With the decade almost over, and a long wait until the next league game, it seems like a great opportunity time to reflect on the past decade and cobble together an Ipswich Town XI of the 2010s. With Paul Jewell, Mick McCarthy, Paul Hurst, and Paul Lambert all spending time at the helm during this time, the decade will probably be remembered for a stolid effort to survive, one season of hope, and then a gradual decline to an eventual relegation. The rules are simple, players are judged between their performances from 1st January 2010 to the present day and are purely judged for their on-field Ipswich Town performances during that time. My XI for this rather forgettable decade is:
Bialkowski
C. Edwards – Chambers – Berra – Cresswell
Waghorn – Skuse – Bishop – Lawrence
Murphy – McGoldrick
GK: Bartosz Bialkowski
Three-time Player of the Year (in consecutive seasons) and contributed to the spine of Mick McCarthy Ipswich Town sides that over-achieved in the middle of the decade. For years he was rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship, particularly his performances in a 2016/17 season where we narrowly avoided relegation. However, a poor 2018/19 season culminated in Ipswich’s relegation to League One. Steadily rebuilding his reputation at Millwall.
Honourable mentions: Gerken, Fulop
LB: Aaron Cresswell
Arguably one of the best Ipswich Town left-backs over the past couple of decades, Cresswell always seemed destined for Premier League football following Paul Jewell’s astute decision to sign him from Tranmere. After 132 appearances in an Ipswich shirt, Cresswell has had a solid career at West Ham United and is back in the first-team picture at the Hammers after a poor opening day performance in this season’s 5-0 defeat against Manchester City. He currently has three England caps.
Honourable mentions: Mings, Knudsen
CB: Luke Chambers, Christophe Berra
For a three-season spell between 2013 and 2017, Luke Chambers and Christophe Berra were a reliable centre-back partnership at the heart of the Town defence. With 318 (at time of writing) and 174 appearances respectively, Chambers and Berra contributed to the solitary play-off campaign of the 2010s in the 2014/15 season. Berra’s handball and red card in the semi-final, second leg match against Norwich played a significant part in the eventual defeat. With Berra departing in 2017, the defence never looked quite as solid. Berra is now at Hearts in the Scottish Premier League, while Chambers is still captain at Town, but his ability and reliability has decreased in recent seasons.
Honourable mentions: Webster, McAuley, Tommy Smith
RB: Carlos Edwards
A problem position for Ipswich over much of this decade, Kane Vincent-Young may have the ability and consistency to make the position his own for the coming decade. However, we’d have to go back to Carlos Edwards to find our best right-back of the decade. A model professional and solid captain, Edwards started as a right-winger under Roy Keane, but was moved to right-back under Jewell and won the Player of the Year award for 2011/12.
Honourable mentions: Pennington
LW: Tom Lawrence
Lawrence’s goals and performances in the 2016/17 campaign ultimately kept us in the Championship. Several of Lawrence’s eleven goals in a Town shirt could be included in a Goal of the Season montage and looked like credible winners, particularly his efforts against Preston and Reading. A drink driving offence has sullied his reputation, and possibly his legacy, but his 2016/17 campaign is arguably the gold standard of individual brilliance in an Ipswich shirt over the past decade.
Honourable mentions: Fraser, Celina
CM: Cole Skuse, Teddy Bishop
Two long-time servants of the club, Skuse has 249 caps and Bishop has 78 caps at time of writing. Skuse, one of the top interceptors of the ball in the 2017/18 season, has been a consistent midfielder in Town sides normally accustomed to punching above their weight in the second tier. Bishop, an exciting and naturally gifted midfielder, has been less reliable after a succession of injuries. However, his undoubted ability and impact in the 2014/15 play off season, along with being a rare positive in struggling 2016/17 and 2018/19 seasons, ensures Bishop deserves his place in the team and edges the equally injury-prone, but talented, Jonny Williams. It will be interesting to see how an ageing Skuse and Bishop, without an appearance so far this season, will contribute to Town’s fortunes over the next few years.
Honourable mentions: J.Williams, N'Daw, Leadbetter
RW: Martyn Waghorn
The Martyn Waghorn show in 2017/18 saw us finish as a solid, mid-table side. A team that looked more than the sum of our parts with Waghorn in it. Notching double figures for both goals and assists, the departure of Waghorn was one of the primary factors in our goalscoring issues in 2018/19 and subsequent relegation. His effectiveness from set pieces, and ability to create something in an otherwise stodgy-looking side, were under-rated abilities we arguably still have not replaced.
Honourable mentions: Grant Ward
ST: Daryl Murphy, David McGoldrick
We have a few options here - which informed my decision to line up in a 4-4-2 formation - with McCarthy’s Town sides typically containing three or four potent strikers in a squad. Freddie Sears’ impact in 2014/15 and his longevity at Portman Road also deserves as a mention, as does the promising potential of Connor Wickham at the start of the decade. Brett Pitman also had a knack of being a goalscoring threat with a penchant for an overhead kick. However, there can only be two candidates here. Daryl Murphy, our all time 12th top goal scorer, alongside the smooth footballing skills of David McGoldrick was our most potent strike-force in the 2010s. Murphy only really took off in Town colours in his third spell at the club, when he joined permanently. His goalscoring prowess in the 2014/15 season, where he dragged us into the top six by plundering 27 league goals, was an emphatic response to doubters of Murphy’s talent. McGoldrick, a more enigmatic talent, was a composed and efficient striker with 45 goals in 142 Town appearances. Injury-prone, he finally achieved a sustained run in the first team and promotion to the Premier League, albeit with Sheffield United after departing Ipswich on a free transfer.
