An experienced RB would help. Peters has been found out a bit of late. If it's a striker, I hope we can ship Priskin off somewhere, because he will be utterly forgotten.

I must admit to being a Keane fan from day one he has given us profile albeit at times not a good one. I think he has made some good buys and some awful ones so does every manager can anyone on her actually say they have never bought a dodgy second hand car?? I think time is now running out for Keane to provide a stable team but also think some of the fault is with the system which football has to adhere to these days another 2-3 weeks and managers will be starting to think about the transfer window and starting to make calls etc so IF we are to release Keane then it would HAVE to be in the 2 weeks but his work up to now does NOT deserve the sack it is a very tough scenario. What is needed now is a realisation of the situation and Marcus must stick to the manager, the Roy must stick with his players and team, and US the fans must stick together and get behind the team and make portman road once more a foretress where the opposition come in fear and dread. This can only be done with everyone pulling together as One Ipswich Town FC

Whoppit 'the only thing Keane cares about is money'!? What on earth are you on? At least Chambers is backing up why he wants Keane out. Theman's a multi millionaire and can retire any time he wants. You're posts are rubbish!

Have to agree with you Surco. I think everyone on here knows i'm pro-keane and want us to do well under him but you're right, we all know Priskin and Martin were bad buys but Leadbitter's value has dropped if he was ever worth that tag. Rate him as a player but for that figure it's time he steps up to the plate and becomes the playmaker he's in the team to be. He's got the graft from Norris - there' no excuses.

Disagree with Delaney. We don't know how much we paid for him as it was undisclosed but since he moved into the centre of defence with Mcauley he's been relaible.

Now - who or what sort of striker do we need? For me he has to be a massive lump to ruffle defenders up and hold the ball up for our unquestionably talented midfield. Either that or he's quicker than Usain Boult and can start stretching defences!

Is it possible to get a loan manager?

I think it's the manner of the defeats, with bad goals being conceded at one end and lack of firepower at the other the concern

Because of the way we started last season and the relatively low-key pre-season any dip in form was always going to trigger these kind of discussions, Keane's attempts to get us back on track and the number of changes game to game that go with it only add to the feeling of frustration

You're right we could win the league still but also a few defeats could leave us close to the bottom, in some ways the team are a victim of their own good start to the campiagn, with a false position of 'everything's now sorted' washing over some people

However, rightly or wrongly if you do lose 3 games on the bounce the football public start to bay for blood, just ask Gordon Strachan.....

"I think we need one more player"......then another..then another..then another.....as far as I can make out things have started going downhill this season with the arrival of so many loanees...shame we've brought so many in and not hung onto what we had - ie Jon Stead,David Wright & Owen Garvan.

Maybe we should have kept Jon Stead?

A striker please. Assume it's Scotland who is out?

ozzydog, you stole my thunder!

Keanish, why exactly are you pro Keane exactly? What has this nutcase of a man done at our club to warrant your love and devotion?? Or do you just like the idea of a "big name" in charge I suppose. Do I have to mention last season?? Crap buys and how many times did we get into the top half of the table?? And this season - yes, started promising but truth be told, our rise to second was more about catching other teams on a bad day. Recent results have proved how much progress has NOT been made under Keane's regime and myself and now most of the fans on here can see that we are going nowhere under YOUR messiah.

That is why I don't like Keane. So please explain what this moron has done to warrant you slobbering over him??

If Wallingford boy was a Budgie as has been suggested then surely he wouldn't be talking about in breeding!!!Please can he justify his statement that things are moving forward under Mr Keane when on 25th October 2008 we were 14th exactly where we are today.It is quiet at Portman Road because of the dross we are having to put up with.At any other league club crowds would have been far less supportive.
Suggest Season Ticket Holders (who have free supporters club membership)together with other supporters club members go along to the meeting in Legends Bar at 7.30pm on 4th November when there is the AGM followed by Mr Clegg and a member of staff giving their views on the season so far,followed by questions.
Should be interesting!

Oh dear, seems we're going all pro- and anti-Keane again. How depressing.

No-one should be pro- or anti-Keane. They should be pro-Ipswich and if they feel that Keane is right or wrong for the job, then they can say so, and explain why.

But people randomly saying they are pro-Keane is just pointless, as is the opposite.

Personally, I can't see much that Keane has done to justify anyone being pro- him. I can understand (though don't agree with) the 'give him more time' argument but his position is becoming untenable, surely.

Boring football.
Poor signings
Desperate loan deals
boring football
loads and loads of midfielders
poor league form
boring football

That's what I see. Must admit, like others on here, I would love to hear what the pro-Keaners see when they see progress and think giving him more time will solve all our ills.

It's now looking more like the start of the season was a blip, rather than our current run.

But hey, I stand to be corrected and I would love it if I was - really I would because, as I said, I'm pro-Ipswich and if Keane gets us playing decent football with some decent results I'll be happy.

Is wallingford boy sure? Maybe he is roy keanes lovechild or something....bless x

Well said Naa .. i too would love it for Keane to lead us on to a great run and a big cup game maybe a semi final and we can all hope as i support Ipswich but after his time in the job so far i just cannot see any sign of ,heres to being proved wrong . And so far this season in reality we have beaten the bottom three sides ,Leeds with 10 men and a fluke result against Cardiff ? Didnt think so at the time but looking like it now.
As for those saying we have been quiet for years as supporters it didnt affect the players when we had the best home record in the country a few seasons ago did it ,so why start blaming it now ?

I'm 'pro' Keane for these reasons Whoppit:

> He's raised the profile of our club again and put us in the limelight for every journalist in the country. So yes, a big name in charge who has played under two of the greatest British managers of all time and who has won more domestic honours in 10 years or so than our club has one in its entire history.
> 2 bad buys! Big Deal...every manager makes them. Look at Burley's record!!! OUr squad is much better and has a much more exciting lok to it than it has done in nearly a long time. Why are you looking at the bad buys, why not look at the good ones? I count youth team players in this as it takes courage and conviction to throw them in. How many did Magilton blood!!?
> Our rise to second wasn't about catching teams on a bad day it was about us being difficult to break down. Unfortunately that's come at the detriment of goals so now it's time to change up again and go 4-4-2 but what i like about Keane is there's something a bit different for us to watch rather than the old tried and tested 4-4-2 EVERY game!
> As i have said before, the Coventry game was a bad result, but Forest and Watford away? Who was expecting much a return from that? Your fault if you dared to believe we should be winning those games. We're not quite there yet where we can go away to places like that and sweep sides away. Forest will be top 6 or 2 for sure and we never get a result at Watford! This last week aside though, we're not an easy side to beat. I seem to remember Magilton having to rely on hme form to keep him in a job no?
> Last season wasn't particularly great and we all expected a lot more...but here's the conundrum Whoppit, 'Success doesn't come over night' even if Keane was a little brash in promising it but the noises coming out from the players in the last two season, with the exception of walters are that the club has never been in a better place behind close doors: The training, the dietary requirements, the professionalism that goes into every detail pre and post match. The responsiveness and the fitness of the players. If they're happy, then so am i.

Also, he's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy, or a 'nut case' as you describe him. Maybe it's just time to man up a bit Whoppit. I'd much rather have a straight talking manager of the pedigree he's come from than not. Are you not forgetting he's also won this division? Yes he spent cash, but that doesn't mean anything...does it Gordon Strachan!?

Now, I've openly said on here what i'm expecting between now and the Norwich game a minimum of 12 points and a quarter final cup place.

So, lets see if the big bad oh so scary Mr. Keane can deliver. In my opinion, with the squad we have we should brush away these sides coming up. Sheff Utd and Hull away will be tricky but we should pick up points here. Talk to you again after the Millwall game...which we'll win!

I think whoppit should just crawl back to his hole in the ground and give us a rest from his twaddle !

would that area be management?????????????????????????????

Keanish, okay, let me try and explain why I DON'T like Keane and using your pro-Keane reasons to try and enlighten you.

I agree with one thing, his appointment raised the profile of our club. What advantage that has is lost on me though !!! Yes, he played under two of the greatest managers in history. What does that have to do with anything?? Shame he didn't pick up anything from them as his managerial record after 5 seasons is one promotion after spending mega millions on top of inheriting a Premier League team. We are no better today than this time last season and you cannot argue with the table surely??

Yeah Priskin and Martin are bad. Nobody with any sense would disagree with that. I do not count the loan signings but I am a fan of Leadbitter and Fulop. I think Healy was a useless buy too and I think that was Keane giving his pal a last signing on fee and fattening Cork City's wallet in the process. Other than those two, I am not overly excited by any of Keane's permanent signings.

Keane's 4-5-1 tactics are NOT working. When we did get up to second, weren't we playing 4-4-2 with a bit width? Suddenly master tactician Keane switched to 4-5-1 and we plummet. Coincidence or not? Forest and Watford away may not be the easiest games for us but if we want to get promoted, we need to get at least a point from the likes of these teams. We didn't. So what does Keane do??? Yep, stick with 4-5-1. If Keane was so good, why have other teams not come in for him?? Point proven.

Last season was pure and utter garbage. I and many others had hoped for more this season and I was actually looking forward to the season. But Keane has once again overseen a drop in the table. So, another desperate loan signing is his only answer after our latest defeat. No wonder ME will not give this plonker any cash for permanent signings !!! As for training and fitness, means nothing if the team gets beat. At least we can be the fittest players in the bottom half of the Championship !!! Straight talking is good but that doesn't win games either. Instead of Keane blabbing on about agents and Wayne Rooney, maybe he should admit his managerial style isn't working and tell US how he intends to fix it. I would respect that more rather than him commenting repeatedly on other clubs. But he stated himself that football fans know nothing about football so that tells me he doesn't care and is only in it for the money.

Okay, we need to beat Northampton and Milwall. A point apiece from Sheff Utd and Hull will do nicely as far as I am concerned. Is that too much to ask? But playing 4-5-1 will NOT do it. Anyway, I care about Ipswich NOT Keane and the sooner this idiot gets the boot, maybe we will be able to salvage the season.

I don't expect you to agree Keanish but your hero is on his way out — it's only a matter of time.

Another problem area.......... Another loan signing, I hear Keane is unhappy with the lady that washes the kit, but not to worry folks, he's approached another un-named club, to see if we a loan someone on a short term basis, until her form improves!!!!

Whoppit, i hope we win all of our next 5 matches, climb back into 3rd place and get into the quarter finals of the cup. Nothing would put a bigger smile on my face than knowing somewhere in Portman Road this would prolong your agony!!

Ha Ha!! KEANEO....!!!!

Keanish - all I can say is I hope you and your hero will be very happy together and I am glad your standards are so low that you are happy with the mediocracy that you are being served.........

Fans are entitled to be critical of the manager from time to time, while hopefully continuing to offer good support of the team. However the criticism should be based on fact, and unfortunately there are a lot of inaccuracies above:
- RK was playing 442 earlier in season when winning games? its mostly been 451/433 this season;
- the theory that no team should play the latter system at home. Tell that to Chelsea's, Barcelona's and all of the other top teams;
- that 3.5k was paid for Leadbitter, in all of the reports I have seen, that was the combined fee for Leadbitter and Edwards, who signed at the same time, and for me, have proved to be decent players for that money;
- RK inherited a Premier league team at Sunderland, they were at the foot of the table when he joined them, and a look at wikipedia, will show that he put together a completely new team and didnt spend a lot of money in the process to get them promoted.

There is a lot of over reaction at the moment, to a few bad results. However,
I dont think it will be possible to finish in the top 6 with Peters and Smith in defence. An experienced RB and CM holding player should have been signed during the summer (and both may have been on RK's wish list). Other than that, I think a fairly decent squad is in place, one with far more backbone than what JM had put together. As regards quality of the play, while they may not be flair players, I would rather have honest players,the likes of Wickham, Scotland, Leadbitter, Norris, Hyam, etc , than the Counago's, Garvan's, etc, fannying around when the mood takes them and the opposition allow.

dream on Keaneish!

More smoke and mirrors from RK. His answer to the problem is bring in another player on loan. I don't think so! Until they change the rules and allow us to play 12 or 13 players, bringing in players on loan isn't going to help. We are already top heavy in that area. We have enough players already. A serious revision of our approach is required. We need to control the tempo of a game, be able to raise it and slow it down as appropriate. We need to use the pace of the wide players (Townsend, Edwards & Peters) to much better effect. We also need to use the whole of the pitch; we must be the narrowest playing team in the Championship. It may be trite to talk about adopting a more expansive game but we certainly need to be more imposing at PR. Under RK it has been too easy to play us here. The key is belief. To go into a game knowing that the opposition are going to have to do something special to get a result is something the the current team have no understanding of. OK we have young players learning their trade but it must be so much more difficult for them when that belief and confidence is missing. It may be an unfair comparison but Kevin Beattie, George Burley, John Wark,Terry Butcher, Russell Osman, Alan Brazil, Darren Bent, Darren Ambrose, even latterly, Owen Garvan, all came into a team playing with style and confidence where the burden of hopes and expectations was not too heavy to carry. What the likes of Connor Wickham, Luke Hyam and the young loanees make of the current situation is anyone's guess.

Furthermore, if as suggested the new loanee is a front player, what message does that send to CW particularly, but also to Scotland and Priskin when RK seems reluctant to play more than one up front until the game is beyond salvation.

I am starting to despair.

whoppit=class, 100 percent agree with you. how many players does keane have to bring in to still not get it right?, he is moaning becoz he is having to bring 17 year olds etc off the bench but surely this is no fault of his own?, he has surely signed enough players now to have a decent enough squad in place?. im not surprised marcus evans is not offering any transfer funds now, he has spent about 13mil, on what?, we r no better than we were under magilton, atleast he cud attract sum big names to the club such as gio. those who r still backing keane, are doing it becoz of who he is, yeah he is a good character in footy and i want him to do well but his managerial performance over the last 2 years hasnt been good enough!.