Aaroncpfc - Football Manager 2017

[Dave]

Player Background 

Born 21st October 1980. Welsh international Aaron Cpfc enjoyed an illustrious Footballing Career where he predominantly spent most of his Career as a target man in The Championship. 

 

His career started at Cardiff City in The Nationwide Division Two in the 1998/99 season where he made his debut at nineteen years old. He then spent five seasons at Cardiff City helping them out of Nationwide Division Two whilst forging a formidable partnership with Robert Earnshaw.

 

His performances attracted a lot of interest from Nationwide Division One Clubs and he joined Preston North End once his contract expired. His first season went better than anybody could have anticipated as a Preston side managed by Billy Davies made the playoff final in his first full season. Preston then made the playoffs the following season as strike partner David Nugent gathered plenty of plaudits for his performances. At the end of this season Billy Davies had left Preston North End for Derby County. There was plenty of transfer speculation that Aaron Cpfc would join him when his contract expired the following season. After failing to get Preston North End out of The Championship at the third attempt of trying Aaron Cpfc made it known he would not be signing a new contract at Deepdale. However Derby County had been promoted to The Premiership and opted to sign Robert Earnshaw instead. As a result Aaron Cpfc went to Ipswich Town as a free agent.

 

Aaron Cpfc then went on to play under three failed regimes at Ipswich Town despite an influx of investment and ambition. He survived the regimes of Jim Magilton and Roy Keane but after being nothing more than a squad player under Paul Jewell Aaron Cpfc made the decision to not renew his contract at the end of the 2010/11 season.

 

Just before the beginning of the 2011/12 season, Malkay Mackay at Cardiff City announced the signing of Aaron Cpfc on a three year deal. Aaron Cpfc went on to have a significant impact at the age of 32 at Cardiff City where he enjoyed his first and only appearance at Wembley Stadium in The Carling Cup final. He surprised many in his first season back at the club, but surprised more in his second season as he went on to become the clubs top goalscorer as they won the npower Championship and reached the Barclays Premiership.

 

Many questioned what sort of impact Aaron Cpfc would have in The Premiership as Cardiff City had signed Andreas Cornelius. Despite making an early impact Aaron Cpfc faded in to the background and by the time Malkay Mackay was replaced by Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Cardiff City headed in to a separate direction, Aaron Cpfc was working more and more as a coach for the Cardiff City Academy.

 

By the end of the 2013/14 season Aaron Cpfc had retired from professional football and was officially announced as a coach for the Cardiff City Under 18's. A couple of months later Ole Gunnar Solksjaer was sacked and Aaron Cpfc was moved to the role of an Under 23 coach. In February 2016 with Russell Slade settled in as Manager Aaron Cpfc was moved to become a coach for the first team. This caused people to raise eyebrows as Aaron Cpfc clearly had a good relationship with Vincent Tan and his advisors. 

 

Cardiff City narrowly missed out on the playoffs at the end of the 2015/16 season, and to everybody's surprise Russell Slade was promoted to the role of director of football whilst Aaron Cpfc was promoted to role of club Manager.  Vincent Tan made comments about how he had a new vision for Cardiff City. He wanted the club to take advantage of the feel good factor within the nation following the national teams qualification for The European Championship. He wanted to create the same atmosphere in his Cardiff City team, and he believed from what he had seen over the previous five years that Aaron Cpfc would be able to do that. This appointment and the reasoning confused a lot of Cardiff City fans who presumed that Craig Bellamy would have been a more ideal candidate for this role and suspicions were raised on if Aaron Cpfc was appointed due to his close friendship with Vincent Tan and his advisors. Russell Slade resigned shortly after to go Charlton, Craig Bellamy made the decision to join Mark Hughes at Stoke, and Vincent Tan didn't stay loyal to his transfer policy as the majority of signings tended to be free agents.

 

Cardiff City started the 2016/17 season with nobody knowing what to expect.

[Dave]

Cardiff City 2016/17 Season Review

An opening game against Birmingham City was an interesting contest for both sides as Gianfranco Zola was making his debut as Manager and both Managers had been employed in similar circumstances. A score draw was going to effect Cardiff City more though as Ricky Lambert picked up an injury that was going to see him out until Christmas.

 

Cardiff City fans then had a right to be concerned after they witnessed there side crash out the league cup on penalties to Exeter City. This was followed with a rather humiliating defeat 3-0 to Queens Park Rangers. 

 

The Cardiff City fans wanted a reaction and they got one with a 3-0 win against Blackburn Rovers. This however was followed by three defeats against Fulham, Reading and Norwich. Cardiff City had most of the possession in these games but the striking options of lex Immers, Kenneth Zahore and Mauroanne Chamakh could not score.

 

In a surprise result Cardiff City then went on to beat Preston North End 6-0 with great thanks to Anthony Pilkington and Emyr Huws. Optimism the returned but it was short lived as Anthony Pilkington was injured in training and Cardiff City went on to record two disappointing defeats against Leeds United and Rotherham before an Emyr Huws led Cardiff City rounded off the month of September with two wins against Derby County and Burton Albion.

 

The losses of Rickie Lambert and Anthony Pilkington were to hit Cardiff hard as they went on without winning for ten games. They picked up five points in the process but most disappointing was that in these three games they had only scored ten goals.

 

With a lack of goals the pressure was on and Vincent Tan was beginning to think he had invested in the wrong man and a meeting took place to discuss Aaron Cpfc's future. The players reacted to this and Cardiff recorded two massive wins against Barnsley and Brentford. The returning Rickie Lambert scored in both matches. This however was met with a 0-0 draw against Brighton. Cardiff were sitting in 17th place in The Championship following this burst of good form.

 

On New Years Day a promise was made that Cardiff City's owners would invest in the squad in January and there was an air of optimism going in to an away fixture with Aston Villa. Villa scored an early goal but the last half hour was total domination by Cardiff City. A Rickie Lambert 90th minute goal gave the Cardiff team the reward they deserved. 

 

However Vincent Tan had decided that he had enough of the current regime and sacked Aaron Cpfc after the game. A bitter Aaron Cpfc was very vocal about this sacking stateing that he believed the team were just beginning to turn the corner with nine points in five games, a position of 17th in the table and he had been unlucky with injuries in a squad he hadn't invested in. But Tan disagreed and appointed Paul Lambert as manager shortly after.

