Keano

As I mentioned the breaking news yesterday, the whirlwind of a week at Portman Road culminated early today when Roy Keane was officially introduced as manager of Ipswich Town Football Club; becoming just the 12th man in our esteemed history to be honored with the post.

Take your pick of the news articles, and I wont repeat the details of the story, but there will plenty more commentary on the way and, no doubt, plenty of room for debate. Especially if you are Town fan please add your comment but all are welcome.

Keane Appointed Ipswich Manager from BBC Sport

Keane Excited to be Back from Sky Sports

Keane Targets Premier League from Soccernet

Personally, I'm going on record as saying I am on this bandwagon. And you heard it hear first (maybe) but we will run the table next year. I'll elaborate in my next post.

Cheers all...I'm off to learn that Keano chant and pour another pint - best thing to happen at Portman Road in at least 5 years....UP THE TOWN!!

Does Keano Drive a Tractor?

Breaking news hot off the press is that before Jim has even cleaned out his desk and turned in the keys to the Tractor, former Manchester United legend Roy Keane is about to accept an offer from Ipswich Town to return to the management ranks.

If you had asked me a couple of months ago I would have thought Portman Road would have been one of the most unlikely landing spots for Keano; if he ever decided to manage again. I'm not sure if it is still a likely destination, given that Jim was only shown the door this morning....but at the very least there seems to be plenty of smoke swirling around this storyline.

Much more to come...I'm sure.

Who is Luciano Civelli?

In case anyone was wondering the Tractorboys have actually been doing a bit of transfer business under the radar in the past few weeks, and on Wednesday they introduced the latest addition to the team, Argentine midfielder Luciano Civelli. The fee is reported to be around 1 million pounds, though there appears to be some confusion as to whether the Town have bought him outright or attained 50% of his rights. I'm really not sure how they can buy 50% of the players rights or what that even represents, so lets hope it is an outright purchase and not something out of the Carlos Tevez drawer.

On paper it appears the new lad has some potential. He is only 22 and has scored 8 goals in 68 appearences for his club Banfield in the Argentine Primera División. He is a left footed left midfielder who has been a first team regular since 2006.

This story broke rather quickly as it appeared Ipswich were going to stay quiet in the transfer market given their current middle of the pack (but notably improving) status. This seems to be an encouraging signing and could well pay dividends. Hell, finding a left sided left footed player who can play to some pedigree is an accomplishment in itself. Lets wish the lad a warm welcome and hope he can fit into the team and start contributing. With 17 games to go there is still much to play for and maybe, at least for while, we can look on the bright side.

For the doubters that say it's a waste of money on someone we have never heard of - well to be fair any player that can be attracted to a mid-table second tier club is mostly going to be unheard of, and a million for a reasonably well established 22 year old is a fair gamble in my book.
Besides who had ever heard of Mauricio Taricco?

Luciano, una calurosa bienvenida a Ipswich...

We look forward to adding your name to the coveted Tractor Driver of the Week list.

Cheers!!

TractorHawks Legends of Sports Series

As a new series of articles to throw into the mix, I am introducing a series entitled “TractorHawk Legends of Sports.” At least once a month, and maybe every couple of weeks time permitting, we’ll take a look back at a legendary team, player, coach, or sporting icon associated with the interests of this site.

There are just a couple guidelines for selection.

1. They must have contributed to the particular game or sport, for the most part, during my sporting lifetime, which goes back about 40 years so there is no shortage of candidates! There will be a couple of exceptions that cannot be passed.

2. They are somewhat aligned with the general sporting interests and teams of this site. But that does not mean that we will just focus on players from Ipswich, England, and Seattle. I am more than happy to take requests from readers, so if you have someone you would like to nominate feel free to comment below – I’ll add a ‘recommended by’ note to the tribute. All requests will be considered. As you will see many of the subjects will have had an impact on the sporting world and contributed to a variety of clubs and teams.

I already have a pretty decent list of candidates to get this historical perspective started but, as I mentioned, if you have a player or team that you think are worthy of consideration from any era just fire away below and let me know who and why.

Cheers!

