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!!

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!

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

Weekend Rewind

The sporting weekend started with a nice November trip to the seaside for the boys in the blue tractors on their latest Championship assignment. A tricky visit to the stadium with 2 stands was negotiated successfully as the Town came away with a hard fought 1-0 victory at Blackpool. It seems like Jim and the lads may be putting something together finally as the boys from Suffolk are now undefeated in 6 games. David Norris provided the only goal just before half-time and, maybe even more surprising than back-to-back wins for the Town for the first time in 9 months, Ipswich fielded an unchanged starting lineup. Also intriguing, is the record this year – absolutely identical home and away form right down to goals scored and conceded. No movement in the table for the lads but consolidation at least.

Sunday came and found the Seahawks once again traversing time zones as they made the longest trip in the NFL to visit an ever-improving Miami Dolphin squad and their half-full stadium. A typical meltdown saw the ‘Hawks fall behind quickly 14-0 and early on this looked like it would be just another rout. But the defense, lead by an inspired Julian Peterson, fought their way back into the game and cut the deficit in half on a Jordan Babineaux 35 yard interception call to the house in the second quarter. The ‘Hawks continued to plug away and despite trick plays and multiple formations, Seattle’s defense managed to hold. On offense, stand-in QB Seneca Wallace had one of his best outings in a Seahawks shirt and his performance was far better than his stats indicated. Ultimately, though, the 'Hawks again found a way to undo their efforts. Koren Robinson dropped an easy ball for a certain 6 in the third quarter and, Keary Colbert, subsequently released from the team, later contributed by fluffing a catch on a key 3rd and 15 play in the 3rd quarter which killed the momentum Seattle had built. A false start penalty with the 'Hawks trailing 19-21 forced the 2 point attempt back 5 yards and Seattle couldn’t convert. Despite a late drive with no timeouts the 'Hawks couldn’t move to within field goal range and the Fish held on for the victory. Overall, a good performance was ruined by 7 dropped passes and the 4 time defending NFC West champions fell to 2-7, on the wrong end of a 19-21 decision.

Weekend TractorHawk Grade: B
Town undefeated in 6 games and a decent Seahawks performance holds up the grade. With injuries dismantling the Seahawks season even a split for my teams can score high with a good enough effort, even in defeat.

Weekend Tractor Driver:
Tough call this week but I’m going with Julian Peterson, outside linebacker for the Seahawks. Kept driving the Hawkhead defense with an inspired leadership performance. Plus he signed my hat this year when he visited my workplace. Cheers mate and keep plowing away even though the season is all but over.

Note-a-balls:

Premier Football:

Match of the weekend was in North London as Sir Alex and the red machine of the north came calling with every intention of piling on more misery to Arsene and the Gooner Army. After a bright start to the season recent performances have sent Arsenal reeling to the point that the unthinkable has been quietly mentioned at the Emirates. After losing to Fulham, Hull, and Stoke, being held by Spurs and Sunderland, and pushed around by Fenerbache in mid-week, the Arse subsequently downed Fergie’s lads 2-1. A double from Nasri and an inspired performance should, at least for now, silence the aforementioned unmentionables regarding Wenger’s future.

After a bit of a late night Friday, I was a bit dreary tuning into the early EPL offering in the US on Fox Soccer Channel. Luckily it was Sunderland-Portsmouth so I figured I probably wouldn’t have a problem getting back to sleep. This match provided an intriguing twist following on from the Arsenal-Man U affair with ex rival captains Roy Keane and Tony Adams squaring off from the manager dug-out. It was actually a pretty decent game and Keano’s men should have wrapped up the 3 points in the first 25 minutes. But although Cisse and his well dodgy haircut opened the scoring, a combination of the woodwork and a decent performance from England’s maybe number one kept it close. Portsmouth equalized with a screamer from Belhadj right after the break and Roy went off in a right foul mood when Defoe drilled in the winner from the spot in injury time. Pompey and their band of twenty-odd fans set off on the long trip south celebrating a first Premier win for the former architect of the infamous Arsenal offside trap, Tony Adams.

