| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? 22:44 - Apr 10 with 8627 views | MaySixth |
The start of the decline.
Andy Marshall - poor
Finidi George - poor
Tommy Miller - decent
Matteo Sereni - poor
Thomas Gaardsoe - ok
Richard Wright and James Scowcroft left that summer for £7m combined as well |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:06 - Apr 11 with 1556 views | ITFC_Forever |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:01 - Apr 11 by ParisBlue |
Sereni was good in the first half of the season. I remember him making save after save against Everton in a 0-0 draw. Burley should have handled his request not to play in the cup game a bit better.
The Liverpool game hit us hard, I think it was 3 weeks till the next game, Southampton, and it's that one which I think did for our confidence. Chris Marsden ffs. On my birthday as well. We just never got going after that. Did we miss a penalty vs Villa? Then the terrible Bolton performance.
But unlike most of our other relegations (1964, 1995, 2019) we perhaps didn't deserve to be relegated and we weren't one if the worst 3 teams. The previous season everything went for us. The Charlton game in August we battered them but lost to a Kevin Lisbie wonder goal in front of an empty North Stand. That just about summed it up.
Special word on Andy Marshall. He actually started OK, but he was to blame for our defensive woes and failing confidence over 18 month period, perhaps ensuring relegation and certainly preventing us from going back up. Without doubt Burley's biggest mistake. |
Burley realised a few days before the start of the season how poor Marshall was, which is why he tried to sign Poom and then got Sereni. |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:17 - Apr 11 with 1535 views | Radlett_blue |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:01 - Apr 11 by ParisBlue |
Sereni was good in the first half of the season. I remember him making save after save against Everton in a 0-0 draw. Burley should have handled his request not to play in the cup game a bit better.
The Liverpool game hit us hard, I think it was 3 weeks till the next game, Southampton, and it's that one which I think did for our confidence. Chris Marsden ffs. On my birthday as well. We just never got going after that. Did we miss a penalty vs Villa? Then the terrible Bolton performance.
But unlike most of our other relegations (1964, 1995, 2019) we perhaps didn't deserve to be relegated and we weren't one if the worst 3 teams. The previous season everything went for us. The Charlton game in August we battered them but lost to a Kevin Lisbie wonder goal in front of an empty North Stand. That just about summed it up.
Special word on Andy Marshall. He actually started OK, but he was to blame for our defensive woes and failing confidence over 18 month period, perhaps ensuring relegation and certainly preventing us from going back up. Without doubt Burley's biggest mistake. |
Generally agree. GB had already signed Marshall on a free as a replacement for Wright (& if you can forgive his Norwich connection it looked decent business) but I think he developed a back injury in pre season. GB then wanted to sign Mart Poom from Derby in mid August for a big fee, but he was rejected, so he turned to Sereni. Matteo was a decent keeper (despite some communication issues) & our most consistent player in a struggling team. I think his dropping after being rested for the Dagenham cup game was more down to the annoying defeat at Charlton, where Sereni clearly didn't fancy the icy pitch & threw in one goal. Thereafter, GB kept flip-flopping between the two, which didn't help.
While GB's summer signings didn't appear to help the team, his logic that we needed something a bit different was sound as other sides were bound to take us more seriously e.g. Charlton, who parked the bus at PR. I think our demise was down to a lot of small things, mainly that other teams were on their mettle against us & our players had become a little comfortable, while the central defence looked sluggish at times. The collapse after the 0-6 v Liverpool was near inexplicable, with the putrid performance against an average Southampton side the real issue. |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:25 - Apr 11 with 1522 views | Lord_Lucan |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:01 - Apr 11 by ParisBlue |
Sereni was good in the first half of the season. I remember him making save after save against Everton in a 0-0 draw. Burley should have handled his request not to play in the cup game a bit better.
The Liverpool game hit us hard, I think it was 3 weeks till the next game, Southampton, and it's that one which I think did for our confidence. Chris Marsden ffs. On my birthday as well. We just never got going after that. Did we miss a penalty vs Villa? Then the terrible Bolton performance.
But unlike most of our other relegations (1964, 1995, 2019) we perhaps didn't deserve to be relegated and we weren't one if the worst 3 teams. The previous season everything went for us. The Charlton game in August we battered them but lost to a Kevin Lisbie wonder goal in front of an empty North Stand. That just about summed it up.
