retired_amyslack

Berkovic and Miller were both still absent when the team made the trip to Plymouth for a televised FA Cup tie and Roorsby was relieved when his team’s dominance was finally translated into goals, Bent and Kuqi both finding the net in the closing half hour. Roorsby had been in negotiations with midfielder Tommy Miller to extend his contract once it expired in the summer but the 26-year-old made it quite clear that he had no interest and wanted a move. So when Notts Forest came in with a bid of £1.2M the manager felt he had no option but to accept, rather than lose the player for no fee in the summer. As Roorsby began spending his windfall the team travelled to Gillingham in search of a win. Berkovic made a welcome return to the team but a missed penalty by Kevin Horlock meant that they returned with a goalless draw.

retired_jgirl87

Another top-shelf effort from you, Bob. KUTGW :thup:

retired_amyslack

Cheers Spav - nice to see you pop back in - hang around a while if you can

East Anglia Daily Times
Friday 21st January 2005
Desperate Bobbins Goes On Spending Spree

Having sold on unsettled midfield star Tommy Miller, Ipswich boss Roorsby Bobbins has been spending his ill-gotten gains in a desperate attempt to re-ignite the club’s push for a playoff place. £400K has been spent to bring central defender Dean Richards from Tottenham, with a further £50K going to PSV for former Sheffield Wednesday forward Gerald Sibon. He has also gambled on bringing in Dwight Yorke from Birmingham – the £35K fee is not excessive but whether the fading striker can produce the goods on the field is another question entirely. Veteran Dutch midfielder Richard Witschge has joined on a free transfer along with two more Dutch youngsters on short-term loans – midfielder Kiran Bechan and centre back Wesley Zandstra. It remains to be seen if the manager can blend the new players into the team and start to turn the season around but he surely needs to start getting results soon.

Tossing his newspaper aside, the manager couldn’t help but feel that the story carried a grain of truth – some of his signings did smack of desperation. Dean Richards was a solid centre back and he was sure that he would strengthen the defence. At 35 years of age Witschge clearly was at the veteran stage but Roorsby recognised his class and was convinced that he would be very useful in the remainder of the season. Sibon and Yorke he wasn’t so sure about but, Darren Bent apart, he was totally underwhelmed with his strikeforce and honestly felt that he had nothing to lose with the gamble.

retired_amyslack

East Anglia Daily Times
Saturday 22nd January 2005
New Boys Fail To Impress In Cup

Town boss Roorsby Bobbins had three of his new signings on display in their FA Cup 4th round tie at Aston Villa with two more on the bench, but none of them made an immediate impact in the 2-0 defeat. Dean Richards looked solid in central defence as he replaced Jason De Vos who was on international duty with Canada. Gerald Sibon got a start up front with former Villa man Yorke replacing him on 65 minutes but neither managed a decent scoring attempt. Kiran Bechan did little to impress in midfield but when the veteran Witschge replaced the injured Magilton he did show flashes of quality, coming close with a free kick on one occasion. Bobbins claimed to be happy with what he had seen, despite the result, claiming that the players had to be given time to settle and that we could not expect too much too soon. This is becoming a familiar refrain from the inexperienced manager but the fans are running out of patience and his team have to start to deliver soon.

retired_amyslack

East Anglia Daily Times
Tuesday 25th January 2005
Wasteful Town Squander Chances

Ipswich squandered a hatful of chances against visiting Plymouth as they dominated possession and took just one point from a match that they should have won comfortably. They fell behind on 34 minutes against the run of play when the referee awarded the visitors a soft penalty but a powerful header from Dean Richards just before half time levelled the game. Plymouth had Mickey Evans sent off on the hour but Town failed to make their advantage count with both Witschge and Sibon guilty of some dreadful misses. The introduction of Yorke failed to improve matters and the result left their loyal fans dejected and disappointed.

The papers were spot on unfortunately – chances were indeed squandered and Roorsby had a sinking feeling that neither of his new strikers were going to do the business. But he still had one final throw of the dice before the transfer window closed so fingers crossed that he could roll a double six!

retired_amyslack

East Anglia Daily Times
Saturday 29th January 2005
Could Rebrov Be Town’s Saviour?

Sergiy Rebrov used to be half of one of the most deadly striking partnerships in Europe when he partnered Andriy Shevchenko at Dinamo Kiev. His partner went on to great things in Italy and Rebrov made a big money move to Tottenham but failed to deliver. He spent last season at West Ham without making any impact but as of this morning he is now an Ipswich Town player after the clubs agreed an undisclosed fee. No one can argue that this is a high profile signing but doubts remain over the ability of the Ukrainian to deliver goals and the jury is still out on that question.

