A win and a defeat in the opening week, how has the new season started for Ipswich?
It has been a topsy turvy start. Everyone was on a high after the win over Barnsley and the great story that was Grant Ward scoring a hat-trick on his debut. Everyone was brought back down to earth with the 1-0 defeat to Stevenage on Tuesday night.
Grant Ward made an instant impact last Saturday with a hat-trick but who are the other new faces at Portman Road to look out for?
It was a slow transfer window to start with but they brought a couple in the week before kick-off. Connor Grant joined on loan from Everton. He came on at half-time against Barnsley last weekend but his performance was overshadowed by Grant Ward. He has a bit of a cultured left-foot and a lot of people are comparing him to Peter Whittingham. Adam Webster has also come in from Portsmouth. He played really well against Ipswich when Portsmouth beat them in the FA Cup last season. He was signed for big money by Ipswich’s standards and a lot is expected of him. Mick McCarthy’s sides have been very direct in recent seasons and he appears to have been brought in to change that as he is a ball playing defender.
With Webster's arrival does that mean Bees fans can expect a new-look Ipswich Town tomorrow?
The style of play has been a big bone of contention among supporters. Nobody can argue with what Mick has done at Portman Road. In his first season he stabilised and then moved the club away from the relegation zone when things on and off the pitch were uncertain. Since then he has finished ninth, sixth, and seventh so he has been a big success but the style of football really came to ahead at the end of last season after some uninspiring home games. I don’t think that Mick has ever really done things based on popular opinion but there do seem to have been some changes. They will still be about all the things that Mick stands for in terms of hard work and effort
After missing out on the Play-Offs by one spot last season, what are the ambitions for this campaign?
In terms of expectations the fans are fairly realistic. Expectations rose a bit the season that they finished sixth and some fans thought they should be finishing there again. Mick has said that the aim this season is to upset the apple cart in terms of those clubs at the top end of the division. A really good season would be to finish between fifth and tenth and hopefully nearer the top end of that.
We took four points off Town last season, what did Ipswich fans make of The Bees and the two games?
The two games last season were chalk and cheese. The opening game was arguably Ipswich’s best away performance of the season with some excellent counter-attacking play before they conceded those two goals in injury time. Late goals were a theme of last season and that will be in the back of the lads’ minds again. The game at Portman Road was a bit of a nasty affair following the Alan Judge injury. Mick has nothing but respect for Brentford. They have built up a reputation for open, attacking football and that is what he expects on Saturday.
Finally, what is your prediction for tomorrow's game?
Mick has used the usual clichés about how there is never a bad draw away from home. After Saturday’s win, a draw would continue the unbeaten start. Winning at home and drawing away usually means a successful season so I think it will be a score draw on Saturday, maybe 1-1.
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