Four Four Two Academy
The Ipswich Town academy has been renowned for producing stars of tomorrow. In the last decade the likes of Darren Bent, Kieran Dyer, Titus Bramble and Darren Ambrose have all made major impacts within the top tier of English football and, in Dyers case England internationals.
Despite this, the team find themselves acting as a feeder club to a number of big teams leaving them languishing in the cauldrons of the Championship with only a glimmer of hope of a return to the George Burley Premiership days. The summer takeover by Marcus Evans and the appointment of former British Olympic Association Chief Executive, Simon Clegg have given new manager Roy Keane financial freedom but as early season has shown this is not the answer to a clubs success.
With money at his disposal, it seems Keane has been tempted to rely on players such as Carlos Edwards, Grant Leadbitter and Lee Martin, all players he has worked with during his tenure at Manchester United and Sunderland respectively. These have proven fine acquisitions to the club and all bring in experience of top flight football but so far they have not clicked together and that is where the benefit of having a good academy comes in.
The academy is a big part of the club and works very closely with both the first team squad and the reserve squad. They offer these two squads assurance and back up and in return the squads then offer academy players the chance to play on the main stage, which normally means a few Carling Cup games. However, with this liaison going on at the club the sense of team unity becomes apparent and professional relationships start to develop.
This was evident in the season after the club got relegated when both Darren Bent and Darren Ambrose started breaking into the first team set up. With a lack of money at the club both Burley and, ultimately Joe Royle relied on these academy players to help them reach consecutive play offs, losing to West Ham on both occasions. It was during this time that the team also played the passing game that commentators and pundits began to associate with the club and the squad’s chemistry was there for all to see.
However, with these former academy players going onto bigger clubs the team has gone to the transfer market looking for both experienced and future players. Owen Garvan has been the only notable academy player to cement a first team spot over the past two seasons and his performances has lead him to captain the Republic of Ireland Under 21 squad.
Despite this, his position this season has come under threat from both Leadbitter and Alan Quinn and opportunities are now few and far between. It seems this feeling is spread throughout the academy and players such as Tommy Smith, Liam Trotter and Connor Wickham also find themselves waiting despite showing promise through pre season.
If Keane is to get him and the team out of trouble then it may be useful to put the cheque book away in January and have faith in the next set of stars currently plying themselves in one of the most prestigious academies in the country. Who knows, they could lead us to the promise land once again.
