Town boss Mick McCarthy says the Blues are missing the “blood and thunder” that midfielder Luke Hyam brings to his side. The 23-year-old has been out of action with a knee injury since the FA Cup replay defeat to Southampton in January.

McCarthy says he’s not sure how long the former academy scholar will remain on the sidelines: “I don’t know, as long as it takes. I haven’t got a definitive time.

“We said it was going to be six to eight weeks at the time. I don’t know how long it’s been but it’s just proved very difficult.”

Local boy Hyam, a former Northgate High School pupil, travelled by train and sat with his friends in the away end at Norwich on Sunday and fans gave a player who they hail as ‘one of our own’ a warm reception.

“When it’s going well it’s ‘He’s one of our own’. He’s great, isn’t he?” McCarthy said. “When he gives the ball away he’s a bollocks! 'Aren’t we great, you’re s–-', I don’t like that mentality.

“But he is one of their own and he is a fabulous asset to the club, Luke. I was just walking out to training with TC today and I said ‘We could do with Hymsy, couldn’t we?’.

“We could do with a bit of that blood and thunder that he adds. He’s a quiet lad but he belies all that quiet image when he plays because he’s a proper footballer and I really like him. He’s great to have around and for the run-in now. But we haven’t got him.”

The Town boss is not yet ruling Hyam out for the rest of the season and says the midfielder is frustrated by his lack of involvement.

“It’s one of them with his knee. If he gets an improvement, he could be coming to me next week saying ‘Gaffer, it might be two weeks’ and we might have him for the remainder. But it’s just proved really difficult.

“We have to take his laces off him and everything because he’s seriously down about it, I have to be honest.”

Photo: Action Images

footyblue added 06:23 - Mar 6 yes we are missing all the dirty work he does, gets in there where it hurts and doesnt care for reputations
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prebbs007 added 06:38 - Mar 6 Yeah we really miss his incisive creativity. His ability to open up the opposition with a pass. And his plethora of goals from midfield. He is no better than the rest of our midfield who continue to have neck ache every week. Oh well there's always next season 😢
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TR11BLU added 06:52 - Mar 6 You miss the point @Plebbs, he does all the dirty stuff and does it well. Not the best footballer but plays with passion and determination, leaves everything out on the pitch. We did miss him against Nodge, he doesnt pull out of a challenge like most of our midfield. Paired with a creative midfielder I would have him in every week.
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Jonnosdreadlocks added 07:20 - Mar 6 Agree with prebbs, we don't use our midfield anyway it's mainly back to front football. I'd rather a reused/ magilton type player personally and would say Jonny williams was a bigger loss although he was a loaned than hyam who's little better than Skuse or Tabb.
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bournemouthblue added 07:30 - Mar 6 McCarthy is absolutely spot on about the scape goat ball boys who pick on players like Hyam He does a lot of the hard work many people don't see so others ahead of him, have the space to do the damage This moaning culture came in after our last Premiership stay, before then the crowd were noisy and positive It's a team game, would Man United have been as successful without Roy Keane stopping the opposition play?

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blue7579 added 07:30 - Mar 6 We use our midfield most effectively to break down play and harass the opposition when they have the ball, which is what hyam is all about, gives the team more confidence in an attacking aspect to know we have the ability to defend from midfield if it breaks down.
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bluemikey100 added 07:35 - Mar 6 without a doubt we miss him if he was playing we would be top our team not bout creativity so we need him back soon then the wins will comeback maybe to save our season
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WubbleU added 07:36 - Mar 6 He might not add much going forward but as Mick and all of us know that's not our only problem in midfield right now. He might stop the soft goals, maybe he would have tracked back and stopped the first goal last Sunday and he might also link the defence with the rest of the team. That short pass that Tommy keeps looking for might be on with Hyam playing. Sure he might only be part of an answer but I don't think Mick is quoted as saying Hyam will score loads is he?

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MickMillsTash added 07:43 - Mar 6 Miss Hyam What news about McGoldrick and Bishop?
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Gingerblues added 07:49 - Mar 6 No we don't, he is one of the worst mid fielders at the club. Yes he works hard but not good enough at this level. Our good run before xmas started when he got injury and we finally broke the Skuse Hyam partnership. MM clutching at straws. CHANGE THE FORMATION BACK TO 433!
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Jimmy86 added 07:56 - Mar 6 Thing that winds me up is that when Hyam was playing so poorly in the back to back televised games against Derby and Southampton, where he was completely shown up, if we're honest, people were going on about how we missed skuse and his calming influence. Now hyam is out and skuse is playing, we miss Hyam. Hyam does add tenacity and bite in the middle of the park, but that's about all. He is a limited footballer, who seemingly is trying to be turned into something he isn't, a more forward thinking player. He is not that type of player, as demonstrated against Derby and Southampton. If I had a quid for every time he gave the ball away, I'd have enough money to buy a new car!!! His ball retention is so poor, he panics in possession, then goes sideways or backwards, when there a better options ahead of him. The back 4 don't trust him with the ball at feet, so they then bypass him and go long. I don't but into the "1 of our own" sentimental rubbish. Affords him more patience that he might have otherwise got, doesn't make up for the fact he is somewhat limited. Does add tenacity tho and if played in a holding role, performs slightly better

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louis246 added 08:36 - Mar 6 At least when Hyam is on the pitch you know he will give 110% which is more than can be said about certain midfield players in the squad.
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DurhamTownFan added 08:44 - Mar 6 louis: name some? I think they're all trying: Skuse, Tabb and Ando are always scurrying about as best they can. Our style just doesn't suit playing out through midfield at the moment. Jimmy: your comments made me think of Tom Cleverly actually. I think it's a very similar situation, although at a slightly lower level. Someone tipped for big things, but perhaps not quite the quality to live up to the expectations we tend to put on players who are young and have come through the academy. Look at where Westlake (semi-pro) and Bloomfield (Wycombe) are now, and you could see Hyam going the same way in ten years..?

