Mr. Evans and his monies

[Manly]

Ipswich Town today announced former player Ben Manning as their manager, in an appointment which has surprised many who believed that Tony Adams was ready to leave his position at Portsmouth, and upset some hardcore Ipswich fans. Many will be intrigued as to how he will do in such a tight league, where margin for error is very little.

There is added pressure for Manning, as he is Mr. Evans' first appointment, having made the descision to oust Jim Magilton from his post.

With that in mind it will be interesting to see how he goes this season.

The Squad - pt. I​

1. Richard Wright - Returned to Town in July 2008 for a second spell at the club after a seven year absence, during which his career stalled.
2. David Wright - Scored his first goal for the Club in the 1-1 draw at Norwich in April 2007. Had a brief loan spell at Carrow Road in the 2005/06 term. A solid performer at either left or right back
4. Gareth McAuley - Signed from relegated Leicester in a protracted transfer saga for an undisclosed fee. Replacement for Jason De Vos
5. Alex Bruce - Son of Wigan boss Steve, Alex has enjoyed two very successful seasons at Portman Road.
6. Richard Naylor - With Fabian Wilnis' departure, Naylor becomes the Club's longest serving player, having been awarded his testimonial in September 2006.
7. Owen Garvan - Quite possibly the brightest talent in the Championship, widely regarded as having 'an old head on young shoulders', the youngster is into his 3rd year as a first-teamer.
8. Tommy Miller - Another player, along with Wright playing for the Blues after returning. However, Tommy is into his 3rd stint at the Club, and is a reliable spot-kick taker.
9. Pablo Counago - Yet another man returning to the Club, came back from Malaga on a free for the 2007/8 season where he scored 12 goals.
10. David Norris - After a long-winded transfer episode, Norris joined for an undisclosed fee in January, but injury hampered his settling in period, and as yet, hasn't shown any signs that he has justified his fee.
11. Kevin Lisbie - Centre forward joins Town this summer from Colchester, where he scored 17 goals for the U's as they were relegated.
12. Jaime Peters - Young Canadian enjoyed a very good 2006/7 season, before Jim Magilton axed him for a reason no-one could understand.
14. Alan Lee - A striker constantly linked with other clubs, Alan is a hard worker, but often endures long barren spells of goalless games.
15. Pim Balkestein - A new signing from Heerenveen, impressed the old management in a friendly vs. Tottenham and the 21 year old will be looking to do well for his first English club.

 

[gutterman]

great start mate kutgw

 

[freddiw]

awesome mate, great work and good luck ,

what rugby team will you be playing in next term?

 

[Manly]

The Squad - pt. II​

16. Chris Casement - Young Northern Ireland center-back, likely to be used from the bench in case of injury to one of the more experienced defenders.
17. Dean Bowditch - Young striker from the Academy, Bowditch has never been a prolific scorer and spent much of last season injured or on loan.
18. Danny Haynes - Young man with electric pace, if he can isolate a defender one-on-one you would put money on him coming out on top.
19. Jon Walters - Constantly harangued by transfer speculation, last year's Player of the Season is likely to play on the right wing, and will hope to top his goals tally last year of 13.
25. Alan Quinn - Joined from Sheffield Utd. in the January window, Quinn remains the only player to have scored for both sides of Sheffield in derby games.
26. Veliche Shumulikoski - 'The Balkan Steven Gerrard' made an immediate impact on his arrival with Ipswich. A player that can play anywhere in the middle of the park, he likes to get forward and hit some ferocious shots.
27. Shane Supple - A brilliant young goalkeeper, unlucky to have played very little football last year, likely to play substitute to Richard Wright.
38. Jordan Rhodes - A teenager who consistently scores goals for the Reserves and U18's, his tally reaching 50 for the season, including 6 vs MK Dons.


Maney2k8 added 30 Minutes and 8 Seconds later...

Ipswich face a trip to Dorchester Town for their first pre-season game in 8 days time, it will be interesting to see if Mr. Manning makes any signings before them, especially in the trouble area that is the defence.

After that, 3 days later, it is a home clash against Scottish side Dunfermline before playing Shamrock Rovers, TNS, and, finally, Kildare County FC. Not a particularly troubling fixture list, by any means, and everyone expects Ipswich to win each game convincingly. Their fans will be hoping such an easy schedule was planned to give the players a bit of momentum heading into the season which opens against Sheffield United at Portman Road.

 

[Manly]

Ipswich Town coasted to a 3-0 victory at Dorchester on Sunday, but, for most Ipswich fans, 3-0 was not enough. They were after a more convincing display with more goals.
In all fairness, Ipswich could have done so with 21 shots, but only 8 were on target. Goalless at half time, Ipswich came out for the second half rejuvinated, and Pablo Counago opened the scoring before 76th minute substitute Jordan Rhodes put in a 4 shot, 2 goal performance, which earned him Man of the Match.

 

[freddiw]

very nice mate

 

[Jaztheman]

3-0 against Dorchester is a win and as long as you played well then they should have no quams(sp?) for the future. Good presentation, Mr.Manning.

 

[treva]

Will be tough for Mr.Manning to mount a title challenge. I think realistically you should be aiming for the play-offs. I'm sure with your skills though Ben you'll manage to get them relegated

Looking forward to the start of the Championship...