
    as for redmond – wow – im not sure i want to criticise him because he’s the prodigal son to most fans but what he put in today was embarrassing
    caldwell – retire
    butland will be gone in january, not because we want to sell him but because he will not want LC ruining his career!

    • KeepRightcroydOn says:

      “butland will be gone in January, not because we want to sell him but because he will not want LC ruining his career!”
      dcp you know what? It’s worrying but it sounds a diatinct possibility.

  • TR7 says:

    I’ve refrained from commenting for some considerable time now , weeks and weeks in fact , but I was one of the doubters about Lee Clarke from DAY 2 , no , change that, I didn’t just doubt him , my limited knowledge of football screamed out at me that the man was totally , completely and utterly clueless regarding man management and basic football stratergy. Well here we are ( and believe me I honestly get no ‘ told you so ‘ pleasure from this at all ) up to our knecks in the proverbial . Unfortunately we have had a few rougue results ( ie unexpected wins and draws ) against some of the higher flying teams that have delayed the and masked the real truth that we are a team that has now completely lost the defensive cohesion that we so prided ourselves on ( centre backs mainly – the right back situation has always been vulnerable to injury in recent years) our midfield has LITERALLY disapeared ! ….our ‘ attack ‘ force is so light weight ( when it’s not offside ) that ANY average defender just mops it up all day long . Our player of the season looks like he’s been told to ” stop that fancy stuff and get on with it ” our young talent has been dropped in , with no apparent guidence and is now ‘frozen in the headlights’ , then dragged off bewildered. As I said months ago , sack this bloke , drag ANYONE in from the street to write the team sheet until we get bought out and we appoint a proper manager!………….

  • Steve says:

    I have got a season ticket – and no longer enjoy or look forward to games. Who in their right mind would actually buy a ticket for the game on Tuesday? The atmosphere on the Kop today worried me – or should I say lack of atmosphere – supporters almost resigned to another poor performance and home defeat. We are treading water until we get new owners but at the moment even the hardcore support we have and who attend games can not take much more of this. How much longer can this go on?

  • andy says:

    The sooner this mess at the top is sorted, the better.

  • nick jenkinson says:

    Hudds fan here , feel a bit sorry for you lot, Clark wears his heart on his sleeve but is tactically inept. He went about most games with Hudds just trying not to lose before winning.
    what a difference now with grayson. I really dont see him improving but good luck anyway.

    • KeepRightcroydOn says:

      Thanks nick jenkinson. I personally think it now makes financial sense to sack him and pay the compensation. We are losing money in falling gates, merchandise etc. Even an interim care taken from within the club can’t do any worse.

  • Ad says:

    I’m probably going to get slated for writing this but please let me stress this is my opinion!!!

    Over the past 5 seasons BCFC have been known as a difficult team to break down especially at home, but this season we have conceded more goals than I can remember this early into a new campaign.

    The one big change LC has made is the goal keeper, and I think this is where our problem starts!!

    I think butland is a fantastic shot stopper and potentially one for the future but he is no where near the finished artical compared to our previous keepers (hart, foster, myhill)

    Taking into consideration how experienced our back four are I would think they wouldn’t appreciate orders from a non proven inexperienced keeper.

    I really think we need to give Doyle a run in the team to see what difference he can make to our defensive game which could obviously have an impact on us going forward!!!

    • RichardM says:

      Ad – at the moment, anything is worth a try, although a suspect Butland now believing his own hype will get the hump and demand a transfer in January. You may have a point, but not sure it’s solely down to Butland…

  • jazzzy786 says:

    We are losing the game in midfield. The players cannot hold onto the ball and pass to a team mate. As a consequence our strikers were starved of any service. We decided to bypass the midfield and feed the strikers direct which only worked when Zigic come on.

    I’d play Hancox on the left, Packwood instead of Mullins, Burke on RW, Spector at RB

    Butland
    Spector Caldwell Davies Murphy
    Burke Packwood Morrison Hancox
    King Lita

  • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

    Fecks sake lads get a grip.

    Yes it’s shite, real rubbish and yes the buck stops with LC but it’s gonna get worse so brace yourselves ok. Players who can’t be arsed get worse when the cold dark nights start setting in. Anything saleable will be gone in January so all those expecting some kind of major turnaround and surge up the table think again. 75% of our players play for themselves and when it suits like Millwall 2nd half, Leeds so although I don’t rate Lee and never wanted him I don’t entirely blame him.

    We knew what this season was gonna be like, there’s a reason why we got Clark and 2nd rate signings we’re broke. All season I’ve been saying lower half and possible releagtion for us but some still think we’re play off contenders, Some were even saying we were automatic promotion contenders.

    This is when we find out who the real fans are. The pr*ck sitting next to me was willing Ipswich to get a 2nd so he could boo again, he even started shouting for em to score until someone cuffed the twat. Regroup and be strong, put this one behind us and let’s get down there Tuesday and get 3 points then on to Ewood. This is how it’s gonna be, the odd win, the odd loss all season.

  • Bluenosesol says:

    Lita was awful yesterday, not only did he not win a header, he didnt even jump for one. Ziggy came on and nearly turned the game. Problem is Ziggy is just as likely to start on Tuesday and be totally anonymous. Mullins is absolute pants, but why cant LC see that. Cauldwell is a complete liability. Bright points from the game were Ziggy’s performance, Morrison’s industry as our only worthy midfielder and an improved performance from Burke once he came on.
    I look forward to seeing if Diop is going to make any difference, but also think its time Asante was given a chance.
    Did note that the youngsters at the Railway end of the kop were in good voice and good banter, but would like to hear a bit more from the Tilton, rarely hear a song from anywhere else these days and cant remember the last time we heard Keep Right On from all sides of the ground.

  • Baller says:

    This is a remarkable time. Footbal fans (Including me) see things in the moment and not in the long term. It will be years before we see the enjoyable days early in the century. We were spoiled by the quality of players and subsequently there have been a series of events which has left BCFC on the brink.
    Sacking the manager and his extensive backroom is not a matter of cost but cashflow and will not happen before the sale and even then is less likely. Clark is mainly damned by his signings – despite the limited resources – and by his determination to play them. We don’t see training, so don’t have the full picture but keeping Mullins in the team and Ambrose in the squad is remarkable.
    There are few who played against Ipswich who deserve their place on Tuesday. However, the options are few. Where were Spector and Gomis? Full disclosure would help.
    We cannot guarantee any new owners will be more effective but we can guarantee they won’t be any worse. The regression over the last few years has been profound, it isn’t the last few games, awful as they have been.

  • Art Watson says:

    I listened to the radio commentary in Cyprus and Michael Johnsion said “that Blues were always second best and Ipswich deserved to win”so how Clark can say that Blues should have won is beyond me.

    He’s clutching at straws knowing he’s lost the fan base support.

    Between now and the new ownership it’s damage limitation- I just hope he resigns before he distroys this team.

  • iang says:

    One of the big issues for me is a lack of balance in the team. We have a left footer at right back who never overlaps his winger and a right footer in left midfield who doesn’t go outside to support his full back. As such we have no overlaps on either side to stretch teams and creat chances for our forwards. My team for Tuesday would be

    Butland
    Spector Packwood Davies Murphy
    Burke Gomis Morrison Hancox
    King Lita

    This would address balance (why does Clark not play Spector at RB?) and add energy to midfield with gomis (who always look tidy for me) and natural balance on the left in hancox. Caldwell is a season too far and I think Packwood with his pace is a better option in centre now

    Ownership has to be sorted by Jan as clearly the players can see Clark is likely to be gone come the new owners and that will not help the ability to maximum performances from them

  • Tonytiler says:

    I have just read the match report in the Sunday mercury. It reads Redmond played with a broken hand. I understand this isn’t a major injury. However I can’t understand why he didn’t use Burke. , Elliot seems to do a better job at away games. And all set pieces. The all seems to overrun and always lands to Caldwell whos distribution is shocking. I may get slatted for this but Mullins as Dom
    Ne better in the last to games. But he is nowhere near fit to wear the blues shirt. Soggy did ok when he came on. And king as been one of the best performers over the last few weeks even though he never really touched the ball for the first 20 minutes. I feel king and litas partnership works well 1 game and is non existent the next. , I suppose we can all be good managers after each game. I don’t think we deserved to lose the game either. But we need to make home games count

  • Paul Carter - The Voice Of Reason says:

    Cos Burke has been shocking all season. Woeful in fact.

    NOT I might add Clarkes fault.

    NOR is the fact that £60K a weeker Zigic can’t nod home or tap in a sitter.

    I’m not backing LC BUT whether it suits the argument or not Zig puts these 2 away and we’re halfway up the table.

    We’ve lost a game, we were awful. The 2 before that we drew and won at hard away grounds the vitriol is doin my head in. Get down there Tuesday and start all over again.

  • Chris M says:

    I’ve read these articles with interest since the demise this season of BCFC.

    As a Huddersfield fan, it hurt, a lot, to hear the media, other club managers, fans and chairmen, say how ridiculous it was for Town to sack Lee Clark and publicly slate our club. Now I hope, although sadly at BCFC’s expense, how justified our chairman was for making the call and ridding the club of Lee Clark.

    No Town fan ever doubted Lee Clark’s determination and passion for the game or club he is employed by, but sadly, he just lacks the experience and the voices behind him are ineffective. Everything you are observing as City fans, is what we screamed and complained about at the start of this year. No bite in midfield, sloppy defence, no obvious tactics, it’s all what we said before.

    Now I hope people will give credit where credit is due. Our chairman was no mug, he didn’t like what he was seeing, so he changed it. Sadly it looks like you’re stuck with LC and his (highly expensive) entourage. You’ve got a good man, but not a good manager.

    Good luck for the rest of the season!

