It’s the question David McGoldrick has been asked more than any other — would his presence in the latter stages of last season have enabled Town to gatecrash the play-offs?

In the end they came up short, finishing three places and four points adrift of the top six, but would it have been a different story had their 16-goal leading marksman not been sidelined for the final 15 league fixtures?

McGoldrick said: “People always ask me that. But you never know — it could have gone worse, it could have gone better. The boys dug deep, Murph stepped up to the plate well and Jonny Williams was on fire.

“Who knows what might have happened had I not got injured? I might have scored loads more or I might have gone on a drought. No one knows.”

McGoldrick would have relished the opportunity of lining up alongside Welsh international Williams, who was an instant hit with fans during his loan spell from Crystal Palace.

He added: “He’s a special player, I’ve got to admit. It would have been nice to have played with him because the boy’s going straight to the top. You could see it in training and the games. He gets kicked from pillar to post, but he gets up and he goes again.

“He’s a great footballer and it was a pleasure to see him play. Yes, it would have been nice to have played with him. But, hey, that’s football.”

There’s another question McGoldrick is growing accustomed to being asked — how likely is it that he will be targeted by clubs eager to recruit a proven goalscorer?

He said: “That’s another ‘who knows?’ isn’t it? I scored 16 goals, would I have got 20 without the injury? Yes, maybe, but maybe not.

“There have been a lot of big transfers. Yesterday we saw Forest signing Britt Assombalonga for up to £8 million. That’s a lot of money in the Championship and it shows the strength of the division.”

Newly-promoted Leicester forked out a similar sum to sign Leonardo Ulloa from Brighton and Town are likely to come up against an even more expensive striker on Saturday in Ross McCormack, the Scot having cost Fulham a reported £11 million when they snapped him up from Leeds.

McGoldrick added: “I think Ross McCormack deserved his move. Eleven million is a lot, yes, but he’ll score a lot of goals if he gets the service.”

Photo: Action Images

tractorboybig added 07:01 - Aug 8 No
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Len_Brennan added 07:06 - Aug 8 New contract immediately please.
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BlueMachines added 07:19 - Aug 8 No. It was MM's negative tactics against opposition that was there for the beating that cost us a top six finish.
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bedsitfc added 07:46 - Aug 8 Bluemachines - ffs if mick played an open attacking style with the players we have finished mid table at best he will play more attacking style when we have a midfield that can cope with it.
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BlueMachines added 09:26 - Aug 8 I think many of you have very short memories. Most of us fans were desperate for MM to be slightly more attack minded against the weaker opposition. Go back through the comments of last seson and you will see this is a fact. We were all calling for more positive, creative play. I'm not talking about the top teams like Wigan/Leicester but weaker opposition like Blackpool etc. This was a much bigger factor in not being more competitive for the top six than Didsy's injury IMO. Whether you like Taylor or not, many fans wanted something more positive than what Anderson was offering 'tucked in' on the right of midfield. Nothing against Anderson, he did what he was asked, but it's wasn't half negative.

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goleszowski added 09:46 - Aug 8 No, every big game Ipswich bottled it. We haven't won a big game in about 10 years.
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Surco72 added 09:55 - Aug 8 bedsitfc we finished as close to mid table as we did the playoffs 4 points , big deal . It is MM choice to play 2 defensive midfielders in the centre and less creative players ? He will never play an attacking style , he never has it is always defend first
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bedsitfc added 11:25 - Aug 8 But until we are able to get a creative midfielder that is good enough to put our shirt on he will continue with 2 defensive midfielders
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bedsitfc added 11:26 - Aug 8 Would some of you prefer a weaker team out on the field just to be more attack minded and finish lower in the league. This is why he is manager and your not.
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bohslegend added 11:34 - Aug 8 Sweet jeebus. Its getting ridiculous now. The season hasn't even started and the usual suspects are top of the league for moaning already. At least give the lads a chance to start the season. Who knows, now we have been moulded into a solid defensively capable team perhaps the next bit of the jigsaw is to build a creative attacking side to our game? The simple fact if the matter is, to be successful, you cannot have one without the other but its also very true that you start at the back and become hard to beat (box ticked) and move on from there. MM has added good attacking options to the squad, Stewart, Henshall and Bajner and thats a great sign of intent in my opinion. Remember (seems some conveniently choose to forget) we dont have the money of your Fulhams, Forests, Cardiff's or even the budgies. So what MM is doing as a long term strategy (those of you with zero patience should get your coat now) makes perfect sense with the good times on their way in the not too distant future. In MM we trust. COYB!

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parhamblue added 11:46 - Aug 8 I feel Dids should also have been asked, 'What is your solution to the Palestinian Question?' This is another one that crops up a lot. Yours, Mick McCarthy
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TimmyH added 12:54 - Aug 8 Partly but as also mentioned MM's defensive tactics throughout the season hence dropping points against teams we shouldn't of. The fact that McG was injured didn't help but by and large we were fairly lucky with injuries last season and we don't have much quality in depth.
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Toronto_Tractor added 14:04 - Aug 8 Yes, but all teams have injuries. We needed a squad or a plan b.
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theobald1985 added 14:57 - Aug 8 BlueMachines is absolutely correct on this one. I seem to remember blackpool going up with a team which was cheaply assembled and played good attacking football why not us-people seem to forget its 3 points for a win when it was 2 points for a win a draw was more valuable. mcarthys tactics were dire at times last season and its not good to watch-if we a going to be a long ball team i would expect the top six as compensation for having to watch it-in the end we may have well of finished a couple of places lower and played passing footie. cant understand why bohslegend feels mick is building for the future-he hardly ever gives academy players a proper go in competitve matches-last season he loaned out hewitt and brought in richardson as he was scared he may have to play the yougster.mcarthys style is footballs past and not its future we are not building anything-what he does bring is more or less a mid table or above guarantee but we are never going to do a swansea (which is what we should be aspiring to) with him in charge pumping it long and trying to nick goals from set plays and see the game out

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Surco72 added 15:26 - Aug 8 How do people know we would finish lower in the league by playing attacking ? What if Taylor or Wordy had played the same amount as Nouble or Tabb and snatched a winner in the draws v Barnsley , Blackpool etc ? Its all ifs and ans and theories that can never be proved . I saw Taylor play a few times and thought he played well and one average game , i saw Nouble play many times and he was below average and had a couple good games . And some seem to have conviently forgotten that the club said that Cresswells money was going to go back into players for the squad , I still count more out than in ?

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bedsitfc added 17:24 - Aug 8 ME puts in 5 mil per year to pay wages and if he uses cressie money for that so be it. Yes I would prefer he didn't and paid for a few players but he isn't "get over it" MM will have to pick what he believes is the best team for a match from whoever he has available.
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RRanger added 20:25 - Aug 8 goleszowski "No, every big game Ipswich bottled it. We haven't won a big game in about 10 years." How about thrashing West Ham the year they got promoted back to the Premier League. Not big enough for you?
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