Rafa Benitez Launches Attack on Manchester United Boss then Draws with Stoke

We still have a bit of catching up to do on Blue Hawks as we continue to review the recent football activities, but sometimes a story presents itself that demands coverage. Seems like the the boss of Premier League leading Liverpool has taken it upon himself to be the self-annoited spokesperson for the other 18 managers in the EPL by launching a full-fledged assault on Man United boss, Alex Ferguson.




The timing of this is really quite confusing. Benitez has guided Liverpool to their best ever start since the formation of the EPL and his squad have held top spot for several weeks. Although Man U prepare to face a critical clash with Chelsea this weekend, Liverpool do not actually play United again until mid-March. So why the outburst?

Seems like Benitez is upset that Ferguson gets away with criticizing referees, and apparently the Man U chief is unjust in complaining about the particular sequence of Man U's fixture list. Like this is something new. Are you kidding me? Fergie has been going handbags with the likes of Arsene and Jose, and just about every other EPL manager for the past 25 years - ask Keegan how that worked out for him.

But Rafa, with his well documented notebook, pulls out his file with a list of facts regarding Feguson's attitude towards referees and United's schedule, and acts like this could derail Liverpool's chances of the title.

Fergie's been up to this for far longer than Rafa will ever be manager of Liverpool, regardless of how many marches the red side of Merseyside organize on his behalf. I'll hasten to add that I doubt any Premier manager will ever come close to the amount of silverware that Sir Alex has attained.

Sounds like Rafa is bottling it; although there is almost half the season still to go and he is the one in first place....for now. Last year we had the blow up with the American owners being blamed for Liverpool winning crap in the Premier League. This year after another 30 or 40 million quid of spending, the team are in finally in first place and actually challenging for the title, but it seems that is not good enough for Benitez. Maybe he is he trying to make a pre-emptive excuse just in case Man U win their couple games in hand and climb to within a point of first place. Who knows?


Regardless, anyone reading this site knows that BlueHawks personally couldn't give a toss about any of the so called "Big Four," but this as we routinely cover the Premier League, this story could not be passed up. So while Rafa spent time trying to rattle Ferguson's feathers, his team went out and drew with 3rd from bottom Stoke nil-nil - again; in a game that the Potters came far closer to winning. Maybe he should have spent more time filling up his dossier with scouting notes on Stoke - sort of like Hartlepool did in the Cup last week.

If I had to pick a personal favourite of the "Big Four" to win the league this year, I'm rooting for Villa...sod the rest (and yeah I know Villa are not considered a member of the EPL elite - thats the point).

Is Benitez right? Who does it impact more? Do you really think Ferguson cares? Hit the comments link and let me know.

Holiday Football Review - Ipswich Town

I suggested in my last article that we need a few quick reviews to catch up on the holiday action so the site is up to date and on the right page as the tractor rolls on into 2009.


First up, part of the main focus and highlights (that might be stretching it a bit but still..) of the blog; the blue boys from Suffolk. Heading into the Christmas festivities Ipswich faced a tricky schedule with away games at Coventry and Derby while hosting Birmingham on Boxing Day. A couple weeks back I predicted 2 points from this particular engagement but the Town exceeded expectations and doubled that tally by squeezing in a win against Derby. Four points out of nine is not much to be excited about, but given the maddeningly inconsistent form that has plagued the team this year it is about as much as Town fans can hope for in any given 3 game stretch.

The sequence began back on December 20th as Kevin Lisbie made a surprising return to the score sheet as he bagged both Ipswich goals in a spirited 2-2 draw at Coventry. Certainly not a spectacular result as the Sky Blues, like the Town, appear to be stuck in the middle of nowhere in the table, but at least somewhat positive. The brace by Lisbie moved him into second place on the Ipswich scoring chart this year with five – that alone sums up some of the problems the Town have had this season.

Birmingham City have been in the top three in the Championship all season and were the favorites heading into the Boxing Day affair at Portman Road. A Christmas home match against one of the pacesetters of the league provided an opportunity for Ipswich to inject some life into their season in their final home match of 2008. A James McFadden penalty was all that Brum would need to see them head home happy and dash any hopes that Town fans may have harbored of gaining some much needed momentum. Statistically Ipswich looked to have had the upper hand in terms of goal attempts but this was misleading as Birmingham’s midfield controlled possession for extended periods of the match. One surprise came in the Ipswich starting eleven as Ivan Campo made a rare appearance for the Tractorboys.

