Town manager Roy Keane was understandably disappointed with his side's 3-1 home defeat to Barnsley. In addition to the loss, Mark Kennedy and Luke Hyam damaged their hamstrings and are out of next week’s trip to Hull.

Keane said the game typified how things are at the present time: “Poor result, poor performance, not a great day and a couple more injuries. That’s the way it’s going for us. No sympathy, we’ll look to bounce back next weekend.”

The Portman Road crowd booed their team off and were vocally critical of the substitution of Tamás Priskin, something the Blues boss feels is inevitable when a team is doing poorly: “When you don’t win matches every decision is going to be analysed and criticised, that’s the nature of football.

“They were pretty supportive last year when we went 14 games without a victory - the Watford game I’ll never forget - they were very, very good to us. But at this moment in time, you’re still hoping that fans would understand where we’re at.

“Don’t underestimate the loss of Gareth McAuley, David Norris and Grant Leadbitter. I don’t want to use that as an excuse but they are important players for us. We just have to get on with it.”

Keane explained the thinking behind his substitutions: “We thought we’d get a bit more from Jack and Jake getting a bit more forward. They’re two young players and it’s a big responsibility doing a job in the middle of the park, so with the extra support from Luke we thought we might get back into it.

“But, of course, the next goal changed things and we tried to mix it up again. We tried a few different things and it just didn’t work.”

Keane's controversial decision to withdraw Priskin was amongst those alternative options: “When we took Tamás off we changed it with Connor going up with Ronan and actually I thought they did OK in the last 20 minutes. OK, they’re young players and you could say the game was over.

“Obviously there were a few people disappointed and they probably thought we were going to stick with the one up front, but of course we changed that with Jack coming over to the left and I thought Ronan did quite well and was perhaps unlucky not to score. It was a straight swap in that sense."

Tykes manager Mark Robins was delighted with his players’ display: “It was without doubt the best performance since I became Barnsley manager and it was a continuation of what we saw on Tuesday night against Preston.

“The players took the confidence they gleaned from that game into today. We passed it well, the movement was fantastic and what we added today was our finishing. It's a step in the right direction and pleasing.”

Photo: Action Images

Lightningboy added 19:50 - Nov 13 Marcus Evans and your monkey Clegg..time to grow some balls and give this numpty the long over-due sack. Said it last season..nothing's persuaded me any differently this..yeah we've got a few more wins under our belts BUT the standard of football over the last 18 months has been abysmal and trust me it will not get any better while this clown's in charge. The collective sigh of relief when he goes will be heard all over the country. Time for Curbishley.

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roadart66 added 19:51 - Nov 13 all you people out there moaning and i sat around afew today should give more support to the manager and his team it was wrong to cheer the other team and boo our team i wish we had a Roy keane on the field, the team lost this match not Roy we have a young side and can only get better in time i know how you all must be feeling and its not good but i think we should stick with Roy and support him we are still up there in the league and in the cup not that bad is it

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tractorintheloft added 19:58 - Nov 13 taxi for roy? I was pleased with our start and the fact that we tried to pass the ball but sadly we were out classed by the mighty barnsley! too many errors from keane and too much bs in interviews.
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Ryorry added 20:03 - Nov 13 Funny you say that Keaneish, I got very much the same impression just from RK's tone of voice in the post-match interview -subdued, downbeat, dare I say it - resigned ... Of course no-one would expect him to be exactly cheery, but usually in these circs after such a defeat managers come out with all the positives that they can and look forward to the next match, "we'll get back on track when injuries heal " etc - I didn't hear any of that. Then having all these loanees is a worry - what happens when they go back to their parent clubs? As I said in forum, if ME were at the game today, I think RK may already be gone. Mass chanting of "you don't know what you're doing", massive booing when TP subbed, ole-ing Barnsley's passing ...wouldn't you feel the tide had turned and it was time to bite the bullet?

