- Ipswich Town entertain Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon
- East Anglian Daily Times’ Alex Jones spoke to Matchday Live ahead of the game
- The reporter provided an overview of the season so far from Town’s perspective
Another newly-promoted club, after achieving back-to-back promotions, the Tractor Boys have had to quickly get to grips with the rigours of top flight football, rejoining the division for the first time since 2002.
Discussing the general mood around Portman Road, Jones noted the encouragement taken from displays against some of the league’s top sides but also outlined the importance of attaining their first Premier League victory of the season sooner rather than later, with Leicester City the visitors on Saturday (3pm GMT kick-off).
“It’s been a bit up and down overall,” the journalist admitted. “It started really well because of all the hype around the club coming into the Championship and going up at the first time of asking. It was fantastic to get automatic promotion and what very few people expected with three clubs in that league who had parachute payments and really strong squads.
“Drawn at home to Liverpool in the first one, then away to Manchester City, fans were aware it’s a learning curve. They had their moments and people were really impressed with how they played and got lots of praise, but you’re going there for the experience, because Ipswich rank towards the bottom of the league in terms of experience.
“It has been a fantastic experience so far. The issue is that they are still waiting for that first win. This is where the nerves are starting to build because it’s all well going there and enjoying yourselves at the games, but this is a club that wants to survive at this level.
“They’ve spent quite a lot of money and going into November without the win is obviously a pressurised situation. They’ve been competitive in all the games, which I think has been key.
“It’s definitely not ‘must-win’ territory this weekend but things do become quite tricky if Town can’t pick up three points, with a pretty daunting rest of November and December to come.”
Despite showing signs of promise under Kieran McKenna, securing four successive draws, Ipswich remain inside the bottom three with a two-point gap to Crystal Palace in 17th as things stand, fighting a battle to not get cut adrift following a dramatic 4-3 reverse at Brentford last weekend.
Jones continued: “Losing to Everton, they really kept them at arm’s length and the first shot on target came in the 81st minute and then the heartbreak against Brentford last weekend hit quite hard.
“They could be forgiven for having a slump after those first two games. They had a Carabao Cup exit at Wimbledon in the second round and then they should have won the Fulham game which ended as a 1-1 draw. After the international break, they went to Brighton and hardly touched the ball but came away with a draw.
“They also got draws against Southampton and Aston Villa and it’s all well and good having that run, but drawing to survive is quite difficult. You see what the Premier League is like. They’ve been bedding players in with all the new signings, which takes time, but you don’t get much time in this league.”
Injuries have plagued Ipswich’s early season, particularly in defence, with only Wolverhampton Wanderers conceding more, but several attacking talents have come to fore to help their cause at the other end of the pitch, including top scorer Liam Delap.
The writer explained: “There’s 10 out and one suspended heading into the game this weekend, which is the most in the league. It’s a real problem in the backline, where it’s a little bit makeshift. Out of the four players you’d want starting, three of them are out. Axel Tuanzebe and Ben Johnson are injured and Harry Clarke picked up a red card last weekend.
“The three right-backs are all unavailable and Jacob Greaves is out, so Dara O’Shea is going to have to move to right-back. Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess will be the centre-backs and, while they were the Championship partnership last year, against Premier League attackers, that’s a big task.
“There’s still lots of absentees. Captain Sam Morsy picked up a knock going into the Brentford game and Omari Hutchinson was ill. Chiedozie Ogbene pulled up in that game as well, so it’s all adding up.
“It’s good that they’ve got the depth but a big part of their struggles is that they want to keep upgrading the level of the squad, but while they’re out injured, you can’t do that.
“The big name at the moment is Liam Delap and he’s been fantastic. He’s only 21 and came in for a high fee after a few Championship loan spells. Kieran McKenna has always been a fan of his and he’s got five goals so far.
“No player in Europe’s top five leagues aged 21 or under has scored more this season. He’s a powerhouse, he’ll shoot from anywhere, he’s big, physical and he will test the centre-backs. Leicester will need to nullify him.
“They’ll need to get other attacking threats into the game and that’s something they’ve struggled with a little bit. But there are quite a few – Sammie Szmodics scored loads in the Championship last season and has got a couple in the Premier League now.
“Jack Clarke comes with bags of potential and Hutchinson signed on a permanent deal. It’s about getting the best out of them and scoring three at Brentford was really positive, but you can’t then concede four. It’s now about starting to get those results on the board.”