Not the most exciting move but could prove a decent player. Good luck mate a goal like your screamer for Blackpool in the premiership would be welcome on Saturday ;)

Warm welcome if you sign Luke. We need bodies. Grab yorself a couple of goals for the cause in the run-in please.

right, i don't get why people are getting minus votes on people saying things like "is this the best we can do?" we don't want players of this quality, as we are chasing promotion!! varney is a player for mid table, and if fans think this is a good signing, then we have a lack of ambition!!

Darren Bent, Tom Ince, Luke Varney!!!
I don't get the impression we are helping ourselves.

I don't understand all the negativity, we are not going to get a prolific scorer on loan to sit on the bench in case Murph gets injured. Varney is a decent back up. Lets see how many of the negative posters say how good he is when he scores important goals, if he signs. Probably the same as the Noel Hunt doubters.

We can,t afford Bent, we can,t afford Ince etc. Their wages are huge. Varney is all we can afford right now. I would love us to be able to get in top quality players but the club are not going to splash out big bucks. Burnley went up last season on a small budget so we,re just going to have accept (begrudgingly) that is how as a club we try to get promotion.

Wages is a key issue here. While we are paying for Taylor its going to be really hard to bring someone in of quality.

We would all love Bent/Ince to play here but we are simply stuck at the moment. We have reinforced our squad (Paddy Kenny, Luke Varney, Freddie Searss, Dylan Connolly) , and it's possible we may sign another youngster (Famino). McDonnell will hopefully get clearance soon which will be a huge plus.

On the plus side Varney is a seasoned pro who is an expert penalty winner. We aren't expecting Kenny/Varney to start every match anyway.

People keep saying he's not better than what we already have, that noel hunt is no better than we already have. Well let's be honest were not looking for better than we already have, and our first 3 strikers are the leagues top scorer, an £8 million pound premier league target and a pacey young lively striker. So if you ask me it's gonna be pretty difficult to find better than what we already have.
I think this is a good signing, he's an experienced pro and all that's going to happen is he will come in, give his all and won't mind getting maybe the last 5 - 10 minutes in games. Good luck to you Luke and if you can grab a couple of goals just like Noel has then it's been another good bit of business.

Pinewoodblueboy, spot on. Your Burnley comparison very interesting, and one I agree with, although on the flip side, others could highlight Burnley when up with two prolific goal scorers, and this is what many struggle to accept....why hasn't the club splashed the cash, to reinforce our push to the promise land.
Must say also, post suggesting McCarthy doesn't want better players in, is absolute garbage.

pinewoodblueboy ........... that's about right, as unfortunate and frustrating as it is - equally unfortunate is the fact that it makes it almost impossible to achieve the fans (at least) ultimate dream of returning to the promised land.

If we do manage to get to that lucrative level (and let's face it it is) - then MM & Co will have exceeded all expectations I guess.
Having said all that - we have had numerous chances recently to have led the field and the Championship Big Spenders in our wake - in fact way behind.

Will get minus's for this - but, at times you have to question the establishments ambition - and that's in no way being unkind.

Warktheline, Many comparisons to Burnley last season, Murphy suddenly becoming a very good goalscorer in a similar vien to Ings, A very strong work ethic demanded by the managers of both clubs, down to earth managers of a similar type, grinding out results when not playing very well. No big time charlies upsetting the team bond evident at both clubs. Yes, I would love to be playing fast paced flowing football every game, but the reality is that from now until May, we will have to make do with what we have got. Generally, one unfancied team will go up each season. Lets hope this is our year.

Sneak Rhodes out instead!

MM does seem to get the best out of players, and I am sure Varney will make a positive impact before the end of the season. Like others have said here already; it's an underwhelming but understandable signing. We simply don't have the money.

I've never seen him play but he seems ok (seems better than Sam Parkin, Kevin Lisbie etc). His highlights aren't great but that could be said about a bunch of players. When it's 0-0 in the 90th against Norwich and he wins us that penalty we will all be cheering his name.

If we were all being honest, none of us know anything about Varney. It's easy to see old vids of him missing sitters, winning penalties etc. Let's welcome him to the ITFC family and wish him the best of luck,

...... fact is we need a few bodies in - and if Luke Varney is all (for whatever reason) we can have, let's go for this reasonably capable player, who at the very least will strengthen the squad.

A Darren Bent loan until the end of season, and a creative midfielder - along with Darren Ambrose playing regularly in midfield - is all we would have needed to mince the rest of the contenders / pretenders - even with their megabucks.

