Wordsworth leaves U's for Ipswich

4:20pm Wednesday 30th January 2013 in Sport By Jonathan Waldron

Gone - Anthony Wordsworth has left Colchester United to join East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee. Gone - Anthony Wordsworth has left Colchester United to join East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee.

Anthony Wordsworth has completed his move from Colchester United to Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee.

The 24-year-old midfielder has signed a deal until the summer of 2015, with the option of a further year.

Wordsworth has come a long way since joining Colchester United as an under-16 player, following his release by Charlton Athletic.

The U’s spotted a midfield player with an abundance of skill and a potent left foot and have been rewarded for their investment.

Wordsworth has flourished since signing his first professional contract with Colchester in 2007, after completing his apprenticeship.

He was the U’s youth-team captain under Joe Dunne and also skippered the club’s reserve side, with his performances catching the eye of first-team boss Geraint Williams.

Williams handed Wordsworth his senior debut as a substitute in the U’s League Cup first-round defeat at Shrewsbury Town in August, 2007.

He was made to wait for his next first-team appearance for Colchester though, coming on as a late substitute in their 1-1 draw with Cardiff City at Layer later that season.

Wordsworth’s first senior U’s start eventually arrived in their Championship defeat against Hull City at Layer Road in March, 2008.

The midfielder went on to become a regular for Colchester after that, playing under Williams and then under Paul Lambert, Aidy Boothroyd and John Ward, as his career blossomed.

Last season, Ward handed Wordsworth the responsibility of a key advanced midfield role - and he thrived on it.

It was arguably his best-ever campaign for Colchester.

He made 47 appearances for them in that campaign and scored 13 times, including a superb long-range strike in their 2-0 triumph at future champions Charlton Athletic.

After Ward’s departure as U’s manager last September, new boss Joe Dunne handed Wordsworth the captain’s armband in the absence of the injured Kem Izzet.

Wordsworth has scored three goals from midfield this season but as results deteriorated, so too did his form.

He was dropped from the U’s starting line-up for their game for their Boxing Day game against Brentford, before being restored to the starting line-up the following game.

Wordsworth has also picked up ten bookings this season, the most of any individual player in the Football League, leading to a suspension which he has just served.

His relationship with Colchester fans has not always been rosy; some supporters have accused him of being lazy and of not being a team player.

But Wordsworth has shown enough during his time at Colchester that he has the quality and talent to play at a higher level.

Now he has got a move to the Championship, he will be determined to prove that is the case.

Comments(24)

TheCaptain says...
4:33pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Good luck Anthony

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Boris says...
4:50pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Yes, good luck to him. Let's hope his career blossoms at ITFC. And, who knows, if we stay up and they come down... we could be seeing him here again. He could still have a glittering career, if he wants it.

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We're not singing anymore!!! says...
5:23pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Quick.....change the locks, just in case he changes his mind!!!!!!

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down the line says...
5:45pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Thank god for that!

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super waluigi says...
5:57pm Wed 30 Jan 13

I wish him well. Shame he never reached to 200 game mark.

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liamd1978 says...
6:27pm Wed 30 Jan 13

He can **** off hope he breaks his leg

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Ontheball says...
6:52pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Apart from the odd flashes of brilliance when he scored from long range, I think he was over-rated. A lazy player who couldn't tackle to save his life and who went missing from large chunks of games that he played in.

Good to get him off the payroll, which will, hopefully, help Joe in his re-building plans.

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wellnow says...
7:03pm Wed 30 Jan 13

Definately a championship level player.wonder how mcarthy will play him.

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25414nora says...
7:12pm Wed 30 Jan 13

liamd1978 wrote:
He can **** off hope he breaks his leg
this poster shows disgraceful
and uncalled for malice..Unacceptable
.

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crazy comments says...
7:30pm Wed 30 Jan 13

liamd1978 wrote:
He can **** off hope he breaks his leg
Who ever you might be, I think your post is a total disgrace. Woody has frustrated most supporters at times, yet he has had us on our feet,many other times with his sheer brilliance. Just hope this paper bans you from making any further comments.

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We're not singing anymore!!! says...
8:24pm Wed 30 Jan 13

liamd1978 wrote:
He can **** off hope he breaks his leg
Now I'm not a massive fan of Wordworth as you'll be able to tell from most of my postings but this is totally uncalled for.

Any decent human being shouldn't wish harm on another.

I hope you only posted this in the heat of the moment (not that, that makes it right) and now regret what you said.

Get real, at the end of the day this is only about a game of football. It's not life or death.

