Premier League - Ipswich Town vs Fulham FC Preview & Matchday Thread

[arana peligrosa]

It seems about even out there not taking into account the score itself. Chances on goal et cetera. Couple of years back in a lower league this would actually represent a commendable score. But it's need for three points now after losing two opening fixtures although many would have expected to take little from both contests.

Just holding out for winning goal from ourselves by this point, you can almost sense it and would provide considerable morale after the start made. Not sure if McKenna playing further names in direct attack by this stage but guess it's how you view it, either go for the win or consolidate first season back with a point. There can't be much time remaining there.

[Ricco]

Off the mark

Looking forward to hearing who everyone thought did well and perhaps where there was a struggle or two too.

[TODD66]

Into the International Break out of the bottom 3.

Something to build on!

[arana peligrosa]

That's it a 1 - 1 draw we got. First point/s at the top level since 2002, it's quite a poignant instance. The important thing was not to lose, hopefully take today and build on it for future fixtures, shamefully don't know who we play next but it was imperative to get a point on the table. It's frustrating not to win but was always going to be tough back in the topmost league after so long away.

Nearly 30,000 is great to see and crowds back after poor seasons years before, it's a shame we couldn't turn it into victory but there has to be certain positives to take from today.

[Cabanas Blue]

Happy with that good performance and something to build on.

[shabba]

Happy with that good performance and something to build on.

Yep - especially second half where we looked sharper and had the lions share of the game. Could have won it.

Very happy.

[MMJR67]

Very entertaining match, everyone gave it their all.

[Bluemike]

Really pleased with that today and by the close we'd deserved to win it, even first half, better side second half. Defensively I thought we were pretty solid, the Two CB'S and Tuanzebe very good while Leif a mixture of good and bad, muric better on some aspects of his game but distribution still pretty ropey.

I though the Midfield looked good, Morsy as always did his stuff, I thought Phillips was excellent today and did so much of the good stuff most won't notice. Szmodics, Hutchinson and Ogbene all played their part but Omari will have better games, not sure how he got MOTM and Ogbene will improve with time.

Up front I thought Delap was incredible, a stunning goal and led the line superbly, his touch, strength and work ethic is quite something.

Cajuste and Clarke both showed real quality when they came on and Ali showed he too is far from out of his depth with some nice touches and good link up play.

All in all I was really pleased, we showed promise and went toe to toe with a probable top Ten side, the thing is we will only get better as the weeks go on. A first point on the board is massive and we go into the international break out of the bottom Three after Three very hard fixtures. Happy days. COYB'S

[ITFC2024]

Well done, lads!

Phillips had a good run out! Don't know if anyone else noticed, but his pedigree is obvious. Some of his passes were excellent and showed good vision, while his defensive work was solid. He was all over the pitch. He'll be fine and an excellent addition once he regains full fitness mentally and physically.

Davis earns the assist and generally had a good game, but his defensive frailties were once again at fault for Fulham's goal. He left Adama completely unmarked and didn't even see him until it was too late.

Omari deserved MOM for his effort alone. I just wish the rest of the team could get him the ball in scoring positions rather than when he's covered by two or three defenders.

Morsy did fine, the usual.

Szmodics never stopped running, but his size was taken advantage of by Fulham's physical defenders and the ref was letting it go.

Delap took his goal very well, and he also ran his socks off. It was very pleasing to see he can 'finish' after all.

Clarke looked a threat when he came on and could have scored.

Defense looked ok.

Ogbene did ok.

The only negative for me, is I still don't feel comfortable with Muric in goal. I'm glad he was instructed to roll the ball out more, but he still looks like a mistake waiting to happen. Also, his command of the box was a bit shaky and a couple times he should have caught the ball instead of punching it. Hopefully, our goalkeeper coach can get Muric straightened out soon.

[Bluemike]

Clearly we didn't lose cus it's like a morgue on here.

[JamessB]

It feels good to get that first point on the board and a good performance should give the team confidence and something to build on during the international break, compare this to how Everton fans must be feeling right now...

[JohnnyB]

Just to break the morgue like silence and hopefully take the thread over to page 3.

