Daryl Murphy’s 2014/15 season with Ipswich Town stands out as the greatest outlier in his career, accounting for over 25% of his league goals over a 15-year span.
The forward was brilliant at Portman Road that season, scoring 27 league goals and defying the odds to deliver his best form of his career just after turning 30.
The Tractor Boys were in a bit of a slump after spending too many years in the second division, so it was quite an accomplishment at the time when Mick McCarthy got them going.
Even though their East Anglia rivals had the last laugh ten years ago, with a historic play-off match determining their destiny, Murphy helped them rediscover their dreams.
Daryl Murphy’s career-best season spearheads Ipswich Town play-off charge
Murphy, who scored 13 league goals in the previous season, has made a name for himself as a mediocre Championship striker who can score in double figures and contribute enough to keep a team competitive throughout the season.
However, he had a different expression in his eyes from the first day of that 14/15 campaign; he yearned for the sensation of the ball hitting the back of the net and was a man who would stop at nothing to share in the joy of the Portman Road crowd.
First up was Fulham, who had just been demoted. Murphy scored his first goal of the season on the half-hour mark after catching a pass from Luke Hyam and beating Jesse Joronen.
Murphy rejoices as the throng erupts, a scene that would grow all too frequent in the months that followed. Rotherham, Millwall, and Brighton were all unable to stop him, and the second of those three goals showed off his newly discovered self-assurance in front of goal as he buried a bouncing ball on the angle with his first touch.
After a brace against Nottingham Forest, he added two more goals against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United. This was a man who saved his finest stuff for special occasions.
Seven goals in as many games over the festive season began to give Town fans hope that a promotion drive was within reach, with the likes of David McGoldrick and Freddie Sears stepping in when needed.
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