[Dave]

Preston North End 2016/17 - Season Review

He didn't have to wait long for another job as Aaron Cpfc took the Preston North End job just eight days later. Preston were only a point behind Cardiff City in the table but the club owner had made it clear there was no money available to spend on new players. Loan introductions of Louis Thompson and Rolando Aarons were used to bolster numbers. A 2-0 win against high flyers Brighton And Hove Albion was a great start however an injury to Jermaine Beckford which ruled him out until late April gave a strange sense of de ja vu.

Preston North End struggled with two defeats before a 0-0 draw in a heated game against former club Cardiff. Preston North End then took advantage of three winnable fixtures against Barnsley, Brentford and Birmingham. A loss against QPR didn't drop morale as wins against Wigan and Fulham gave Preston five wins out of a possible six and all fears of a relegation battle appeared to have diminished. 

Preston North End then appeared to drop their guard against more formidable opposition as they picked up two points in seven games, but with the end of the season near Preston North End ended on a high with cause of optimism for next season. Wins against Norwich and Rotherham followed by draws against Newcastle and Wolves meant that Preston had finished on a high with a optimistic buzz around the place going in to the following season.

 

[Dave]

Preston North End 2017/18 - Season Review

Preston were originally braceing themselves for a difficult season however local businessman Paul Smith bought the club and invested £5,000,00 in to transfer funds and the following players were signed:

Yaser Kasim and Atdhe Nuhui were the surprise signings that went on to become key figures for the club whilst there was huge optimism that Joe Bennett would go on to become a leading Premier League defender.  Nobody at Preston North End knew what was in store for the next season. The additions of Lawrence, Stanislas and Buckley looked impressive on paper and they were being added to a defensive setup which looked capable of being in a top half set up last season.

Two months in to the season and it appeared very early on that Preston North End would not be involved in a relegation battle as they picked up wins against a host of sides that were expected to be down the bottom of the table including Burton Albion, Sheffield United, Charlton Athletic and Bolton Wanderers. They were also competing well against sides that were expected to compete for automatic promotion. 

 

A potential wobble nearly came in October when key player Damien Johnson pulled his hamstring and would miss all games until the end of the Christmas period. However the players performed amicably. The defence was just as sturdy as the season before, often keeping clean sheets, and new signing Yaser Kasim had deputised for Damien Johnson far better than anybody could have expected. Stanislas and Buckley had settled well on the wings, and up top there was a host of players jockeying for positions all chipping in when they could in Tom Lawrence, Paul Gallagher, Tom Bradshaw and Adthe Nuhiu. The highlight of the season at this point came with an emphatic 4-0 win over rivals Burnley. Any concerns of a relegation battle were gone, and Preston were sitting in eleventh at the half way point of the season.

 

January came and players that wanted to leave for first team football were allowed to go. One big surprise was that at the start of the season Damien Johnson made it clear he wanted to leave to play in a higher division. Hamburg and BMG were reportedly interested, he was replaced as captain by Yaser Kasim and everything was geared for him to leave, but no bids were made throughout the entire window.  Mareck Vermijil, the clubs right back, pushed for a move on deadline day to QPR and got it with hours to spare.

 

After the window a new ray of light iemerged n terms of a seventeen year old Joe Bennett. He was given opportunities at center back when either Tom Clarke or Bayley Wright were injured or suspended and he played magnificent given his age and lack of experience. He looks like he could have the potential to go on and play for a top Premiership club and will get more opportunities in the near future.

 

From about November onwards Prestpn Nprth End always seemed to be six points off the playoffs. They were masters of drawing games against better teams but sometimes struggle to kill games against teams we were expected to beat. There was one point where it looked like Preston were going to make the playoffs, as late march/early april they were only two points off and hitting good form, but when Preston North End dropped to four points behind and fixtures to play against in form Blackburn, second place Derby and (after the Derby result) second place Norwich City it became apparent that the playoffs would have been a magnificent feat.

 

Preston North End finished the season in good form with an emphatic 7-2 win over underachieving Brentford. A tenth place finish secured and the fans ended happy with good reason. At the start of the season people would have said a tenth place finish would only have been possible if everybody played to their full potential which they did. Many critics admired the solid defence and patient passing play which saw Preston rank the highest in the league in terms of possession.

 

 

Andres Lindergaard was once again solid in goal, he had a defence in front of him consisting of Greg Cunningham, Bayley Wright, Tom Clarke and Jason Demetiou who had a great understanding amongst each other. Yaser Kasim became a key player in the anchor man role who complimented Alan Browne really well. Ben Pearson, Damien Johnson and Ben Pringle could all come in and play to the required standard when called upon. From an attacking sense Will Buckley was consistent, and both Tom Lawrence and Sammy Ameobi improved as the season went on. Junior Stanislas was a bit hit and miss, his average rating was often low but he was constantly involved with goals we scored. Up top was the big surprise. Free Agent Adthe Nuhiu overtook heavily invested Tom Bradshaw as the clubs lead top man. He went on to score an emphatic eighteen goals. Tom Bradshaw however played to an acceptable standard when called upon, as did Paul Gallagher. Only two real disappointments and they were Callum Robinson and Zeki Fryers.

 

It was unknown what the next season involves for Preston. The new owner came in and was willing to invest heavily the summer before but now the finances were described as 'insecure'..

[Dave]

Preston North End 2018/19 - Season Review

The summer came, and out went Damien Johnson. Top flight Wolves offered £6,500,000 for his services. Ben Pringle, Callum Robinson and Ben Pearson all departed too. There was plenty of arrivals in to the club. Chuba Akpom was signed to provide more cutting edge upfront whilst Ryan Fraser, Sam Clucas, Toumani Diagoura, Gary Gardener, Paul McShane, Matt Targett and Harry Lewis were signed to bolster squad numbers. 

With a squad firmly established for two and a half months of playing two games every week there was a feeling of optimism for the season ahead. It started well with four points in the first two games and a win in the cup against rivals Blackpool but it wasn't to last long as Preston entered a spell of two points in six games. A win against Blackburn was met by two points in six games. This form saw Preston in the relegation places. Fans were getting nervous but there response was met with three back to back wins. Firmly away from the relegation melee things were looking positive once again but one win in four over the Christmas period dampened Christmas spirits. Seventeenth place at the half way point of the season.

