Manager Mick McCarthy says he’s delighted with the progress striker Paul Taylor is making after his long spell on the sidelines due to a foot injury. The 25-year-old made his first start in 11 months at Stevenage on Tuesday, having come on as a sub at Reading on Saturday.

McCarthy says the Championship game against the Royals would have been a lot tougher than the pre-season friendlies which Taylor had previously been involved in: “Tayls is doing OK. The game on Saturday was different to a few minutes against Colchester, 20 minutes here and there.

“That was a proper game, a tough old match that, two teams going for it hammer and tongs. But that’s the level that he needs to get to. But I’ve been pleased with him.”

Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick are currently McCarthy’s preferred front two having scored nine goals between them in pre-season.

He says they came close to linking up for a goal at the Madejski Stadium: “Murph and David McGoldrick forged a really good partnership and prior to Reading scoring [their second goal on Saturday] they created a great opportunity with Murph down the left crossing for Dids getting in the box.

"He narrowly missed it, although the defender did well, not allowing him to get to it.”

He felt it may have been a big ask for them to come on and turn the game at Stevenage: “Maybe it was a bit much for them to come on and retrieve two goals.”

Overall, the Town boss believes all four of his senior strikers — McGoldrick, Murphy, Taylor and Frank Nouble — will play their part as the season progresses: “There’s potential in all of them.”

Photo: Action Images

bluefeast added 06:31 - Aug 8 I would prefer to see Taylor play wide right where he played for Peterborough. He was exceptional there .
0

Len_Brennan added 07:10 - Aug 8 McGoldrick up front, with Taylor playing behind him would be my preferred striker option. The pace & trickery of Taylor coming through would link really well with McGoldrick's intelligence, hold up play, touch & lay offs in my opinion. They both know how to finish too & would give Championship defences plenty to think about. I also think we are lacking an out & out fox in the box type striker at the moment, the "Johnny on the spot" forward who scores a bagful of goals from 2 yards out or less. Maybe Jack Marriot can offer something of that nature, but we don't have it in the 4 Mick is currently playing.

0

BillBlue added 07:16 - Aug 8 Spot on Len.
0

sucrePB1 added 07:58 - Aug 8 ugliest member of the squad only challenged by tabb
0

christiand added 08:14 - Aug 8 Murphy on the left, with mcgoldrick up top and Taylor playing behind for Saturday's match against millwall.
0

BeingBlue added 08:34 - Aug 8 Murphy's not a left sided player, he'll be useless there like he was under jewell. Eventually i'd like to see taylor & Mcgoldrick form a partnership, don't see him starting saturday due to his fitness and the fact mick likes the murphy & Mcgoldrick partnership. Hopefully around the leeds match he'll be starting matches! COYB!
0

pegasus added 09:01 - Aug 8 sucrePB1 makes an interesting comment. It really is an unflattering picture of Paul Taylor. But over the years I've often thought that the photos of Ipswich players on this site make them out to be a pretty weird looking lot. (Phil, are there copyright issues that you have to deal with?) In Taylor's case it was particularly unfortunate, given his troubles off the field.

0

PunchNoHopers added 09:13 - Aug 8 Thought Taylor was our best player at Stevenage, certainly the only one to create any chances, was disappointed to see him substituted as thought he would have benefited from 90 minutes. Murphy had little impact after coming on, and McGoldrick only faired a little better.
0

yorksblue added 09:17 - Aug 8 Jury is out on Nouble. He's a sort of Marlon Harewood/Carlton Cole type - huff, puff, muscle, but no idea where the net is.
0

sucrePB1 added 09:20 - Aug 8 some very suspect veins there
0

Wickets added 09:30 - Aug 8 Dont think their will be a problem if we can get a bit of creativity from midfield, then our strikers will get the chances to score.All four are capable championship players.
0

gazzmac4 added 09:46 - Aug 8 Len makes an excellent point around DMcG and Taylor in just behind. Taylor looked sharp when he came on at Reading on sat but as we know fitness will definitely be the biggest stumbling block to him starting and playing 90 mins. We dont want to rush him back after so long out. He could also be an option out right but i like what ive seen from Anderson thus far. We do still have Wordsworth to come back in so hopefully he can provide a bit of flair. The question then is who plays in the centre with him if we play him there? I love Lukey Hyam but Skuse is a great passer and ball retainer. A bit of a Matty Holland type midfielder. Always looks so comfortable and never seems to have to rush when hes on the ball. That is the kind of football this club has played before and is the sort we want to be playing again. Ball on the ground, pass and move stuff. COYB's

0

gazzmac4 added 09:47 - Aug 8 Len makes an excellent point around DMcG and Taylor in just behind. Taylor looked sharp when he came on at Reading on sat but as we know fitness will definitely be the biggest stumbling block to him starting and playing 90 mins. We dont want to rush him back after so long out. He could also be an option out right but i like what ive seen from Anderson thus far. We do still have Wordsworth to come back in so hopefully he can provide a bit of flair. The question then is who plays in the centre with him if we play him there? I love Lukey Hyam but Skuse is a great passer and ball retainer. A bit of a Matty Holland type midfielder. Always looks so comfortable and never seems to have to rush when hes on the ball. That is the kind of football this club has played before and is the sort we want to be playing again. Ball on the ground, pass and move stuff. COYB's

0

ipswichjon added 10:01 - Aug 8 What I like most about our strikers is the variety, DMcG is the technical link player, a bit of an all rounder, Murphy is our target man, Nouble is a powerful pacey player and Taylor is unpredictable box of tricks. When they're all fit I'd expect MM to rotate around DMcG depending on the opposition's weaknesses, be it pace or aerial ability. I'm not sure about needing a 'Johnny on the spot' though, teams that spread the goals around win promotion, the teams that rely on several players for goals don't win the big prizes.