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Blue041273 added 20:13 - Nov 13 There is not much to take out of the last two games, and I too thought that it was very disrespectful to our team to cheer the Barnsley passage of passes. They might think they're Brazil but they're not. They were just made to look good by a home performance that was inept, unreal and truly sloppy. Even so I was embarrassed by the blatant lack of support for our team. I believe that today's performance marks the beginning of the end for RK (some might say the end of the beginning of the end). The natives are restless and it is now extremely unlikely that the disturbing trend of form can be reversed. RK kept them locked up after the Derby game, presumably to spell out the facts of life in the Championship, to no good effect. What did he say to them tonight?

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evansblue added 20:13 - Nov 13 a poor performance but key players out and generally a very young team out there today. The crowd reaction was shameful. Do what you want at the final whistle but during the game is not the ipswich way. I was ashamed. That said keane has a big job on his hands and we need better home performances
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nkotb_sect5 added 20:15 - Nov 13 Dear Mr Evans, I haven't made many posts, but those I have made, have been pro Keane! After today ................. no more. When their 3rd went in I stood there and realised I was rembering John Duncan - not funny! For the sake of my club .. initiate a Marcus Evans Intelligent Business Solution ... now!
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Brockleyblue added 20:16 - Nov 13 I reckon Keane has another four games to sort it out. If Town don't get much out of the matches against Hull, Norwich, West Brom and Swansea then I think it's adios. After the Swansea game there is another week before the next match, time in other words for someone like Kiwomya to prepare the team. That would also give an incoming manager a month to look at the squad before the transfer market re-opens. I've been patient with Keane but it's now 18 months he's been in charge. Last season was the club's worst ever start, and now it's 5 league defeats in the last 6 games against some average opposition, that's simply not good enough. For me it's when he said this week that we don't need a right back that it was clear he had totally lost the plot. Eastman is a young centre-back learning his trade and no full-time replacement at rb for Wright or Rosenior. And what was Keane doing today playing two left sided centre backs together? The chants are correct, sadly he really doesn't seem to know what he's doing; Roy, you're are out of your depth. Like another ex Man Utd. skipper Bryan Robson, you were a great player, but, thus far your abilities as a manager leave a lot to be desired. However, I wonder if yet another former Red Devils captain, Butch Wilkins, might fancy a move to the Suffolk coast, as a player he certainly played football the Ipswich way. p.s. Galling to see a certain Jon Stead score yet again today. Why we couldn't just stick with the team/formation that started the season so well is completely beyond me.

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Dorsetblue added 20:18 - Nov 13 Lets put this into perspective Ipswich will not be winning the Champions league soon, nor FA cup, etc.. We were once at that level but not any more. Norwich fans had a crap season last year but are just happy to be in this league. Some Ipswich fans expect to be 1st and leading by a long way. Not going to happen, under Burley in the later years he upset the players, Magic did the same thing. I think the most telling item is Keane is trying to protect his players and is trying to take the heat from them. Tuesday night was 45 minutes of good football and then we reverted back to last year of rolling over and giving up. I believe Eastman shouldn't have played at right back in both game, unless he had better cover. Today most of the time he had two if not three players over him. No wonder we lost, if we use players out of position we need to give them suitable cover. I'm not calling for Keanes head, because who else will we get in, and how long will it take for the squad to be formed into there ideal. We lacked ideas, passion, and were undone by a team who wanted it more. Keane needs to pull his socks up in the formation and job specification for each player as they look like lost sheep at time. We do miss Norris in the middle as he adds something else, but I say have a think over the weekend and draw breathe. Also turning up for cup games is good before you slag people off for no passion etc.... The final point is simple, whatever you say and do on here it makes no difference as only one person can make the call and if I was him, all that money he has spent I wouldn't rush into dumping Keane. Give him a telling off and say sort it out, but only time will tell.... Over to you Mr Evans...

