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Keane: We Adapted Better to the Conditions
Keane: We Adapted Better to the Conditions
Saturday, 18th Dec 2010 21:25

Blues boss Roy Keane felt his team settled into the snowy conditions better than Leicester after Town’s 3-0 victory over Sven-Goran Eriksson’s Foxes. Eriksson was less than impressed that the match went ahead in conditions he believed were more suited to skiing.

Keane said: “We looked at the conditions and I don’t think it was going to be a night for too many touches on the ball.

“Rory was a good asset to us, obviously you can understand why Leicester brought Howard on after 20 minutes.

“We played to our strengths and adapted to the conditions and scored three good goals. There was good honesty amongst the players, which was particularly reflected in the third goal with Shane not giving up and chasing a lost cause and we got the reward.”

The Town manager says that although the conditions will be what’s most discussed, his team went out there and did the business: “Everyone’s going to be talking about the conditions, when we were taken off and whether it should have been played. The game was played, we adapted better, we scored three goals and we move on.

“The referee was under lots of pressure, as you’d expect, particularly from Leicester. Once the game started, I don’t think there was an issue with the safety of the players, and we were passing it OK.

“But when you’re taken off after about 58 minutes you’re always concerned and it would have been typical if it was called off. It wouldn’t have surprised me, the way things are going.”

Keane had praise for groundsman Alan Ferguson: “The groundstaff did very well, Fergie and all the lads.”

As for his own position, the 39-year-old Irishman says he isn’t getting carried away after just one victory: “I’m glad we won the game but the pressure’s still on. It’s one result.”

Sven-Goran Eriksson felt the conditions didn’t suit his Leicester team’s approach: “We were not good on the snow, that’s for sure. It’s difficult for the referee when he starts a game and after 30 minutes we are 3-0 down.

“If the result was 0-0 when he took the 10-minute break, he would have said ‘no more game’, but at 3-0 for them, it’s very difficult for him. There was a lot of pressure on him.

“I can’t really say [I’m disappointed with my players], we conceded some goals easily. But in the second half, what shall I do? It’s not our way to play football to nick it long to Stevie Howard and try to win second balls. We’re not that good at that. We want to play football. We are not good on snow.”

The Swede says the match, which was shown on TV throughout the world, was a poor advert for football: "If you look wider on it, who wants to see a football game like that? If I'm sitting in Australia in a bar, I switch off for sure.

“If I'm sitting in Sweden, I've never seen football in snow because I go skiing in snow, not playing football.”


Photo: Action Images



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MVBlue added 21:42 - Dec 18
Well done Roy, we always beat Leicester so a good match to re-ignite the team. Now to start a new run. We may have played to our strengths today but we won't have testing snow weather to help our strengths very often.

And to Sven, I hope to be in a bar in Australia very soon watching English football and Ipswich Town. I think viewers in Australia understand that it snows in the UK and sport does carry on. In Oz, where it never snows, it adds another dimension to the game.
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Jesney_Havoc added 21:43 - Dec 18
Jolly good.
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kipper added 21:44 - Dec 18
Bet if you had been 3-0 up you would have wanted the game to carry on too Sven. Funny how none of the Town players were making a big issue of the snow but just got on with it. Better atmosphere as well despite the weather. Well done lads and all the snow clearing stewards.
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arc added 21:45 - Dec 18
My daughter and I watched the match in the States, and we enjoyed it more than any match we've watched in a long time.
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PSGBlue added 21:47 - Dec 18
Good win for the lads this evening, showed more desire to win than Leicester, nothing to do with not being able to play football in the snow as Sven suggests.

But long term, we need to see the same from our team if Keane is to turn it around. Even an improvement to win a game, draw a game, lose a game is no good to us - merely mid table form. For Keane to be here next season we need to finish top ten with 60+ points.

Even today questions need to be asked. Where was Priskin, where was O'Conner for last 20 games. Why has Townsend been alowed to return to Spurs. Baffling questions that only Keane can answer.
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Blue041273 added 21:51 - Dec 18
An excellent performance and 3 points as well. Sets up Christmas week nicely. But you have to say Santa must be an Ipswich fan. Leicester must have thought they were victim to conspiracy the lengths everybody went to see the game through. If this hadn't been a Sky game it wouldn't even have started and would certainly have been abandoned. Leicester also picked up a couple of injuries and if we had gone a goal down and had a serious injury we would have wanted the game called off as well.

Still onwards and upwards. Just hope the pitch recovers for thw Watford game.
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churchmans added 21:56 - Dec 18
hopefully the start of a good run!
AT LEAST TILL WE GET SOME NEW STRIKERS! nugent,chopra,roberts?
wot u call 20 goal aseason strikers
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Karl_Fuller added 21:59 - Dec 18
I personally thought that it was a great throw back to the good old days of lots of games taking place with an orange ball on a snow-covered pitch like when we played at Bristol Rovers and Robin Turner got amongst the goals...sadly, we do not see enough of these games anymore and as kipper said above, I'm sure that Sven would not have wanted it to be called off if Leicester were winning 3-0.

