Blog written by chripswich
Published: 6th April 2010 12:33
My last blog some time back wholeheartedly supported our man at the helm and this one will be no different, even though we have had to endure some bum-squeaking moments since that time.
This blog has been submitted by chripswich. To view more from this author click here. TWTD blogs are added by site users unedited by the admins. Want to become a TWTD blogger? Simply send us your first article via the Contact Us page. The Peterborough debacle springs to mind and some further dross on the pitch that followed even if a few points were earned along the way. I never lost belief however in Mr Keane and that we would stay up. If ever there was a club and group of players that was “too good to go down†(as the old phrase goes) it was indeed ours this season.
My last blog also featured the fact that whilst luck rarely plays much part in anything sport wise, we were without doubt the victims of some bizarre injury time occurrences earlier in the season. Occurrences that would have reflected poorly on morale and confidence. Occurrences that had they not happened we would be very much knocking on the door of the play-offs or indeed in them.
I still feel we will land a top ten finish - would we have taken that at the start of the season? Yes, I think I would if I had also seen the change in the club that we have seen emerging and also believed we would be just one or two players away from a team that will truly challenge for promotion next season. I also believe that to be the case. The facts are he has changed the mentality of our club and along the way has made us far more difficult to beat, always the place to start. We have struggled up front. I didn’t want to see Jordan Rhodes leave; we will see how Jordan’s career progresses and only that will tell us whether he was right or wrong.
Stead out on loan raised a few eyebrows? Has he set the world alight since? Priskin was probably the only poor player investment he has made (nothing to do with ability, the guys head just isn’t in the game) The facts were we landed ourselves in trouble and what proven goal scorer would have risked coming to us from October onwards?
He has tinkered around and changed teams more often than we would have liked but what would he have learnt if he hadn’t see how his players could perform and not tried different formations and tactics. There will be players we as fans like but he cannot get on with, there will be players he sees more in than we do somehow.
I listened to a phone-in with some Villa fans the other day; can you believe some of them were anti Martin O’Neill! It’s just the way the game is. There are 20,000 budding managers at Portman Road every week and another few thousand tuning in on Radio Suffolk.
For me, the last week or so has seen what we can do on the pitch and also where our club 'is at' so to speak. Bouncing back from one the most depressing nights at Portman Road when Plymouth visited with seven vital points in three tricky games. Also one of the most exciting youngsters in the country has pledged himself to the club for two years, loanees coming out and saying they would like to stay at the club and a team on the field combining young talent with some old(ish) stagers who have shown they will lead and support.
Is that a bad place to be at this time? Is this the sign of the club run by a tyrannical bully that no one can get on with?
Keano does himself no favours sometimes, he is what he is. He wears his heart on his sleeve but he is honest and it’s that honesty that really gets to people I think. Never was an evening more Keane-ish than when Mr Mariner came back to Town, we saw the best and silliest of Roy. In the pre-match press conference he was how he should have been, talking of the delights of the legends of old Ipswich, people he could learn from, people we all should respect. He showed that respect by allowing Mariner to go out and take his adulation without interference.
He then got the hump because Mariner was too busy to have a drink with him and I truly suspect the real source of his agitation was the fact we got beaten! Yep, I suspect that had quite a bit to do with the outburst. Sore loser? Well that’s fine by me!
He truly is an enigma. As most legends are. Anyone who doubts his status should, as a I do, visit Ireland and Scotland - every Dublin and Glasgow (Celtic fan) taxi driver knows the Ipswich squad and how we are doing.
But he’s learning his trade and actually in my heart I hope he doesn’t learn too much on the media front. He’s entertaining and refreshing and thank goodness the days of Burley's repetitive ramblings and Jim's nonsensical excuses are long gone.
I liked Joe Royle because he was football man and so is Roy. He brings his personality to his love. His love? Not himself, not his players, probably not even this club (I accept that), just the game of football and that will do for me. Oh, and one other passion he has? Winning, and that will also ALWAYS do for me.
Keane is 'Marmite man', you love him or you hate him with little in between.I stated in my last blog that I would judge Keano on a) Whether Connor Wickham signed a contract? b) If the team showed improvement, spirit and the ability to compete, c) Whether the club itself changed to compete in the world that is no longer how perhaps we want it to be.
I no longer wanted to be 'good old Ipswich' everyone’s second team. Well we are not that any more and all the rest of the above have ticks well and truly placed against them.
If we can secure Daryl Murphy’s services, retain Pablo and add one more proven striker we have a strike force around Wickham to be feared and that WILL score goals. A leader in midfield is all that is required along with that striker in terms of additions. Does everyone remember the long list of additions everyone felt we needed this time last year?
I think we are in for some exciting times on the pitch next season and when we have the blips along the way (which invariably happens) we can smile and, yes, sometimes cringe at the honest and entertaining sound bites from our manager. A manager I believe we very are lucky to have.
Hmmmm? But then I really like Marmite as well!