'We have Almunia now which is probably an upgrade': Watford vs Ipswich Preview

• Ipswich Town head to Watford tonight, a team they haven't beaten for eight years…
  
  As if you haven't heard that enough today, right?!
  
  I've spoken to a Hornets fan about whether that record makes him more confident. But first, what can Town fans expect from their trip to West London today?
  
  The truth is, whether they return with three points or none Vicarage Road has long been one of my favourite away days.
  
  Being so easy to get to from Central London is definitely it's biggest plus point: there's three train stations to chose from which use National Rail, Overground and Underground trains. I recommend Watford Junction, from where you can walk down Clarendon Road onto Watford High Street.
  
  Here there really are a huge number of pubs to chose from. It's always easiest to go for a Wetherspoons pub and the Moon Under Water is one of my favourites: it has a massive bar, lots of seats and a sizeable beer garden. I liked it so much here I made a return visit when my sister and I went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour in April.
  
  Alternatively, I know a lot of town fans enjoyed their welcome at Old Fellows on Fearnley Street which is just behind the High Street and a little closer to the ground.
  
  If you're driving, plenty of multi-storey car parks are signposted the minute you get into Watford and they're all based on the one way system - I have used Church and Queens. I've tried finding on street parking here before but never succeeded, you've been warned!
  
  Finally, a MASSIVE tip for the ladies -go to the toilet BEFORE you get to the ground and refrain from drinking until you leave!! There are THREE cubicles for ladies in the whole of the away stand and last year the queue went from the concourse, back into the stadium and down several steps. One steward actually apologised to me for the wait and explained 'we have this problem every week'.
  
  So I can pretty much guarantee you a good evening off the pitch, but what about on it? What can we expect from Watford tonight?
  
  I spoke to Watford blogger James Fitz about his views on tonight's match:
  
  

   

  It's been an interesting summer for Watford, can you sum it up for us?

  
  

  It is a Summer which one would never want to end; but, with the closing of the transfer window, the reality of hard work and graft are just around the corner and it's something everyone is keen to focus on. 

  
  

  The Pozos are now the new owner of Watford FC and their ownership of Udinese and Granada has offered a loan facility to the club. Sean Dyche is unfortunately gone and Gianfranco Zola is now the new manager of the club.

  
  

  You had a great start to the season (two late goals saw Watford seal victory at Crystal Palace in the 90th minute), what were your first impressions from that game?

  
  

  It was a great result, but Palace can consider themselves unlucky to lose having been 2:1 up. I dare not take negatives from a win on your first match, let alone your first away match, but I'm afraid defensively we will either have to improve, or expect the bottom half of the division to gobble us up effectively.

  
  

  What are your expectactions for Watford this year?

  
  

  This question is best answered after about four weeks ,but I will say this: if the 'loanees' from Udinese and Granada (example Pudil with 22 international appearances for The Czech Republic) play well then I expect we will challenge for sixth, if they flop, then we could struggle to be outside the fight in the bottom six.

  
  

  
  

  What are you expecting from Ipswich tonight?

  
  

  I'm expecting a feisty encounter from a young Ipswich side with a lot to prove. They have the talent in Chopra and Scotland you constantly flatter to deceive and a young group. 

  
  

  Ipswich have spent a lot, they have a good manager who at one stage was in for the Republic of Ireland job, so I expect them to turn up to win.

  
  

  You're known as our bogey team, are your fans as aware of that as ours!?

  
  

  I'm sure the fans know the names of the teams we beat on a regular basis, as there are not many we have such a great record against! You don't have a John Wark up front any more, but you do have good players.

  
  

  Tonight sees a very quick return for keeper Scott Loach; how do you think he'll be received and what are your opinions on him?

  
  

  He's obviously a good keeper, but whether the fans will give him a good reception or not may be down to him deciding to jump the other way if we get a penalty! We have Almunia now which is probably an upgrade but maybe Scott will be as good if not better in the future.

  
  

  Finally, can I get a score prediction and a 'player to watch' for you guys please?

  
  

  Murray is the player to watch: the Irish International is highly rated by the Manchester teams amongst others. Vydra from the bench is class too.

  
  

  My prediction is Watford 1: Ipswich 1, 

  Murray to score for us and Chopra for yourselves.

  
  

  Many thanks to James for taking the time to talk to me, you can read his blog Watford Hornet at http://watfordhornet.tumblr.com 

  
  

  Have fun tonight those of you who are going!

