It’s fair to say that Paul Hurst’s reign as Ipswich Town boss was far from a success, but supporters will still curse one decision that he made in the summer of 2018.
After five years at Portman Road, striker David McGoldrick was released by Hurst in the summer of 2018, subsequently joining Championship rivals Sheffield United, enjoying huge success at Bramall Lane.
It proved a poor decision, with both Ipswich and the Blades enjoying completely contrasting 2018/19 seasons, and Hurst was sacked in October 2018, just 14 games into the job, after enduring a tough start to the Championship season which saw them struggle for points.
The decision to release McGoldrick, a player who had been an excellent servant for the club over the years looked a poor move at the time, and over time it proved an even worse call than even the most sceptical Ipswich fans could have predicted.
Ipswich Town fans will rue Paul Hurst, David McGoldrick decision
McGoldrick had suffered from an injury-hit 2017/18 campaign, scoring just eight times in 24 appearances, but he looked to have enough credit in the bank to earn a new deal at Portman Road, given the fact he’d scored 45 goals and registered 25 assists in 159 games since joining in 2013.
The striker himself was keen to remain at Portman Road in the summer of 2018, but new boss Hurst wanted to move on, and subsequently allowed the Irish international to leave the club.
In an interview with the East Anglian Daily Times back in 2019, McGoldrick revealed that it wasn’t his decision to leave the Tractor Boys, it was actually Hurst’s, a decision that would have baffled supporters.
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Hurst took over from Mick McCarthy at the end of the season, and with McCarthy allowing his replacement to make decisions about player contracts, McGoldrick saw his time at the club come to an end.
He told the East Anglian Daily Times: “I was waiting because I was kind of open to staying there, but the new manager came in and said ‘no, not for him’. That was in June, so I started to look around.
“There were teams saying, ‘yeah, we like him’ but nothing was happening. So I was training on my own thinking ‘is this where I am at?’
“No-one really wanted to give me a chance, so I worked on my fitness and improved myself and got the buzz back just from being not wanted.
“It was a kick up the ****. This was where I was at. I wasn’t a golden player at a team like Ipswich anymore. I had to go and prove myself.”
As Ipswich supporters will be all too aware of, they were relegated to League One at the end of the 2018/19 Championship season, while McGoldrick helped Sheffield United win promotion to the Premier League.
Hurst not offering McGoldrick a new deal proved a blessing in disguise for the striker, and Ipswich Town fans will surely curse their former boss for not keeping him at Portman Road.
David McGoldrick left Paul Hurst with egg on his face
The move to Bramall Lane couldn’t have gone much better for McGoldrick, and his 15 league goals during the 18/19 campaign helped his side win a shock promotion, meaning he became a Premier League player for the 2019/20 season.
While he was preparing for life in the Premier League, his former teammates at Ipswich were preparing for life in League One, and Hurst’s decision to let him leave the club couldn’t have been much worse.
Things continued to get better for the Irishman at Bramall Lane, and he helped them to an incredible 9th place finish in the Premier League, and had it not been for the pandemic delaying the season by three months which saw them lose momentum, the Blades were very well-placed to qualify for European football.
| David McGoldrick’s career by number of appearances – Transfermarkt | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Club | P | G | A |
| Ipswich Town | 159 | 45 | 35 |
| Sheffield United | 136 | 30 | 12 |
| Southampton | 75 | 15 | 3 |
| Nottingham Forest | 73 | 9 | 5 |
| Notts County | 58 | 17 | 6 |
| Derby County | 45 | 25 | 7 |
| Coventry City | 25 | 17 | 2 |
| Port Vale | 18 | 2 | 2 |
| Bournemouth | 12 | 6 | 1 |
| Sheffield Wednesday | 4 | 1 | 0 |
It appeared that Hurst was trying to put his own stamp on his things and letting a player of McGoldrick’s quality leave the club proved a dreadful decision, not that the striker would have minded too much.
Hurst’s reign as Ipswich Town boss was a disastrous one in hindsight and contributed to their relegation to League One, although he has rebuilt his career since then and was appointed by Shrewsbury Town earlier this year after a good spell with Grimsby Town.
Sometimes in football, a bit of adversity could serve you well for the future, and McGoldrick’s release by Ipswich and subsequent spell as a free agent made him hungrier for success and turned him into a Premier League player, no doubt much to the regret of Hurst and the Tractor Boys’ hierarchy.
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