Ipswich Town match report - Part 1 Introduction & teams

REDS V IPSWICH TOWN MATCH REPORT – 30TH SEPTEMBER 2008

Having just got back, I don’t think I have felt so let down and dispirited as a Reds fan for a long time. Last season’s fixture showed how far we had come, as we played out a 0-0 against a high-quality Ipswich side who had thumped us 5-1 the season before. I recall it as a thoroughly professional performance by the Reds – disciplined, but with a distinct hint of quality and threat going forwards, which bode well for the future. We were a side on the up.

I am left at the end of this game, wondering where all that professionalism went, along with the glimpses of genuine class, which meant we had real chances to win games. After this performance, there is no doubt that we are a side on the slide. Although we started well and dominated the first half hour, it was worrying to see how quickly the confidence just drained away from all the players soon after the first goal went in. We finished looking abject and, for the last half hour, made the poorest Ipswich team I have seen look positively good.

The following team took the pitch:

Muller

Foster Moore Sousa Kozluk

Campbell-Ryce De Silva Leon Devaney

Hume Macken

On the subs bench was Reuben Lazarus, making possible history as the youngest player in league history. I was surprised by the omission of Colace from centre midfield, as he had played a key holding role and made the centre midfield look very solid in recent games. Leon is more a creative playmaker and needs a midfield base from which to operate. I felt from the start that this made us look rather brittle in midfield.

 

RE: Ipswich Town match report - Part 2 First Half Report

First half report:

There was an early shot from Owen Garvan, who I rate very highly. However, there was then established a long period of Reds dominance, made easier because of the laughable attempts by Ipswich to pass the ball to any of their players. In the first 30 minutes, even after the goal, I don’t think I can ever recall such a quiet stadium. It was hard to believe that there were eighteen thousand gathered in such a compact space and making so little noise. However, the Reds fans did the team and town proud, such that the stewards were sent in occasionally with the probable intention of quietening down the Reds fans just to see if an Ipswich fan could be heard anywhere. Sadly, not, as was ribaldly noted by the Reds travelling faithful.

There was a lot to report in this good opening spell of play. Leon (I think) brought an excellent save from Richard Wright – something RW did more than once this evening – seems to ring bells with Wembley 2000! A corner was headed close by Moore. Hume had a long-distance, but scuffed, shot from way out – at least it was the right idea – if you don’t shoot, you won’t score and, boy, do we need to score. There was a limp flick from Macken from a good cross, but nowhere near the right certainty of touch was applied and the ball rolled out for a goal kick. Then came Muller’s blunder – with no danger and a routine back-pass to clear, he seemed to slip, scuffed the ball straight to Stead, who couldn’t miss. A total injustice on the balance of play. The Reds still managed to maintain a degree of domination after this, as, truth be told, Ipswich still had not woken up and were very disjointed, thanks also to some good chasing by the Reds, especially in midfield, where Leon and De Silva put a foot in to good effect frequently. There was a shot by De Silva, but then a period of pressure from Ipswich with Muller being roundly jeered by the Ipswich fans whenever he went anywhere near the ball. He made some amends with a very good reaction save from Stead. At the other end, Leon had a shot saved. Play came back down to our end and Quinn went close. Sousa had a good header from a corner saved by Wright at the end – we really needed and deserved to go in level at half time, but no chance!

 

RE: Ipswich Town match report - Part 3 Second Half Report

Second half report:

Ipswich seemed to grow in confidence at the beginning of the second half and actually started to look as though they might have played together before. Stead worked a good shooting chance (he looked a cut above the average quality all evening). However, Macken really should have scored when we worked an opening, but found the side netting – it was a good chance for an experienced striker and he should have at least hit the target. De Silva had a shot saved , Macken shot over, Leon had a shot blocked away for a corner. Campo practised his diving routine for the umpteenth time, the only person in the entire stadium finding it convincing being the referee. Counago made a bad miss from Stead’s cross – he should have scored. Rigters came on for Macken, who had looked off the pace and had not really carried out the target man role to any great effect. This was a significant reason we did not look that likely to score.

