Ipswich Town return to Premier League action with a game at Brighton & Hove Albion this afternoon. Stuart Watson previews the action.
An international break arrived as Ipswich were settling into their first Premier League campaign in 22 years.
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), and Cieran Slicker (Scotland U21s) were among the ten players who left with their homes.
In addition, Omari Hutchinson arrived back from his England U21 assignment quickly for a “medical assessment,” and Harry Clarke, Wes Burns, Nathan Broadhead, and George Hirst are still recovering from illnesses.
As a result, Kieran McKenna had to work with just 12 first team players—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—for the majority of the previous fortnight.
The Blues manager acknowledged that it wasn’t ideal, but he decided to emphasize the benefits of being able to provide those who were able to go on the Playford Road grass “focused time.”
He continued by saying it would be significant.
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.
There will be another acid test today. Brighton has been in the Premier League for eight consecutive seasons. In the previous three, they have placed ninth, sixth, and eleventh. And so far this season, they’ve collected seven of the nine points that may be earned, including victories (3-0 on the road) and 2-1 at home against Man United and Everton, and a 1-1 draw at Arsenal, the team that is perhaps the biggest rival.
Can Town compete with one of the clubs trying to make their way into what appears to be “the big eight” away from home? Getting off to a quick start against Man City and holding the four-time champions scoreless for almost 70 minutes should instill confidence.
The seagulls have not only survived but also flourished greatly. There’s no denying that Ipswich can learn from their development.
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
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