Next, it was off to Pride Park for the final game of 2008 to secure a draw and deliver the 2 points for Christmas that BlueHawks had forecast. Derby had been struggling themselves recently with just one win in their previous six games. Magilton made two changes to the starting lineup with Velice Sumulikoski coming in for the injured Danny Haynes and Jonathan Walters being preferred up front to Jon Stead. Thus, the forgotten free agent Campo made his second consecutive start in a defensive midfield role.

The change up front paid dividends as Walters headed in a Ben Thatcher cross in the 14th minute for the only goal of the game as Town managed to record at least one win over the Christmas/New Years period. By all accounts, Town controlled this game and could have won by a wider margin, though they were aided when Derby’s Jordan Stewart saw red on 77 minutes. This match was the final game at the helm for Paul Jewell as he was fired a few days after this defeat, his 50th match at Derby.

Holiday TractorHawk Grade: C
The latest string of results leaves the Town in 10th place on 35 points, 6 points behind Sheffield United who currently sit in the final playoff spot, and a practically insurmountable 23 and 16 points behind top teams Wolves and Reading respectively.

A mostly forgettable end to a mostly forgettable year at Portman Road in 2008 as Ipswich have really struggled to put together any kind of decent run of form. While the playoffs are certainly well within reach, Magilton has got to get this squad playing some consistently decent football if the Portman Road faithful are to be rewarded with any kind of excitement in the second half of the season. Personally I wont hold my breath – the influx of players that Jim has signed have not made much of an impact and the team has shown only occasional sparks.


Still we could win the FA Cup….but we’ll catch up on that in another posting. Cheers!

Welcome to 2009!!

With the festive season now firmly in the rear view mirror and the foundations in progress for some other major web based projects and initiatives, it’s time to welcome the New Year and get the ball rolling again in the land of the TractorHawk. I hope you and yours had a great holiday season and that you were afforded enough time to keep track of an incredibly busy festive football program.

We have lots to catch up with on both sides of the football universe as it applies to this blog, so over the next few days I’ll publish a few quick reviews of some of the major events that transpired in the Premier League, Championship, and NFL. And we can throw in anything else anyone might like to discuss. So if you have something you want to read or argue about, hit the comments below and we’ll get going.

I mentioned some ‘other’ projects at the beginning of this article. There will be more details to follow but I have been working on a few ideas for some subject themes for BlueHawks as we move into January and beyond. A couple that I’ll mention right now include a regular “Legends” series that will profile a player, coach, manager, or team of particular interest to this site. Most likely the focus will be on football (UK and US) and I have some basic guidelines established. But like everything else on my site I’m always open to feedback and requests to add to the agenda.

Another exciting component that I plan to add shortly are soccer products and merchandise reviews where Blue Hawks & Tractors will provide unbiased articles profiling some of the latest and greatest products from a leading web based company. More to follow very soon as we wrap up the final details.

I will be sure to keep everyone updated so keep an eye out for further announcements and a whole series of new articles over the coming days.

Looking forward to a great 2009 in the TractorHawk sporting world, even if the Town don’t go up….Cheers All!!

Man United Win FIFA World Club Cup – Anyone Care?

There was not quite a full slate of English Premier League fixtures this past weekend as Fergie and the lads headed to the Land of the Rising Sun to participate in a wintertime festival known as the FIFA World Club Cup. Depending on your viewpoint this could be considered the football definition of a complete and utter waste of time.

I side with the “waste of time” argument on this debate. This tournament is a showpiece put on by FIFA to supposedly determine the club champions of the world each year. The qualifications to enter this tournament can be described elsewhere but basically each continental club champion is represented - usually. The European representative is the winner of the Champions League from the previous season, thus Man U headed on the long trek east as the rest of the EPL contenders stayed at home to continue the domestic battle.

