| So, How Have They Done? Written by GeorgeITFC24 on Wednesday, 27th May 2015 10:24 It's been roughly 12 months now since last year's summer signings have been at the club. There have been some great moments from our new players, and equally a few lows! But how well have they done in their debut seasons? Just before we begin a few things should be pointed out. This list will only contain players brought in over the summer transfer window. No players who signed after 1st September 2014 are included. Maybe in January we can look back on the winter signings such as Dylan Connolly and Freddie Sears. Also it only includes those to appear at senior level so players like Adam McDonnell aren't mentioned. Let's begin! [b]Alex Henshall[/b] Henshall was already on loan at Town before he put pen to paper on a two-year deal. He failed to make an appearance during his loan spell but did enough to earn a contract. This season started well for the 20-year-old. He made the bench regularly early on and was often a late substitute for Town. I thought his cameos had shown some promise but he was eventually somewhat excluded from the first team. An unsuccessful loan spell at Blackpool in January didn't help Henshall's chances in our first team. However, manager Mick McCarthy has recently praised him for his good attitude and has also said players now have the opportunity to break into the first team, so hopefully next season we will see more of him. [b]Cameron Stewart[/b] From one poor wing signing to the next, Cameron Stewart has pretty much been a failure since day one. Having signed a three-year contract after his release from Hull, I was expecting this to be a top signing but how wrong could I have been. Not a single league minute was played by Stewart this season and his only two appearances were from the bench against Southampton in the FA Cup. Even in those matches he looked less than impressive. Mick shipped him out to Barnsley for roughly the last quarter of the season and found himself bench warming there for what I believe was for financial reasons. Just like Henshall, Stewart has the chance next season and hopefully he can grab it with both hands. [b]Jonathan Parr[/b] Since Aaron Cresswell moved on in the summer we needed a new quality left-back and that's exactly what we got with Jonathan Parr. Although he hasn't played in that position this season since the emergence of Tyrone Mings, Parr has nevertheless become an important cog in the Ipswich Town machine. He's proven he can play in a number of positions this season and has much earned the title as a 'utility player'. He is more defensive-minded and has some impressive stats like 72 per cent of tackles won and just 0.58 fouls conceded per match. Also two goals have been netted by Parr this season in the 2-0 win against Brighton and 3-1 victory over Millwall. A top player for our side and has had a great debut season. Long may his great performances continue. [b]Bartosz Bialkowski[/b] Again a position we needed to fill following Scott Loach's departure, Bialkowski has done OK in the first team. He started the season on the bench, and rightfully so, before making his league debut against Blackpool in November. He has made some crucial saves for our side this season and has kept Dean Gerken mostly on the bench since his first league start. In 32 league games, Bialkowski made 72 saves averaging out at 2.26 keeping nine clean sheets in the process. This compares to Gerken's 16 league games making 46 saves averaging out at 3.04 saves per match with three clean sheets kept. Not bad stats by any means for either keeper but if it was me picking that team each week I'd have Gerken as my number one. [b]Balint Bajner[/b] Bajner signed a one-year contract following a successful trial at Town during pre-season. He netted a couple of goals and quickly became liked by Town fans. However in six months Bajner featured in just five league matches with his only start coming on the opening day of the season. In January his contract was terminated and he went on to join Notts County where he is doing OK. I suppose signing a 6ft 7in Hungarian striker from Borussia Dortmund was a risk, one that didn't pay off. To conclude, a poor signing all-round. [b]Kevin Bru[/b] BRRUUU! That name we all know and love. Just like Bajner he signed a one-year contract after a very good trial. He began to adapt from last playing in Bulgaria and is now a good Championship player. He began the season on the bench and was thrown in alongside Teddy Bishop in midfield against Derby and did quite well. In further games he continues to play well but needs to score a few more goals. Hopefully next season he will grab a few more and add to his one tap-in against Birmingham, although I am certainly not moaning about this since he has been a creative spark for Town. He plays nice little balls forward which have led to some good chances this season. Also the stats back up his good passing since he has a 73 per cent pass accuracy rate this season. He signed a new long-term contract back in the winter and is firmly a part of the Ipswich Town squad. A very good signing! [b]Conor Sammon[/b] Last and maybe least we have Conor Sammon. The Irish striker signed on loan for the year from Derby and was greeted with mixed reactions. Some of us thought he was a waste of space and others were slightly more optimistic. I was in the second category and was wrong to be there! In 19 games he managed one goal which was mainly down to a mistake from the Wigan goalkeeper. In January the loan was terminated and he joined Rotherham for the rest of the season. He even came back and scored against us for Rotherham in the away game which was a bad feeling. However the worst thing about seeing him go was the fact we couldn't make anymore fish jokes. Oh well, maybe eel play better somewhere else and has found a plaice at Rotherham. Overall I'd say only two of the summer recruits turned out to be great successes. I hope you liked this blog more than my last one and it would be great to see what you think of these signings! Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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