Winger Tommy Oar’s agent says Town’s style of play didn’t suit the Australian international, who left Portman Road after his contract was terminated at his request last Friday.

The 24-year-old joined the Blues on a free transfer in the summer having left Dutch side FC Utrecht, but made only four Town starts - just one in the league - and five sub appearances, scoring his only goal in the FA Cup tie against Portsmouth at Portman Road, before deciding to move on.

"When Tommy came they had a certain way of playing, but they lost a couple of games and the coach changed their style,” his agent Michael Jansen told beIN Sports Australia.

“With Tommy being a technical type of player, a more European style, he didn’t suit the play very well. Tommy just didn’t think it was working out for him."

Jansen says Oar is in no hurry to find a new club - as a free agent he can move outside the transfer window - with Australian reports suggesting a move to China is on the cards, while A-League teams, including his former side the Brisbane Roar, are also interested.

“He is relaxed about his future and has all the time in the world to sort things out,” he added.

“I cannot mention any clubs at this point but he is transfer free and a lot of interest is coming in which is normal with somebody of his status.

"We are taking it step by step. He only terminated his contract a few days ago. He’s top fit, played a week or so ago and is training by himself right now.

"The European window closes in a few days and when it does a lot of clubs will still be looking for players and much can change.

"There is a bigger chance he will go to Asia or the Middle East than back to Europe or Australia."

Jansen ruled out a move to another English club: "Ipswich treated him well and of course out of respect England is certainly a closed book for Tommy.

“[Mick] McCarthy was happy with him, the way he trained and prepared himself. He did a decent job but these things take time.

“But, if as a player, you see the way of playing [and] training aren’t working out it’s better to talk with the club and solve the problem and the club approached and dealt with things in a very decent way.”

Photo: Action Images

dirtydingusmagee added 12:36 - Jan 29 may be agent spin ,but fact remains we have lost two decent players and as yet not signed anyone,other clubs are active, we are kicking heels .The clubs above us are going to be very hard to displace, We were flying early season ,then wheels fell off, Championship is very unforgiving it will be another mid table finish i fear .
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Steve70 added 12:40 - Jan 29 I hear what his saying. Always found it easier to play football the correct way pass and move etc. I once played for a team that was more direct came off with a neck injury from watching the ball 30ft in the air being played to the front two.
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sidtheswan added 12:45 - Jan 29 Too short for hoofball . Are we actually going to sign anyone as depressing watching all our competitors strengthen .
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Lathers added 12:48 - Jan 29 It's down to Mick to go to ME and tell him that he needs cash (within reason) to do his job properly or he's off. He's already proven himself to be the best manager we've had since Royle so we would all like to see some of the Wickham, Cresswell and Mings money invested in new players, rather than on 'wages' for the freebie journeymen or on loan signings. Something has to change at the club.

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PortmanTerrorist added 12:49 - Jan 29 Of course take Oar's comments with a pinch of salt as reason for departure, but our style of football is unacceptable. We have better players than previous years, so why don't we trust them. If League 2 Portsmouth can pass us off the pitch (TWICE) against a second string which, let's not deny it, was full of Championship and first team experience, then fans have the right to question the management. Am not harking back to, or comparing against previous eras. I just cannot make sense of the stubbornness re tactics. You CANNOT get automatic promotion with 30-40% possession week in week out, so what are we aiming for exactly ??

