Ipswich Town Line-Up: Who Will Start in Defence for Mick McCarthy in 2015/16?

The air around Portman Road ahead of the 2015/16 campaign is one that fans have scarcely seen before. Not only is the pre-season optimism off the charts, but for the first time in many a season, it’s more than justifiable.

Manager Mick McCarthy has transformed Ipswich Town into a team to be feared in the fiercely competitive and unpredictable Championship, and his summer recruits have only bolstered his armoury.

However, while the likes of Brett Pitman, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Ryan Fraser have provided ample reasons for supporters to rest on the club’s attacking laurels, the back line could well need tweaking.

Ipswich Hunting Defensive Perfection

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You don’t need to be a genius to work this one out: Ipswich Town’s defensive performances last term were excellent—and the figures are there to back that up.

The line of Tyrone Mings, Tommy Smith, Christophe Berra and skipper Luke Chambers was breached just 54 times in the 2014/15 season—the fifth-best record in the division.

So, why all the doom and gloom? Well, it appears that, all of a sudden, the defence is Town’s Achilles heel.

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Mings has been shipped off to Bournemouth, Chambers isn’t getting any closer to becoming a natural right-back and Smith looks more shaky by the game.

The answer appears a logical one, then: bring the captain into the heart of defence and drop the inconsistent Smith. Fan John Collis was one of many criticising the New Zealand international on Twitter:

It all adds up to the fact that Town need a full-back who can keep up with pacy wingers—just ask new signing Fraser about that one.

On both occasions when the Tractor Boys entertained Bournemouth last season, the Scot was seemingly told to get at Chambers and run him around… and it worked.

So, is the answer to give Jonny Parr a chance on the right side of defence?

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The Norwegian certainly has the pace and game-reading ability to stay tight to any player that the Championship can throw at him, as he proved whenever given the chance in 2014/15.

Plus, his eye for getting forward is far more tuned in than that of Chambers, while his delivery and ability to cut inside will be a serious threat.

Still, fans aren’t convinced by Parr’s dynamic ability, including Joe Fairs:

That could well be why McCarthy has deployed the 26-year-old primarily in midfield, but there’s another reason why he may not get the nod at right-back in 2015/16—the presence of new star Jonas Knudsen on the opposite flank.

Knudsen arrived at Portman Road from Esbjerg for a reported £250,000, and he has one very handy attribute at his disposal: an incredibly long throw-in.

Speaking with BBC Sport, the Denmark international revealed why he’s been branded the “new Rory Delap”:

"My dad also did it [long throw ins] when he played. When you're a kid you look up to your dad. I see him make the throw ins, and as a little kid I did it and now it's one of my good things."

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It’s hard to say just how big a weapon Knudsen’s long throw will be for the Blues, but it would hardly be surprising to see McCarthy take up a Tony Pulis-style approach.

That would make having three commanding defenders on the pitch very useful indeed, with Smith and Berra trotting forward every time the ball goes into touch.

Besides, the fact that the duo scored 11 goals between them last season rather speaks volumes.

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So, although we may have to endure many more games of watching Chambers drift wearily out of position and, occasionally, wondering how Smith earns a living, take solace in the fact that the gaffer knows exactly what he’s doing.

Should Ipswich keep the defensive core intact and once again reap goalscoring and solidity benefits, the argument for a more natural, pacy set-up will once again peter out into nothingness.