Fox Soccer Channel treated us to a routine Anfield hammering for West Brom in the second of the US Saturday morning doubleheader. Keano the player, scored his first and second EPL goals of the season as Pool strolled 3-0 and WBA extended their run of failing to score against the Reds to 23 years. Everyone’s favourite underdog stumbled to their 3rd straight defeat being downed 1-0 at home to Bolton. Losing their previous matches to Chelsea and Man U was not surprising but at home to Bolton could indicate that the bubble may be deflating. I hope not – I intend to write about the biggest surprise package the Premier has seen since the 2001 Tractorboys plowed the Premier fields, so hold on for a couple more weeks lads. The not-so-happy anymore Hammers looked to have halted their slide in a tense affair against Everton as they held a 1-0 advantage late into the game. 3 goals for the blue men from the land of scouse in the last 6 minutes saw West Ham capitulate and they are a team on the slide, while Everton head the other direction, establishing some momentum finally under their contract extended manager, David Moyes.

Chelsea bounced back from a Champions League embarrassment, turning Blackburn over 2-0 behind an Anelka double,and the magic of ‘Arry continued with Darren Bent once again displaying his inspired form as Spurs dumped the Sky Blues at the Middle-Eastlands. If former tractor favorite DB can keep it up he might get a call from Fab’s office sometime soon.

Elsewhere, on US Shores there was an election or something going on last week in case we hadn’t heard, but despite the excitement and uproar surrounding the President-elect the games must go on. First though a quick shout-out and congratulations to Mr Obama is in order and hopefully he can drive the American tractor to better pastures. Also, to John McCain and his efforts and service to the country. Both are top class gents that ran highly competitive and grueling campaigns. But this is not a political site, so lets get back to the sporting world. But if he has one I reckon Barack drives a blue tractor.

In the NFL, there were some great games and the divisions are starting to take shape. The Titans of Tennessee maintained their run as the only unbeaten team with an impressive 21-14 victory in the Windy City, despite a ground attack that garnered just 20 yards. The Giants and Eagles played out a thrilling 36-31 match up with the Eli and the lads getting the edge. Some experts are calling out the Giants as the best in the NFL, but until the Titans fall, the G-Men remain a solid number 2 in my opinion. Stealing a line from ESPN analyst Chris Berman, the wagons are being circled in Buffalo as once again they fell to a divisional opponent, this time being doubled up by New England 20-10 . After an impressive start the Bills are quickly reverting to also-rans. San Francisco played Arizona in a close game on the Monday night spectacle in the desert but the NFC West Champions-elect held on for the 29-24 win. Expect a brief hiccup for the Cards next week when they travel to the land of the Hawks who owe the 12th Man a decent home performance before we relinquish the division title.

Final callout of the rewind goes to Jerry Sloan for winning his 1,000th game with the NBA’s Utah Jazz. 1000 wins for the longest tenured and one the most respected coaches in professional basketball history deserves a mention on any sports commentary. Though his great teams led by John Stockton and Karl Malone were denied the title by the Jordon inspired Chicago Bulls in the mid-Nineties, Jerry has continued to rebuild and lead a perennial competitive team, becoming an NBA icon and cetain hall-of-famer in the process.

And how was your sporting weekend? Cheers!!

Mid-Week Action

Nothing like a little mid-week action to brighten the daily grind…plenty of football going on as well, so worth a quick take...

