Bounce Magazine December 2016

DECEMBER DECEMBER 2016 | 2016 ISS UE | 50 ISSUE | SPORT #50
SPORT
while David McGoldrick was once again on the
treatment table.
COULD THIS TRIO TURN THINGS
AROUND FOR MICK MCCARTHY
AND IPSWICH TOWN?...
I feel I have been a bit too negative
on this page in recent months.
It’s been hard. The football has been less
than entertaining, the crowds have dwindled
and many of those that have remained have
been happy to voice their disapproval –
even during games.
Social media, the
perfect platform to vent
frustrations, has been
predictably awash with
#mickout hashtags and
the like.
The first note should be
that the likes of Twitter
and fans’ forums are often
going to be filled by the
vocal minority.
Mick McCarthy still has a lot
of goodwill on the terraces
and certainly within both the
dressing room and the owner’s office.
He has time to turn the run of form, and the
lack of entertainment, around.
And while I have my doubts for quite a few
months now, the time has come to truly
judge the man in the Portman Road hotseat.
He could argue, rightly, that he has been
unfortunate with injuries – that he had no
choice to play the infamous Skuglas (Cole
Skuse and Jonathan Douglas) while Teddy
Bishop was injured.
Fair and accurate though they are, those excuses
cannot be used anymore.
McGoldrick is back, and almost firing after his
late equaliser against Rotherham and World Cup
qualifying cameo for the Republic of Ireland.
Bishop is finally getting a run of games under his
belt and while he has looked on the periphery of
some matches, class is permanent – when used
right.
Making up an exciting, if injury-plagued, trio of
talent is Jonny Williams who is also showing signs
of getting back to his match best.
One of those three would make a difference to
any Championship side. Add two or three to the
melting point and Ipswich should be climbing
back up towards those coveted top six spots.
Of course, by the time you read
this, any of the aforementioned
threesome could be back on the
sidelines.
Their injury record is dire and I
couldn’t have been the only one
watching the recent internationals
hoping and praying that they
return unscathed. Ipswich’s hopes
of achieving anything this season
rests on McGoldrick, Williams and
Bishop staying fit – and firing.
The trio could also be the
difference between McCarthy
winning back the fans or seeing
the #mickout grow stronger.
May I wish all the Bounce readers a very Merry
Christmas and Happy New Year.
DECEMBER FIXTURES
Saturday 3 December – Bristol City (A))
Saturday 10 December – Cardiff City (H)
Tuesday 13 December – Birmingham City (A))
Saturday 17 December – Wigan Athletic (A)
Monday 26 December – Fulham (H)
Friday 30 December – Bristol City (H - 7.45pm ko)
That he could only play one upfront
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