I am just so pleased that the sodding police can't change the date of the home game against scum. I expect them to insist on a 12 noon kick off though.

It's a lovely sunny day, the fixtures are out, the World Cup is on .... and still all is wrong in the world of some people on here. I have to ask - do some of you get paid to be a professional moaner??? I have never come across a set of more wrist-slashingly depressing fans .... Jesus.

I think you need grounds for optimism and last season, perhaps more than royles last season as keane spent and promised so much is the reason its hard to be happy about Ipswich. We happen to have a manager we'd all hate if he weren't here...so its not suprising he's non too popular either when you've just led us to our worst finish for 40 odd years and worst start to a season in our history.......

Cheese boy - no I wasnt always happy with our performances last season but as someone who has followed the Town home and away for 40 years I have seen much worse and it was no worse than the previous couple of seasons. What I find laughable is this 'we are poor lets change manager' attitude. For me it has never been about the manager but the team. I dont care who the manager is to be honest. For what its worth I am behind Keane as he is the manager, but I would be behind whoever was in the seat. I was behind Royle, but he got stick too. Whoever is in charge it seems 'in' to give them grief if we dont win playing pretty football every week. Well its not gonna happen - those days are long gone. We have no divine right to win games or be successful, in the current climate we are about where we should be. If Keane gets us promoted (or whoever the manager is) we will probably struggle anyway...cue the 'lets change the manager' brigade.
Maybe we should look at the players? The same players who were brilliant one week (Cardiff, QPR , Reading home etc) but shocking the next (Watford, Peterbro away, Plymouth home etc).
I doubt Im alone on this one as the majority of the whingers on here arent heard at the ground, particularly the away games.....

If the football was great there'd be no moaning..simple as that really.

You shouldn't slag fellow town supporters off because they're not happy with how appalling things were last season..some of us have standards higher than others apparently and are more interested in ITFC rather than Roy Keane.

Let's hope Keane starts earning his money and we have a great season.

@Cheeseboy you're a tw@t wanting us do badly just because you hate RK. Fook off to Naaaarwich you pillock....

Well said Lighningboy. Just because I am not deluded and half way up Keano's arse doesn't mean I don't have an opinion. Basically, last season was crap. Our manager chops and changes his team, his formation and his mind every week. He can't even get an assistant in as he spends to much time dithering and making comments about other subjects than Town. We had a crap season and just because we did better after Christmas doesn't excuse the dross served up before then. I don't see that this is going to change this season but I will be supporting the team he puts out but not Keane himself. I will be happy when he finally gets the boot and we get a decent manager in place.

Sonian blue...what utter nonsense, lastseason was spectacularly worse than Jims last two seasons

Lightningboy/IpswichElvis - I am sick of this f***ing bog-standard response that you and others seem to trot out time after time that because those of us that are not constantly screaming for Keane's head, we must be personal fans of Keane, blinded by celebrity, or 'up his ar$e' or something. That is not the case at all, certainly not for me and I suspect not for most. I am not even 'pro-Keane', I am simply not anti him and I support him because HE IS OUR MANAGER! Seems there is a personal hatred against the man, nothing to do with football.

You say that if the football was great, there'd be no moaning - what about Jim's last season? That was absolutely awful, with a win against the scum the ONE highlight that season. Would you rather play pretty football and be beaten week in, week out like West Brom were in the Prem under Mogga? Sometimes you just have to knuckle down and get on with it, and last season we managed to turn around a disastrous start to finish in a creditable (if uninspiring) mid-table position. It was ugly football at times, but it did the job - Christ, what if we'd gone down? It looked that way after Newcastle at home.

It's the close season now, the transfer market is awaiting the end of the World Cup, but already you and others have written us off. On what do you base this assumption? Have you sat in on meetings at Portman Road? Have you watched the players train? Have you been in contact with Keane and Clegg and seen what's going on with transfer deals? Maybe you'd like to enlighten us as to what is really going on in the background, because all any of us can do is guess.

If, after a few games, we are in a poor position, then Keane will probably be gone. But if or until that happens (and it is a big IF), then let the man do his job. And please don't accuse me of being some sort of silly starstruck celebrity fan - it's both irritating and highly inaccurate, because I hate any sort of celebrity worship. I am merely a football fan, trying to look forward to next season and I don't need loads of negative pi$$ing on my bonfire.

