I thought we’d be further on by now, I really did.
To be brutally honest the whole of November has been taken up by various cup games, enduring the mundane international break once again, with very little league action, and its somewhat influenced my mood, especially after waiting the entire month for back to back league fixtures.
Town returned to Portman Road (PR) for what seemed like the longest break between home league games the club has ever seen; Blackpool and Wycombe the opponents.
Most Ipswich fans would tell you they were relieved to get down to Mecca to watch the game and see their team grab vital points in what seems to now be shaping up to be a title race.
Maybe once again, I was slightly arrogant to suggest that we may run out winners in both fixtures, but I think my mood is being swayed by several different factors.
Teams are coming to Ipswich with a game plan!? Hard to believe I know, considering the first ten games we were unbeaten in the league home and away.
I think we had our eyes on the next game, where as our opponents have taken a seat assessed what can be done and have really attacked Town with tactics. Is this the reason why I’m frustrated? How many times have I sat here this season and moaned that we, as a team, cannot get out of second gear? Then it hit me, teams are starting to work us out.
ALL OUR ODDS FOR COVENTRY VS IPSWICH IN THE FA CUP
One win in five at home whilst on the road its four wins from five. I thought the idea of a team aspiring to finish top was to build a fortress at home; or maybe I was led to believe that was the strategy.
It seems Ipswich Town have a game plan of their own when it comes to obtaining points especially away from home this season. We’ve only lost once on the road this season and whilst that was disappointing our approach to each away game is not.
Paul Lambert’s men are fully equipped to defend well and score on the counter, seen recently at Rochdale where I think we only had one shot on goal, that being Danny Rowe’s effort – so what is there to complain about, when your putting away your chances and winning away from home? It’s that exact point!
We cannot win at home! Three wins, four draws and one loss at Portman Road this season… When I type it, it looks slightly better than I first imagined.
So surely, I can only be frustrated with the brilliant performances that teams are bringing down to Suffolk; yes, I’ll go with that.
Both Blackpool and Wycombe respectively have visited us in the last week and gave us a real game of football, something we’ve seen on the rare occasion this season.
Both came with the game plan to sh*thouse us, and they did it well. My frustration, although not losing the games, is that we play to their strengths and often find ourselves stuck in a stalemate.
Why can’t the all singing, all dancing Ipswich side get around these teams? Maybe its time to change something!
No… I don’t mean the Manager, and especially not the coach driver, but it looks as though our defensive approach to fixtures may be costing us much needed support in attack.
I believe this is having a detrimental impact on our ability to put games to bed – and realistically that’s been an issue all season.
So where does the answer lie? I’m not sure, but I believe the answer lies within our current squad of players.
Without a shadow of doubt, Town currently possess the best squad in League One and in terms of options we have many, however we are limited up front. The return of Freddie Sears is becoming more important by the week, as the player is a natural goal scorer at this level, could he be our answer to finishing off games? Needless to say, that’s a lot of pressure to pile on one player, especially one returning from a long-term absence.
It has become obvious that this will not be a walk in the park for us here in League One whilst on vacation; but that’s down to the hard work of our opponents.
I want to see the Tractor Boys transcend into a realm of greatness this season, turning over each and every team in their way! We aren’t far off it, we just need that little extra something to get us over the line!
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