It's nice to see John back and we all get a bit nostalgic when an old player returns but how many more coaches do we need.

Spanish blue. Where have u been the last few months. Crainey was not the kitman at Wigan. He was a coach. If u bothered to read or listen to cooks interviews ud have heard him say that the only way he could get him a job at Wigan was with the title of kit man as their coaching budget was spent.

Hope he turns out to be the McGreal deal! :-)
What we'd give to have a younger version of McGreal in the first team now!

should be working with cookie, or will he replace cookie??

Great guy. Can only be positive in whatever role he performs. Ideally, he should be defensive coach for the first team - and perhaps future manager.

Has he still got his boots ? A very reliable defender.

Mcgreal as number 2 please 👍👍👍

PS: Maybe we can give the players a rest and field a team of coaching staff/manager/advisers against Barrow on Saturday.

As others have suggested a good appointment but it should be as Cook's assistant although I appreciate that Kieron needs some help right now. Maybe this will be a developing role.

Should be coaching the 1st team.

Great appointment by the Club such a great guy and good coach.

Does he know what he is letting himself in for I wonder ??

Please make him the first team defensive coach PLEASE !!!

Good appointment, if I was Ashton, the first job I would give him was to get on the training pitch and sort our first team defence out!

19781981 - spot on . Been asking for a defensive coach for weeks . We cant carry on shipping so many goals , so when the front guys dont take chances a loss is the inevitable outcome

I was excited to read this, until I read he is a mate of Cook's. Clearly, that's what it takes to get hired at PR these days, and that is a sad and damning indictment of our club.

I like John McGreal, I always liked him as a player, and I bet he could do a job on our coaching staff, but not if he's coming here to work with his mates. Things are clearly not going according to plan at PR, and everyone outside of Mr. Cook's cabal knows it, but these new appointments won't change anything, because they're more of the same. How are these fixes supposed to work if none of them bring in fresh ideas or people willing to challenge the status quo? The status quo off the pitch will result in the status quo on the pitch, i.e. inconsistent and gutless teams and another season of third division football.

I've been following Town since I was 11, in 1981, but everything about Ipswich depresses me these days. Cook isn't going to get fired, we're not going to get promoted, we are going nowhere. Fast forward five years and the American investors will realize that they've made a bad investment and will cut their losses. Then we can look forward to away days to Woking and sponsoring players so that they can have a pair of boots. Can't wait.

Great player when he was here but things not so great at Colchester as a manager. I really hope things work out for him here because by goodness we need decent new coaching staff to replace the some of those here already. Very unimpressed with with those secured by PC. There seems to be more back room staff than necessary and are they just confusing the players?

John should be coaching the first Team Defence on how to defend as he was a first class Defender as a player.

Coversely Frannie Jeffers, known in his playing days as ''the fox in the box'', should be showing our forwards how to make runs and score goals. Macauley Bonne for one would have scored so many more goals if someone like Frannie was showing him how to hit the angles rather than the goalkeeper or defender!

I would argue Cook needs help with the first team as something isn't right. John would be better off helping coach the first team.

Love McGreal although his chant is a little off limits these days, however once again we are appointing people on the basis of them being Cook's mate. I'm not opposed to the appointment itself but Cook seems to be averse to hiring people who aren't friends. Burley had some seriously good backup in his days. Of course he had Dale Robert's, but Gorman, Houston, Mogga or even Hamilton…. Were they mates? This is like a return to the 80's/90's when it was jobs for the boys.

Blues1…. Once again with the nonsensical idea Cook couldn't hire Carney as a coach because the budget was spent. Do you have any idea how ridiculous this argument is? Clearly not as you keep repeating it. Wigan could hire Carney as a coach and use whatever budget they had. In a private business budgets are not binding. Are you really saying he lied to his bosses to hire him? If he didn't there was no reason to pretend he was a kit man.

Seems to be a case of right man but wrong role?

Likely McGreal will be involved with coaching at many levels. However the timing means saying that he's come in to help Cook out would undermine the manager.... just a (rather sceptical) thought.

The only person that should be brought in now is a quality manager for the first team seriously have to question the ambition of this club to be putting up with the results of late.

Edmundo…. I agree with your comment, however as you just disagree with anything I post and don't have the guts to explain why… I thought I'd join in your game.