Tuesday night saw a full slate of Championship fixtures and an opportunity for the Tractorboys to build on their win at Plymouth as we welcomed Charlton and former Town hero, Matt Holland. Looked like we had this one in the bag, but that would mean two consecutive wins for the first time this year. Could it be??? No, Pablo Counago wasted a penalty and despite 20 attempts on goal, Ipswich were once again held to a disappointing draw, with the teams sharing the spoils, 1-1. Call-out to Own Garvan for knocking in his 3rd goal in the last 2 games. Other than that, yet another truly disappointing display that sees us slip further from the promotion race. Big Fat Jim (don’t know why they call him that as he’s not really fat, or big, for that matter, but we’ll figure it out another day) Magilton reckoned we created enough chances to win 3 games, and the players are trying hard, and he's really disappointed….err this is getting really old Jim. Put together a streak and lets get moving – 4 wins in 14 games keeps the Blue Tractor firmly stuck in mid-table mediocre mud, heading nowhere….again. Sort it out Jim, pick a team, and get them to play. If you can’t do it, raise your hand and move on.

Got to mention the north London derby between the purveyors of the beautiful game, Arsenal, and the current butt of all football jokes, their hated rivals Tottenham and their new manager Harry Redknapp. So it was Arsene against ‘Arry, and although Spurs took an unlikely early lead, once the Gooners got up 3-1 in the second half, who saw a 4-4 draw coming?!! Too early to tell what effect Harry will have on the men in white, but regardless, ‘Arry or not, this team won’t be in the bottom 3 come judgement time. Keep it in perspective though, they aren’t anywhere near the top 4 either. Elsewhere, Hull finally succumbed to a squad from London, with Chelsea having their way 3-0 at the KC – despite their great start, midfield maestro, Geovanni is getting a bit carried away by proclaiming, "Scolari is a top coach and I do not doubt he will be a success at Chelsea, but I feel sorry for him because we are going to beat his team.” Right you are then.

Nothing else out of the ordinary, Man U, as expected, handed Zola’s Hammers their 4th straight defeat (was Curbs really that bad? And did you fix that kit yet?), Liverpool won on a late penalty…again to stay at the top. Villa continued to confirm their status as a potential top four or five team with a good win over Blackburn.

On the US side of the house the longest 3 innings in baseball history finally ended with the Philadelphia Phillies defeating the amazing Rays 4-3, in a 50 hour game 5 of the World Series and taking the title 4 games to 1. Congratulations to both teams, the Rays for getting there and firmly shoving the Red Sox and Yankess into also-ran nobody's this year, when nobody, including this author gave them a chance. And to the Phillies on your first championship in any sport in 25 years. Now do me a favour and invite all your mates on the Eagles football team over for a right good piss-up before they head to Seattle to kick the crap out of my Seahawks this weekend. 'Till then...Cheers all.

Weekend Rewind

As I develop this site we’ll take a minute to look back over the previous weekend and get some regular themes established.

A royal blue weekend double for me as the Tractorboys got a rare win, romping past Plymouth 3-1, thanks to an Owen Garvan brace and a first in 11 games for Kevin Lisbie. This was followed by an even more improbable ‘Hawks road win against the reeling 49ers who introduced their new interim Head Coach, linebacker legend, Mike Singletary, after the sudden firing of Mike Nolan.

A big fan thumbs up to Singletary though for kicking one of his own players out of the game! Not sure I’ve ever seen that before but after Vernon Davis was flagged for a personal foul for smacking ‘Hawks Free Safety, Brian Russell after a reasonable gain and costing his team 15 vital yards, Singletary gave him a right good rollicking. This was followed by swift sending to the showers…not only that, but as the sulking player headed off for the early bath, his coach calls him back to get his helmet and then tells him to piss off...wow! That’s a Golden Tractor Key award nominee right there (when we get it started).

It’s been a tough season for both my football teams, so this weekend, was indeed, a rare event. Though it was great to see both my blue flags flying, I think it’s going to be a rough year for me on both sides of the football pond.

