So Where Do Town Go From Here?

It has been, without a shadow of doubt, a hugely disappointing season so far so where do we go from here?

Our stop-start spluttering season has prevented us from obtaining back wins and although our performance at home to Reading at the weekend was encouraging, it is only the first step to climbing to the Everest of English football, which of course is the Premier League pinnacle.

Tom Lawrence has been in inspired form since he joined us but we cannot rely on him to score every week and it is only a matter of time before his prolific scoring spell comes to an abrupt end.

So who will fill his boots? David McGoldrick is, I guess, the obvious choice as he is back to full fitness and gaining in confidence week on week. All he needs now is a few goals to add to his overall repertoire.

Freddie Sears has been playing for far too long out of position and it will take him some time to rekindle his former goal scoring prowess but he has ability and is a workaholic on the football field, which is a real plus.

Brett Pitman seemed to be scoring for fun, until he incurred another injury and although I know he does not like the idea, he seems to score more goals from the bench than when he starts.

Kieffer Moore is as green as a cucumber at this level but with time he may serve us well up front. McCarthy and his squad have been good over the years at smoothing out those rough edges and in his case, we will just have to wait and see?

Midfield is an area where goals are hard to come by but I am hoping that a fully fit Teddy Bishop and newcomer Emyr Huws (who looks like a quality player) can bolster our goal tally in this department.

If Tommy Smith returns to the fold soon then we can look forward to more goals from defence too and I expect Steve Taylor to be on the scoresheet sooner or later – although many would argue he could have had one at each end last weekend!

So where do we go from here? Hopefully in the right direction and much will depend perhaps on not only the result against Villa next Saturday but arguably more importantly, the performance!

Supporters can tolerate defeat if their team plays well but let’s face it, a mere flurry of snow does not make a winter, just as one swallow does not make a summer.

Frank Weston – Editor of Vital Ipswich