Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
Town Confirm Keeley New Keeper-Coach
Wednesday, 26th May 2021 11:56

Town have confirmed the appointment of John Keeley as their new goalkeeper-coach, the 59-year-old having left Portsmouth last week.

News that Keeley was set to be reunited with manager Paul Cook at Portman Road, the two having worked together at Fratton Park, emerged over the weekend.

“I can’t wait to get going. I’ve been in the game a long time but I still get a buzz about being involved in something good and I’ve got a great feeling about this,” Keeley told the club website.

“I was at Portsmouth with Paul and I loved working with him. I was very close to going to Wigan with him when he left.

“We have stayed in touch over the years and that shows you how we get on and I was delighted when he asked me to come to Ipswich.

“He’s a proper football manager. He loves the game, he loves to see his teams playing attacking football and Ipswich is a massive club.

“Like I said, I’ve just got a good feeling we are going to achieve something here. It’s a really exciting opportunity.”

Keeley left the Pompey staff last week having been in his role for a second stint for the last five years.

The Plaistow-born former keeper was with Southend, Brighton twice, Oldham, Oxford (loan), Reading (loan), Chester (loan), Colchester, Stockport, Peterborough, Chelmsford and Worthing as a player.

Keeley initially joined Portsmouth as their academy goalkeeping-coach in 2007 after a spell working at Brighton.

He stepped up to coach the senior keepers in 2010 before moving on in 2013. Spells with Blackburn, again at Brighton and in the Chinese Premier League with Guangzhou R&F, where Terry Butcher would later also spend time coaching, followed before he was brought back to Pompey by Cook ahead of 2016/17.

Cook has told both Town's senior keepers, Tomas Holy and Dai Cornell, that they can move on this summer.

Keeley's appointment could well see the Blues move for Pompey keeper Craig MacGillivray, who is leaving Fratton Park this summer the Hampshire club not having taken up an option on his contract. Charlton have been linked with the 28-year-old Scot.

Town’s previous goalkeeping-coach Jimmy Walker left the club last month with academy keeper-coach Carl Pentney having filled in in the role for the final few games of the season.


Photo: ITFC



Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.



boroughblue added 12:03 - May 26
Welcome John.

Craig Macgivilry incoming then?
0

ImAbeliever added 12:47 - May 26
Good
0

BlueBlood90 added 12:51 - May 26
Another role filled. We can't be too far away from completing our backroom staff now.

I'd be happy if he brought MacGillivray with him from Pompey. He won their player of the year last season.
1

istanblue added 12:59 - May 26
Hopefully he'll teach Holy to move.
0

brendenward35 added 13:08 - May 26
Newspaper report- Craig MacGillivray reminds me of David James, a great keeper but is prone to mistakes and he has cost us on multiple occasions, if he wants to move on to pastures new, let him leave and we should bring in a keeper who can command his box better and is a bigger focal point for our defence - sounds no different to what town have already
0

Saxonblue74 added 13:08 - May 26
......."the 59 year old, who is soon to have no Goalkeepers at Portman Road to work with"
1

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 14:00 - May 26
I think Zlatan is 39 and injured at the moment. Just saying ...
0

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 14:02 - May 26
Whoops! That should have gone under "Defoe." Too quick with the keyboard.
0

Tractor_Boy_in_HK added 17:16 - May 26
I expect we'll go after MacGillivray. Good shot stopper but really not good in his box. In regagrd to the the latter, I'd say Holy-esque.
0

KernewekBlue added 18:39 - May 26
Craig MacGillivray?

To paraphrase the words of Obi Wan Kenobi...

"This is not the goalkeeper you're looking for!"
0

Monkey_Blue added 23:35 - May 26
At least this coach has actually done the job he's been hired for before. As for a Pompey reject, how is that better than Holy? He hasn't been the problem. Scoring goals has been since Mick left. Or since finding someone to score goals for us wasn't micks job.
-1


You need to login in order to post your comments

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls

About Us Contact Us Terms & Conditions Privacy Cookies Advertising
© TWTD 1995-2024