Agree with Billym, I love Matt Holland but this is the time where we may need a firm character to toughen the lads up a bit. If i was a Town player I would really appreciate Holland as an assistant because I would know what he's done for the club. Problem is alot of our players are probably unaware of how much he is idolised here and so wouldn't respect him as much. Would like him back in some campacity but the role has to be suitable.

Matt Holland... not bothered if he's involved to be honest.. I like him on the radio.. and he's on with Georgie Bingham later

Anyone who was at the Sheffield Wednesday game ! Now can clearly see the legacy that Paul Jewell has left Ipswich Town, he has put back any form of progress for the club, to make out it of the championship for at least five years, the players on view are totally inadequate, apart from Hyam and Carson.
Mr Clegg and Mr Evans also must shoulder some of the blame, for they should have sacked Jewell at the end of last season. The new Manager has one hell of task to turn this club around.

I'd very much welcome Holland being involved with the club in some way, but surely the new manager will choose his assistant so in what way Matt fits in is interesting.

Nevertheless, Holland would provide a vital connect between the fans and the club/management/players, something which has eroded away to almost nothing in the Evans era. The man understands the club, the history and the style of football the fans expect. I don't know if he's qualified to be a number two, but the sentimental in me would love to see Mattie in the dugout.

London blue ..... Think you got a point there there could be something in this Harry & Matt .. Or holloway & holland , I think Holland has a part to play some where ...

I think Holland is a bright articulate young man who will be a Town manager one day and a very able assistant to a new manager. He loves Ipswich, was a great servant to the club and would be a big plus with the fans. This will be building for the future and in that respect only two candidates fit the bill for me ...Alan Curbishley is a Town kind of man (Please stop saying he has been out of the game too long, he is a quality manager in every respect and is intelligent enough to know that a club has to be right for him). Also lets not discount George Burley with Holland as assistant and to take over in say 2 years time with George moving 'upstairs'.

Hutchings, Holland and McCarthy?

Why on earth would we want Holland involved? What can he possibly bring to the party. It's a joke, right?

Being a 22 year old, Matt Holland and Marcus Stewart were my two school boy heroes so i'd love to see one back at the club in any role. Not only is Holland a potentially good future manager, he's on twitter daily speaking to our fans interacting, getting to know their frustrations and responding to us which i think could be a great way of letting Evans, Clegg and the new boss exactly how we feel!

Why not go Double Dutch with
Ruud Gullit and Holland :-)

Michael 11
Agree with that, Matt seems to enjoy his punditry work and I couldn't see him joining another club bar us. I'd imagine he hates seeing us where we are and would tell Clegg the opinion of an average fan as well. Whether he listens is another matter!

I don't understand why some posters on here seem to think that he will be too nice to be a potential Assistant Manager. You don't get to be captain at every single club, as well as country, without being a natural leader.

Holland will have a good understanding of the club players which can only benefit a future manager. He will know which players are not performing and what we need.

But whoever gets the job he needs to be appointed quickly.

outside bet Rafa Benitez. anyone.

True, it's not all over yet. Peterborough were bottom just the blink of an eye ago...Mind you they surely can't have been playing as badly as us. Holland was a truly great pro and I'm sure virtually everyone would agree with that. He might be tight-lipped because nothing has been sorted and he's a loyal sort. Short term we do need someone who can inspire to sort this bunch of players out. But I would hope for the best footballing man we can possibly get, since its quite possible that the group can be lifted, play better and with more commitment and then still lose more often than not because I do fear we just don't have a very good team. If you supported another club, of which of our players would you say, oh I wouldn't mind having him? Anyone? Really? Hope I'm very wrong but I do think this is a deep deep problem at ITFC - which PJ was totally unable to address. Even with a half-decent manager, I think we might all need to be very patient. His first job, apart from hopefully securing us a few points from somewhere, would ideally be to state to the supporters how he really finds the situation here, and then we can tailor our expectations accordingly.

Agree with the Highwayman. Holland was overated at what credentials does he have? If we are going to have an old boy lets get none with experience, Mariner, Yallop, Butcher. Cant believe nobody has mentioned Osman and hes already working at the Club!

