We will all miss him and not just on the playing field. His acts of generosity are well documented and although his time with Town was all too brief he will be remembered here for a very long time.
As for Ipswich Town football club, few would complain too vociferously about this deal. The blues get the bulk of the 8 million pounds transfer fee in one installment and on top of this, there are add-on’s should he move elsewhere – or is recognized at international level, which one day he surely must.
Having suffered so many bad deals under Nigel Clegg due to his complete lack of football nous, it is re-assuring to know that these days, with Ian Milne largely responsible for this type of negotiation, Town are finally starting to reap the rewards.
Mings has signed a four year deal with Bournemouth and although he had been closely monitored by Arsenal and Chelsea; along with interest from West Brom, Newcastle and Crystal Palace, he said that it was the promise of regular first team football and manager Eddie Howe that convinced him that this was the place to be.
Going in the opposite direction are strikers Brett Pitman on a permanent three year deal and Ryan Frazer coming on a season long loan deal.
Both players are young enough to make an impact and Brett Pitman is at the very peak of his powers as a centre-forward at 27 and Frazer is just 21 and has already impressed in the Championship. Pitman scored 14 goals in the Championship last season and is Bournemouth’s fourth highest goal scorer of all time scoring 102 goals in just 174 appearances! Not bad for a 27 year old!
From an attacking perspective, both players give Town the zest they need going forward and with the spare dosh deposited in the blues bank account, we can only hope manager Mick McCarthy finds another midfielder and ideally some one who actually scores goals!
All in all then this is a great deal for the Tractor Boys. We are of course all sad to see Tyrone go because he was more than just a footballer and touched the hearts of so many – including his mum’s for showing huge amounts of compassion in so many different ways.
As a player he can only improve because he is far from the finished article as he himself would be the first to admit.
With The Cherries though he has picked a club that will give him a chance – which is more than can be said of most clubs in the Premiership these days sadly.
When we consider that Town only paid a paltry 10,000 quid for him when we acquired his services from Chippenham Town, it makes this deal even more astonishing and mouth-watering!
Marcus Evans refrained from selling him a year ago and now he is seeing the benefits of holding on tight to a star talent, until an offer came in that he and Mick simply could not refuse.
Eddie Howe is getting a model professional. He is only too aware that Tyrone’s learning curve is a work in progress but Mings has the potential not to disappoint and on a personal level I thank him for his services to Ipswich Town and wish him all the very best of luck for the future and I am sure this is echoed by all true blue supporters. This is the very least he deserves.
It is a rare thing to say in the modern football era but with this deal it seems that everyone is a winner!
Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich
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