Ipswich Town have struggled in their last two Premier League games, losing 4-1 away at West Ham and 2-0 at home to Everton.
Injuries have limited the changes that manager Kieran McKenna can make going into Saturday’s game against Brentford – but what options could he consider? Alex Jones takes a look.
Tweaking midfield
On Match of the Day, Ipswich’s midfield was highlighted as their weakness. They showed numerous clips of bad moments to back up their point, which is much easier to do when you ignore the good stuff.
That being said, the good stuff was limited. There was a lot of hype around the partnership of Sam Morsy and Kalvin Phillips when the latter signed over the summer, and they looked really good against Aston Villa last month. Unfortunately, they’ve been off the pace in the last two games.
So what now? One option is to take one of them - most likely Phillips - out of the team. However, with Massimo Luongo and Jens Cajuste currently out injured, McKenna can’t have two defensive, deep-lying midfielders in his double pivot unless he sticks with what he's got. Perhaps there’s an alternative?
He could change the system, which admittedly doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that the Town boss would look to do. However, it could help in the short-term – particularly away from home – to shore things up.
Playing a flat midfield three could work. Instead of a 4-2-3-1, think of Marcelo Bielsa’s 4-1-4-1 that functioned so well for most of his tenure at Leeds United. It was flexible, innovative and exciting to watch. In that system, Phillips sat deep as the anchor, shielding the back line and playing balls forward. Perhaps playing him in that role, where he can occupy loads of space on his own, would get the best out of him once again.
That would see Morsy play just ahead of him on his right, giving him more opportunities to get into advanced areas and play those penetrative cross-field passes that get Town going. When out of possession or under pressure, he can always track back.
On the left, Jack Taylor could be a great fit. He probably deserves to start, having consistently impressed off the bench for Ipswich in the Premier League. He’s now got his first Republic of Ireland cap and will look to continue his upward trajectory. He’s not a no.10, as such, but can still play the furthest forward of the midfield trio. He can sit on the edge of the box, play passes into forward areas and take those long-range shots that he’s so good at.
But he can also come deeper. That would create a flat midfield three and give Ipswich another body in midfield. Not only would it offer the Blues’ back line some extra protection, but it’d also support Morsy and Phillips a little bit more to allow their chemistry to grow.
The issue? This simply isn’t McKenna’s footballing vision. He doesn’t start games without a natural no.10, even if he has the flexibility to change things in game. He may prefer to persevere with what he knows and what he believes will work over time.
Switch Omari
How do you get the best out of Omari Hutchinson? There’s an argument that we haven’t seen it in the Premier League this season.
He’s had some bright moments – some lovely footwork, a couple of chances to test the best goalkeepers in the world. He does look a little way off of the lively, dangerous attacker that we saw in the Championship.
Some supporters want to see him start on the right, and it’s clear to see why. When playing through the middle, he has to come into incredibly congested areas. In the Premier League, the centre-backs and central midfielders that he comes up against are usually much bigger and much more powerful than he is.
For all his strengths, he’s not going to barge someone like Virgil van Dijk off the ball. He’s not Liam Delap. They’re often occupying the same areas – especially when Ipswich play a 4-2-4. There’s a reason why one is thriving more than the other.
That could change out wide. We know what Hutchinson is capable of, and fans have strong memories of him cutting inside and curling shots into the top corner from outside the box. Those who watched him play for England Under-21s against Azerbaijan during the recent international break would’ve seen him play in that role, putting in a dazzling display at Ashton Gate.
Although there’s clearly a humongous gap in quality compared to Premier League defenders, he came off the bench looking full of confidence. He had plenty of space to work with and he backed himself to beat his full-back with his pace and his dribbling. He did just that - on multiple occasions, in fact – getting a goal, two assists and forcing an own-goal in just 30 minutes on the pitch.
We saw him take up that role in the latter stages against Everton when Conor Chaplin came on. He looked sharper on the ball, even if he found the battle against Vitalii Mykolenko quite hard. It feels like it might be easier for him to build up confidence and experience in that position, and many opposition left-backs would hate facing him.
Why not do it? Well, McKenna is very particular about what he wants on the right flank. He wants pace and power - a strong, direct runner who can carry the ball forward and get it into the box. Hutchinson doesn’t progress play quite as quickly, he’s not someone who’ll look to get to the byline and get it into the box.
Wes Burns and Chiedozie Ogbene are better suited to that, although the former has struggled since returning from his hamstring injury last month while the latter has only started one game for Town since the end of August.
Hutchinson’s defensive work rate could be crucial, however. Burns and Ogbene both double up as wing-backs when out of possession, supporting the right-back and creating a back three. The former Chelsea youngster might not be able to do that in the same way, but he’s shown that he can track back and get stuck in.
If he was moved, it'd open up the central role for someone like Sammie Szmodics, Chaplin or Taylor, as mentioned, who'll be desperate for more game time.
Defensive changes
Ipswich’s defensive depth is now a real issue. Going into the campaign, McKenna had two options for every position and three at right-back – nine in total. That has since dropped to six, with Axel Tuanzebe, Jacob Greaves and Ben Johnson all ruled out through injury.
Tuanzebe and Johnson being out leaves Town short at right-back. Harry Clarke, who recovered from Achilles surgery last month, is the only natural option. He made his Premier League debut on Saturday afternoon, coming on in the second half of the 2-0 defeat to Everton.
He ended up replacing Dara O’Shea, who’s a natural right-sided centre-back. He’s played at right-back for West Brom and the Republic of Ireland, but he revealed after the game that it certainly isn’t his preferred position. That was made clear from his performance, where he looked comfortable, but no more than that.
O’Shea’s shift to the right saw Luke Woolfenden return to the starting lineup, with Cameron Burgess partnering him on his Premier League debut. McKenna was surely thinking that their chemistry – built up from regular football in League One and the Championship – would help the Blues. It’s hard to say whether it did or not.
Burgess will surely be starting the next few games regardless. He’s the only left-footed centre-back at the club other than Greaves, who probably won’t be back this side of the November international break. He looked strong in the air but struggled when the ball was played on the floor. Those will be things to work on.
Who partners him? Woolfenden didn’t play well against Everton, and while he did nothing wrong to be dropped earlier in the season, he finds it hard against fast attackers. Brentford, for example, have that in abundance.
That could see McKenna try a new partnership, at least this weekend. For a centre-back, O’Shea has the pace to deal with the likes of Bryan Mbeumo, Kevin Schade and Keane Lewis-Potter. He might be better suited to playing with Woolfenden, even if it breaks up his well-established pairing with Burgess.
That leaves a gap at right-back, one which Johnson will hope to fill when he’s back. In the meantime, Clarke might fancy his chances of stepping in and establishing himself in that area. Really, it’s a case of whether he’s fit enough to play from the start, having played just 27 minutes of competitive football since April 27th. His last start came all the way back on April 10th.
He did look sharp off the bench against Everton, however, and has the attacking drive to help Town on the right – something which O’Shea and Tuanzebe haven’t offered. It’s certainly an option to assess.
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