| Our Team, Manager, Owner and What We Need to Do to Finish in the Top Six Written by prebsa on Sunday, 8th Mar 2015 18:54 [b]Goalkeepers: Bartosz Bialkowski v Dean Gerken[/b] Bart has been between the sticks for a big part of the season now and I think he has done a very good job. I don’t think there is much between him and Dean Gerken besides the fact that he dominates his area a bit more, apart from that they are both very similar and I don’t mind seeing either of them in goal. However, in the past few games against Leeds and Birmingham Bart has made some noticeable errors that most people would have expected him to save. Gerken is now fully fit again and perhaps this is a reason for him to have been given his chance. But whoever MM picks in goal for me is fine because I think they are both on par. [b]Defence[/b] Now at the start of the season many people felt we had a solid back four, me included, however over the past few months this has not been the case and it is time to mix it up at the back. Tommy Smith has been under a lot of pressure recently, making too many passes back to the goalkeeper or smashing it up the pitch to Daryl Murphy. Smith has also made a few silly mistakes, one against Fulham stands out, and also gets beaten for pace quite frequently. He also gets pushed onto his right foot far too often because of his position as a right centre-back in which he is not comfortable, although this is down to Mick McCarthy and not Smith directly. I do feel it is time that Smith is given a rest so that he can get his confidence back. Luke Chambers I feel is a very solid centre-back, however I am not very happy with him at right-back. He is not fast enough and other teams have figured this out now. Chambers needs to be pushed into the middle with Christophe Berra so that we have a balanced centre. Tyrone Mings has filled the void of Aaron Cresswell brilliantly and I don’t have much to say about him. He attacks the flank and makes sure he gets back to do his defensive duties too. I think he is a very solid left-back and has done very very well so far. Jonny Parr is a defender. Yes, he can play in the midfield and he has done very well at it but he should be our main right-back. That is it! Mick doesn't seem to give him a starting role all the time and I have no reason why but if we want to balance our defence then Parr has to be at right-back that is it. Now people may not agree with me on that but that is my honest opinion. [b]Midfield[/b] The midfield has caused a lot of debate among the fans. We have a lot of options yet we still seem to need a Jonny Williams. The first player I want to talk about is Jay Tabb, he is loved by some hated by others, me? I’m on the fence. Tabb works harder than anyone and somehow seems to win as many headers as Murphy but I don’t feel he has the passing creative quality to be a main man in our midfield. Last summer Mick said Tabb could leave to find another club and now he is his favourite player and wouldn't find himself out of the team if he didn't ever touch the ball. Paul Anderson is like Tabb in that he gives 110% effort every week and I think he is slightly better than Tabb but still not the best we could do. Cole Skuse and Luke Hyam. Yes, Hyam has been injured for a while now but him and Skuse are very similar in their play and they both do the same job for us. I would be happy to have either of them playing but not at the same time, neither of them are going to be our creative midfielder that cuts open the defence with a beautiful pass, they are our nitty-gritty, get-stuck-in midfielders who break up the play. So it can only be one or the other playing in the starting XI not both of them. Along with Skuse or Hyam the our creative midfielders that Town are crying out for. Kevin Bru has come in and done exceptional, better than anyone expected! And Teddy Bishop has come from the academy and is now one of our main men. These two together with Skuse or Hyam have freedom to attack and pick up the ball and cut open other teams and pass the ball around and create the chances for our strikers. As for our other midfield options, why Cameron Stewart can’t get in the 18 is a mystery. I don’t know what he has done to Mick to not get put in but he in my eyes is better than Tabb and Anderson and should be allowed to get at least a chance. The same goes for Alex Henshall. I can’t really say much more about them both because none of us get the opportunity to see what they can do but I don’t see the reason why they don’t get the chance. I personally think that we should play with three midfielders: Bru, Skuse and Bishop. And I think that Anderson, Stewart and Hyam should be given the places on our bench. Richard Chaplow has been signed by Mick because he is a man that gives 110% but he is not better than what we have and is just another hard-working player that leaves it all on the pitch. For me I would much rather see the likes of Hyam in the squad (when he is fit obviously!). [b]Strikers[/b] We have to start with Daryl Murphy here because not only is he our top scorer but he is the top scorer in the league. Sorry for pointing out the obvious. Murphy hasn't been on top form recently, he has had his rest out the team against Leeds but he should be starting because he will pop up with a goal when you least expect it. Who said at the start of the season that Murphy who had never hit above 13 would be the league’s top scorer? Who to play along with Murphy? It has to be Freddie Sears. Why he got dropped against Leeds I don’t know but he should be starting up front, he has come in for David McGoldrick and done very well. He scored two very good goals against Birmingham and somehow he got one under the keeper against Leeds but at the end of the day a goal's a goal. He is scoring and he should be in the starting team. When McGoldrick is back he should also be up there and we should be playing 4-3-1-2. I think McGoldrick has one of the smartest minds in our team, but before getting injured he was becoming slightly lazy. Now don’t hate me for that because I personally think he is our best player but I feel he should sit just behind the two forwards but ahead of the midfielders. From here he can pick up the ball take it around players get shots off and offload it to the other strikers. Luke Varney is a bit like Chaplow in that he was signed because he puts in 110% but he doesn't have the quality our other strikers have. And I don’t personally think he should be in the 18. Chris Wood, however, I do like and I feel he has a lot more quality that Varney. He hasn't really been given the chance at Leicester in the Premier League. I think Wood can do a lot of good things for Ipswich and I think whilst McGoldrick is out injured he should be starting up top with Murphy and Sears. Our goal difference is not as good as the others in the top six and I feel with three up front instead of two is going to give us the chance to improve that goal difference because at the end of the season it can be the difference between being second or third or sixth or seventh. [b]Manager[/b] Mick has done wonders since taking over from Paul Jewell, and he is much admired in the football world. I am a fan of Mick and I am proud of where has brought us as a team and as a club. He has a very smart mind and he knows how to get the best out of the team and the funds he has. But he does not have a Plan B and is very stubborn. Now this is where people may start to disagree but I’m going to put it anyway. Every game Mick will make subs at 70 minutes, and not a minute before unless there is an injury. He unfortunately doesn't have a Plan B he just makes his usual subs on 70 minutes and hopes it works. He is also very stubborn and will very rarely move away from his favourite players. Tabb, Anderson, Smith, Stephen Hunt and a few more. Mick needs to see that these players are not working for us and we need to change to what all the fans are shouting for. And until Mick realises that he is stubborn and needs to change the way he feels about players fans are always going to be angered at the way he picks the team and makes his changes. [b]Tactics[/b] We need to change this and now. Our current tactics are hoof the ball at Murphy and let him head it down to any player near him. We have Bru and Bishop in the midfield who love the ball at their feet so why not give them the ball and let them move it about and give it to the forwards rather than just kicking it up the field to Murphy? I can’t really say much more because that’s basically what happens and what I think we should do. [b]Marcus Evans[/b] I think he has passed up a great opportunity in January to give Mick some money to add to our thin squad to make sure we can finish in the top six. It was a real shame to see the likes of Derby bring in Darren Bent and others bring in players and MIck not be given any money to spend. Yes, I know he brought in Sears but I feel it was slightly unfair on Mick to not be given money to spend to make sure that we can return to the Premier League. [b]Overall[/b] To finalise I think we don’t have the chance to get in the top two, I’m sorry but there are better teams in this league who should be in the top two positions. However, I do think we have a chance of just finishing in the play-offs. I think the top six spots are open to the top eight teams, us being one of them. I would love to see us return to the top flight as would the rest of you, I just think we need to make a few changes to make sure this happens. Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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