With the Reds pressing for an equaliser, there was always the danger of getting caught on the break and this provided the only good goal Ipswich scored during the game. The ball ended up being played back into the middle after it looked as though Moore had chased down the danger to our right. Garvan controlled the ball and curled a glorious left-footer beyond Muller, giving him no chance. It was only three/four minutes later that Muller’s night was compete and the Reds were sunk for good. This was a simply shocking goal to concede in every sense. Campo, who had looked unfit, overweight and off the pace all evening, got the ball about forty yards from goal. He was not closed down. The crowd started to shout ‘shoot’ and he was still not closed down, so he thought about it, took a couple of steps forwards and then thought he might be close enough, so did what the crowd had been shouting him to do (did I see him have time to nip off to the terrace to consult some of the spectators as to where he should place the shot?). It was straight at Muller, but going fast and wobbling around. Muller’s attempt to field it was pitiful. He got no part of his body behind the ball, but committed the schoolboy error of just using his hands. The ball squirmed out of his grip and into the net to the sheer joy of the Ipswich fans, who had baited and goaded him into daring to make another such appalling error as the one in the first half. There can be few occasions when opposition fans have enjoyed so much laughing at an opposition player. I imagine that Muller will become a standing joke in Ipswich for many a year! Hassell came on for De Silva and really looked better than the other Reds players at this point in time. He battled hard, won possession and won possession back if he lost it. It was a quality which we had been missing for a lot of the game and brought back memories of Barnsley sides of old. Rigters won a corner. Lazarus came on and also won a corner. There was a final header for Sousa at the end, but it was all academic.

We had been beaten by a poor Ipswich side, who looked clueless until we gifted them the lead and then the points. Oh dear!!

 

RE: Ipswich Town match report - Part 4 Overall Match Analysis

Match analysis:

Given the players available, the team structure looked a little too brittle in midfield. My understanding is that Colace was still carrying an ankle injury from Saturday and couldn’t play. This was a pity, because there is no doubt that our strongest formation at present, especially as we are trying to grind out the basis of a good run, is two holding midfielders, one winger and Leon in a free role-in-the-hole behind the strikers.

On reflection, it would have been better to have played Hassell in Colace’s place in order to free up Leon to the free role in which he is most comfortable. This would have been at the expense of a winger, but, truth be told, both wingers were thoroughly contained by Wright and Bruce tonight – we could hardly get a pass to either Campbell-Ryce, or Devaney and this made us seem as though we were playing with nine men at times. Campbell-Ryce was his usual tricky self and you could not question his commitment and effort, nor his skill, but, if he were to beat one man, a second midfielder came back to cover and he was constantly forced out wide.

The defence actually looked sound (don’t laugh – remember it was goalkeeping errors which cost us this game – before you say, “What about their second?” read on below). If anything Foster had the most difficult time against Garvan, but he did not let the side down.

Up front there was a bustling, all-action display from Hume. He missed at least two good opportunities, but did not let his frustration lead him into getting booked, or sent off, so that is progress. At least he was in the right place to get the chances to miss and the goals will come along if he keeps playing like that. I am amazed how strong he is as a small player. He has developed a very good technique for out-muscling bigger defenders and turning them, whilst keeping the ball - quite a skill for a small guy and one which Macken needs to study. Macken had a night off the pace and was largely dominated by McAuley and Naylor. He had a couple of chances, but it is typical that, when your confidence is low, you snatch at them and they go begging. When he went off, the captain’s arm-band went to Foster, which seemed a good decision. I can only presume that the selection of Macken as captain for the last two games has more to do with internal politics than rational decision.

It is typical of a team short on confidence, if we are to believe the sports psychologists, that they stop doing the simple basics well and try the outrageous. The frustration of the Reds players was very close to the surface tonight and it showed at all times when under any sort of pressure. The most worrying aspect is that we could not make the spell of domination count – we keep hearing the same thing this season and it is the biggest problem leading to our continued downfall, if it is not put right. This is where confidence and doing the simple things well counts. We had the chances and missed them, admittedly in part due to some good keeping by Richard Wright, who has always been a good shot-stopper. However, our dominance for thirty minutes plus was as much down to the desperately poor Ipswich side, as it was our own play. It won’t be as easy against the likes of Reading, or Wolves.

Davey has said that he supports Muller – it is true that one nightmare match doesn’t suddenly make him a bad keeper. However, he HAS to hold the blame for this defeat and must do so virtually single-handedly. You could argue that anyone can slip to give away what was the first goal – true. However, we were then chasing the game and what showed in the players’ faces and body-language was something like, “Oh! Heck! We now have to score a goal and we are not sure we can!” The second goal, therefore, came from an Ipswich break away in the phase of the game when we were trying to push forwards. We would not have committed so many players forwards had we been level and this was Muller’s fault. If the first goal could be called an accident, the third was desperately poor technique. It was a shot virtually straight at him along the ground. It was a routine save. He needed to have hands behind it and had all the time in the world to see the shot coming – everyone in the ground could see that – and he had to get some other part of his anatomy down as well – his knee, or leg as an additional barrier. This was basic technique which was lacking. These chaps are professionals who practise day-in-day-out and this was a basic error to add to number one. Muller needs to have a bad day today, because he let down the fans and his own players. He is strong enough to come again, but see below.

