The Season Starts Here

The Season Starts Here. After the false start that was the first four matches of the season, Ipswich turned their two week break into a mini pre-season and started all over again today with a win that was as emphatic as a 2-0 victory can be.

On August 9th, Ipswich were undone by an organised and disciplined Preston side. On that day, there was a distinct feeling that the players werent ready in terms of fitness, whilst the manager wasnt ready in terms of personnel.

A month later, Magilton has filled the majority of the positions he was looking to fill and the two week break seems to have given them a chance to familiarise with each other. Add the fact that some players were able to get their fitness a bit closer to what it should be when starting a season and suddenly Ipswich look ready.

From the off, they took the game to a Reading side who put in a fairly uninspiring performance but will inevitably be there or thereabouts come May. Several players went a long way to recovering reputations which had been tarnished by some of the earlier performances. But its the movement and passing that will please most; not only for its aesthetic quality, but because it gave notice that Ipswich were back to the level of performance they were turning in at home week in, week out, last season.

Everything revolved around the front two, where the decision to play Stead and Counago together was totally vindicated; both players turned in excellent performances. The performance of Counago showed exactly why he is such an important player to Ipswich, holding the ball up and intelligently bringing the rest of the team into play. A great performance deserved a goal which, unfortunately, the crossbar prevented on two first half occasions. On this form, he is impossible to ignore as a starting option. Jon Stead will have been delighted to find a forward partner so willing to hold the ball and feed him passes, and it rubbed off, with Stead himself linking excellently with his teammates. In only his first performance, Stead went a long way to demonstrating why he is a lot more than the last resort some believed him to be. A fine goal capped a fine performance; early days but no doubt showing promise.

In midfield, Alan Quinn was an inspiration, with an all-action energetic display, the like of which he has struggled to find so far this season. Drifting in-field, the Reading players found him hard to pick up, whilst his tracking back was notably improved. As with Pablo, Quinn deserved to finish the day with a goal, having got himself into several good positions, but was also denied by the woodwork. On the other flank, Jon Walters looked to be fully fit and back to his old self. He demonstrated truly admirable energy levels, adding significantly to the forward presence, particularly in the air, whilst making key contributions in defensive areas. His abilities are beyond question after last seasons player of the year award, and it is welcome to see him performing at those levels again. He even ended the match with a familiar head bandage again- has any previous Ipswich player ever finished as many games with a head wound?!

In the centre of midfield, Tommy Miller put in another solid and competitive display, playing the ball crisply and intelligently and providing good link play with the forwards. Similarly, Garvan made the sort of incisive passes for which we have become accustomed. There remains a question mark over his shooting as he fatally hesitated in several key goalscoring positions, whilst his lack of pace found him wanting under certain opportunities. These are minor gripes however and should not detract from the overall performance.

Defensively, the team looked as sound as at any point in the season thus far. Richard Wright put in another solid and reliable performance, dominating his box by coming for crosses and taking the pressure off his teammates. His first half one-on-one save was yet another reminder of the player he showed us he was previously and was key to the direction the game would take. A clean sheet and a faultless display will go a long way towards quietening the murmurs of discontent which followed the high profile mistake in each of the previous two matches. David Wright returned to the side at left-back and gave the sort of assured performance that we have come to expect. As with last season, his partnership down the left side with Alan Quinn was positive and, as a pairing, will give Magilton something to think about. Moritz Volz gave a similar performance, solid and composed, albeit more restrained, presumably by instruction, than the more forward thinking role he had adapted against Watford. One dribble late in the match, in which he seemed to run the entire Reading side in one enormous circle, seemed simply to be a case of a player reminding everyone what he was capable of going forward aswell, if needed.

Richard Naylor was outstanding at every turn. On the rare occasions that he put a foot wrong, he simply adjusted and came back stronger, clearing out the ball and the man as necessary. The Reading attack simply could not get past him and, whilst their effectiveness has to be questioned, it nonetheless represents one of his most effective recent performances. His position currently looks ever more assured in the team with each passing game. As for his defensive partner, that is another matter. With team captain Gareth McAuley succumbing to early injury, it looks likely there may be an opening. The performance of Pim Balkestein, on as a substitute, was one of such maturity and simple effectiveness, that, depending on McAuleys injury, may well be enough to have played himself into the side. If he maintains the same level of performance in McAuleys expected absence, it remains possible that the captain may not recover his position as immediately as he would hope. Certainly, after being asked to fulfill the left back role with questionable success against Preston, Balkestein is another who will feel he has vindicated himself playing in his true position.

Moving onwards, Southampton await. Given their relatively poor start to the season, coupled with the fact they play a day later than Town, it represents an excellent opportunity to build on this very positive of performances. However, with Magiltons squad seemingly growing in quality and numbers each week, it would be no surprise to find that some of the stars of todays performance find themselves rested in midweek. In a long season, it may be the key to promotion. Though doubtless if the performance doesnt follow, many will argue that it is a settled side which is really the key to promotion.