Boss Mick McCarthy felt that while it was difficult to take the Blues losing to local rivals Norwich City, there was no disgrace in how his side played against the recently relegated former Premier League side. Lewis Grabban's 24th minute goal was enough to give the Canaries the victory.

“It was a hard-fought game,” McCarthy said. “They had the goal and we didn’t. It changed the course of it, as it always does.

“It changed the momentum, I thought they were better than us for 10 minutes after that and being one in front allowed them in the second half to try and catch us on the break, which they almost did a couple of times.

“But we had a gilt-edged chance when we were playing well through Daryl Murphy. He’s just looked at it and he knows he should have scored.”

He had no complaints regarding his team's endeavour: “The effort and commitment is always there from the players.

“I thought we rushed it and tried to get back in the game too much, we didn’t have too much quality in the first half. In the second half we were better.

“But we were playing against a good team, a team that’s come down from the Premier League with good players in it and has signed some good players.

“They’ve got a good squad, it’s no disgrace how we played against them, it’s just difficult when it’s our nearest and not so dearest.”

McCarthy says he always expected the opening few games of the season to be tough: “When I looked at the fixtures when they came out I didn’t think for a minute that Fulham at home, Reading away, Birmingham away and Norwich at home was going to be easy. I always thought it was going to be hard and that’s how it’s proved to be.”

Regarding Norwich’s goal, he said: “Somebody shouted ‘keeper’s’, I don’t know who shouted it. I haven’t got an ear-piece into the six-yard box to find out whether it was and who said it, but no other player should shout it except Gerks."

He added: “It wasn’t Gerks, Skusey’s marking Grabban, so I don’t know, might have been Grabban that shouted it, could have done. None of our players should shout that."

“It certainly looked like a mix-up. We didn’t deal with it well enough. We dealt with the first corner kick but we didn't deal with the ball coming back in.”

Despite Christophe Berra being on the floor not far from goal when Grabban scored, the video evidence still suggested that the goalscorer may have been offside, however, McCarthy was more concerned with his team’s defensive failings.

“If [it does still look offside] then it’ll give me something to whinge about,” he continued. “But in reality we didn’t deal with it. I’m not blaming the officials and I think if you look you’ll find that Berra and Michael Turner are lying on the floor about one yard out.

“I’ve got complaints about how we dealt with it, not how anybody refereed it, which is unusual for a manager.”

He admits he’s been less than happy with the goals his side has given away in the last couple of matches: “In the last three games we’ve conceded very poor goals from our point of view.

“It’s not like we’ve conceded as a back four that can’t defend, it’s been individual errors, the one at Reading, the two at Birmingham and the one today, so we’ll have to get better.

He says he expects the Canaries to be amongst the promotion challengers come May: “We’ve played a team today which will be competing at the top with an opportunity. Without a doubt, they’ve got a very good squad.”

Asked about the very different budgets Town and Norwich - recipients of £60 million in parachute payments over the next four years - are forced to work within, McCarthy added: “Financial Fair Play, that’s bollocks, isn’t it?

“We’re operating within it and they’ve just got a different Financial Fair Play [situation], as have Fulham and the other teams who have come down. It makes it all the more rewarding when you do well without it. And that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

Norwich boss Neil Adams believed his team was worthy of the victory: “It was a well-deserved win.

“I thought we needed to be better in the first half. I said to the players at half-time that we didn’t really move the ball as quickly or as effectively as we’re capable of.

“Even though we were winning the game, I still felt we could have been a little bit better.

“To the lads’ credit they did step it up more in the second half. I thought defensively throughout the game we were excellent and we probably could have gone and added another two goals in the second half.

“We missed some good chances but it was good to restrict Ipswich to few chances if any at all. Overall I thought we deserved to win the game and I’m delighted with the victory.”

Adams apologised for failing to shake hands with McCarthy and his assistant Terry Connor after the match.

“I want to apologise to Mick and Terry,” he said. “I was out of order I didn’t shake their hands. Completely unintentionally, I was too caught up in the moment, so hopefully you’ll all report that.

“I realised when I was on the pitch that that was out of order and I should have shown more respect to them and shaken their hands before I went off on my celebrations. Hand on heart it wasn’t intentional.

“I wouldn’t have been too happy if that had been flipped, so big apologies to Mick and Terry, they’re good people and I apologise unreservedly for forgetting to shake their hands at the final whistle.

“Terry actually came onto the pitch and shook my hand and I realised then I’d forgotten and thought ‘I’ve made a big mistake here’.

“My fault, it certainly wasn’t intended and hopefully they’ll accept that with the grace that they have. I was out of order, not intentionally, I just forgot.

“I don’t want to argue with Mick, there’s only going to be one winner there, isn’t there?”

