A Great Town Display But What Does It Mean?

It is always nice to win away. Even more so when our manager persistently argues that a point on our visits is a good return.

What impressed me most was the performance of Mustapha Carayol, whose debut in a Town shirt was worthy of considerable praise.

We saw glimpses of his talents and turn of pace when he came on after 60 minutes against Burton Albion and yesterday, he was outstanding from the start.

The only real disappointment was the fact that manager Mick McCarthy took him off at half time, in order to preserve our narrow lead but given the fact that he had been ill with diarrhea most of the week, this was a perfectly understandable decision.

Preston had been good of late and few Town fans expected much from this game but thanks in the main to Mustapha Carayol, our fears were largely unfounded and Carayol could even have scored twice before the first one went in – such was his turn of pace and vision on the ball.

So then, what exactly does this unlikely away victory mean to Ipswich Town football club? The answer is very little. We are too far away from the play-off places to get there in the end and this is essentially nothing more than a win for collective personal pride in my view and maybe for the manager too!

That said, we should have won at Norwich and we certainly should have got something from our midweek encounter against high-flying Cardiff City at Portman Road. Performances of late have been encouraging but the final outcome in terms of points less so.

Owner Marcus Evans must make a decision on whether manager Mick McCarthy stays or goes shortly, and the indication is that if he is offered an extension to his contract then the Irish- Yorkshireman will take it gladly.

He is happy where is – even if most of the supporters are not.

This begs the question, does Marcus Evans still believe in his five-point plan? If so, then why is he not coughing up the cash for a manager who has not had the spending power of Roy Keane and Paul Jewell from day one, and has done remarkably well; given his very limited financial backing to keep the Blues in this division.

Mick McCarthy appears to believe that the vast majority of Town fans like what he does and wants him to stay but poll after poll suggest otherwise.

A staggering 72 % of supporters think that his contract should not be renewed according to a 24 hour Twitter feed and this is in keeping with the other polls conducted here and elsewhere.

Mick McCarthy intimated that all managers need to be loved. That might be true but the best way to get some the hugs and kisses is by playing some football that supporters love.

The last three games suggest it is not beyond the realms of possibility to achieve just that, so listen up Mick, it might not be too late after all, to try to turn the tide.


Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich