Town boss Mick McCarthy believes that Premier League central defender of the future Adam Webster is just one of a good crop of young players at Portman Road. Webster, signed from Portsmouth in the summer for £700,000 plus academy product Matt Clarke, scored his first Blues goal in Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at Birmingham.

“Adam’s going to be an exceptional player,” McCarthy said of Webster, whose performances have been one of the highlights of what's been a disappointing Town season so far.

“I look at the Premier League and some of the defending in there and think, well, if I haven’t got a Premier League centre-half in the making, then I’m a Dutchman.”

Have Town had any enquiries for him? “I get you asking me, but you know full well I wouldn’t tell you.

“He’s a good player, whatever he cost he’s a good player. I’m not touting to sell him, we’ve got a very good player.

“And a young one who is still learning. I’m not suggesting he should be going off and playing anywhere else. I think he should be the foundation of what is a pretty good squad of [young] players.

“Tommy Smith’s injured at the moment but he’s only 26, Adam’s 21. Then I think about Myles [Kenlock] and Josh [Emmanuel], who are both coming through.

“We signed Grant Ward, there’s Bish, Dozzell, who is coming through. Freddie Sears is not that old.

“I still think we’ve got a pretty good squad of young players, who are only going to get better. I think he should be the foundation of that for Ipswich.”

Having made a goalscoring debut at as a sub at Sheffield Wednesday last season and then his first start against Fulham, 17-year-old Andre Dozzell’s only appearance this term was the EFL Cup tie against Stevenage in August, although he has been on the bench on nine occasions.

McCarthy says Town’s under par form and disappointing results this season have made it harder to introduce youngsters such as Dozzell.

“If I say that other people would say, ‘Surely you could put him in and he’d change those results’.

“If I thought that was the one component missing, then surely they trust me enough to make that decision.”

He added: “It’s a lot easier if it’s going well, of course it is. We need to change that and make sure it is going well then maybe he can get his games.”

Photo: TWTD

textbackup added 06:06 - Dec 15 We have some very good players that are massively mismanaged by you.youll now not play the likes of Doz because we are in a dogfight, the dogfight you and your senior pros have got us in. You see the common issue here Mick? Just go
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BrettenhamBlue added 06:10 - Dec 15 at least he's not talking about promotion anymore
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Daz added 06:26 - Dec 15 Send them out on loan if they ain't going to get games. Can be getting them ready in div 1 for next season
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GiveusaWave added 06:41 - Dec 15 We have some very good players NOW. Bart, Webster, Dozzell, Benyu, Nydam, Bishop will all be targeted by Championship clubs, or even Premiership, if we go down. Stats are a bit varied as to how much relegation actually costs from Championship to League 1 (there are plenty of stats on Premiership to a Championship) but most agree it will cost a club between 5-10 million. The only way a club like ours could afford that is through sales. Some clubs still have parachute payments from the premiership when they go down which helps with stabilising the process. We don't. If we do go down it's going to be a disaster for this club so even though we want Mick out, we need a positive result against Wigan.

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DurhamTownFan added 06:44 - Dec 15 Rowett has just beeen sacked. Get him in!
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Penguinblue added 06:44 - Dec 15 Go McCarthy you are not wanted here. WHERE IS THE TWTD poll? Beginning to think TWTD editors as weak as Brenna Woolley and BBC Suffolk
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wessextractorboy added 06:57 - Dec 15 I heard from a Geordie friend that McCarthy is looking to get Murphy back on loan.
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ArnieM added 07:10 - Dec 15 then try PLAYING these youngsters then McCarthy. They're hardly going to do much worse than your "proper blokes" are they. FFS McCarthy TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT!!
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hoppy added 07:13 - Dec 15 Penguinblue.... you mean like this one? http://www.twtd.co.uk/forum/392496/time-for-a-change-or-still-backing-mick/#0
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BanksterDebtSlave added 07:30 - Dec 15 But there's clearly more than one component broken......it looks like he's saying ' if it's broke, don't fix it ! '
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Dissboyitfc added 07:48 - Dec 15 You Wouldnt change a winning team either, so dont suggest its harder to play the youngsters in a bad run. Just go so a new manager can really work with the youngsters and play them. Mick out!
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hampstead_blue added 07:48 - Dec 15 "McCarthy says Town's under par form and disappointing results this season have made it harder to introduce youngsters such as Dozzell. " Doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome? ---- Hang-on, is this not the definition of madness? Whilst I feel he is a very good manager, he is not a good Change Manager. He needs to learn very quickly or leave. MM needs to introduce change. He simply cannot accept success. Sears cannot score for toffee, then scores a few and he's dropped. Bringing in Varney who cannot score in a brothel. He has now scored a couple and I bet he is dropped too! MM seems to shy away from success and just continues to revert to this 'combative' style which is a race to the bottom. MM needs to take a brave pill or accept that he cannot effect change and move on.

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RoyalAscotBlue added 07:52 - Dec 15 So the poll has only been running for one day but so far over 80% of TWTD subscribers want Mick gone. Seems pretty conclusive to me. Has the manager of any football club in the world ever turned things around after they lost the fans?
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del added 07:55 - Dec 15 So Mick says he is not touting to sell him .... rather like Aaron Cresswell and Tyrone Mings then?
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iaintaylorx added 08:26 - Dec 15 One of the best things so far about this season is looking at the younger players - yes, but that is completely irrelevant when they're either not being played or made to play in a style that doesn't suit their ability!
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brittaniaman added 08:28 - Dec 15 Is McCarthy still here ????????
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brittaniaman added 08:35 - Dec 15 10 points plus goals from play offs now ??? MM does not mention that now !!
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alfromcol added 09:24 - Dec 15 Just looked at the poll. Not a very big sample, less than 300 votes. If this number doesn't get to at least a 1000 then it just proves that a lot of noise is made on TWTD by only a few people!!!!
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ArnieM added 09:36 - Dec 15 Let's see how little takes EADT to run one.
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weevil added 09:37 - Dec 15 RoyalAscotBlue Yes, a little Scottish chap called Sir Alex Ferguson :) The fans wanted him sacked and he was just 1 game away from getting the chop. Obviously I am not comparing him with MM, but just to answer your question. The difference is AF actually was a good manager who changed the way he played based on the opposition.
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Pencilpete added 09:43 - Dec 15 Yet most of these promising players sit on the bench and watch the likes of Jonathan Douglas stagger around the pitch for a guaranteed 90 minutes like he's on his way home from a nightclub at 3am ! Can anyone tell me how these lads will get any Championship experience if we don't give it to them ?
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OsborneOneNil added 09:46 - Dec 15 I agree with a comment above, he won't play the kids as it's a 'tough situation' we are in, and he says he would if we were playing well and flying.....but he wouldn't. If we were buzzing he'd keep the same team. Basically, this can't get worse, so let's get one or two introduced. You never know, we may win.
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warktheline added 09:54 - Dec 15 All being well you won't be here to see them progress!.. all not being well these lads will find themselves shipped out to some obscure club in the Scottish highlands, under your management! And thereafter totally disappear from sight! Jog on McCarthy!
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brian_a_mul added 09:55 - Dec 15 Lets hope we can secure our status in Championship by March. It would be great to be able to play the next generation of players in the second half of the season if we dont have that pressure Im still hopeful for a playoff push in the new year :)
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Wickets added 09:56 - Dec 15 If it's going well it's why change a winning side if it's not going well it's not the time to blood young players. If you never try them you will never know.
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