I'm happy with how we're doing. I think today we showed we've got the quality to stay up and push on.

My ha'pence worth on the striker problem. Mck has always played with a number 9 whose job it is to put himself about and draw defenders away from the middle, letting the 'number 10s' in, rather than simply rattle in the goals. It needs a young, selfless player who's prepared to run himself into the ground for others, rather than go for glory. We know Hirst can do this and I think Delap can too, so we've got two in the building ready, Al Hamadi at a push too.

[JohnnyB]

Still page 2. Damn

[Charnwood]

I see the BBC described the game as scrappy but I didn’t exactly see it that way. Whilst Fulham dominated possession in the first half I thought we contained them well and created the better chances although Traore looked a threat whenever he had the ball at is feet and I feared for Davis every time he ran at him. The other three of the back four were pretty solid and Greaves grows on me every game, in fact he reminds me of Gareth McCauley at his best. Woolfie is far better with Gresves alongside him and Tuanzebe gets better every games. I’m not sure what it is about him but Muric always looks like an accident waiting to happen, we can only hope that with a confident back line in front of him his own confidence grows. I must admit I cringe every time a town player passes the ball back to him and find myself shouting at the telly.
Phillips played much further forward than I expected and one he settled looked a class player. In the early stages zi was worried as he appeared to be trying too hard and gave possession away too often for my liking but he seemed aware of this and slowed himself down a bit and got better as the game went on and by the time McKenna swapped him for Len’s Cajuste he was one of the better players on the pitch and may well be a regular starter.
Of the three sitting behind Delap Omari looked the liveliest but needs to get better at deciding when to pass and when to go alone. He certainly looked worthy of his price tag and is another sure to be a regular starter. Szmodics I thought was slow getting into the game but then for long periods early in the gamewe struggled with possession and you can’t do much without the ball. For me Ogbene was the surprise selection but his but his contribution also surprised me and had Delaps through pass been slightly better he could well have scored the winning goal.
This leaves Liam Delap who I thought led the attack brilliantly all afternoon and for me was MOTM not only for his outstanding goal but for his all round contribution. That was the best No 9 performance I’ve seen in a town shirt for a long time.
Of the subs who came on Jack Clarke and Lens Cajuste were my favourites and JC I would just have to find a place for every game.
In summary whilst I was disappointed we didn’t win I was pleased with what I watched and am thinking we can only get better and have some decent back up waiting in the wings. If O’Shea is only 90% as good as Jacob Greaves our central defence issues will soon be resolved and Woolfie has certainly made it difficult for McKenna to drop him.

I don’t normally like the international break but this time it gives McKenna to work with the squad to prepare them for the next game at Brighton who today looked awesome at Arsenal who will probably look back on the game and see it as a point won rather than two points dropped. Having watched all 90 mins of Brightons game against Man Utd last weekend I see it as another game we’ll do well to get anything out of.

OMG, avoiding reldgstion isn’t going to be easy, in fact after watching two Brighton games I think it’s going to be quite a challenge and I’d happily take 17th place now.

[ITFC2024]

That’s so funny, I found myself shouting at the telly too. I really am happy with the look of Delap & Phillips today. Two players I had questions about, but I think they both will be astute signings.

[Blue Wilf]

I am away on hols but was pleased to hear we played well and its a good step forward. Loved Delap's goal! Also love being out of the bottom 3 after 3 huge games. COYB's!!

[Andym]

