Town boss Mick McCarthy says he doesn't "give a flying one” about the Blues being bottom of the Championship table when it comes to pass completion and 16th on possession.

The Blues’ pass success rate this season is 61.8 per cent the lowest in the Championship, while their share of possession during their league games is 49.1 per cent.

“Where are we in the league?” countered the Blues boss. “I can bring you, and I’m not going to, but I could, [stats which show that in] more games we’ve won, we’ve had less possession. If we have 400 passes, I guarantee we get beaten.

“I don’t give a flying one about the possession, I really don’t, because we come up against teams and they’ve had 400-and-some passes and we’ve had 220, and you know who has had 150 between them? Their two centre-backs, the central midfielder and the full-backs, and it’s not going anywhere.

“So, great. Their two centre-backs are wonderful players, they’ve both had 75 touches each. Am I bothered? No, because our centre forward’s had about 50 and he’s scored two goals.

“So don’t bring me stats. What is it they say? There are lies, damned lies and statistics? And that’s just what they are.”

He added: “I see the stats and sometimes I think ‘How the hell have we won that game?’. Then other times I think ‘We’ve murdered them’ and we’ve been beaten, we’ve had loads of passes, loads of crosses, loads of balls into the box. If you want somebody to analyse stats, get them all in here and see what happens.”

Regarding Saturday’s 2-2 FA Cup third round draw with Portsmouth, in which the League Two side had 68 per cent of the possession to the Blues’ 32 per cent, he said: “Portsmouth murdered us with the ball on Saturday. Did we lose? No.

“At Milton Keynes we won, and by the way should have won by more, we had the better chances.

“If you’re trying to get a story on stats, you can write all you like but I don’t give a monkey’s.

“The stats I like are that we’re in sixth position, we’ve got 41 points, we won five away on the bounce and drew on Saturday. We’ve been unbeaten for a while, we’re on a good run.

“There’s always somebody who could find a negative to anything, though, which I understand but find difficult to tolerate, I have to be honest. The only stat that matters is how many points you get at the end of the season.

“And there are all different ways of playing. Portsmouth were fantastic, they’re fourth in the league, but they’re not top of the league, so there are some good teams [in their division], but if they’re playing like that every week they’ve got to win the league, because they were outstanding.”

Despite the low possession and pass completion statistics McCarthy says his team has a consistent threat from wide areas through wingers Freddie Sears and Ryan Fraser.

“And I have with Tommy Oar and Ainsley Maitland-Niles as well," he added. "We’ve been a real threat.

“I go back to it. Portsmouth were great on Saturday and they should have won the game. We’re just on the back of beating QPR with the team that’s playing, beating Brighton, drawing at Burnley.

“So we have a draw in the FA Cup with a lot of changes. Hey ho, we’ve been a real threat, us. We’ve been a constant threat.”

You can find a TWTD blog assessing Town’s low pass completion rate here.

Photo: Action Images

TractorClarke added 09:29 - Jan 12 I appreciate everyones opinion, you are all entitled to one but have most of us forgotten where we were not so long ago when Mick was busy saving us from what could well have been relegation. Is it the prettiest football, no obviously not but if you are in and around the play off places at Xmas and there after you have every chance. I would rather play the way we are and get points and ensure we at least get play offs then to play pretty passing football and miss out. Dont forget we went with the more attacking pretty approach at the start of the season and the good results did not last very long. Yes Mick can be very negative in his approach and Yes his subs baffle and anger me at times but proof is in the pudding, we are in the play off spots. You can have 70 or 80% possession for all i care but for with that last 30 or 20% if we score and win to be honest thats all that matters. It does seem like people think we are Arsenal or something like that, truth is we are a champ side who has been in this division longer than any other team, but its hard work that gets you out of this division. We can worry about the pretty football when we are promoted and have the money to do so. I for one appreciate what Mick has done for this club and i will continue to support him with that. I just wish a few more fans would be a bit more realistic at times.