Not many players had been playing to there full potential this half of the season. Lindegaard and Clarke were clearly deteriorating, Demetriou and Cunningham looked half the players they were the season before, the defensive signings had not had any impact, Kasim and Browne had underperformed, all the wide players were not contributing at all, and there was no return from Tom Bradshaw. Thankfully, when fit, Tom Lawrence has been good in the final third and both Adthe Nuhiu and Chuba Akpom have been scoring in a 4-4-2 system. Diagoura had been a surprising positive in  the middle and Joe Bennett is developing nicely as a center back. Bailey Wright has once again led by example.

The financial situation at the club got worse and the team were thin on the ground due to injuries. At this time Aaron Cpfc was approached by former club Ipswich Town. Ipswich had recently been relegated after they replaced the players that surprisingly got them promoted with foreign imports that weren't good enough. They now found themselves joint on points with Preston.  Preston North End were compensated over a million pounds for Aaron Cpfc, Tony Grant and Steve Stone.

It must be said though, Ipswich Town fans were not amused that Marcus Evans had replaced a legend like Mick McCarthy with somebody that had no promotion experience. 

[Dave]

Ipswich Town 2018/19 - Squad

Goalkeepers: Bartosz Bialkowski, Jake Inghram.

Cult hero Bartosz Bialkowski was first choice Goalkeeper when Ipswich got promoted and when they were in The Premiership. Jake Inghram joined after gaining back to back promotion with Portsmouth and was firmly second choice Goalkeeper.

Left Backs: Jay DaSilva and Jonas Knudsen.

Jay Da Silva was loaned at the start of the season from Chelsea. Jonas Knudsen played a first team role when Ipswich were promoted but has featured as a bit part player since.

Center Backs: Tommy Smith, Aaron Webster, Christoph Berra and Richard Stearman.

For the last two seasons Tommy Smith and Aaron Webster have been first choice players with Berra and Stearman as backup.

Right Backs: Fabio and Luke Chambers.

Fabio was signed when Ipswich Town got promoted but hasn't got going for eighteen months. He's been chosen ahead of Luke Chambers during this time.

Central Midfielders: Dale Stephens, Cole Skuse, Andre Dozell, Luke Hyam, Teddy Bishop.

Cole Skuse and Luke Hyam were regulars in midfield when Ipswich got promoted. Cole Skuse inparticular had an amazing season. Glen Whelan and Gary Gardner were bought in when Ipswich got promoted but didn't fancy sticking around. Dozell and Bishop had been progressing nicely from the academy since. Dale Stephens was bought in the summer from Brighton for 5.5 million. 

Left Midfield: Ademola Lookman

He was signed when Ipswich got promoted for £6,000,000 to replace Sheyi Ojo who returned to Liverpool. He hasn't been as effective as Ojo.

Right Midfield: Grant Hall, CallumMcMannaman, Jeremy Pied.

Grant Hall was a regular when Ipswich got promoted but hasn't really shown his full potential since. The other two joined during the promotion season and have been poor.

Strikers: Tammy Abraham, Alfredo Ortuno, Raul Rucescu and Nicky Ajose.

Tammy Abraham joined in the summer on loan from Chelsea. He hit ten for Bristol and then ten for Brighton in last two seasons. Alfredo Ortuno and Raul Rucescu joined once promoted and haven't got going. Nicky Ajose was bought in the summmer from recently relegated Charlton after scoring 15 goals but hasn't looked like replicating that form since. It was goals from Brett Pittman, Tom Lawrence and Freddie Seares that got this team promoted two seasons ago and they have all left since.

 

What were the problems?

Four points above the relegation zone. Ipswich Town were solid in defence but couldn't score. Tammy Abraham was top Goalkscorer with just eight goals and there wasn't much contribution eslsewhere.

 

Transfer Activity:

IN: Issac Hayden - Newcastle United (loan)

In came Issac Hayden to compete with Cole Squad.

[Dave]

Ipswich Town 2018/19 - Form

An absolutely fantastic turnaround occurred at Ipswich Town under Aaron Cpfc. You couldn't have predicted Ipswich Town would only go on to lose two games in the second half of the season. They went from being four points away from relegation to being four points off the playoffs! As you can see the first match in charge for Aaron Cpfc was an awkward one against Preston North End but Tammy Abraham got a brace and after that he exploaded and scored 25 goals over the course of the season. It wasn't just him that impressed either Ademola Lookman ended up scoring eight in the second half of the season. With Grant Hall on the opposite flank the three of them have gathered a great understanding.

The biggest surprise was Andre Dozzell who was given an opportunity to impress and had began controlling matches ever since. He developed a perfect midfield balance with Dale Stephens and Issac Hayden. The Goalkeeper and defence were left to their previous routine and as expected they duly delivered in performances.

With a move to the Bobby Robson Arena next season Ipswich Town were really in a good place to push on and become a proper club everybody could be envious of.

Personal objectives were set out for the following season:

• Get Tammy Abraham perminantly as a free agent.
• Loan Jay DaSilva and Issac Hayden for another season.
• Keep all first team players.
• Settle in to the new Bobby Robson Arena as quickly as possible.
• Progress Academy Players.
• Finish in at least a playoff position.

[Dave]

2019 Summer Transfer Window- LIVE!

JUNE:

SIGNED!! TAMMY ABRAHAM - CHELSEA (Free Transfer)

Arguably the most important transfer of the whole window was done early. Last season the focus of all attacks was through this beast of a forward who finished the season in scintillating form. It made sense for him to sign as he has enjoyed his best football at Ipswich and feels comfortable with his surroundings. Ipswich will be a better  club with  and he will be a better player because of Ipswich Town.

LOANED!! JAY DA SILVA - CHELSEA (End Of Season)

"if it ain't broke don't fix it" was ringing in my ears. Jay Da Silva had a couple of wobbles but on the whole was consistent in a settled back four the season before and Chelsea did not want a transfer fee for him. The whole deal made sense.

SIGNED - TARIQ FOSU - MANCHESTER UNITED (Free Transfer)

The Wandsworth born Reading academy player was signed by United three seasons ago but had been released after recently excelling and gaining promotion from league one with Bolton. Like all of Ipswich Town's attacking minded players he's young, quick and has flair. 

REJECTED - ISSAC HAYDEN - NEWCASTLE UNITED

A fee of £5 million was agreed with his parent club but personal terms could not be agreed. It appears Issad Hayden is holding out for a Premiership move. 

 

JULY:

CONTRACTS NEGOTIATED: LUKE CHAMBERS, COLE SKUSE, CALLUM MCMANNAMAN

All players had performed well under Aaron Cpfc's management and the news was warmly welcomed by fans.

