IF CONFIDENCE was bad around the place before, it must have just reached rock bottom.
Rewind just a few months and confidence was something we had in abundance.
We had stockpiled the stuff to the point where it seemed the well would never run dry; and on we went, safe in the knowledge that we could burn through this valuable resource without concern for it ever running out.
What an oversight.
The 3-0 loss to Ipswich in midweek was an unwelcome reminder that we're travelling in exactly the opposite direction of where we need to be going.
The manager can't be blamed for the three goals conceded at Portman Road – two individual errors and a screamer are difficult to make allowance for.
What he can be blamed for, and this is something that comes with the territory of being in the position of responsibility he is, is a quite unacceptable nosedive in form that has seen us go from heavyweights to three-points-in-the-bag in a matter weeks.
Ifill Over on the BBS sums it up best, "Holloway was given the £1m-winning lottery ticket. All he had to do was claim the prize. Instead he thought he would play around… and has lost it."
I'm not advocating giving him the boot – that's a knee-jerk reaction that has crept into modern football and one I'd be a hypocrite for encouraging after damning so many of the "thanks, but no thanks" decisions made by clubs nowadays – but something needs to change.
Persisting with Plan A when it's clearly not working is becoming frustrating. Holloway needs to start playing to our individual strengths more, instead of stubbornly sticking to tactics that see us gain plenty of possession but little else.
We need to retrace our steps and find that magic formula we had, before it is too late.
by Stephen Bridle
