The departure of Joe Royle on the 11th May 2006 was a defining moment in any Ipswich Town fan`s memory. We finished 15th in the league, we`d lost our best young players and our squad was paper thin. We had no manager and the balance sheet was exhausted. Our top scorer that season was Nicky Forster who managed a pitiful 7 goals. That in itself paints an ugly, ugly picture.
As relegation candidates, we needed tactical knowledge, a leader and a motivator. We needed a character that could work their magic in the transfer market, someone that had connections and could pull off a cheeky loan deal or two. We needed someone to stand up and be counted; someone who wasn`t afraid of the mountainous challenge and that would stamp their mark on the club. As far as we were concerned, that person was most certainly not Jim Magilton. In Magilton, Sheepshanks had found his saviour, an easy way out and a way of appeasing the fans. He was already a hero under the Portman Road floodlights for his antics against Bolton on that night in May 2000 and Sheepshanks knew full well that the fans had no choice but to back Magilton and accept the decision.
No Ipswich fan could have wished for anything better than mid-table security from the 2006/07 season and Magilton duly delivered. Signing a host of players both on loan and from lower league clubs on a strict budget, notably Jonathon Walters, Mark Noble, David Wright and Alex Bruce. Danny Haynes & Owen Garvan began to show signs of the illustrious future they promise to have; Magilton had slowly installed his passion and belief into a team that had obvious potential. Finishing 14th that season was the first successful step on the notorious 5-year-plan. Not getting relegated was a success in itself, Magilton had found his feet and we were relishing his second term in charge.
Expectations all of a sudden has turned to the opposite end of the table and supporters were dreaming of at least a top ten finish. After a cracking start to the season in 2007/08, Town found themselves in and around the play-off places. The backbone of the side; Walters, Counago, David Wright, Alex Bruce and Neil Alexander were all brought in by Jim, it was his squad and they were playing great attacking football? at home. Away from home was a different story; without a win the players seemed to lack confidence, bite and determination. There was no bottle, no killer instinct and it was getting frustrating.
Magilton correctly identified his weaknesses and showed us again why we should have confidence in him in the transfer market. Marcus Evans` decided to put his millions into the biggest club in East Anglia and as the club was re-financed we were treated to two ball-winning midfielders, David Norris and Velice Sumulikoski, along with the answer to our left-sided problem, Alan Quinn. We all know what happened in the very next fixture away at Sheffield Wednesday. Some fans suddenly decided we were world-beaters while the more realistic among us realised we were already over-achieving and that a top ten finish was the best we could hope for.
A mediocre finish to the campaign left us one point off the play-offs and wondering “what if”. What if we hadn`t of had that perfectly good Pablo goal away at Burnley disallowed? What if we hadn`t of had the perfectly good goal at home to QPR disallowed? What if we had managed to hold onto the 2-0 lead at Carrow Road? The 8th placed finish disgruntled the aforementioned fans; the boo-boys and those fans who have memory`s comparable to that of a certain gold-coloured, bowl-dwelling creature. What we should have been asking ourselves at the end of the season was how did a man with no managerial experience manage to pull a squad round from nothing to promotion challengers in only 2 seasons? If this is what he can achieve in 2 seasons, what can he achieve in 10?
Jim has taken pressure on from the word go and has laughed in its face. He has built his team over the last two years and has earned the right to finish what he has started. The infamous 5-year plan is exactly that, a plan over five years. Not two, or three or four. Since Jim began back in May 2006, Ipswich Town has moved in one direction only, forwards. We have got the respect back for playing attractive, attacking football. Teams come to Portman Road and fear the worst again.
It is a shame that those who are so quick to voice concerns when it goes wrong aren`t quick off the mark to voice their praises when we batter teams 6-0. We need to turn negativity into optimism, the expectations into reality, the boo-boys into blue-boys because this season we have a great opportunity to make it all count. Promotion for Ipswich Town under Jim Magilton is not just a possibility, not just an opportunity but it is an inevitability. Just make sure you can stand up at the end and say “I was there”.
