By Aluren
March 1 2007

Guest columnist Aluren gives Singing The Blues his opinion on Town manager Jim Magilton and suggests he is sacked.

OK, now that I've got your attention...

Review: Ipswich Town FC - The Season So Far...


A Change of Manager

Cast your mind back to June of 2006, it was announced that Royle had left the club by "mutual agreement", although compensation was paid, which caused many of us to consider just how mutual it was. Speculation abound was talk of Calderwood, Holloway, Donachie and McCarthy, but there was no mention of Magilton until a couple of days before the appointment.

A wet Monday morning, on Sky Sports News, the announcement of Magilton was met with a mixed reaction on this forum, but generally the air was of optimism. Had our savoir been found? Many people on the forum began to think so, others argued that Sheepshanks had simply taken the cheap option. Myself? I was fairly convinced that it wasn't the best appointment.


The Start of a Legacy

Pre-season wasn't particularly impressive, I only saw the Lazio and Boston Utd games, but we didn't really show a lot of grit, the passing was effective, but it was obvious that something was missing. Dean Bowditch was probably the impresser of the Pre-season along with young Billy Clarke.

Simon Walton and Mark Noble appeared on loan from Charlton and West Ham, respectively, and a deal materialised taking Westlake to Leeds in exchange for a young left back I rated highly at the time, Dan Harding. We also sold Sam Parkin, the underperformer of last season but a player I reckon would've come good, and Nicky Forster, a walking sick note.

The first three games and the first cup game were a nightmare. We took successive losses to Crystal Palace and Wolves and then a thumping from Leicester which could've been a reciprocal of the 6-1 we dished out to them a few seasons ago, and then somehow managed (not for the first time) to get embarrassed by lower league opposition in the Carling Cup and go home early.

An upturn in form occurred, starting at QPR away, a night time game on Sky, which we took 3-1, playing marvellously. Inconsistency prevented any real Play-Off push happening before the Christmas period, but after that it all started to go downhill.


The Good...

So far, it would have to be said that the biggest highlights are beating rivals Norwich and Colchester at home. Another massive one is getting to the 5th round and wholly outplaying Premiership opposition at their place, despite a poor result...

Another bonus, and a rare one for supporters of this club, is watching a decent defence take shape. By the time we have added another centre back, we will have a very solid back four. When was the last time we shipped more than one goal in a game?


The Bad...

We have really lacked a finishing edge this season, for some reason or other we've lost the ability to cut through defences, and it's probably a tactical thing, so I would put the blame on Mr. Magilton, and also on Mr. Klug, for this aspect. Jim and Bryan really need to work on our tactics, and to keep to the passing game which generally has been the only way we have dominated the game.

Using the Dutch theory, if you don't let them have the ball, they won't score goals.


And The Ugly...

There are many contesting factors for this one, but if I were to pick the low point of the season for me, it's the Portman Road atmosphere and attendances. Nothing the players have done, but something it is down to us, the fans, to change. I would love to get the passionate support West Ham, Portsmouth, et al enjoys at home and I'm sure it would help us to get results.

Remember the Watford game, when 4,500 of us sung our hearts out, what stuck in my mind was the Watford fans' silence. They were not interested, they were pathetic, and if they're like that every game, it's easy to see why the players have not been motivated to finish above rock bottom.

Loudnproud hit the nail on the head when he said we perform better away from home, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see why. Away from home we are usually vibrant, regardless of what crap is served up on the pitch. At home, unless the Town are 3-0 up (and we all know just how common this is...), you get more noise at a library.


So, Big Names Who Left The Road?

WESTLAKE, Ian - £500,000 + Dan Harding - Leeds United - Westlake was definitely popular at Portman Road, but in his last season, since he came back from injury, never really did an awful lot, and hasn't done much at Leeds by all accounts.