  
   #ibelieve 
  
  Sent from Samsung Mobile
  

  
  

   

A View From The Stands: Ipswich Town vs Blackburn Rovers

After a divisive season last year and an equally frustrating summer, it was nice to see the Ipswich Town faithful united once more.

For a few hours at least.

We do have a talent for debating and arguing over manager, owner and players outside of match day, but once we cross the threshold of Portman Road all that is left behind and we have one goal - back the boys.

From where I was sat, at my computer in Barnsley listening to the action on Ipswich Player - as I do every game that I can't attend in person - it seemed that all the right noises were coming from Suffolk. 

A lap of honour for the county's Olympians set the tone nicely for a day of being proud of our home grown talent. Jewell's new young side (as described on the BBC's Football League Show) more than measured up to their opponents on the day; newly relegated Blackburn were given a shock treatment in the need to bury a lead early when you are in this league.

Having not been able to be there myself, I asked Jordan Mitchell (who sits in the Sir Bobby Robson Lower) to pass on his thoughts after the game:

We started well, attacking right from the off but faded as the half went on. When Blackburn scored we went into our shells. Then in the second half we didn't get going at all, but we got what I feel we deserved eventually. 

Before the game I'd have taken a draw for sure, even more so after not playing our best.

Can you see any improvements from last year?

It's hard to tell at this stage, you can't base a summer's work on one game. Early signs show that we've improved our passing game but, at times, this seemed to have been focused on too much.

Conceded from a corner, did you see much of that?

That was at the other end to me, so wouldn't want to say too much. We looked shakey from set pieces as a general note though.

How about our goal? I know it was an own goal but was there good build up play?

That was a result of constant pressure for a good 5 minutes from us. It wad well deserved though and the ball in from Hyam caused the own goal.

The noise from the crowd sounded impressive on the radio, what was the mood like where you are?

The atmosphere was superb. There are still the same old idiots popping up every now and then, but on the whole it was great support, especially in the first and last 15 minutes.

Finally: your Man of the Match and favourite moment of the day?

Luke Hyam ran non-stop, he really shone for me. 

Favourite moment of the day was the new anthem "My Way" being sung by the masses before kick off. This, followed by the roar as the players left the huddle was the stuff of hairs standing up. The moment that told me that football was back!

No matter what does or doesn't go on off the pitch this week, with regards to transfers, I'd really like to let Jewell and the boys do their talking on the pitch.

They did almost everything we've asked for on Saturday: Jewell played Hyam and he lived up to expectations, we managed a good draw against the promotion favourites, we looked fitter and showed the desire to go on and win once we'd equalised.

That's not even to mention how nice it was to hear of Scott Loach, proudly making his debut at the club he loves, celebrating 'like a fan' when we equalised.

Of course there are concerns, the defensive errors that led to the goal are worryingly familiar and I pray that JET was just having an off day and doesn't take half a season to get going again. But, in my opinion, the positives outweighed the negatives.

Whether or not Davies does sign this week, I think that's a great jumping off point for the season.

Sent from Samsung Mobile

'Ipswich will be a tough nut to crack': match preview with Blackburn Rovers fan Mike

My earliest memory of Blackburn Rovers goes back to 1995.

I was in my last year at primary school and a classmate of mine was a huge fan. We used to tease each other about results and argued over who's team was better, of course he eventually won that argument: Rovers became Champions of England while town were relegated to the second tier.

Since then I've always kept an eye out for how Rovers were doing and always kind of took it for granted that they would continue to be a Premier League side. So their relegation last year left me a bit shocked and, from the massive media coverage they and their manager Steve Kean have attracted, I'm guessing I wasn't the only one.

As one of the Championship's newest members they make an incredibly tough first opponent for Town. I spoke to Blackburn Rovers blogger Mike Delap to see how they are feeling about their exit from the top flight and their first test of the season.

How much has changed for you over the summer? 

The short answer is a fair bit has changed, in the circus that is Blackburn Rovers things always change!

We've lost two big names in Junior Hoilett and Yakubu which was inevitable given relegation but we have surprisingly been very active in the transfer market without losing 3 or 4 more which was the fear given the "mass exodus" warnings the papers were firing out in May.

In have come Danny Murphy, Dickson Etuhu, Leon Best (who's already injured sadly), Nuno Gomes, Colin Kazim-Richards and an influx of cheap Portuguese talent which stands us on 8 new players as we try to reshape for a new division.

Player wise it's been a rather unlikely surprise given the aggressive cost cutting and talented player stripping we've witnessed so far from owners Venky's, so as far as the squad quality goes, for the Championship it's very strong.

