Ipswich Town: What we’ve learnt from the first five Premier League games.
Ipswich Town have taken three points from their opening five Premier League games. Stuart Watson takes a look at what we’ve learnt so far.
TOWN ARE COMPETITIVE
After twelve summer signings and back-to-back promotions, it was truly a case of stepping into the unknown.
However, the Blues have already demonstrated that they are not merely present to pad the stats.
The superiority of Man City and Liverpool eventually emerged, although Kieran McKenna’s team was competitive for significant stretches of both contests. Ipswich struck first at the Etihad and held City at bay for over an hour, while Liverpool was behind for the better part of an hour at Portman Road. This season, very few teams will engage in either of those activities.
Three more draws have since occurred, each with a distinct claim.
In yet another impressive home performance, the Blues appeared more likely to prevail in a thrilling 1-1 draw with Fulham. A reminder that after defeating Newcastle on the weekend, Marco Silva’s team is currently ninth in the table following two previous mid-table finishes.
Town’s 0-0 draw with Brighton served as a reminder that they can still put in the work and get results away from home. Once more, not many teams will play the Seagulls this season and keep a clean sheet. They glance at someone who might be vying for a position in Europe.
Then, over the weekend, Sam Morsy’s thrilling 95th equaliser against fellow newly promoted Southampton demonstrated that the Blues still had the never-say-die mentality that helped them win promotion.
A three-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League is a rare thing for teams outside the established big guns.
All-in-all, it’s a solid foundation for the 33 games ahead
GAME MANAGEMENT CRUCIAL
The top sides in this division can be difficult to stop when their tails are up.
Town conceded twice in five minutes against Liverpool and were fortunate the damage didn’t become greater during that spell in the second half.
The following weekend, Man City scored three in five minutes, ruthlessly punishing errors, to effectively win the game by the 16th minute.
In League One and the Championship, Town’s first thought after conceding was to go and score themselves. They’ve now learnt that, in the Premier League, it’s wiser to focus on weathering the storm.
SOME GOOD BUSINESS
After back-to-back promotions, Kieran McKenna maintained that spending big money was “essential” if the team was going to have any hope of competing in the brutal Premier League.
The Blues spent more than £100 million in transfer fees to acquire 12 new players. How effectively was that money used? The early indicators appear promising.
Supporters of Hull City believed that Jacob Greaves was well worth the £15 million that Town paid for him. It’s clear why. The 24-year-old left-footed centre back, who has a wealth of experience, showed early in the season that he would not be intimidated by the step up with a smashing tackle on Liverpool’s Dom Szoboszlai. Virgil van Dijk is the only one with more
Club-record signing Omari Hutchinson (£18m, Chelsea) has shown, in flashes, that his technical ability belongs on the big stage. If the 20-year-old can fine tune his decision-making and up his consistency levels, then the Blues have a real star on their hands.
Liam Delap, strong and powerful, has been a real handful up top. He proved too much for Liverpool’s Jarell Quansah (who was hooked off at the break), scored a fine solo goal against Fulham and came close to replicating it at Brighton when hitting the post. Again, the England U21 international looks smart business at £15m.
Keeper Aro Muric has responded well to costly errors at Man City. Dara O’Shea, Jack Clarke and Chiedozie Ogbene are still fully bedding in after arriving later in the window, but all have produced encouraging signs. Man City loanee Kalvin Phillips,
based on two league appearances so far, is someone who’s going to add some top-level quality/nous to the midfield.
It looks like Ipswich have added players who will not only help the team in the short-term, but also prove to be big assets for the long-term.
Liam Delap jumps for joy after giving Ipswich Town the lead against Fulham at Portman Road. (Image: Steve Waller)
PORTMAN ROAD FACTOR
The atmosphere was electric for the opener against Liverpool. Town’s players fed off that energy and had Arne Slot’s men on the back foot for the best part of an hour before eventually getting picked off by some world class players.
Liam Delap’s stunning solo goal against Fulham raised the roof. The home crowd then stuck right behind the team following Adama Traore’s equaliser and Ipswich looked the more likely to win it in the second half.
It’s already clear that Portman Road, packed to its rough 30,000 capacity, is going to be a difficult place for any team to come to this season.
Because of the atmosphere we create and the football we know we can play, we feel like our home games will present the best opportunities to rack up points,” McKenna said. “Everyone of our 19 Premier League home games this season is something to treasure, embrace, and go all out for.
“I firmly believe that will greatly assist us in gaining points if we, the players and crowd, give it our all throughout each of those 19 home games, regardless of the result and our standing in the league.”
The Champions League team Aston Villa is coming to town on Saturday, and it will be tough. The following two squads visiting Suffolk will be.
Charlie Taylor fouls Wes Burns against Southampton.
PLAYERS READY TO STEP UP
The main players from Town’s consecutive seasons in which they won promotion haven’t appeared to be out of their element at all.
With a brilliant goal to rescue a point at Southampton, Sam Morsy has made 16 successful tackles in five games, good for eighth place in the division. Upon a protracted ascent to the top,
There’s plenty to believe that the neat and diligent captain, 33, may perform to even greater levels.
Leif Davis has already faced off against Mo Salah, Savinho, Yankuba Minteh, Tyler Dibling, and Adama Traore. All things considered, he’s off to a solid start. The Town left-back has contributed his first assist and is becoming better each time he takes the pitch.
Luke Woolfenden was unlucky to lose his starting position following a great performance against Fulham, but Axel Tuanzebe has been a rock at right-back, especially when he kept Kaoru Mitoma quiet at Brighton. Wes Burns’ direct running high on the right still appears effective.
A thoughtful blending of the ancient and the new will be essential.
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