  • bluemaximus says:

    This is how I saw the events yesterday, starting from the start. The players trudged out of the tunnel either looking very relaxed, or very subdued. I cant really differentiate between the two, although I know I didn’t see one player pumped up, ready to go into battle. Now during this rant, i shall probably revert to the word basics quite a lot, and the basics to any football match is prepare yourself for a fight, whether you are playing top of the league or bottom, you have to be prepared to come out as a stronger team, have belief in your own ability. This was visually lacking before a ball was kicked. That beggars belief.

    The team set out how I actually like to play. Wide men hogging the touchline, stretching the pitch and making it big. However, like Almajir has already pointed out, the wide men were inept.
    Elliott is not a left winger, in fact he shall never be a left winger for as long as I’ve got a hole in my a^$e. Last season he was used sparingly at home, but pretty regular as a 5th man in midfield away from home. In fairness, I liked him in this position, always very tidy. But as a left winger the boy cant cut it. Always cutting inside producing…. nothing. Same thing all game, to the full backs glee.
    Redmond:- The fact is the boy has potential, but he needs to get back on the training ground and improve if he fulfils his potential. His tactical awareness needs work, his 1st touch needs work, his passing game needs work, and most of all his decision making needs work. Yesterday was plain to see he is not ready for 1st team football as a starter, Fact. A player needs all those simple basics to be a success. That is what separates the top professionals to the inconsistent good players.They make the correct decision 9 times out of 10, you should never question there touch. 1 trick pony yesterday, and i’m afraid every time he comes across a half decent full back, he is found in their back pocket come 10 minutes into the game . He could come off the bench and startle a full back for 20 mins but until he is coached, and willing to learn from the coaches, Redmond will not improve his game.
    Middle of the park is garbage. Powder puff. They didn’t dictate the pace of the game, they don’t run off the ball, they don’t want that basic thing every good player wants, that little thing called the football. They should be demanding the football, they should want it all the time, if they pass the football, they should be attempting to get a return straight away. Give it and go, make space, get it back. Basics. Hard bloody work, but basics. The forwards didn’t bust a blood vessel making space for themselves either. They would have been a centre halfs dream to mark. Don’t look for space, there attitude was Ill have it here thank you very much, I cant be a*$ed to run there. I’ve not heard the press release from Clarke, but if he really believes we earnt something from that garbage, I might start believing the rumours.
    I’m not part of the Clarke Out clan… yet. The ground is flat, no one seems to want to be there anymore. No smiles, no songs, no banter. We truly are in for a battle this season, but someone needs to get that message out to the boys in blue, before a ball is kicked!

    • denis thwaites says:

      I agree with your observations from yesterday but I still think that the inept display results from the lack of motivation and direction coming from the touchline.Last year players were looking for the ball and blowing out their a*se after 90 minutes but I didn’t see any of that yesterday.

  • denis thwaites says:

    A few observations from yesterdays match. Goalkeeper needs to come and command his area and not rely on defenders having to intercept balls in his 6 yard area. Left footed right backs can’t pose an attacking threat which you need at home. The players who were there last year look as though they are going through the motions (tragic to see Burke unwilling to take command of the ball and just run with it like he used to). Mullins a spectator. One dimensional play that needed a target man which didn’t seem to sink in to the manager’s tactics until it was too late.

    I felt embarassed watching us play a crap team and not have a clue how to break them down. I don’t buy the view that we played against a team motivated by a new manager. We just didn’t perform. The manager clearly has no idea which BCFC is going to turn up and my guess is he will make several changes for Tuesday demonstrating he does not know what players or formation to put out. I agree we are stuck with more pain to suffer until this regime is through

  • Paulo says:

    I really don’t have to add anything that has already been said, other than ..get used to it. I will firmly take the viewpoint of the few HTFC fans who have contributed here (and the odd bit of research into their stats) that LC has go our team into a way of thinking that a draw is a win, and his tactics are not the problem ..the players are the problem. The day the team start playing with a fighting spirit, then that will be the day I might just give ‘those particular few’ – a bit of respect.
    Will Packwood’s face said it all when they were walking off the pitch ..he looked like he can’t understand it. As did Keith Fahey, sat in the Garrison Lane suites.
    The players don’t know what is going on ..because LC is probably drowning them in tactics and responsibilities that the heart of the game plan is gone.

  • Dave Stait says:

    I see the club are having a moan about objects being thrown on the pitch. If we have yet another dross performance on tuesday i think there will be a few thousand season tickets heading that way.
    In my forty years of supporting the Blues i can never remember watching such utter rubbish. Never have i seen/heard a crowd so flat and unexpectant as i have this season.

  • Bluenosesol says:

    Most frustrating thing for me, is that this is the poorest standard of football I have seen in the Championship for years. If we had last season’s team and manager, we could well be in the top two by now. No one is going to walk away with it. Having said that, I agree that we are dreaming if we think we are going to go on a run and cement a play off place by Christmas. However the appalling standards that persist in this league give me hope that when the players wake up and realise that most of them will be on the scrap heap post the Blues revival if they carry on as they are, then we can still improve sufficiently this season, to ensure we are 10 points clear of third bottom come the end of the season.

  • bluey says:

    Has he walked yet? No? Can we please start chanting “Clark out” on Tuesday?


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