retired_amyslack

East Anglia Daily Times
Sunday 12th September 2004
Berkovic Impresses In Debut

New signing Eyal Berkovic made an immediate impact in his debut at home to Rotherham, laying on the opening goal in the Blues 3-0 win. He made the telling pass at the end of a flowing move to free Kevin Horlock who fired home. The Israeli international looked comfortable on the ball and he clearly has an eye for the right pass so it was sad to see him limp off after an hour to be replaced by Jim Magilton. We understand that he suffered just a minor knock but Horlock, who came off at around the same time, was not so lucky as he has sustained a wrist injury and could be absent for a week. By that time however, the home side were 3-0 ahead and well in control. Pablo Counaga scored the second on 25 minutes, tapping in after a superb pullback from Ian Westlake. Within ten minutes of the restart Fabian Wilnis added the 3rd with a sweet strike from some 25 yards. The visitors scored a consolation goal in stoppage time but it made no difference to the final result.

Roorsby re-folded his newspaper with a rare sense of satisfaction. Despite being on the pitch for only 60 minutes, it was clear to Roorsby that Berkovic would be a first-rate signing. The midfielder was clearly a class act and was set to be the lynchpin in central midfield.

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Roorsby Bobbins was distracted from his mound of paperwork by a knock on the door of his office. “Come in” he called out, putting down the scouting report that he had been reading. His visitor turned out to be young striker Darren Bent, who looked somewhat ill at ease.

“Hello Darren, come on in lad and take a seat. What can I do for you son?”

“I think that I want to leave the club boss”, the young man blurted out.

“Blimey, that’s a bit of a bombshell. When did you reach that conclusion?”

“Well I’ve been thinking about it for a while and I feel that the only way that I can start to realise my potential is to move on to a bigger club.”

“So you don’t think that Ipswich is a big enough club for you?”

“Well I really want to play in the Premiership, challenge for trophies and play in Europe.”

“And you don’t think that you can achieve that here?”

“To be honest, no I don’t. I mean we’re 11th right now boss and I think that we should really be pushing for promotion, not sitting in mid-table.”

“Well to be honest with you son, I agree with you.”

“You do?” – he sounded puzzled.

“I do. I think that we should be pushing for promotion too and I believe that we are quite capable of doing that this season and in two or three years you could be in the Premiership and playing in Europe.”

“Oh, I thought you meant that you agreed I should leave.”

“No, I certainly don’t agree with that. You have got a lot of potential and I think that you can be a top class player and I want to see you achieve that with Ipswich. But words are cheap, aren’t they, and the only way that you will believe what I say is if the team starts to be successful. So I’ll do a deal with you.”

“A deal?”

“Yep – a deal. You stay put for the rest of the season, work hard and bang in 20 goals or so and let’s see where we stand then. If we’re still in mid-table and haven’t made a big push for promotion then we can look at the situation again.”

“I’m not convinced boss, but I’ll give it a go. I might not wait until the end of the season if things aren’t going well though.”

“Fair enough son – you’ve got over 18 months left on your contract but you’ve got the right to hand in a transfer request any time you want. I want you to stick to your end of the bargain though. I mean you’ve scored three goals in eight games and I’d like to see your strike rate increase. After all that would help everybody – you would be more marketable and we would win more games. If that’s all then there’s some paperwork that I need to attend to.”

retired_amyslack

The Evening Star
Monday 20th September 2004
Kuqi – “Use Me Or Lose Me”

Ipswich striker Shefki Kuqi has issued a challenge to his manager Roorsby Bobbins saying that he believes he merits a place in the manager’s plans and if he doesn’t start seeing some first team action then he may be forced to look elsewhere. The 27-year-old Finnish international hasn’t featured for the Blues at all this season and he is far from happy with the situation. “I feel that I have a lot to offer the team” he told our reporter, “and it is very frustrating for me not to be playing regular football.” He arrived at Portman Road on a free transfer from Sheffield Wednesday last season and scored 11 goals in 36 starts. With less than 12 months left on his contract he could move on as a free agent next summer if his wish is not met. Roorsby Bobbins was not available for comment when we tried to get his reaction earlier today.

