Town boss Mick McCarthy bemoaned “Keystone Cops” defending after the Blues were defeated 5-1 at Reading.

“We contrived to give five goals away,” he said. “Well, I can’t say we gave them all away, they played well, but I thought we had plenty of chances in the game as well, certainly in the first half.

“And even at the start of the second half Brett Pitman gets a chance, and of all the people for it to drop to, he usually hits the target. And they scored within minutes after that.

“The third goal was really the one, that was car crash football, Keystone Cops, whatever you want to call it. It was a fabulous finish in the end, but it should never have got there.”

Regarding the mix-up between keeper Dean Gerken and Cole Skuse which led to the third goal, he said: “There’s a bit of discussion going on between him and Skusey. I’ll have a look at it.

“It doesn’t matter actually, who is to blame, I’m not going lay blame at anybody for any of them. That’s not the point. They’ve gone in and behind closed doors I’ll have a look and we’ll decide then.”

He added: “The goals that we’ve conceded, the first one is a poor clearance, they end up getting it in the box and our centre-halves generally deal with that. I have to say, Sa showed good movement and scored a good goal.

“I’ve talked about the third goal. The second goal, we don’t concede that normally, but it was another good goal by them, it is if it’s one of our players who scores it. But I’m chewing at our defending.

“And at the end of the game, I’ve played in games like that myself, the third’s gone in and then the fourth’s gone in and you’re all over the place and you’re just getting a chasing.

“You’re still running around but you’re not getting anywhere. It’s a sobering defeat that one.”

It’s been a long time since Town have conceded as many goals in a game, you have to go back to McCarthy’s first month in charge, November 2012, when the Blues lost 5-0 at Crystal Palace and 6-0 at Leicester.

As someone who takes pride in the way his team defends, he admits it’s not easy to take such a heavy loss.

“It hurts me a lot,” he said. “I’m sure it hurts all our fans and all our players. That’s the worst it’s been since the dark ages of Crystal Palace away and Leicester away almost three years ago. I thought we’d banished all that.

“I’ll take a bit of responsibility because I put a really attacking team out, maybe we were wide open, too open. So, yes, we had loads of chances, but so did they. I’ll have to look my own part I played in that as well.”

He added: “I’ve just been speaking to the lads for about 20 minutes and I’m not sure I said a great deal because I’m dumbstruck by that performance.”

The Blues are quickly back in action at Leeds on Tuesday, which McCarthy says is now a more difficult prospect: “They were always two tough away games and it’s made the next one even tougher still.”

Reading manager Steve Clarke said: “It was a good counter-attacking performance, but we did score the first goal as well, which opens the game up.

“It was a great cross from Nick Blackman and a terrific header from Orlando Sa and that gave us a platform to go one up.

“We defended really badly for the equaliser, which isn’t like us because we’ve been defending really well.

“I thought Ipswich in the first half put us under more pressure than any team has this season, they caused us problems at the back, which not many teams have done up to now.

“So, it was important for them to show better resolve and character in the second half and I think we did that.”

Photo: Action Images

runningout added 07:29 - Sep 12 Douglas cannot even run.. must have had a fluke season at Brentford... shouldn't be nowhere this club. May have his head on the clouds
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dirtydingusmagee added 07:37 - Sep 12 dont want to slag anyone off,however i think Mick was a bit gung ho in team choice and tactics for this game,and we paid the price. Im all for playing attacking football but that was a game we should have shown more caution to .Its history now,lets hope something has been learned,the players re group, and we get back to winning COYB.
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rfretwell added 07:54 - Sep 12 Far too open last night, Reading seriously punished our misplaced passes (Knudsen, Pitman etc) Douglas way too slow, won about two tackles all night and created nothing. Cant wait for Bru and Bish to come back. Give credit to Readings finishing, some good efforts there. AMH poor when he came on. Mick took off Fraser who never gives the ball away for AMH who was the complete opposite. So embarrassing by the end.

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itfc1981 added 07:56 - Sep 12 Drop Smith, not directly at fault, in the clearest sense though not close to Sa often enough. Get Chambers in as Centre half he is out of is depth at RB. Bring in the new Pole at RB. Or play Parr. Ideally though I would like to see. Knudsen Berra Polish CB and Parr. PS, Didz slows our game up far to much, particularly when breaking quickly away form home is crucial. Back to Murphy and Sears every week please.

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brian_a_mul added 08:05 - Sep 12 Bart needs to come back, gerken doesn't talk, shout or organise the defence as well plus he is hesitant to come off his line which causes uncertainty with defenders. Its no surprise most of the opposition attacks are down our right side either. MM will sort them out! Lets hope this is a wake up call
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warktheline added 08:14 - Sep 12 What did you expect McCarthy....wrong back four again, Brighton highlighted our weakness against pace, Reading and Clarke cashed in, why wouldn't they!
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sidtheswan added 08:14 - Sep 12 Nice that MM took us back 3 years. At least he hasn't wasted money on transfer fees . Problems still the same no right back still , have we had one since David Wright ? Still too many players out of position and I like Bart as a goalkeeper and if he had genuine competition maybe he would improve . Gerks has been poor for a while now and needs to go out on loan to gain some confidence . What happened to the Mings and Cresswell money ? Could have bought a couple of quality signings to add to the squad and been genuine contenders .