The other problem is to do with direction and leadership, both on and off the field. We were not quite ‘headless chickens’ tonight, but the smoothly professional display of last season was largely absent and the structure of the team did not help our overall purpose. This is a defining season for Simon Davey’s managerial career. He has had the team for almost two seasons now and any manager worth their salt will have strengthened the team and brought it into his own clear style of play. The signs are not good at the moment for poor Simon. I am convinced that he is an excellent systems man by all accounts and prepares the players very thoroughly for every game. However, an important dimension which should have become evident by now is man-management skills, which includes the motivation of players. The best I have seen in this division at this is Gary Johnson, who I thought would be a disaster on moving from the bumpkins of Yeovil (sorry to anyone from Yeovil) to the city gents of Bristol. You can tell that Gary has excellent inter-personal and motivational skills by the way he talks about and to his players. They are amongst the characteristics of many winning leaders and managers, which Davey would do well to master before it is too late – and that is not far away with performances like Ipswich. Some of his own tension is bound to communicate itself to the players and that did show at times.

 

RE: Ipswich Town match report - Part 5 Player Ratings and Conclusions

Player Ratings:

Muller 4: sorry, Heinz, but you have to take the full rap for the Ipswich result. I do not believe that Ipswich had the coherence, nor the technique to score unless we gifted them a goal, which we did. From that point on, we were chasing the game, had to change what had been an effective opening style and increasingly had the haunted look of a team which feared it could not score.

Foster 5: solid enough and some good blocks and challenges. I think he is the natural captain of the team. The central pairing of Moore and Sousa looked ok last night, so right full back it is, Steve, for a while. Full back is almost certainly not his strongest position, but, at the moment, it best fits the overall strength of the team.

Moore 5: solid enough. Won most in the air. Was only once caught for pace in the build up to the second Ipswich goal and, even then, he partially closed down the move, but could not fully clear. Why did he get a ticking off from the ref? I couldn’t see much wrong with his challenges, although he is a big guy and attackers do tend to crumble into him.

Sousa 5: also solid enough and got forwards to get two headers on target. I think the tension of the whole team showed a little in Dennis’ performance last night when I think of last season’s assured performances, comfortable on the ball etc. Sometimes you don’t play your best when you try too hard. Oh, for the days of confidence and style to return and soon.

Kozluk 5: usual Kozzy. Committed in the tackle and resolute in defence. I would like to have seen him get forwards more to support Devaney, but, in an away match, I guess that defence is the first need and he did not let the side down.

Campbell-Ryce 6: tried hard and full of his usual tricks, but Ipswich defended fairly deep and had a second player to keep him out wide, which they succeeded in doing throughout the game. Ipswich managed to deny him the ball by good positional defending, so his threat was limited, but you cannot fault the effort and the trickery.

De Silva 6: very good during our period of dominance and got his foot in to good effect to keep us rolling towards the Ipswich goal during our dominant period. Had a couple of shots, but no real threat and we do need goals from midfield when the team and, particularly, the strikers, are not scoring. His frustration blew and he was booked for losing his temper with the ref. More than anyone else, De Silva showed the frustration and tension of the players. I heard him bawl at the ref from up in the stands. He stormed off when substituted. Another not very happy bunny. Good player, though, and we have missed him.

Leon 7 and Man of the Match for me: he MUST be played in the free ‘role-in-the-hole’ behind the strikers, as this is significantly his strongest position. His is naturally a creative and imaginative play-maker. The team formation last night meant that, while he did play this creative role, it left midfield a little brittle at times, which was the fault of the system, rather than the player. He could either play in front of a holding midfield pair (De Silva and Colace for choice), or behind a single striker, if we put five in midfield. He was unlucky not to score and whatever team structure we choose, it must allow him to invent, create and run into positions from deep beyond the strikers. One forty-yard pass to JCR last night was pure class.

Devaney 5: was well held by the Ipswich defenders and rarely threatened as a result. He was obviously given instructions, as was Campbell-Ryce, to stay wide and hug the touchline a) to give us a good ‘out-ball’ and b) to stretch the Ipswich defence. The fact that Ipswich countered this so well meant that a) we couldn’t easily get the ball to him and b) he rarely got into threatening positions. Another reason for my thinking that, on the night, we could have done with just one winger and an extra midfielder.