The manager was not best pleased to have read about Kuqi’s concerns in the newspaper rather than directly from the player himself. The fact was that the forward did not really fit into Roorsby’s plans and he had done little to impress in training. But rather that complain to the newspapers the striker should have knuckled down and proved that he had something to offer the team. Roorsby decided that the two of them would be having a little chat soon and he would have no hesitation in putting Shefki on the transfer list if that was what the player wanted.

retired_amyslack

Roorsby Bobbins needed to get some new strikers. He had just watched his team pound League One side Bristol City for 120 minutes in their League Cup tie at Ashton Gate. Admittedly their keeper had played a blinder, making some stunning saves when his players managed to get a shot on target. But with well over half of their efforts either wide, or high, or both, it had been a frustrating evening for the manager watching on the sidelines. At least he had the consolation of seeing his team win the penalty shootout when the home side missed their first three penalties and his lads tucked all of theirs away. He had even given Kuqi a run out from the bench after he had mouthed off to the local press but the Finn was as useless as Roorsby has suspected. But with next to no money in the transfer budget bringing in new players remained a pipe dream and he would have to try to make the best of what he had.

His frustrations increased in their next game, a league match at Nottingham Forest. This time they did manage to get amongst the goals, Darren Bent scoring twice as they hit their hosts on the break. But on each occasion they were unable to defend their lead and conceded equalisers - the second coming in stoppage time – and ended with a 2-2 draw. They reached the end of September in 12th place, admittedly just three points outside the playoff places and with a game in hand. They had lost just two league matches but had drawn almost as many as they had won.

There was no sign of improvement at the start of October. Going into their home match against a Brighton side already enmeshed in a relegation struggle they were without Jason De Vos who had suffered a groin strain in training. At the end of their 1-0 defeat they had three more players in the treatment room, Counago the worst affected with an ankle problem that would keep him out for a fortnight, Pronk and Westlake both requiring just a few days of recovery time. All four were missing for the midweek match at home to Millwall and when midfielder Tommy Miller received his second yellow card of the game after just 35 minutes things looked grim. But Millwall failed to take advantage of superior numbers and the home side really should have taken the points, hitting the woodwork late on. But the stats told their own story – ten scoring attempts and just one on target.

A weekend off for World Cup qualifiers allowed most of the walking wounded to get back to fitness but in the meantime Roorsby lost Kevin Horlock for a week with a groin strain. Their match at Burnley was a perfect illustration of the problems that beset his team at present. The home side scored twice inside 12 minutes, on both occasions the ball deflecting off David Unsworth and past a stranded keeper. When his side did create some chances the home keeper denied them with some fine saves and looking more and more deflated they went on to concede twice more and lose 4-0. Not only did they lose the match, they also lost the services of fullback Fabian Wilnis for several days with a badly bruised shin.

With team morale plummeting they desperately needed a result at home to Sheffield United but when keeper Kelvin Davis conceded an early penalty that looked unlikely. Pablo Counago scored his 5th of the season shortly afterwards to tie the game but Ipswich were unable to find a winner and had to settle for an unsatisfactory 1-1 draw.

retired_amyslack

The Evening Star
Wednesday 27th October 2004
Bent Double Knocks Out Toffees

Unsettled striker Darren Bent put himself in the shop window by scoring in each half to give Ipswich a deserved 2-1 win over Everton in the 3rd round of the League Cup. Manager Roorsby Bobbins recalled the experienced Magilton to midfield and gave teenage centre back Aidan Collins his first start of the season but there was still no place in the starting eleven for Kuqi. With the impressive Berkovic pulling the strings in midfield, the home side performed well against the Premiership outfit and opened the scoring in the 36th minute when Bent capitalised on a sloppy back pass from Leon Osman. Everton midfielder Tim Cahill found an equaliser just before half time when he ghosted in unmarked at the fire post to head home. But on the hour mark Bent bagged his second after good work from Marcel Pronk, the Dutchman freeing the 20-year-old who finished neatly past the onrushing Nigel Martyn. Despite the boost of a welcome win, the team continues to be dogged with injury problems, Magilton the victim this time after a clash with Alessandro Pistone saw the veteran midfielder carried off, a broken shoulder meaning that he will be absent for three or four weeks.

That was more like it, though Roorsby as he put his newspaper to one side and reflected further on his team’s win over Premiership opposition. Bent showed what he was capable of up front and Berkovic had another very influential game in midfield. He hoped that the morale boost would carry forward into their league form but he still had mixed feelings about the win over Everton – the extra income from the gate receipts and prize money was certainly useful but the loss of Magilton and the burden of an extra fixture on a lightweight squad could outweigh that at the end of the season.

retired_bbcarr

Nice win over Everton, Bob. Hopefully it will do some good for the squad's morale :thup:

retired_amyslack

Cheers Simon - it certainly won't do any harm.

A trip to league leaders Wigan would be a tough challenge and in the circumstances a 0-0 draw was a decent result. At the end of October the club remained marooned in mid-table, their 18 points leaving them 8 points adrift of the playoff places.

Kevin Horlock was fit enough to sit on the bench for the midweek trip to Leeds where, despite taking the lead through Counago and having keeper Davis voted Man of the Match, they still suffered a 2-1 defeat. The team’s next challenge was a visit from former league leaders QPR whose recent poor form had seen them drop to the fringes of the playoff places. Horlock came off the bench to play the last 25 minutes and there was precious little to separate the teams for most of the match. With the home side tiring rapidly Roorsby made two late substitutions, one of whom was the disgruntled Shefki Kuqi, and to the manager’s amazement the Finn score the only goal of the game in the final minute of stoppage time.

Ipswich had the luxury of a two-week break before they travelled to Highbury to face the might of Arsenal in the 4th round of the League Cup. Unfortunately they made the journey without midfielder Horlock who had suffered another injury in training and by the end of the match Darren Bent had joined him in the treatment room, the striker expected to be out for several days. Kelvin Davis managed to save two penalties but it was not enough to prevent the home side gaining the win that everyone expected, Aliadiere and Bergkamp getting the goals in the 2-0 victory.

retired_amyslack

“What do you think Willie? Maybe our luck is changing for the better now.”

“Could be boss, it would certainly be about time.”

Roorsby Bobbins and his Assistant Manager Willie Donachie were discussing the Tuesday night win at home to Crewe. Ipswich had dominated the game, winning 3-0 and enjoying some good fortune at times. The opening goal from Counago came courtesy of a deflected free kick and the visitors had a man sent off late in the first half. Berkovic scored his first goal of the season after an hour and Counago rounded off the win from the penalty spot to seal their biggest win of the season so far.

“I’ll certainly be glad when we get Jim and Kevin back though.”

“Well I can’t see either of them being ready for the trip to Wolves at the weekend.”

“What about Darren?”

“Touch and go, but I doubt it.”

“Looks like Shefki will get a start then. Let’s hope that he can lift is game and show me that he really does deserve to be considered for the first eleven.”

The Finn did just that, scoring the opening goal after half an hour and putting in a pretty decent display. But Bobbins wondered if he had spoken too soon regarding his team’s luck as Wolves equalised with 5 minutes when former Wigan midfielder Jimmy Bullard scored with a deflected shot. Ipswich fell behind when veteran Paul Ince scored a rare headed goal but their luck had not entirely deserted them and teenage striker Dean Bowditch came off the bench to score his first goal of the season in stoppage time to grab a deserved 2-2 draw. They still could not escape injury-free however and Fabian Wilnis was ruled out for a few days with a shoulder problem but Drissa Diallo had proved to be a good stand-in previously so the manager was not too concerned.

