If MM can replicate his current points haul over the rest of the season weâre heading for 55 points. Thatâs enough to avoid relegation but only for a very lower mid-table finish, not that Iâd complain about that right now. One thing Iâm confident of is that he will do a better job in the transfer windows than the last two jokers. As for who was worse out of the last two and why, I think the major reasons was the quite fantastically poor squad building of the pair of them. If you consider the first team contenders (in a 4-4-2 for sake of argument) towards the end of the tenures of the last three blokes the decline is so amazing you have to wonder if it was deliberate: Jimbo: GK: Price FBs: Wright, D, Harding CDs: McAuley, Bruce WM: Walters, Roberts CMs: Norris, Garvan F: Lee, Counago Then, to the last knockings of Keanoâs nightmarish reign: GK: Fullop FBs: Whoever could play out of position (Smith, Peters, Eastman, Edwards etc) â no right back and Kennedy/OâConnor never played. DCs: Delaney, Smith/Brown (after McAuley) WM: Edwards, whoever was on loan or could be drafted in there out of position (Colback etc) MCs: Leadbitter, Norris F: Priskin (worst striker ever), Stead And PJ, the nail in the coffin: GK: Whoever the latest desperate loan might be FBs: Cressie, Edwards out of position CDs: Delaney + Desperate loans followed by Chambers + desperate loans WM: Whoever could fill in there / desperate loans MC: JET, desperate loans / whoever could vaguely fill in there/failed signings F: Scotland, Chopra From a solid team to a total shambles in a few short years and around 14M wasted by two incompetent managers.
JJ on both counts the teams you mention are slightly off, there are players who were long gone and players who you haven't mentioned. Although it is ridiculous when considering the squad Jim left us with!! IMO Keane left us the worst squad when you consider the squad he was left from Jim and what he spent around the £10 million mark. He left us with a mismatch of players, very few in form, many on high wages with little quality and many gaps to fill. It was a squad that needed major work and changes, there was alot of expensive deadwood in the squad. The squad Jewell has left is also fairly weak as there are many holes in the squad and a lack of experience but the biggest thing for me was he left a squad who was short of confidence and resiliance. We actually have some decent players at the club who could be potentially very good players at this level but we just did not have enough and there was/is a lack of balance, we now have very little deadwood unlike previous regimes. However the loan situation is a problem and one which needs resolving in January. The wages structure is far better now than when he took over and we have more players here now who are likely to be here for the long term. I think MM has a decent set of players to work from, although it clearly needs strengthening. I like that he has already got in a RB and a target man something both Keane and Jewell failed to do in 2 years!!! It's about doing the basics with Mick where PJ I thiink often tried to run before we could walk!!!
Absolute donkey gash Jonah. The number of players who are performing at a higher level or doing well in the Championship who didnt perform for Keane or Jewell pisses all over that theory as does the fact that players who were utterly useless a few weeks ago have just hauled themselves out of the bottom three with a bit of organisation.
Itfcptc: I was merely giving a sketch of the usual first team picks at the tail-end of the reigns (from memory first thing in the morning when I posted it) of the managers; not giving a breakdown of the entire squads over their whole period in charge. The point being that we went from Madge’s squad where we had a proper, decent Championship first teamer in all positions to a shambles where, as you mention, positions weren’t properly filled; the likes of Eastman had to play left back; no natural right back for ages, and army of loans over three seasons, culminating in the joke of eight panic loans in the last knockings of PJ. Hardly the solid squad you’d expect after 14M had been spent on it. Lancs: What in the name of spam was that outburst all about you unhinged moderator?? I didn’t say it was the ONLY reason they were pants: before you blew your top you might notice I said it was a MAJOR reason. How anyone can think Keane/PJ assembled great, balanced, solid squads fairly boggles the mind. You’ll also notice that with MM’s great organisation of PJ’s excellent, balanced, Prem’ quality squad we shipped 11 goals in two away games and could have been buried by half time by Posh. And mysteriously, with this wonderful squad he’s been graced with, MM has already felt the need to get in two loans. But you’ll doubtless be vindicated come the January and June transfer windows when MM spends none of the club’s money as he’s so very delighted with what PJ has bequeathed. Who’s playing at a higher level, by the way? Walters, a Jim signing? McAuley, a Jim signing? Not Priskin in the Hungarian second tier, and he’s probably still frightened of the penalty area there.
