Ipswich Town have started the new season in fine form, winning their first two league games against Sunderland and Stoke City while knocking Bristol Rovers out of the Carabao Cup. Alex Jones reflects on a perfect week for the Blues.
The step-up is real
Three wins from three games makes it seem like Ipswich have made a faultless transition to the Championship, but that certainly isn’t the case.
Discounting the Carabao Cup win against Bristol Rovers is probably necessary in this debate, with the Blues comfortably strolling to a 2-0 win, but their league games have been different.
They’ve had to fight twice as hard to even hold onto the ball, let alone to create a chance and score a goal.
The quality in the division is immense. Sunderland’s Jack Clarke and Dan Neil could easily be playing Premier League football, while Stoke City boast a strong squad with a lot of experience, including the likes of Enda Stevens, Ben Pearson and Daniel Johnson.
The tempo is much quicker than Ipswich are used to. Every attack is much more precise, every finish is much more lethal. The gap between teams at the top end of the Championship and the bottom of the Premier League feels slim. These are some of the best teams in the country.
Thus far, Ipswich have matched their level. It’s a huge testament to the work that they’ve put in to this point.
Key partnerships continue
Kieran McKenna isn’t the kind of manager to fix something that isn’t broken.
The Northern Irishman toyed around with different systems and lineups in pre-season, but the side that started the campaign was largely the same one that won promotion from League One. The only changes were enforced, with Harry Clarke suspended and Christian Walton injured.
That consistency is key for two reasons. Firstly, it rewards the players that guided Town to the Championship, showing them faith that they can carry their immense form from the end of last season into this campaign.
Secondly, it allows key partnerships within the starting lineup to grow, particularly that of Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo in midfield. The pair have been imperious in the opening two games, looking especially dominant in Saturday’s win against Stoke.
Elsewhere, we’ve seen Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess continue their bond at the heart of defence, where they too looked particularly impressive against the Potters.
Leif Davis and Nathan Broadhead combined well down the left flank and are a real threat, while the strong relationship between Conor Chaplin and George Hirst looks to have picked up where it left off at the end of last season.
It makes it hard for those on the fringes of the starting lineup to work their way in, but they’ll all be needed at some point throughout the campaign.
The backups can stand up
Everybody expected McKenna to make 11 changes against Bristol Rovers, which is exactly what he did. Of course, the Carabao Cup isn’t top of Town’s list of priorities, but the match presented a chance for some of the fringe players to come in.
Cieran Slicker kept a clean sheet on his debut, winning the man of the match award for his performance, while fellow summer signing Jack Taylor found the back of the net with a composed finish from close range.
Omari Hutchinson was also given his first competitive start, while the likes of George Edmundson, Lee Evans and Freddie Ladapo contributed to Town’s first win back at Portman Road.
Whether or not any of them will force their way into the first-choice team remains to be seen, but injuries and suspensions will undoubtedly play a part.
Having strength in depth is important, but having quality understudies that can step up without making the team significantly weaker is absolutely vital.
The Bristol Rovers game showed that they’ve got exactly that.
Hard decisions to be made
There is, of course, a flip side to having a big squad. McKenna only has a finite number of places in the starting lineup and on the bench, meaning that some players are left out entirely.
Panutche Camara and Gassan Ahadme left Portman Road in pre-season, albeit only on loan, but the opening three games have shown that they won’t be the only ones.
Kyle Edwards hasn’t been involved at all, with McKenna revealing that he’ll be allowed to leave before the end of the transfer window.
Others could yet depart in search of regular football, but the priority will be sorting out the immediate futures of the club’s young players.
Elkan Baggott seemed destined for a loan move as recently as three weeks ago, but impressive performances against RB Leipzig and Bristol Rovers could end up changing the manager’s mind.
Cameron Humphreys could follow him too, albeit that he won’t take up a place in Ipswich’s 25-man squad. Both players need minutes to develop, although they clearly have enough quality to contribute in the Championship.
Finding an outcome that suits the club and the players will be high on the agenda.
Hladky’s safe hands
One player who easily could’ve pushed for a move is Vaclav Hladky, who has spent most of his time at Portman Road as a backup goalkeeper.
The 32-year-old has the quality to be a first-choice elsewhere but he’s opted to stay patient and wait to be given his opportunity. That time has now arrived.
Walton’s injury is clearly a massive blow, but Hladky deserves a lot of credit for coming straight into the team. It isn’t easy for a backup goalkeeper to do that under any circumstances, especially given the fact that his last competitive start was in the FA Cup against Burnley on February 7th.
The win against Sunderland was also his first Championship match. He walked out in front of more than 40,000 fans at the Stadium of Light and, while he looked shaky at the start, he stepped up to produce a number of match-winning saves later on in the game.
Some questioned whether or not Town would invest in another goalkeeper while Walton remains sidelined, but McKenna has always had faith in him. After his recent performances, everyone else should as well.
Town are ready
Expectations were high going into this season, particularly externally, with Ipswich widely tipped to contend for promotion to the Premier League.
Those expectations have certainly been fulfilled after two games, as they sit top of the Championship with maximum points.
Of course, it’s far too early to make any real judgements. Anything could happen between now and the end of the season, but their performances have indicated that this will be a successful campaign.
They looked shaky out of possession against Sunderland but quickly adapted, limiting the Black Cats to a handful of concrete chances despite a nervy finale.
They truly thrived against Stoke, however, dominating the flow of the match aside from a ten-minute period after half-time. Their patterns of play did a huge amount of damage to the Potters, who were fortunate to only lose 2-0.
While these games are unlikely to define their entire season, they’ve shown that the Blues belong at this level. Granted, there is a step up from League One, but McKenna’s men have more than matched it so far.
Maintaining it will be a challenge, but they certainly seem up for it.
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