A Great Chance.

[Bluemike]

So our worst fears are realised, Norwich City will be back in the Premier League next season while we have yet another crack at getting out of the Championship, but could their success be a big helping hand to our own chances in 2015/16 ? In a nushell yes, I believe it could be a massive boost for us, clearly we have not enjoyed much success agains them in recent seasons and from my point of view I would much rather be playing Boro twice than them.

Losing Norwich, Bournemouth and Watford from this divison gets rid of Three very good teams and Six very tough fixtures, of those coming down I see nothing that look capable of being guaranteed a quick fire return like Norwich have done. Burnley defied all logic by going up in the first place and look certain to lose Danny Ings and two or Three more of their better players, yes they will have these bloody parachute payments but the transition back into the Championship is never easy and they could find it tough at first, a cracxk at top six yes but runaway winners I don't think so. QPR are racked with financial problems and they won't have heard the last of it, I can see a troubled Summer for them and next season could be one of nothing more than average. Hull complete the trio and rightly or wrongly they don't phase me at all, again they will in all probability lose players and much will depend on the managerial situation and how well they spend.

The Three coming up do not look capable of doing a "Brentford", I can see mid table safety for Preston, Bristol City and MK Dons and nothing more. Middlesbrough will be licking their wounds for a few weeks but will most likely be one of the challenges again next time around, although they will lose Patrick Bamford while Leadboots can't possibly score 50 penaties in a season again surely ? Wolves could be up there but much will depend on how many of their stars they can keep hold of, Sako and Dicko may well be off to pastures new. I expect better from Nottingham Forest, Cardiff and possibly Blackburn too but the ones I feel will be the team to beat are Derby, they capitulated this time around but I see them coming back strong next season, probably under a new manager. Nothing else in the division look to have what it takes without massive amounts of signings this Summer.

It is very much going to be what we do that will determine how close we are to our dream, I firmly believe 3 or 4 top signings in the right areas to compliment what we already have will give us as good a chance as anybody. Keeping hold of our better players is a must, add to that a proper number One and RB will firm up the defence just that bit more and give us far better options at CB, for me Bialkowski has disappointed and is not the answer, yes he has moments of brilliance but far too many dodgy moments too, for me Gerks is the better keeper but still not good enough to be our out and out number one next season. With Murphy, Sears and McGoldrick we have good firepower that will score goals, add to that Varney and possibly one other (N.Hunt) ?? and we look fine in attack. This leaves the Midfield and in particular the wide areas, thsi is where we must invest, we are pretty well covered in CM with Skuse, Bru, Bish, add to that Luke Hyam (Remember him) and Tabby and we have plenty of options. I am praying we bring in an attacking wide player and maybe another Jonny Williams type, add to that the expected emergence of Dylan Connolly and hopefully an improved Alex Henshall and again we will have good options.

This is no time for sentiment and I am glad the likes of Ambrose, Chaplow, S,Hunt, Anderson etc are all on their way, we need to move on and improve the squad that bit more, there has been plenty of calls for Ando to be kept on but for me he hasnt done enough, a couple of good performances at the end of the season when he was hoping for a new contract isn't reason to keep hold, where was he the other 8 months ? Hewitt, Marriott and Stewart are clearly not up to it and they too need to be moved on if they havent already.

So for me the early signs are very hopeful, yes there is plenty of signings to come and go at every club but I believe we are not far away from being one of the favourites for a top two spot next season, it is very much up to us and the ambition of ME who I believe will be more flexible with his cheque book in the coming weeks. it's going to be a very interesting couple of months, get it right and we may not need to worry about the bloody play offs !!!

[marko69]

Nice post. What about Tommy? You didn't mention him. What needs to happen in that area? Genuinely asking. Should he stay where he is......, or somewhere else at the back......, or sipping tea with his granny back in NZ?

I think Preston MAY do a Brentford. Worth a punt for play offs.

[ATB]

I agree it's important to keep some or most of our best players but what about Mings?