How about Kean? Have fans got any faith he'll get you promoted, or even last the season!?

Any faith in Kean? None whatsoever. Sure he gets stick in places where it just isn't merited but largely the vitriol and abuse you see heading his way is because I don't think you'll ever meet or see anyone in your life who is quite so sneaky. He plays the media to his advantage, he's a smooth talker and he knows his way around the footballing world. 

The problem is most of what he says is total bullshit and he's spent the last 18 months getting sections of the crowd to turn on each other, promising us actions that haven't been delivered and generally just being a yes man and a mouthpiece for the owners who've hidden behind the Scot.

That and he's just simply not very good. His win/loss record tells you all you need to know.

We could still go up in spite of Kean, but I doubt this time round he'll last the season given the change of operation at the club implemented over the season.

With that in mind: ITFC fans have been split by their opinions on Paul Jewell this last year, do you sympathise or does it annoy you given the rough time you've had as a club?

Doesn't annoy me at all, every club and every fan has a right to be annoyed and voice concerns. Given the character that Jewell tends to be I am not surprised he divides opinion.

As a fan of Rovers I would wager we've had a fair bit rougher time than most this last season or so but that doesn't mean problems don't exist elsewhere. For what it's worth I've always thought Jewell was a little bit underrated.

What are you expecting from the Championship? 

It is shaping up to be an incredibly competitive league. Looking down the squad lists I can see as many as 10 teams fighting for the the top 2 spots and that's not accounting for the usual surprise packages that emerge out of nowhere with the mandatory "didn't see that coming" push for the top.

The promoted sides don't appear to be weak and seem to have big ambitions so I expect every game to be worth something which in it's won way makes it a better watch than the Premier League (I'm not bitter honest).

It'll be tough, it'll be different, but I'm looking forward to it.

And what are you expecting from Ipswich today? Are you going to be there?

I'm not personally at Ipswich on Saturday, I was at Norwich last season (yes, I know, boo hiss) but I can only make that long, 12 hour return trip once every so often!

I'm expecting Ipswich to be a tough nut to crack and as with most Jewell sides to play with a freedom that should create an open game - not to mention we're not the greatest defensively!

I've always rated Carlos Edwards who has a skill and a flair to him that makes him an easy watch and not to mention Michael Chopra who's been in and around the Premier League and the Championship scoring goals in both.

I tend to hear good things about Ipswich given the set up at the club, it's always come across as a family club (like Rovers) so I expect the banter to be strong and fair.

Finally: can I get a score prediction and a 'Player to watch' from your team.

Absolutely. As always I'd like to think we'll get off on the right foot so I am predicting a win for the Rovers - 3-1 if you want a scoreline with Kazim-Richards, Gomes and David Dunn the scorers.

If you want a dark horse to watch keep an eye out for young Fabio Nunes, you won't have heard of him but he's looked the business in pre-season pacey winger with a bag of tricks in his locker.

Thanks to Mike for taking the time to talk to me, see what he has to say after the match at http://www.thewildblackburnrover.com/?m=1  

Tommy Smith: Olympic games or Cambridge United Away?

Tommy Smith made a welcome return to the Ipswich Town side today after his New Zealand team were knocked out of the Olympics.

The Oly Whites ended their London 2012 experience bottom of the group, but that won’t have been too disappointing for the side which also included Chris Wood (Bristol City) and Ryan Nelsen (QPR).

But was Tommy’s involvement in this tournament a good thing or a bad thing for the club that pays his wages? I’ve seen fans debate either side of this argument and wanted to offer an opinion based on my experience whilst watching him this summer.

 I was at the City of Coventry Stadium last week to see Tommy Smith become the only Ipswich Town player to feature in these Olympic Games and was able to speak to him after the game.

He seemed genuinely proud to be a part of the competition and, despite a disappointing defeat to Belarus, he was in good spirits. He explained what an honour it was to have been able to do that with family (his parents and girlfriend made the trip up from Suffolk) and Ipswich Town fans supporting him – he repeatedly thanked us for being there, ‘I’ve seen lots of blue shirts, it’s been amazing’.

At the time he was looking forward to his next match against Egypt at Old Trafford, ‘I’ve never played there before, it’s a dream come true’ and, of course, the final match against Brazil was on his mind too. These are experiences he’ll never forget and that is my first reason for saying I believe he absolutely did the right thing in taking part in the Olympics.

It is important games like this that can ‘make you’ as a player, how much did playing for the Republic of Ireland benefit Matt Holland? And I don’t recall anyone questioning his commitment to our club. Hopefully, the experience will have added to Tommy’s ability to perform under pressure.

