Ipswich Town column: Blues are not too good to go down
ANYONE who had their head in the sand about the situation Ipswich are in, had it well and truly yanked out on Tuesday night.
Peterborough are by far the worst team in the Championship, yet they squashed us 3-1 and have now taken four points off us this season.
If anyone thinks we're too good to go down, then those results alone suggest otherwise.
We are now entrenched in a relegation dogfight.
Roy Keane says he recognises the situation we're in but obviously his message is proving too subtle for his players.
It is time that they got tooled up and ready for the almighty battle they have ahead of them over the next 16 games.
Ultimately the problem is no one can put their finger on why this Ipswich team is so bad.
Teams like Peterborough, Plymouth and Scunthorpe can blame a lack of resources for the reason their teams are not peppered with established
Championship players but we can't.
Roy Keane has been one of the biggest spenders in the division this season and our squad is packed with players who have proved themselves at this level.
QPR supporters' can blame their off the field turmoil and a number of flair players, who don't have the stomach for a battle at the bottom.
But at Portman Road, Marcus Evans has been unflinching in his support of our manager and although the players must take their fair share of the blame, they do seem an honest, hard-working bunch, with a healthy team spirit.
Even when you break down the team position by position, it is hard to see why this side is doing so badly.
At the start of the season our defence was in disarray but in recent months Gareth McAuley, Damien Delaney and Liam Rosenior have tightened up our backline considerably.
At the heart of our midfield we have Grant Leadbitter and David Norris, who cost nearly 5m, and in Jon Walters, we have a player Keano believes is Premier League class.
Up front we currently have top flight strikers Daryl Murphy and David Healy and before their arrival the likes of Jon Stead, Tamas Priskin and Pablo Counago who are established Championship players - yet we still can't score enough goals.
If we can't put our finger on why this team is under-performing so badly, then this same digit must then be pointed in the direction of the manager.
Keane has been searching for the solution all season and if he doesn't find it quickly then we'll be in League One next season.
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Thursday 09 February 2012
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