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kiwiblue added 20:28 - Nov 13 its the size of the squad and youngsters doing mens jobs ( three in the middle today)so not all down to the guvnor.......however i expect him to walk this month unless miracles happen so the new boss can get it sorted before the inevitable. we are not good enough for the fans .
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mickeyjb added 20:30 - Nov 13 Our wins have glossed over how cr@p we really are. How many great goals have we scored? Most of our goals have come from mistakes from the opposition defenders ala Sheffield and bristal. When the opposition doesn't make mistakes we don't score and then loose. What the he'll has happened to our 10 million pound striker?
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ramseyn added 20:35 - Nov 13 I don't buy the argument that a new manager would have to rebuild again and need more time etc etc The players are good enough, our squad is as good if not better than most in this awful league standard this year. Just need the right tactics and guidance I'm afraid.
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alfromcol added 20:37 - Nov 13 Its all about tactics and team selection and neither of these seem to be items that RK excels at. Why do we persist with the long throws, very little comes from them and time and time again we have defenders having to chase back to defend our own area, surely the IT bench can see that these throws put us on the defensive. Most corner kicks still don't clear the first defenders. One did today and we scored. Surely this can be sorted out in training? Quite the worst performance I have seen at PR for a very long time. As far as the cheering of the Barnsley passing I think this was just down to the frustration that we had nothing else to cheer about. No comment on team selection or substitutions, it all been said. I feel sorry for poor young Eastman, completely out of his depth at right back, not his fault when RK persists on selecting him in that position.

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yorksblue added 20:40 - Nov 13 Wilkins in now. It's a no brainer.
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yorksblue added 20:41 - Nov 13 Wilkins in now. It's a no brainer.
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NathItfc added 20:43 - Nov 13 First off, I'm a RK fan and supporter.Carling cup quarter finals? Think that's a superb effort, STILL only 4 points from play-offs, having had the 8th highest average attendance in the championship last year, (including teams with big support such as Newcastle, Leicester and Derby + the Sheffield clubs) are things all doom and gloom?, Next two weeks are vital for Keano, and I'm afraid if he looses these next two games it may tip my boat down to the bottom of the ocean. We have a terrific stadium, and terrific set-up, terrific young promising youngsters rising through the ranks, and a terrific chairman who saved our club. Roy Keane you have it all, just 'sort it out'. Get behind the boys in the next few weeks and give it your all to get this club running like we all want it to be.

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alfromcol added 21:04 - Nov 13 We keep telling him what the problems are, but he takes no notice!!!
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bluedragon added 21:15 - Nov 13 Hi everyone i have been getting stick off people and friends for not giving Keane time with our beloved team BUT after today showing some of worst football i have seen in over 30 years of watching ipswich. Today i went with my two sons, and for the first time in almost a decade, we left early, as we felt ashamed of the teams performance. Keane s had his chance, he must go.

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WashbrookBlue added 21:18 - Nov 13 The darkest of days in an era of darkness that seems to last forever. Right up there with Grimsby away under Burley , Donny at home under magilton and well, a whole host of others under keane. And that's the point i think. We've had over 60 league games under him and there's just no excuses anymore. He's had eye watering resources that others would have died for and squandered them all on a team that can be made to look not just mediocre but humiliated by sides that others take apart at will. I make it something like 5 or 6 games out of those 63 where we have scored more than 2 in a game and no end of "trust me" or "listen,..." excuses can wash away those kind of facts. Today, finally, his luck ran out with a crowd that has been unbelievably positive and supportive of him personally in light of the dogs breakfast he has made of this job and with ME present one has to hope - more than expect - that his end is nigh. I hate PR these days typifying as it does the modern armchair "entertain me or i'll boo" transactionalism that has turned modern football into the squalid commercial "brand" that it has become but when you put it into a context of season after season of dull, lifeless, expensive tripe then well, its hard to criticise isn't it. We are all probably just grateful that we have 20+ points on the board and that mid table mediocrity rather than last years gut wrenching trauma will be our fate but just how depressing is that?? Am convinced that keane would never have survived under a regime of Board people and a Chief Exec who are also lifelong supporters as well as benefactors - they too would have felt that the visceral pain of this was too much to bear. But we're not in that world are we. Its bland corporate-ism fronted by a puppet PR man with a network and owned entirely by a ruthlessly effective businessman. The pain he felt today will be different to that the rest of us felt, the sort that Executives feel when a project goes tits up at work or the guys you appointed to run things just don't don't seem to get it. His analysis of what to do next will be of the hardest of hard commercial type - whether thats good or bad remains to be seen. Now off to drain the rest of that wine bottle..............