A few of these games were covered in the US, including the final which was televised live at 2:30 am Pacific on Sunday December 21st. Just for the record, I actually caught some of this game by pure chance. I hadn’t exactly set the alarm but had been battling my asp hosting service as I tried to publish some web design work until the wee hours, and when I finally called it a night to settle down, the final had just started. The stadium may have been full but this game had about as much atmosphere as a Sunday afternoon kick-around in the park behind the pub; more of a pre-season exhibition feel to it than the boldly proclaimed World Club Cup Final right down to being able to hear the players on the field.

There is no doubt, there were some talented players and squads involved but for the most part, I had not heard of any of them. That does not necessarily detract from the tournament but I would challenge most fans to name the teams involved. OK, so go and Google or Wiki the thing and tell me I’m full of it but please, I could really care less if Man U show their prowess and flex their muscles against the likes of Gamba Osaka and LDU Quito. I would wager most Man U fans could care less either. How many Liverpool followers remember their one-nil defeat in 2005? Did you stay up to watch it? Did you go to the game? If you really care that much about being an expert on all football teams from all leagues, please share your experiences and thoughts.

For the record the following teams were included in the showcase this year.

1 Adelaide United - Australia
2 Al-Ahly - Egypt
3 Gamba Osaka - Japan
4 LDU Quito - Ecuador
5 Manchester United - England
6 Pachuca - Mexico
7 Waitakere United – New Zealand

So how many of this lot do you think would make it through the group stage of the Euro Champions League...or for that matter the group stage of the UEFA Cup.

Adelaide defeated Watakere 2-1 in a “play-in” type game because the Japanese host team had already qualified or something.

United won the final by defeating LDU Quito of Ecuador, 1-0 thanks to a Wayne Rooney strike and were crowned FIFA World Club Champions. Great, now can we get back to regular football programming please? By the way Vidic got sent off in this game so I'm not sure how they handle that suspension. Do you think the United squad will be riding an open-aired bus through the Manchester streets upon their return? I’m sure the pubs and bars were partying all day and night celebrating this win. The teams most pleased with this affair would be the clubs and fans of the other EPL contenders as Man U now have 2 more games to squeeze into their fixture list. Funny how United face Stoke on Boxing Day after returning from the Orient. Shame the schedule makers didn’t pair them with a trip to Anfield, the Bridge, or Villa Park for their Christmas fare.

Hands-up if you're all off to Stoke

About the only item I find interesting in this global affair was the lack of bleating by Sir Alex about the fixture pileup. Every time there is an International Tournament qualifier or a round of International Friendlies, Fergie is one of the loudest protesters of “meaningless matches.” This week, hardly a whimper. Also for both of their tournament games, United fielded a very strong team complete with Rooney, Ronaldo, Ferdinand, Vidic, Tevez et al. When the national teams come calling if those players have so much as a bad hair day then they are staying at home. You’ve got to believe the FIFA brass had to have some serious influence to persuade United to field their top players - along with a big pot of gold.

There is an issue with the amount of matches for top players on top clubs. If you throw in a full domestic season, continuous international qualifying games, continental cup tournaments, and a major international tournament every other summer; it is feasible that eventually player fatigue will become an issue, and the subsequent complaints from managers and players become justified. But the next time Fergie starts it up with his fixtures piling up bollocks I, for one, won't pay the slightest attention.

With that in mind, FIFA insist that this tournament has value and merit in the global football scheme. It is nothing but another attempt to make more money by fabricating a mid-winter tournament that is a total waste of time. Still congrats to the new World Champions...I suppose.

Do you think otherwise? Hit the comment button below…Cheers!

Catching up with the Sporting World

It’s been a busy week and a half, and much of it has been spent shoveling snow from the drive and trying to keep the supplies stocked as we have been hit by a constant barrage of snow storms in the Seattle area. So over the next few evenings, we’ll get caught up on a few highlights and get the ball rolling again. With the heart of the festive football fixtures upon us and the NFL regular season heading for a furious finale, I’ll break the reviews into a few articles and try to keep it all organized.

First up is some unfinished business from the previous week as the inclement weather put a hold on the weekly keys to the Blue Tractor award. With Ipswich having a mostly forgettable few days last week’s award went to Seattle Seahawks backup quarterback Seneca Wallace. In a rare victory for the 2008 ‘Hawks, Wallace played with poise and confidence as he guided Seattle to just their 3rd victory of the season over the St.Louis Rams. The division rival Rams have been through some very lean times in recent history and the bi-seasonal match-ups between these squads have certainly lost the vigor that they once provided.

