Michael Chopra celebrates scoring after Coventry keeper Joe Murphy had kept out Lee Martin's penalty at Coventry

Experienced players still have a big role to play at Ipswich Town, insists Michael Chopra

By Dave Gooderham
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
2:00 PM

WHEN Michael Chopra was just breaking into professional football, he could look across the dressing room at Alan Shearer and Patrick Kluivert.

A top goalscorer for England, a Champions League matchwinner – Chopra had the perfect team-mates to learn from.

While perhaps not quite on the same scale, the striker believes the Ipswich young guns can equally learn from the likes of Lee Bowyer and Jimmy Bullard – even if some of Town’s most experienced players are currently sidelined.

He explained: “When you have got players who have played at the top level at our club (Ipswich), the younger players can learn things from them.

You look at the players we brought in at the start of the season – Jimmy Bullard, myself and Lee Bowyer – and we have got a mixture of experience and youth.”

While a lot of the excitement around the club’s upturn in fortunes has been generated by a Luke Hyam or Lee Martin, Chopra believes the ‘old heads’ have a crucial role to play.

Bullard has not started in the last dozen matches, since the awful 4-0 defeat at Burnley, but Chopra insists he has still played a vital part in the side’s mini-renaissance.

The striker said: “Jimmy is great. He helps all the young lads out. He’s not playing but he is not a guy who just walks around with his head down. He is trying to cheer everyone up which is fantastic for the lads.”

With manager Paul Jewell stating last week he wants a core of “seven or eight players” to build the future around, Chopra fits that bill perfectly.

At 28 years old, and with a wealth of experience, both good and bad, on and off the pitch, he believes there are reasons for fans to be excited for the future.

In the present, the former Cardiff City man is just glad to have won his place back at Jason Scotland’s expense with Jewell opting recently for just one traditional striker with Lee Martin in support.

Chopra said: “The way we have been playing lately. Lee has been fantastic. He has created a lot of chances for myself. He is hard to pick up in the position he plays in – he is such a good player in what he does.

“I think the front four we have in the team – me, Lee Martin, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Daryl Murphy – when we go forward, we go forward quick and we know we are going to create chances. It’s just a case of who is going to be in the box to put them away.”

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17 comments

Frank, I think you are wrong about Keane and Edwards but as Kevin says, "what Keane did is irrelevant" but you must have very good eyesight to have seen Edwards playing RB for Keane being stationed in Holland !!!!!

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Brian Betts

Friday, February 10, 2012
Frank Weston and Kevin Bailey, why don't you become pen pals then the comments pages would shrink a bit! Only kidding, love all ITFC supporters!

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JOHN BURLS

Thursday, February 9, 2012
Frank, the fact is that Jewell has continued to play him there, so whatever Keane did is utterly irrelevant, isn;t it?

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Kevin Bailey

Thursday, February 9, 2012
But Brian, Keane may not have played him at right back to begin with but moved him there well before Paul Jewell arrived on the scene.

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FRANK WESTON

Thursday, February 9, 2012
Frank, you somewhat miss the point. I am not suggesting that Carlos is a right back, and have posted for some time that he should be played as a wide right midfield player to give us more width, as since Walters left we have been lacking in that area. You have seemingly placed the defensive frailties at the door of Carols, and make-out that he is a poor player, whereas I am simply saying I disagree with that. I also find your logic utterly flawed, in rightly criticising the defence, rightly identifying that Carlos is not a right back, yet praising Jewell, who is responsible for the poor defensive record and playing Carols out of position. Nothing more, nothing less than that. You set yourself up to be teased on the my contact thing, and if you can't see the funny side of that, then that is a shame. In short, you are looking for a scapegoat, and I am simply trying to point out that in my view, Carols is being treated unfairly if made out to be that scapegoat.