PARKIN, Sam - £250,000 - Luton Town - Sam never really showed his true colours at Ipswich, and I feel he made a poor move going to a hoofball team like Luton, because he excelled marvellously at Swindon and I always had optimism that he would come good.

FORSTER, Nicky - £250,000 - Hull City - A walking sick note and not particularly young either. We did well to get a fee for him.

MCDONALD, Dean - Free- Gillingham - Looked fairly exciting but lacked much of an end product, Peters is probably the superior player.

BEKKE-SKARD, Vemund - £0 - Released - Never really impressed and with Legwinski coming in, was never likely to be a starting fixture for the club.


And Who's Come In...?

HARDING, Dan - Ian Westlake Part Exchange - Leeds United - Harding has certainly impressed so far with his pace, forward runs, blocking crosses and a good tackle.

BRUCE, Alex - Undisclosed - Birmingham City - If he can control his temper, he is a solid centre back. Jim needs to stop playing him out of position.

MILLER, Ian - Undisclosed - Bury St Edmunds - At Boston's level, and now Darlington's, has been a very impressive player. His biggest test will be whether he can make the step up to playing in front of 25,000 fans.

LEGWINSKI, Sylvain - Free - Fulham - Legwinski is many peoples' (including my) favourite choice for captain next season, his experience, level headedness and Premiership class make him the midfield maestro we needed to replace Magilton.

ROBERTS, Gary - £200,000 - Accrington Stanley - Looked bright at first, but has since faded into a very average player. Needs to get his act together and start putting in more of those Norwich performances and less Southampton ones.

WALTERS, Jonathon - £100,000 - Chester City - Certainly has a hunger to do well. I think there is more to come from Walters when he establishes a powerful partnership up front.

WRIGHT, David - £250,000 - Wigan Athletic - Looks like a solid right-back, I haven't seen enough of him to comment more.

O'CALLAGHAN, George - £80,000 - Cork City - Has looked impressive most of the time, another player that needs to learn to control his temper.


So, What's The Team For 07/08?

Right now, Lewis Price, who has matured significantly, seems to have made the first goalkeeper's shirt his own. I don't believe that Jim knows his back four, although Harding and Wright seem to be the first defenders on the team sheet. I think that next season, Harding and Wright will take the full back positions, and a new centre back will join Ian Miller and Alex Bruce, with De Vos and Naylor shipped out.

I don't expect any major changes in the midfield, as we have Richards and Roberts for the left, Peters and O'Callaghan for the right, and Garvan, Williams and Legwinski for the centre. In the event that Williams leaves, we may see another midfielder come in, but I could see Trotter or Bowditch stepping up. Up front, I expect to see at least one proven goalscorer at the club.


Will we go down, should Jim stay, and are we financially screwed?

I do not believe for a second that we will go down. Yes, it is possible, but no, I'm not worried. We've had some bad games but mostly against good opposition, the real test is in the next three games, against QPR, Hull and Southend. I believe that regardless of what happens, Jim Magilton should stay. He is a rookie manager and is still learning his trade, if we push him out now, who can we bring in to replace him?

As for the finances, the news that Norwich Union are considering writing off our debts could be a blessing. If this materialises, I will definitely advocate Derek Bowden's and David Sheepshanks' financial performance bonuses for this financial year.


So, an Aluren conclusion?

I would say we really need to be vocal in the next three matches, show the team that they are still supported. If a player shoots and misses, don't groan, applaud, we have a huge problem with confidence and you don't build confidence by groaning, swearing and booing the team. The way to win a battle is to stand behind the team and sing your hearts out for the lads, for Jim and for the club we all love.

The team, and Jim, need to realise how serious the situation is, and to realise that the honeymoon period is over. Good performances and results between now and the end of the season equate to a better overturn of season ticket renewals from the less dedicated fans (those who had a season ticket in 04/05 and don't now, for example) which equates to more spending money.

 

If you want to see your own column on STB, e-mail it to me: aston@stb-online.co.uk

 

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