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Skuse: Top Lad Luke Has a Lot of Admirers
Wednesday, 21st Aug 2013 06:00

The Ipswich careers of midfield duo Cole Skuse and Luke Hyam are set to run in tandem through to the end of the 2015/16 season.

New boy Skuse agreed a three-year deal upon his summer arrival on a free transfer from Bristol City, while partner Hyam signed a new deal of a similar length yesterday.

Skuse, 27, likes what he has seen so far of Hyam, the former Northgate High School pupil who will be 22 in October.

He said: “Luke’s a top lad and he has a lot of admirers within the game, not just at Ipswich. There are a lot of lads outside the club who think he’s a very good player and he’s a nice boy as well.

“He’s quite a quiet lad but with a bit of devilment about him, which I like. He’s not afraid, he’s not one to shirk a challenge or a bit of confrontation, which is alright. I’ll leave that bit to him I think.”

Skuse feels the duo’s differing styles complement one another: “From the word go me and Luke have struck up quite a good balance and sussed each other out quite early and it’s worked okay.

“I don’t mind if he wants to get himself forward and get some goals. He’s more than entitled to do that and on the flip side, if there’s a situation where I want to go forward, he’ll just fill in for me.

“You can’t sit down before a game and say ‘Look, when this happens you do such and such’. You can do all the work you want in training but when it comes to the games it’s more off the cuff and that’s when you suss each other’s games out.”

Skuse hopes to be over the Achilles’ injury which forced him off at half-time at Loftus Road on Saturday in time to face Leeds United at Portman Road this weekend.

He says QPR’s late winner had an inevitability about it: “It was all a bit cramped at Loftus Road so I watched the second half inside on a monitor thanks to one of the media guys.

“I was saying to myself ‘Come on lads, we’ll take a point here’ but for some reason you could sort of feel the goal was going to happen when it did.

“It was such a hard one to swallow because a point there would have put us on four points and that would be a decent return when you consider the two away games would be seen as two of the toughest we will face all season.”

Skuse described the mood in the visitors’ camp afterwards when he added: “We are all professional athletes who are bred to get results and when you suffer a defeat like that it is hard to swallow.

“There were a lot of words said in the dressing room but it hasn’t hampered the lads and they came in on Monday morning with a lot of positives and there was still plenty of optimism around the place.

“The manager touched on it in his interviews — you can match any team but it’s the results that you want. It’s a positive to know that we can match the bigger teams but we’d like to turn the performances into a few more points.”


Photo: Action Images



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bigolconnor added 06:05 - Aug 21
There's no exSkuse.
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bluefeast added 07:54 - Aug 21
Should be captain.
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ipswichjon added 08:04 - Aug 21
Bluefeast, knee jerk reaction? I agree that he seems to be an intelligent guy but hardly a departure from Carlos.
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Fatcatevans added 08:51 - Aug 21
Totally agree with Bluefest. We need someone with visibility and presence. Carlos is far too laid back
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linhdi added 14:28 - Aug 21
Mick seems to have decided his midfield duo - he was really talking up Skuse yesterday morning before the squad photo session ("not just a really good player, he's one of the nicest people you'd ever meet"). And if this means that Hyam gets to learn and play alongside someone who was a decade-long one-club, home-club man, and so aspire to be exactly that himself... then that's fine by me.
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dford7 added 15:04 - Aug 21
I am really impressed with Skuse. He gets stuck in well, always trying to win back possession and some some skills in keeping possession, also he looks like he knows where everyone is and what creative opportunities he has. Interesting he talks about Hyam getting forward. I think that's his (Hyam's) weakest bit of the game. He looks nervous in front of goal. Needs a bit more confidence and maybe a bit more shooting on the edge of the box. A goal would get him believing more. He is still young, so there is time. His battling defensive abilities are clear to see. Wouldn't mind Skuse as captain.
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ormey75 added 18:05 - Aug 21
Not really news is it, i wanna be hearing about us signing a decent striker, if only we had the QPR owner, trust us to get the wrong one.
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Dozzells_Bobblehat added 18:30 - Aug 21
Really like what I have seen of Skuse so far but Chambers would be skipper for me.
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alexsmith111 added 22:45 - Aug 21
Skuse and Guam have been great. Chambers is solid. I agree dozzels that captain should be CB. But for me it's smith, fantastic consistency. I love cares well and hope to god we keep him, coming from an atheist! But smith would be a even bigger loss. I feel Edwards is slipping into a squad player now instead of captain
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alexsmith111 added 22:46 - Aug 21
Hyam not Guam!
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alexsmith111 added 22:47 - Aug 21
I hate auto correct!! Creswell not cares well
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