The good news is that Town’s injury worries have eased for the trip to Derby County tomorrow night. The bad news is that manager Paul Hurst will lose Tayo Edun through suspension after he picked up two yellows which resulted in a red, at Portman Road on Saturday.
So then who is likely to fill the void? I suppose Freddie Sears could come back into the pack but he could also play Jordan Roberts or indeed Andre Dozzell? A natural replacement may, in fact, be Grant Ward who was on bench warming duties against Villa but did not enter the fray.
Interestingly, although Town had to battle for 55 minutes (stoppage time included) with only ten men against Aston Villa, manager Paul Hurst only brought on two subs and one of those was a forward! We all know how this would have panned out if Mick McCarthy had still been in charge. Apart from the backs-to-the-wall tactics that he would have undoubtedly employed, the likelihood is that this ‘bore the pants off the fans’strategy would have failed miserably anyway.
Paul Hurst is true to his word when he says that sometimes attack is the best form of defence and certainly against Villa it was. It is therefore pleasing to report that Ellis Harrison, Cole Skuse and indeed Jon Nolan have recovered from their minor knocks and should be in the side tomorrow evening.
The Ipswich manager may find that he might have to freshen things up as the game develops because these boys all worked their socks off on Saturday afternoon, but I guess much I think will depend on how the game develops.
Personally, I will like to see Andre Dozzell start, because he can be inspirational and I am afraid Grant Ward does not inspire me in anything like the same way.
As for Freddie Sears, he has largely baffled to deceive when he has come into the side this season and Jordan Roberts is still trying to adjust to a much higher level of English football.
I know that we would all love a win tomorrow – especially as Derby are far from the finished article but all things considered, a draw would be a satisfactory result, as we can expect former players Tom Lawrence and Martyn Waghorn to be going close and of course our old nemesis David Nugent is still wading in with goal or two from the subs bench!
FW. – editor of Vital Ipswich