There is also the argument that the quality of football Tommy was involved with this summer will be much higher than if he’d played in our pre-season friendlies. With all due respect to Cambridge United and Luton Town, Tommy will have learnt so much from playing against tournament favourites: Brazil – surely no-one can deny that?

So how about the game itself? How did Tommy do?

To be honest it was probably one of the slowest football matches I’ve ever seen and the passing ability of both sides left a lot to be desired. It was sloppy and, as you’ll have seen if you watched any of the matches, New Zealand seemed to lack the finishing touch despite having good possession of the ball for the majority of the game.

In defence they were okay, but only okay. The goal seemed like poor marking, not Tommy, and it was a shame that that goal that made the difference in the end. I felt Tommy did, occasionally, seem to lose the man he was marking, something I’ve often seen him do in a Town shirt. But, in general, he was solid, showed a lot of intelligence and most of all I was impressed with the way he organised the team.

Tommy was given the captain’s armband for the World Cup qualifying matches earlier in the summer and he seemed to be carrying the influence he’d had then into these games. I hope this is a skill he’ll continue to show on the Portman Road pitch.

The only other concern was that Tommy, by his own admission, began to look very tired towards the end of the game. He explained that it was his first full 90 minutes since he’d played in the Solomon Islands (for the World Cup Qualifiers) but he was sure it would get easier now. As we said to him, it was a great way to get fit for the season!

His fitness levels therefore will be great after the number of games he has played this summer, but that - of course - plays into the hands of fans who are concerned he will become tired too quickly because he hasn’t had a summer break.

Well, I put that to Tommy after the game and the thought had clearly not even crossed his mind. He said, ‘I had a bit of a break after the World Cup (due to a hamstring injury picked up in training with Ipswich Town) but I’m raring to go now’.  

Tommy’s only 22, he’s not in desperate need of a rest and – from what he said to us – I don’t think he wanted one. He’s keen to work on his fitness, something most Town fans would have put at the top of their list for every single first team player to work on over the summer. So, again, I feel the summer of playing will have benefited Tommy, and therefore will benefit Ipswich too.

I can only see it as a positive that he has been allowed to take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity and am glad the club have supported him in it. But I’m glad he’s back now and, judging by the half time score against West Ham, we have missed him!

Here’s to what will possibly be Tommy’s most important year yet, the year he proves himself.

Charity Match makes Magic for Mason

Picture the scene:

It's the day of Middlesbrough at home and, despite the possibility the game will be called off, I've headed down to Ipswich.

As my friends and I sit in Robert Ransome's pub waiting for news of the pitch inspection, I tweet in jest: 'if this gets cancelled we should have a Twitter match instead'.

The comment prompts a popular response: one tweeter suggests 'arrange a game for charity'. And so, Mason's Fun Day was born…

It's amazing to think how far things have come since then and, to be honest, I'm still in shock that it's actually happening! I was warned from an early point that these events can be difficult to arrange (with insurance concerns for players and FA rules to stick to), but I wanted to give it a try anyway.

Our charity game is being held on Sunday 8^th July at Ipswich Wanderers (IP4 3NR) from 12pm until 5pm and is being held to raise money for Mason's Magic a charity that's very close to the hearts of the ITFC Twitter family.

Mason is a 7 year old boy from Ipswich who has a brain tumour. This amazing little boy has decided that he wants to raise money to provide children who are ill, like him, with special treats:

'I want to make as many children as possible smile and stay as positive as me. So I've picked up my wand and cape and begun my magical quest to spread the word of positivity and to always have hope.'

From 'My Story' on www.masonsmagic.co.uk

Mason took his quest to Twitter and was soon spotted by the community of Town fans that are on there. His message of positivity was perfectly timed due to the turbulent year The Blues have had: if Mason can be so positive after all he's been through, we have no excuse to loose hope for a football team.

He soon had a massive number of followers, including some celebrities, and he's amazingly now passed the 18.5K mark! The charity has gone from strength to strength and his account and website often report of the different events that fundraisers have arranged for him.

For me, Mason was the natural choice to be the benefactor of our charity football match. I am really pleased because every Town fan that is playing on Sunday has found us and Mason through Twitter, our game carries on Mason's message of spreading the word of positivity through this social media site.

I would also like to credit Twitter with allowing this day to come together, because it is thanks to my online pleas for help that I met Ross Wishart. Ross is no stranger to charity events and has in the past arranged a 24 hour football match. I was so grateful when he offered to help with mine and – make no mistake about it – without him this day would not be happening.

