What’s next?

Sunday: Yes, it was a narrow victory at home against a bottom three club. However, it was the budgie scum we were playing so, who cares? It didn’t do much for us but it make survival in the Championship more difficult for them.

Monday: Brian Clegg was introduced as the new Chief Executive at Portman Road. If you’re unfamiliar with Clegg, until a few months ago, he led the British Olympic Association. While that’s not the same as leading a top soccer club, he did a great job while at the BOA and his appointment has to be seen as a huge addition to the organization.

Tuesday: While visiting his mother in the hospital, manager “Super” Jim Magilton was shown the door.  Now, I’m usually not one to call for a manager to get sacked….especially only 48 hours after winning a Derby match.  However, there just wasn’t enough consistancy to allow things to continue.  He was a great player for Town.  Unfortunately as a manager he wasn’t able to produce the results.

Wednesday: Roy Keane is named the new manager at Portman Road.

Let’s not worry about the trip to play the leekeating playoff contenders, Cardiff, on Saturday.  Then again, who cares? We’ve no chance at the playoffs and we are already safe from relegation.

Here’s the thing.  All this wasn’t sitting right with me at first.  I couldn’t figure out why I was having such a problem with the changes.  Yeah, Keane leave Sunderland in relegation trouble…but he did take them from the Championship Relegation Zone to Champions and promotion in a year.  Yeah, soccer fans are fickle and change on ya real fast.  No, that wasn’t it.

It’s taken me this long to realise that the club I fell in love with has basically made the moves in 3 days it needs to 1) no longer be that family owned (Cobbolds) club they were back then.  2) Town have made the moves needed to bring them into the 21st Century and are now have more of the needed tools to put the club back in the Premiership and, well, is another trip to Europe asking to much?

David Sheepshanks comes from the same world as the Cobbolds.  He’s the last vestige of a time which has now past.  I’ve a feeling he’ll still be “officially” around but in a much reduced (virtually none) role.  Personally, I disagree with all the negative comments directed towards his performance.  Yeah, he made mistakes (bringing in too many new, overprice and, well under-performing) players during the summer of 2001.  But, the real problem was the collapse of ITV Digital…not having that money is really what caused the Administration which lead to the purchase of a majority of the club by Marcus Evans.

So, where does that leave things?

• We now have a manager who, while still has to be one of the top young manager prospects in the country.  Yeah, he was hard as a player and instills that attack minded mentality on his players, but is that a bad thing?  He played the majority of his career under the man who I believe has been the best manager in the sport the last 20 or so years.  Keane has to have learned some stuff during his years at Old Trafford.
• Off the field the club is now lead by a man who has been at the top of the British Sporting echilon for 20 years is going to bring his experience to running the club.
• Unlike so many other clubs the size of Ipswich, there are no money problems.  Marcus Evans assumed all the existing debts when he bought the club.  Evans has made plenty of money available for Magilton to spend and I see no reason why he won’t do the same now that Keane is in place.
• Keane has two matches to get a feel for the squad he has and the summer to figure out what moves he’ll need to make before August.  Most managerial changes happen in the summer after the season has finished.  This means the new manager usually only has limited knowledge of his new players.
• Of course, things could be a bit worse.

So, a new era has begun at Portman Road.  I can’t wait.  Of course, the skeptic in my wonders if this timing has much to do with the slow season ticket sales…who cares?

TRACTOR ROY’S BLUE AND WHITE ARMY!!!!

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