I see the BBC described the game as scrappy but I didn’t exactly see it that way. Whilst Fulham dominated possession in the first half I thought we contained them well and created the better chances although Traore looked a threat whenever he had the ball at is feet and I feared for Davis every time he ran at him. The other three of the back four were pretty solid and Greaves grows on me every game, in fact he reminds me of Gareth McCauley at his best. Woolfie is far better with Gresves alongside him and Tuanzebe gets better every games. I’m not sure what it is about him but Muric always looks like an accident waiting to happen, we can only hope that with a confident back line in front of him his own confidence grows. I must admit I cringe every time a town player passes the ball back to him and find myself shouting at the telly.
Phillips played much further forward than I expected and one he settled looked a class player. In the early stages zi was worried as he appeared to be trying too hard and gave possession away too often for my liking but he seemed aware of this and slowed himself down a bit and got better as the game went on and by the time McKenna swapped him for Len’s Cajuste he was one of the better players on the pitch and may well be a regular starter.
Of the three sitting behind Delap Omari looked the liveliest but needs to get better at deciding when to pass and when to go alone. He certainly looked worthy of his price tag and is another sure to be a regular starter. Szmodics I thought was slow getting into the game but then for long periods early in the gamewe struggled with possession and you can’t do much without the ball. For me Ogbene was the surprise selection but his but his contribution also surprised me and had Delaps through pass been slightly better he could well have scored the winning goal.
This leaves Liam Delap who I thought led the attack brilliantly all afternoon and for me was MOTM not only for his outstanding goal but for his all round contribution. That was the best No 9 performance I’ve seen in a town shirt for a long time.
Of the subs who came on Jack Clarke and Lens Cajuste were my favourites and JC I would just have to find a place for every game.
In summary whilst I was disappointed we didn’t win I was pleased with what I watched and am thinking we can only get better and have some decent back up waiting in the wings. If O’Shea is only 90% as good as Jacob Greaves our central defence issues will soon be resolved and Woolfie has certainly made it difficult for McKenna to drop him.

I don’t normally like the international break but this time it gives McKenna to work with the squad to prepare them for the next game at Brighton who today looked awesome at Arsenal who will probably look back on the game and see it as a point won rather than two points dropped. Having watched all 90 mins of Brightons game against Man Utd last weekend I see it as another game we’ll do well to get anything out of.

OMG, avoiding reldgstion isn’t going to be easy, in fact after watching two Brighton games I think it’s going to be quite a challenge and I’d happily take 17th place now.

I wouldn’t disagree with any of that.

[Bluemike]

That was word perfect Andy and exactly as I saw it.

[QldBlue]

Really enjoyed the game, particularly the first 20 mins of the second half where I thought we totally had their measure. Fulham have some players of real strength and quality so it was great to see a fairly solid defensive effort. Three games in and it’s clear that Greaves is going to be massive for us this season. As others have said, Phillips looked good. But this game definitely a reminder of how hard it’s going to be to pick up points in these more contestable games against mid table sides.
Brighton away is going to be very tough on the evidence so far.
What’s the verdict on Muric’s performance?

[QldBlue]

Really enjoyed the game, particularly the first 20 mins of the second half where I thought we totally had their measure. Fulham have some players of real strength and quality so it was great to see a fairly solid defensive effort. Three games in and it’s clear that Greaves is going to be massive for us this season. As others have said, Phillips looked good. But this game definitely a reminder of how hard it’s going to be to pick up points in these more contestable games against mid table sides.
Brighton away is going to be very tough on the evidence so far.
What’s the verdict on Muric’s performance?

Edit: LOL, just read post above and see verdict is “accident waiting to happen”.

[Charnwood]

Another observation of Jacob Greaves. In my opinion he will be Sam Morsy’s successor as club captain. He just oozes leadership qualities and will hopefully be with us for a long long time. If we survive this season we should tie him down to a long term contract as appears to be the growing trend eg 7yrs.
I know we’re only 3 games into the season but for me he is the stand out best buy of the summer transfer window and it looks like we’ve bought well in other areas too.

[Bluemike]

Bloody hell Andy, you must have been standing next to me yesterday, at HT was chatting with the guys around me and said exactly the same, Greaves is our captain in waiting after Morsy and for me our best signing by far, such quality!

The only issue is if we were to go down he'd most likely be off for around 40 million so we best stay up, Delap, Morsy and Woolfy also had excellent games yesterday, in fact the whole team did in truth.

My ratings.

Muric 6
Tuanzebe 7
Woolfy 8
Greaves 8
Davis 6

Morsy 8
Phillips 7

Szmodics 6
Hutchinson 7
Ogbene 7

Delap 8 **MOTM**

[The Odious Mr Rossi]

I, too, thought MOTD's description of the game as 'scrappy' was totally unjustified.
I really enjoyed the game and especially the pace at which we played and I have to say that despite it's many faults the PL is the best option for spectators.

