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Mick Relies On the Nearly Men Again.

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There is little room again to invest and already manager Mick McCarthy is back to using his well worn mantra of recruiting from within – or at least, getting a few loan players in and the odd out of contract freebie in the process.

This time, perhaps relying on youth might not be such a bad thing because at the back end of last term, a few of the new kids on the block had a chance to prove themselves and they did!

Add to that the fact that six of the nearly men among our ranks have just signed professional contracts and the prospects for continued development under the watchful eye of Mr.Klug is the cause for renewed Town optimism.

We do however need reinforcements in key areas and I suppose with the strengthening of our defence thanks to the acquisition of Adam Webster this has become far less of a priority now.

That said, we need speed up the flanks and goalscorers in midfield and this is something that still urgently needs addressing!

Town have confirmed that new kids Monty Patterson, Jacob Marsden, James Blanchfield, George Fowler, Chris Smith and Shane McLoughlin have all agreed to one-year deals and this includes an option for a further season if all parties are agreed.

I think Irishman Shane Mcloughlin has real promise and of course we cannot underestimate young New Zealander Monty Patterson, who excelled for New Zealand in the Oceania Nations Cup recently, after missing more than seven months of last season with a serious ankle injury so this news is very encouraging too.

The young players who got their baptism at the back end of last season will be all the better for the experience. Josh Emmanuel and Myles Kenlock have come on leaps and bounds over the last few months and manager Mick McCarthy is delighted with their progress.

“Josh Emmanuel was excellent in the games that he played and I said to him and to Myles Kenlock, don`t be coming back as two daft young lads around the place, you`re first-team squad members and you`ve got to get in the team. I think we`ve got two good young full-backs who are challenging for first team involvement now,’ Mccarthy said.

Let us hope so and let us hope too that young Teddy Bishop and Andre Dozzell can continue to improve and remain injury free and then things are certainly looking up!

I remember watching both Russell Osman and Terry Butcher make their debuts for Town and many other local lads too and there is no finer thing than to see one of your own come through and make the grade and I sincerely hope that the future remains bright for this gang and all that follow in their footsteps.


Frank Weston – editor of Vital Ipswich

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