Blues boss Roy Keane says Mark Kennedy, who completed his £75,000 move from Cardiff on Wednesday, will add valuable experience to the Town squad. Kennedy made his fist appearance for the Blues as a half-time sub in Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Bury.

Keane says that while youngster Shane O’Connor did well at left-back in the final few months of last season, Town need more senior players to augment the promising youngsters: “Young Shane’s done well, but what we’ve lacked is one or two experienced players in the group.

“He gives us that bit of experience we’ve lacked and particularly we’ve not really had at left-back for the last year or two.

“Players have done good jobs for me there, young Shane’s come in as a young player but it’s unfair to expect him to play 40-odd games for us. Wrighty did a good job for us last year, but obviously being right-footed it wasn’t ideal for the balance of the team.”

The Town manager says his former Ireland team-mate will be a good influence on the Blues’ youngsters: “You saw tonight he’ll give us that bit of experience and he’s got a bit of quality on the ball. I’ve played with Sparky and he’s a decent lad and the experienced lads tend to instruct the younger players around them.

“Tommy Smith is still learning his trade, Shane can look and learn from him, even though Shane’s done really well. He’s a good experienced player that we’ve added to the squad. We’re very pleased we’ve got Sparky and we’d like one or two more in."

Photo: Action Images

arc added 04:23 - Jul 29 Well, of course, there was Ben Thatcher to bring "experience." But I suppose we don't mention his name, do we?
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WickedBlue added 04:40 - Jul 29 Mention him all you want but he was a very average full back and refused to follow the rules. So the point you are trying to make is like most of your posts pathetic....
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suffolksam added 06:55 - Jul 29 my granny could add experience but we need goals and lots of them
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jabberjackson added 07:22 - Jul 29 Wickedblue, I think that actually is the point that Arc is making - so run along now and don't be so offensive
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punch_bowl added 07:55 - Jul 29 why can't people accept other peoples opinion on here? freedom of speech! he's old....lets hope his legs have pace!
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bedsitfc added 08:15 - Jul 29 from the match report last night sounded like kennedy was barking out orders to the other players the whole time he was on the field, which can only be good for everyone of the younger players and even some of the more experienced ones.
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itfctim1974 added 09:03 - Jul 29 I was at the game last night and Kennedy was taking control of the players around him well. Tommy Smith was also doing this well controlling the back line. Priskin was woeful though and looked only half interested all match.
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robdaful added 09:15 - Jul 29 I see Keane says at the bottom (about transfers) "we'd like one or two more in". I'd say 3 more with a loan signing on top
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MaySixth added 09:22 - Jul 29 So many cocks on here. It's embarassing. Every Cardiff to a man on their messageboard is sorry to see Kennedy go. He's a decent player and a good professional. Give Keane a break.
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darkroonsitfc added 09:25 - Jul 29 yes his age may be against him, but if it benefits the team i'm all for it, is walters still going to be captain?? because if not i think it should be a defender, an old head like kennedy or dare i say, give it back to macca :/ but from what i've heard kennedy gave a decent showing last night. just what we need, someone to boss the back four and to tell them what to do, cant be any worse than last season can it, but hey, onward and upward. C.O.Y.B

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blueblood66 added 09:30 - Jul 29 welcome Sparky and good luck, a good left footer who can cross the ball!
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robdaful added 09:30 - Jul 29 I forgot to say, Welcome aboard. Good game Kennedy against Bury. Hope you can play well against West Ham.
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MarkITFC added 10:02 - Jul 29 SSN news have him down as a Winger ! Lol
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SiBo added 10:56 - Jul 29 Great bit of business... as someone has said, Cardiff fans are sad to see him leave, which is always a good sign. Especially useful whilst Delaney is out injured as we then don't have the whole of our left sided defence as youngsters. (Smith, O'Connor) I can see him starting the season with Shane coming in as cover when the games get thick and fast and then Shane taking over as no1 choice towards the end of the season. (Unless Kennedy is that good you wouldn't want to drop him... which would be even better)

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SouperJim added 12:23 - Jul 29 Of course their sad to see him leave, if he's good enough to play the full 90 minutes of the playoff final he's good enough for us. The negative posts here are even more laughable than usual, mr arc you sir are a joke.
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siralfstrackie added 12:38 - Jul 29 Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing Kennedy and O'Connor/Civelli playing down the left hand side. Agree we need more goals, but we are starting to look a lot more balanced. COYB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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brian_a_mul added 13:13 - Jul 29 The left side of our team last season was terribly unbalanced. Getting a striker was and is still a big priority but in my opinion the team as a whole is fundamental to any hopes we have this season. You can have the best players in the world but if the team is unsettled and unbalanced you will struggle regardless (ex Argentina). This is one of the reasons why we resorted to hoofing the ball down field last season, we had no real outlet on the left. Keane has addressed the team balance issue which is vital. With a balanced team and settled team the players and strikers we have will perform better. Shane O'Connor was a great find and Kennedy is a good buy. Civelli back is another boost. Im not Keanos biggest fan but at least give him some credit.

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GeorgiDoundarov added 13:26 - Jul 29 I do like the addition of Kennedy to owr team. Keane is right about one thing - you need experienced players to be able to go up. Perfect example was John Lyall's Town in 1992 - we got promoted but after adding experienced Paul Goddard, Steve Whitton and having John Wark. But we also desperatelly need a STIKER!!!
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brian_a_mul added 14:06 - Jul 29 Unfortunately Adrian Paz wasnt the answer! Even though that was 2 years later. I still cant believe we paid £1mil for that clown. Guentchev wasnt too bad though!
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SiBo added 15:00 - Jul 29 GeorgiDoundarov: Yeah but do you remember the football? Warky kicks someone 10 foot in the air, but gets away with it, ball runs loose to Forrest who picks it up, hoofs it long for Whitton to knock down on the wing, Goddard their first and shoots... That was pretty much our game plan under Lyall.
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zippyrainbow added 15:29 - Jul 29 Solid, experienced player and signed for a snip too - could be a real bargain !!! Welcome aboard Mark.
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jas0999 added 17:58 - Jul 29 A kick in the teeth for the negative boys as Mark has already stated that the reason he chose to join us was mainly down to Roy. So muh for people not wanting to play for him then. Kennedy looks like a very good signing to me.
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GeorgiDoundarov added 18:35 - Jul 29 SiBo, that is a very elegantly put comment on our football back in 1992. It is true but I'd rather have us promoted with that kind of football (although I didn't have that in mind when I did the comparison) than watch 'beautiful" displays in the Championship.
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suffolksam added 23:43 - Jul 29 how many goals a season did we score under lyall compared to keane though ?
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