Honourable mentions: Sears, Pitman, Wickham
Who would be in yours?
Bialkowski
C. Edwards – Chambers – Berra – Cresswell
Waghorn – Skuse – Bishop – Lawrence
Murphy – McGoldrick
GK: Bartosz Bialkowski
Three-time Player of the Year (in consecutive seasons) and contributed to the spine of Mick McCarthy Ipswich Town sides that over-achieved in the middle of the decade. For years he was rated as one of the best goalkeepers in the Championship, particularly his performances in a 2016/17 season where we narrowly avoided relegation. However, a poor 2018/19 season culminated in Ipswich’s relegation to League One. Steadily rebuilding his reputation at Millwall.
Honourable mentions: Gerken, Fulop
LB: Aaron Cresswell
Arguably one of the best Ipswich Town left-backs over the past couple of decades, Cresswell always seemed destined for Premier League football following Paul Jewell’s astute decision to sign him from Tranmere. After 132 appearances in an Ipswich shirt, Cresswell has had a solid career at West Ham United and is back in the first-team picture at the Hammers after a poor opening day performance in this season’s 5-0 defeat against Manchester City. He currently has three England caps.
Honourable mentions: Mings, Knudsen
CB: Luke Chambers, Christophe Berra
For a three-season spell between 2013 and 2017, Luke Chambers and Christophe Berra were a reliable centre-back partnership at the heart of the Town defence. With 318 (at time of writing) and 174 appearances respectively, Chambers and Berra contributed to the solitary play-off campaign of the 2010s in the 2014/15 season. Berra’s handball and red card in the semi-final, second leg match against Norwich played a significant part in the eventual defeat. With Berra departing in 2017, the defence never looked quite as solid. Berra is now at Hearts in the Scottish Premier League, while Chambers is still captain at Town, but his ability and reliability has decreased in recent seasons.
Honourable mentions: Webster, McAuley, Tommy Smith
RB: Carlos Edwards
A problem position for Ipswich over much of this decade, Kane Vincent-Young may have the ability and consistency to make the position his own for the coming decade. However, we’d have to go back to Carlos Edwards to find our best right-back of the decade. A model professional and solid captain, Edwards started as a right-winger under Roy Keane, but was moved to right-back under Jewell and won the Player of the Year award for 2011/12.
Honourable mentions: Pennington
LW: Tom Lawrence
Lawrence’s goals and performances in the 2016/17 campaign ultimately kept us in the Championship. Several of Lawrence’s eleven goals in a Town shirt could be included in a Goal of the Season montage and looked like credible winners, particularly his efforts against Preston and Reading. A drink driving offence has sullied his reputation, and possibly his legacy, but his 2016/17 campaign is arguably the gold standard of individual brilliance in an Ipswich shirt over the past decade.
Honourable mentions: Fraser, Celina
CM: Cole Skuse, Teddy Bishop
Two long-time servants of the club, Skuse has 249 caps and Bishop has 78 caps at time of writing. Skuse, one of the top interceptors of the ball in the 2017/18 season, has been a consistent midfielder in Town sides normally accustomed to punching above their weight in the second tier. Bishop, an exciting and naturally gifted midfielder, has been less reliable after a succession of injuries. However, his undoubted ability and impact in the 2014/15 play off season, along with being a rare positive in struggling 2016/17 and 2018/19 seasons, ensures Bishop deserves his place in the team and edges the equally injury-prone, but talented, Jonny Williams. It will be interesting to see how an ageing Skuse and Bishop, without an appearance so far this season, will contribute to Town’s fortunes over the next few years.
Honourable mentions: J.Williams, N'Daw, Leadbetter
RW: Martyn Waghorn
The Martyn Waghorn show in 2017/18 saw us finish as a solid, mid-table side. A team that looked more than the sum of our parts with Waghorn in it. Notching double figures for both goals and assists, the departure of Waghorn was one of the primary factors in our goalscoring issues in 2018/19 and subsequent relegation. His effectiveness from set pieces, and ability to create something in an otherwise stodgy-looking side, were under-rated abilities we arguably still have not replaced.
Honourable mentions: Grant Ward
ST: Daryl Murphy, David McGoldrick
We have a few options here - which informed my decision to line up in a 4-4-2 formation - with McCarthy’s Town sides typically containing three or four potent strikers in a squad. Freddie Sears’ impact in 2014/15 and his longevity at Portman Road also deserves as a mention, as does the promising potential of Connor Wickham at the start of the decade. Brett Pitman also had a knack of being a goalscoring threat with a penchant for an overhead kick. However, there can only be two candidates here. Daryl Murphy, our all time 12th top goal scorer, alongside the smooth footballing skills of David McGoldrick was our most potent strike-force in the 2010s. Murphy only really took off in Town colours in his third spell at the club, when he joined permanently. His goalscoring prowess in the 2014/15 season, where he dragged us into the top six by plundering 27 league goals, was an emphatic response to doubters of Murphy’s talent. McGoldrick, a more enigmatic talent, was a composed and efficient striker with 45 goals in 142 Town appearances. Injury-prone, he finally achieved a sustained run in the first team and promotion to the Premier League, albeit with Sheffield United after departing Ipswich on a free transfer.
Honourable mentions: Sears, Pitman, Wickham
Who would be in yours?
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