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Thread | Your Ipswich Town XI of the 2010s
at 16:18 29 Oct 2019
With the decade almost over, and a long wait until the next league game, it seems as good a time as ever to reflect on the past decade and cobble together an Ipswich Town XI of the 2010s. Unfortunately, the decade will most likely be remembered by many as being a time of being continuously disappointed, occasionally surprised, but ultimately one of a gradual decline in quality. And that’s just the politics. For Town, one season of hope (2014/15) has stood out in a decade of deterioration. Relegation, when it eventually came, seemed inevitable. The rules are straight-forward enough, players are to be judged between their performances from 1st January 2010 to the present day, only in an Ipswich Town shirt. My XI for this rather forgettable decade is:
Bialkowski
C. Edwards — Chambers — Berra — Cresswell
Waghorn — Skuse — Bishop — Lawrence
Murphy — McGoldrick
GK: Bartosz Bialkowski
Three-time Player of the Year (in consecutive seasons) and contributed to the spine of Mick McCarthy Ipswich Town sides that over-achieved in the middle of the decade. For years he was rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship, particularly his performances in a 2016/17 season where we narrowly avoided relegation. However, a poor 2018/19 season culminated in Ipswich’s relegation to League One. Steadily rebuilding his reputation at Millwall.
Honourable mentions: Gerken, Fulop
LB: Aaron Cresswell
Arguably one of the best Ipswich Town left-backs over the past couple of decades, Cresswell always seemed destined for Premier League football following Paul Jewell’s astute decision to sign him from Tranmere. After 132 appearances in an Ipswich shirt, Cresswell has had a solid career at West Ham United and is back in the first-team picture at the Hammers after a poor opening day performance in this season’s 5-0 defeat against Manchester City. He currently has three England caps.
Honourable mentions: Mings, Knudsen
CB: Luke Chambers, Christophe Berra
For a three-season spell between 2013 and 2017, Luke Chambers and Christophe Berra were a reliable centre-back partnership at the heart of the Town defence. With 318 (at time of writing) and 174 appearances respectively, Chambers and Berra contributed to the solitary play-off campaign of the 2010s in the 2014/15 season. Berra’s handball and red card in the semi-final, second leg match against Norwich played a significant part in the eventual defeat. With Berra departing in 2017, the defence never looked quite as solid. Berra is now at Hearts in the Scottish Premier League, while Chambers is still captain at Town, but his ability and reliability has decreased in recent seasons.
Honourable mentions: Webster, McAuley
RB: Carlos Edwards
A problem position for Ipswich over much of this decade, Kane Vincent-Young may have the ability and consistency to make the position his own for the coming decade. However, we’d have to go back to Carlos Edwards to find our best right-back of the decade. A model professional and solid captain, Edwards started as a right-winger under Roy Keane, but was moved to right-back under Jewell and won the Player of the Year award for 2011/12.
Honourable mentions: Pennington (not much competition here)
LW: Tom Lawrence
Lawrence’s goals and performances in the 2016/17 campaign ultimately kept us in the Championship. Several of Lawrence’s eleven goals in a Town shirt could be included in a Goal of the Season montage and looked like credible winners, particularly his efforts against Preston and Reading. A drink driving offence has sullied his reputation, and possibly his legacy, but his 2016/17 campaign is arguably the gold standard of individual brilliance in an Ipswich shirt over the past decade.
Honourable mentions: Fraser, Celina
CM: Cole Skuse, Teddy Bishop
Two long-time servants of the club, Skuse has 249 caps and Bishop has 78 caps at time of writing. Skuse, one of the top interceptors of the ball in the 2017/18 season, has been a consistent midfielder in Town sides normally accustomed to punching above their weight in the second tier. Bishop, an exciting and naturally gifted midfielder, has been less reliable after a succession of injuries. However, his undoubted ability and impact in the 2014/15 play off season, along with being a rare positive in struggling 2016/17 and 2018/19 seasons, ensures Bishop deserves his place in the team and edges the equally injury-prone, but talented, Jonny Williams. It will be interesting to see how an ageing Skuse and Bishop, without an appearance so far this season, will contribute to Town’s fortunes over the next few years.