Ross managed to get former Town player Fabian Wilnis involved with the game. He was a popular character whilst playing at Portman Road, making 282 appearances and scoring 6; including THAT goal in our first home Premier League match against Manchester United in 2000. In December last year, he joined Colchester United's Centre of Excellence: becoming a coach was something he'd long been keen to do.

I have tried to make sure there is a focus on Ipswich when asking 'stars' to take part and, as such, I managed to persuade another former Blue to take part: defender Kevin Ellis who played for Town in the 90's. His involvement with the club went past his career on the pitch though: he went on to work with our academy. Kev's a local lad who still supports the Blues avidly and I'm really grateful to him for taking part!

I also asked a few local journalists to play and was chuffed at the prompt response from the EADT and Evening Star's Dave Gooderham. Dave has been part of a massive change in the local paper and his interaction on Twitter has meant the paper has been able to focus so much more on fan reaction this season. It's nice to have someone who wants the best for the club working in the local media and nice to have such a nice guy playing on Sunday!

Many of our other participants have been recruited by Ross through Fab Wilnis, though. You see Fabian has also been playing for the UK 3 Lions, a team of 'musicians, presenters and personalities' who arrange charity matches around the world to raise money.

They recently held a game in Russia to raise money for Mason's Magic (among others) and, on Sunday, Fabian will be joined by two of his team mates: singer Lewis Clay (who reached the bootcamp stages of X Factor last year) and Rob Lamarr ( presenter of Channel 5's Super Casino).

Adding to the musical talent in Fab's side are Jamie Pugh (semi-finalist of Britain's Got Talent in 2009 – he sang a gorgeous version of Bring Him Home from Les Miserables) and 16 year old Adam Moss (Suffolk born and bred, he was given a record deal after contacting the BBC Radio Cambridgeshire's Sue Marchant).

Rob is joined by fellow presenters Brynn Lucas and Ryan Eggar and the team is finished off with models Tom East and Matt Fiddes (a bodybuilder who was Michael Jackson's bodyguard).

The fun's not just on the pitch though: We wanted to make sure this is a day out everyone can enjoy. Before the main match, which kicks off at 3pm, there is a warm up match featuring the Felixstowe Dolphins. Excitingly that game will be coached by Blues favourite Kevin Beattie.

Meanwhile Ross has also managed to arrange 30 market stalls with games and entertainment, featuing a bouncy castle, a hog roast and a raffle with some amazing prizes – this includes a signed Kevin Painter photo, signed Paul Weller merchandise, photos from Ipswich Town's last game of the season, some DS and Wii games and much, much more! All these prizes have been kindly donated by fellow Tractor boys and girls (including Kevin Painter himself!).

There's still space for you to get involved too: the event is free to get in but we need some volunteers to collect donations. If you'd be willing to carry a Mason's Magic bucket around for a little bit please get in touch with me or Ross via Twitter: @tractorgirlamy8 and @rosswishart

You can see it's a real mixture of participants in terms of fans, players, music and TV but they've all got one goal in mind: raising money for this amazing cause.

I'm really looking forward to the day and proud to have played such a part in it.

Please do come along and see us on Sunday, it's going to be a lot of fun!

Stay tuned for pics and videos and wish us luck!!!

Band of Hope and Glory

Euro 2012 finally kicked of for England fans last night with their team's first game of the campaign against France.

 

The one all draw seems to have satisfied most fans, though there will always be those who believe that isn't a good enough result: usually the same people who decided months ago that England weren't even going to get past the group stages.

 

What has concerned me today though is a reaction to something that took place off the pitch (or rather something that didn't take place) in Donetsk.

 

You may have noticed the absence of the England Band inside the ground yesterday. It has emerged that Ukrainian authorities confiscated their instruments as they were walking into the ground on a promise that they would have these returned after the match. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/euro2012/article-2158139/EURO-2012-England-band-furious-having-instruments-confiscated.html

 

Love them or hate them, the band have become a part of the travelling England fans in recent years - so much so that they are now sponsored by Pukka Pies.

 

But it seems there are some that haven't taken quite so keenly to their performances and are even going as far to request that the band be banned from international games permanently. This blog on Daisy Cutter explains the adverse affect they believe the group are having on the atmosphere at games. http://www.thedaisycutter.co.uk/2012/06/lets-keep-the-england-band-banned/

 

Whilst I'm not sure how 'tongue in cheek this article is meant to be, a quick look at the comments on the aforementioned Daily Mail article shows they are not alone in this train of thought. It goes without saying that I respect their opinion, I cannot agree with it for a second.