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coolcat added 08:18 - Sep 12 Travelled up frm London to see the game. Agree with Mick. The 3rd goal killed it. Don't think blame should be levied at individuals'. Thought main weakness was midfield who passed at walking pace. Friends of mine watching it on sky agreed open style left too many gaps, esp in defence. Still early on in the season. Don't think we should worry too much about it . Mick knows what the prob was and will rectify it.

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BlueHennee added 08:21 - Sep 12 SHOCKING DISPLAY! I am a big Mick fan & I think the squad assembled is a good one HOWEVER.....what the hell was that team last night???? As soon as the team sheet went up I was worried - Gerks? Sorry, he's been tried & found wanting big time. How many poor decisions can you make in one game? The only good thing to come from this game is MM must put Bart back in goal. What I don 't understand is we started the season with our 2 young wingers tearing it up down the flanks & putting crosses in - so why not continue to play Fraser & Maitland-Niles? Why do we have to change? Give the opposition something to worry about. MM was singing Oar's praises earlier in the week so I expected to see him on the bench ready to replace one of our wingers when they tired (usually AMN)! Sears is fantastic & should be given free reign up front - again, gives the opposition something to worry about. So why change that winning formula?? Beyond me. I had hoped, just being a normal everyday fan, that MM would prove me wrong & his team would come out on top. Unfortunately not! The defence was an absolute shambles too. A full back needs to be able to run & have some skill on the ball. I always think the obvious diffences between full backs & CB's is their skill on the ball & ability to pass as opposed to just hoof!! Chambers is, I'm afraid, just not skilful on the ball or fast enough to be RB & it must be time to put Parr in there & drop 1 of the CBs. Finally, when will MM realise some players are brilliant yes, but not from the start & not for 90 minutes? Pitman - fantastic impact sub. Will always score when bought on as a sub for last 30 mins (always ran us ragged when we played against him)!; McGoldrick - very good player, yes but not a 90 minuter & NOT from the start. The ball he gave away (& he lost the ball ALOT last night) for their final goal was criminal. Very disappointed with overall display & embarrassing football we played. Will be better when Bru comes back in & if MM returns to winning formula & also gives his defence a rocket! Roll on Leeds! COYB!

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Gazelle added 08:29 - Sep 12 I feel sorry for Chambers, he's been a great leader and he didn't want to come off when he was struggling in the first half. He came here as a central defender and was one of the best when he played there but agreed to move to full back when we had no one else in that position. By his own admission he doesn't like it there but has put up with it for the good of the team. Hopefully his career hasn't been ruined by playing out of position for so long but I would like to see him restored to his best position in the middle and get a pacy full back in his place.

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Surco72 added 08:44 - Sep 12 Wow so many posters criticising our keeper, defence and summer transfer policies . I have been saying our keepers and back four are not good enough since last Christmas and it made me anti MM . I also questioned not spending bigger if you want promotion if ever there was a case for that it was last night Reading looked a class above our freebies
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Blue_Moses added 08:45 - Sep 12 Seen a few posts saying last night was a 'one off' in terms of bad defending but we've now conceded 14 goals in 8 games with one clean sheet (and God knows how that Burnley shot that hit the post didn't go in). Truth is our defending wasn't good enough against Brentford to let a two goal lead slip at the death and we've now conceded 8 in 2 games. Nothing further to.add really, most people on here have already said what I wanted to about Gerkin, Chambers, Smith and Douglas.

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jrobot added 08:57 - Sep 12 Gerken is not good enough. The defence needs a rocket up they asses, Douglas well idont know what Mick saw in him maybe a future coach, U21 team manager I don't know, not good enough. At least Coke came out of the match unscathed, why not try McDonnell in midfield, no guile with Douglas and skuse.
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brittaniaman added 09:17 - Sep 12 Well some said it was a one off game, BUT with Brighton to me it s a TWO off game now ??? Let us pray that the Leeds game will not be a Hat trick ??? Our four strikers could only muster one goal between them in this game !!! When Gerken was in goal enough said ??? We have said all summer we need a new number one goalkeeper, but MM just brushed it away !! Enough said, cannot criticize him to much ?? TV games do us no favours, they seem to bring the bad out of us ??? COYB