Weekend Tractor-Hawk Grade: B+ (not an A because the ‘Hawks were actually out-gained though we won by 3TDs and David Norris got sent off in injury time for kicking the ball away – cue the referee’s a total wanker)

Other notes:

The NFL took its show to the “Home of Football” as the New Orleans Saints upended the San Diego Chargers in a 37-32 shootout in front of over 83,000 at the most expensive stadium in the world, Wembley. Can only imagine the “what the bloody ‘ell is he doing then?” when the Saints punter ran the ball back through his own end-zone for an intentional safety in attempt to run off the clock. “Own touchdown?….how much it that worth then?”

Hull City remain in the top 3 in the Premier League after a comprehensive 3-0 win over West Brom, and I was thoroughly impressed getting to watch the game as the Saturday early match on Fox Soccer Channel (our big-screen football feed for English fans living in the US). I will say the result was a bit harsh on the Brom but HCFC have already earned themselves a future article on this site.

Liverpool ended Chelsea’s 86 game unbeaten run at home. The men in red move to first place in the EPL for the first time in like 30 years with a 1-0 win at the Bridge over Big Phil and his lads. Enjoy it while it lasts, Scousers. By the way are you still protesting your US bankroll??

The Phillies take command of the World Series. Most focus is still on the upstart Tampa Bay Rays, who like the previously mentioned Hull City of the EPL, are more than worthy of a full post at another date. Shout-out though to Seattle favorite Jamie Moyer on his performance for Philadelphia Sat. night – at 44, he is giving all us middle-aged over-the-hill beer-guzzling-fried-egg-sandwich-eating blokes some hope.

College football – we’ll need to get this going a bit as it is not one of my hot topics but I pay attention. Pretty much all the top teams won, so we’re still on course for about 8 teams qualifying for the championship but with no tournament at the end noone knows, and for right now, who gives a toss – come on, let Boise State back in, it’s worth it just to see that frickin blue field….no upsets of note, though a worthy mention to the AZ Wildcats for playing a close game against USC, eventually succumbing 10-17. Having lived in Tucson for 12 years or so, you’ll notice a Wildcat reference every once in a while.

And how was your sporting weekend?

Cheers!!

Coin Toss – Hawks and Tractors on the field

Writing an introduction, in my opinion, is the hardest task of any type of written work. So I’m glad it’s done (see the Pre-Game). Before I dive into my specific teams and the reasoning, or lack thereof, for the blog title and the teams I follow, just a bit of background is in order.

Throughout this blog you will often find me switching between sports on both side of the Atlantic, and for example, examining the ins and outs of two very different types of football. In addition, you may notice frequent transitions between English and American-English commentaries. Raised in England since birth but moving to the US in 1990 is the simple explanation. I’m fanatic about football, and whether you crave the NFL or the EPL, you’re going to find something here for you. After 18 years in the US utilizing both an English and American style of conversation is inevitable, and it most definitely will show throughout my articles. If you get confused have another beer, and read on anyway. Keep in mind not all this stuff is confined to football. We’ll cover just about anything and everything in the sporting world.

So, Blue Hawks and Tractors? Simple, it relates to the Seattle Seahawks and Ipswich Town Football Club. Quite a unique combination and we’ll cover the history at some point, but in short I have followed the Town my entire life; the ‘Hawks my entire US sporting life. Now we need to throw in England as well, but I thought that “Blue Hawks, Three Lions, and a Tractor” might be getting just a little wordy…then again, it’s kinda got a ring to it, and they have all won crap in recent history. That’s not quite true, the ‘Hawks have 4 consecutive division titles, which is about to end, but in terms of championships, I come up with the goose egg, nil, zilch…or FA in some circles.

Now, with the teams identified, the title explained, and the commentary style accounted for, we can get going. Do not think that this blog will focus only on the 3 aforementioned teams. Yes, they are my passion in the sporting world, but there is a ton of material to cover and I’ll be discussing many teams from across many sports and making many observations about our sporting universe. I will throw in some status and updates on my teams, if for nothing else, so you can share or relate to my rollercoaster ride of near-glory and frequent misery.

Cheers!!