When did it become offensive to have a bit of fun at a football game?

 

I have experienced the same sort of criticism towards Ipswich fans, most recently following the 'party atmosphere' at the final game of the season at Doncaster Rovers. Although for the most part those who travelled to South Yorkshire enjoyed their day, I have read tweets calling for the world to be rid of 'foam hands, fancy dress and congas'.

 

I don't understand it. At no point has it been insisted that every single person in Suffolk join in these festivities, moreover those who have wanted to join in have been happily welcomed and, in my opinion, we enjoyed the day together as a community. It's like the recent street parties that took place to celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee - if you wanted to join then you were more than welcome and the day was celebrated with friends, neighbours and families, but if you preferred to stay at home and watch the coverage on your telly you were not judged for this either. Few moaned about what the other was doing because, at the end of the day, it had no affect on them.

 

Each to their own I say and I cannot understand the need to criticise others for wanting to have fun. I said to one fellow blue 'I think you complain about others having fun because you have felt miserable watching Town play for the last ten years and you want to make sure everyone else is miserable too'. To this he replied, 'you are probably right'.

 

More importantly though is Jack Howe's claim on his Daisy Cutter blog that, rather than improving the atmosphere at games (as is its intention as you can see on their site here http://www.englandband.com/index.shtml ) apparently the England Band actually prevents others from singing at games. Another point I totally disagree with.

 

I witnessed the England band myself at a recent England Women's match at the Keepmoat Stadium. I thought they were good fun and certainly did improve the noise for the thousand or so people who had attended that night.

 

'But that's a small crowd', I hear you say, 'it is a different situation entirely'.

 

Well, that may be true but what I witnessed that evening were groups of the crowd being encouraged by the noise created by the band to join in and sing, but after this they continued their chants, where they were already singing out the band remained quiet to allow them to finish. One lovely moment a song was started up by the band, the crowd joined in and after the band stopped playing the crowd continued. They sang the song across the pitch to each other, like it was a tennis ball they were throwing from one side to the other. Surely the effect the band had here can only be a good thing?

 

Lord knows this year's season has been plagued with complaints that the Football League is losing its 'atmosphere'. Grounds across the country, from the lower leagues right up to the Premiership, seem to be going quiet on us as a result of falling attendances among other factors.

 

I know Ipswich fans have been calling for some changes to be made at Portman Road, the Ipswich cheerleaders have been reinstated this season (love them or hate them, at least the effort's being made), their have been calls for half-time entertainment such as the 'mini-tractors' that were featured this year and, by far the most interesting suggestion for me, is the idea to move away fans next to our louder 'North Stand'.

 

All good suggestions and all good evidence that we, as a collective of football fans. Want to see more being done to improve the noise levels at our football grounds. The England Band is just one other way to do this and it is so nice that it has stemmed from a group of fans playing at their own club.

 

I don't see the harm in it and as such I really wish certain sections of football fans would lighten up a bit and let others get on with enjoying watching the game.

 

After all, football's meant to be a hobby – what is the point in going if you're not going to enjoy it!?

 

Last year's 'disaster' signings will shape this summer's transfers

It's difficult to find any negatives in Town's signing of Elliott Hewitt.

He's young, a defender in a position we need back up for and a good prospect for the future. Isn't that great?!

His arrival at Town is easy to compare to our Player of the Year for 2011/2012 Aaron Cresswell: he's young, from a lower league and highly rated: former boss and ex-Macclesfield manager Gary Simpson sent a message to Town fans in the EADT: 'if he continues to play as he has done he'll make it to the Premiership, without a doubt'.

http://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town/town_have_got_absolute_steal_in_elliott_hewitt_says_ex_macclesfield_boss_gary_simpson_1_1394268

But how did we get to the point of signing someone that everyone likes?

Sadly, signings as successful as Cressie were few and far between last year. Much has been said about Jewell's strategy to sign big name players and give us a quick fix promotion solution and he has admitted he has made mistakes.

But I don't feel that last year's signings were a total failure.

First there was Michael Chopra, a great acquisition in my opinion. He had an excellent reputation in the Championship (his first term at the Welsh side in 2006 saw him score 22 goals), so the £1 million price tag Town paid for him seemed a snip.

What we have since learned is that Chopra is struggling with personal problems and the club are doing what they can to help (by paying off his debts and arranging a training trip to California this summer to improve his fitness). But I believe we still have in him a 20-goal-a-season striker. He scored 15 this year, when he's clearly had a lot to deal with, so it's not beyond the realms of possibility for him.