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borat_the_blue added 12:52 - Jan 29 Was this mum or his agent that said all of this? If true, for the money they earn I would expect them to at least try to adapt??? I'm sorry but you do your homework before you move. Some half ar$e agent with a modern day footballer attitude - surely the second word has to be off!
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TractorCam added 13:04 - Jan 29 Knew he wasn't home sick! Bit odd how he just jumped the ship instead of trying to stick it out for longer but unsurprising as he wasn't being given game time.
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Europablue added 13:06 - Jan 29 Very unprofessional all round on Oar's side. First, don't move to a team that doesn't suit your style. Don't make a decision based on a couple of games, and don't allow your representative to sound off about a private matter. Obviously we do have a couple of flair players (well not ours), but how can we change the style of play if a flair player is not willing to put in the graft. There is no room for dead weight so even flair players need to put in effort. We all want more style, and hopefully that will improve in time. Dids is flair player, but can't stay fit. McCarthy brought in Fraser and Naitland Miles as well as Oar. I think if Oar is honest with himself, not getting into the team is probably more of the problem for him. It's a shame because it just feels like he didn't give it enough time. Nevermind. He was honest enough to discuss it with the club who handled it well. There is no point in forcing an unhappy player to stick around.

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JimmyP45 added 13:07 - Jan 29 Town's "Style" won't suit most footballers
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MathieandMarshall added 13:08 - Jan 29 while I see the point that our style isn't pretty and not suited to technical footballers is it not fair to say that there have been players of equal if not better technical ability who have come into the team under Mick and made it work? Fraser and Niles this season, Williams on loan twice and of course Didz and Bishop! all good technical players who found no problem fitting into the team.

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BlueMachines added 13:09 - Jan 29 AbujaBlue. I shan't hold my breath for an apology, but I will say I told you so. Oar wasn't homesick, as I said, and now the truth comes out.
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Lathers added 13:10 - Jan 29 The truth of the matter is, none of us on here actually know if Oar was decent or not because he never got a proper run out. I think he was probably one of the better free signings. Digby won't make it, Yowerth won't return, Coke...I don't need to comment, Alaba...WTF was MM thinking in the 1st place, Bajner.. was he even a footballer?, Toure... a league one player at best, Varney... hardworking but not Championship standard anymore, Foley... time will tell but another bench warmer on the payroll and we will probably sign Jerome Thomas despite Hearts and lower league clubs not wanting him because he is PAST IT. BUT MM found Mings, so on that basis rather than spending money on strengthening the team, I think we should continue to accumulate a large sh*t squad......

1

Europablue added 13:11 - Jan 29 Anyone who thinks that ME doesn't want us to get promoted must be smoking something. If he got extra income of 80 million and even spent 70 million he would still be 10 million better off and have a better draw for corporate hospitality.
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tractorshark added 13:17 - Jan 29 i have to say this does not reflect well on both parties. I'll freely admit our style of play is not pretty but it doesn't say much about Oar either. If you quit six months into something when you've done dick-all yourself, it suggests you've got the heart of a hamster.
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MonterreyBlue added 13:21 - Jan 29 None of us like it Tommy but we have a life long contract which has no escape clause!! COYBs
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Keaneish added 13:23 - Jan 29 Kikapu - I mainly agree with you but there's nothing to stop Mick playing the same way we started games earlier in the season. Why have we resorted to this? Because we got beat heavily? So what. I'll take the occasional heavy defeat if it means we're beating the teams around us and playing good, competitive football in and around our current position. We started the season well. We've got the players but I don't see a plan anymore. Unfortunately, Parr and Oar were good squad players and the selection policy and football style since that Reading defeat has been apathetic resulting in their departures, which are indicative of any kind of 'plan' faltering.

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Bergholtblue added 13:25 - Jan 29 Whilst I am sure we would all like to see nice, attractive, tikka takka football, have we got the player to do it? Skuse and Sears apart (and Fraser and ANM but they aren't ours) who else is there in the team who can pass and move? We've got Bish and Didsy, but Didsy seems permanently injured these days. Perhaps Toure but another that plays once and is injured for the next four games. So perhaps it's just that MM has to play this way to get the best out of the team he has got. Before you all shout that this is MM's team, without any money to spend he hasn't had a lot to choose from.