RELEASED - JEREMY PIED

He was unhappy with the lack of first team football and with plenty of depth in his position the decision was made to allow him to leave. 

SOLD!! ALFREDO ORTUNO - HUDDERSFIELD - £4,500,000

The Striker scored ten goals in two seasons. A mental fee for such a striker.

SIGNED!! CONNOR WICKHAM - CRYSTAL PALACE £250,000

A target man with similar attributes to Tammy Abraham. He knows the club and maybe being back in amiliar surroundings could kick start a promising career that never really got started. His injury record is abysmal so maybe in a bit part role back at Ipswich he will be able to adjust well.

TRANFSER REQUEST - GRANT HALL

This came out the blue. QPR survived in The Premiership and made an offer of £5,500,000. After already rejected £9,750,000 from Sunderland and Everton. Ipswich demanded £15,000,000. QPR withdrew and Grant Hall threw his toys out the pram. He even thought £11,000,000 was unrealistic for his services. Unfortunately for him he signed a four year deal not long ago so he wasn't going anywhere in a hurry.

REJECTED - ISSAC HAYDEN (Newcastle United)

Still not interested.

 

No Activity in August so we will jump to....

 

DEADLINE DAY:

 

TRANSFER REQUEST - ANDRE DOZZELL - REJECTED!!

The cheek! Wolves expressed an interest at the start of the day. They were told he wasn't for sale. The damage however had already been done as Dozzell made it clear he wanted to go. IThe club simply could not sell him. He was the playmaker, the set piece taker, everything goes through him and he's only 20. He was fuming he wouldn't be sold and there was a feeling of concern that if Ipswich could not get promoted this season they may lose him next summer.

SOLD!!: GRANT HALL - QPR - £13,750,000

QPR finally stumped up there offer. Callum McMannaman had started off the season well in his place and with a 30% sell on fee overall it was a good deal all round.

SIGNED!!! ISIAH BROWN - CHELSEA (Free Agent)

Recently released from Chelsea. Isiah Brown had played at academy level and through the reserve team with Tammy Abraham so the logic behind this signing is to replace Grant Hall with somebody who should be able to work with other attacking players very quickly. 

SIGNED!!! ISSAC HAYDEN - NEWCASTLE UNITED - £3,500,000

Ipswich finally got there  man for a much cheaper fee than expected. Whilst Cole Skuse was playing very well this was a deal  that couldn't be ignorde if it was available given his performances last season. 

There appeared to be a good squad balance going in to the new season. The playoffs was the current goal but  there was a suspicion that maybe Ipswich could get automatic promotion. 

[Dave]

Ipswich Town 2019/20 - Season Review (Part One)

Twelve games in the first two months and Ipswich Town remained unbeaten despite an injury to Tammy Abraham. A Manager of The Month Award was well and truly deserved and dreams of automatic promotion were surfacing as they were at the top by four points. All the attacking players were contributing and everything was going to plan.

In true Championship fashion one bad result can lead to a big wobble and that's what happened here. Either that or it was the curse of The Manager Of The Month Award. A late Derby goal really threw Ipswich off track for the rest of the month and Ipswich found ourselves in a pack of about seven teams with Everton making a break away for the title.

Thankfully fixtures worked in Ipswich's favour as they were able to pick up maximum points against the bottom three. Preston and Forest had just sacked there Managers and Ipswich were able to take advantage of a state of chaos. Brighton found it very easy to pick Ipswich off and Sheffield United did deserved a win. After that fixtures were favourable again as Ipswich beat an MK Dons side who had lost five on the spin and just sacked there Manager.

Burnley was the biggest test of the season. They were second, Ipswich were third. If Burnley had won Ipswich would have been eight points behind and would have dropped down the table. Thankfully an Ademola Lookman inspired performance gave Ipswich the victory and bridged the gap to two points . In the process they gave a host of teams the belief they can finish in the automatic promotion places.

 

 

[Dave]

Ipswich Town Season Review - 2019/20 (Part Two)

 

January

The second half of the season started with a panic. Everton had enquired about Adam Webster and when they were told he was not for sale the defender demanded to leave. Following this Everton dropped their interest and signed Rob Holding from Hull City. The damage was done and Adam Webster was not the same player after.

 

January started surprisingly slow on the pitch with two goalless draws against weaker opposition  but the month ended with two unexpected wins. he first was a spirited 1-0 victory over Everton (karma!!) thanks to a Dale Stephens goal then a trademark long range  wondergoal from Ademola Lookman got a win against Swansea. As predicted previously Sunderland had creeped up but Ipswich had reason to be quietly confident. The defence and 'keeper were getting a lot of press coverage for not letting in a goal all month.

 

February started off in great fashion. Or should I say Raul Rucescu started off in great fashion. Finally Ipswich appeared to have a striker who could score on a regular basis. Those wins set them in a good position before five tricky league fixtures where they did well only to lose one game meant they still remained in the automatic promotion hunt. Getting Andre Dozzell on a new contract appeared to be one of the best things that happened in January as he constantly began to provide  man of the match performances. One dissapointment was both Fabio (achilles tendon) and Izzy Brown (broken leg) would be out for the rest of the season.

 

March looked like the month where Ipswich would push on but it wasn't to be. The loss to Sunderland inparticular felt like a low blow. However on a more pleasing note the convincing 3-0 win over Newcastle at The Bobby Robson Arena meant... Ipswich were off to Wembley!! league form had suffered though, and four points behind was a gap that may get bigger with the players naturally being focused on a semi final match against Arsenal.

 

A month of terrible luck then occurred. Before the Preston game Cole Skuse broke his leg in training. The injury was so severe he was forced to retire. Preston then beat Ipswich where Raul Rucescu broke his leg which was the third leg break in three months. Ipswich then drew to second bottom Forest where Tammy Abraham tore his hamstring. The club then had only one Striker left now in Connor Wickham. Two wins in three followed and thankfully nobody got injured before a trip to Wembley.

 

FA Cup Semi Final - Arsenal

Ipswich went to Wembley and held Arsenal for 0-0 for the entire game. This was even after Dale Stephens got injured (and he was out for the rest of the season!) and Issac Hayden was dismissed for a second yellow after 70 minutes (meaning he'd be suspended for the last two games!!). They then held on through extra time and it went to penalties. In a cruel twist of fate, it was the best player throughout the second half of the season Andre Dozzell who missed the deciding penalty. Arsenal were playing City in the final and Ipswich were left to focus on the league.

