Mick McCarthy Says I Told You So!

Manager Mick McCarthy stated after his fourth successive away victory at The Valley that he was never afraid of what might be when his team suffered a severe bout of under achievement in the dreary months of September and October.

“It`s just as well I don`t get too high or too low and my owner Marcus Evans doesn`t get too high or too low and we`re consistent in what we`re doing,” McCarthy said.

He went on to explain that Marcus Evans does not suffer panic attacks and knee jerk reactions when his side go through a difficult patch.

Town started the season brightly but then went on a barren run that saw the blues win just one game in ten and sink down the table with ever increasing rapidity.

November seems to be a good month for the blues. It was last season and it was this having picked up ten points from a possible twelve and that includes two away victories and eight goals!

Realists among us will argue that our performances of late are nothing more than a false dawn, as the blues have faced relegation threatened sides who have spent most of their time struggling for points at the wrong end of the table.

In fairness though there are no easy games in this league and what perhaps Town needed most of all was a few wins and a few goals from Daryl Murphy. He duly obliged with six goals in his last three outings – having drawn a blank since the beginning of the season until November dramatically changed the landscape.

The big test will come on Friday when the blues face second placed Middlesbrough at Portman Road, in another game featured live on Sky Sports One!

Only then will we know if this is indeed an optical illusion or the real thing and having drawn five of our last six home matches this would be a wonderful time to break this very bad habit.

I have to admit to being rather impressed with Dean Gerken who would surely have claimed the man of the match award had it not been for another couple of goals from Daryl Murphy.

I am still not convinced that he is better than Bartosz Bialkowski but at least he is in form and the moment and long may that continue because he will be tested much more fully than this come Friday night of that we can be certain.

Gerken has always been a good shot stopper but it is the rest of the game that gives me goose bumps every time I watch him play.

Our defence is still anything but assured and that is why when we face The Boro on Friday night we will have to be at our best to get anything from this game I fear.

I was delighted to see Freddie Sears move into a more central attacking role against Charlton that paid almost immediate dividends and I can only hope that manager Mick McCarthy will be tempted to play him there more often.

All three strikers are performing well just now and even if David McGoldrick made a quick recovery from his groin strain the very best he could hope for is a place on the bench.

I lost my bet on an Ipswich draw but seeing Town win means I could not really lose and if you followed my advice then I trust that you see it this way too?

Mick McCarthy has good reason to boast that contrary to what the fans may have thought, on Saturday we bore witness to why Dean Gerken is his number one.

If we continue to pick up points without the usual defensive clangers which has so often ruined the Lord Mayor’s show, then I might just be inclined to agree with him.


Frank Weston Editor of Vital Ipswich