Town boss Mick McCarthy says he’ll speak to trialist Jerome Thomas about his situation but that deal is unlikely to be done on what’s almost certain to be another very quiet deadline day at Portman Road. McCarthy says he’s not sure he could have found the players to strengthen his side, although revealed he had made one or two enquiries regarding some younger players.

As TWTD revealed on Wednesday, Thomas, 32, has been training with the Blues having been released by Crystal Palace last summer and McCarthy says he’ll talk to the ex-Arsenal, Charlton and West Brom winger in the days to come.

Thomas played in Friday’s behind closed doors friendly against Southend, which ended in a 1-1 draw, but isn’t involved in this afternoon’s U21s game against QPR.

“I’ve got to speak to him and, of course, he’s a free agent so he can sign at any stage, there’s no great hurry in terms of today,” McCarthy said.

“It’s not one where I’ve been looking at him for a little while. I actually had him in the building at Wolves and was going to sign him and he got a better deal down at West Bromwich Albion. But I’m not holding that against him, quite clearly, I’ve had a look at him again.

“He’s a very talented player but he’s not played for quite a while. But, like I said, it doesn’t have to be done today.”

Asked whether he was disappointed not to have strengthened his squad during January, he added: “I’m not sure I could have done. Yes, I could go and get somebody different, but I’m not sure I could go and get anybody better, who would come and replace what I would say is my first team.

“I could go and get somebody else, whether they're better than what I’ve got with the budget that I would have to pay for players, for loan deals, for wages.

“We’ve had a look at a number of younger ones that I’ve talked about, we’ve enquired about, but they’re non-starters really in terms of the money.

“It’s always nice to bring somebody in, it might freshen you up for a couple of weeks, but if they’re better than what I’ve got then I’d have had to spend a fair chunk of money and I don’t believe in just bringing players in for the sake of them.

“And I’ve got two players for every position. I said previously, before the 11 o’clock bell rings, I’m happy with my squad, I’m delighted with them.”

He added: “I’d have to go out and pay a lot of money to get better than what I’ve got and I don’t think that’s going to be the case. I’m happy.

“I’ve not been looking, not too much, because there’s no point in me saying I’m happy and then behind closed doors scrolling through all these players thinking ‘I might get something else’. No, I’m pleased, the lads are great.”

The Blues boss confirmed he’d still like to get youngsters such as Josh Emmanuel, Myles Kenlock and Adam McDonnell out on loan, but says that’s now more likely to happen once the emergency loan window opens next week.

U21s: Marsden, Emmanuel, Morphew, Robinson, Kenlock, Guldbrandsen, McDonnell, Hammond, McKendry, Ford, McLoughlin. Subs: Wright, C Smith, Blanchfield, Meldrum, Ramadan.

Photo: Action Images

neillrumsey added 17:24 - Feb 1 Having watched the pre season friendly away to Colchester Utd I totally agree with previous posts regarding Moncur. This lad would add some creative quality to our midfield. He even showed well against Spuds.
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DurhamTownFan added 17:25 - Feb 1 Aiden. McGeady. If sheff wed can get him in surely mick the hero of the Irish would have been able to hijack that deal?!
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muccletonjoe added 17:28 - Feb 1 So we sit and watch everyone strengthen and just hope for miracles out of what we have
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blueherts added 17:28 - Feb 1 Moncur be ideal but we wont pay more than £200k probably - may as well off load Coke and Tabby ( diiferent class- on the golf course ) to free up some wages
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dirtydingusmagee added 17:48 - Feb 1 hate to say it ,but i can see us just slipping away now,And im convinced while ME is at ITFC we will not get any better than a Mid table Championship side .
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happybeingblue added 17:54 - Feb 1 oh well thats that then .....i seriously reckon its going to be tough to even finish in the top 10 just based on looking at the other teams around us and their squads and managers Cardiff Sheff wed Brum etc all improving and looking strong in the league lets hope im wrong but i seriously doubt our play off chances at this stage any injuries and we are scuppered big time

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Surco72 added 17:58 - Feb 1 Kirkmeister. .. good point why not cancel the January transfer window because no one let's players go , no one moves club and nobody betters their squad .personally I would take some of the players who cannot get in prem teams and are cast offs like Fraser been our best player this season
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airliner added 18:03 - Feb 1 Just give up if he really beleive we will get promoted with what we have. New contract for mm and tc so shut up and do as I say from Marcus Evans . A stitch up I beleive.
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yungblue added 18:05 - Feb 1 Said weeks ago, anyone who thinks we'll dip into the bank is deluded. Like I also said weeks ago MM isn't the right man for the job.
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blueherts added 18:10 - Feb 1 get franck moussa on a free
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airliner added 18:11 - Feb 1 Itfc must be a loss earner for tax reasons , don't get it. Milne the director and manager just don't say anything against the owner to keep him happy. Why are other clubs spending in January yet we are happy with a depleted squad Why? I can understand that we need to keep to these FFP rules but we are scraping the barrel to bring newcomers in. Where is the investment after mings and cresswell were sold . Sorry this is a smokescreen and we have been told a few miss truths. Please don't renew your season tickets on this basis.

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blueherts added 18:11 - Feb 1 franck moussa is available rather him than thomas if we really have NO MONEY !
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dukey44 added 18:21 - Feb 1 Jesus wet. Is mm actually watching ipswich town fc every wk? Hoof and run as we got noone that can play footie in the middle. He then gets rid of players and dont replace them? So people come on here complaining that people who support ipswich are moaning? Too bloody right we are!! As supporters of our football team surely mm needs to show us some respect and not treat us like fools?? Basically we arent good enough mick and im not a manager paid 1000s each wk to be able to say that. Same old same old from mick every wk and transfer window. Cheers mick!!!

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Seasider added 18:27 - Feb 1 Since the season started we have let Harry Clarke go to Arsenal I believe,a promising youth player,Cameron Stewart loaned to Doncaster Rovers;but who Mick wont have back,James Alabi to Chester,Jonny Parr to Norway,Cameron Stewart released at his request,plus Dylan Connelly and Alex Henshall similarly. Piotr Malarczyk came in at the end of August for the princely sum of approx. £8500 I understand,.At the beginning of January Paul Digby arrived on loan from Barnsley where he couldn't get a game,whilst Kevin Foley,a free agent since the summer signed after a trial.Similarly another free agent Jerome Thomas is still on trial. A loanee,a trialist plus a free agent;not a lot of activity for the mid season window then At least we got Freddie Sears this time last year;but the lack of interest now I find frustrating. From the interview,reported above,and one given on the club website;Mick says that he probably wouldn't know what to do with any money were he given some.However it is puzzling with Milne saying one thing and his Manager inferring that he cannot afford to buy anybody who would strengthen his squad.If this is the case then MM's budget must be pretty low. I wonder if Evans has extended McCarthy's contract,to keep a compliant manager on board,and if he gets fed up with having no dosh to spend,then this would increase the compensation that Mr Evans will receive.

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Seasider added 18:31 - Feb 1 Sorry should read Tommy Oar released a his request
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jonbull88 added 18:45 - Feb 1 I seriously hope all you lot whinging about everything yet again stay the fu*k away when we are in the play offs. All you do is moan everything! We could have signed 3 players today and you'd turn it in to a negative for all of them!
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marty5037 added 18:49 - Feb 1 Mick you might be happy with the squad, but a lot of fans are not . We are playing crap football and it's getting worse. Please do something positive
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marty5037 added 18:52 - Feb 1 Mick you might be happy but as you can see on this forum the paying fans are not. We are playing crap football and it's getting worse. Please do something positive
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grumpyoldman added 19:16 - Feb 1 Why are a lot of people getting so upset about MM not signing anybody, have we got a new manager in the last few days who looks the same, sounds the same and has the same name as MM. He will not change his ways, he is right and anybody who doubts him is wrong, he will lead us to the promised land of midtable championship until he goes. And anybody who says that I am not a true fan is more deluded than he is, I was supporting this team before he arrived and will be here after he has left, managers come and go fans are fans until they die