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dirtyboy added 08:46 - Mar 6 I nearly posted my thoughts on the missing Hyam the other day, but was all too aware of the negativity people perceive he brings. Briefly though, he actually improves play by not doing the hoofball that so many don't agree with. He always takes the shortest easiest route, invariably, that will be to a creative player such as Bru or Bishop who are far more likely to do something with the ball. Conversely, he's always available as an outlet for those players meaning they aren't forced long or wide every time. Yes, he had a few poor games when he came back, but we didn't do badly with him in there either.

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Surco72 added 08:48 - Mar 6 What we miss is a good defensive CDM as neither Skuse or Hyam are good enough which is why MM plays them both , one can tackle and the other can sort of pass sideways to a blue shirt ., But out of the two Hyam offers more for me in the roleand will only get better , as Skuse doesn't help the back four and adds nothing going forward ,"at least a 7 out of 10 every game Skusey " !!! MM's first thought is always defending and being hard to beat yet we keep conceding very poor cheap goals and he never changes the defence ? And Bournemouthblue Roy Keane had hell of a lot more than stopping the opposition to his game how many goals did he score or assists did he get ? Our midfield needs to add goals and creativity simple as not another player to run around a lot and kick people

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Bergholtblue added 08:57 - Mar 6 You hit the nail on the head there Jimmy86. Play Hyam and he gets slated, everyone misses Skuse. Play Skuse and he gets slated everyone misses Hyam. Play them both and they both get slated cos 'they can't play together'. The fact is they both do what they are good at extremely well. It that they are being made to do things which they are not good at. The problem lies not with them but with S. Hunt, Tabb and Anderson. Those three have no real pace, no real ball control, no flair and hence we have no outlet through midfield. When Mings comes forward we don't look too bad on the left but Chambers, not being the fastest full back you have ever seen, hardly offers anything on the right.

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prebbs007 added 09:04 - Mar 6 Thanks for all the down marks. What a shock. Hyam is nowhere near good enough. Opts stats show that over 50% of his passes are sideways or backwards. He runs around a lot and gets booked. Yeah that's exactly what we need. One of our own makes no difference at all. Until people wake up and see that we need creativity not just work rate we will continue to struggle now that teams have worked us out. All you people who settle for mediocrity can continue to be content but I want to see my club in the premier league and the longer Mr stubborn sticks with his favourites and picks players in wrong positions this group will not get us there !! We play our best full back at left mid. Our best right sided centre back at full back our most creative midfielder on the wing and on Wednesday our best 2 forwards on the bench. MM needs to accept he is wrong and pick the right players in the right positions and drop his pals who are nowhere near good enough. Hyam will not improve our team !!!

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Michael11 added 09:20 - Mar 6 One thing's for sure, he showed more passion just by singing with us fans than any of the 11 players who played at Norwich. At the minute, we don't have anyone who will get stuck in in midfield. However, as much as I love him, his 5-10 performances pre injury were awful don't forget.
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larrylamb added 09:31 - Mar 6 Sorry .!! but if Hyam does the dirty work what the hell dose Skuse do and vice versa??..they both offer very little going foward and Hyam is often guilty of the sideways or backwards pass with very little looking forward..Preebs might be a tad harsh but he is not far wrong ,as is Jimmy post
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rickw added 09:44 - Mar 6 We miss both players when they're out, whether they start or not you want them to be available. Hyam was terrible just before he got injured but he was doing well earlier in the season in the 3 man midfield
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ernie added 10:05 - Mar 6 Spot on Jimmy86, Hyam hasn't played for a while and lets reminisce about how much we miss him. Hyam played the first Norwich game in August and don't seem to remember him steaming in with any blood and thunder challenges then. He played the game at the same tepid pace as the rest of the team
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rugbytomc added 10:26 - Mar 6 it certainly seems like Hyam divides opinion but for me, Hyam, Skuse, not really the issue. What is the issues is the lack of balance in the back 4 - people playing out of position and the fact we seemingly don't have anyone at the moment who can deliver a quality ball into the box or from a set piece. I'm sure we all have our favoured players and formations, but i'd be suprised if 90% of us didn't want to see Parr-Chambers-Berra-Mings as the starting back 4 against Brentford

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cats_whiskers added 10:37 - Mar 6 It is Micks Joke entry for this years "Red Nose Day" He'll also include one for Skuse also, but he's still thinking that one up!
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Lightningboy added 10:47 - Mar 6 He might not be the most gifted midfielder we've ever had at the club but he more than makes up for it with 100% effort..we definately miss his energy in midfield..a 433 with Hyam,Skuse & Bishop has proved to be our most productive formation this season,shame 2 of them are missing at the mo.
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gorse added 12:33 - Mar 6 Hmmms not convinced TBH. Yeah he brings that to the team, but against the better sides in the division that's just not enough, sorry. Yes he does the dirty work like Skuse, and if Skuse was injured as well (god forbid) we would get cut to ribbons by any ball-playing team. They make valuable contributions but we need more and better players in a similar role to really compete, IMO. We have shut down some great teams this season (Boro, Derby, Brentford) with hard-working pressing players like Hyam and Tabb (yes Tabb), and against teams that don't do it to us the likes of Bish & Bru can have a field day in the middle. But against quality, organised squads that know exactly what's coming (who doesn't?) we really cannot complete with the midfielders we have & how we play them.

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