Ipswich 0-1 Wolves; Post-Match Reaction

With a free Saturday and Chelsea not playing, I found myself making the short train journey from Colchester to Ipswich to take in a game at Portman Road. I’d promised myself when I went to University that I’d try and go to all the Football League grounds in the Essex and East Anglia at least once. After going to Colchester (thrice) and Southend, as well as two trips up to Norwich with Chelsea, the last on the list to tick off were the Tractor Boys. And what better time to so, than the visit of high flying Wolves, who look to have all but confirmed promotion already with an 11 point lead on third place before kick-off on Saturday.

The teams walk out pre-kickoff to a half-empty Portman Road

The game itself was a drab affair. The only goal of the game was a scrappy header by Matt Doherty a third of the way into the first half. Other than this, Ipswich had the majority of the possession, but Wolves had by far the better chances, and it is telling that Nuno Espirito Santos all but admitted that Ipswich keeper Bialkowski was the man of the match in post-match interviews. The Portman Road pitch was a poor one, by no means a quagmire, but not the kind of snooker table-top that Wolves are used to playing on with their normal brand of passing football. The effect of this was to make the game a scrappy one, where early on many passes on the ball would slow up early and end up underhit. This led to more and more balls being hit in the air, with both sides often relying on both through and long balls as a means to transition from defence to attack.

I wanted to do a bit of analysis on the two sides, but first a disclaimer: to my discredit, I haven't watched as much Championship football this season as I normally would, and so it was my first time seeing Ipswich play this season, whilst I have caught small bits and pieces of some of Wolves' televised games. So, I shall openly admit that all following analysis is based on this game alone, and could be wildly inaccurate based on Saturday being an anomaly.

Ipswich vs Wolves: Starting XIs and tactics

Firstly, the away side. As previously stated, Wolves weren't the fluid, attacking side they have been hyped up to be, but the pitch wasn't really conducive to that. Instead, they were efficient, did their jobs well, and came away with only a second win this calendar year. Going through the side, there were impressive performances all over the pitch. In goal, John Ruddy was hardly tested but did well when called upon, the most noteworthy of his interactions in the game being a sardonic clap to the Ipswich fans when coming to his goal in the second half, receiving abuse for being an ex-Norwich stalwart. The three centre-halves, Boly, captain Coady and Ryan Bennett, were outstanding: great in the air against two very strong centre-forwards, as well as solid tacklers. I was particularly impressed with Conor Coady, who has transformed from a reasonably impressive holding midfielder into a very impressive centre-back, almost tailormade for that centre of a back three role. In midfield, Alfred N'Diaye may just be one of the biggest physical units I have seen play football in the flesh, yet he is still mobile, and was great at pressing and breaking up play. In midfield with him was Ruben Neves, who is a superb passer of the ball, having seen him play for Porto off the bench at Stamford Bridge in Jose Mourinho's penultimate game in his second spell at Chelsea. Yet Neves, for aforementioned pitch-related reasons, couldn't play his natural game, and although struggling, managed to put a decent shift in regardless. Diogo Jota was also extremely impressive, being billed as a winger but playing more as a central midfielder, picking up the ball deeper and driving forwards into space. Cavaleiro and Helder Costa were the two playing the most attacking, but neither was an out and out centre-forward; rather, one would drop deep or pull out wide, and the other would run into the space created. This was effective, and created some good opportunities for them and the players making supporting runs, including wingback Doherty for the goal.

Ipswich, on the other hand, were an odd side to behold. Despite having the majority of the ball, and pushing highest up the pitch out of the two sides, they never truly looked like scoring, even if the game went on until the end of time. In addition, there was no real discernable shape. At times they appeared to play a flat four in midfield, at other times it looked more like a diamond, at some points even a 4-3-3. However, this was fluidity without the benefits of fluidity: players would move about, stick to positions for a few minutes, then move again, without pockets of space ever being utilised, or even created. Martyn Waghorn and Joe Garner showed flashes of their Rangers form and partnership, but were not given adequate service, and when they did receive this service, the service was nowhere near the adequate quality. On the left, Bersant Celina showed flashes of brilliance, but the promising young Kosovan, on loan from Man City, was also very inconsistent, messing up as many simple passes as he played sublime difficult ones. On the right wing, David McGoldrick was extremely poor, making very little impression, as did Jordan Spence at right back, who was returning from a three-game ban and replacing loanee Dominic Iorfa in the lineup, who couldn't play against his parent club. In the centre of midfield, new signing Stephen Gleeson, on his first start for Ipswich, was decent and looks a good addition to a squad on a free transfer; his partner Callum Connolly, another loanee, was another player who was poor, especially on the ball and especially when trying to play the ball forwards. TransferMarkt describes him as a centre back that Mick McCarthy has decided to play as a holding midfielder, and him being out of position really does show. At the back, the centre-back partnership of long-term captain Luke Chambers and new loanee from Spurs, Cameron Carter-Vickers, was only their second game playing together, but they looked assured and natural with one another, and Carter-Vickers looks very much like a quality signing for Ipswich. However, undoubtedly their best signing of the past week or so has been handing Bartosz Bialkowski a new contract. He was undoubtedly the man of the match, and the only reason that Ipswich remained in the game until the end.

The exterior of Portman Road pre-match

In summation, it is clear as to why Wolves are miles ahead. They weren't great, but they won with comparative ease, and did the cliched professional job. Ipswich, on the other hand, looked like a bit of a shambles. The people around my temporary seat at Portman Road were growing angrier and angrier with Mick McCarthy, and wanting him to leave the manager's job. If Saturday's performance is a regular occurrence, I can't blame the anger. It was a real turgid performance, and for a side that has plateaued into Championship midabledom; unlikely to go down, but unlikely to go up or even reach a playoff spot, the resulting apathy around the ground was palpable. Portman Road was half empty, and it seems when tracing the attendance figure that this is also a regular occurrence, which is sad as you can tell that the place, when full and rocking, would be a fantastic place to watch football. Yet McCarthy stays on, Portman Road stays half empty, Ipswich stay mediocre; all whilst the Wolves juggernaut keeps rolling.