 

The Final Two Games

The mission was simple... Win the last two games and everything should take care of itself. The first game was against bottom place MK Dons. Five kids were on the bench due to the injury crisis. Connor Wickham scored after two minutes, and then got injured on the fifth minute meaning a sixteen year old was shoved upfront. MK Dons creeped back in to the game and ended up winning 2-1 thanks to a debateable penalty in the last ten minutes. The dream of a top two finish was over.

Ipswich were playing for pride against Burnley whilst they were playing for the title. Ipswich just didn't want an injury at this point but they couldn't do that. Callum McMannaman who was playing as a makeshift forward this time got struck by some forward curse glitch and hobbled off. Ipswich lost one nil.

 

Somehow despite leading all season Everton managed to not get promoted.

 

At this time I also feel obliged to show you all the injury list because typeing this made me realise how far fetched the scenario seemed. Ipswich were going in to a playoff match against Brighton with no forward over the age of sixteen!

 

The Playoffs

With the fourteen first team players available for selection Ipswich went to Brighton, they kept it tight, and the plan was executed perfectly as Andre Dozzell from 20 yards gave Ipswich the winner on the counter after 87 minutes. With the tie in there favour there was an air of confidence that Ipswich would be going to the final.

Ipswich controlled the entire second leg. However Sam Baldock scored a goal on the counter just before half time. Ademola Lookman scored with nineteen minutes remaining and it looked like Wembley was in reach. Then on the 83rd minute Sam Baldock scored from thirty five, yes, that's thirty five yards out. Amazing really. He scored eleven goals all season and six of them had been against Ipswich. With this the tie continued and went all the way to penalties. Then in a bit of an anti climax Ipswich lost the penalties 4-2. Brighton then went on to gain promotion.

 

 

So there we had it. Another year in The Championship. Ipswich fans couldn't be disheartened at the team because as a squad they had done far better than I expected. The cup run didn't help the league form, the retirement of Cole Skuse saw Ipswich lose a big character behind the scenes, and the injury crisis to almost anybody who had the responsibility of going in to the oppositions penalty area cost them big time. The problem Ipswich have now is as they've been floating around the top two all season and had a terrific cup run there was inevitably a lot of Premier League interest in their players and faced a battle to keep most of them at the club. Then all those players recovering from serious injuries may take a while to find their previous form.

 

[Dave]

Summer Transfer Window 2020

Out:

Ademola Lookman - Bournemouth - £20,000,000:  He was getting far too good for this level and keeping him for another season would not have really been fair on him. 

Aaron Webster - Bournemouth - £14,000,000: This one hurt. Him and Tommy Smith had a real great partnership at this level and he was earmarked as the new vice captain. Bournemouth came along and unsettled him.

Tried to leave:

Issac Hayden: He wanted to play with better players, but ironically it's only recently promoted League One Blackburn that wanted him. Without a buyer he ended up staying.

Tommy Smith: QPR unsettled him but he was persuaded to stay for another season..

Amazing He Stayed:

Andre Dozzell - Arsenal - £20,000,000: They met his release clause but amazingly he said no to Arsenal. I don't if it's because his Dad played for Spurs, but either way it was quite an amazing and a massive relief for Ipswich to know  they were going to have a player of real quality for the next season.

New Signings:

Jay Da Silva - Chelsea - £2,500,000: After being on loan from Chelsea for the last two years they finally decided he was surplus to requirements and he was delighted to return back to a club where he built a strong affiliation with.

Axel Tuanzebe - Manchester United - £3,500,000: After two solid loan spells at Swansea and Hull City Ipswich decided to make the young center back the Adam Webster replacement. Technically he was a better player but he seemed to lack the leadership skills that Webster had so it was percieved it to be some gamble.

[Dave]

Ipswich Town Season Review - 2020/21 (Part One)

As predicted THE start was not good at all. Nine points in the first ten games saw Ipswich in the relegation zone. They gained a mini resurgence with a rather amazing win against Bristol City followed with two wins against relegation threatened sides but Sheffield Wednesday and Preston North End bought Ipswich back down to earth.

 

After a team meeting however Ipswich won EVERY match up until the half way point. They had some fortune along the way with Managerial Sackings happening just before or after playing some of those teams but some players have really come out of there shells. This is the half way table:

Everybody played there part. Bilalkowski had been solid in goal, DaSilva and academy prospect Joshua Emmanuel were great at bombing forwards from full back, Tuanzebe and Smith had developed a great understanding in defence, Hayden had been the ultimate professional. In center midfield Andre Dozzell and Dale Stephens had to be great because academy propsect Teddy Bishop had been fantastic this season, Tarique Fosu had replaced Ademola Lookman well whilst Izzy Brown and Callum McMannaman had contributed on the right whilst Tammy Abraham had been a beast up top in the last two months.

[Dave]

Ipswich Town Season Review - 2020/21 (Part Two)

 

January Transfer Window:

So January came. Being second in the league and in good spirits it was felt that Ipswich needed to make a statement of intent in the transfer window and had two targets in mind:

Patrick Roberts - His contract had expired at Manchester City where he was still being used as a squad player.He was available for a compensation fee of three million. 

Niall Ennis - Wolves Striker that was behind Wilfred Bony and Vincent Aboubakar in there list of preferential choices but had scored 16 goals the following season on loan at playoff rivals Middlesborough. He's young, proven and was wasting away at Wolves.

It took until deadline day but Ipswich managed to get both of them. Patrick Roberts agent was being stingy about an agent fee and Wolves were very reluctant to sell Niall Ennis but he ended up forcing their hands by complaining the media about lack of first team football. Exactly the transfer window Ipswich wanted.

 

League Form:

Here comes the league review. I would type away but I think the screenshot does all the talking:

An absolutely fantastic season where Ipswich managed to keep the momentum going and gained promotion with two games to spare. They only lost twice in the second half of the season. The first was to Everton who were far too good for this level and were winning games at a canter by the end of it, and the other was on the last game of the season to Hull City as all players lost focus.

As you can see in the next screenshot of the strongest eleven in this team is a very young team and there's an air of intrigue to see if wthey'sink or swim' in The Premiership next season:

 

[Stan]

That's a fantastic end to the season - to only lose twice in the 2nd half of the season is commendable. How did you do in the FA Cup?

