News

Chucking Out Time For Norris & McAuley

|
Image for Chucking Out Time For Norris & McAuley

Ipswich Town have officially confirmed that David Norris and Gareth McAuley will be leaving the club having failed to agree new contracts.

Rumours have long been circulating that Norris and McAuley were set to leave once their contracts expire in the summer, with the pair playing their final match for the club in the 4-2 defeat at Leicester City on Saturday. The news comes as no big surprise but will be of some disappointment to Town fans, with both playing a key role for the Blues this season.

“It’s unfortunate because we would have liked to have kept them,” Ipswich manager Paul Jewell told the Official Club Website. “The Club made them fair offers but the players are entitled to do what’s best for them and their families.”

Captain Norris finished the season as top scorer at Portman Road with 11 in all competitions and was voted the Players’ Player Of The Season last week. However, complications in contract negotiations for the 30-year-old first arose in February when he revealed he had turned down a two year deal in the hope of being offered three years. Such an offer was presumably never forthcoming and the former Plymouth Argyle man, who has scored 16 goals in 118 Ipswich appearances since moving from Home Park for £2 million in 2008, will now leave the club on a free transfer. Crystal Palace and Portsmouth had previously expressed an interest in signing Norris in January, whilst Wigan Athletic, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United have also been linked.

Meanwhile the breakdown of negotiations with McAuley appears to have been quite recent. Blues boss Jewell revealed that he had expected the 31-year-old to sign a new deal after agreeing terms with the player in April, but tabloid reports have suggested in recent weeks that the Northern Ireland international, who joined Town from Leicester for around £1.1 million in July 2008, will instead sign for SPL giants Rangers. McAuley, who won last season’s Supporters’ Player Of The Year award, scored 8 goals in 127 appearances for Town, including 3 in all competitions this season.

The departure of Norris and McAuley, combined with the loss of Jonathan Walters last August, somewhat marks the end of an era at Portman Road, with nearly all of former boss Jim Magilton’s signings either having moved on or set to leave this summer. Only Luciano Civelli and Jaime Peters will remain from the pre-Roy Keane era, meaning that the onus is now very much on new manager Jewell to mould his own team during this close season.

‘GMac’ and ‘Chuck’ – thank you for your services, and we bid you farewell.

How do you feel about the departures of David Norris and Gareth McAuley? Is this a disaster for Ipswich Town, or are you confident that Paul Jewell will be able to find good replacements? Have your say on this story by joining Vital Ipswich:

Join The Vital Debate

And keep informed about all the latest Ipswich Town news and rumours by following Vital Ipswich on Facebook and Twitter:

Vital Ipswich on: facebook

Vital Ipswich on: twitter


Share this article

Editor

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *