Ipswich Town CEO Mark Ashton has shut down speculation that the higher-ups at Portman Road are to blame for James Norwood's exile from first-team matters.

The 31-year-old signed for the Tractor Boys from Tranmere Rovers in the summer of 2019 after a prolific scoring season in League Two, and in his debut season in Suffolk he scored 11 goals in all competitions.

He followed that up with 10 strikes in 2020-21 but Paul Cook added to his squad in the most recent transfer windows with the signings of Macauley Bonne and Joe Pigott, shuffling Norwood down the pecking order.

 

 

 

 

Norwood has played just four times in all competitions this season, with his last appearance coming in the EFL Trophy at the start of October against Gillingham.

Since then, the striker has been training with the under-23's and has featured in some of their matches, with a report in November stating that Norwood had been transfer listed due to the hierarchy at Ipswich had ran out of patience with some of his off-field matters.

Norwood added further fuel to the fire following Cook's sacking over the weekend, stating he had a good relationship with the 54-year-old and his 'hands were tied' in regards to him not featuring recently - something which Ashton has responded to.

“The manager selects whoever he wants to select,” Ashton said of Norwood's implied comment that his non-selection was down to other involvements, per TWTD.

“It’s down to the manager.”

The Verdict

This leaves more questions than answers.

Ashton may say that it's the manager who selects the team but the fact that local reports stated it was the club hierarchy who were unhappy with Norwood and transfer listed him means that someone ultimately is not telling the truth.

Norwood isn't likely to feature against Charlton Athletic tomorrow in League One as he played for the under-23's this afternoon, so it does point towards the striker not being allowed to be involved with the senior squad.

We may learn more about this in the coming days and weeks as we build up to the January transfer window as Norwood is not one to keep his thoughts to himself sometimes - Ipswich fans though deserve to know what's really going on.