[Dave]

Summer Transfer Window 2021

 

 

Busy Summer for Ipswich. Firstly backup players Connor Wickham, Richard Stearman, Wayne Haennessey, Fabio and Raul Rucescu left the club following promotion. Luke Chambers retired and has now become an academy coach.

Jordan Rhodes and Ruben Loftus-Cheek signed from playoff finalists Middlesborough. Two key players in there push for promotion that should 'get' Ipswich Town. Jordan Rhodes is an academy graduate and Ruben Loftus-Cheek has played in the same academy as some of my first team players.

Ademola Lookman had a very hard time at Bournemouth making only 12 appearances despite being signed for twenty million. He's been bought back to rejuvinate his career. Reminiscent of Wilfried Zaha at Crystal Palace.

Alex Smithies has been bought in to add compettion as have Hause and Chalobah. Ishak Belfodil was signed after Tammy Abraham was ruled out for the whole of the season.

 

[Dave]

11 minutes ago, Stan said:

That's a fantastic end to the season - to only lose twice in the 2nd half of the season is commendable. How did you do in the FA Cup?

From memory we were convincingly beat by Newcastle United. I was secretly quite happy about that as it meant it wouldn't distract us again from promotion.

[Dave]

Ipswich Town Season Review 2021/22 - Part One

This is how the first half of the season went. As you can tell - Ipswich really needed those two wins just after Christmas. They have really struggled for goals this season other than an emphatic win against West Brom. It really happened after Tammy Abraham's unfortunate injury. But there was reason to be optimisticBellfodil seems to turn up against relegation rivals and Jordan Rhodes puts in a performance against the better clubs in the league.

ere's the league table at the end of 2021. This table flattered Ipswich a lot as that's the highest they've been all season after spending most of the season tied between 16th and 17th. Brighton and Fulham look likely to drop drop. The last place looks likely to be between Ipswich, Norwich, Watford and Bournemouth when I look at the quality of the squads in the league.

 

The Squad

Nick Hayes has adapted really well to The Premier League and is keeping Alex Smithies out the team.

Joshua Emmanuel, another academy player, has adapted well too and has made the position his own. Trevoh Chalobah's versatility has been useful as cover.

In the center another academy player in Matt Swift has been really impressive. I had faith in Axel Tuanzebe to make an impact but I didn't know how Matt Swift would get on. They've both forged a good partnership and other teams are taking note. Kourtney Hause is having to settle for backup.

Tommy Swift has had to drift to left back because of the Swift/Tuanzebe partnership. This is partly because Jay DaSilva hasn't played to the standards expected and Morgan Fox isn't good enough.

Issac Hayden is the jigsaw piece that connects everything together. He's calm, composed, and always puts in a good performance.  He's really pushed on as a very good, established Premier League player.

Luke Hyam has been a bit of an unsung hero. I was going to get rid of him in the summer but I ran out of money to place ihim. He has a chance early on and took it and I haven't been in a position to drop him since. Dale Stephens, Teddy Bishop and Ruben Loftus Cheek have all been good too. I've been trying out formations to keep them all in the team.

A surprising disapointment has been Andre Dozzell. He's never really shown us his full potential in The Premier League. Shame really as I thought he'd take this league by the scruff of the neck and really push on. Thankfully Teddy Bishop has been excellent in his place.

Tariq Fosu and Ademola Lookman have been ok at times whilst Callum McMannaman, Patrick Roberts and Izzy Brown have not been good enough at all and would do well to play a part in the second half of the season.

The forwards have not done as well as I would have liked as I previously mentioned. Belfodil is starting to show his abilities, and Jordan Rhodes has popped up at times. Niall Ennis however has been really disapointing. Tammy Abraham's injury has really his us hard.

 

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Ipswich then went on a bit of a mad month where they figured out how to score goals. They catapulted up to ninth after winning five on the bounce. It would have been very surprising if they bottled it from here on in.

[Dave]

Ipswich Town 2021/22 - Season Review Part II

Right, i'll keep it short and sweet from where I left off...

I showed you a screenshot of our form in January. What I didn't tell you about was one piece of transfer activity. Patrick Roberts left us for West Brom for £3,000,000. Statistically he was one of our most talented players, but the reality is he never really got going in the twelve months he was here. He came up to me mid-January and said he hasn't settled so I let him go for the sake of his career. Given his performances there was a lot more interest from Premier League clubs than I expected but I sold him to the club I thought he'd get most opportunities than start a bidding war.

I last told you that we had achieved the fourty point sprint by Valentines Day. This was after a fantastic competitive performance to beat Arsenal, and by thrashing West Ham, and getting an unexpected point in a 'backs against the wall' performance against Chelsea. Once we achieved this target I didn't know what to expect. It was nice to just play games, read your diaries, and not have to think too much about anything. I literally went on holiday but that doesn't mean my players did the same thing.  Even if injuries were beginning to pile up.

The loss to Everton was entirely underserved but I couldn't complain when West Brom comfortably beat us. The players did well to draw the next three games given spirits had dropped. Jordan Rhodes last minute goal against Manchester City was a particular highlight. But with teams beginning to breathe down our necks the players reacted superbly.  Tammy Abraham came back from injury and got his first goal against Tottenham in the match that won United the title. After that win confidence was flowing again and we performed well in a favourable run of fixtures. The Academy lads got bragging rights when we beat Norwich 4-2, an incompetent ref cost us three points against Fulham, and then a comfortable win against Bournemouth rounded off what's been a very pleasing and succesful season.

This left the table to finish like this. We were ninth from late January to the finish. We traded places with Leicester a couple of times but that was it.  The relegation places and the title were effectively decided by mid to late February in what for a neutral was a boring season. This Manchester United team are completely unstoppable.

I did find it interesting that us, Everton and Sunderland stormed The Championship two years ago and now all finished comfortably in the top half. Shows how important confidence and self belief is.

I got two of the bottom three predictions correct. I thought we'd be the third and i'm obviously satisfied that we're not. Wolves have been promoted and either Preston or Leeds will join them. I fancy them to go down with Norwich City as Norwich City appointed Fernando Hierro who has failed in The Premiership and The Championship as a Manager.

So what changed with the squad? The big difference was up top. Belfodil found confidence in front of goal and made an all round greater contribution. Ipswich have goals all in this team and this team looks like it still has more to give.

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So what's in store....