Hume 6: pity about the missed chances, but at least he was there to take them! You cannot fault his all-action display, sometimes having to play as a target man (all five foot seven of him!) against some big defenders. Good first touches at times. Amazing how he has the strength to turn bigger players than himself. The goals will come. Maybe needs to shoot on sight a little more as against Derby.

Macken 5: looked off the pace and rarely got free from the shackles of the Ipswich defence. The result was that we did not hold the ball up well enough and the precision of passing to set up scoring chances, at least from the target man, was not there. He really should have scored when hitting the side netting and looks a little over-burdened with the captaincy. He needs a run of scoring to get his confidence back and Saturday’s ‘Southgate’ penalty will not have helped.

Rigters 5: gave us two running forwards when he came on, but still does not look quite at the level of fitness and pace to out-run a defence. Did his bit and chased lost causes, winning a corner.

Hassell 6: got stuck in right away and made a difference to midfield, winning tackles and not giving up lost causes. He reminded me what we were missing during the last thirty minutes when our heads had dropped. Deserves more chances and more time, but not sure where.

Lazarus – not on long enough, but 6 for his efforts: tall for a fifteen-year-old and did not look overawed. I don’t think we saw his abilities fully utilised yesterday. I am guessing that is a striker/wide player with pace to burn. If he were to score a goal early in his career, I think we could see him make a real impact. However, limited time means that we will get a fuller picture in due course. Nice to see an academy lad getting the chance.

Conclusion:

So, there you have it! A team low on confidence and hoping to build the foundation for a good run to get us up the league. Game plan working for half an hour, during which time a goal and, I claim, the whole match, was gifted to the opposition. We could not change after that and looked less and less confident about believing we could score to get back into the game. The break away goal seemed inevitable and the third goal was laughable. I think we ought to have come away with a point and the best we deserved last night was 0-0.

Davey can make me eat my words by raising and inspiring the team to a vibrant performance at home to the old enemy on Saturday with a counter-balancing 3-0 win to the Reds. As a supporter for forty-six years, this is what I want and hope for both for the team and for Davey.

Prove me wrong, Simon. It is in tough times that the qualities of the outstanding leader are best shown.

 

RE: Ipswich Town match report - Part 5 Player Ratings and Conclusions

Player Ratings:

Muller 4: sorry, Heinz, but you have to take the full rap for the Ipswich result. I do not believe that Ipswich had the coherence, nor the technique to score unless we gifted them a goal, which we did. From that point on, we were chasing the game, had to change what had been an effective opening style and increasingly had the haunted look of a team which feared it could not score.

Foster 5: solid enough and some good blocks and challenges. I think he is the natural captain of the team. The central pairing of Moore and Sousa looked ok last night, so right full back it is, Steve, for a while. Full back is almost certainly not his strongest position, but, at the moment, it best fits the overall strength of the team.

Moore 5: solid enough. Won most in the air. Was only once caught for pace in the build up to the second Ipswich goal and, even then, he partially closed down the move, but could not fully clear. Why did he get a ticking off from the ref? I couldn’t see much wrong with his challenges, although he is a big guy and attackers do tend to crumble into him.

Sousa 5: also solid enough and got forwards to get two headers on target. I think the tension of the whole team showed a little in Dennis’ performance last night when I think of last season’s assured performances, comfortable on the ball etc. Sometimes you don’t play your best when you try too hard. Oh, for the days of confidence and style to return and soon.

Kozluk 5: usual Kozzy. Committed in the tackle and resolute in defence. I would like to have seen him get forwards more to support Devaney, but, in an away match, I guess that defence is the first need and he did not let the side down.

Campbell-Ryce 6: tried hard and full of his usual tricks, but Ipswich defended fairly deep and had a second player to keep him out wide, which they succeeded in doing throughout the game. Ipswich managed to deny him the ball by good positional defending, so his threat was limited, but you cannot fault the effort and the trickery.

De Silva 6: very good during our period of dominance and got his foot in to good effect to keep us rolling towards the Ipswich goal during our dominant period. Had a couple of shots, but no real threat and we do need goals from midfield when the team and, particularly, the strikers, are not scoring. His frustration blew and he was booked for losing his temper with the ref. More than anyone else, De Silva showed the frustration and tension of the players. I heard him bawl at the ref from up in the stands. He stormed off when substituted. Another not very happy bunny. Good player, though, and we have missed him.

