Ipswich Town (h): What 3 Things Do The Imps Need To Do To Win? | Vital Football

Ipswich Town (h): What 3 Things Do The Imps Need To Do To Win?

1 The theory is we are at the very start of a 3 or 4 year project, with MA charged with changing our model.
At the end we hope to have a team with good young players capable of getting themselves and potentially the club into a higher league.
We are probably a bit infront of the expected schedule but playing well for a handful of games won't achieve our objectives.
To get to where we eventually want to get, will be difficult and we will have to win big games. Winning big games is often as much about attitude as ability.
Here is a great learning opportunity. When it matters (a bit), can we still produce a good performance.
If we play to the form we are capable, it will obviously give us the best chance to win. More importantly, it will be a signpost, that we have players with the "minerals" to be successful in the longer term and perform in matches that really do matter, down the road. So let's rise to this challenge.

2 Pick the right side. It sounds obvious but it's never as simple as it sounds and with the remit MA has, it is a skilled task to get right.

The balancing act is

- pick a winning team,
- that also protects players with/that have had niggling injuries eg Walsh and Jackson
- keeps providing the young players with the necessary game time for their development eg Roughan and Edun
- makes sure the loan players get the amount of football, that will keep attracting good clubs to send their best players to us eg Johnson/Gotts
- gives enough football to players that may be vital replacement if injuries or form necessitates changes, as the season progresses eg Archibald/Melbourne.
- counteracts Ipswich's strengths and exposes their weaknesses
- maintains a continuity in the team

Easy.

3 Be on the right side of the referees decisions. He is the most important single person in deciding most close games in 2020.
 
1. Maintain the intensity on and off the ball. Paul Lambert felt Ipswich were poor without the ball in last night's 4-1 defeat at Doncaster, and Doncaster play a similar high-intensity game to Lincoln. Ipswich have problems right now: firstly, Kayden Jackson tested positive at the weekend and will not play; the whole team needed to be tested immediately, and that affected training and match preparation due to the non-contact requirement. Secondly, they have injuries: Flynn Downes, James Norwood and Cole Skuse are long-term victims, while Luke Woolfenden has not yet returned to full fitness. This could be a good time to play Ipswich, especially after that 4-1 thumping at Doncaster, but it will need a typical energetic Lincoln performance.

2. Try to maintain continuity at the back. City have kept two successive clean sheets despite rotating in the left-back position, and a settled defence is key to that. Joe Walsh has played in both of those games - his first competitive football for seven months - and it will be tempting for MA to rest him against Ipswich. Given Adam Jackson's injury and poor 90 minutes against Bristol Rovers, that may prove a tough decision. Some have suggested moving TJ to centre-half and giving a debut to Robbie Gotts at full-back, but this is not the game to do that. Why not? See point 3, below.

3. Stop Gwion Edwards. The Ipswich winger scored five goals in the opening six league games, which was the best start to a season by an Ipswich player since 1999 when David Johnson (father of Brennan) scored seven in the first six. Edwards also has two assists to his name, meaning that he has been directly involved in half of their fourteen league goals. Interestingly, only one of the fourteen has been scored by a striker, with no fewer than eleven coming from the midfield. So perhaps a Lincoln win will depend on marshalling their entire midfield effectively, and exposing Gotts to a rampant winger could end in tears.
 
As a rider to Scotimp's point 3, if Edwards is their main threat and on our right flank, as well as keeping TJ at right back it needs Harry A's experience and defensive support from the start. Johnson held back as an impact substitute?
 
Chesterimp said:
As a rider to Scotimp's point 3, if Edwards is their main threat and on our right flank, as well as keeping TJ at right back it needs Harry A's experience and defensive support from the start. Johnson held back as an impact substitute?
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Part of the problem with Edwards, is that he swaps wings. That also relates to the point about maintaining continuity at the back to counter that.
 
Scotimp said:
Part of the problem with Edwards, is that he swaps wings. That also relates to the point about maintaining continuity at the back to counter that.
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Which might mean Edun at LB, as he's pacier than Roughan, a change MA has already made mid match to counter Blackpool.
 
Let's also hope for Ipswich's sake they have got some good defenders as Anderson followed by Johnson after an hour, who can also swap wings is also going to be a handful.
 
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