I think you can guess who I am talking about. After twelve games in charge, he has a horrendous track record with just two wins to his name. Eleven points from twelve matches. That’s abysmal, and he knows it. The question is, what can he do about it? He has juggled the pack, again and again, but all to no avail. Different formations. Different players. Same results.
Our new American owners must be wondering what’s going on as well. They may not have expected immediate promotion, but when Cook took over, there was every hope of that, as we were just two points off the playoffs at the time. Things have gone from bad to worse and rapidly. And to add insult to injury, the Blues have now gone a staggering 529 minutes without a goal!
Now we know this is not Paul Cook’s squad of players. We know that he cannot wait to get his hands on some of that American money and start the recruitment programme. We totally get why he is so frustrated. He does not seem able to stop the slide, and this is very concerning. No goals in almost five matches tell us a lot about our lack of a cutting edge. In fairness, we did hit the bar twice last night, when opportunistic moments from Gwion Edwards and Freddy Sears almost got us a goal, but once we were chasing the game, you always felt we would not claw our way back into it.
Paul Cook has inherited the worst squad of players in living memory. And I have been supporting the Blues for more than half a century! This cannot go on like this. Cook is running out of excuses to defend himself, and if he is not careful, he will have the shortest reign as a manager of Ipswich Town in living memory too! Nobody wants that.
I genuinely hope this does not happen, but I am beginning to fear the worst. I think he is missing his right-hand man Leam Richardson. Cook hoped that he would join him here, but instead, Richardson choose to stay with Wigan and battle on. With no cash to burn since they went into administration last season, they have now won their last four games and pulled clear of the relegation zone. It speaks volumes for the resolve of their boss and his players, and we could all learn something from it.
As for Cook, he seems like a man lost to a tsunami of self-doubt. ” That’s 12 games for me now and I’d have expected myself to do a lot better – irrespective of any player who is going on the pitch. So the first level of criticism comes to me and, to my staff.”
There can be no other way after he castigated his own players after another midweek nightmare against Wimbledon last week. He chooses the tactics. He picks the team. The buck stops here.
Hi Frank I agree with you on most things and love reading your articles but would urge our fans please let’s all keep our nerve and back our manager Paul Cook. We all know it’s the players who are not up to it .So until Cook has recruited his own players and had a season we should get behind him. After all the false dawns and years of rubbish the fans have endured it’s easy to see why fans are getting nervous about Cook especially as results have not improved. He is a proven manager but even he cannot get a tune out of these useless players. Let’s back him with the knowledge our new owners will, and look forward to a better future for the club .. keep the faith
Thank you, Dean. You always seem to have a kind word to say and I really do appreciate your positive input. I am not anti-Paul Cook, but I do not think Gary Roberts has not learned enough at a coaching level to be his number two. If he had his number one back things might be different. Sadly, Leam Richardson has continued to do well at Wigan, and has just earned a new contract!
Hi Frank like yourself, and probably most town fans I’m very disappointed Paul Cooks trusted lieutenant Leam Richardson will not being joining the club. The double act had so much success together which we all hoped they would replicate at Town. But we cannot do anything about that now other than hope Paul Cook can pick somebody equally up the the task of assistant manager. I agree Gary Roberts is not currently experienced enough and is still learning his trade. I’ve heard John McGreal being mentioned which I would support due to his past connections to the club and his experience. He has managed clubs so whether he would join as a number two remains to be seen. Perhaps the lure of joining his old club and making it successful will make him come.?? We shall soon find out . It’s going to be an exciting summer for the fans and club on and off the pitch with further appointments and new players.. a dawn of a new era hopefully.
You are spot-on Dean. We cannot do anything about Leam Richardson now, so we must all move on. I feel sure though, that if he had have joined us we would not have gone on such a disappointing run but that is history now. As for John McGreal, I saw that bit of news too and as you say, he comes with a lot of experience. Having managed clubs before, he could be the right choice.
Are our useless players really useless? Sorry but I disagree. They don’t seem to be pulling their weight which is obvious, but is there something deeper going on at PR? It’s the same players who earlier in the season were putting in a shift and we had some good results. PC persists with a system that obviously doesn’t work – one striker up front when we know that doesn’t work. Has the talk on the many social media streams of getting rid of the whole team sickened them to such a degree they just want out? There are loads more questions we could ask, but who will trust PC with a sizeable budget if he can’t get a semi-decent team out of a squad of 50? Yes we need some new players especially strikers but if the tactics remain the same are they going to fall fowl of the same situation next season? Answers on a postage stamp!!!!
Well, Arthur, I never actually used the word ‘useless ‘ but I get your drift. In the last five games under Paul Lambert, they played with a steely determination and got their just rewards with three victories against top-six sides. I think Paul Cook is missing his right-hand man, and Leam Richardson has just signed a new contract with the Lancashire club today. With no money, he has managed to haul them out of the relegation zone, and they have won their last four matches on the bounce. Sadly, Gary Roberts does not even have a coaching CV to scrutinise.
These players would not get into a pub football team.
You could be right James.
It is a managers job to inspire players, Talkative PC has them so confused Playford road must be more like Confused.com for the players( they are not all bad). New owners? essentially money men like Marcus! greater understanding of balance sheets than football, lots of ambitious talk. Rename Ipswich Town FC. As GONNERDU United.
Expect PC to be very good at recruiting players to come to Ipswich, likely to need a good No 2 to make them into a team.