- Enjoy Canada 2022 - That's right. Just after Brexit was announced last summer they stripped the World Cup off Qatar 

- Sprint to 40 Points - It's just the way the league has gone really. If you don't manage a top six side you have to get fourty points and plan from there. Fingers crossed my injuries pile up after that point.

- Keep Same Squad - Everybody has been playing brilliant, we've got depth in every position, and most of these players are yet to reach there full potential. It's an exciting time and the first summer in ages where i've not had to scout the entire planet early for new signings. It's not going to be easy to keep them all. In January Swift and Tuanzebe had there heads turned by Newcastle and Stoke. After our good form I had Manchester City and Liverpool watching over them. If a top six club was serious in anybody I think i'd struggle to keep that player.

- Introduce More Academy Players - In The Championship I have a right winger named Stuart Bishop whose boasted good goals and assist returns for mid table Sheffield Wednesday, in League One I have 2/3 top scorers out on loan in Danny Dalton and Ben Morris, I have three central midfielders who have played regularly in sides that have made the playoffs (Aiden Jarrard and Flynn Downes at Pompey, Tristan Nydam at Birmingham) and a center back who got fans player of the year at mid table Luton in Jamie Eales. All of them have expressed the right attitude and development to argue they deserve some form of opportunity and i'll be hopeing to do that next season.

Enjoy Growth Behind The Scenes - What's most exciting at Ipswich, and you'd never get this at a tinpot side like Barnsley, is everything that's happening behind the scenes. Marcus Evans held a meeting where he told me he was going to expand the stadium (Bobby Robson Arena) to 42,000 seats, increase the transfer budget by fourty million, and upgrade our Academy Status to Level One. The man is an absolute legend. I dread the day he sells up.

[Dave]

Right, that's my diary up to date. Look forward to reading all of yours.

The long introduction was the easy part. It was a fucking ballache editing previous posts to past tense.

From now on i'll keep talking in present tense. I plan to introduce a season preview, a player guide and give you all a live experience feel to the upcoming season. The first match will hopefully be written up in a live tense but I doubt i'll make that a regular thing as that's quite time consuming.

[Dave]

July 3rd 2022:

Ipswich Announce Cresswell Signing

Ipswich Town have confirmed the signing of 32 year old Aaron Cresswell on a free transfer.

Aaron Cresswell joins Ipswich Town after being released by West Ham United after spending eight years at The Irons where he made 194 league appearances.

Aaron Cresswell was a regular starter under Slaven Billic and Walter Mazzari but was only sparingly used in the last eighteen months by Laurent Blanc and Roberto Mancini.

Aaron Cresswell previously played for Ipswich Town before joining West Ham United for a fee of £6,000,000.

 

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August 13th 2022

Season Preview: Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town head in to there second season in The Premier League with a familiar squad to last year as they look to replicate the form of last season.

Ipswich Town recieved many plaudits last season for there young home grown based squad that were able to surprise everybody by finishing ninth following their promotion the season before.

Ipswich Town have not yet spent money on new players this summer with the only arrival being free agent Aaron Cresswell. On the contrary Niall Ennis has left to join Queens Park Rangers for five million and Kourtney Hause has signed for Sunderland at a fee believed to be in the region of six million pounds.

Bartosz Bilalkowski, Fabio, Morgan Fox and Callum McMannaman have all also been released by the club.

It's presumed that Ipswich Town will be depending on a successful academy to compensate for the players that have departed. Several current first team players have come through the Ipswich Town Academy which include top performers last season such as Teddy Bishop, Luke Hyam and Matt Swift.

Media Prediction: 17th

 

Key Player: Issac Hayden

Sitting in front of a succesful defensive partnership in Axel Tuanzebe and Matt Swift, Issac Hayden is recognised as the anchor and the lynch pin that holds everything together for Ipswich Town. His composed style of football allows the midfielders in front of him to play with freedom and his physical attiributes allow him to compete with the very best at this level. His impressive distribution is often responsible for starting many Ipswich Town attacks and as a resull he will have a big impact on any success Ipswich Town have this season.

Ipswich Town will face a battle to keep him as both himself and Andre Dozzell have been heavily linked with Europa League winners Stoke City. Axel Tuanzebe is also heavily linked with Manchester City.

[Dave]

August 13th 2022

"Ipswich Town lack Ambition!"

A talking point on Talksport this afternoon before the start of the season was Ipswich Town's lack of transfer activity this window as the presenter claimed that the club lacked ambition.

The presenter stated that Ipswich Town's lack of signings show that the club do not believe they can improve on last seasons finish and are happy to settle for ninth every season.

The presenter believes that Manager Aaron Cpfc may be too scared to enter the transfer market in fear that he signs the wrong player which is why his scouting knowledge doesn't appear to go much further than former Ipswich players like Aaron Cresswell and Jordan Rhodes.

The presenter believes Ipswich have 'no chance' of ever making the top eight with this attitude and states that he feels sorry for there fans that will have to settle for what he described as 'ninth place as a trophy'.

This evoked an annoyed reaction from Ipswich Town fans who rang in the show saying they were happy that the club still produces Premier League Quality players and feels that if other clubs followed suite then maybe England would have qualified for the last world cup.

The presenter dismissed this, calling the approach as 'pointless' and highlighted that nobody knows the last time an Ipswich Town Academy player went on to play for England.

The presenter was also quick to highlight that most of the academy players coming through only have experience playing for league one clubs which couldn't get promoted and if Ipswich fans really think league one players can get themselves to the next level then they are deluded.

The topic ended with the presenter saying he wouldn't be surprised to see Ipswich Town in a relegation battle this season.

[Dave]

Ipswich Town Vs. Stoke City

A new season begins at The Bobby Robson Arena today between two sides who have just come off the back of very suprising seasons for different reasons. Ipswich Town finished there highest league position in almost two decades whilst Stoke City won the Europa League for the first time in the history. 

Ipswich Town line up with Nick Hayes in goal and a back four of Joshua Emanuel, Axel Tuanzebe, Matt Swift and debutant Aaron Cresswell. Issac Hayden sits just in front of a three man midfield with Dale Stephens, Teddy Bishop and Reuben Loftus-Cheek in front of him. Tammy Abraham starts upfront alongsides Ishak Belfodil. The only injury to Ipswich Town is last years player of the season Luke Hyam who came off with a hip injury the week before on his testimonial.

Stoke City start with Jack Butland in goal and an experienced back four of John Flanagan, Phil Jones, Ryan Shawcross and Jordan Amavi. A three man midfield sits in front with Tielmans, Imbula and Shakiri. In front of them is Cebellas and debuts for Cerny and Mitrovic.