Questioned about the incident and Adams’s apology, McCarthy said: “He should have [shaken hands]. Sky have just asked me and I said it’s nothing to do with them whether he shook my hand or not.

“Whether they show that or not I don’t know. I tend to deal with my matters with other managers individually and on my own.”

He added: “He’s got a good team, they’re a good side and they’d just beaten us and if it’s a lesson in etiquette then the first person he shakes hands with [should be] me and [then] with TC.

“I’ve had to do it, I’ve had to do it at Leicester when we’ve been beaten 6-0 and 5-0 [at Palace] and that’s what you do. If that’s a lesson today, then fine.”

Photo: Action Images

DurhamTownFan added 08:56 - Aug 24 One small point: STOP ASKING FOR 3-5-2! It's clear to anyone that MM won't or doesn't know how to play it for two reasons: 1, it requires a team to keep the ball on the deck and pass it short and 2, if he was ever going to do so he would have done as soon as we bough Berra last summer
0

WorcesterBlue added 09:08 - Aug 24 Mick has lost it imo as many Wolves fans warned me when he took over. Too many beatings and fans turning on him at Wolves seem to have taken their toll and have made an already bloody minded taciturn one dimensional manager even worse. Never a fan of his tactics or 'know what I like, like what I bl£&dy well know' approach but this summer's transfer inactivity, the signing of poor trialists, constant pre and post match rambling waffle and then sending our only creative players out on loan with no replacements in mind just beggars belief. If he wanted to play football we still have the draw and the resources to attract players who can do it plus most of this is down to coaching in any case. Unfortunately he doesn't - he distrusts creativity and relished the 'scrap'. Think it's unlikely but with a couple of decent loans (or actual signings?) we could still challenge but playing this way, do we really want to? Football is an entertainment business as well as drawing on strong local / tribal loyalties - we don't mind losing to Norwich half as much if we genuinely try to play football against them.

13

bluefeast added 09:10 - Aug 24 general theme the same from all our fans ,we need creative flair and people who want the ball. Skuse , Hyam , Chambers , ie 25 % of our team view the ball as something that may burn their foot , ie get rid quick , Anderson was not played in enough as those with the ball cannot pass. Add to that our forwards ,Dids did not make a pass ,murphy to slow of thought , just look at norwich mid and forwards ,lively etc. We are Cart Horse Utd

8

tractorboybig added 09:16 - Aug 24 early results and performance suggest that the fight will not be for promotion
8

planetblue_2011 added 09:35 - Aug 24 Not a disgrace your having a laugh mick any loose against the scum is a disgrace. We were very poor I didn't see one player up for the game. Evans needs to give mick 10 mill to spend on 2 central midfielders, a right back and another speedy winger. He surely has the money if not it's gonna be another struggle because we don't have the funds to compete with the best teams in the league.

0

Bob7881 added 09:42 - Aug 24 Sad to see Town fans having a go at each other. Sad to see Portman road not Packed out for the Game. Sad to see our club in such decline. After the disaster of Sheepshanks i think we were all looking for an exciting future with Evans as owner. I know his investment may have saved the club but lets face it since he took over, the club has been in decline. I feel for the younger fans who are served up boring football, im very lucky i witnessed the Sir Bobby years that all seems like a distant dream now. Sadly like it or not football is all about money, ITFC never had much of it in the past but still managed to turn out and find great players. As for MM i always admired his honesty now i just think he likes the sound of his own voice. Our Club has been stolen from us, in recent years managers coaches and players have come and gone made a lot of money and delivered sod all and sadly i dont see that changing in the near future.

19

Kirbmeister added 09:44 - Aug 24 Every time we attacked Skuse and Hyam stood In the centre circle and as stated Hoolahan murdered us today like he did when we lost 5-1.
3

battyblue added 10:19 - Aug 24 Sadly we haven't the players in the squad now to make much difference they have been sent out on loan and brought in half fit no flair wasters and journey men.
4

marcus139 added 10:24 - Aug 24 Star Player Have to mention new boy Anthony Wordsworth who did very well while Kari Arnason had another good game. Ben Pringle had a good second half while Alex Revell did well despite, as usual, getting nothing from the referee. But my Man of the Match has to be the lively Paul Taylor who played on just about every blade of grass today. Read more: http://www.rotherham.vitalfootball.co.uk/matchrep.asp?a=368051#ixzz3BIdiAVyz Couldn't make it up.