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poggie added 21:23 - Nov 13 Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Can't believe I stayed til the end! What a shambles! Please go now Keane, before you damage my beloved club any further! This is simply not good enough! How on earth can he justify taking off the only player we had who looked capable of scoring a goal for us, and replacing him with someone who is short of confidence and didn't ever look like scoring for us today? Bitterly disappointed with the performance, result & tactics. Not good enough!!! Wonder how long ME will put up with these poor attendances?

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bluedragon added 21:28 - Nov 13 MR Keane IS THE HIGHEST paid manager in the league at 3 million a year for want someone please tell me
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Daleyitfc added 21:31 - Nov 13 So ... at last many more are realising what I've known since his appointment : that Keane does not have the 'brains' to manage a football team. Magilton was the same : in fact, it is sometmes hard to differentiate between the two when one sees those same old square pegs in round holes, and terrible substitutions. Every day Keane stays in post is another day longer to wait for an upturn in our fortunes. Sad times. I have been following the Town since 1969, and this is as bad as it as been in that time (and, yes, that DOES include the Duncan and Ferguson days ... and Mick McGiven!)

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borge added 21:31 - Nov 13 Two points.... Firstly, to those still supporting Keane and pointing to our league position, do you not remember what our club is actually widely respected for (apart from the sporting and family friendly feel)? It's called passing. We have not played and do not play decent football under RK (nor surprisingly did we under Magilton) and clearly will not. I care less about winning than I do about being able to feel a sense of pride in my club - frankly I will go and watch Ipswich regardless of whether they are in the Champions League or Blue Square South as long as they are playing decent football that makes me proud to be from Suffolk. Secondly, I started the cheering of Barnsley's passing in the Britannia Stand. Was my intention disrespect towards my own team? No, absolutely not (I will cheer whoever is wearing blue and quite simply will never boo during the game - it's wholly counter productive). It was to send a message to Mr Keane. What has our club come to when we are passed off the pitch two games running by relatively average teams? RK believes that grit and hard work will prevail over decent football. I do not. I want to see passing football again and not just from the opposition. Someone needs to convey this message to RK (and Marcus Evans) and if the only way to do this is to applaud attractive play from the team we are playing then so be it. I sat through the John Duncan and Mick McGiven eras and didn't think we could ever plumb those depths again. Unfortunately we have reached a much lower ebb. Let's hope it ends soon.

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borge added 21:33 - Nov 13 Fantastic post Washbook Blue.
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runaround added 21:46 - Nov 13 I have backed Keane until today but enough is now enough and i want him out. In the 32 years i've supported ITFC there have been ups and downs and there has been tough times but I dont think i've ever been so down about how we are playing. Its negative, one dimensional hoofball, all about grinding out results, getting to half-time at nil nil and looking to win games 1 nil. Barnsley have a lot less at their disposal in terms of players and finances but they played football today and thoroughly deserved their win. Instead of like watching Brazil, it was like watching us when we used to play attractive football! I could live with Keane's tactics when we were getting positive results but 5 defeats in last 7 league games suggests that not only are we boring and unattractive to watch, we aren't very good at it either. Crowds are dwindling fast and a lot of people I speak to who still go are fed up with the tactics are seriously considering stopping going if things dont improve. Also his team selections are baffling, today we have our right sided centrehalf injured, of the other 2 at the club he plays 1 at rightback and leaves the other on the bench, meaning we had a left footed player in that position. Add to that the wide players being made to spend half the time on the wrong side, it all adds up to an unsettled side. He constantly changes the team and seems to drop players without reason. Townsend and Priskin were the only players who started the match that looked like they might create chances and they were both substituted which was beyond belief. The Priskin subbing was the moment I think the Keane lost the faith of me and many others today. I really want him to be a success, because that would mean ITFC are a success but we are in a terrible rut now and I just cannot see him improving it, in fact I fear it could get much worse very soon. I will still be there supporting the boys at Hull next weekend but to be honest I'm not really looking forward to it now. I didn't think i'd ever write this but the time has come....KEANE OUT

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