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MattinLondon added 13:44 - Jan 29 Teams don't get any extra points for style or grace but it tends to be the teams who are patient and who can retain procession which tend to go up. We do well, very well in fact, to be in or around the play-offs but we fall short due to the fact that we lack the creativity which attack minded players tend to give a team. Creativity which players like Orr tend to bring a team. I know that MM likes players who graft and who always give 100 per cent but this isn't enough. I'm not saying that Orr is a superb player but he has hardly been given a chance. We all want to see attacking, free-flowing passing football but this is never going to happen under MM. It is very easy to knock MM as his preferred style is long ball which is not pretty, or entertaining but it has given the club back some self-respect. I'm very worried for next season — Fraser won't be here and neither will Maitland-Niles. McGoldrick's injury may seem him leave the club and will Bishop ever be fit?? Unless McDonnell, Dozzell or some other youngster steps forward who has flair in abundance the next couple of seasons will be very bad on our necks.

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vanmunt added 13:48 - Jan 29 @Bergholtblue I think your theory falls apart when a team in the second division with supposed worse players than a Championship team pass and move and embarrass us. Its the manager that dictates the style of play in training, can you seriously believe that professional footballers at our club cannot pass a ball on the ground.
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AbujaBlue added 13:48 - Jan 29 BlueMachines - Did I offend your honour somehow? I never said he was homesick, but just cautioned about jumping to conclusions (and using the word 'fact' in every sentence). An agent is hardly going to say 'my client left because he wasn't good enough for the first team', is he? The whole reason that someone of Oar's 'status' demanded tiki-taka football like his agent more or less says is just rubbish. That is easy to see.

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Surco72 added 13:49 - Jan 29 Stop making money excuses and player ability excuses , it is MM's squad the players he has selected , the style of play he chooses to play which he has done for numerous years hence he has never succeeded in the premier league and spent the majority of his career in lower league management . Pompey have no money at all but choose to play a fast flowing passing game on the ground . Bergholt.. who selected the squad that has limited players who can pass and move , there have been other free transfers and loans signed by championship clubs who can play but we get the same type each time and are told repeatedly by MM that they are brilliant and there is no better out there to sign ? The club has openly stated the Mings money would be re invested in signings so why hasn't MM signed anybody or come out and say his hands are tied ?

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MonterreyBlue added 14:05 - Jan 29 @vanmunt hits the nail on the head....
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Europablue added 14:22 - Jan 29 Just goes to show how professional Parr was, and he put up with a tougher situation for longer. He has always clearly been good enough for the team, but really never got a chance as he may have reasonably expected after Mings left. Still as long as the club honours the contract the players have to abide by the choices of the manager.
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Ipswich58 added 14:34 - Jan 29 I tell you. McCarthy will never get us out of Championship. He is a Neanderthal as a coach. And no bottle. Won't change players however IHT of form they are. And his transfer record is rubbish. How much money has been wasted on signing players who never get a chance to prove themselves before he ships them out. Don't blame ME for lack of investment. It's the way MM spends it. I can't stand his patronising guff any longer.

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Kikapu added 14:38 - Jan 29 Keaneish - the plan didn't falter, it was radically changed - of necessity. In many ways you could say that didn't revert back to a more defensive approach early enough - before the Reading result. Too many injuries to our more creative and swift players left the back four exposed (hardly fleet of foot). At the beginning of the season the leaky defence didn't matter too much while we were scoring more than the opposition, but when the injuries started to come along and Bishop remained in the treatment room MM had no choice. We have to accept that we don't have the resources to splash out on a couple of £1 million players. Evans isn't a gambler and isn't going to risk the financial future of the club by buying in success (not after his earlier experiences with previous managers). MM knows that and is prepared to work with what he's got, what he can afford and the money he can make up from developing and selling on unknowns to other clubs (not going to well on that front at the moment). We might have lost a battle or two but MM's out to win the war. I can imagine some contributors here would have been after Churchill's head as soon as a few bombers flew over London and didn't respond by invading Germany immediately. It takes time, it takes planning, it takes continuity and consistency to win the war. In the meantime we'll have to rely on Dad's Army.

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