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positivity added 09:30 - Jan 12 who are our best passers/most creative players? bishop, mcgoldrick, fraser & bru? between them they've been unavailable for more than half the games so far, not a shock that our stats are suffering!
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tractorshark added 09:35 - Jan 12 The people who threaten to stay away are generally those who don't go anyway or attend every now and again. They'll come back in their droves for a playoff semi-final and then noisily disappear again. Everyone agrees we'd rather be playing a more attractive style of football and winning. But it does take a decent amount investment to achieve that. McCarthy has never had that. Jewell and Keane did. In Keane's case, I didn't think the football was great, either, and as for Jewell, we were so open it would have ended in relegation. I said the other day we have two or three who could possibly cut it in the Prem, the rest are honest, hard-working Championship players. But the sum of our parts is greater than the individuals and that's something McCarthy should be praised for. People use the likes of Bournemouth and Brighton as a stick to beat him with but they have both spent big sums on transfers and wages. It's not a fair comparison. Compare us with Forest, Wolves etc, that's probably closer to the truth. McCarthy is not perfect, he is stubborn, we could play better football. But when we did that at the start of the season, we dropped points and drifted to mid-table. He went back to his tried and trusted and we're now sixth. That's a more pertinent stat than how many times we've passed the ball. And, for what it's worth, I agree passing it between centre-back, defensive midfield and full-back makes these figures hugely misleading. That's not attacking football. Someone posted last week would you rather play hoofball and finish sixth or good football and finish seventh. But would we finish seventh? It's more like 17th. I suspect people's views would differ if that was the choice. McCarthy divides opinion, whether another manager would do better is open to debate and depends heavily on whether Evans chooses to invest more. I reckon Mick will be here for this season and the next but if we don't win promotion, his critics may get their wish. But I confidently predict two things. Firstly, those same critics will be straight on the back of the new boss if he doesn't match Mick's results and, secondly, that McCarthy will be remembered in years to come as one of the best managers the club has had.

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Gcon added 09:45 - Jan 12 Oh Lord. Now the haters have stats. The level of negativity on here is getting embarassing. Particularly for a team sitting in a play-off position. Thankfully it is not reflective of the majority of supporters sitting in the stands on match day. Yes, we are on a poor run at home - Go to the away games then, that's where the fun is right now.
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hogster1970 added 10:04 - Jan 12 well in some respect i agree with mick, its not the prettiest of football but its who scored the most at 90 mins and were you are at the end of the season that counts. if you love stats then arsenal v southampton , arsenal had 65% possesion and out passed southampton yet southampton won 4 nil, its not how much of the ball you have that wins games its what you do with it when you do have it that counts.

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Razor added 10:34 - Jan 12 Micks arrogance coming through loud and clear and he must try and remember that he is in the entertainment business and a little bit of style would be nice------but nobody seems to care as long as we have points on the board-----sad really.
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Guthrum added 10:38 - Jan 12 Another stat for you all: Average Home League Attendance: 2005-06: 23,388 2012-13: 16,887 (the season of McCarthy's arrival) 2013-14: 17,110 2014-15: 19,603 (with a Norwich derby, not including play-off) 2015-15: 19,298 (so far) Hardly indicative that McCarthy's style is driving fans away en masse.
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ihatenorwich added 10:41 - Jan 12 I don't get why our fans still moan about this, we knew what we were getting when we took on MM , yes it's boring to watch and not what we were use to but it's effective in getting results and that's what matters, he's consistantly improved our team year after year so he knows what he is doing. We do not have the quality in our squad to suddenly become a passing pretty team, just look at the prem now, a lot of teams are winning with less possession. Are Leicester fans moaning like us right now when they have constantly have 30% possession?

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Lightningboy added 10:50 - Jan 12 We are a long,long,long way from the Robson and Burley days.... There's winning but there's winning in style.
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Lightningboy added 10:55 - Jan 12 Have to add that I do agree with Mick regards to when you see some teams passing the ball back and fore between the defenders and midfielders and going nowhere - that does my head in more than hoofing it forward everytime - we just need to find more of a balance. There are some weeks when our midfielders can't string 2 passes together let alone 30. We haven't had a good midfield duo since Holland and Magilton.