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December opened with a midweek trip to promotion-chasing Reading with none of the lads in the treatment room yet ready for a return. Richard Naylor was also absent through suspension so the 1-1 draw was reasonable in the circumstances. Naylor was back for the visit of Preston and the injured players were all back in full training but Bobbins felt that none of them were ready for a return to action yet. The manager spent an anxious 90 minutes watching his strikers miss chance after chance but there may have been some truth in his feeling that their luck was on the turn. Counago broke the deadlock in first-half stoppage time when another shot destined to go wide took a deflection and ended in the back of the net. Keeper Davis kept his team ahead with some good saves in the second period and Kuqi sealed the points in the 90th minute with a breakaway goal. By that time Ipswich were down to ten men after Unsworth suffered a late injury with all three substitutes out on the pitch. Fortunately the iron-man defender suffered no lasting damage and would not miss any action.

The luxury of a week with no midweek match allowed the players to re-charge their batteries and the 3-1 win at Stoke showed the benefit. But by the Tuesday they were back in action again entertaining Derby who were just above them on goal difference. Former Ipswich stalwart George Burley was now in charge at Derby and Roorsby was gratified to read some complimentary remarks in the press that were attributed to his rival manger. Eyal Berkovic was proving to be an inspired signing and the midfielder scored the only goal of an absorbing contest to extend the unbeaten run to 7 league games and lift Ipswich to 9th, just two points outside the playoff zone.


East Anglia Daily Times
Sunday 19th December 2004
Town Denied By Late Penalty

Ipswich came within seconds of beating leaders Leicester but a Dion Dublin penalty in the final seconds of stoppage time denied the Blues a deserved victory. With Eyal Berkovic controlling the midfield in yet another classy display the visitors took the lead after quarter of an hour. The Israeli maestro played a perfectly weighted ball in for Shefki Kuqi to fire home, the Finn now seeming to be in the manger’s good books and getting a regular start. The two teams traded chances for the remainder of the game with home keeper Ian Walker the busier of the two. But for the excellence of the 33-year-old stopper the game would surely have been won long before Berkovic was adjudged to have tripped Jordan Stewart in the area. Dublin, a striker turned centre back like our own Richard Naylor, stepped up to hammer the ball home and keep his team in first place on goal difference over Sunderland.

retired_amyslack

The Boxing Day trip to Coventry turned into a rout, the 5-0 win easily their highest score of the season but for the visit of Cardiff two days later there were some tired legs out on the pitch and Bobbins rested as many players as he dared. Jim Magilton gave them an early lead when he scored his first goal of the season with a magnificent dipping 30-yarder but the visitors forced an equaliser 15 minutes from time. When the December awards were announced they featured Ipswich players for the first time since August. Eyal Berkovic was recognised as Player of the Month and Jim Magilton won Goal of the Month for his strike in the last match.

The Christmas and New Year period was widely disliked by players and managers alike and with his side having to play four times in eight days, Bobbins was no fan either. New Years Day involved a difficult trip to second place Sunderland and even in his worst nightmares the manager could not have envisaged a worse 45 minutes then the first half of the match produced. After 5 minutes they lost Berkovic with what looked like a groin injury, former Ipswich striker Marcus Stewart scored twice in two minutes just after the half hour and in a 60 second period at the end of the half they lost Miller to injury and Naylor to a second yellow card. In contrast the second half went very well and they conceded just one further goal to suffer a dispiriting 3-0 defeat.

With injuries and suspensions taking their toll it was a patchwork eleven that took to the pitch at Portman Road to face West Ham two days later. In the circumstances the manager was not displeased with the resulting goalless draw but with his team now down in 10th place he was left to rue the damage that the turn of the year had wrought. The next day he received more bad news when he heard that Oleg Luzhnyi would miss the remainder of the season after he suffered torn knee ligaments. There was one good piece of news however when a deal was struck to bring 24-year-old Dutch defender Pieter Collen from NAC Breda on a free transfer in the summer.