£650K was the “undisclosed fee” and it wiped out the manager’s remaining transfer budget, so it better produce some results and soon. Otherwise the rookie boss could be out on his ear come the end of the season.

retired_amyslack

East Anglia Daily Times
Sunday 30th January 2005
Rebrov Scores On Debut

It took new boy Sergiy Rebrov just over five minutes to open his account for Ipswich in their 2-1 win at Millwall. Richard Witschge, later voted Man of the Match for his display in midfield, created the opening when his powerful shot was parried. Rebrov was in just the right place to pounce on the rebound and slide the ball home. Rarely will he score an easier goal but the important thing was that he showed a striker’s instinct to pick up the pieces. A David Unsworth penalty on the half hour doubled Town’s advantage and although the home side reduced the deficit in the second half Ipswich were able to hold on to register their fist win in six league matches.

retired_manragh

Great Story Bob, enjoying the style a lot.

retired_amyslack

Thanks Pan - appreciate the comments. Good luck with your own challenge effort by the way.

It had been a hectic month for the new manager as he set about strengthening his squad. Having spent over £1M in the process he fervently hoped that he had dome the right thing and that the press were wrong to label his purchases “panic buying”. It would take time to integrate the new men into the side but he was already seeing some encouraging signs. His mood was improved by a 2-0 win at home to Watford at the start of February in which Rebrov scored again but a 1-0 defeat at Rotherham was followed by consecutive 1-1 draws at home to Burnley and Notts Forest. The month ended with a 3-1 win at Brighton and the team sat two places and two points outside the playoff places. Even though the team seemed unable to get a run of wins going they were still in touch and Roorsby was particularly pleased with the way his midfield was playing.

retired_amyslack

East Anglia Daily Times
Friday 1st April 2005
Town In The Frame After Winning Month

After winning all four of their league matches in March, Ipswich have propelled themselves into the thick of the promotion battle by moving up to 5th place in the table. Several of Bobbins’ new signings have been putting in impressive displays and at last the goals have been flowing. Two consecutive 3-0 wins, Sheffield United away and Wigan at home, gave the team real momentum and this was kept going by a 2-1 win at home to Leeds and then a 2-0 victory at QPR. Eyal Berkovic and Ian Westlake have been at the heart of the revival and together with the veteran Richard Witschge the three have formed a formidable midfield troika. Sergiy Rebrov has not been scoring prolifically but his intelligent play up front has helped Darren Bent score six goals in as many games. Berkovic was recognised as Player of the Month with Westlake taking the Young Player equivalent and Roorsby Bobbins was edged out of the managerial award by George Burley of Derby. Burley’s side won all five of their games in March and their 12-game unbeaten run has taken them to the top of the league.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Pos | Inf | Team | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Derby | 39 | 23 | 6 | 10 | 72 | 39 | +33 | 75 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Leicester | 39 | 21 | 12 | 6 | 65 | 37 | +28 | 75 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Sunderland | 39 | 21 | 8 | 10 | 62 | 44 | +18 | 71 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Wolves | 39 | 18 | 12 | 9 | 73 | 47 | +26 | 66 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 5th | | IPSWICH | 39 | 17 | 15 | 7 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 66 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 6th | | Wigan | 39 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 58 | 40 | +18 | 66 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 7th | | Nottm Forest | 39 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 52 | 33 | +19 | 65 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 8th | | West Ham | 39 | 18 | 9 | 12 | 54 | 41 | +13 | 63 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 9th | | Q.P.R. | 39 | 17 | 10 | 12 | 46 | 38 | +8 | 61 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 10th | | Reading | 39 | 16 | 11 | 12 | 53 | 48 | +5 | 59 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 11th | | Leeds | 39 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 54 | 46 | +8 | 56 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 12th | | Coventry | 39 | 12 | 14 | 13 | 47 | 50 | -3 | 50 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 13th | | Sheff Utd | 39 | 10 | 19 | 10 | 41 | 41 | 0 | 49 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 14th | | Watford | 39 | 13 | 9 | 17 | 53 | 64 | -11 | 48 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 15th | | Preston | 39 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 46 | 53 | -7 | 47 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 16th | | Stoke | 39 | 12 | 9 | 18 | 47 | 49 | -2 | 45 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 17th | | Gillingham | 39 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 46 | 53 | -7 | 45 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 18th | | Cardiff | 39 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 47 | 66 | -19 | 45 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 19th | | Rotherham | 39 | 9 | 17 | 13 | 39 | 46 | -7 | 44 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 20th | | Plymouth | 39 | 8 | 16 | 15 | 47 | 62 | -15 | 40 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 21st | | Millwall | 39 | 9 | 12 | 18 | 38 | 50 | -12 | 39 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 22nd | | Brighton | 39 | 8 | 15 | 16 | 44 | 69 | -25 | 39 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 23rd | | Burnley | 39 | 9 | 11 | 19 | 41 | 53 | -12 | 38 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 24th | R | Crewe | 39 | 2 | 5 | 32 | 29 | 104 | -75 | 11 | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>
As Roorsby laid down the local paper he allowed himself the luxury of a moment of satisfaction at how several of his new signings were beginning to turn around the season for Ipswich Town Football Club. Not all of the new faces had been an unqualified success but enough of them were making an impact and the team was benefiting greatly.