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BanksterDebtSlave added 19:16 - Feb 1 For me the most telling phrase is ......“I could go and get somebody else, whether they're better than what I've got with the budget that I would have to pay for players, for loan deals, for wages. “We've had a look at a number of younger ones that I've talked about, we've enquired about, but they're non-starters really in terms of the money.." People suggesting that Mc Carthy has a cunning plan to keep us mid table and him employed need to get real....it's money that's talking in my opinion. Not wanting to bore too many of you with the state of global finance but there's a likely economic tsunami heading our way which the likes of Marcus Evans and chums would know better than most and are probably acting accordingly.....potentially a whole lot bigger than Financial Fair Play! If interested Google 'negative interest rate policy' or ' Bloomberg cashless economy' or thrills galore at 'Baltic Dry Shipping Index' or 'Automaticearth' for a whole lot more!!! Or in other words, don't blame the team/management, it always comes down to the money. Mind you I would have loved it if we'd taken a punt on Moncur !!

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alfromcol added 19:17 - Feb 1 Frustrating to say the least. Does MM watch the same game? Doesn't look the same from high up in the stands!
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3stars added 19:23 - Feb 1 Is Evans investing enough money? Probably not, but it's his money not ours. Would McCarthy spend it if available? Most certainly, but only he knows the dynamic of the squad. Is McCarthy frustrated at not having enough funds to spend? Probably, but he's not going to moan about his boss, least not in public. Is the current squad good enough to seriously challenge for promotion? Probably an outside chance of top six, and then the 'lottery' of the play-offs if we get there. But that's not good enough, is it? No, but then for every Norwich, Leicester, Southampton, Crystal Palace, there is a Leeds, Sheffield United, Nottingham Forest and of course Bolton that have every right to believe that they're as 'big' a name as us to be pushing Premier League. OK, I get that, but if we're going to watch Championship football, let's at least pass the ball about a bit, hey? Agreed. But for the moment this is our manager's way. So why don't we change the manager? Disagree, we could roll the dice and end up with another Keane. No one wants another Keane. But we shouldn't keep MM just because of the fear of the unknown, should we? No, but if you look at the state of the club when MM joined, we've moved leaps forward. He deserves the chance to finish the job. Look how long Burley took to get promoted. Persist, persist, persist. So why can't he see that we need basically a whole new defence, and a creative midfielder? Maybe he does see that. Maybe he just doesn't come out and admit how poor Knudsen is because even if he can replace him, he'll need cover. So how come he can't replace him, other clubs are signing X player? Not as easy as it sounds. We don't know what Williams was offered at MK. We don't know who made the enquiry, what he's looking for. Williams was always going to say he liked it here, maybe he didn't. Maybe MM has got it all wrong on that front. But MM isn't about to show his hand in saying who he did or didn't go for, because it would hurt his chances in future. Why don't we drop the ticket prices, get more people in, build the next generation of Town fans? Yes, seems to have worked at Norwich, but they have more of a captive audience. Football is an inelastic good, the numbers are unfortunately unlikely to work at a lower price, even if the quality of the product keeps people away. We don't want to damage income, even if ME isn't investing, it would just make it worse. The current ticket promotions strike a decent balance. So why should I renew my season ticket, paying more and more for average entertainment? Your decision based on your circumstances. I'll be renewing. Now let's get behind whichever XI pulls on the shirt, and whichever manager and owner are behind them, and whether you can make it to PR, on the road, overseas (and Norwich!) COYBs!!

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blue24 added 19:28 - Feb 1 Surpassing yourselves today chaps it's a moaning frenzie!! Get lives, cheer up,and shut up! We're 8th 2points off the playoffs hardly the end of the world is it. When will you except there is no major money available.
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BlueArmy01 added 19:46 - Feb 1 Blue24 people are moaning because they are Bored the football on offer is boring and while every other club is trying to strengthen, we are looking at 34 yr olds that haven't played in god knows how long. At least if we went for someone it might create a bit of a buzz for a while and may even give us some options to change the team........just a thought.
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blue24 added 20:04 - Feb 1 But every other club isn't strengthening, the ones with money are. Out chairman doesn't seem to want to spend (he spent a lot in the past with no success) if your bored do something that doesn't bore you, no point just turning up whinging and whining. You got to make the best of what you got. We're not in a bad position so support the players/management we have and hope for the best

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