So, Roy Keane says that a settled team might be a good thing this coming season - and that he may have to cope with the personnel that he has got. On the face of it, they are strange comments from a man who chopped and changed so much last season, and who emphasised before the summer his need to get in three or four new faces. But there may be something in what he says.

Of course it flies in the face of our past experience of Keane, for the reasons above. Such inconsistency from our boss makes it so hard for pro-Keane fans (like me) to back him, against the apparent hordes of anti-Keaneites. But I'm going to pass over that for now. 

The question remains, whether our natural desire to see fresh faces come through the door is necessarily the best thing for us. There is certainly a compelling argument against.

As our younger players grow in stature and experience (the likes of Tommy Smith, Shane O'Connor, Troy Brown, Tom Eastman, Billy Clark and, of course, Connor Wickham) they will become increasingly important. In effect, Brown, Clark and Eastman are in the same position as O'Connor, Wickham were in 12 months ago. They should be looking to make a similar impact this season - in other words rack up a dozen or so appearances each in the season to come. In turn, Wickham, O'Connor and Smith must show they are have the maturity and intelligence to step up as fully fledged first team regulars. 

Those young players will bring new freshness to the squad this coming season. On top of this, of course, Luciano Civelli will be back in the fray. At the risk of resorting to cliché, he will be like a new signing for Roy Keane. 

But there is another reason why Keane might be sensible to settle for an unchanged squad - barring a few departures, of course. The disappearance of Newcastle and West Brom into the Premiership, has effectively taken the only two outstanding teams out of the Championship. 

As a result, their replacement by a bunch of genuinely unremarkable other teams may effectively even the playing field right across the division. Last season, the difference in quality between top and bottom was, frankly, marginal. That was why the likes of Peterborough could come to Portman Road and win, and why Town could end up with comfortable victories against both of the play-off final teams, despite finishing 10 or so places below the both of them.

What seemed clear last season was that, barring those two comfortably promoted clubs, there was little to separate the quality of most other Championship squads. In other words, there were (and are) precious few outstanding players in the division; what separates the teams is team spirit, team ethic and confidence. The squads are pretty much of a muchness, filled with unremarkable, non-outstanding players.  

Look at those who are joining us this season - Norwich, Leeds and Millwall coming up, Pompey, Hull and Burnley coming down. How many of them will be driven by outstanding individual talents? Or will they thrive on organisation, attitude and (in the case of those coming up, at least) momentum? 

And, in an environment where signing even average players from the Premiership is becoming increasingly difficult (largely for salary reasons), what is the point in buying average or unremarkable players from elsewhere in the Championship to replace the average players you already have? The better strategy is building a strong team ethic and understanding, work together with the players you have - with maybe one or two key additions, if there are areas of specific weakness.

For me, Town have only one of these. Our lack of an additional creative midfielder will hopefully be resolved by the return of Civelli. Otherwise, all we need is that mythological striker, the 20-goal-a-season sharpshooter. For that, there may be need to push out the boat. Which is, perhaps, where a player of Chopra's standing could come in.

Of course, there are lots of ifs and buts. Is Keane the man to build and blend the squad? Can he motivate his players? Do they remain on his side? Does he have the necessary tactical nous? Does he even know his best team? All questions which will be answered over the coming weeks.

In the meantime, I personally have convinced myself that any lack of signings over the coming weeks is far from the end of the world. It could even be the roots of a memorable season.            

WadzillaBhoy added 07:08 - Jul 3 I'm with Team Keano! COYB
0

dirtydingusmagee added 07:34 - Jul 3 less is more, more the less i fink
0

Keaneish added 09:39 - Jul 3 Just give me Chopra and i'll be happy. I'd like Stead and Garvan to stay as back up but the rest can leave.
0

SurreyITFC added 09:55 - Jul 3 Great Blog Superfranz! We had more shots at goal last season than any other side in the championship, but sadly did not take them. Let's sign a striker who is prolific and capable of 20 + goals a season and I think we could all have big smiles on our faces by the end of the season! COYB - Keano Keano Keano
0

cbower added 10:05 - Jul 3 Well written and a definite logic to a coherent argument. I agree, a striker (and I like Chopra myself - excellent movement) plus a creative midfielder (there are quite a few possibilities on a free too - the bloke from West Brom who was on loan at Barnsley (Texeria???) for instance) are the only essentials for me too. People go on about cover at centre half (Smith / Eastman / Brown and Bruce?) and at left back we have O'Connor (Civelli has played there I believe as has Peters). Right back maybe more problematic as I don't really feel we have a recognised right back (is Peters the one?) at the moment but loans and free transfers are possibilities here too. Get behind Roy and the team - don't forget fan support is also a part of team spirit!

0

BathBlue2 added 11:37 - Jul 3 Good and well measured thoughts. One or two new faces are always good to freshen up; but perhaps we do have the basis - and experience - to become a winning team... one that keeps going for 97 minutes and does not accept 1-0 as a'safe' scoreline. The team will have learned from last season and so too will our manager. I really want Roy Keane to succeed as a Championship manager at Ipswich, by getting us promoted ...and then succeed again by stabilising the club as permanent fixture in the Premiership. COYB!!!

0

SiBo added 13:40 - Jul 3 I agree whole heartily with your thoughts on this... And don't forget we have both Martin and Priskin who he purchased last year and hardly got a sniff. If he can get those two playing the way he thought they would when he signed them, there's another two almost new signings... if you look at the two of them, Martin has undoubted talent on the ball (you don't play in the Champions League for Man Utd without something about you) and Priskin CAN score goals. I think Keane just needs to work on their mental approach... Martin to stop behaving as if he's better than the rest and get his head down and put some hard graft in and Priskin to start to believe in himself again... If keane can sort that, then perhaps we'll see the players he thought he had signed a year ago... we as Fans need to be a bit patient with these guys and it could easily turn around. As far as Chopra is concerned... now his club are no longer in the financial mire, I very much doubt they will let him go and if they did, we are no longer a big enough "draw" for someone of his quality... get a decent season behind us with a Play Off finish at least and that could change again... there is nothing as fickle as football... just ask Leeds fans!

0

Lightningboy added 13:30 - Jul 4 Less is going to have to be more for dear old Roy..mainly because nobody wants to bloody sign for us while he's in charge.
0

naaridge1coly7 added 19:31 - Jul 4 Good Blog,well thought out. I agree of much of what you say also,my main fear though is still the manager who is still far too outspoken and turning into a bit of a media dimwit lets be honest,I still think this is why he was hired,his management skills are close to disastrous. We are now a very average club with admittedly very average players,which we were clearly before keane came. Jim wasted money, Keane has wasted money. We are clearly better off without a lot of money and must bring our young players through,there really is no point in bringing in more average players. I dont want town to struggle and will start going back to watch when we either start playing much better football or he goes either or.

0

Superfrans added 09:39 - Jul 5 Thanks for the nice comments. Sibo - I'm hopeful about Martin and Priskin too. Priskin must have something if Keane hasn't put him on the list with the other 8. Either that or he feels he can't be seen to bailing out on both Martin and Priskin so quickly. And Naaridge1Coly7 - I'm also becoming a bit frustrated by Keane's tendancy to attract the headlines. He rarely says anything particularly outrageous, but everyone in the media wants to know what he says. I do wish he would simply refuse to answer the questions. they would quickly go away. But, to be honest, I think he has until October/November to turn things around, or he'll be on his way.

0

generalpublic added 09:44 - Jul 5 i always figured this team we had under magilton could go places under a good manager but..........
0

SiBo added 12:11 - Jul 5 Superfranz... I can't see Martin going anywhere either, he's on a long term high wage contract and transfer fee aside, other clubs are not going to pay that sort of wage for him, so if he's staying, let's see if we can get the best out of him.
0

awayfan added 12:47 - Jul 5 Excellent blog. I think most are agreed we do need to strengthen in a few areas. But it should be selective and focused on quality (e.g. Chopra, provided we are not held to ransom over the fee). Over the last few seasons we have often brought in average players to compete for places with existing similarly average players. 2010/11 Championship is as wide open as any I can remember, Forest are currently marginal favourites at 10/1 and there are 14 teams at 20/1 or shorter (Town are 16/1). When so many teams are of similar ability, managerial skills and the attitude/togetherness of the players could be key.

0

missingsuffolk added 00:19 - Jul 6 Thanks Superfranz. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this subject. Team cohesion is such an important factor in success, as illustrated by various teams in this World Cup (both ways). I hope we're able to have a settled side from the start of this season, and that Keane will concentrate his efforts on fermenting team morale, and on spending time analysing our opposition to gain tactical advantage.

0

WadzillaBhoy added 05:11 - Jul 6 You know its funny most Town fans slagged off Keano last season for chopping and changing the starting XI and now people are slagging him off for cutting down on squad players and not making any signings! You can't have your cake and eat it. Less players = stability. Well said Superfranz, plus why buy players when we have the talent coming through. I agree Chopra would be quality but if we dont get him so what theres always the play-offs! Keep the faith COYB

0

generalpublic added 07:46 - Jul 13 has any one done a survey of how many of those shots at goal were on target ?
0

Blogs 295 bloggers