Ipswich Town return to Premier League action with a game at Brighton & Hove Albion this afternoon. Stuart Watson previews the action.
ACTION RESUMES
Just as Ipswich were feeling their way into a first Premier League season in 22 years, along came an international break.
In total, 10 players went away with their countries – Liam Delap (England U21s), Aro Muric (Kosovo), Dara O’Shea, Chiedozie Ogbene, Sammie Szmodics (all Republic of Ireland), Axel Tuanzebe (DR Congo), Jens Cajuste (Sweden), Cameron Burgess (Australia), Ali Al-Hamadi (Iraq), Cieran Slicker (Scotland U21s).
On top of that, Omari Hutchinson soon returned from England U21 duty for ‘medical assessment’, while Harry Clarke, Wes Burns, Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst are still working their way back from injuries.
That left Kieran McKenna with just 12 fully fit first team players to work with for a large part of the fortnight just gone - Christian Walton, Ben Johnson, Luke Woolfenden, Jacob Greaves, Leif Davis, Conor Townsend, Sam Morsy, Kalvin Phillips, Massimo Luongo, Jack Taylor, Conor Chaplin and Jack Clarke.
The Blues boss admitted it wasn’t ideal, but chose to focus on the positive of being able to put ‘focused time’ into those that were able to get on the grass at Playford Road.
He added that it was going to be important to ‘regroup really, really quickly’ once everyone returned throughout this week.
ANOTHER ACID TEST
It’s a case of into the unknown for Ipswich this season. Every game in these early stages of the season will tell us more about just how well-equipped the new-look Blues are for top-flight football.
Town were competitive for an hour, but ultimately got picked off at home against Liverpool (0-2). Mistakes were then ruthlessly punished at Man City (1-4). Losing to two world class sides hardly came as a surprise.
Drawing 1-1 with Fulham at Portman Road, and looking the more likely to win it, provided encouragement that the Blues are capable of mixing it with established mid-table opposition.
Today will provide another acid test. This is Brighton’s eighth successive season in the Premier League. They’ve finished ninth, sixth and 11th in the last three. And they’ve started this season by taking seven points from a possible nine – wins against Everton (3-0 away) and Man United (2-1 at home) followed by a 1-1 draw at likely title contenders Arsenal.
Can Town hold their own, away from home, against one of the teams looking to break into what now looks like ‘the big eight’? Opening the scoring at Man City, and keeping the four-in-a-row champions out for more than 70 minutes, should boost belief.
The Seagulls have survived, then thrived in the big time. Ipswich can certainly take inspiration from their evolution.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN
We might never know exactly how close Kieran McKenna came to leaving Ipswich Town this summer. There was clearly strong interest in the Blues boss though, with Brighton the first to make an approach.
The Seagulls found themselves without a manager after Roberto De Zerbi announced, ahead of last season’s finale, that he would be leaving so that he and the club could ‘follow our own ideas and visions’ (the Italian is now at Marseille).
Very quickly it became apparent that the East Sussex club would be looking for a bright young coach that could continue the traditions of developing players and delivering attacking football. McKenna was an obvious fit.
How torn was the Northern Irishman at that crossroads? I’d imagine he had some serious thinking to do. As much as he’s emotionally attached to Ipswich and the exciting project, there’s no getting away from the fact that Brighton are several years further down the line when it comes to infrastructure and recruitment.
Maybe it helped that Chelsea and Manchester United were subsequently linked to the LMA Manager of the Year. Did McKenna hold out to see if the Old Trafford gig would become available? Did Brighton get fed up of waiting and go for 31-year-old Fabian Hürzeler, from German club St Pauli, instead? Could things have been different had Man United not beaten Man City in the FA Cup Final, earning Erik ten Hag a stay of execution? I don’t know.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Town’s ambitious American owners acted swiftly to hand McKenna a bumper new contract and £100m transfer war chest.
“There’s been interest from other clubs and it’s a short career as a manager, so it’s right to consider these things, but I’m so, so happy with the decision I’ve made and I’m so, so happy to commit my future to this club,” said the Blues boss, upon penning his fresh four-year deal.
“This is the club that I took my first steps in management with. Mark (Ashton) had the foresight to give me that opportunity. To have enjoyed the last two years so much, now to have the opportunity to take the team back into the Premier League, it was something that I couldn’t miss out on.”
WHO PLAYS?
Will there be any changes to the team that started against Fulham a fortnight ago?
Aro Muric was sent home early from international duty for allegedly ‘breaking team regulations’, while Christian Walton has just signed a new two-year contract. I’d be surprised if there was a switch in goal though. McKenna says he supports his new keeper.
Might Dara O’Shea be handed his league debut for the Blues? You don’t spend £12m on a defender to sit on the bench, but it would be harsh to drop Luke Woolfenden after a solid display last time out.
Could Jack Clarke make his full league debut, replacing one of Chiedozie Ogbene, Omari Hutchinson or Sammie Szmodics in the striker support unit? This looks the sort of game in which counter-attacks are going to be the order of the day. Having quick wide men who can give Yankubah Minteh and Kaoru Mitoma something to think about going the other way could be vital.
With Burns and Hirst back in contention, there are now going to be some difficult decisions regarding who to leave out of the 20-man matchday squad.
LAST MEETING
Town drew 1-1 in a Championship clash down on the south coast back in February 2017. Luke Chambers opened the scoring with a brave header before Tomer Hemed levelled from the spot. Blues boss Mick McCarthy said ‘it would have been a criminal injustice’ had Glenn Murray’s shot, which hit the post late on gone in, denied his side a share of the spoils.
Town’s record at The Amex, since it opened in 2011, reads W2 D2 L2.
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