Ambrose creating chances for Bent up front with Murph and Sears - potential Magic.
Bent and Ambrose understand each other so well, but we'll now never know what that, coupled with Murph' / Sears, and McGoldrick champing at the bit for a place, would have produced.

Only dreaming - but it could have been a reality, with a little loosening of the purse strings.

Interesting...........

"..Varney can play as a winger or a centre forward. Not naturally gifted with the ball at his feet, and lacking a decent first touch, balance and the ability to finish, his style of play generally involves winning headers and hassling opposition defenders to create openings for his strike partner. Simulation is also a big part of his game, and he has been challenged publicly by opposition managers in the past for diving in an attempt to win free kicks and penalties. Ian Holloway criticised him for a dive in a game between Crystal Palace and Leeds United in the 2012—13 season, stating in a post-match interview: 'He got a booking for a complete waste-of-time of a dive and he was laughing about it but he basically tried to get a penalty and that ain't funny'.[46] Playing for Blackburn Rovers against Leeds in the 2014—15 season, Varney dived to win a penalty that proved to be decisive in the match. The decision was called a 'joke' by Leeds manager Neil Redfearn.[47] Varney has also been accused of diving by Gus Poyet in a game between Brighton and Hove Albion and Leeds in the 2012—13 season"

Play offs at best. People who add negatives to people who question this deal...why? It is not a sign of ambition is it?

Do not go with the cannot afford argument our owner is a multi millioneer who found the money for previous incompetent manager's,perhaps ffp comes into play but others seem to ignore this

In Mick we trust but I really hope we do not look back and regret signings like sammons and Barney when far better have been available

I'm not really sure I understand all of the negativity here. We have the best striker in the championship already (5 goals clear of anyone else) and we have David McGoldrick who could get on a run between now and the end of the season and Freddy Sears who I really want to see play and who is a goals scorer too. I don't want some superstar striker comming in now and pis*ing everyone off, demanding to be in the starting 11 either directly or by the size of his wage packet.

For me, just get me a player with a lot to prove, hungry to do well and trying to win a professional contract next season who will sit on the bench while the boys do thier stuff and come on in patches and short spells and give 100% commitment... oh hello Luke!

People talking about Darren Bent are mental. The guy's on £70k a week at Villa and Derby are paying 50% of his wages! Tom Ince is also costing them around £20k a week too. We're £80m in debt so how do you suppose we fund signings like that? Varney will purely be 4th choice striker until Noel Hunt is back.

"We're £80m in debt"
The debt is a loan from Marcus Evans companies to Ipswich Town ,which in itself is a seperate company to the football club.
It is quite cleverly structured, beneficial to ME Group and allows the football club to be competitive finacially

ITFC do not owe the bank or a loan company a penny.

So in other words the owner is in debt to himself.

With this in mind Bent was an option that was possible.
I suspect the real issue is that ITFC could not gurantee him a starting place.

Varney very much falls into the work hard, fit in and lump him on for the final ten minutes which Super Mick currently favours.
And who wants to argue with Super Mick?

With signings as average as this we'll end up mid-table. We don't score enough goals, can't finish off poor teams and can't handle the pressure. We desperately need another goal scorer and something special in mid field.

The reason we're finding it so difficult is we're average. People say how wonderful MM is but his approach is what will ultimately see us end up outside the play offs. Defensive. physical and attritional football may get you near the top of the table.

But when the chips are down and the pressures on you get found out.

Looks like walberswicks changed log in!

@trncbluearmy

Sadly, no matter how you dress up the £80 million pound debt. This has been caused by football and financial mis-management and signing players on loan and paying reported £35k (Bent) and £10k (Ince) whilst we cannot pay for it through our revenues is only digging us in deeper.

If ME walks away, do you think he will write off the debt? ME can't be happy to keep propping up the club with the £3 to £4 million a year as he has been doing.

I'm so glad FFP has come in to try and stop the lunacy in football

Agree with you on Mick, who can argue with his results, not many liked Noel Hunt signing until the 95th minute at the Valley. Come on Luke, sign up and bag a couple of priceless goals.

If ME walks away will he write off the debt. What else can he do. Sue himself? His dreadful management decisions caused the problem after all.

I think MM has to work with the budgets given to him, full stop

Of course he would like better quality players if possible but it aint so not point crying over i.t.

I remember Varney from Crewe days and was then an excellent player and free kick specialist, bit the same with Chapelow at Burnley.

If MM and TC get either, or ideally both,of these playing again they will be excellent additions----life is a gamble!!