In a way it was sad to see the Edward Jones Dome barely half-full as the ‘Hawks showed up with both teams playing for nothing but pride, battling to avoid last place in an NFC West Division that has been owned by Seattle for four straight years and by their St Louis adversaries for four years prior. The game, as expected, was certainly not a classic but it required a spirited comeback for the Seahawks to come away with some respect in a 23-20 victory.

Wallace started again, deputizing for Matt Hasselbeck whose recurring back injury looks to have him on the sidelines for the rest of the season. Seneca’s performances have improved steadily as he has assumed the starting role and despite an early 7-17 deficit, Wallace remained calm and played mistake free football which culminated in a superb game winning drive late in the fourth quarter that included an amazing 45 yard strike to Deion Branch that setup an Olindo Mare chip-shot field goal with 2 seconds left on the clock.

The grade for the week ending around December 14th: C-

A dismal home performance by the Town at the hands of in-form Cardiff City was somewhat reprieved by a great fightback by the Seahawks on the road, albeit against a very poor St Louis Rams squad.

Tractor Driver of the Week: Seneca Wallace

Six years in the Seattle system under Mike Holmgren is paying dividends and although for reasons he cannot control, Seneca is one of the few surprising bright spots in a mostly miserable season for the 12th Man.

Weekend Rewind - Tractorboys

Winter kicked into full drive in the Pacific Northwest as snow and frigid temps hit our area. So, after an afternoon building snowmen and freezing the football(s), it’s time to sit in front of the fire with the laptop and look back over the past few days.

Little optimism remained in Ipswich, after the disastrous performance at Carrow Road, for the Wednesday night visit of Bristol City. Even the most patient of Town fans, including this author, have reached their levels of tolerance for the ongoing inept performances, and surely by now Magilton is feeling the heat.

Bristol City took the lead after just 5 minutes from a Stern John header and it looked business as usual as the Town laboured through the first half. But, whatever Jim said at half-time he needs to say more often because the lads came out fired up, producing a 3 goal outburst in 11 minutes courtesy of Walters, Counago, and a speculative own goal by City defender, Fontaine. With a 3-1 advantage the Tractorboys were finally playing the kind of football the fans have been craving all season. The blistering second half performance though was over-shadowed when Alex Bruce saw red after a two-footed tackle. Town sat back and despite some inevitable pressure held on comfortably for the home win over the Robins.

Onto Saturday and another home date, this time with in-form Cardiff who had not tasted victory at Portman Road in 62 years. With the Town sitting just 3 points behind the Bluebirds who occupied 6th place entering the weekend festivities, hopes were high that Ipswich could make a surge towards the play-off spots. As usual, those hopes were unfounded as Cardiff took an early 2 goal lead behind strikes from Jay Bothroyd and Gabor Gyepes. Although, Jon Stead pulled one back before the break, Town by all accounts were completely outplayed, and when Ben Thatcher received his marching orders after 68 minutes, another disappointing defeat was all but confirmed. The only surprise was that it has taken this long into the season for Thatcher to get sent off. Back to the middle of the pack and going nowhere fast once again for the men from Suffolk.

So in the space of the week, 2 defeats and 1 win. 2 red cards and a loss to our hated enemy – not just a loss but a pathetic effort. Mid-table mediocrity beckons but there appear to be no changes in sight. At least right now there are no transfer rumors circulating around Portman Road and this is a good thing because on no account should Jim be let loose with the cheque book right now. He has enough talent – by his own claims he has never made a bad signing.

Right you are then Jim, so if none of these blokes is bad then why the bloody hell can you not get them to play and put a few results together? The next three games see the Town host second placed Birmingham on Boxing Day, sandwiched between tricky road trips to Coventry and Derby. I hope I am wrong but there’s 2 points max from that calendar.

We’ll pick up the NFL action and hand out the weekly keys to the Blue Tractor in the next installment. No need for any wild guesses that this week’s winner doesn’t wear a Town shirt.

‘Till then….stay warm and Cheers All