Special word on Andy Marshall. He actually started OK, but he was to blame for our defensive woes and failing confidence over 18 month period, perhaps ensuring relegation and certainly preventing us from going back up. Without doubt Burley's biggest mistake. |
I actually felt sorry for Marshall, I don't think he was a bad keeper but once his nerve went he was shot. |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:29 - Apr 11 with 1515 views | Moriarty |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 09:31 - Apr 11 by andytown |
Why Sven g e? Thanks |
He recommended Sereni. I’m assuming that is what Zombers is referring to. |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:37 - Apr 11 with 1499 views | andytown |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:29 - Apr 11 by Moriarty |
He recommended Sereni. I’m assuming that is what Zombers is referring to. |
Thanks, makes sense |  | | |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:41 - Apr 11 with 1489 views | MattinLondon |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:29 - Apr 11 by Moriarty |
He recommended Sereni. I’m assuming that is what Zombers is referring to. |
Derby didn’t want to sell Poom and that is why Burley switched to Sereni
But, at the time, he was considered one of the best keepers in Europe. Signing him was a massive coup.
That’s how I remember it. |  | | |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:47 - Apr 11 with 1486 views | PhilTWTD |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 06:48 - Apr 11 by Herbivore |
We lost to PSV but think it was only 2-0. I was there and they did play us off the park and it was a touch worrying. |
It was Reuser who mentioned that game and the subsequent recruits when I spoke to him the other week:  Twenty Years Ago Today, Reuser's Dramatic Debut 25th Mar 2020 09:34Twenty years ago today Martijn Reuser made a dramatic Portman Road bow, scoring a last-gasp debut winning goal as the promotion-chasing Blues beat Fulham 1-0. TWTD caught up with the Dutchman to reminisce.  35
One factor I've not seen mentioned is Jim's lack of fitness throughout that season. He was the heartbeat of the side and, as he said last week, he was only briefly fit that season.
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:54 - Apr 11 with 1464 views | Pinewoodblue |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:41 - Apr 11 by MattinLondon |
Derby didn’t want to sell Poom and that is why Burley switched to Sereni
But, at the time, he was considered one of the best keepers in Europe. Signing him was a massive coup.
That’s how I remember it. |
Signing Sereni wasn’t a mistake. In Italy the cup games mean nothing, Juventus might only have an attendance of 2-3,000 for a home game. Serini was surprised to be picked and said so. *
Marshall’s signing was a mistake, he was recommended by Webster who was also Marshall’s coach.
* of for a return to the good old days when cup games were seen as important and we used to field a strong starting eleven. |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:57 - Apr 11 with 1461 views | brazil1982 |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 07:36 - Apr 11 by Lord_Lucan |
Widening it a little to explain our relegation I think it is a combination of things.
Maybe opposition teams took us more seriously or had sussed us out a bit, maybe we had a false sense of security.
Almost certainly we changed things too much, Finidi and Sereni were both brilliant players, Finidi was one of the best players I have seen play for Ipswich and Sereni was definitely the best goalkeeper I have seen. Finidi was probably used incorrectly and I think there was a communication problem with Sereni.
The Liverpool defeat done for us as we had had a massive resurgence up to then, people were talking about Europe again but that international break did for us.
The biggest thing though IMHO was Dale Roberts |
Finidi was a flash in the pan. His performance at Bolton away, when we were effectively relegated (1-4?) was disgraceful. |  | | |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:59 - Apr 11 with 1458 views | Radlett_blue |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 10:25 - Apr 11 by Lord_Lucan |
I actually felt sorry for Marshall, I don't think he was a bad keeper but once his nerve went he was shot. |
Agreed; Budgie fans said that he used to make a few mistakes but they didn't get on his back after them.
However, Marshall's subsequent career - 5 years in & out of the side at Millwall & Coventry - would indicate that he wasn't a Premier League keeper, certainly after we signed him. | |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 11:00 - Apr 11 with 1459 views | ElephantintheRoom |
It didn't Burley was consistently clueless in the transerf market - and his many disastrous signings held up Town's progress - before he destroyed the club with his Prem insanity..
