Two of the big Ipswich Town players that are out of contract at the end of this season are Jason Scotland and Grant Leadbitter. Interestingly, the equaliser against Crystal Palace came from an intelligent pass by Leadbitter which was finished off powerfully by Scotland. On the whole, neither player has been particularly popular amongst Ipswich fans this season, even though between the two of them they have bagged a large percentage of the team’s goals.
Leadbitter in particular has hit some real fine form of late and has shown what he could potentially offer the team next season. However, with financial fair play rules coming in and both players no doubt requesting decent wages there is a pretty strong argument to justify letting them go. It is a pretty tough call to make and is made even harder by Scotland scoring a cracker on Saturday.
After looking over Paul Jewell’s recent comments about the out of contract players, it is clear that some kind of deal has either already been offered or will be offered to the two players this month. It is also likely that Scotland won’t be offered wages anywhere near what he is being paid now but Leadbitter on the other hand , will be offered a decent amount because he has other clubs interested in him. I am sceptical as to whether Jewell has made the right choice by trying to keep both players for next season.
Firstly, let’s talk about Leadbitter. The former Sunderland man had an impressive start to his Ipswich career and many fans singled him out as our best player when he first arrived at Portman Road. Since then he has never really looked anything above average and fans have gradually lost their faith in him. Leadbitter has been at the club long enough for everyone to know his strengths and weaknesses so everyone knows what they are getting next season if he stays.
For me, he has never really done anything to show he can perform consistently above par at Championship level which means you can’t really justify giving him the wages he earns. It is likely that recent impressive performances from Leadbitter have been down to the fact that he knows he needs to impress someone or he won’t be earning a lot at Ipswich or anywhere else for that matter. Additionally, it was surprising to see Leadbitter take the captains armband for a large part of this season as he has never really come across as a player with the right attitude or commitment to drive a team into a top position. One of the major problems with the Ipswich team is the amount of dead wood it is currently holding and Leadbitter certainly falls into that category. It would be very disappointing to see him next season unless he took a very substantial pay cut, chances are if that were offered to him he would probably take a better offer elsewhere anyway.
Moving onto Jason Scotland, the 33 year old striker hasn’t started too many games this season but has contributed with 8 goals. The experienced forward definitely offers something different from what Chopra does and has been a good impact player from the bench on a few occasions this season. At 33 years of age, Scotland is getting well past his prime though and whether the Trinidad and Tobago man can still offer something next season is questionable. He certainly won’t be able to stay on unless he takes he substantial pay cut but even then you have to ask whether his wages could be used for a better cause.
Although both Leadbitter and Scotland impressed on Saturday I don’t think it would be good business from Jewell to renew their contracts, unless they would play for basically next to nothing. Both players may well be solid Championship players but neither can justify the wages they would be receiving. Jewell would be much better using the fact that some players are out of contract as a chance to free up the wage budget and rebuild the team.
You could use the money from both players’ contracts to bring in some hardworking, talented players from the lower leagues who would contribute to an industrious philosophy the team desperately needs. There have been too many games this season where it feels like only a small percentage of the team are giving it their all to grind out results and Ipswich really need everyone pulling in the right direction. The other major reason I would rather see Jewell gamble on lesser known players is because without taking risks the club will never move forward. The squad hasn’t progressed at all since Magilton was sacked and this is because the club are making too many safe signings. You can never move anywhere by taking this approach because you never find hidden gems that have the talent to take the team forward, you just end up paying too much money for big names. It would be a relief to see Jewell cut off the dead wood and bring in more players like Cresswell and Drury from the lower leagues who have shown some real passion and commitment this season.
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