Is manager Paul Cook losing the plot? His attempts to keep misfit winger Gwion Edwards at the club were baffling, to put it mildly. In fairness, Town supporters had seen a lot more of Edwards than our manager and his coaching staff had seen, but I thought they would have seen enough to know he was not up to much. We know Edwards is a flair player with undoubted technical ability, but he became woefully profligate with it.
He always tried to take on another man on the byeline when a cross was the easy option, and when he did eventually get the ball over, he was an expert at finding the goalkeeper’s gloves. His free-kicks were also invariably misplaced and either went into the wall – or into the stands behind the goal. In one instance, he took a free kick that missed the goalmouth entirely and ended up in the stand that faced the pitch. Cook was present that day.
Now we hear that Cook is happy to see Flynn Downes leave the club. Why? Is the player unsettled again? I remember, as the wheels came off our promotion push, Downes put in a transfer request to try to force a move to Crystal Palace, but I assumed that this was water under the bridge. The Eagles had two bids in the region of £2million turned down by the Tractor Boys, but Downes was determined to go to the Premier League club. In the end, owner Marcus Evans did not approve the move, and Downes spent several months in the reserves under former boss Paul Lambert, by way of punishment for his audaciousness!
Lee O’Neill, Ipswich’s general manager of football operations said at the time, “We have received two bids for Flynn over the last week or two, but they are nowhere near the club’s valuation. Marcus rejected them straight away, and he has spoken personally to Flynn to make him aware of the club’s position. We fully understand why a move to the Premier League would appeal to him, but until the club receives an offer that meets our valuation, there is no decision to make. We want to keep Flynn here because he is seen as a key part of our plans.”
So then, have things changed? Flynn Downes is, in my view, one of the few players at Cooks disposal who is worth keeping, so why should he imply that he is surplus to requirements? I find some of the decisions made by our manager recently rather bewildering, and the news that Barnsley are reportedly set to launch a bid to sign Ipswich Town’s homegrown star Flynn Downes is very disappointing. The question that we need to ask too is whether this is a good fit for Downes. He is a talented 21-year-old with ambition but is a move to South Yorkshire really his calling?
Barnsley are not Crystal Palace. They are a Championship side. I doubt whether they could afford anything like as much as Palace offered, so let’s hope that club is not persuaded to sell.
Why are we so upset at losing any of the current crop of under achieving players?! It’s the same lot who 3 years ago got us relegated and have had 2 seasons to get in the top 6 and failed miserably! If anyone is to be kept it should be dozzel as his football brain was always so far ahead of the numpties around him. Time and time again he looked for someone to make a forward motion and decisive move yet they just stood there applying for the position as the statue on the spare plinth at Piccadilly Circus!!
I am not disappointed at losing the current crop Kevin, but with the notable exception of one. Flynn Downes might not have been at his best in the back half of the season but he is far and away our best midfielder, and this is a view shared by our former captain and longest-serving player Mick Mills.
As for Andre Dozzell, he can go. He is a luxury we cannot afford. His game is all about providing inch-perfect passes but this is an attribute that does not justify his inclusion in the team, as it is far too occasional. He drifts in and out of matches with regularity and we cannot afford to have any passengers if we are aiming to find our true destination. If you like him so much Kevin, then please have the courtesy of spelling his name correctly.
Hi Frank
Apologies for the typo, no excuse on my part. As to Andre, I truly believe he has the ability to return us to ‘where we belong’ with forward thinking players around him. Too many times he gets the ball and has zero options to move us forward, this I believe leads to a frustration within him and more bookings i think than anyone else because of it. A vicious circle that is all too evident. It’s no coincidence that clubs higher up the leagues have expressed interest in his ability we are not geared up to utilise (sadly). As to Downes, another player spoilt by what’s around him but even worse I feel whose head was turned by Palace a year ago and of which hasn’t been right since. Kevin
You make some fair points Kevin. Dozzell has undoubted ability, and his talents might well be rewarded in better company in a higher league. Downes, head might well have turned when that Palace offer came in, but I think he has put that idea to bed since and his loss of form is more likely to have been as a result of that long-term injury he incurred, and it takes some time to rekindle any form of old.
Edwards, with a wayward free kick and an extraordinary corner in the same half of the game proved to me that he had no place or future here. All too often his headless chicken runs brought little or no reward. There must be someone we could snap up who’s equality ineffective or got just a smidgen more of skill with an end product. Dozzell, with two passes a game is a luxury we can no longer sustain. Spends far too much time looking at the back of disappearing midfielders and defenders that have left him in their shadows. And as for Downes, although he has promised so much, like Dozzell, he too is often looking lost and bewildered at what’s going on around him. But he at least offers something, even in his darkest moments. If we are going to allow Downes to leave then at least get a decent return for one of our better products.
I more or less agree with all your remarks Irvin. I think Downes never really got back to his best after that long-term injury, but if he eventually does go, then he has to depart at the right price for a player with real potential at just 21.
If his heart is no longer in it, then I can understand why he is being pushed out, but otherwise, Cook should let him prove his true worth to the side. He does not score anywhere near enough goals, I admit, but he does have some technical ability and the kind of physicality that all sides need.