Now that winning away from home doesnt appear to be a problem, much of it is being put down to our five new signings and the new mentality we have developed. Several players have credited the impact the new players have made and that the squad is now very strong. But can it be too strong?
As Richard Naylor and Dean Bowditch have passed each other going in opposite directions towards and away from the first team, both have mentioned the strength of the current squad. In particular, mentioning Sylvain Legwinski and Gavin Williams, two players who would have probably been in our first choice XI last year, but no longer even find themselves in the first team squad.
Its great to have strength in depth, it gives the manager options. But not all of them are positive. With a large squad, its impossible to keep all the players even remotely happy and that can breed discontent in the squad. The last time Ipswich had this kind of luxury was in 2001/02 when the club experienced relegation amid much rumoured squad unrest. Back in those days, you often forgot that certain players were even at the club anymore, as time passed since they were last mentioned in a first team squad. It led to resentment, particularly towards the newer players coming into the squad for big transfer fees and big wages.
No-one can blame the club for looking to give us the best chance of getting promotion. But for Amir Karic, Ulrich Le Pen, Richard Naylor, Fabian Wilnis and Thomas Gaardsoe, read Liam Trotter, Sylvain Legwinski, Dean Bowditch, Gavin Williams and Gary Roberts. A manager would describe these kind of squad selection problems as a good problem to have, but lets hope that Jim is able to manage it better than it has been previously.
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