Thankfully it seems like most of the problems that manager Mick McCarthy has are nice ones.
His squad is getting back to full strength again and if there is one thing to be said for our enforced international break it is that it gives those out through injury more recovery time.
On paper at least the nucleus of the squad is quite good and much improved on last season.
Perhaps that is the primary reason why most of us are still baffled by our indifferent form over the season as a whole so far, although more recent signs are at least encouraging.
The change in our fortunes seemed to occur when Ryan Fraser was injured and it has taken a lot of thinking to find a way of playing effective football without him.
Selecting Brett Pitman in my view has gone a long way to repairing the damage. He is much more than a bit player and is worthy of his place in any championship team and on a personal note I am delighted we are now seeing the benefits of recruiting him.
Throughout his career he has averaged around a goal every two games and in the last two matches that he has played from the off he has netted twice.
In pre-season I watched him score a fabulous goal against Fortuna Dusseldorf, when we went down to a narrow defeat.
Admittedly it was only a friendly but anyone that bore witness to his individual skills will already be aware that he is more than just a fringe player for Ipswich Town football club.
He seems to have been around for a life-time but he is still only twenty seven and arguably his best years are still ahead of him if we use Daryl Murphy as our barometer!
The game on Saturday against Wolves has come too early for Ryan Fraser though and if Luke Hyam or Luke Varney play any part, it will surely be from the bench but David McGoldrick remains doubtful with a groin strain.
Daryl Murphy picked up a calf injury on duty for the Republic of Ireland but this was not the reason he came off after 55 minutes of their crucial second-leg encounter with Bosnia Herzegovina.
It was nothing more than a tactical switch on the part of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane as Shane Long came back into the fray – although I must confess Murphy did look a little jaded by then.
Jimmy Bullard thinks that Ipswich have a real chance of getting promotion this season – even if it is via the play-off’s!
Speaking to Ipswich player he said, “They`ve got as good a chance as anyone else but this league is so tight, it`s all about staying in the mix over Christmas and then taking your chance…
but I think Ipswich will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.”
Let us hope he is right and our manager could well be spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting his best on Saturday afternoon against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Portman Road.
Frank Weston Editor of Vital Ipswich
Share this article
Related Articles