Leon 7 and Man of the Match for me: he MUST be played in the free ‘role-in-the-hole’ behind the strikers, as this is significantly his strongest position. His is naturally a creative and imaginative play-maker. The team formation last night meant that, while he did play this creative role, it left midfield a little brittle at times, which was the fault of the system, rather than the player. He could either play in front of a holding midfield pair (De Silva and Colace for choice), or behind a single striker, if we put five in midfield. He was unlucky not to score and whatever team structure we choose, it must allow him to invent, create and run into positions from deep beyond the strikers. One forty-yard pass to JCR last night was pure class.

Devaney 5: was well held by the Ipswich defenders and rarely threatened as a result. He was obviously given instructions, as was Campbell-Ryce, to stay wide and hug the touchline a) to give us a good ‘out-ball’ and b) to stretch the Ipswich defence. The fact that Ipswich countered this so well meant that a) we couldn’t easily get the ball to him and b) he rarely got into threatening positions. Another reason for my thinking that, on the night, we could have done with just one winger and an extra midfielder.

Hume 6: pity about the missed chances, but at least he was there to take them! You cannot fault his all-action display, sometimes having to play as a target man (all five foot seven of him!) against some big defenders. Good first touches at times. Amazing how he has the strength to turn bigger players than himself. The goals will come. Maybe needs to shoot on sight a little more as against Derby.

Macken 5: looked off the pace and rarely got free from the shackles of the Ipswich defence. The result was that we did not hold the ball up well enough and the precision of passing to set up scoring chances, at least from the target man, was not there. He really should have scored when hitting the side netting and looks a little over-burdened with the captaincy. He needs a run of scoring to get his confidence back and Saturday’s ‘Southgate’ penalty will not have helped.

Rigters 5: gave us two running forwards when he came on, but still does not look quite at the level of fitness and pace to out-run a defence. Did his bit and chased lost causes, winning a corner.

Hassell 6: got stuck in right away and made a difference to midfield, winning tackles and not giving up lost causes. He reminded me what we were missing during the last thirty minutes when our heads had dropped. Deserves more chances and more time, but not sure where.

Lazarus – not on long enough, but 6 for his efforts: tall for a fifteen-year-old and did not look overawed. I don’t think we saw his abilities fully utilised yesterday. I am guessing that is a striker/wide player with pace to burn. If he were to score a goal early in his career, I think we could see him make a real impact. However, limited time means that we will get a fuller picture in due course. Nice to see an academy lad getting the chance.

Conclusion:

So, there you have it! A team low on confidence and hoping to build the foundation for a good run to get us up the league. Game plan working for half an hour, during which time a goal and, I claim, the whole match, was gifted to the opposition. We could not change after that and looked less and less confident about believing we could score to get back into the game. The break away goal seemed inevitable and the third goal was laughable. I think we ought to have come away with a point and the best we deserved last night was 0-0.

Davey can make me eat my words by raising and inspiring the team to a vibrant performance at home to the old enemy on Saturday with a counter-balancing 3-0 win to the Reds. As a supporter for forty-six years, this is what I want and hope for both for the team and for Davey.

Prove me wrong, Simon. It is in tough times that the qualities of the outstanding leader are best shown.

 

FAO Jay - consider your #1, #2, #3 & #4 season review

pissed all over.

 

Thanks for taking the time for such a thorough write up

(Y)

 

His is naturally a creative and imaginative play-maker.

Leon does not create anything from what i have seen
Last night we saw hopeful creative passes which look good but in reality end up with nothing
His corners /free kicks lack imagination for a 'creative' player
Has anyone seen him get a free kick on target yet ?

Ipswich were for the taking and Muller threw it away

MOM in local paper for Ipswich was goalie yet we lost 3-0 are we that unlucky ?

Deaveney runs into brick walls and net result is lost possesion

De Silva is getting frustrated which to me will lead to him leaving too.

 

I swa him get a pearler on target away at Preston nt

 

Excellent write up mate.

I can't add anything to that.

Great summary and I agree with just about every word (Y)

Now, let's get three points on Saturday.

COME ON YOU REDS!!!

 

RE: Ipswich Town match report - Part 5 Player Ratings and Conclusions

Evans, that was Good
thanky you very much

 

Excellent report my friend

You obviously come from the same Barrie Thomas/Johnny Evans era as me and write in a similar style. Intelligent, personal observations - much appreciated by someone who was not there last night. I know there are some on here with serious attention deficit problems but I, for one, like to read an in-depth report of a match. Thanks for taking the trouble and let's hope for something much better on Saturday.
I have just had this weird day dream where the young Lazarus starts the match and in the second minute weaves his way through the Donny defence and around the keeper before planting the ball in the back of the net, in the style of one David Hirst. Hmmmmm

 

RE: Excellent report my friend

Thanks. Maybe I'll write another one soon.