I thank you, and COYB.

Dobbie - you are one of the more reasonable and intelligent posters on here and I respect your opinion even though our opinions differ. I respectfully ask that you respect my views also. Thankyou.

That was very polite ... I do respect the views of the 'anti-Keane' camp generally even if I don't agree withj them most of the time. I just get irked when the season hasn't even started yet and already we've been condemned. Fixture Day is usually exciting and positive!

Dobbie - Fixture day was excting and positive last year. This year I am just waiting for Keane to go and I have seen nothing in the last year to suggest to me he is the person to take us forward. My opinion. As far as you go, I have no reason not to be polite to you. Like I said, our opinions differ and that's all. The fans I dislike are the gormless ones who only like Keane because of the name and nothing else. There are a few of these lurking on this forum !!!

The thing I find irritating about this debate is people hoping we lose matches, have a poor start, fail to get transfer targets or players Keane recruits flop, in the hope it gets Keane the sack. He is our manager till either he or M.E says different and there is nothing we can do about it. Of course everybody is entitled to their opinion but hoping we lose matches or are in the bottom 3 hurts ITFC and us fans more than it does Keane. If sacked he will walk away and spend time with his dogs, never wanting financially again, whilst there is no guarantee his replacement would turn things around.
I am pro=Keane because he is ITFC boss not because of his "celebrity" or what he has previously done in his career. I do think the next few months are vital for him and if things are not looking better position and performance wise by end of October then it will be time for a new manager. Until then I will back him in the hope he can get it right. My main hope is that come Burnley at home, we can pack Portman Road out and create a wall of noise and be the 12th man as last season the atmosphere at home games was as poor as the football. I know this probably wont happen but I believe vocal backing will help the team. Anyway now the fixtures are out we can look forward to next season and whatever happens I cant wait!

sonian blue - thanks for taking the time, interesting insights - i do not have 40 years experience but i do have 25. i think the reality is that we have punched above our weight for so long that we have inflated expectations of success. i do not care about success only that we play attractive football.

The thing I find difficult to understandand is the argument that you shouldn't say what you think about the manager as that means you aren't a fan. I will always support the club as I have for 32 years seeing as we seem to be putting our experience in today. Sonian came up with some rose tinted view of how keane wasn't to blame it was the team that was to blame...i don't need to say why I think thats a stupid statement do I? I think its great to support the team and the club, but imho keane is not a good manager, keane bought badly but managed even worse and I dont believe that the club will gain any benefit from him remaining manager. This is a forum and if some choose to blindly support the manager because he is the manager, why are you on a fans forum? The only opinion you have is support whatever the club does.
Some on either side of the argument stray in terms of reasonable posts, but so what, simply argue your point if you want.
Passion is part of football and part of being a fan, I think views on roy are generated by a passion for whats best for the club. If you want to control peoples opinions and stop them saying what they want this is not the place..or the country in fairness

The thing I find difficult to understandand is the argument that you shouldn't say what you think about the manager as that means you aren't a fan. I will always support the club as I have for 32 years seeing as we seem to be putting our experience in today. Sonian came up with some rose tinted view of how keane wasn't to blame it was the team that was to blame...i don't need to say why I think thats a stupid statement do I? I think its great to support the team and the club, but imho keane is not a good manager, keane bought badly but managed even worse and I dont believe that the club will gain any benefit from him remaining manager. This is a forum and if some choose to blindly support the manager because he is the manager, why are you on a fans forum? The only opinion you have is support whatever the club does.
Some on either side of the argument stray in terms of reasonable posts, but so what, simply argue your point if you want.
Passion is part of football and part of being a fan, I think views on roy are generated by a passion for whats best for the club. If you want to control peoples opinions and stop them saying what they want this is not the place..or the country in fairness

True Monkey_Blue.

I haven't moaned about our club prob since the days when we had Mick McGiven in charge..that's 15/16 years ago so I think i'm entitled to voice my opinion on the current state.

I guess i'm just someone who goes with his gut feeling when I know things aren't right,which was proved last season when we finished 15th and failed to make it into the top half once all season..my gut's been telling me for a year that things aren't going to be right at ITFC til Keane's gone..the only thing that will change my opinion is Keane's results not fellow fans telling me to pipe down.