If the money is right I think we should possibly snatch it up.

Jason Davidson has just been released by West Brom and would be a good replacement for Mings as an attacking left back. He's a regular in the Australian team and as world cup experience and started and did well in the Asian Cup final win against Sth Korea.

He can also play midfield so even if you were to keep Mings he would be a handy addition to the squad.

[Dubai Blue]

Not sure how FFP works these days but unless I am wrong, either ME has to significantly increase his sponsorship deal with the club or we have to offload before we can spend any serious money. I would be sad to see Mings go I think he would be missed at LB and also his balls into the box, like Cressy before him, are valuable for us.

Personally I don't see why ME would change his current approach, he recruited MM partly because of his track record at getting the best out of young diamonds and older underachievers. I'm expecting more of the same and look forward to seeing who MM finds for next season.

[ashfordblue]

If Mick still plays Smith at right side CB then that says it all, its back to square one, Hoof bloody Hoof ball, the back 4 should read Parr, Chambers, Berra, or Smith Left side, and Mings who really needs to sharpen up his mental side of his game, or another LB, Scuse, Bru & Bishop, yes, but I'm sorry Tabb is just a chaser hacker, not a real stand on the ball passer and thinker, I'm not so sure about Hyam either in this department, does a lot of hard work, but both players can be caught out and wanting, nope we need a classy midfielder, one who can stamp his authority on the game, with split hair passing to the front boys, but I do hope also that the two wingers Hewitt & Connolly can step up to the plate, just to open and stretch the opposition Right and left Flank defences, the next season will be no walk in the park trust me, if ME does not invest we will have a very mediocre season, and certainly don't write off the likes of Preston, Bristol City, & MK Dons, I expect the dons to do a Brentford, they will invest in a few better players, all three teams have very astute managers, and as stated I fully expect if out of the FFP ban Forest & Blackburn, to be there or there about's, plus Wolves & Derby to be in the top mix, and watch out for Sheffield Wednesday my dark horses, Hull will be a force as well, but it depends on whether Bruce is still at the helm as to their possible success, so there you have it, if its back to much of the same type of game as this last season where I feel we were fortunate to be in the top half by Christmas, and punched well above our weight, then struggled a bit after that, so hopefully Mick & Marcus have learnt a lesson on what's needed to get auto promotion, and will invest in two or three quality players, but like always its best to see who buys what in the close season, and no more journey men please Mick.

[Bluemike]

You raise most of the points that appear in my opening post, to bring in a proper RB would free up Chambers to be the Cb partnet for Berra with Smith as back up, Tabb would be no more than back up either. As i said we also need to bring in a decent wide player and a Jonny Williams type CM. I think you will see yet more improvement in Mings should he stay, lets not forget where the lad has come from in such a short space of time. Hewitt has gone by the way so he won't be playing anywhere. I have also based my post on ME loosening the purse strings, clearly if he doesnt then no your comment about it being no walk in the park is pretty obvious but not really in keeping with the content of the opening post.

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

You raise most of the points that appear in my opening post, to bring in a proper RB would free up Chambers to be the Cb partnet for Berra with Smith as back up, Tabb would be no more than back up either. As i said we also need to bring in a decent wide player and a Jonny Williams type CM. I think you will see yet more improvement in Mings should he stay, lets not forget where the lad has come from in such a short space of time. Hewitt has gone by the way so he won't be playing anywhere. I have also based my post on ME loosening the purse strings, clearly if he doesnt then no your comment about it being no walk in the park is pretty obvious but not really in keeping with the content of the opening post.

Let's just wait and see what sort of 'loosening of purse strings' there is, before we go and make predictions that we're gonna be one of the favourites for promotion next season.

We all know what we need to be able to improve on last season - tighten up the defence and score goals from midfield. And that certainly will not be achieved by bringing in journeymen.

There's gonna be a number of teams with potentially a real shout - Hull, Middlesboro, Derby, Wolves, Blackburn, Fulham, Forest, and ourselves come immediately to mind and that's without having to think. Plus there's always at least one surprise from the clubs coming up. They can't all get promotion. The winners will be the teams that buy wisely to supplement what they already have with quality, who play attractive football, and who will bust their guts for the cause. We're ok on the last point, but severely lacking on the first 2.

We'll know by the start of the season exactly how committed ME is to making it a promotion season.

[number 9]

http://www.twtd.co.uk/ipswich-town-news/27482/

This is encouraging news...

[Bluemike]

But nowhere have I said we are "One of the favourites " what I actually said was :-

It is very much going to be what we do that will determine how close we are to our dream, I firmly believe 3 or 4 top signings in the right areas to compliment what we already have will give us as good a chance as anybody.

And

So for me the early signs are very hopeful, yes there is plenty of signings to come and go at every club but I believe we are not far away from being one of the favourites for a top two spot next season, it is very much up to us and the ambition of ME

All I am trying to do is get across that in my opinion that we really arent that far away from being real contenders, every man and his dog on here and everywhere else just stated for the last 9 months we wouldnt make the play offs, but we did.

[hallamblue]

Agree with you Mike. We all know which positions need sorykng out , as does MM/TC. We also have at least 3 youngsters that will be making debuts next season. Town are making very good, steady progress. I can only see next season being better than this one. Ifbthe bokies ard only offering 16/1 on Town , Id snap their grubbie Hands off - and not a getting person.

[marko69]

Agree with you Mike. We all know which positions need sorykng out , as does MM/TC. We also have at least 3 youngsters that will be making debuts next season. Town are making very good, steady progress. I can only see next season being better than this one. Ifbthe bokies ard only offering 16/1 on Town , Id snap their grubbie Hands off - and not a getting person.

Is this half Suffolk, half Icelandic, Hallam?

[hallamblue]

Pmsl! No its half narfalk...went to Banham zoo yesterday afternoon, picked up some nasty narfalk speak , i fear!!






cheeky sod!

[arana peligrosa]

Agree with you Mike. We all know which positions need sorykng out , as does MM/TC. We also have at least 3 youngsters that will be making debuts next season. Town are making very good, steady progress. I can only see next season being better than this one. Ifbthe bokies ard only offering 16/1 on Town , Id snap their grubbie Hands off - and not a getting person.

All depends on what occurs this close season. Could be some significant departures and could be hard to duplicate what we have just achieved i.e. our best season for 10 years. We missed out on a promotion this year due in part to being too inconsistent and dropping points at cruical stages of the season and unless that can be eradicated it will largely be the same story next time. It would be a fine achievement to once again reach the top six but right now have some doubts. This is one of the hardest leagues in the country to get out of and be successful, and while the team has improved since recent years, it's merely a case of wait and see what the future brings.

[marko69]

Got to be honest......, I really can't see anyone departing. And if some do depart, where they going? No one is good enough for the EPL, Mings included......., so where to? Might as well stay at ITFC with every chance of fighting for the play offs again......, and the money will be competitive with the Championship I would assume.
Obviously if MM recruits, then some may be surplus to requirements, but they'll no doubt head to a team like Huddersfield.

[number 9]

I see we've been linked with a Rotheram mid-fielder...oh dear.

[Bluemike]

Ben Pringle is a decent player.

[Shed on tour]

Ben Pringle is a decent player.

Agreed, would be happy if he decided to come to us.

[phily bon bon]

Ben Pringle is a decent player.

Agreed, would be happy if he decided to come to us.

Agreed but sounds like more of the same as we had last season. Nobody expects Pogba of Fabragas to walk through the door,but maybe one or two of chelskis or Arsenals 36 midfielders with an eye for the goal would be promising. The big four or five have 70+ players in the lower premier League and championship Clubs maybe we could look at some of them.
Its all very early days yet so no need to panick captain Mannering.

[number 9]

Here's a few comments on Pringle on Rotheram's forum:
http://www.bantup.com/rotherhamunited/p ... -ward/9438