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Eddy D says...
9:32pm Wed 30 Jan 13

It's one of those things that we'll never quite know good he could have been for us and perhaps we'll all have to look on through gritted teeth as Ipswich get the kind of form out of him consistently that we could only see perhaps 1 in 3 games. I've always been of the opinion that perhaps his "laziness" is because he is, perhaps, a class above the average league 1 player. Who knows but he has had a number of admirers for a while and perhaps we should have cashed in when Bournemouth came in last year. Whether it works or not I think Ipswich can't lose.
I wish him all the best and hope he can flourish. Football is a game of opinions and that is what we all love about it. Let's look forward with what we have and now put the "will he wont he" behind us and hope that Gilbey can go on to be the player we all thought and hoped Wordsworth could have consistently been.

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Boris says...
11:41pm Wed 30 Jan 13

crazy comments wrote:
liamd1978 wrote:
He can **** off hope he breaks his leg
Who ever you might be, I think your post is a total disgrace. Woody has frustrated most supporters at times, yet he has had us on our feet,many other times with his sheer brilliance. Just hope this paper bans you from making any further comments.
I have just reported this idiot's comment asking for it to be removed, and for the idiot to be warned that any repetition will lead to him being banned.

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Feisty CBC says...
9:57am Thu 31 Jan 13

Boris wrote:
Yes, good luck to him. Let's hope his career blossoms at ITFC. And, who knows, if we stay up and they come down... we could be seeing him here again. He could still have a glittering career, if he wants it.
Yes and a nice little 7-1 away win on the first day of the season wouldn't go amiss.

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totallyfootball says...
12:25pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Why is the fee undisclosed, I thought they were supposed to be transparent?

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BlueandWhiteBaz says...
3:10pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Under Mick McCarthy he will either sink or swim. If he plays like he has played for us over the last season and a half he'll be on the scrap heap. Conversely if he can get rid of this lazy, petulant and undisciplined attitude he could have a good career ahead of him. It's totally up to him.

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crazy comments says...
8:33pm Thu 31 Jan 13

One good bit of news today. Bournmouth have signed Matt Ritchie from Swindon for £400,000. At least he will not be able to torment our defence next Tuesday evening. With this bargain signing Bournmouth certs for promotion now.

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No.1 says...
8:55pm Thu 31 Jan 13

I must say he was/is a good player but was mainly played in the wrong position. He should have been played behind the striker/s. woody good luck for the future.

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No.1 says...
8:56pm Thu 31 Jan 13

No.1 wrote:
I must say he was/is a good player but was mainly played in the wrong position. He should have been played behind the striker/s. woody good luck for the future.
But I am glad he has gone.

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super waluigi says...
9:18pm Thu 31 Jan 13

totallyfootball wrote:
Why is the fee undisclosed, I thought they were supposed to be transparent?
It is because of all the add ons Totally.

For example, it could be:

£50,000 now
£5,000 if they stay up
£10,000 if they get promoted
£5,000 if he plays 20 times
£3,000 every 10 games after
£500 per league goal
£250 per cup goal
£15,000 if he gets a cap
20% if they sell him next season
15% if they sell him the season after


Etc, etc, etc...... Who knows until he moves on.

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RB, Lexden says...
9:21pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Crazy: Thanks for telling us about
Matt Ritchie.The only problem is that
we play Bournemouth on March 30.
I see Chris Iwelumo has joined Oldham Athletic on loan; Tom Aldred has signed
for Accrington Stanley; and striker
Roy O'Donovan -who, two years ago, was suggested as a possible signing for the U's - has been released by Coventry City.

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Boris says...
11:05pm Thu 31 Jan 13

super waluigi wrote:
totallyfootball wrote:
Why is the fee undisclosed, I thought they were supposed to be transparent?
It is because of all the add ons Totally.

For example, it could be:

£50,000 now
£5,000 if they stay up
£10,000 if they get promoted
£5,000 if he plays 20 times
£3,000 every 10 games after
£500 per league goal
£250 per cup goal
£15,000 if he gets a cap
20% if they sell him next season
15% if they sell him the season after


Etc, etc, etc...... Who knows until he moves on.
The E A D T says "The fee has been described as undisclosed, but is believed to be in the region of £200,000".

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super waluigi says...
7:55am Fri 1 Feb 13

Boris wrote:
super waluigi wrote:
totallyfootball wrote:
Why is the fee undisclosed, I thought they were supposed to be transparent?
It is because of all the add ons Totally.

For example, it could be:

£50,000 now
£5,000 if they stay up
£10,000 if they get promoted
£5,000 if he plays 20 times
£3,000 every 10 games after
£500 per league goal
£250 per cup goal
£15,000 if he gets a cap
20% if they sell him next season
15% if they sell him the season after


Etc, etc, etc...... Who knows until he moves on.
The E A D T says "The fee has been described as undisclosed, but is believed to be in the region of £200,000".
You are quite right Boris. But I was merely explaining why we still have undisclosed transfers.

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crazy comments says...
10:26am Fri 1 Feb 13

Interesting comments from Woody in the Anglian. In the three days training there he found the work rate higher. Funny Tierney said that when he went to Norwich. Plain truth the training regime needs upping at Col Utd.

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