Whether it was pointless loans of legendary uselessness - Gerry Creaney, Samassi Abou etc.... startlingly inept signings.... Lee Chapman, Marco Holster, Jonas Axendhal, Garry Croft..... right through to the gloriously clueless signing of John Scales, Burley had more than a few marbles lose throughout his tenure. | |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 11:06 - Apr 11 with 1440 views | NthQldITFC |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 11:00 - Apr 11 by ElephantintheRoom |
It didn't Burley was consistently clueless in the transerf market - and his many disastrous signings held up Town's progress - before he destroyed the club with his Prem insanity..
Whether it was pointless loans of legendary uselessness - Gerry Creaney, Samassi Abou etc.... startlingly inept signings.... Lee Chapman, Marco Holster, Jonas Axendhal, Garry Croft..... right through to the gloriously clueless signing of John Scales, Burley had more than a few marbles lose throughout his tenure. |
It makes a delightful change to see someone erroneously using 'lose' instead of 'loose'. Its almost always the other way around. |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 12:21 - Apr 11 with 1404 views | tractordownsouth |
I'm not really in a position to make a contrubtion, what with being 2 years old at the time and all that. One thing i will point out is that in Fabian Wilnis' autobiography he said that while Sereni was a good keeper, it was a big adjustment for the defence, going from someone as vocal as Wright to someone who could barely speak English. He also pointed out that some characters didn't make much of an effort to socialise with the squad, although I can't remember the names.
Having seen the season reviews of both the 01/02 and 02/03 seasons, why on earth was Sereni dropped during the relegation year? Marshall looked like a complete bomb scare. |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 12:21 - Apr 11 with 1403 views | shady |
From fading memory wasn't Hassan Kachool's non-signing a bit of a let down (didn't he sign and then change his mind?)
...as he then started the season on fire for another team.
The extra European games were not helpful to our small squad.
previous season we had taken advantage of some sides weariness and
gained unexpected points. This time we were on the receiving end
The Charlton away performance when Gaardsoe was taken out
left our boys shell shocked whereas streetwise Charlton then walked past us.
(Never have we ever played this way and succeeded against a better opponent.)
The Liverpool home performance is often commented upon. Again from
fading memory I believe we only had 2 fit central midfielders. Liverpool
targetted Jamma with vicious tackles throughout as some afters from the
previous season.
The wage disparity between new recruits and established players may also
not have been helpful. |  | | |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 12:27 - Apr 11 with 1398 views | WeWereZombies |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 09:31 - Apr 11 by andytown |
Why Sven g e? Thanks |
It was reported that Burley took advice from Eriksson before signing Sereni, possibly Finidi too. I'm assuming that all that cautious good sense that Burley and Sheepshanks built up and that eventually got us promoted and then up to that fifth place finish dissipated when heads were turned by the glittering company that they started to keep. Much like Stalin seduced Churchill and Truman... |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 12:46 - Apr 11 with 1385 views | Enigma_Blue |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 08:24 - Apr 11 by Dubtractor |
Sereni was 10 times the keeper Marshall was. Not really sure why people see him as a poor player. |
Maybe I am getting Marshall & Sereni mixed up but wasn't Sereni responsible for 2 or 3 massive howlers that season?
My memory of Sereni was he was a great shot stopper but didn't have the positional sense and the command of his box that Wright had. It also didn't help that he didn't speak a word of English.
When you watched our defence that season they looked alot more on edge like they didn't have the same faith in Sereni & Marshall as they did with Wright. [Post edited 11 Apr 2020 13:01]
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 12:51 - Apr 11 with 1384 views | Enigma_Blue |
You also missed out le Pen & counago. Although counago much like Miller hardly played that season & Le pen had his leg broken on his debut or maybe it was his second appearance. | | | |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 12:57 - Apr 11 with 1382 views | Trequartista |
Sereni was ok, certainly kept the score down in some of those autumn matches, but prone to the odd error.
Marshall was Norwich's Player of the Season and available on a free as a backup to Sereni - who would say no to that? He was dire here though.
Finidi was the big mistake though. Great on paper and 6 or 7 premier league goals from midfield nowadays is gold dust, but didn't fit into the team at all.
The biggest problem, to me, was not the new signings, it was the form of the players already there that dipped dramatically. They must have thought they'd made it. Only Venus played as well as he had the previous season. |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:00 - Apr 11 with 1376 views | Enigma_Blue |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 09:04 - Apr 11 by Dennyx4 |
Agree with most of that - teams parked the bus for sure and had seen how we wanted to play.
Stewart was about at the beginning of the season and started 16 of our first 17 games the season we got relegated - think the Jaw incident was very late October/ early November.
I liked Finidi - he actually made a difference to the team, and think he gets a hard time from some, as one of the few changes from the previous season. |
I think the reason Finidi got such a hard time was due to how much we paid for him.
I don't think it was unreasonable to expect more than 7 league goals from him especially after scoring a brace in his debut.
He was a decent enough player but compared to the likes of Kanu & Jay Jay okocha he wasn't fit to lick their boots. The fact he was playing for Mallorca before he joined us rather than a big european team said alot. [Post edited 11 Apr 2020 13:03]
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:15 - Apr 11 with 1362 views | Herbivore |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:00 - Apr 11 by Enigma_Blue |
I think the reason Finidi got such a hard time was due to how much we paid for him.
I don't think it was unreasonable to expect more than 7 league goals from him especially after scoring a brace in his debut.
He was a decent enough player but compared to the likes of Kanu & Jay Jay okocha he wasn't fit to lick their boots. The fact he was playing for Mallorca before he joined us rather than a big european team said alot. [Post edited 11 Apr 2020 13:03]
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7 goals isn't a bad return for a winger whose time here was pretty stop start. Mallorca were a good side at the time too. |  |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:36 - Apr 11 with 1346 views | shady |
what a plane crash of a season:
We were soaring into clear blue sky and beyond
Manager of the Year
Two new stands
Players were outstanding
return to Europe...
Then we attempted to take off
and both engines failed just at the most critical point
Two decades later we're still trying to pick up the pieces
and do the post mortem.
Lots of good answers on this thread. | | | |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:39 - Apr 11 with 1341 views | tractordownsouth |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 11:00 - Apr 11 by ElephantintheRoom |
It didn't Burley was consistently clueless in the transerf market - and his many disastrous signings held up Town's progress - before he destroyed the club with his Prem insanity..
Whether it was pointless loans of legendary uselessness - Gerry Creaney, Samassi Abou etc.... startlingly inept signings.... Lee Chapman, Marco Holster, Jonas Axendhal, Garry Croft..... right through to the gloriously clueless signing of John Scales, Burley had more than a few marbles lose throughout his tenure. |
Yeah, Holland, Magilton, Stewart, Wright, Johnson and Venus were rubbish weren't they? | |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:51 - Apr 11 with 1332 views | Herbivore |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 11:00 - Apr 11 by ElephantintheRoom |
It didn't Burley was consistently clueless in the transerf market - and his many disastrous signings held up Town's progress - before he destroyed the club with his Prem insanity..
Whether it was pointless loans of legendary uselessness - Gerry Creaney, Samassi Abou etc.... startlingly inept signings.... Lee Chapman, Marco Holster, Jonas Axendhal, Garry Croft..... right through to the gloriously clueless signing of John Scales, Burley had more than a few marbles lose throughout his tenure. |
Don't you ever get tired of being wrong just to try and be different? It must be exhausting expending all that energy and people still not giving you the attention you crave. | |
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:53 - Apr 11 with 1325 views | Enigma_Blue |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:15 - Apr 11 by Herbivore |
7 goals isn't a bad return for a winger whose time here was pretty stop start. Mallorca were a good side at the time too. |
Maybe it's my fading memory but didn't he play mostly as a striker for us particularly when Stewart was injured?
The other thing with Finidi was that even though he was one of our better players that season he was a bit of a luxury player who went missing quite a bit particularly when the going got tough. Not the ideal player when fighting to avoid relegation. [Post edited 11 Apr 2020 13:57]
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| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:54 - Apr 11 with 1323 views | Ace_High1 |
| Why did Burley's brilliant recruitment go awry in the summer of 2001? on 13:39 - Apr 11 by tractordownsouth |
Yeah, Holland, Magilton, Stewart, Wright, Johnson and Venus were rubbish weren't they? |
My memory fails me on this one, did Reuser play much that season? He was certainly underused when we came back down and was very good in the first year in the Premiership. |  | | |
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