Ipswich Town sign up to Operation Survival

HOW did it come to this? Ipswich Town, propped up by a multi-millionaire tycoon, with Premier League ambitions and an expensively assembled squad are today staring bleakly into the abyss. If anyone was in any doubt, they shouldn’t be now - last night’s...

Keane avoids referee blame game

ONE of the most enduring images of the beautiful game’s recent history is that of a huddle of snarling Manchester United players chasing a seemingly petrified Andy D’Urso across the Old Trafford turf. The referee’s crime was daring to do the unthinkable...

Summertime - and the winning is easy

What a draw! I don’t think Fabio Capello could have dreamed of such a straightforward South African stroll.  I reckon he may even have mustered the slightest of smiles. Or maybe not. The USA? No probs. Algeria? Where? Slovenia? I bet Rooney is polishing...

Good luck, Stern - you'll need it

STERN John’s arrival at Portman Road is about as attractive as a two-week vacation to Basra. Who would have imagined the saviour of our season would turn out to be a 33-year-old journeyman who hasn’t scored in months. I wasn’t expecting Karim Benzema,...

Only a change in philosophy can save the Blues

THERE is something intrinsically wrong at Portman Road. Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday was one of the worst football matches I can remember watching – bereft of quality on a monumental scale. If Ipswich Town don’t have the nous to beat...

Come on Mauricio - and come on the Albion!

AS a 28-year-old Town fan, I was born a decade too late to enjoy Ipswich’s glory years. So if I had to choose my favourite Blue, I couldn’t pick one of Sir Bobby’s culture club - instead, the crop of players at my disposal ranges from the gloomy days...

Ipswich Town's boo boys should shut up

GOOD on you if you were among the majority of those inside Portman Road who applauded Roy Keane’s men from the field last night. Shame on you if you were among the moaning minority who decided to vent your disappointment at the injustice of Watford’s...

It's time for Roy to bring David Wright in from the cold

I BUMPED into David Wright last night – remember him? He was the full back who was a regular fixture in Town’s back four until Roy Keane rode into Suffolk, one of the most consistent performers in a perpetually inconsistent team. He was in a popular...

Saturday is perfect chance to break Town's duck - and honour a hero

SATURDAY’S match between Ipswich Town and Newcastle United is as perfectly timed as a John Wark run (circa 1981). The fixture between Sir Bobby Robson’s two great footballing loves follows the service of thanks giving in Durham earlier this week and...

In honour of Sir Bobby

There has been a buzz in beautiful Durham today. An adopted son of Suffolk and football's favourite knight, the incredible life of one Sir Robert Robson will be celebrated here later. The tiny north east city, popultion just 42,000, is awash with dozens...

I hope the shame of Upton Park was only an anomaly

WHAT struck me the most about the truly grim images broadcast from Upton Park last night was the age of those involved in the disturbances. As well as being overweight and sporting shaved heads and tattoos, most of the yobs appeared to be in their 40s,...

Sir Bobby, thank you and goodbye

YOU can bet that in the coming days and weeks, the tributes paid to Sir Bobby Robson will flow in abundance. And quite rightly so. The word legend is thrown around too often. But in Sir Bobby’s case, the sentiment matches the man perfectly. Perhaps...

David Norris crucial to success of the Blues

DAVID Norris will be the first to admit Ipswich Town fans have not seen the best of him yet. The expectation of a big money transfer has appeared to weigh around his neck at times. But I think he will be one of the key members of Roy Keane’s squad...

A dodgy ITFC pre-season? Promotion awaits!

A GRIM pre-season for Ipswich Town can mean only one thing - promotion. Roy Keane was a little unhappy after the Blues' dismal 2-0 defeat to Cork City (which followed a 2-1 reverse to Finn Harps earlier this month) - but he needn't worry. Scientific...

Real Madrid critics told: You're ignorant

APPARENTLY, anyone who is a tad concerned over the ethics of Real Madrid spending £136m on two players during a global recession is “ignorant and misguided”. So says outspoken Bernebau president Florentino Perez, who has engineered the unlikely capture...