Norwich played well; I’m not taking anything from their win. They pressed us and knew we would make errors at the back, the amount of opportunities they had was shocking. I suspected we could lose this game, but never in the manner I had witnessed on Sunday.
Yes we did have injuries, but any good manager should have players capable of filling in. Keane has spent £10 million on transfers during his time at the club and he was left with a decent squad. It looked like the decision to let David Wright go has bitten Keane on the arm.
The lack of passion was disgraceful. Only David Norris had played an “Old Farm Derby” match before, and I could tell he knew the importance of the game, but it seemed the other players were scared of the game’s meaning. I don’t know what Keane had told the players before the game, but our defence looked scared and rattled whenever Norwich pressed forwards.
It was embarrassing to see Darren O’Dea and Damien Delaney’s “defensive” performances. I have never seen a worse Ipswich performance than O’Dea’s for some time. He was completely at fault for the opening goal and was caught out of position too many times. When he was moved to centre-back, his marking was so relaxed that Norwich often had two free men when playing set pieces.
It is easy to blame the referee for Delaney’s red card, or maybe even Grant Holt’s exaggerated falling, but Norwich would have beaten us even if we had eleven men. Personally I thought Delaney’s challenge was a booking, the full-backs looked likely to cover and there was minimal contact. It changed the game, but Keane and the team couldn’t adapt.
In midfield we looked unimaginative, one-dimensional and lacked creative spark going forwards. The relentless long-balls to Tamas Priskin lacked common sense, especially when it was just him up front. It was four vs. one for most of the time at the back.
I don’t know what happened to Carlos Edwards and Jack Colback in that game. Edwards was rarely threatening and his crossing was below average. His performance waned as the match wore on and I was really disappointed in him. But Jack Colback was just as bad, he looks a shadow of his former self this season and he didn’t see much of the ball.
When Scotland came off to be replaced I was expecting Shane O’Connor or Jack Livermore, maybe even Luciano Civelli to replace him. But not Colin Healey, a poor substitution that represents Keane’s bad judgement. Some of those players don’t look like they want to play for our club, as some Norwich fans have pointed out, it is starting to look reminiscent of Glen Roeder’s management in Norwich’s relegation season.
I am also disappointed with a minority of our supporters who felt the need to rip up seats and fight one another. Whilst I understand the result and performance will have upset many, this type of behaviour does not do our club any favours. We have a good reputation in football and it’s people like those who tarnish it.
Personally, I find Roy Keane has to shoulder most of the blame for that performance. The poor tactics, bland and predictable playing style coupled with the surprising lack of passion and the poor substitutions have just done it for me. Never have I felt so distraught and humiliated watching my club in the company of others. I was intent on giving Keane time but I have never seen Ipswich struggle so badly. If Keane stays, I fear it will be successive under-achieving seasons.
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