Ipswich Town: Reasons to be positive after tough Premier League start

Ipswich have outscored Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Wolves so far this season (Image: PA)

Good performances

Let’s start with the obvious one. Ipswich have played 10 Premier League games this season and have played well in eight of them.

Since we’re focusing on positives, let’s get those two poor showings out of the way quickly. Yes, they found things hard at West Ham and were comfortably beaten. Yes, they looked flat and lethargic at home to Everton. The latter was the real shock, but the matches either side of that little blip have to be a cause for optimism.

Town started the season well. In their first taste of Premier League action in over 20 years, with numerous players making their debuts at the level, they stood toe-to-toe with heavyweights Liverpool for over an hour at Portman Road. In the end, they just ran out of steam.

The week after they were beaten at Manchester City, but still showed glimpses of real quality against arguably the best team in the world. They rounded off the month with a 1-1 draw against Fulham – a pulsating encounter in Suffolk - which they could have won.

Against Brighton, they showed a different side to their game, sitting in and grind out a result with remarkable defending, taking a really impressive point. At Southampton, they showed that they’re capable of picking up results when not at their best. Eight days later, they were probably the better team against Champions League outfit Aston Villa across 90 minutes and could have easily secured their first win on another day.

What’s impressed me the most is how they recovered from their drop in performance levels. They came back from the defeat to Everton with a really strong showing against Brentford – a game which they only lost in stoppage time despite having an injury-ravaged squad.

Then, against Leicester, they almost certainly would have won if it wasn’t for a couple of really dubious refereeing decisions (we’ll get onto those) in the second half.

Ipswich aren’t playing badly and losing heavily. In fact, they’re not losing that many games at all. They’ve been beaten as much as they’ve drawn this season, and a little rub of the green could have seen them sit much higher up the table after 10 games.

At this stage in the campaign, McKenna has been keen to focus on the performances over the results, and he’ll be really happy with what he’s seen. They’ve been competitive in almost every game, and it shows how they’ve adapted to the level.

The Blues have had a number of crucial refereeing decisions go against them (Image: PA)

VAR controversies

This one will sting the most given the recency, but let’s look at August first. At the Etihad Stadium, Ipswich gave away a penalty when Leif Davis fouled Savinho in the box. It was totally fair. However, when the same incident happened up the other end later in the first half, it wasn’t even reviewed.

If that was given as a spot-kick, which it clearly should have been, the Blues would have gone in at half time 3-2 down with a spring in their step. Taking a point of the champions would have been a big ask, but not impossible.

Town largely avoided dodgy calls in the weeks after that, but the defeat to Everton changed that when Jack Clarke was brought down inside the box. Referee Michael Oliver was sent to the screen to review his initial decision, which was a penalty, and subsequently overturned it. Was it clear and obvious? Probably not. If it was given and scored, it would have totally changed the flow of the game.

At Brentford, there were a couple of frustrating moments. The Bees’ penalty came from a foul on Keane Lewis-Potter, but contact started outside the penalty area and it was initially given as a free-kick before being upgraded. Again, clear and obvious? No chance. Then Harry Clarke was sent off for a second yellow card where he got the ball, but VAR was unable to intervene.

The most frustrating call is the most recent one against Leicester. The shove on Conor Chaplin, which wasn’t given as a penalty, followed by a second yellow card for Kalvin Phillips. The former was blatant, the latter was dubious, but both calls changed the game and cost Ipswich their first win of the season.

Had these moments not gone against them, they’d likely have at least one victory and quite a few more points. The performances have warranted more than they’ve got, and that has to be seen as a good thing.

Jacob Greaves is set to return from injury after the next international break (Image: Ross Halls)

Returning players

McKenna was hit with an injury crisis over the summer, one which severely restricted his side's pre-season preparations. He got all of his players back in September, but that only really lasted for two or three games before they started dropping like flies again.

The trip to Brentford underlined the issue. Axel Tuanzebe almost sliced off his thumb while doing the washing up earlier in October. Jacob Greaves was out with a hamstring injury. Ben Johnson was also sidelined along with Sam Morsy, Massimo Luongo and Jack Taylor. Omari Hutchinson was ill and Dara O’Shea was having to play with a significant back injury.

Ipswich had next to no depth in defence or attack, but still put in a solid display. They welcomed back Johnson, Morsy and Hutchinson against Leicester and improved once again. They just need to get through this next match against Tottenham before they reach the November international break. After that, they should be able to welcome back Greaves and Taylor, while Tuanzebe hopefully won’t be far away. That should help them improve once again.

When the situation was at its worst, Town had the most absentees in the Premier League - a huge blow for a newly-promoted side. Assuming that no new knocks are picked up in the next few weeks, that pressure will begin to ease.

With so many players out, it’s been impossible for McKenna to play his strongest starting lineup and for the players to continue building bonds and developing chemistry on the pitch. Some of the more inexperienced members of the squad need minutes at this level to develop.

All being well, they can pick up where they left off soon.

Kieran McKenna believes that Town will continue to improve as the season goes on (Image: PA)

Underdog mentality

At times, everything feels like it’s going against Ipswich – VAR, injuries and general luck. When that happens and they go another week without winning, there’s often a pile-on from the national media and those on social media.

There’s two ways of looking at it. On the one hand, it’s not ideal. It can damage morale and create a negative bubble that hangs over the football club. Town don’t really let that happen, however.

Instead, it creates a true underdog situation, one which they perhaps didn’t enter the league with. Many Premier League fans saw a free-scoring side with a young manager linked to Manchester United and Chelsea, which automatically led to comparisons with Brighton and Brentford. As a result, there weren’t that many people who expected Ipswich to be relegated. That’s changed now.

Winless in 10, they’re one of the leading candidates for a bottom-three finish. That allows for a real underdog tagline, a siege mentality, an ‘us against the world’ mantra - just like the ‘running towards adversity’ slogan they've adopted.

McKenna used it a lot in the Championship promotion race, where they finished ahead of Leeds and Southampton. Perhaps it could work here.

What it requires is a total unity both on and off the pitch. The red-hot atmospheres at Portman Road and the packed out away ends are right behind all the players from start to finish. It’ll all go a long way in helping them be successful in the Premier League.

Confidence is high at Portman Road despite a tough start to the campaign (Image: Ross Halls)

In a good position

Take the performances and the results out of the equation and you’re left with a football club on the up.

Memories of the Marcus Evans era feel distant, but they’re not. It’s only been a few years since Ipswich were slumping to mid-table finishes in League One, signing players who clearly weren’t right for the club to play under managers who weren’t good enough.

In next to no time, Town are now a Premier League football club with the eyes of the world on them. The new ownership has supported the club incredibly well, with the Blues spending over £100m in the summer transfer window. The promotion money has obviously helped in that regard too.

They’ve tied down McKenna and star left-back Leif Davis to long-term contracts. They’ve also signed two exciting England Under-21 internationals in Liam Delap and Omari Hutchinson – both of whom have impressed and look likely to develop into top footballers worth far more than the Blues paid for them.

Improvement isn’t linear. If Ipswich are relegated, it wouldn’t be a disgrace. They’d go down with some excellent players who they could sell or develop, and they’d have parachute payments to help them too. Compare that to where they were as recently as four or five years ago, and it's chalk and cheese.

Aside from that, it’s far too early to get wrapped up in talks of a bottom-three finish. We’re in November, 10 games into the season with two incredibly exciting matches coming up. Let’s enjoy the ride.