It was the same conditions for both sides and well done to all those who efforts in clearing the pitch on more than one occasion were rewarded with a full game.
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Vic added 21:59 - Dec 18
Snow suited our game. Like Roy says - not a game for too many touches so we just played like we normally do - lots of long balls! Simple - we didn't have to adapt, they did!!!
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prawnsandwich added 22:03 - Dec 18
Score when its snowing, we only score when its snowing, score when iiiitttts snowing, la la la!!
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Barhamblue added 22:08 - Dec 18
Really pleased for the lads and especially for Roy. A big well done to the stewards also. Top job fella's.

I have a sneaky feeling that Roy's is going to make a few people eat there words and turn us into a decent team if patience (and intelligence) prevails.

COYB boys!
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tractorboy2434 added 22:18 - Dec 18
Re Barham Blue, great one win in blizzard conditions and we are a decent team, we were poor at 5pm, how do you work that one out, we are the same as we were this morning, at the wrong end of the table, playing poor football and with a manager who really does'nt have a clue, could it be that the conditions suited us, not Leicester, I prefer to be gratefull for the 3 points, and see how we perform at Xmas, hopefully in conditions suited to football, not figure skating.
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WREXHAM_BLUE added 22:27 - Dec 18
Well done lads; great performance.
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michaeldownunder added 22:38 - Dec 18
not many sports bars open at 2 in the morning in Australia, and none of them would show Ipswich v Leicester what ever the time of the day !!!!!!

Sounds like Fallon had a good game and set up a few chances
remember the last first div reserve we signed the one and only Shefki Kuqi
not a bad player for town. so let's give Fallon a fair go as they say in Oz
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bobble added 22:49 - Dec 18
trouble is the local bar would put lawn bowls on before football and i cant imagine them being open at 2 in the morning either so to say the match was shown worldwide is just having a giraffe.
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BerkshireBlue added 22:52 - Dec 18
So there was a bit of snow so what! I've certainly played in worse conditions and in the 60s/70s there would have been no thought about the game being abondoned. Town adapted better and actually tried on occasions to play football. A well deserved victory.
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garethch added 23:17 - Dec 18
Sven, I'm here in Australia & I loved it!
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3_5_2 added 23:17 - Dec 18
Sven hsd got the hump 'cos he didn't managed to pull whilst in Ipswich

Never going to be a great game but one we deserved to win

better all over the park - 3 points

Next !
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lunatic38 added 23:22 - Dec 18
i have not had a good word to say for a while but well done Ipswich especially to Roy Keane please please keep it going , no changes unless need be. Even well done to fallon and i will eat my humble pie with a smile on my face for now!
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brogansnose added 23:27 - Dec 18
Leicester simply didnt want it as much as us. Town came out and out played and out fought the foxes. Second half we killed it off but were ready to snatch another if the opportunity came along. you're not at Lazio now Sven. Too cold to drink beer today and just as well with the time it took to get home.
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jaydee added 23:29 - Dec 18
Marcus Evans ........Please get the wallet out again and invest in a giant snow machine lol

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Mark added 23:48 - Dec 18
It was a strange situation to be sitting there all second half worrying that we would not win because of the weather rather than the opposing team! Credit to the Ipswich team today, notably the returning Delaney and O'Connor who both did well. O'Connor deserves a run in the team now, but chances are he will be dropped for the next match going by recent management decisions!

I thought Fallon did well today and it was a bit like watching Alan Lee playing again, although the difference between the two is probably goal scoring. Fallon hit 1 in 7 for Plymouth and we need much better than that. Still, he worked hard and contributed well today.
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depressed added 00:06 - Dec 19
Well done Roy and the boys..great result and a much needed 3pts.
To the anti keane brigade on here..Didn't here any Keane out chants..Didn't witness any before or after demonstrations...And if some of you stayed away, then stay away next week as well please!!
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ITFCKeano added 00:19 - Dec 19
Great game today, enjoyed it, the team really got stuck in. I remember as a teenager at school playing in games like that. We need to see more of those type of games (especially if we play like that and win!). Good to hear positives on the forum today. I could see the game being called off and the anti-keane brigade blaming Keane for the weather, but glad the ref saw sense. Good to see Wickham come on, gave a solid performance, as did all the team really. Well done lads (not that they'll read the forum messages but you never know)
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newsouthwalesblue added 00:44 - Dec 19
Credit to the boys battling out in those conditions - just watched the game on Foxtel in Oz in 25c temp - just going for a dip in the pool now!!!!
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