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Kevin Bailey

Thursday, February 9, 2012
And Kevin Bailey you are right! I don't get to as many games as I would like, living over here in the Netherlands but at least Ipswich player ensures I see extended highlights and Radio Suffolk's live commentary confirms that it is not just me who thinks that Carlos Edwards is not a natural right back. You only need to watch a few minutes of every game to spot his wayward passing and his abysmal marking - even if he gets away with some of it and it does not always lead to goals. yes he has pace but at 33 for how long and thwe reason he is playing a bit better right now is probably related to the uncertainty surrounding his future. I also admit to a typing error when I uttered the words " my websites." This should have read other websites. Delusions of grandeur I hear you ask? The simple answer is no because your rather churlish inference that perhaps I don't actually know anyone in the game is unfounded. On the contrary, I usually tip off local journalists if I hear something and don't normally go public. This was the case with Connor Wickham by the way and I am respected in the game because of the reliability of my information. From now on however, I won't trouble you with this as it generally tends to fall on deaf ears when it goes into the public domain.

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FRANK WESTON

Thursday, February 9, 2012
Frank, Keane did purchase Edwards but NOT as a right back, that is Jewell's misguided action. Jewell has had over 12 months now to create a new defence ( that's if the other two 'wise monkeys would allow him) and has failed miserably. This man has little idea and is not well served by those above and below him.

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Brian Betts

Thursday, February 9, 2012
Does anyone else get the feeling that Rob Steroo once desperately yearned to be sports journalist, but that it never worked out due to a lack of talent?

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Tom

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Perhaps you have forgotten , frank , but our defence was hardly water tight when we had Gareth McCauley , and though i am no fan of Paul Jewell he did try to do something about it by going in for st leger and one or two others , cresswell was a good signing , i would play joe whight on the other side , maybe tommy smith will cut it as a centre half , we shall see , but we still need a couple of defenders , and that should be at the top of jewells notice board of jobs to do this summer.

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KEVIN FRANCIS

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Attack and defence are the two basic principles of football and I think we have potential to cover both but we definitley need strenghtening in depth. As for Chopra, keep going chap , he talks sense here if your a 19 year old and see a Carling cup winner or a shaggy haired legend walking round you'd definitley feel much more confident. Simples. Paul. Yeah.

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Paul The Alien

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Thanks for the answer Frank. Cresswell, good signing, I agree. If Jewell is to blame, then I can only be amazed at your constant praise of him on here. Maybe I need to trawl the net and keep up to date, as the answers are revealed on one of your other sites. Maybe your contact at Crewe knows the answer? As far as Carols is concerned, maybe you need to actually watch the games to see that he has been much better than you make out.

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Kevin Bailey

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
No need to feel confused Kevin because as I have stated on my other websites, if not this one, that Paul Jewell is to blame. When we lost Gareth McCauley we should have done something about it. Fair enough, Jewell was new to the job but he has had plenty of time to address this concern since and stop-gap loan deals like Collins are short term fixes and not the answer. That said, Paul Jewell IS responsible for bringing in Aaron Creswell and NOT Carlos Edwards, who Keane purchased I recall.

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FRANK WESTON

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Steroo,you sound the biggest plonker in suffolk,why dont you get off chopra`s back.Who would score the goals if he were not in the team.DO you really have an answer to that.?

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brisie58

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
So Frank, as we were averaging two goals conceded prior to the west Ham and Coventry games, when we won them both, yet still conceded an average of 1.50 goals per game, who do you hold responsible for the defensive regression since Keane left and Jewell took over? As you suggest that the defence is porous, yet praise endlessly the man (Jewell) responsible for it. I am confused? Or maybe you are from the sound of it

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Kevin Bailey

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
You have to ask exactly what young players at Ipswich could learn from Bullard, Bowyer (and let's face it Chopra) apart from the blindingly obvious NOT what to do.

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Rob Steroo

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
We win two difficult games back to back, with undoubtedly a good result coming against Middlesbrough, suggest the team has no need of Bowyer or Bullard except perhaps on the bench. If Jason, a very good player, can't get in the team at the moment, I don't think they will. Unless PJ has another retrogressive funny moment, and I don't think he will as it must be obvious to him now what team he should play and how.

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JOHN BURLS

Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Nothing much wrong with our attacking options but our defence remains our achilles heel. We need to score at least three goals a game to keep winning matches given our porous defensive record.

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FRANK WESTON

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Experienced players still have a big role to play at Ipswich Town, insists Michael Chopra

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