Town contract rebel Caolan Lavery is on trial with Leicester City and scored in his first game for a Foxes XI last night. TWTD revealed that the 19-year-old frontman had been offered a trial by the Midlands club last week after first reporting their interest back in April.

Lavery helped a Leicester side to retain the Westerby Cup Winners' Cup by beating local non-league side Quorn on penalties.

The Canada-born striker netted from close range just before half-time to equalise with the game ending 1-1, but missed his spotkick in the shoot-out, which finished 3-2.

Lavery, whose two-year scholarship was extended until his 19th birthday three weeks ago after he suffered a serious knee injury last season, recently turned down the offer of a Town deal until the end of the season.

The striker from Red Deer, Alberta was understood to be unhappy with his proposed wage which was believed to be below that of a number of his contemporaries.

Last week he held talks with League Two Bradford, while Aston Villa have also been monitoring his progress in recent months. Links with Tottenham were dismissed last season.

The Northern Ireland U21 international netted five goals in seven FA Premier Academy League games for Town’s U18s during the early stages of this campaign, plus a further four for the reserves.

Having offered the contract, Town are entitled to compensation from the club Lavery eventually decides to join.

Meanwhile, on-loan midfielder Andy Drury was named in the League Two Team of the Week having netted the second goal of his spell at Crawley in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Hereford.

Crawley manager Steve Evans said: "He should be in it every week. He is a gifted player. He's got fantastic natural ability."

Drury, who has made nine starts for his loan club, is with the Red Devils until mid-December but the deal includes provision for the move to be made permanent in January.

Photo: Action Images

pazelle added 11:36 - Nov 9 Rhodes mk 2 Joke.
0

muhrensleftfoot added 11:37 - Nov 9 Can't help thinking the club have shot themselves in the foot over Lavery. Not quite in the Jordan Rhodes category of big mistakes, but one we may regret. Interesting to see that Andy Drury is doing well in League two. Goes to show what a difference in class between League Two and Championship.
0

PimsOclock added 11:37 - Nov 9 Just saw this as he tweeted earlier via Connor Wickham. “@ConnorWickham10: "@clavery13: Good game last night. Scored in a 1-1 draw but missed my penalty in the shootout! Still won 3-2 in pens! #trials #lcfc"#goodlad Good luck to him. I'm sure we'll see him again in the future. Most likely scoring against us!
0

tractorboybig added 11:47 - Nov 9 Far to young to play for this set up.
0

omuircheartaigh added 11:59 - Nov 9 Perfectly understandable if he declined a contract where the wage he was offered was below that of his contemporaries.
0

Jewell_do added 12:02 - Nov 9 Disgusting from ITFC. Fact is this club is sod all without youth (60s, 70s, 80s and 90s glory days were built on youth) the past 3 managers have ignored them and look what we are. Most frustrating thing is he probably only wanted another £1,000 a week yet we hand washed up blokes like Scotland, Bowyer, Ingy thousands upon thousands a week. Bring back the traditions of ITFC Jewell/Evans or see your club in L1 and crowds of 10,000.

0

Bluecynic added 12:33 - Nov 9 But will he get a chance at Leicester?Doubt it.
0

Crock added 12:34 - Nov 9 Sign him up!!!
0

Mark added 12:54 - Nov 9 He is 19 and hasn't appeared for the first team yet, so he's hardly a prospect like Rhodes or Wickham is he? It was clear that if he stayed at ITFC and did well then he would be financially rewarded, but should we hand out big money contracts to youngsters who are yet to prove themselves? Would that keep them hungry for success, or would some of them spend it on flash cars and night clubs while letting their careers go down the pan? I am sure there is lots of young talent out there who would love to play for Ipswich, so let's bring some of them to the club and develop a good squad of young players.

0

Surco72 added 12:56 - Nov 9 How many people have actually seen him play or know how good he is ? We looked after him when he was injured have offered a contract if he thinks he is better than that off you go son and good luck , we may regret it we may never hear of him again like so many youngsters , he certainly wont have the same chance of progression with Leicester who will continue to buy their squad .

0

HarryfromBath added 12:59 - Nov 9 PJ's commented about developing younger players like Cresswell in the squad and a talented young player like Lavery should fit into this approach in theory. I can only assume that we have identified a problem with this player and that our cold view is that he is not capable enough. I would have more of a problem if this is a cost shaving exercise.
0

depressed added 13:01 - Nov 9 It must be really frustrating for our youngsters to sit on the sidelines and watch the " old boys " poor performances of late. I wouldn't knock anyone of them if they wanted to move on. Good luck Caolan for the future, such a shame it's not at,ITFC.
0

bluelady added 13:23 - Nov 9 this is not cost saving it is about wanting these young lads to want to wear the shirt, he was offered a further 6 months to prove himself and if had of then he would have been offered a better deal, instead he opted for greed.... this smacks of an agent more concerned with his own pocket than the welfare of a young player.
0

radiogaga added 13:50 - Nov 9 Good riddance..
0

Surco72 added 13:52 - Nov 9 Depressed .. what youngsters sat on the sidelines would you have added to the side ? And for which "old boys" Smith and Ainsley have been tried and found hopelessly wanting , Carson looks a stone overweight from last year and was blowing hard after a half on saturday , Martin has been used a lot this season and still blows hot and cold Saints,Peterboro ? , O Connor has not been used much by either manager so there must be an issue and would you choose Lavery or Murray over Chopra,Scotland ,Murphy ,Ellington or Priskin in a physical championship ?

