Collison burst onto the scene as a very highly rated youngster through West Ham's academy, representing Wales at full senior level aged just 18. His career has stalled due to a few injury concerns, but following loan spells at Bournemouth followed by Wigan last term (including a saved penalty against Arsenal at Wembley) the time seems right for Collison to make up for the lost years.
Garvan spent the second half of last season on loan at Millwall, helping them, under Ian Holloway, successfully battle against relegation. Given the turmoil currently surrounding Crystal Palace, it is unknown whether he is available to move on - however, it must be noted that he was instrumental in the middle of the park in their promotion season, playing in a 5-man midfield. Often seen as slow on the ball, he has no doubt got an eye for a pass and knows the surroundings at ITFC well.
Below this post I've screen dumped a passing comparison of Skuse, Tabb, Hyam, Green, Tunnicliffe & Williams with Jack Collison and Owen Garvan's seasons to compare. I've also included some dummies at the bottom - these are the 'average' midfielder for TransferMarkt's definition of what each play is - so Skuse is a DM, Garvan is listed as CAM etc. Essentially, these have averaged the 'significant' players in the division (played more than 828 mins - a fifth of the season) and created what an average Championship midfielder looked like last season. I have the same for all positions bar GK - more on that later.
Statistically, Collison and Garvan have what ITFC lack - neither scored goals last term, but both got assists (1 for Collison, 2 for Garvan - ITFC were as follows Skuse 3, Tunnicliffe 2, Green/Williams 1, Tabb/Hyam, 0) - Not quite Cresswell levels of assistance, but not awful given the time that they both played - roughly 13 appearances each. The key here for me is first the Key Passes per 90, but also the pass completion. Town are amongst the *worst* for pass completion (potential argument for hoof-ball) and these two can bring that to the club.
If they're willing and it's affordable, I'd sign them up in an instant. It's an improvement on the players we have, and on Wordsworth but it's a case whether they fit in Mick's plans. I'd love to see a five man midfield with energy on the wings - stamina and concentration is key in a 5 man midfield - doesn't always work, as QPR and United are showing.
Anyway, I hope this is of some use and if you have any questions/discussion tweet me, @Scribblr_42
| Player(s) | Position | Club | Age | Apps | Minutes | Total Passes | Comp Pass | Key Pass | Pass p90 | KPp90 | Pass Comp | Assists/KP | IntP90 | DAp90 |
| Cole Skuse | DM | Ipswich Town | 28 | 43 | 3714 | 1838 | 1446 | 32 | 44.540 | 0.775 | 78.7% | 0.094 | 2.060 | 4.265 |
| Jack Collison | CM | Bournemouth/Wigan | 25 | 13 | 916 | 452 | 379 | 12 | 44.410 | 1.179 | 83.8% | 0.083 | 1.081 | 2.358 |
| Jay Tabb | CM | Ipswich Town | 30 | 28 | 1358 | 497 | 370 | 15 | 32.938 | 0.994 | 74.4% | 0.000 | 1.193 | 2.187 |
| Jonathan Williams | Attacking Midfield | Ipswich Town | 20 | 12 | 868 | 336 | 262 | 21 | 34.839 | 2.177 | 78.0% | 0.048 | 0.726 | 1.244 |
| Luke Hyam | CM | Ipswich Town | 22 | 35 | 2786 | 1290 | 1015 | 25 | 41.673 | 0.808 | 78.7% | 0.000 | 0.937 | 2.649 |
| Owen Garvan | CAM | Millwall FC | 26 | 13 | 1093 | 481 | 399 | 24 | 39.607 | 1.976 | 83.0% | 0.083 | 1.400 | 2.553 |
| Paul Green | CM | Leeds/Ipswich | 31 | 23 | 1239 | 280 | 215 | 12 | 20.339 | 0.872 | 76.8% | 0.083 | 0.872 | 1.671 |
| Ryan Tunnicliffe | CM | Ipswich/Wigan | 21 | 32 | 2384 | 875 | 677 | 20 | 33.033 | 0.755 | 77.4% | 0.100 | 0.944 | 2.303 |
| Average Midfielder | DM | 27.6 | 29.8 | 2332.9 | 1108.6 | 878.8 | 17.8 | 43.0 | 0.7 | 78.9% | 0.1 | 1.7 | 4.1 | |
| Average Midfielder | CM | 26.0 | 29.8 | 2235.3 | 1084.5 | 863.9 | 25.0 | 43.105 | 0.976 | 78.9% | 0.102 | 1.489 | 3.502 | |
| Average Midfielder | CAM | 26.2 | 24.1 | 1615.4 | 701.2 | 556.6 | 27.8 | 39.3 | 1.6 | 79.1% | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2.0 |