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Skuse Fine to Face Leeds
Friday, 23rd Aug 2013 15:23

Manager Mick McCarthy says midfielder Cole Skuse will be fit to take his place in the Town midfield when Leeds visit Portman Road on Saturday afternoon. The 27-year-old was forced off at half-time at QPR last week due to an Achilles’ injury.

McCarthy said: “Skusey’s fine, we’ve got a clean bill of health apart from Tyrone Mings. We’ve got 19 fit players who have all trained today.

“Ty’s going to be back [from his knee injury] after the international break. Everybody else is fine.”

Second-choice keeper Dean Gerken missed the trip to Loftus Road with a dead leg but looks set to return to the bench.

Having praised his side in defeat against QPR, McCarthy could opt to name an unchanged line-up against the Whites, the club he supported as a boy.

That would see Scott Loach continue in goal with Elliott Hewitt at right-back, Aaron Cresswell on the left and Tommy Smith and Luke Chambers at the heart of the defence.

Skuse is likely to continue to be partnered by Luke Hyam, who signed a new contract this week, in the centre of midfield with skipper Carlos Edwards on the right and Jay Tabb on the left.

Up front, Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick will both be looking to get on the scoresheet for the first time this season.

McCarthy isn’t the only member of the Portman Road staff with Whites connections with Terry Connor having played for his hometown club, while fitness Andy Liddell also hails from Leeds, where his father was a briefly a player in the 1970s.

The Town boss recalls facing his assistant: “I played against Terry when he was at Leeds. Actually I didn’t play against him, I kicked him all round Oakwell, so he tells me anyway! I think he embellishes it slightly.”

But McCarthy says any history with another club is forgotten when it comes to a Saturday afternoon: “Whoever I’m working for, whoever’s sending me the money every month, that’s where my loyalty lies. I’m a professional, I do this for a living, it’s my job.

“When I’m playing against Wolves, Sunderland, any of them, there’s nothing comes into it except me wanting to win.


“Terry’s just the same and so is Lids. That’s not being mercenary, that’s just being professional, that’s how it is.”

The Town boss says he knows his Leeds counterpart and rates him highly: “I get on very well with Brian McDermott.

“He did a fantastic job at Reading having come through the ranks and earned his stripes there, through the youth team and all that to get them promoted.

“I thought it was a sin when they let him go from Reading, to be honest, after what he’d done. But it happens, as I know too well! I’m sure Leeds will be the beneficiaries of that.”

The visitors are set to be without promising right-back Sam Byram due to a long-standing hip injury, while midfielder Paul Green is fine despite suffering a back problem last week and Stephen Warnock, Lee Peltier and Tom Lees are over minor knocks.

Defender Scott Wootton, a midweek signing from Manchester United, is expected to be amongst the subs.

McDermott told the Leeds official site that he’s happy with one win and two draws in their opening three games: “I think our team has done really well. We’ve looked like a solid unit, we look like we are difficult to play against and difficult beat.

“We’ve got resilience and desire, we’ve been down a goal in every home game and got back and got a result.

“I’d say it’s been a solid start but I know the Championship. You have to hang in there and pick up points.

“You have to keep going, we’ve got 43 games to go, lots of games to play, you just have to hang in there. The more we play together the better we will get.”

McDermott is well aware that his side are in for a tough afternoon: “I know Mick’s teams. They will work hard with a high tempo and they will work really hard for the shirt.

“You know that with Mick’s teams but we will be no different. We will go down there with a good following and we’ll try and get the right result.”

Historically, Leeds have the superior record in the fixture, winning 28 (27 in the league) clashes between the teams. Town have been victorious on 24 (19) occasions and 19 (16) games have ended in draws.

The Whites were last at Portman Road in March when David McGoldrick scored twice and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas once as Town beat 10-man Leeds 3-0.

The visitors had been on top until defender Tom Lees was red-carded for a reckless challenge on Jay Tabb just after the half hour, McGoldrick netting either side of the break and sub Emmanuel-Thomas completing the scoring.

Lees’ dismissal was the Whites’ fourth in successive matches at Portman Road, Kevin Nicholls, ex-Blue Alex Bruce and Aidy White having seen red in each of their previous three games. Leeds went on to lose all four games.

In December, goals from Jerome Thomas and Paul Green saw Leeds to a 2-0 win at Elland Road. The home side had the better of the first half with Thomas’s backheel giving them the lead at the break.

The Blues dominated possession for much of the second period but were unable to get on terms before Green added the second.

Keeper Scott Loach had a trial with Leeds in the summer of 2007, playing a number of friendlies, but a potential loan was scuppered by a transfer embargo following the Whites’ administration.

Assistant manager Terry Connor was with his hometown club between 1979 and 1983, scoring 22 goals in 108 games.

Former Town skipper David Norris is the only man in the Leeds squad to have played for the Blues. Norris left Portman Road on a Bosman for Portsmouth in the summer of 2011 after making 114 starts and four sub appearances, scoring 16 goals.

He joined Leeds in the summer of 2012 but has made only one Capital One Cup appearance so far this season. Ex-Blues defender or striker Richard Naylor is the U18s coach at the Leeds academy.

