Victim of Circumstances

As Tommy Miller finds himself making his way out of the Portman Road exit door for the third time in his career, he might be entitled to look back wistfully and wonder if he has been dealt an unfortunate hand.

On the face of things, the appointment of Roy Keane as Ipswich manager was always likely to spell the end of Tommy Millers Ipswich career. Deemed surplus to requirements by the same manager at Sunderland, it would not have surprised many if the same fate befell him again.

However, whilst then Millers release as his contract expires is not a surprise, it is perhaps more intriguing to learn that Jim Magilton had intended for the same outcome, had he remained as manager.

Two of the biggest complaints about Magiltons time as manager, and perhaps factors in his eventual dismissal, were his perseverence with what appeared to be an experimental squad rotation system and the surplus of central midfielders he surrounded himself with. It could be argued that the former became necessary as a result of the latter.

At the end of the season, having continually alternated midfield partnerships hopeful that one of them would gel, the number of appearances made by each of them make curious reading.

David Norris leads the way with 35 appearances, most of which having been achieved at right midfield, followed by Alan Quinn on 28 appearances, most of which having been achieved at left midfield. After this, it makes revealing reading as just two behind is Tommy Miller on 26 appearances. He finishes ahead of Garvan (22), Shumulikoski (22) and Campo (14).

It was a season where no single player managed to truly hold down a position in central midfield, yet of all the players who could claim it was their primary position this season, Miller managed to appear more than anybody else.

On this basis, it suggests that Miller was the player in which Magilton showed most trust. Miller must therefore feel quite hard done by to find himself the first one out of the door come the end of the season.

It may simply be the case that he has found his contract expiring at just the wrong time in comparison to several other teammates who could just as conceivably have also found themselves leaving. Its questionable whether Miller would have found a role in the Keane-era anyway, but with such a surplus of midfielders, the decision on who goes first was made simple for the new manager by the expiry of a contract.