0

Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 10:04 - Aug 8 Dear Mr Evans, Please give Mick some money to buy Malmö's Tokelo Rantie before Middlesborough or Bournemouth do it! [Can't imagine why he would take such a step down in level, but the Daily Star must know!] Seriously though, this young guy would transform our attacking options at a stroke: just the creativity, speed and irrationality we lack. He appears to be a very modest young man too - just the kind of team player our manager would appreciate. If he plays against Swansea tonight, I will be able to give you further first hand information. Go for it! Yours sincerely, Steve_Itfc_Sweden

0

Michael11 added 10:11 - Aug 8 I totally agree Len. When Taylor's fully fit i'd like us to go 4-4-1-1 with Taylor in a free role just behind McGoldrick. It can turn into a 4-2-3-1 when the wingers get forward and 4-5-1 when we defend. I think Taylor will be one of our best players once he's match sharp.
0

muccletonjoe added 10:15 - Aug 8 When all are fit we have the choice of Hyam , Skuse , Tunnicliffe and wordsworth for central midfield. I would play 3 of those and 2 wide men up front with McGoldrick
0

RaymondovicBlue added 10:55 - Aug 8 Paul Taylor = Erick Gates (Referring to best playing position, clearly!)
0

RaymondovicBlue added 10:56 - Aug 8 please Please PLEASE don't down vote me just for putting a random "K" at the end of Eric's name!!
0

blueherts added 11:00 - Aug 8 Totally agree about Taylor - Think in games I have seen him he will turn and run at players - and being a tough little player can ride a challenge - he has a good shot as well Playing off Mcg or as a better option to Edwards and Anderson As far as Frankie N goes - as a West Ham mate of mine said 'he is a poor mans Carlton Cole' and from what I have seen so far - not much has changed of my opinion I hope TC can best the best out of him - he has something - but just hope is not another JET

0

blue_beats_yellow added 12:04 - Aug 8 i think we need Murphy in the starting 11. We need a big target man who can win balls in the air and scare defenders with his size and strength. McGoldrick and Murph up top with Taylor just behind would be ideal! Tabb and Edwards on the wings with Skuse or Hyam holding.
0

BlueVelvet added 12:43 - Aug 8 I cant believe hes been off for 11 months with a bad foot, ok fractured foot. If I'd been unavailable for work for this amount of time I'd be on half pay and HR would be on my case. Lets hope he gets back to form very soon - it'll help if he keeps off the juice and keeeps away from clubs and the odd fisticuffs
0

PortmanTerrorist added 12:45 - Aug 8 Is this MM praising Taylor, or a subtle warning to our misfiring frontline to get their shooting boots on ?! "Potential in all of them" - not exactly kids are they and suspect they get the message
0

Fatboy added 13:20 - Aug 8 Taylor was lively on Tuesday and was always looking to get a shot in, although his efforts were somewhat wayward. He often had the ball out of position, though, picking it up in defence or wide out on the right, which wasn't ideal. McGoldrick showed his class when he and Murphy came on and they seemed to link up well together. That was until we started lumping long balls up to them, which didn't really trouble the big guys at the back for Stevenage. PS Has anyone else seen the second round draw: Stevenage away to Everton. Would have been a nice day out and a good pay day for the club...

0

Sindre94 added 13:57 - Aug 8 I have to say Taylor is one of the most talented players at Town, he created alot of things on tuesday from nothing. Hope to see him get a proper chance during the season. I might be alone about this but I'd like to see us play a 4-2-3-1 formation with: Loach Hewitt-Chambo-Smith-Cresswell Hyam-Skuse Anderson-Taylor-Tabb McGoldrick We COULD put Wordsworth in there, but as long as Skuse and Hyam play together in there I feel we MUST have some creative attributes to blend it all in with. I feel Taylor is a creative lad who will create alot of oppurtunities. I havent watched pre-season so I dont know how good the Didzy-Murphs partnership worked, but as long as Hyam and Skuse play together in there, I feel the distance between the strikers and the pair of them are too long. This is just an idea, I'm not saying it MUST be like this, and it probably wont as Mick is a 4-4-2 guy, and it would be silly changing formation after just two games, but it's a thought. We could also play 4-4-2 with Taylor being just being McGoldrick, that would be the idea as the one I put up above, but with a clearer duo up front! Thoughts?

0

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls