It's been a tough few weeks for Ipswich Town, who've lost all three of their Premier League games in October. Alex Jones picks his award winners for the month.
Player of the Month
As much as I wanted to try and go down a different route, it’s been hard. Ipswich’s current form makes it hard to look away from Liam Delap for the third month in a row. I’m worried that I’m starting to sound like a broken record.
Against West Ham, he was probably the standout, scoring Town's only goal early on with a powerful strike that was simply too hot for goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to handle.
There’s no denying that Everton nullified him in the following game, but nobody really came out of that game with much credit. A week later, he dropped to the bench against Brentford, but he scored a wonderful goal just 13 minutes after coming on, connecting with Leif Davis’ lofted pass to equalise for Town.
Although they ultimately lost that game, he did everything he could to drag them to a point, hitting the post with a stunning strike from almost nothing at the death. At times, it feels like he’s trying to carry the team over the line on his own, but he also has the ability to do that. Let’s hope his form can continue.
Surprise package
Not a category with lots of candidates, but I’m picking Cameron Burgess, who’s been thrown in at the deep end in the last two games.
Before the defeat to Everton, the centre-back had only made one start for Town this season, playing in the Carabao Cup exit at AFC Wimbledon. Most of his minutes came at international level. Midway through October, he went away with Australia, scoring an own-goal in a 1-1 draw against Japan in Saitama.
Three days later, he made his Premier League debut against the Toffees, stepping in for the injured Jacob Greaves.
It’s not been easy for him. He conceded two goals in that game and four against Brentford. Yes, there are some things he could’ve done better, and he’ll learn from them, but he’s also done a lot right. He’s been excellent in the air and is improving in one-v-one situations against top-level opponents.
This one is more about the circumstances. If it wasn’t for Greaves’ absence, he’d still be out of the squad. It takes a lot to come into a makeshift defence against strong Premier League sides at late notice and play well. He deserves credit for that.
Goal of the Month
Four to choose from here. Three of them came in one game – against Brentford – and I’m choosing the second one.
Against the odds, Ipswich were purring. They looked full of confidence going forward, having taken the lead through Sammie Szmodics earlier in the game.
A quick pass to Conor Chaplin saw him pick up the ball in acres of space. With Szmodics to his left, he opted to go to the right, picking out George Hirst with a sumptuous pass, one which was perfectly weighted for the striker.
From there, the 25-year-old carried it down the right at a tight angle. It looked like a position where he’d be better off crossing into the box, but he went for goal himself, lifting the ball over Mark Flekken.
It was a great moment. It was his first goal at the level, one which put Town into a strong position at the GTech Community Stadium. The move was made between two of the stars of Ipswich’s Championship campaign, and it looked like it too. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to avoid defeat.
Standout moment
Yep, I’m going with an off-field pick for this one. I’m choosing Leif Davis’ new long-term deal, which was announced a couple of days after the 2-0 defeat to Everton.
The positive vibe at the club certainly took a hit. The game against Sean Dyche’s men was seen as an opportunity, and in truth, Town hardly laid a glove on them. They were comfortably beaten and handed a bit of a reality check.
The news of Davis’ contract extension went a long way to lifting the mood at the club. It shows how far the club has come.
Davis is arguably Ipswich’s most valuable asset, one who’s been tipped for an England call-up after a record-breaking campaign in the Championship last season. He’s young and unique. A lot of clubs will be interested in acquiring his services at some point.
If nothing else, this new deal puts the Blues in a strong position. We don’t know what clauses are in there, but if someone wants to sign him – regardless of whether his side stay up or not – they’re going to have to pay big bucks to do it.
If they don’t, he’s now under contract at Portman Road until 2028, and he spoke passionately about his love for the club and how easy the decision was for him to make, citing it as the only option. In a month where the negatives stood out over the positives, this was a great moment.
Best opposition player
A few come to mind for this one. I thought Everton’s Dwight McNeil was really impressive, as was Brentford’s Yoane Wissa. However, I’m looking at the West Ham game for this one, picking Jarrod Bowen.
The captain was having a pretty torrid campaign in the Premier League before Ipswich came to the London Stadium. He was struggling for goals and assists, which saw him dropped from the England squad by interim manager Lee Carsley as a result.
He showed his intentions from the first minute. A surging run from the right that saw him set up Michail Antonio to make it 1-0 in a matter of seconds.
From there, he was a real threat. He created lots of chances – five across the 90 minutes, helped by his set pieces – while also adding to an impressive afternoon by scoring the third goal shortly after half time.
This one came from Ipswich’s mistake, but the 27-year-old was still able to show his quality, breezing past Kalvin Phillips like he wasn’t there before arrowing a pinpoint shot into the bottom corner.
‘Welcome to the Premier League’ moment
I guess we’ve got to talk about VAR again, don’t we?
Ipswich were on the wrong side of things at Manchester City with an incident that wasn’t checked by referee Michael Salisbury. This month, it’s been a bit different.
The Everton game saw the Portman Road VAR monitor used for the first time. While most screens come up on some sort of tripod, this one slid up a little pole at the front of the Cobbold Stand. It all looked a bit weird.
Michael Oliver took a closer look at an incident between Jack Clarke and McNeil, having initially awarded a penalty. He ended up overturning it, which was probably the right decision. Clear and obvious, though? No way.
Against Brentford, we saw a different side to the technology. Harry Clarke initially gave away a free-kick for fouling Keane Lewis-Potter, but it was upgraded to a penalty after a VAR review. This was a tough one, as the contact started outside the box but the winger was brought down inside. Once again, this was probably the right decision, but a question mark over whether it was clear and obvious.
The right-back was dealt one final blow as he was sent off for a second booking after fouling Lewis-Potter. Replays showed that he got the ball, but VAR is unable to review yellow cards. Ipswich can’t appeal it for the same reason.
Technology hasn’t been Town’s best friend in October.
Quote of the month
Having been compared to Brentford manager Thomas Frank in his pre-match interview, Kieran McKenna said: “I’ll take it as a compliment because I think he’s a very good manager and a very nice man when I’ve met him before.
“I think he’s got much better hair than me, so I’ll have to look across and envy on that side of it.”
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