Leeds striker Ross McCormack was close to joining the Blues from Cardiff in the summer of 2010 but the move broke down despite the Scot having held talks with then-manager Roy Keane at Portman Road.

Saturday’s referee is former FIFA official Mike Dean from the Wirral, who is yet to take control of a game this season. Last year he showed 145 yellow and five red cards in 41 games.

His most recent Town match was the 0-0 draw at Huddersfield in February in which he booked only Terriers’ striker James Vaughan.

Squad from: Loach, Gerken, Hewitt, Veseli, Cresswell, Smith, Chambers, Berra, Skuse, Hyam, Wordsworth, Tunnicliffe, Edwards, Anderson, Tabb, Murphy, McGoldrick, Nouble, Taylor.


Photo: Action Images



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irishtim added 15:40 - Aug 23
Glad Cole is fit. 3 points please lads. Get our season going.
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battyblue added 15:41 - Aug 23
O no same team again square pegs in round holes
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fredbarber added 15:48 - Aug 23
I think tunnicliffe is worth a start. Been impressed with what I have seen from him especially last week at QPR
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bluefeast added 16:07 - Aug 23
Bet we change things in the wider positions.
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Keaneish added 16:11 - Aug 23
Agree Fredbarber and Bluefeast - i think Tunnicliffe is well worth a start. He must be pretty close.

Edwards hasn't had a good start. Anderson or Taylor for Edwards.
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RegencyBlue added 16:14 - Aug 23
Skuse has already become an important player for us and we need him fit!
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RegencyBlue added 16:19 - Aug 23
Keaneish

Agree that Edwards has not been that effective going forward but I think he has been told to hold back and help out Hewitt defensively.
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neillrumsey added 16:42 - Aug 23
Agree with other posts Tunnicliffe would make a difference he has very good pace and has that John Wark knack of arriving in the box at the right time. I thinks he'll score goals judging his previous cameo roles. An exciting prospect imho
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Michael11 added 17:08 - Aug 23
Never knew we came close to signing Ross McCormack. He's just the sort of player we could do with right now too. I agree that i'd like to see Edwards dropped. I think he's been a great servant and the best Keane signing but I just don't think he's good enough to be in the 11 every week at this level anymore. We need young, hungry players like Tunnicliffe in the side.
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LankHenners added 17:10 - Aug 23
Great news! Hopefully one (or preferably both) of the front two will nab a goal. Leeds will be tough, but aren't much different to us and if we really want to push for a top six spot this season, they are the sort of team that we should be beating. COYB!
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LankHenners added 17:11 - Aug 23
Michael11 - you'll probably find that we were "linked" to several of the championship's top players. Not sure how close we got to any of them though.
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Keaneish added 18:30 - Aug 23
Fair shout regencyblue. Hopefully it'll be the other way from here on in and Hewitt will start getting past Edwards more.

On another note, the long throws into the box need work. All three games they've landed on the head of the tallest centre half. Either Murph starts winning them or we mix it up a bit!
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Keaneish added 20:08 - Aug 23
Turn on Sky Sports 1, there's the missing piece of our jigsaw...Kevin Doyle!
Doyle on the left, Taylor on the right, Tabb in the middle. Mint!
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michaeldownunder added 21:09 - Aug 23
Cannot see Edwards out of the team for a while, until Mick thinks Hewitt can play with less protection. Nor will Mick change from two defending mid fielders and Tabb tucking in, so that means we need more from our two forward players.
Up front Mick likes big man / small man combo so it's Big Frank or Murph with McGoldrick.

I myself would like to try Tunnicliffe just behind McGoldrick for this game, this would also help us against Leeds diamond formation as we have had problems in the past playing teams with this style.
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stevelincsexile added 08:25 - Aug 24
Fantastic long weekend. Son and I leaving shortly at least we can share the driving,wife's at work, barbecue tomorrow with friends, ones a Leeds fan and fishing on Monday. 3 points and I'll think I am in heaven COYB.
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RYITFC added 08:38 - Aug 24
This will be a good test to see where we really are, QPR and Reading have squads full of premiership experience, there is no shame losing away to either of them 2 sides.

One change i would consider would be Tunnicliffe for Hyam, from what ive seen so far looks a really good player, could just add a bit more quality in the middle of the park.

The first 3 league performances of the season have all been impressive so apart from the 1 change above would stick with the same lineup.
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muccletonjoe added 09:17 - Aug 24
These people wanting tunnicliffe in the team are probably same ones moaning about loan players a couple of years ago , you can rest assured he will not be taking Hyams place in the side
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Stato added 10:00 - Aug 24
Hopefully Loach will be more commanding in the 6 yard box and not stay stuck to his goal line.
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shefkuqi32 added 10:10 - Aug 24
Back home for the summer and would love to have gone to this game but the prices are ridiculous. Categories shouldn't happen at this level, fans are playing to see Ipswich not the away team.
English football can learn a lot from Bundesliga....greatest football experience I've had and at a sensible cost.

Ipswich need to seriously buck the trend and start thinking about getting fans through the door. If enough fans go at cheaper prices it would be the same if not more then a handful of expensive tickets sold.
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