I fully concede that I was totally wrong about Delap - he's getting better and better every game and looks to have a bright future.
Morsy, too, surprised me and I think the partnership between him at Phillips got better through the game - I think it's going to be a real tussle between Morsy Phillips and Cajuste to see who gets the regular starting places.
Actually, I was pleased with the general performance of all our players - only downside for me was when Clarke tried to bend the ball in from 22 yards when a sideways pass to Chaplin (who was in acres of space) would surely have been the better option.

From what I've seen so far this season, we're not going to finish mid table, but I'm confident we have enough to avoid the drop.

[Charnwood]

At least this week we all seem to have watched the same game which isn’t always the case. For me Rossi your final para is probably where we’re all at thinking we should have enough to avoid relegation, although to achieve that we really need to be looking at averaging 1 point a game which at the moment looks challenging.

I differ slightly with your comment about Jack Clarke not passing to Conor Chaplin as him cutting in from the left to curl the ball into the back of the net with his right foot is his trademark move and how he scores the majority of his goals as I’m sure we’ll soon see for ourselves. Whilst you were thinking pass to Chaplin I was shouting for him to shoot.

[shabba]

Looking at the fixtures points will always be hard to come by, in the next six I’d imagine we must be targeting wins from Saints away and Everton at home - if we can add some draws from other games that would be good - Brighton, West Ham away and villa at home aren’t going to be easy games.

[valleyroad]

For me the 3 key signings are Greaves, Phillips and Delap. Right through the spine of the team.
Phillips is class and for me will get better and better as the season goes on. Greaves was the outstanding center back in the lower leagues and has already stepped up. Delap is a steal and shows the depth of McKenna's knowledge and recruitment.

Overall i think Ipswich have had an excellent window and have really good strength in depth. More than held their own yesterday against a solid PL outfit. Also think Town will be very difficult to beat a PR and will learn as the season goes on. Crowd backing is also superb. Whole town is behind the club and its great to see. Probably need to tighten up a bit defensively as Fulham had a number of chances I think they should have done better with. That said Town create a fair few themselves and overall a draw was fair.

As long as the team keep learning at improving at PL level I'm really confident they will stay up comfortably.

[arana peligrosa]

Not sure when can expect Walton back in a full-time capacity. When Muric was brought in, believed he was back-up for Walton, but seems it's the other way round. I'd like to see Walton back in goal sometime and sure it has to happen at some stage this season. Hladky is a loss, all right he couldn't agree terms on a new contract but served us well and it's a pity he's now taken on elsewhere.

Thought the Fulham goal was scrappy, maybe could have been avoided but guess need to view highlights once more. We did OK, held our own for long periods and despite disappointment of not being able to win, as time goes on the new players will blend with the old and we'll gather further confidence and victories will invariably come to pass. The next few games are challenging, don't like the idea of any international break, the European Championships have only just been held and competed, why introduce these things again at a time nobody needs when could just as well feature Town games next time out.

Brighton, Aston Villa and Brentford are going to be tough but with Everton in near total disarray and trip to Southampton, you can visibly see the chance of points there. Was resolute the team won't see no relegation by end of season but the hope has slightly diminished since first game. You got to believe there's (going to be) three worse teams in the league than ourselves. Or in other words, fail to amass enough points to save themselves.

[hallamblue]

AP I think the Int break has come just right for McKenna. He now has 2 weeks to work with quite a few of the new players, to help bed them in a bit. Some players will be off on int duty of course, but many won't.

[Charnwood]

His many have players have we got on International duty. Obviously Burns and Broadhead aren’t available but I’m not sure which of the new boys have been called up other than Hutchinson and Delap for England Under 21’s.
Just hoping we don’t have any picking up injuries.

[Cabanas Blue]

His many have players have we got on International duty. Obviously Burns and Broadhead aren’t available but I’m not sure which of the new boys have been called up other than Hutchinson and Delap for England Under 21’s.
Just hoping we don’t have any picking up injuries.

I believe it's just the 8 so with the two Welsh boys we have 10 in total.