0

depressed added 14:16 - Nov 9 Surco..I take it from your response you are happy with what's been on show of late. As is the norm in any team game if your first selection is playing below par you change things around and if that means playing our youngsters then yes ! You refer to Carson lack of fitness but he's fit enough to play for his country ? Also yes i would give Murray a run out from time to time.

0

Surco72 added 15:41 - Nov 9 Depressed .. I am not happy about the last few performances ,but the season as a whole is a vast improvement from the last two seasons in which we have been involved in the relegation mire during November and we will be around the top six come May .You dont go from being the best side West Ham and Middlesboro have played all season to a dreadful side ,we just need a middle consistency . Carson is playing for Northern Ireland U21s hardly the standard of the championship ? I agree if things arent working try and change them which Jewell did and got it wrong ,if youngsters are good enough they will be played Cresswell,Stockdale,Wabara ,Martin ,Wickham last season ,the simple fact is the rest are not good enough . And before the last three games no one on this site was saying lets play the youngsters at all now its just over reaction like we always do good or bad results . And as my first question who would you drop for Murray ?Chopra, Scotland ,Jet,Ellington ,Murphy from the side or bench .

0

jas0999 added 17:27 - Nov 9 We clearly don't know the circumstances - but what we do know is ITFC with Clegg at the helm have a very bad track record when negotiating new contracts for their players. It's all well and good constantly blaming the players - fine if it was one or two; but the majority of players offered new deals in the past 6-months have rejected them (with exception of Healy and ALB - two players noone else would want). It's not always the players fault, questions have to be asked of the management team. The 6-month thing back-fired on the club with Eastman, Brown and a couple of others - why are they not learning from their mistakes? If I was offered a 6 month contract at work, but someone else offered me the security of a one or two year deal - I would take the latter and the majority of people on here would do the same. It's not greed, it's being sensible. If we want these players, offer them a realistic deal - contract length appears to be where we are going wrong.

0

safeashouses added 17:33 - Nov 9 surco72 Murphy,Ellington,JET,Priskin ........certainly on what i have seen i would on occasion give Murray or Lavery (if still here) an opportunity to warm the bench. Whats the problem !That is what u do with youngsters give them a chance/experience at some point otherwise why offer them pro deals.Of course they will not be at a level of some other straight away but only one way to find out. The club/Manager is not brave enough.

0

twtd_92 added 18:20 - Nov 9 safeashouses well said
0

jonju11 added 18:56 - Nov 9 I see little point in keeping the Academy if we cannot foresee that players will not make the breakthrough or be allowed the chance to experience 1st team activity. We should not be grooming as fodder for better clubs....ITFC's future should come first. In Lavery's case I can't help feeling that the offer was made purely to ensure that we get a fee for him. With his performances for his country & the limited games for the reserves they (management) must know whether they are likely to see any future for him at PR. I still believe that Drury could claim a long term position in this side. He has more skill on the ball ,vision & fight than 2 out of the 4 currently enjoying a place. Team for Forest: Stockdale,Edwards,Collins,Sonko (or Smith) Cresswell, Carson,Healy,Andrews,Murphy,Chopra & Priskin. Subs: macaura/ALB/Martin/Scotland & Murray Good luck

0

fourth added 19:33 - Nov 9 He is 19 At that age he should be knocking on the door with urgency He has not even been on the bench. He may play for England. He may end up in park football. As they say, it takes 10,000 hours to become excellent in any given artistic pursuit. This is the great hidden question.
0

Daleyitfc added 19:57 - Nov 9 Mercenary basket : good riddance. He'll never be heard of again ... like Wickham.
0

budgieplucker added 21:39 - Nov 9 I tend to remain remain philosophical with cases like this. There will need to be a rethink of how the academy will operate under the new proposals recently voted on by clubs and there has to be movement in staff to allow the next crop of youngsters to come through. I personally am pleased to see young players going on to have worthwhile careers elsewhere if they don't make it at Ipswich, it doesn't mean that they are not necessarily good enough to make the grade but the timing and place may just be wrong for them. Liam Trotter as an example. I seem to recall that Tommy Miller had three spells at the club having been rejected as a youngster. I can see both sides of the arguments in this case and I think the real issue is still very much that there is no competitive league for the reserves, regular reserve matches with strong opposition provide the bridge between youth team football and the first team. This I fear is one of the reasons the system has failed to deliver and shouldn't be seen as a reflection of the academy or the potential it may hold at any point in time. It does though now question as PJ recently hinted to is how effective is the academy for a club like Ipswich. Perhaps a partnership agreement with a lower league club with Ipswich providing some financial support and having a conduit to getting players games or indeed having first refusal on other players developing at that club might be a worthwhile investment.

0

h32 added 22:18 - Nov 9 bluelady - sorry but you are way off the mark with this. If this Club is ever going to be successful again - promising youngsters have to be treated better than this lad has - and of course (hate to mention it, but Rhodes was another) as well as many others. The ITFC pedigree of bringing through youngsters, and treating them right as part of their development - has been lost, maybe for all time unfortunately. What this lad was offered was derisory to say the least - the Club will be the loser - yet again.

0

Blogs 295 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls