Boss Mick McCarthy doubts whether he could have done any better with his summer signings even if he’d splashed a lot more cash than the small fee he paid Waterford for 18-year-old Jack Doherty. Eight of the summer additions joined on Bosman free transfers.

McCarthy said: “We did £20,000 on Jack Doherty! Maybe we’ve done a bit of shrewd business because what would we have had to pay for Skusey?

“We bid for him in January and Bristol City wouldn’t let him go, they wanted him to stay because they thought he was so valuable to them even having a chance of staying up.

“What would we have had to pay for Murph? All of them. David McGoldrick? Tabby? Christophe Berra, we paid £2 million for him at Wolves and we got him on a free transfer.

“I know we haven’t spent anything I think the signings have been good and I think with Freddie coming from Manchester United, Tunners coming from United, I think they’re good signings, I’m pleased with them.

“So, I don’t know if we’d spent half a million quid or a million quid if we’d have got any better. I don’t think we would have done. I’m delighted with what we’ve done.”

The Town squad will be far from the biggest in the division and McCarthy says a larger group can sometimes lead to problems: “You can certainly get disaffected players if you’ve got 22, 24, 26 players who all think they should be playing. You’re only going to be playing 11 of them and seven subs.

“The ones who aren’t travelling can be a pain in the butt at times. It can affect it. I think it depends, if you get a good start, if you start winning, it solves a lot of problems, let me tell you.”

Photo: Action Images

Len_Brennan added 06:35 - Aug 2 Hard to disagree with Mick, but I think a few bob on Stearman (last year of contract) & an out & out goalscorer would be worth it to push us into realistic Top 6 contenders. Purchases like that can be self financing when chosen wisely. I still think Mick might have a trick or 2 up his sleeve.
0

Stato added 07:46 - Aug 2 Spot on Len but I guess the budget just wasn't there which is fair enough and regardless if FFP we know the realities of what we can spend. Seems strange that nobody else has pinched Stearman, is that because he is waiting for Mick ? Also seemed strange to me that the likes of October and co were given so much pre-season game time but Marriott got none sso perhaps a proven goal scorer might turn up in August ?

0

Guthrum added 08:34 - Aug 2 Or maybe we have our goalscorers in McGoldrick (17 for Coventry and 4 for us last season, 4 in pre-season) and Murphy (7 last season, 5 in pre-season), with Nouble and Taylor for potential?
0

murraybrunning added 08:35 - Aug 2 The biggest investment we've made this year is on Super Mick and TC and I think they'll be the best signings we've made in years..... Would love 1 more striker but still think we can achieve great things with the team we have.......
0

ArnieMsBigToe added 08:53 - Aug 2 Len Bren: I do hope you are right. What I still do not understand is how the FPPP affects transfers. Other teams in the championship have been spending money like it's going out of fashion. Have they contravened FPPP rules? May Mick and Terry are waiting for the last minute and then bring in Stearman and Billy Sharp! I do hope so.
0

bedsitfc added 09:27 - Aug 2 I think we will have a great strike force in mcgoldrick and Taylor (when match fit) even last season we weren't bad up front bit no supply chain we were to easy to defend against. This season we have a lot more pace about us and a more balanced side.
0

Guthrum added 09:41 - Aug 2 ArnieMsBigToe - "Other teams in the championship have been spending money like it's going out of fashion" - simply not true. Of the 189 transfers to clubs in this division since the end of the season, just 34 (18%) have not been free (97) or loans (58). 30 of those were "undisclosed", but the only known big spenders have been Holt to Wigan for £2m (parachute payments), Mackie to Foest for £1m and Russell to Derby for £750k. More than half of this summer's transfers have been frees and getting on for a third more have been loans. Nobody's spending. Last summer, over the same period, 42% of transfers had been for a fee, with seven disclosed fees of £1m or over and top spend of £3m (Best to Blackburn). So FFP is making a significant difference.

0

Wickets added 09:54 - Aug 2 The proof of the pudding is in the eating!
0

meekreech added 09:59 - Aug 2 Guthrum Blackburn are still spending , Blackpool are ( Davies from Bristol ) , Leeds spent £1 million on Murphy from Crewe and there are a few more you have missed !
0

Scuzzer added 10:00 - Aug 2 Thanks for that Guthrum....really puts it in the frame. I think Mick has done a superb bit of business, not only in spending so little but I would say that he has gone about getting 'Ipswich' type of players in. It's going to be a good season I'm sure.
0

Guthrum added 10:33 - Aug 2 meekreech - those are all officially "undisclosed", so we don't know the true fees. Blackburn and Blackpool are both still benefiting from parachute payments (which, of course, make a mockery of FFP). It remains true that the vast majority of transfers this summer, over four-fifths, have been frees or loans. A very much higher proportion than previous seasons.
0

jabberjackson added 11:00 - Aug 2 I think it is far more relevant to think about the wages we are paying to these new signings rather than the fees....the likes of skuse, mcgoldrick, murphy will all be on a decent wage...the like of which not many championship sides could begin to afford. Too many fans on this forum seem disappointed that we are not spending big money, the fact we haven't does not mean we are not hugely well endowed!

0

Michael11 added 11:21 - Aug 2 I agree that this year we should have spent money on Stearman. I'd still like to see us sign a poacher (what Chopra was meant to be). Someone like Billy Sharp on a season long loan would be good.
0

Tractorog added 11:27 - Aug 2 @jabberjackson you speak for yourself when you say we are not hugely well endowed.
0

jas0999 added 11:45 - Aug 2 Excuses in previous years: 'We can't attract players' 'People don't want to move in pre-season' 'No-one wants to come to Ipswich' We can now officially say that RK and PJ were talking absolute rubbish! MM has steadily gone about his business and has signed some very good players. Still expect to see one or two more loanees to supplement our quad - particularly if we get a few injuries. Well done to MM and his team - but a tough start tomorrow.

0

onetowatch added 12:37 - Aug 2 I hope we do well this season, but im afraid we finished bottom of goalscoring league last season, and we still short of quality goalscorers as we havent signed any strikers. Nouble, Murphy, Mcgoldrick, and Taylor are what we had last season and look how many goals we scored !
0

runningout added 12:39 - Aug 2 to be honest we haven't been an attractive club to be associated with for a while, due to mismanagement and our own fortune to have a good owner, with a few quid... Our club is obviously situated in a beautiful part of the country, which doesn't give an impression as a hotbed of football 'although it is' We are hopefully putting the mistakes behind us, and getting back to some sense of normality

0

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls