WIVES and girlfriends may dictate the careers of some Premier League players but at Ipswich Town it is the men who rule the roost - or so they say.Blues stars have backed Sunderland boss Roy Keane, who called some so-called stars as weak and soft for allowing the WAGs to tell them which clubs they can play for, based on what the shopping is like in the area.

By Derek Davis

WIVES and girlfriends may dictate the careers of some Premier League players but at Ipswich Town it is the men who rule the roost - or so they say.

Blues stars have backed Sunderland boss Roy Keane, who called some so-called stars as weak and soft for allowing the WAGs to tell them which clubs they can play for, based on what the shopping is like in the area.

Jon Walters, who signed from Chester last January and moved his young family to East Anglia from the north-west where he and his wife Joanne originally come from, gave his wife little say in the matter in a whirlwind transfer.

Walters said: “There is no chance that would happen. You go to the club that suits you and what sort of player you want to be.

“You can't let your wife choose because of shops or whatever.

“Maybe some players use the wife as an excuse. It could be that they think Sunderland for example is cold or whatever and that the wife wouldn't like it - but that's not on.

“My wife didn't even know where Ipswich was at first, never mind about the shops.”

Long-serving defender Fabian Wilnis moved his family over from Holland almost nine years ago and his wife Juliette is a successful businesswoman in her own right.

Wilnis said: “Roy Keane is right. You have to make those decisions based on football, not because the wife wants to stay in a big city.

“It is a short career for a footballer so the wife can do what she wants when he retires at 35 or whenever.”

Even young, free and single Owen Garvan would not allow a woman to influence his career moves.

He added: “I have similar views as Roy. It has to be purely down to the player where he wants to go to achieve the most from his playing career. It is such a short career and you have to make your own decisions and hopefully your wife or girlfriend supports you.

“If I had a wife or girlfriend then I would be wearing the trousers in the house.”

Pablo Counago made a case for moving back to East Anglia with his long-term girlfriend when he said on his arrival back that while Malaga was a lovely place for a holiday Ipswich was a better place to live.