ipswich town

Ipswich Town have signed goalkeeper Asmir Begovic from Portsmouth on a three month loan deal, the dual nationality Canadian/Bosnian has made four appearances for Pompey this season.

The 22year old arrived at Portsmouth in 2003 and has since enjoyed loan spells with Bournemouth, Macclesfield and Yeovil as well as deputising for David James at Fratton Road.

The goalkeeper made his international debut for Bosnia last Saturday as a late substitute in the World Cup qualifier against Estonia, and has previously played for Canada at the Under-20 World Cup in 2007.

Begovic will be included in the Ipswich squad for Saturday’s game at home to Swansea and will battle for a place with regular keeper Richard Wright at Portman Road.

Meanwhile Ipswich striker Jon Stead who has been assured of his future by Roy Keane, still fears that he may be sold in the January transfer window. The striker has started only four games so far this season and has yet to score a goal, but says he does not want to leave the club.

“He’s sold me before, so it’s been on my mind” says Stead “I’ve only had four starts so far this season, and I’ve been taken off at half-time in some of them, so it’s not been ideal. I haven’t played as well as last season, and I’m not going to pull the wool over my eyes and say any different. Very few of us have played well, week in, week out.”

Stead says he was surprised to read reports in the summer that Ipswich were looking to sell him despite reassurances from Roy Keane that that was not the case. “It was a shock for me to read that I wasn’t going to play for Ipswich again, I had personally spoken to the manager, so I knew that this was not the case, and is still not the case. Therefore the story didn’t affect me because I knew it wasn’t true. I’m still very much involved, and I’m still in the frame.”

Barnsley

It is the second defeat on the trot in the Championship and third in a week including the Carling Cup loss at Arsenal for the Baggies and has put a temporary dent in their attempt at marching straight back to the Premiership.

Barnsley, who are at the other end of the Championship table, were much the better team and deserved the win with a performance that belies their position in the league.

Michael Chopra scored four in Cardiff’s mauling of Derby County as the Welsh team found their early season form and thrashed Nigel Clough’s side 6-1.

Promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough and Preston were both beaten, the latter by lowly strugglers Reading who won away 1-2 and lifted themselves up the table but will need to build on this result to avoid a relegation battle later in the season.

Gareth Southgate was booed by the home crowd following the 0-1 defeat by Leicester who are now just one point behind Middlesbrough after an indifferent start to the campaign.

Roy Keane’s Ipswich were robbed yet again as Sheffield United scored an equalising goal in injury time to make the score 3-3. Ipswich had led 3-1 and will be disappointed at letting the game slip away, although one point is better than none.

Ipswich Town’s Simon Clegg was quick to dispel any rumours that Keane’s time at the club was coming to an end by issuing a statement to say there is no pressure on the Irishman.

Coventry staged a late comeback to take all the points from their visit to Watford, trailing 2-1 the Sky Blues scored twice in the last ten minutes or so to seal the win 2-3.

Bristol City beat Blackpool 2-0 who are now both on 16 points just outside the play off places which is becoming very congested with five teams on the same points.

Crystal Palace were held to a 0-0 against visitors Sheffield Wednesday, the same result as at Doncaster who entertained Swansea. The bottom of the table clash between Darren Ferguson’s Peterborough and Plymouth was won by the south west team 1-2, their first win of the season.

Newcastle have the chance to stretch their lead to five points at the top of the league when they take on QPR tonight, while Nottingham Forest will host Scunthorpe in the other game.

sir bobby robson stand portman road

A hat trick from Kevin Nolan helped Newcastle United to beat Ipswich Town at Portman Road and move two points clear of West Bromwich Albion at the top of the Championship.

It was an emotionally charged afternoon at Portman Road where both Ipswich and Newcastle paid generous tributes to Sir Bobby Robson before the game and also at half time, when the North Stand was officially renamed the Sir Bobby Robson Stand by his widow Elsie.

But there was no sentimentality shown on the pitch where three goals in four minutes on the half hour mark, effectively wrapped up the game for Newcastle. A fourth goal just after the break sealed the win  and left Ipswich with their worst home defeat in six years.

Roy Keane’s patience was visibly deserting him in the dug out where he looked furious for the best part of the game. The disappointed manager said after the game;

“Clearly we are disappointed. We started alright but the first goal knocked our confidence. You have to persevere and encourage players. We have given teams a helping hand and we can’t keep doing it. I’m sure Kevin Nolan thought it was Christmas with the first goal and before we knew it we were three down. We certainly have to defend better.

I don’t like losing football matches, the expectations are high but we have got to deal with it and get on with it.”

Meanwhile the coach that Keane replaced at Ipswich, Jim Magilton, now at Queens Park Rangers saw his team secure their first home win of the season, beating lowly Barnsley 5-2.

Rangers had led the game 3-0 at half time, but a spirited fightback by Barnsley in the second half reduced the deficit to just one goal. However looking for the equaliser left the Barnsley defence exposed to the counter attack and QPR took full advantage snatching two more goals for a comfortable win.

Magilton saw his team move into eighth place in the league, nine points behind leaders Newcastle, and insisted that his QPR team have ‘raised the bar’ in their Championship campaign.

Football betting tends to peak at this time of year too, as football fans attempt to forecast what is going to happen over the next 9 months.

As far as this season’s Championship goes, I really can’t see there being clear favourites for promotion to the Premier League.

Bookmakers have made Newcastle United favourites to bounce straight back to the Premiership but even with a convincing display against Reading at the weekend, I still don’t fancy them for automatic promotion all the time there is board room and ownership turmoil at St James Park.

I believe Sheffield United and Cardiff City will kick on from last season.  But what effect will Roy Keane have on Ipswich Town’s chances to return to the top league in English football nad likewise, Nigel Clough at Derby County?

Of the three teams relegated from the Premier League last season, I can only really see West Bromich Albion as possible champions, even with new manager Roberto Di Matteo.  Until Mike Ashley sells Newcastle I think they will be destined to lose their best players and remain a Championship side.  While at Middlesbrough, I’d like to see Gareth Southgate do well but I really don’t think they will be equipped for life in the Championship this season, and will have to accommodate a different style of play.

As previously mentioned on this blog, I think Leicester City had such a good season winning promotion from League One that they could quite easily win two promotions on the bounce.

The internet is full of good quality websites offering football news services to keep fans buzzing throughout the season.  But as football fans, we all know only too well that there can only be one winner at the end of the season.

Roy Keane

Keane had been sounded out some weeks ago according to news reports and the clubs owner Marcus Evans has promised the financial backing for a push for promotion to the Premier League. Having steered Sunderland from second from bottom to the Championship title in his first season in charge, Evans has every confidence in Keane doing the same for Ipswich.

“He has extensive contacts in the game and is a proven winner who encourages his team to play the attractive football that Ipswich Town fans have come to expect. I believe he is the right man to take this club where we want to be – the Premier League.”

Keane is impressed with the commitment of the club and the ambition of owner Evan’s and chief executive Simon Clegg and has said that he ‘can’t wait to get started.’ The club will want Keane to move closer to the club, something that sources expect will not be a problem, despite the fact that he insisted in commuting from his home in Cheshire to Sunderland while in charge there.

What’s the odds on Ipswich to win the Championship title next season, I wonder?