8

JWM added 10:27 - Aug 24 At this rate will need Johnny Wark and Clive Woods to come out of retirement! At least they would have far more energy than this bunch of useless wasters and show more guts and passion for the blue jersey. Like everyone else I'm mightily sick to the back teeth with all this! I have always been a big supporter of MM but now I'm having serious second thoughts!
6

H1960 added 10:45 - Aug 24 I had been considering purchasing a season ticket for the first time this season something I had always wanted to do, for the last 37 years I have been working most Saturdays but that stopped this summer. I have enjoyed the good times and the bad times and been to games when I can. I can honestly say after watching yesterdays gutless shambles a season ticket is the last thing I shall be purchasing. Under this manager we have no creativity, no width and most importantly no entertainment his tactics are survival first, thump up a long ball see if we can score the odd goal then try and hang on to the lead till the end, something we are usually incapable of doing, ie last season. His teams have always been boring remember Wolves and Sunderland! and his record in the premier league is poor where his tactics are from the dark ages, sacked from both clubs as I remember. S omething needs changing fast or another saeason of mediocrity is guaranteed.

3

cats_whiskers added 10:49 - Aug 24 Ben Pringle is the type of midfield player this club needs, he makes Rotherham tick!! Energetic and always involved in play and a great left peg. Has more energy and imagination than what those two extremely mediocre players called Hyam and Skuse will ever have.
1

gorse added 11:09 - Aug 24 A "disgrace" is exactly what it was - a disgraceful lack of ambition, style of football and team selection. Toward the end I was feeling embarrassed by the silence of the crowd but we were presented with such aimless, amateurish football. When McG dropped back a little after Sammon came on he played some nice diagonal balls, but apart from that, disgraceful route one to stationary players who were so easy to mark out of the game & never looked like holding it or turning their man. We made Norwich look good and the game easy for them.

4

gorse added 11:09 - Aug 24 A "disgrace" is exactly what it was - a disgraceful lack of ambition, style of football and team selection. Toward the end I was feeling embarrassed by the silence of the crowd but we were presented with such aimless, amateurish football. When McG dropped back a little after Sammon came on he played some nice diagonal balls, but apart from that, disgraceful route one to stationary players who were so easy to mark out of the game & never looked like holding it or turning their man. We made Norwich look good and the game easy for them.

1

TimmyH added 11:13 - Aug 24 @JWM - he would have thought it - nice to see your seeing the light!
2

TimmyH added 11:15 - Aug 24 * who
-2

cossy81 added 11:18 - Aug 24 The problem was to me it seemed another day at the office,in the days of butcher,osman, warky etc,the derby was life or death but the current side don't seem to give a crap.hyam should be throwing himself about near to the point of being sent off seeing as he is local.Personally i thought sammon put more effort in his short time on than all the midfield put together..two home games in and already i'm fed up (going since 73 and never been more depressed)

1

kesgrave_bluey added 11:24 - Aug 24 McGoldrick and Dwight Gayle swap deal to go through this week.
-4

broadside added 11:26 - Aug 24 What short memories some people have.
1

kesgrave_bluey added 11:44 - Aug 24 how many big games have we won in the last ten years? maybe a handful. if we never win these big games where's the excitement?
0

warktheline added 12:04 - Aug 24 The only way out of this league with no funds is to somewhere find 2 prolific goal scorers and a magician in midfield ........we have 1 out of the 3.Many years ago I watched Steve Coppel's Crystal Palace run riot over us at Portman Rd, playing a very direct style, a style we couldn't handle on the day because up top, Palace had two quick and hungry lads, their names were Wright and Bright. Mick, if this is your way forward, then find another striker to partner McGoldrick, also while your at it,find a lad to invent something from midfield. For sure, no more back foot players are required, in our famous blue and white kit.

3

jpring89 added 12:06 - Aug 24 Tim Sherwoods available .....
-6

blueboy1981 added 12:21 - Aug 24 Where are the deluded 'in Mick we Trust' people today ? Plainly obvious that this man's actions so far this season are going to take us nowhere - we have to bite the bullet and accept that yet another change of management is the only option - unfortunately. There is very little on the team front to feel anything other than pessimistic about - personally I don't think MM has the ambition / desire to want anymore than to maintain his already well padded bank account. Where is the evidence to suggest otherwise ??? Disappointed, Disillusioned, and rapidly losing faith in the structure of the Club we love.

12

kesgrave_bluey added 12:27 - Aug 24 well done ME, who'd have thought a club would try and survive the championship with a league one squad but charge prem prices?
11

JWM added 13:06 - Aug 24 I used to be one of those Blueboy but after yesterday's horror show I just want him and the whole sorry circus gone! Surely Evans can not be immune from any harsh criticism either! Afterall he has appointed the last 3 managers and has now decided to stop spending on strengthening the team just happy to hide under the guise of FFP! If you dont invest in the squad then you dont improve its as simple as that and when you sell your best player and dont reinvest the cash then it becomes seriously negligent! To think that the team from last year could finish higher this year with a weaker playing squad is to quote MM "Bloody Bonkers!"

8

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls