| [Blog] Town Are No Longer Klugless Written by Pessimistic on Wednesday, 13th Jun 2012 14:15 It is with great delight that I can report today on the return of the prodigal son. Bryan Klug was in many ways Mr Ipswich Town, having been with the club both as a player and then coach for more than 30 years. That was of course until Roy Keane had other ideas. The feel-good factor of his return to the fold will surely fill most Town supporters with a sense of pride. In fact it was he, probably more than most, who ensured that Town won the FA Youth Cup in 2005 for the third time in our history. We have to go back more than 30 years to the seventies to revisit our former glories here; when we lifted the trophy for the first time in 1973 and again in 1975. To achieve it this century, when we were languishing in the Championship going nowhere in particular, is even more remarkable. Sadly, however, from that winning team only Owen Garvan, Lewis Price and Liam Trotter really made the grade and none have gone on to play in the top tier of English football unfortunately. All the more reason perhaps to think that Bryan Klug was inspirational in getting the best out of the players at his disposal. Average players need a special sort of person to maximise their talents and without a shadow of a doubt Bryan Klug is that sort of person. His return to Portman Road should be welcomed by one and all. I am already feeling quite positive about next season but we must guard against complacency. So many times before, we have approached the forthcoming season with a sense of new found confidence, only to see it fade away, almost as swiftly as summer's day, when the rain clouds begin to gather. Our first footballing acquisition of the season also gave us some room for optimism. He is young and talented and highly regarded in football circles and perhaps just as important, is that he is apparently very versatile too. With Cressy on the left and Elliott Hewitt on the right ,Town should finally have some serious pace down both flanks and once he recovers from his hip problems, I feel sure he will bed into the side with relative ease. There are still a lot of gaps to fill, of course, and not least in the defence and forward departments and Paul Jewell must set his sights on an experienced centre back and a young prolific goalscorer in my view. Tommy Smith and Damien Delaney worked quite well together at the back end of last season but this was surely nothing more than a stop-gap solution and until we find a solid centre-back with intelligence in the mould of a Gareth McAuley, then progression will be painfully slow I fear. Up front, nobody seriously doubts Michael Chopra's ability but he has never been a prolific goalscorer - although Jason Scotland once was, it has to be said. Sadly, Jason has probably seen better days so addressing our attacking options is a top priority too. We do of course also need urgently a new keeper. Arran Lee-Barrett has rarely let us down but at the very least he needs competition and I am still not entirely convinced that his weaknesses do not outweigh his strengths. He has the height and is a fine shop-stopper but he does seem to suffer from serious lapses in concentration and this has cost him and us on a number of occasions already. I like him though and I think he should be given a sustained run in the team. Generally is handling is quite assured although he goal kicking still leaves a lot to be desired from time to time. All things considered then, things are looking up and with the appointment of Bryan Klug as Town academy director, perhaps at long last, we finally have a sense of direction! Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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