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essextractorboy93 added 11:19 - Jan 12 The anti-McCarthy lot are out in full force this morning it seems, you'd think we were in a relegation fight or something! Think the majority of our fans see sense though and appreciate we are having another great season and that results are much more important than expecting some miraculous Barcelona possession based football all of a sudden. Mick's teams have not played like that during his entire managerial career and he hasn't exactly been a bad manager! 2 promotions to the Premier League with 2 teams and took Ireland to the last 16 of a World Cup! One of the best managers in the league

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muhrensleftfoot added 11:27 - Jan 12 We all know the only stat that counts is the final score. However, we were totally outplayed by a Division 4 side. Total embarrassment. Don't get me wrong, I'd rather we win with boring, hard working than lose with style, but why can't we start trying to win with style. Bournemouth managed it last season.
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TimmyH added 11:37 - Jan 12 Question is can we improve on the position we're in playing the style we do when there is obviously more quality in the teams above us (and generally a better style of football) - I think the answer to that is probably no. I can't help feeling the best we can muster under Mick this season and under his management and what we're spending is a play-off position, it is highly unlikely when it comes to having to up our game (as per last season in the play-offs) we will be found wanting!

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TimmyH added 11:40 - Jan 12 * I should say 'likely'
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Bluetone added 11:42 - Jan 12 So the McCarthy message is, and always has been, "If you come to be entertained you're in the wrong place. If you come to see us 'hoof and grind out' results keep on coming 'cos that's all that counts in my book" Shame really
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BigHibbs added 11:58 - Jan 12 If anyone finds the team they are supposed to support 'boring' then they aren't a Fan at all ! Boring are you sure ? I am entertained from start to finish of any Ipswich town game I go to because I'm simply wanting the three points. Well done MM some fans appreciate the slow buildings project you're doing. Good pro
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Bluetone added 12:11 - Jan 12 Whoever called it "The Beautiful Game" hasn't watched a McCarthy team grinding out a result.
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RRanger added 12:15 - Jan 12 I'm an MM supporter for his general attitude, his cultivation of fantastic team spirit and for the fact that for the first time in years we are seriously competing in this division, and my only complaint about the way we play "hoofball" is that we don't always seem to do it with intelligence. All the top teams play long balls when it suits them and there's nothing wrong with this tactic when you have a striker nodding on the ball from defence to a player (Fraser/Sears) running beyond him to pick up the ball. Also if the opposing defender is winning the ball in the air our midfield has to be pressing and picking up the loose ball. When this isn't happening,like in the game against Portsmouth we look very poor indeed and invariably the oppo mount another attack. Against Portsmouth we had two strikers who obviously hadn't played together before and in the first half in particular were not on the same wavelength so that when one of them did win a header from a long ball they weren't finding their partner. We obviously look abetter side with a Fraser or a Bru (or a fit Bishop) when our defence can find them with shorter passes. They are comfortable on the ball and will generally be looking to move the ball forward and take on opposing defenders. But for a large part of this season these players haven't been available so we have had to make do with different tactics suited to the players we are left with. With these players coming back into the squad and if they stay fit I anticipate a good second half to the season. COYB

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warktheline added 12:21 - Jan 12 Strongly believed McCarthy would get us promoted 'his way' but now don't! Maybe 3 or 4 seasons ago if he had come on board with the club in reasonable shape, but unfortunately that certainly wasn't the case, and he done extremely well to retain our Championship status. The club missed the boat with such services, and since a proportion of clubs currently at our level in terms of league have evolved on the field of play. Mick's 'way' no longer wins titles, and please don't reel out no money comments, because as already stated, with or without money, I really couldn't imagine the manager changing style of play!

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TrabzonBlue added 12:27 - Jan 12 Does a pass into space count where a player runs on to it count as an incomplete pass? Anyway, the fact that our players are unable to complete nearly half of their passes is an indictment of their lack of ability, every outfield professional footballer should be able to complete a bleedin' pass ffs!
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Penguinblue added 12:30 - Jan 12 MM's pre-match comments are always embarrassing and disingenuous - always goes on about other clubs' threats and spending. Hardly clever or coded. We will never know exactly what ME would fund but if you believe anything MM says (I don't) he can't find anything better than we have anyway. This is of course nonsense. Both our full backs are inept, we are a negative team, play our best players out of position (or on the bench) and specialise in hoofball. Favorites are first on the team sheet. How embarrassing that Portsmouth demonstrated to Town how to play football. Whether a decent creative player would want to play for MM is questionable given the reputation we have - the ball would keep flying over their head. . Here's hoping a better performance tonight. My my message is - MM please go - bring football back to East Anglia.

