Question Time: Ipswich Town
PH: That's the plan! And up to now things are progressing quite nicely. We've got an unbeaten home record and pick up mainly draws and the odd win away from home. It's been enough for us to average two points a game all season up to now which, if we manage to keep it going, ought to see us back into the Premiership.
ST: Joe Royle. Is he liked?
PH: For the most part yes, although there are some who still wouldn't have a good word to say about him if took us into the Champions League. There was significant opposition to his appointment but getting us to top of the table having spent no money with around 20 players leaving since our relegation has seen his stock rise significantly. A new contract is currently being negotiated.
ST: Who should we be keeping an eye out for?
PH: Darren Bent is the name getting most tabloid inches at the moment. An England U21, the pacy front man looks certain to be playing Premiership football next season, either with us or elsewhere. He scores goals, he creates them and generally gives defences the run around.
Last season, as you may have noticed from our 6-4 win down here, we weren't that good at the back. Things have improved of late with Richard Naylor,converted from a striker, and summer signing Jason De Vos adding solidity.
ST: Weak links?
PH: That'll be our defence on a bad day, which they still have on occasion. We've lost three games this season, the first two down to festivals of defensive blundering, mainly from Drissa Diallo.
ST: What do you know of Crewe? Who do you think will trouble you?
PH: Dean Ashton is the player at Crewe that most Ipswich fans are wary of. We were impressed when we saw him at Portman Road alongside Darren Bent for the England U19s three years ago when Bent scored twice. Might be a nice signing for us if we do go up...!
I think most opposition fans have a respect for Crewe and the way they do things both on and off the pitch; you play football and you contribute to bringing through young players for the national team.
ST: Best and worst fans you've come across so far?
PH: The Stoke fans away from home were probably the noisiest as they went top of the league after beating us and were clearly quite chuffed about it. Doncaster were fairly pleased to beat us in the Carling Cup as well.
Cardiff were a bit disappointing as they only brought a handful having brought along a much larger and more noisy contingent last season.
ST: Who is your fans' favourite?
PH: Probably Darren Bent at the moment, although there are cult followings for Shefki Kuqi and Pablo Couñago and Town fans always have a lot of time for upcoming youngsters like Dean Bowditch and Ian Westlake.
ST: Any parasites on the books that need to be gotten rid of? Any turds that just won't flush round the u-bend?
PH: Some might argue that top earner Pablo Couñago hasn't been pulling his weight. He appeared to be resigned to leaving in the summer and so returned to pre-season training rather less than fit. He's the only player remaining on the wage bill still on Premiership money and he accounts for a fifth of our £5 million total wage bill on his own.
I think we're still paying off the remainder of Finidi George's contract as well, a financial commitment we could certainly do without.
ST: What do you think of the Ipswich board?
PH: Fans are still split over the board. Some think chairman David Sheepshanks should have done 'the decent thing' when the club went into administration and resigned. Others side with the chairman's view that the club was hit by highly unusual calamities (ITV Digital and subsequent transfer market collapse) and that the collapse wasn't their fault. I suspect the truth is somewhere in between; mistakes were certainly made but circumstances did
conspire to worsen the situation.
conspire to worsen the situation.
Chief executive Derek Bowden is getting most of the plaudits for turning things around. He came in post-relegation and seems to be the brains behind the club's improving financial - and therefore to some extent footballing - performance.