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wychyblue added 09:33 - Sep 12 Wayne Hennessy May be worth a shout from palace
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Keaneish added 09:52 - Sep 12 I think the solution is pretty simple, we just go back to the system we had at the start of last season which was a 4-5-1 when defending and a 4-3-3 when going forward. Bil Back four: Parr / Chambers / Berra / Knudsen 2 in the middle: Skuse / Bishop / Bru or Hyam In the hole: McGoldrick Out wide / up front: Fraser and Sears Up top to hold it up: Murphy
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jabberjackson added 10:01 - Sep 12 I thought DMc was our best player yesterday. An itfc team without him is like man Utd without Rooney. So he does have to be crowbarred into the hole IMO. Hate to be too hard on Dean g, but there is a big weakness there, only partly papered over by playing Bart
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VulpineBlue added 10:02 - Sep 12 It's vital to get Murphy back to full match fitness to hold the ball upfield. Without the holding midfield employed last season the current back four configuration is placed under pressure which it just can't cope with.
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Kesgraveblue57 added 10:49 - Sep 12 What surco72 says is right but the moment you say anything about MM makes you a non Town fan the defence and holding players are sub standard have been for the past year or so what happened last night was always going to happen, it's MM team but he is not brave enough to make changes and don't blame Knudsen he leaning his trade he being let down by the so called senior players all five of them.

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brian_a_mul added 10:54 - Sep 12 Agree, Didz was our best player last night. He was everywhere trying to get involved as much as humanly possible. His workrate and appetite were evident, he was chasing back, putting challanges in, driving us forward and putting his head where it hurts. Midfield diddnt help him. With murph and ditz back fully fit we will be able to hold the ball up front and allow wide players to get more involved. Also I think reading really surprised everyone, 2.5 mil to loan vydra! Wtf!

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bluelodgeblue added 11:14 - Sep 12 This type of result has been coming for sometime. Last season we were not as tight in defence as we should have been and pre season this season and results so far has shown there is still much work to be done. Shame Stearman went for only £2m that would have sorted a lot of the problems and still left £6m in the bank!!! Lets hope this is a wake up call to everyone Mick included!!

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paulcooperisgod added 11:49 - Sep 12 Where was TABBY? He's different class
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budgieplucker added 12:38 - Sep 12 Perhaps a sobering lesson learnt before we get too carried away in what will continue to be a very difficult league. The possessions and shots stats (obviously not the ones on target) clearly show we had more of the ball last night so in defence of Mick he appears to be trying to eradicate the hoof ball image (criticised by many on here last season). Ironically it was Reading who were far more economical with their play last night. We had many wins last year when the possession stats were in the oppositions favour. For me the real two positives so far this year are Ryan Fraser and Freddie Sears continued good form and development as a top striker in this league. Having watched football through the seventies Sir Bob built two very different teams, both around the strengths of the players he had. In contrast Bob Paisleys great Liverpool side was built around a system that everybody would play and players were acquired to fit the system or were just very good adaptable footballers.. You even felt your Granny could come on as substitute and score goals if versed in the system. The difficulty arises if you play a system to strengths of key players you have to have able deputies for each player to immediately slot in. If you play a system like Liverpool did then you acquire the players to fit the system or players who are flexible enough to adapt with perhaps some minor exceptions. We currently have some talented players, more so than last year. Our defenders as many english defenders are not particularly very good footballers, tackle, head, and hoofers being the key component of their games. They were covered by very hard working defence minded midfielders. I have reservations with 4 4 2, some of our better football last year was played with 4 3 3. We dominated Norwich for the first half at Carrow Road last year with arguably in my mind our best line up minus David McGoldrick. Substitute Fraser for Anderson in that line up and I think you have our strongest team, (and Parr or Knutson at full back). However with Bishop and Bru out we may not have adequate straight replacements for the qualities these two bring to our game in that formation. Teddy collecting the ball from the back four and always making himself available plus the energy of Kevin Bru who can find an intelligent pass. I suspect though that both Teddy and possibly Bru will as already is the case find themselves sidelined through niggles or not necessarily fitting in with the system Mick chooses to play on the day. I have no doubt that ANM is an outstanding young talent but I wouldnt pick him in favour of Fraser as a winger or Teddy as a more central based midfielder. Playing two attack minded wingers will leave us as vulnerable unless we improve the defending qualities of our full backs. David McGoldrick is arguably the best footballer at the club and for 65 minutes last night I thought he was our best player, but then for me he became very poor as he became frustrated and giving silly passes away. I am therefore not sure he would be in my starting line up with a fully fit squad. I remain an enormous fan and supporter of Mick and do honestly think he will eventually find a way to the promised land for us, however, within a 4 4 2 system and our current crop of defenders a bring back Tabby call might not sound as ridiculous as it first appeas.

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sereneblue added 12:41 - Sep 12 Chambers is a good bloke and even captain,BUT not a right back. Grekin at fault for the third goal. Keeper should command his area. Pleased I have decide to turn my attention more towards cricket than football,much more entertaining and without the premadonnas!! Good luck Ipswich for the coming season. Enough said.
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sereneblue added 12:42 - Sep 12 PS. Tommy Smith is a poor defender. Sorry Tommy has to be said.
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