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MathieandMarshall added 12:34 - Jan 12 the comment I find most annoying in this interview has nothing to do with stats.. its the line "we are a threat from wide areas through wingers Freddie Sears and Ryan Fraser" Sears is not a winger!... we would be even more of a threat with Freddie playing up top on the shoulder of the defence terrorising them with his pace and constant running of channels like he was earlier in the season.

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blueherts added 12:35 - Jan 12 APOLOGIES - But I am reposting what I said after the Portsmouth game Got to live in the 'real footballing world '- MM is correct Statistcs mean nothing - Man U have loads of the ball - scored less goals at hme that any other team in the whole of the Football League ....Lies , DAMN LIES AND STATISTICS Face facts - For clubs like ours( in top half of Champ) and most premiership clubs ,the FA Cup comes at the wrong time! Like it or not - SKY/PREMIERSHIP dictate Football in this country and as they do not show FA Cup so they insist games are played mid week following the FA Cup Third Round This is on the back of a busy xmas schedule week - Football is a business and where is the biggest prize ( from a Club/owners point of view) - THE PREMIERSHIP £100m will be guaranteed next season for staying in it or getting promoted to the Premiership So with games coming thick and fast where would you prioritise ? Just ask those Portsmouth fans how it has been since they lifted the trophy ? or Wigan ( what league are they in now ?) Coming to our 'style of play'... We have probably 6 or 7 'technically good/very good footballers' - Sears , Bru , Oar , Dids , Bishop , AMN , Fraser- (the best) - not technically ours and some good young players coming through . If Bishop and Dids were fit they would be playing - they are a big loss - especially Bishop We have all endured the past 15 years in the Championship - afew brushes with play offs but when we did invest big money it was badly spent on dross MM comes in with a remit - keep us up and get us competing - job done Next step - get us promoted Last time I looked we were in the play off spot and we got in it last season Is our style of play 'pleasing on the eye'? no - would I like us to be a team like Portsmouth ? NO - they are playing the FOURTH tier of English football week in week out - are they battling for the £100m prize of Premiership football ? No Are we ? Yes Should we add to our squad ? YES !! - That is where I disagree with MM , unless he is kidding us all Players like Moncur - up the road , a striker - Bradshaw at Walsall ? a Full back to replace Parr would help push us on MM has done a great job , and I think some people do not to step away from it - of course we wont all agree but whilst I too have fond memories of the 'style of play' - Football is ALL ABOUT THE £100M purse - It is easier to start from scratch at the bottom when you dont have that prize ( Portsmouth )

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MicksZzzTactics added 12:39 - Jan 12 Well BigHibbs ..... I'm flabbergasted ....really, mate! So therefore I simply have to initially have esteemed hothead Mr. John McEnroe anno 1981 answer for me (1 of the MANY bored not-to-call-themselves 'ITFC fans'): OK, with that out of the way I also have to stress that I really feel deep-down sorry for so-called REAL Ipswich fans like you .... i.e.those allegedly "Getting ENTERTAINED from start to finish of ANY game". Let me ask you matey, do you also get 'high' and overly 'ecstatic' from watching paint drying (disregard the possible effect of any paint fumes!) especially real slowly??? :-) Regardless here is some kind advice then you sorry Zzzod of a member of the "in The Tactical Inept Pizz Poor Entertaining Ultra Arrogant Football-Dinosaur We Trust" Brigade : 1) Get a new 'entertainment chip' installed in your cerebral 2) Make an appointment with an top optometrist ASAP ... and 3) optionally, you might also consider also getting what is commonly known as a freakin 'LIFE', which hopefully evolves around more important and fulfilling things than simply "Getting the 3 point"!!! :-)

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jonbull88 added 12:39 - Jan 12 We are one of the leading scorers in the league and only 7 points off Derby and 11 of boro who have been called the "best teams in the league", both have spent £15m+ this season on fees and wages. Not bad for a team with a poor pass rate. People say we could do better if we improve it, should we ask the 18 teams under us with a better pass rate but maybe 15 points less?? It's where we are at the end of the season not now. I for one want us up in the Premiership and being in the top 6 as we are now will do me fine as we have a chance. Yes a bit more on the ground might be nicer on the eye but if we don't get results it's a waste of time. Mm knows the score after all he HAS got two teams in to the premiership before.

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