Ipswich had only them selves to blame after throwing away what would have been their first win of the season at home to Watford on Tuesday night but instead remain rooted to the bottom of the league.Roy Keane must be thinking what else can he do after his side have picked up just seven points from their 13 games so far in the Championship.
Town have let victories slip through their fingers on numerous occasions this season which has halted their progress. At Sheffield United they were 3-1 up but conceded deep in stoppage time, sacrificing their two-goal advantage. A similar occasion was at Doncaster where they were involved in another six-goal thriller and were minutes away from a 3-2 victory but again conceded late in the game. Ipswich have lost five points in stoppage time in their last four matches.
Ipswich’s defending has been poor all season which is why they have conceded more than any other club in the Championship. Town have conceded five goals and squandered seven points in the last six minutes. Those points would have put them in the top 15.
This has resulted in Keane shuffling his defence more than a pack of cards and is still searching for the right combination but, this is proving difficult. Gareth McAuley and Alex Bruce has been Keane’s favoured centre back pairing with Pim Balkestein stepping in occasionally for Bruce. Liam Rosenior has cemented his place at right back and is one of the positives to take from the season with his energy and pace going forward.
At left back, Damien Delaney and David Wright have been competing vigorously to keep their place with either failing to do so, as of yet. Hopefully the defence can get it together and improve on the one clean sheet managed this season.
The Tractor Boys have been scoring goals which makes the whole situation worse as most clubs who are finding a win hard to come by, lack of goals tends to be the problem. Jonathan Walters is the clubs top goalscorer with four goals with ten others chipping in to aid the team.
One striker who was once hailed as a future star of the club was Jordan Rhodes who is now playing and scoring for fun at Huddlesfield Town in league one. Keane felt he needed someone who was championship ready and felt Rhodes being just nineteen, did not possess the experience needed to lead the line. I am sure Rhodes has had the last laugh with his side pushing for promotion and his former club stuck at the bottom
One man who does pack plenty of experience is Spaniard Pablo Counago who is slowly finding his scoring touch after a slow start to the season. His contribution will be vital this weekend at Plymouth if they are to win their first game of the season.
Ipswich are unbeaten in six matches against the pilgrims and the blues hope Walters is fit to make his 100th appearance for the club. Only a point separates the two bottom sides and a win for Ipswich, depending on other results, could lift them out of the relegation zone.