I agree with you Jonah, it's shocking how this club has been allowed to sink so low over the last few seasons under the most incompetent managers you could imagine. Jim was the next Sir Alex compared to the 2 useless gobshites that came in after him! MM is a canny old bugger and I think, given the crap hand he has been dealt with when he came here, he will get us going in the right direction. Tyrone Barnett will be a great signing so long as we can keep DJ to play off him.
Fulop is playing at a higher level. I do take your point, the right back fiasco and the fact it went three years unaddressed AND the fact we let Rosenior and Wright go, just incredible really. BUT to say that it was about the standard of player I don't think stands up. We didn't have any even passable strikers when Jim left. Aside from McAuley the defence wasn't up to much. I think it was Ivan Campo in the middle of defence!! and Ben Thatcher at left back. The only player of real quality in that side was Legwinski but his days were up. Gio of course was a great loan and Civelli was superb before he was crocked. I would take the XI now with Hyam, Campbell, N'Daw, Cresswell, Edwards, Martin over Jim's final team.
Really Lancs? I'd say we have possibly a few more talented/flair players now than we did in Jim's last season but we had fairly solid Championship performers who should've finished in the top half without improvement, it was a strong base to build upon!! I would say some of our current players would have certainly supplemented that team very well but we have more wholes to fill now than we did then.
What are wholes? Aside from Walters and McAuley I wouldn't take any of those players actually. Paul Jewell has done a superb job on improving the squad. We still have a goalkeeping problem but it was that way when Magic was at the club.
Some people just love to be negative for the sake of it. Not everything Roy Keane did was wrong, not everything Paul Jewell did was wrong. We have a much better side now than 3 years ago albeit with a few gaps to fill.
Lancs, your right most managers have had good and bad points - its one of the reasons I have been on the end of so many backlashes on these pages because I wouldnt join in with the view that everything Jewell done was terrible so its a pity you didnt point that out during all the mud slinging a few months back! How is my comment negative - its pointing out an undenyable fact ffs! It may be good for short term gain but I cant see how you can call playing a team which isnt yours is good for the long term future of ITFC or even being left with the solid building blocks. If we can sign them then I would call it a strong team but if they walk out what are we left with?
Bloody hell! We've got a useless keeper in there, we've got a right back who unanimously seems to be the weakest link at the back. Then there is the forward from Posh who is with us with a view to a permanent deal in January and Campbell who we would all dearly love to sign, but realistically I don't think it'll happen. So... yes the side is ours! With the exception of DJ Campbell.
Glad to see everyone picking up on my spelling mistakes, easily done, especially being dyslexic!! If we put the 2 squads together, the one Jim left us and the one Jewell left us I think we'd have a pretty good squad even without the loans. It makes me think if we appointed Jewell after Jim he would've done alright but it seems he struggled to build a consistent base when he first got here. I have little problem with the players Jewell signed, I think he did have an eye for talent, he just didn't get enough players in and didn't really get a squad together that complimented each other, in his first summer he brought in too many older players, in his second summer he didn't bring in enough experienced players. I would take today a fair amount of Jims squad at the time: Supple D Wright Garvan Quinn Sumi Rhodes Stead Counago McAuley Walters Bruce Some of these aren't great players but all can do a decent job at this level, as i said it was a squad with few holes but certainly one that could be improved
Got a bee under your bonnet today Lancs?? I forgot you loose it from time to time been pretty calm recently!! I would argue with the exception of getting rid of Ben Thatcher everything Keane did was wrong!!
PTC, I would agree that on the footballing side Keane done little right but off the field he brought a professionalism to the squad thart had been lacking. He wouldnt allow players to turn up late for training. He expected a certain level of respect in all areas of the club and his team were never lacking commitment or willingness and when he thought they were he let them go. Unfortunately he rated professionalism over footballing ability which is why I think his team was so abysmal to watch. On the sumi side of the argument. I thought he was an ok player but was identical to Garvan so was a rather pointless signing - he didnt add anything to the squad.
Supple - Nah, shame he quit but he didn't cut the mustard anyway. D Wright - Ridiculous to let him go. Garvan - I'd take Hyam / N'Daw anyday. Quinn - Ditto Sumi - and Ditto again. Rhodes - Goes without saying. Stead - Over Campbell & Barnett?? Not even over Chops, Scotland and JET! Counago - In 2002 yes but by 2009 past it. McAuley - Quality. Walters - Obviously! Bruce - We could use him now we are so thin at CB but no better than Smith & Chambers.
I am quite highly strung at the moment but more than anything after years of crap I'm so thrilled it's finally worth debating these things again after months and months of resignation at the very thought of any Ipswich Town side prior to 2005!