Never go back to an ex, speak to Derby, Southampton and Scotland fans and they will tell you the truth about George.

Don't forget why he was sacked here and also at palace. A step back imo.

I am sure all will be revealed very soon.

Would rather have McCarthy than Curbs! He's been out of the game for a while and I didn't really rate him as a manager when he was in the game! Would be brillant to have Matt Holland around the place again, ITFC legend! COYB!

dont like the idea of going for managers already in a job at another club in this league.. can we go back to the great club we once were..

got Derby in the play-off's, got Southampton in the play-off's, Scotland feck off!

Thats what they tell me!

Still McCarthy and Holland for me.

Curbishley, Holland & Day, with their 1st signing being Darren Bent

It has to be coyle has all right skills to get us out of the s**t we are in and take us forward. And I have money on him !!

My own belief with what went wrong is a bit complicated. Management is a team and not one person and Burley did well when he had a stable team. Following the unfortunate death of Dale Roberts he lost his enforcer and team discipline started to disintegrate, successive coaches caused some instability, which I feel was the tipping point for relegation. Of course the silly money spent on Finidi and Sereni didn't help things and cost Burley his job. Ultimately an unexpected relegation coupled with the collapse of ITV Digital sent all three clubs relegated into administration. Ipswich were hit hard and Royle and later Magilton had to work miracles on a tight budget. Magilton lost the crowd and arguably the changing rooms. (As an aside I so strongly opposed the Magilton out campaign that I found it difficult to go to games.)

Keane came in and wanted his own team so started the biggest clear out the club has ever faced. He replaced decent players with journeymen and mercenaries as numerous first and second options collapsed. Keane's dismissal was one I wholeheartedly supported.

Jewell came in with the instructions of getting things settled. For whatever reasons transfers never completed. Increasingly fans have got disillusioned and the real protest against the club is the plummeting attendance. The power-distance relationship between the club and its fanbase has never previously been this large. With an unstable and decimated squad, declining support, a malaise has set in. Although some try to put all the blame on one or two people it could be said Jewell was a scapegoat, however his demise was also a symptom of a failing club.

I feel by overviewing the last decade the slow fading away is evident. Burley struggling to find a replacement for Roberts was a problem that should have been short term. ITV Digital's collapse exasperated things and the decline since then has been almost linear.

We need people to turn things around but it's a hard thing to ask especially with the fair play restrictions about to come into force.

Listen: we are in a deep deep hole, have been for the last 4 seasons, we need a leader as a manager, one who doesnt suffer fools, one who's been there at all levels, worn the T shirt, coomands respect from his players. and backroom staff, and from the top, there is only one person that fits this criterier, please step forward Ian Holloway, forget all your past players etc, Matt's a very nice guy but not for this position, it has to be someone who's in current managership, so its as i have pointed out in I H, and there wouldnt be a tear shed at his appointment, only with joy.

Instead of getting him in as manager or number 2 can he still play he can show them what it's like to put on the shirt of itfc if anyone of the players read this it's called pride

I have nailed my colours to Mick McCarthy but he supposedly turned down Forest at the end of last season because he wanted to manage again in the premiership. So it may be that Mick has said no thank you or wants a kings ransom that ME is not prepared to pay.

Curbs has one of the best track records and whilst I am a bit nervous of the effect of him being out the game for so long I wouldn't say no.

I have consistently said NO to George Burley but surprisingly in the last couple of days researching and reminding myself what he has done, my opinion is changing to him being a very credible alternative to the above.

Forgot Scotland - even Alex Ferguson would have trouble in turning them into an International force. Forget Palace - they had zero money too spend when he took over, hardly enough players to field a first team squad and he was only there 24 games and I sense he was stabbed in the back by Dougie Freedman.

Putting those aside - he went to Derby as a caretaker Manager to arrest their alarming slide into the relegation zone and comfortably turned them around - eventually taking them to a play off semi-final before resigning having fallen out with Derby Director of Football. Went on to Hearts to take the Scottish Premier by storm and again fell out when players were hoisted upon him by their nutcase of an owner. He took Southampton to the play-offs before moving to the Scotland job.