Honourable mentions: Jonny Williams, N'Daw, Leadbetter
RW: Martyn Waghorn
The Martyn Waghorn show in 2017/18 saw us finish as a solid, mid-table side. A team that looked more than the sum of our parts with Waghorn in it. Notching double figures for both goals and assists, the departure of Waghorn was one of the primary factors in our goalscoring issues in 2018/19 and subsequent relegation. His effectiveness from set pieces, and ability to create something in an otherwise stodgy-looking side, were under-rated abilities we arguably still have not replaced.
Honourable mentions: Grant Ward (again, not many names leaping out here)
ST: Daryl Murphy, David McGoldrick
We have a few options here - which informed my decision to line up in a 4-4-2 formation - with McCarthy’s Town sides typically containing three or four potent strikers in a squad. Freddie Sears’ impact in 2014/15 and his longevity at Portman Road also deserves as a mention, as does the promising potential of Connor Wickham at the start of the decade. Brett Pitman also had a knack of being a goalscoring threat with a penchant for an overhead kick. However, there can only be two candidates here. Daryl Murphy, our all time 12th top goal scorer, alongside the smooth footballing skills of David McGoldrick was our most potent strike-force in the 2010s. Murphy only really took off in Town colours in his third spell at the club, when he joined permanently. His goalscoring prowess in the 2014/15 season, where he dragged us into the top six by plundering 27 league goals, was an emphatic response to doubters of Murphy’s talent. McGoldrick, a more enigmatic talent, was a composed and efficient striker with 45 goals in 142 Town appearances. Injury-prone, he finally achieved a sustained run in the first team and promotion to the Premier League, albeit with Sheffield United after departing Ipswich on a free transfer.
Honourable mentions: Sears, Pitman, Wickham
Who would be in yours? |
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Thread | The squad for next season - complete rebuild required
at 08:53 3 Mar 2019
Following this awful season, and the two previous years of underwhelming, often stale football, I think we need a clear out and to a big rebuild in the summer to have a squad capable of a) playing attacking football and b) possessing the winning mentality for promotion.
I think what I’d do is get rid of both Bart and Gerken, the former needs to get off the wage bill and the latter isn’t good enough. Bring in an experienced goalkeeper who talks to his defence (needed if we’re playing a young team) and then maybe look to play Harry Wright in the EFL Trophy and as backup.
I’d axe Spence, Knudsen, Collins (he wouldn’t drop down anyway), and Donacien. Bring in a left back and a right back to start (jury is out on Bree) with Emmanuel and Kenlock as understudies and a final year’s chance to see if they are capable of playing League One football for us. Woolfenden, Nsiala, Chambers, and an experienced centre back, maybe Curtis Tilt at Blackpool who we were linked with in the summer, with Woolfy and the new centre back to start. Chambers should be a club captain role, but not a regular starter. There’s probably an argument not to renew his contract if he’s expecting a lot.
In midfield, get rid of Ward, Adeyemi, Huws, Rowe, and loan out Nydam. If a good offer comes in for Dozzell, then sell. If a good offer comes in for Bishop, sell. If a good offer comes in for Downes, sell. While these three players have impressed in stages, if we are offered serious money for a player struggling to get games, a player historically struggling to play over 15 games a season, and a player who is frustratingly inconsistent, we are not in the position to turn down good money. My ideal midfielders would be Downes, a new deep lying playmaker, Skuse (strictly squad player), Lankester, Nolan, Bishop, Judge, and Dozzell. Anyone we sell from that lot, we must replace. If we play wingers, then we’ll need to bring one or two experienced wingers in.
