Chambers Arrival is Great, But Ipswich Need More of the Same

Luke Chambers: finally a Town player

It was in danger of becoming a 'transfer saga', as it is known in football. No, in fact, it probably was that already.

Luke Chambers arrival at Ipswich on Monday could not have come soon enough for Ipswich supporters, with a worrying sense of deja-vu lurking as negotiations continued to grow more and more drawn out.

Paul Jewell insisted that there was nothing to worry about, that the transfer would be concluded in its own good time.

The trouble is, similar sound-bites have come out of Portman Road in the past. After replacing Roy Keane as manager, Jewell very nearly made Charlie Austin his first signing at the club.

Indeed, the former Swindon hot-shot was in Ipswich to complete a medical, fees had been agreed and everything else just appeared to be a formality. Then, out of the blue, he had a change of heart and joined Burnley.

Throughout the Jewell tenure there have been similar stories of near misses in the transfer market, and for the supporters it was growing more an more frustrating.

Fingers were starting to be pointed. Some blamed the manager, many blamed the chief executive, Simon Clegg. An idiotic minority even argued the problem lied with Marcus Evans – the media and hospitality tycoon who had rescued the club from possible administration just a few seasons before.

So it was little wonder, then, that a few were getting restless when former Forest skipper, Chambers was allowed to head back to the East Midlands and consider his options after passing a medical last week.

Nevertheless, Jewell was proven right, and Chambers signed on the dotted line parallel to much excitement from Town fans who were well aware of his ability at this level.

Yet the harsh reality of the matter is that Ipswich remain a fair way short of what will be required to compete at the top end of the Championship next season.

A few more players in the Chambers mould would go down quite nicely, and there would be a great deal of optimism around the place to go with it.

The fact is, in time like this, clubs need to act fast.

Positive, as you would expect from a new signing, Chambers praised the quality of the players he would be linking up with, but even he was quick to admit the squad was still a little thin on the ground.

“You look at the squad we’ve got, it’s not the biggest squad,” he admitted, “but I think some of the players we’ve got here are of [the] top level.”

A goalkeeper now has to be the top priority for Jewell, with the Town boss keeping his cards close to his chest regarding who that might be.

The club have already lost out to Brighton in their attempts to lure former Manchester United keeper, Tomasz Kuzsczak.

As things stand, the Blues only have one registered goalkeeper on their books in Arran Lee-Barrett; a solid, dependable sort, but arguably not the man help Ipswich into the play-offs.

Almost typically, Swiss international goalkeeper, Eldin Jakupović was snatched from Town's grasp by Hull City this week, despite having been on trial.

The fact is, in time like this, clubs need to act fast.

More defensive cover surely has to be another of the areas Jewell will be looking at. With Chambers arrival taking the number of senior central defenders at the club to three, surely at least one more will be required.

For quite a few seasons now there have been concerns over the standard of the defence going into the new campaign, so the sooner that is sorted out, the better.

Questions will undoubtedly be raised as to whether Daryl Murphy will return to the club on a permanent basis next season, too.

The Irishman impressed in a wide midfield role towards the back end of the last campaign, and with the ability to play up front, such a player would certainly be useful.

In fact, the wide areas are among those most in need of strengthening ahead of the new season. Often Town were criticised for a lack of pace last time around, so perhaps that will come into Jewell's thinking.

And finally, a striker. With Jason Scotland and Michael Chopra the two senior players vying for that position, there is definitely a solid foundation to build on there. However, it was a lack of variety in that department last season that often proved to be the team's downfall, so a couple more solid goalscorers certainly would not go amiss.

Overall, though, the squad is coming together. In the second part of last season, things did look much better, which is always encouraging for the upcoming season.

With a strong core to the team now in place it is about building on what the club already have, and making the most of it.

Of course, it remains essential that no more players can be allowed to slip through the net.