It's my belief the fact that we signed him is the main reason many pundits predicted we would do well last year. We just need to find him someone to play alongside: I think, given time, he and Jason Scotland will do well together, but we do need other options and someone young and hungry (perhaps in the mould of Connor Wickham) would work well.

'Ellington had been successful for Jewell in the past.'

Another 'big name' signing was Nathan Ellington. He has been quiet in recent years, essentially since he left Wigan where he played for Paul Jewell, and some fans were dubious about this. I feel it's easy to say now that he's a poor player and to question why Jewell signed him, but at the time I don't think it would have been fair to say that. He had been successful for Jewell in the past and if you have someone who you've worked well with previously it is understandable that you want to have them with you when you move on to somewhere new.

The same could be said for Ingimarsson and Ibrahima Sonko. At the time you could believe them to be reasonable signings; highly recommended with mostly good reputations from their former clubs. With hindsight, both may well have just been too old (or in Sonko's case too disaster prone...), but Jewell didn't have the power of hindsight that we do now. He had a plan and he was sticking to it. It's just disappointing - or inevitable - that it didn't work out.

All these players, along with Jimmy Bullard and Lee Bowyer who also joined our squad last summer, come across well on paper. As individuals they bring a lot of experience to the side, something we really did benefit from for a time. The problem was, there were too many of them: Jewell has admitted this, in fact I'm pretty much paraphrasing his recent interviews here!

The 'Dad's Army' didn't work and he won't do it again, you can't say fairer than that. If he'd opted for maybe just one or two of those players last season things might have been very different. I expect he'll show he's learnt from that this year.

'JET has the power to change games and he will be key for us next year.'

Amongst the 'let downs' last year it's easy to overlook the fact that Jewell also brought in some real talent. As well as the aforementioned Aaron Cresswell, Arsenal youngster Jay Emmanuel Thomas joined the side.

A friend of mine, who's a regular at The Emirates, warned me JET was lazy, but I tried not to take too much notice (he's a Gooner and they never know how good they've got it do they?!).

But, it has to be said, early on in the season it seemed he might be right. We weren't getting any of this promised talent out of JET and it was a worry, he was soon dropped from the starting line up. But Jewell insisted there was something special about him and we should stick with him.

JET for me is the most promising sign for our future: he has the power to change games and he will be key for us next year. The fact that he has improved so well since the beginning of the year is proof for me that, as fans, we just don't know what goes on behind the scenes at Ipswich Town.

We don't get to see the training sessions that Jewell does, we don't see get to see the players day-in, day-out. He was right to be patient with JET so I trust him for the next season too.

'I don't want to see us repeat the mistake of loaning defenders because I want to see stability in the back four from now on.'

So I move on to the other aspect of our new squad this past year: our loan signings.

Keith Andrews and Danny Collins were vital to the success we experienced in October, but when they returned to their own clubs our season turned and, for a few months, we struggled to keep outside the relegation zone.

They weren't our only loan signings, we also saw two short term solutions spend some time in our goal. In my opinion David Stockdale was one of our best players last year, but when he was called back to Fulham we were thrown into the awful situation of relying on a keeper that was widely considered as not even good enough to be our second choice.

The other trouble with loan players is that you often don't see the loyalty from them that you might with a player who has signed a full contract. With Ipswich fans crying out for players who are proud to wear the blue and white shirt, taking on loans doesn't seem to suit our club any longer.

In addition, I don't want to see us repeat the mistake of loaning defenders because I want to see stability in the back four from now on. We saw in the second half of the season that consistency in defence lead to better performances and that can only be gained by long term signings.

That's not to say the idea of loans should be avoided entirely: Perhaps we could use this option to acquire an attacking midfielder. Loans bring some fresh ideas to our game and options for tactical changes over the course of the season. Loaning a forward, someone young with a point to prove who is playing for a contract, could well benefit us.

And so we move to the present day, the summer where Jewell needs to prove he won't make any of the above 'mistakes' again.

The coming months are, in my opinion, his most important at Portman Road.

In general the reports of who we have been linked with are good. It's a hard time to be an Ipswich fan: clubs like us (who are conceived as having 'money to spend') are linked with every player under the sun: some links are good, some are bad and most never actually amount to anything concrete. You have to be patient and wait for official confirmation from the club before thinking about it too much, otherwise you'd go mad!

Joel Ward is an excellent example of this. He would have been a very good signing but, for what it's worth, I think Jewell did the right thing there.

'It wasn't a case of signing him 'at all costs' for me. More, sign him if that's what's right for our club.'

I've seen it suggested that he 'should have done his homework' and sold Ward the idea that he'd be playing for us as a right back as this is what Joel has since said he wants for his career. But I don't think that would have been right.

He will have seen our side and seen that Edwards is a regular in that position, has done reasonably well there and is our team captain too. Common sense suggests that he wouldn't have been guaranteed that position for every game, to lie about that would have been unfair.

Jewell did the right thing portraying to him the truth that what we needed was his versatility. It wasn't a case of signing him 'at all costs' for me. More, sign him if that's what's right for our club.

Fair play to Jewell for not forcing a deal that wouldn't work for the club and fair play to Joel for sticking to his decision to go with the club that can give him what he wants for his future.

Elliott Hewitt, on the other hand, is exactly what we wanted. Bringing him to the club feels like it has brought in a new era at Portman Road and one would hope it is a sign of things to come.

Current right-back Carlos Edwards has had a reasonably good second half of the year, much like the rest of the team, so Elliott will do well as cover for him. I would want him to be given a chance to prove himself this year if and when he is needed (perhaps during cup games, if Carlos is injured or even simply in need of a rest), if this goes well he would then provide the option of being able to push Edwards forward to a winger role, something many fans believe would suit him best.

I've been reminiscing this week about former players who we've unearthed from lower leagues: Mattie Holland, Marcus Stewart, David Johnson and Paul Mariner.

I would use Grant Holt as an excellent current example of other clubs finding success in similar ways, but it hurts too much to think about that man for too long!

These, along with youngsters produced by our own academy, are the kinds of players we have built our history on; I believe that is why Elliott has been welcomed with open arms this week. More of this please Paul...

Having said all of that, the signings we make over the coming weeks are vital: we have to source two centre backs from somewhere, perhaps a central midfielder to replace Grant Leadbitter and maybe a striker too.

I want to stress the importance to not expect us to get any player we set eyes on: this is not supermarket sweep. But, if I could chose anyone, who would it be?

Scott Loach (goalkeeper, Watford): Reportedly he is an Ipswich fan and I like the thought of someone committed to the club between the sticks. Like Wrighty.

Richard Keogh (defender, Coventry): has come through our youth system and comes highly recommended by staff there. Keogh's a popular man at Coventry too, after being made 'Player of the season' for the past two years.

Ryan Nelsen (centre back, currently without club): the 34 year old who signed for 6 months with Tottenham in January could be worth a punt, as pointed out by Ipswich Town blogger Lewis Mitchell http://www.lewis-mitchell.com/05/blues-enquire-about-spurs-defender-nelsen/ The New Zealand international has played regularly with Tommy Smith and so continuing that partnership could help solve Town's defensive woes.

His age will be a concern to some but, as Jewell has said towards the end of this season, age brings much needed experience if you get the balance right in the team as a whole.

Greg Halford (defender, Portsmouth): we seem to be being linked with him quite regularly, presumably because one expects Pompey to lose a lot of their players this summer. I saw him play a lot whilst he was at Sheffield United and I was impressed.

However, he is a right back mostly and we currently have Edwards and newboy Hewitt for that position so I'm not sure Halford is needed. In addition, it's been reported that Greg's not a big fan of Ipswich, though that may just be because of his Colchester links.

James Coppinger (midfielder, Doncaster Rovers): yet another player that has been linked to Town repeatedly over the last 12 months, but this time we've actually heard the player speak highly of our club.

A joint bid was made last summer for Copps and his team-mate Billy Sharp, but it was reportedly not enough for Rovers to allow their two best players to leave. With them dropping to League One now though all that has changed and, having worked with and watched Copps a lot last season, I really hope this is one piece of paper-talk that comes true.

Finally, Town have reportedly been in discussions this week with Celtic over another of our loan players this season: Daryl Murphy. I'm not a huge fan of the Irishman who absolutely exasperated me at times, but he is consistent and I cannot deny his work-rate for Town. He would bring a sense of stability to the squad if he were to join permanently so I'll be 'satisfied', shall we say, if he does but - to be honest - he wouldn't be my first choice.

That's not to say though that I expect Jewell to sign any of these players nor that I will criticise him if he doesn't. I'm happy to leave it up to the man in the know.

At the end of the day, it's easy for me to make a list of anyone I might like to see playing for us, but I don't know how possible that is. Jewell does and I trust him to make the right decisions.

I watch the remaining summer weeks with interest and look forward to seeing who puts pen to paper next!
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