Keane is not right for our club..his answer to everything is to throw more and more money at the problem,as he did at sunderland and as he did last season (how many stikers did he use?..8..9?)..£5m on priskin,edwards & martin..can't communicate with people,sullen,sulky..just a miserable git really..no wonder he can't motivate people in the "right" way...being angry at me wouldn't motivate me either.

His words on the last day of the season (7 weeks ago) were "my work starts now"...errr what exactly has he done since then?..pre season starts in a couple of weeks..do we have 4 or 5 new players in place to replace the ones he's told aren't wanted?..or is his masterplan to bring them all in at the end of august again when we're already off the pack like last season.

Don't tell me we're waiting for the world cup to finish before starting our shopping spree please,cos from what i've seen so far I don't want unless we're gonna bring in Messi,Huguain & Forlan..get real.

Sadly,the guy who would've turned things around (without having to spend a bloody fortune in the process) has today ended up at Crystal Palace.

Good luck George..Palace's gain is most definately our loss.

Further to the above comments by Monkey Blue, I and i'm sure most others on here agree that a fans forum is there for everybody to be able to put their opinion as of course we are all entitled to our opinion and I would hope that will never change on this board. What i find disappointing is comments that having nothing to do with the article just saying "Keane Out" or something along similar lines. Its their opinion but if the article is not to do with him, his management style or any decision he has made then perhaps those comments could be made elsewhere Plus as I have mentioned previously people who hope we lose so that Keane is sacked, how can any fan want their team to lose?How will the club losing matches and failing be good for any of us? It will affect Keane a lot less than us the fans! I also for the record dislike the comments where people say "Anti-Keane" people are not true fans and should support someone else, that annoys me as they are still ITFC fans.
Football is all about opinions, that is what makes it the best sport in the world, and all of us on here(hopefully)are ITFC fans and want our club to prosper and be successful, lets hope that happens this season.

Lightningboy - obviously we aren't going to be signing the likes of Messi or Forlan, so I am being very 'real'. My point was that as the big boys snap up the new stars, so that has a ripple effect as their players get sold on to other clubs and eventually the paupers outside the Premiership get to pick from the remainnig crumbs ... hence the relatively quiet market so far.

Actually my bigger point was that it's mid-June, a mere 5 or 6 weeks since the end of the season, and only a week or so since the window opened. A little early to be writing us off!! I think that's the angle I was coming from - too many Keane bashers are using the lack of transfer activity so far to erm, bash Keane.

On a serious(ish) note - what are the chances of getting that North Korean striker do you think? The one who got a bit emotional at the anthem and single-handedly tried to tear Brazil's defence apart! Can't knock his effort, just might be a bit of a struggle to prise him out of that locked-down nation ...

runaround, so what if people put "keane out", makes no odds in the real world, ignore the post if that really winds you up. Of the town managers I have seen royle and keane are the only two I have ever called for to be sacked. I think we needed someone to add to the club, not rip it to pieces and rebuild it in his own image. A man who even now reasons haaland deserved what he got...and regrets nothing about saipan...is it a man who's judgement you would trust with your football team?

excuses allready.this man inspires such confidence

boring boring boro and keanes ipswich think i will watch the paint dry in the kitchen should be more interesting

Monkey Blue. You ask do I trust Keane to manage my football team. The answer is i'm not sure if I do trust him, but results and signings over the next 3 months will determine whether he is the right man or not. However incidents that happened in his playing career such as the Alfie Haaland kick and his argument with Mick McCarthy have no bearing on this. They are many years in the past and should make no difference to his role as ITFC manager. His job is to pick the players and get the best results on the pitch. If he continues to fail in this he will, i'm sure be sacked, if results improve he wont, simples!
Whilst the 2 incidents you mentioned show the nastier undesirable side of his character, there are also stories of the better side of him such as his work for charity and tales of him visiting sick fans in hospital off his own back. Also people that have met him seem to, on the whole, say his is a very curteous person. However those in the media tend to forget about this side to him

dobbie..that north korean is probably the sort of character we could do with in the team!!..we badly need a cult hero at portman road...we're long overdue a dutch master in midfield too - wesley schneider or van der vart?!.