 

1st Minute... Amavi with the throw on. Cerny is in a good position on the left. He crosses low. It founds Tielmans.... And it's a goal for Stoke! But wait the linesman has raised his flag. Mitrovic was in an offside position and he's deemed as interfearing with play! I think Stoke City have a right to feel annoyed that that goal hasn't counted there!

12th Minute... It's Teddy Bishop with the corner... it's whipped in well and it's found the head of Cresswell.... And it's rattled off the bar! And Stoke quickly clear it away! That was almost the perfect return to Ipswich Town there for Aaron Cresswell!

20th Minute... It's Mitrovic with the ball. He's approaching the Ipswich Penalty Area. He quickly aims fire... And it's gone in! Mitrovic scores on his Stoke City debut! The Ipswich players just held off him and allowed him to come forwards, and the striker has hit a quick pot shot that's caught Hayes by surprise and this game has got it's first goal. It's Ipswich nil Stoke City one!

Half Time

46 Minute... It's Teddy Bishop with the ball, he plays it to Stephens, who passes it to Loftus Cheek, Loftus Cheek plays the ball forward to Tammy Abraham, and Ambraham has been impeded by Imbula and it's a free kick in a dangerous position for Ipswich Town...

47 Minute... It's Teddy Bishop with the free kick... It's floated in to the area... Tuanzebe rises above Mitrovic and Flanagan.. And it's in the back of the net! Tuanzebe powered above two Stoke City players there to give Ipswich Town an immediate introduction in to the second half! A lot of credit had to be given to the excellent service there but Tuanzebe still had a  lot of work do to get the goal but his sheer strength and determintion paid off! It's Ipswich Town one, Stoke City one.

48 Minutes... Stephens plays the ball over to Bishop, he heads it to the path of Issac Hayden. Hayden releases Cresswell on the left but Shawcross blocks his cross and it's a corner.... The corner is taken by Bishop... It's headed back out by Shawcross, but only as far as Belfodil, who plays it in to the path of Cresswell who shoots first time... and it's a brilliant finger tip save by Butland to tip it wide! This is a completely different Ipswich Town team this second as they press for a second goal!

55 Minutes... It's Tuanzebe with the ball now... He plays a long ball up to Loftus Cheek, who flicks it on and now Belfodil is away from Flanagan and it one-on-one with Butland, Butland sprints off his line, Belfodil is closing in, Belfodil with a great chance to put Ipswich ahead.... And Butland is able to divert the ball away! That was a great chance for Befodil to take the lead for Ipswich!

60 Minutes... It's Shakiri with the ball. He plays it to Sabitzer, Sabitzer plays a quick one-two with Amavi, Sabitzer now shoots from range... And it's saved by Hayes! Hayes did well to save that shot as it was serving towards his goal. On another day Sabitzer could have got lucky there!

64 Minutes.. It's Tielmans now... He plays a perfect ball to the substitue Lingaard. Lingaard cuts inside and shoots... And Hayes turns it wide for a corner! That chance very nearly caught out the Ipswich 'keeper who had to get something on that to make sure!

66 Minutes... It's a corner to Ipswich Town. Dozzell takes it, he aimes for the near post... Swift gets above Jones... and Sabitzer has to hack it off the line! And Stoke get it clear! What a chance that was for Ipswich Town for take to the lead!... The balls only gone out as far as Dozzell. He hits a low shot... And it cannons off the post! Now this time Stoke definitely have got it away! That was two great opportunities for Ipswich there and Stoke City know it!

69 Minutes... It's Jordan Rhodes with the ball. He tries to pick out Belfodil but the pass is intercepted by Amat. Amat plays it forwards to Tielmans. Tielmans quickly tries playing a fast through ball to Mitrovic... Tuanzebe sticks out foot out but he's directed the ball towards his own goal... And Hayes has had to get something on to that to make sure it wasn't an own goal! Very nearly a disaster for Tuanzebe who has been excellent this game.

76 Minutes... It's Amavi with the ball. He's played it long... Dozzell has headed the ball very well in to the path of Stephens. Stephens takes the ball forwards. He lays it off to Bishop. Bishop hits it first time from 25 yards out... And Butland has to tip that shot over the bar! A great save from The England International! Its now a corner for Ipswich..

77 Minutes... It's Dozzell with the corner. Mitrovic heads it away. Swift now has the ball. He lays it back wide to Dozzell. He crosses it in. Belfodil gets his head to it... But he just couldn't direct his header towards goal! That was a good chance for Ipswich and the striker knows it.

83 Minutes... The ball comes to Hayes... He hits it up field.. Belfodil outjumps Amat. He cushions the header down to Dozzell. Dozell plays it to Rhodes. Rhodes hits it towards goal... And that's another good save by Butland! And he's able to pounce on the rebound! 

84 Minutes... It's Chalobah on the ball. He knocks it on to Stephens. Stephens takes it forwards. He floats the ball towards Belfodil. Belfodil heads it back to Dozell. Dozell picks out Rhodes whose unmarked in the area! Rhodes shoots at goal!... And he's hit it wide! That was such a great chance for Ipswich Town! And of all the chances they have had in this second half that may be the one they rue to miss the most!

Full Time: Ipswich Town 1 - 1 Stoke City

 

Man Of The Match: Axel Tuanzebe

On a day where Ipswich Town were largely quite wasteful with a lot of there chances the reason why Stoke City were not able to create as many chances as them was largely down to the impact this player had in defence. He was able to cut out several chances through his quick anticipation and sheer physicality and he ensured that Mitrovic did not have an easy debut.

There's lessons to be learned from this performance and Ipswich know that they will need to be more clinical in there next two games before a difficult run of fixtures in September.

 

[Dave]

7 minutes ago, Cannabis said:

Look at you all doing minute by minute reviews now 

I didn't really know how to introduce the first game of the season to flow in a present pretext. The fixtures are all congested quite nicely now to write up short reviews.

I'm not doing that again. We create far too many chances.

[Storts]

Axel Tuanzebe was a God for me first couple of seasons, then United wanted £60 million for him. 

[Dave]

11 hours ago, Storts said:

Axel Tuanzebe was a God for me first couple of seasons, then United wanted £60 million for him. 

I keep telling Barnsley lads to sign him but they don't listen. There loss. He has become the complete defender.