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Will Town Ever Strike It Lucky?
Written by Pessimistic on Friday, 29th Nov 2013 20:57

It is probably true that you don't need a striker to get you 20 goals a season in order to get promotion but let's face it, it certainly helps.

Having supported Town for so many years that it becomes embarrassing to recollect, this is the longest I have ever known that we have been stuck in what used to be called the old second division.

Mick the Man is trying his utmost but the question still remains, is his utmost good enough? More to the point perhaps, are his strikers good enough?

David McGoldrick will get us a few goals and there is no doubting his skills in and around the box and I am personally pleased to see Paul Taylor back in the frame. The problem remains however and that is how many goals will they actually get individually and collectively?

Daryl Murphy will score from time to time but he is profligate in front of goal and sadly the same can be said for Frank Nouble. Then we have a midfield who could not score in a house of ill-repute and we are forced to look to our defence to bail us out, when our strikers are not firing on all cylinders.

Tommy Smith is a godsend in this respect because he has all the hallmarks of an old-fashioned defender, who attacks the ball with conviction and the results are often very rewarding. Aaron Cresswell is our version of Everton's Leighton Baines. He is not the finished article yet of course but he too has a shot on him and his left footed attributes mean that from set pieces we remain a serious threat.

I still believe though we need another prolific goalscorer. I don't think Mick does though and there could be the problem? Jack Marriott is improving all the time but could not be considered as yet first team material and sadly nor could Alan Lee - although I have an inkling that if we gave him a game or two, he would still be able to teach our forwards to know where the net is!

I would bring him on for the last 15 minutes of games that we are trailing in - or need to force the issue. He is a football bully and football bullies seem to get their own way through sheer hunger alone. He is also blessed with deceptive skills that sadly are often underestimated by supporters and he has served us well in the past so what have we got to lose?

I suppose at the end of the day what I am really yearning for is a David Nugent. His goalscoring record against Town is phenomenal and his prowess around the penalty area means defences are never at ease.

By the way my real name is Frank Weston and apart from entering the debates on the after-match phone-ins on Radio Suffolk I also have a football based website called Being Frank on Footballl and this Saturday 30th November, just before Match Of The Day, we will be presenting an internet radio show where this topic and many other football issues will be discussed along with some great music supplied by Alan Terris.

The programme and website concentrate on a wide range of football matters but being a Town supporter I like to give the Blues a mention when I can! Being Frank On Radio kicks off before the television football that we all like to watch and it provides supporters with a platform to air their football views. Get involved if you can this weekend!

If you are interested in continuing this debate live, then send me an email via the website or join us in the phone-in segment. We are broadcasting this Saturday 30th November at 20.30 UK time here in the Netherlands and if you wish to get involved in 90 minutes of heated debate on all topics football along with some fabulous music, then you can follow the links below. See you later maybe?

http://frankonfootball.listen2myradio.com




Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.

Pessimistic added 00:24 - Nov 30
You can visit the website by going to www.beingfrankonfootball.com and it is updated almost every day. The radio internet show is a first this week and depending on listenership we may continue with it. The pilot show last week was a huge success so all you true blue Town fans out there please join in the fun and come on board! Kick off is at 20.30 in the UK and we will be debating a whole range of football issues including the one I have just posted and we have some great music too supplied by programme producer and engineer Alan Terris. It will be 90 minutes of frenzied action and debate, with little room for stoppage time, as when the show ends Match Of the Day begins! Hope you can join us.
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dalianwasexciting added 23:31 - Dec 15
A very good blog and thought provoking indeed. I have long felt that the biggest weakness is the midfield in terms of our goal getting, with too many like for like players, industious and hard working but actually stuggling to create chances. There are options in the formation, wing backs in a 3-5-2 potentially allowing Cresswell to go forward and put in crosses from more advanced parts of the pitch, but also this would see a defensive triumvirate of Chambers, Smith and Berra which may suit better.

Back to the strikers, the assessment is very good. McGoldrick is by far the pick of the options and has an eye for goal as he has proved, however his clever footballing brain and quick feet will often see him back in midfield fetching the ball. Murphy will never be a goalscorer in the truest sense of the word and reminds me in some ways of Steve Whitton. Nouble is a good sub, I think he has a physical presence and as said in the original blog he will score the odd goal. So YES, we do need a striker who is proven at putting the ball in the net, but there is not a lot about. But perhaps, most of all we need that creative midfielder, I would like to see Cole Skuse further forward, it was his precision pass to David Mac that lead to our first against Hudderstield.

As for Jack Marriott, I cannot understand why he has not had the chance, but on the flip side I can see the logic of sending him out on loan to get games (and goals). So who may be the striker? Its more a case of who is available - therefore Ebanks Blake does come into the frame. But a creative midfielder could be both harder to find and more rewarding to the team in general as I suspect, with service that McGoldrick could well hit that magic 20 a season.
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Kropotkin123 added 00:48 - Dec 16
Most teams in the last 10 years have got roughly 75 goals. On that basis we should be expecting our strikers to get around 35 goals, our midfield to get around 25, and our def to get around 15 goals.

Out of that there is usually a dominant striker. We should expect to see roughly 20 goals from the main striker and 15 from the supporting striker.

David McGoldrick = 20 league games played, 8 goals scored. this equals 0.4 per game. This means he is on course to score 18.4 goals this season, so a little under our 20-a-season man in this league.

Daryl Murphy = 20 league games played, 6 goals scored. this equals 0.3 per game. This means he is on course to score 13.8 goals this season. As a second striker this is not outrageous, he should be aiming for 15, so he is a little shy.

Overall they are on course to hit 32.2 goals. So too shabby really.

The midfield = 20 league games played, 5 goals scored. this equals 0.25 per game. This means they are on course to score 11.5 goals this season. So they are doing rubbish.

The defence = 20 league games played, 7 goals scored. this equals 0.35 per game. This means they are on course to score 16.1 goals this season. So they are posting above target.

In sum, stats support the assertion that it is the midfield that we have the biggest problem. When I was at the Charlton game recently there was one moment that summed up our weakness. there were 3 Ipswich midfielder close to one another, and the space in front of them totally opened up. One passed it to the other, the next one didn't want to run with it, so passed it on, and the next one similarly froze. It literally just needed someone to had confidence and go for it.

But hey, we all know this. Mick knows this is our main area of weakness. But we didn't get our first choice attacking midfield targets in the summer, so we have to take a longer term approach to it, and work with what we have. In that respect we are doing well. We play to our advantages, and we are improving as a team. Players who are added will find it easier to play.

But I agree 5-3-2 looks like the idea formation atm.

1

Ipswich24 added 16:11 - Dec 17
Good post Kropotkin123 totally agree. We have the players to play 3-5-2 no doubt
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Kropotkin123 added 00:55 - Dec 18
thank you, I shouldn't have done it at 1am though. The spelling, grammar and general sentence construction is terrible!
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