Up front is a mess. There’s probably an argument that we could offload them all if we are given any offers, that’s how much of a root and branch rebuild we’d need. Is Keane going to play enough games? Arguably not. If we do sign him, it should be on a low wage with incentives for playing matches. One of Jackson or Harrison to be sold, ideally the former. I’d keep Sears because nobody will sign him while injured, and give him six months to impress upon his return and then look to offload. I feel we need two new strikers, if we are playing two up top; someone like John Marquis with a proven record in League One? I’d take Pitman back too. And then maybe look to bring Morris or Folami in a squad role.
It may look drastic to some, but I honestly feel that’s where we are as a club and as a squad. This is hands down the worst season and the worst Ipswich Town side I’ve seen. Some of these players shouldn’t play for this club again. We need to cut a lot of deadwood and we need to sign quality players, capable of playing attacking football and capable of using initiative. Pretty much all the Hurst permanent signings won’t be playing in the Championship again (except perhaps Edwards). Mick’s old favourites are too old and looked uncomfortable on the ball. We don’t have enough right now. Apologies for the Sunday morning rant everyone. |
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Thread | Some people on here value their own opinions over the support of the club
at 23:24 18 Sep 2018
I’m a regular observer of this forum, but a rare poster, and one of the reasons is that I get a strong impression that a minority of Ipswich supporters on here value their own opinions rather than supporting the team. After a summer of upheaval, most of which has been from outgoings that Paul Hurst has had little control over, there is a section of the fanbase that seem to revel that we are without a win and struggling, in the misguided belief that it validates their opinions.
At half time, I lost track of the negative comments. There was even a thread that suggested Paul Hurst had fallen out of favour with the owner, players, and staff without offering any evidence. Some posters even agreed with this, despite no evidence! 45 minutes later, and an impressive draw against one of the division’s in-form sides later, and these same posters have been largely silent! Where is the support of the club? Where is the appreciation of a good result? Where is the passion from those fans for our club?!
There are several good debates on this forum, but I get the uncomfortable feeling that some “fans” here would rather see a defeat to validate their opinions and theories, than say well done to the players and manager of this football club that we all presumably support. [Post edited 18 Sep 2018 23:30]
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| Blog | Would the Grass Be Greener Without Mick McCarthy?
at 11:58 28 Aug 2014
The dispiriting and uninspiring defeat to Norwich was undoubtedly a poor performance. The passion was lacking, the creativity, as many of us have highlighted already, was sparse and it was another instance in this fledging season where a defensive error has cost us. |
| Blog | A Lack of Spending Will Curtail Progress
at 13:48 20 Jul 2014
At a time when Fulham have just spent £11m on a striker with no Premiership experience, it's a little disconcerting to see Mick McCarthy announce that the club are relying on freebies and borrowed players once again this term. |
| Blog | Wasted Potential at Portman Road
at 13:38 9 Jul 2013
Signed to the tune of £1.4 million and backed by an Arsenal tutelage, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas arrived at Portman Road two years ago talking of how he could help the club realise their Premier League ambition. |
| Blog | [Blog] It's Early Days, But Can We Sustain the Form?
at 19:45 8 Aug 2011
As a David James's error closed the curtains on Ipswich’s 3-0 triumph over Bristol City, our fans were able to chant 'top of the league' for the first time since March 2005 and talk of promotion was rekindled again. |
| Blog | [Blog] About Time!
at 14:26 7 Jan 2011
January 7th 2011 is a landmark date for this club. It was the date our beleaguered board eventually acted upon the harsh truth that this club was not stagnating under Roy Keane; it was descending into irreversible decline. |
| Blog | [Blog] Can Anybody Justify Keeping Keane?
at 19:13 3 Jan 2011
Our club has become the laughing stock of the division. We have a tactically inept manager playing boring, predictable football to the tune of discontent and disappointment in the stands. The question is can anybody defend Roy Keane? Can anybody justify keeping with this man? |
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Site Scores| Forum Votes: | 72 | | Comment Votes: | 9 | | Prediction League: | 0 | | TOTAL: | 81 |
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