The recent player swap seeing Jay Emmanuel-Thomas leave for Bristol City and Paul Anderson join Ipswich has left many trying to work out whether the team is now stronger or weaker.

A few people were confused by this deal as JET has moved to a League One side and the main reasoning behind transfer listing him was supposedly because his high wages didn't match his ability.

It is rumored that JET was being paid near to Premier League wages by Ipswich and everyone initially thought that he would be taking a minor pay cut to join another Championship club rather than leaving for League One. It was surprising to find out that JET's wage demands were obviously not too high as Bristol City won't have offered him as much as what the average Championship player is paid.

We all know that JET would make a useful squad player for ITFC and has been a extremely useful player coming off the bench, so surely the club should have tried to get him to agree to a lower paying contract rather than selling him?

It seems that there must have been many reasons behind Mick McCarthy's desire to sell the former Arsenal man other than just because of his wages.

Many have claimed that JET is not the type of player that the Ipswich boss prefers to have in his squad and this could be a likely reason for his departure. It is no secret that JET did not feature as much as he previously had once McCarthy came in and as always different managers prefer different personalities in their squads.

I also think you have give credit to JET for dropping down a division in order to gain more first team opportunities. It is likely that he could have worked out a deal to stay at Ipswich, but throughout his career he has shown that he doesn't ever want to sit on the bench and risk becoming a worse player as a result.

The other factor to consider is what the other parties wanted. It has to be said that everybody is a winner in this deal as Bristol City gain a player that is more suited to their tactical set up and Ipswich gain a player that is more suited towards their tactical needs as well.

McCarthy has a reputation for hunting down strong wide players, so swapping a versatile player with inconsistent form for a more solid option would be ideal in his mind.

Paul Anderson may not be the goal-scoring midfielder that Ipswich fans want to see join the club but he is a hard worker with the right attitude. Many Bristol City fans were sad to see him leave and praised his work ethic and mindset above anything else, stating that he always gives 100% in every game.

Coming back to the original question; are Ipswich better off after this player swap? They have lost a great impact player who has a lot of flair and potential and gained a solid natural winger with a strong mentality.

McCarthy has been hunting down players with a certain personality since the first day he came to Suffolk and Anderson is another addition that fits in with the managers footballing philosophy, so the squad is certainly stronger and getting closer to McCarthy's ideal team after this transfer.

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