Now then, I am quite sure not everyone will agree with me, but here is my surplus to requirements list for the forthcoming season. Before you suggest that this could apply to the whole Ipswich Town squad, I think we should narrow it down to the players who have either consistently underperformed, or conversely, through persistent injury, have rarely kicked a ball in earnest – if at all!
Number one on my list would have to be Tom Adeyemi. He moved to Ipswich Town at the end of June 2017, after rejecting offers from several other clubs. His debut for Town was delayed, after he contracted an illness soon after his arrival, followed shortly after by a calf strain when returned to training. He finally made his first appearance for the club as a second-half substitute for Flynn Downes in a game that we lost to QPR. Then a hamstring injury ensured that he would play no further part until January of the next year when he suffered another injury playing for the under 23’s and lasted just 32 minutes. He was then sidelined again for another three months and manager Mick McCarthy said he would not play again that season.
Since then Adeyemi has suffered further injury problems after damaging his Achilles too and former boss Paul Hurst once said that he should “grit his teeth” and get over it and suggested that another player, who had a similar injury, was training every day! Paul Lambert has also not been able to call on the former Norwich player’s services and that itself is reason enough to say that he would be top of my list for the chop!
The remaining players I have a little more sympathy for but I still believe that they are surplus to requirements in the league below. Jonas Knudsen also has a Canary link but a much more favourable one, in that he has a nice habit of scoring against them! Sadly his defending leaves a lot more to be desired and anyway, he knows when he is not liked and is eager to pack his bags.
Grant Ward will be another player that I don’t think we should keep. Yes, he incurred a bad injury that curtailed his playing time this term but more than that he is a bit reckless, as we witnessed against Aston Villa last season when he was red carded. We cannot forget his 39-minute hat-trick on his debut under Mick McCarthy against Barnsley, in that 4-2 victory at Portman Road of course, but since then, has largely under-achieved. He is not a very intelligent player and far too often shoots when he should be passing and passes when he should be shooting. I find him rather irritating if I am honest and his crossing is often below par too so only his speed of action rather than his speed of thought is of any real benefit I suppose.
Others that I would probably add to my must-go list include Danny Rowe, Jordan Roberts, Jordan Spence and Simon Dawkins, who never seems to get much beyond the bench and I cannot see him being around next season.
F.W. – editor of Vital Ipswich
