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Is the new VAR working?published at 07:25 8 October
07:25 8 October
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A VAR related question was put to chief football writer Phil McNulty on Monday's Q&A.
@nubiblue on 'X' asked: Is the new improved VAR working? To me it continues to favour certain clubs.
Phil answered: First of all, I don't believe VAR favours certain clubs and quite honestly, I've not noticed too much difference or huge improvement.
Maybe a little less interference but I confess I lost a lot of faith in VAR after initially being a strong advocate.
I would be happy with semi-automated offside and line technology.
'He has got everyone talking about him'published at 15:00 7 October
15:00 7 October
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Former Ipswich Town and England defender Mick Mills says striker Liam Delap has been a "super signing" for the Tractor Boys and has got "everyone talking about him".
Delap continued his impressive start to life at Ipswich scoring his fourth goal in seven Premier League games in the 4-1 defeat to West Ham United.
Speaking on BBC Radio Suffolk's Final Whistle, Mills said: "He's been a super signing and without a doubt he has got everyone talking about him around the town and in the county of Suffolk.
"He's got what is required for that job. The lone striker job is difficult, it's a real battle all the time and he's equipped to do it.
"A lot of the passes he will be receiving are going to be travelling over a long distance and won't be the kindest passes but he's got the control to deal with it, he's got the pace to worry people and he's got the brute strength that is sometimes required.
"The bonus is, he can score goals. There have been so many players that have got those attributes but the one thing they have that is missing is the ability to score. I think Liam is now proving to everybody that he hasn't got that as a negative.
"We now need to make sure that what is around him is good as well. I still think when we go away from home we'll have to play on the break an awful lot and we've got to have people that can give him some support very quickly."
West Ham 4-1 Ipswich - the fans' verdictpublished at 12:40 7 October
12:40 7 October
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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between West Ham and Ipswich.
Here are some of your comments:
West Ham fans
James: Signs of what Lopetegui is trying to implement came through today, especially the second half. Todibo has cemented his place as a starter next to Kilman now. Great to have Alvarez back, who was class.
P CBM: That was entertaining and the reason Moyes was let go. AWB good, Kilman and Tobido looking more assured. Bowen and Kudus lively. Paqueta still not at his best and the midfield still not quite functioning smoothly.
Walter: Ipswich were not as bad as this result suggests although the Hammers could/should have had three more goals! It’s clear Antonio is only good for an hour so we will have to accept this. I think Paqueta is a luxury we can’t always afford - losing possession and failed tricks always leave us open. I would rather have Ward-Prowse. Three points. Beat United and we are off!
Ben: We needed a win, and we got that, along with a performance. Not perfect as they had a few decent chances they didn’t take, but four goals should help on the confidence front. Kudus and Paqueta scoring their first for the season also a plus.
Ipswich fans
James: An off day but disappointing all the same, especially after Villa. A harsh lesson in life in the Premier League - you have to cut down unforced errors and take your chances. I remain positive though; we have a pragmatic manager who will learn from this and I don't doubt the commitment of the players. Plus, at least we seem to be capable of scoring.
Adam: First time this season we've looked off the pace and unorganised. Too many defensive mistakes that were punished. Tuanzebe was a big miss for us.
Scott: Hutchinson and Clarke as 10s don't work. Let's go back to Broadhead and Chaplin after the international break. Still think Delap will keep us up. He is a real handful with very little support.
Andrew: You can’t change a team that was Championship standard last season by putting in four new players. Playing style needs to change also. The need to tighten up at the back is painfully obvious, as well as being clinical in front of goal.
'Work to be done down that right-hand side'published at 07:32 7 October
07:32 7 October
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Former Ipswich and England defender Mick Mills says missing Axel Tuanzebe in Saturday's 4-1 loss at West Ham was key and settling on a partner for him down the right-hand side is a crucial decision for Town manager Kieran McKenna.
Ipswich struggled at London Stadium without the defender, who has started each of their previous six Premier League games but missed out because of a hand injury that is set to see him sidelined for the coming weeks.
"He [Tuanzebe] has actually done better than what I thought he would do," Mills told BBC Radio Suffolk's Final Whistle. "I always felt he's not really a full-back but he's knuckled down in the Premier League really well.
"He's come against some really good players and done really well. [Kaoru] Mitoma at Brighton is a real threat and when you watched him in the final 15 minutes of that game he didn't even want the ball.
"He didn't want to take Axel on because Axel had him completely and utterly in his pocket.
"The manager has to make his mind up. There's only one area where he hasn't completely made up his mind.
"He's [Kieran McKenna] made up his mind about Dara O'Shea and Jacob Greaves in central defence; Sam Morsy and Kalvin Phillips as his pair in the midfield; and I think he believes Omari Hutchinson will develop into this top number 10 to play behind Liam Delap. That's pretty set in stone in his mind - as well as Leif Davis and Jack Clarke down the left-hand side.
"We had Ben Johnson and Wes Burns down the right-hand side [at West Ham]. Yes, Axel is his number one choice at right-back, but I don't think he knows who his partner is at the moment further ahead.
"There's work to be down that right-hand side but don't start ripping the rest of the team apart because of one result."
West Ham 4-1 Ipswich Town: Delap's form a bright spot on a miserable afternoonpublished at 22:58 5 October
22:58 5 October
Michael Emons BBC Sport journalist at London Stadium
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Liam Delap has scored two thirds of Ipswich Town's Premier League goals this season
Ipswich Town have scored six goals in the Premier League this season - and Liam Delap has four of them.
The striker, who was named in the England Under-21s squad earlier this week, is already looking a bargain at £20m after Town signed him from Manchester City in the summer.
His two goals in the 2-2 draw last Sunday earned Ipswich a superb point against an Aston Villa side that would go on to beat Bayern Munich three days later.
After Town fell behind against West Ham after only 48 seconds, Delap did superbly to spin away from his marker, create space on the edge of the penalty area and fire a low shot past Alphonse Areola, although the goalkeeper got an arm to the effort but could only steer it into the roof of the net.
Delap also had a chance midway through the second half when the game was alive, but this time was denied by the home stopper.
Kieran McKenna's side have won back-to-back promotions playing an attacking, possession-based, attractive front-foot style of football, willing to risk conceding by pushing men forwards.
There's no sign Ipswich will change their style, although this defeat was a painful one for the fans as the visitors' defensive errors were to blame for three of West Ham's goals.
But Delap will gain more confidence from another goalscoring outing and is looking a real handful this season. If Ipswich are to stay up, they need him to maintain his form all campaign.
'It was a poor game for us'published at 18:46 5 October
18:46 5 October
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Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna, speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "It was a poor game for us and a strange game. We were competitive for long spells of the first half and we gave away a goal early, came back with a good attitude. We conceded poor goals at poor times and in general we didn't deal with the direct play well enough.
"They are the first team we've faced with that style, a lot of direct balls to [Michail] Antonio, a lot of balls to [Tomas] Soucek and we didn't deal with those well enough and made poor mistakes for the goals that made the game difficult and took all the momentum away from us.
"Everyone is out there with the right intent but it is how we cover each action. I don't think it is anything we don't know but the game can change very, very quickly for a team in our position. When you drop your level the game can get away from you very quickly."
West Ham 4-1 Ipswich - send us your thoughtspublished at 17:00 5 October
'At West Ham there were a lot of eyes on me' - Phillipspublished at 13:40 5 October
13:40 5 October
Media caption,
Kalvin Phillips talks on the My Mate's A Footballer podcast about a West Ham fan incident.
Ipswich's Kalvin Phillips has spoken about his loan spell at West Ham on the latest episode of My Mate's A Footballer with Leeds striker Patrick Bamford and comedian Joe Wilkinson.
Sutton's predictions: West Ham v Ipswichpublished at 11:15 5 October
11:15 5 October
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Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.
For week seven, he takes on Will Champion and Jonny Buckland from Coldplay, whose latest album, Moon Music, came out on Friday.
Sutton's prediction: 2-0
This is hard. I don't like to give credit to Ipswich if I can help it, but they have really impressed me.
At this moment in time, they are a better structured team than West Ham. They showed it with the way they finished their draw with Aston Villa last week, and the only downside from the way they have started the season is the fact they don't have a win yet.
With the quality the Hammers have got, eventually it has to click for them, but it has not happened yet.
As much as I hate to predict an Ipswich defeat, I am going to stick my neck out and say the Hammers will get their act together this time.
Basically, I am backing them to produce a performance that they have not managed all season under Julen Lopetegui.
They have to really. There was so much made of him taking over from David Moyes, that he really needs a result - West Ham fans are not always the most patient bunch, and they are expecting more than they have seen so far.
Earlier, we asked you for the two players who have scored more than 15 Premier League goals for Ipswich.
Marcus Stewart scored 25 goals in the top flight for Ipswich, while Chris Kiwomya netted 18 times for the Suffolk club in the Premier League.
Did you know?published at 09:57 4 October
09:57 4 October
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No player has more Premier League yellow cards this season than Ipswich midfielder Sam Morsy (four). Since his Ipswich league debut in September 2021, only one player has more yellow cards in England’s top four tiers than Morsy's 40.
Today's trivia challengepublished at 09:03 4 October
09:03 4 October
Can you name the two players who have scored more than 15 goals in the Premier League for Ipswich Town?
Answer will be revealed at 17:00 BST
McKenna on not being 'euphoric', Phillips importance and Delap formpublished at 16:18 3 October
16:18 3 October
Nicola Pearson BBC Sport journalist
Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at West Ham United (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
McKenna confirmed Jens Cajuste has a "'a little issue with his knee" but is hopeful he will be back after the international break. There will also be late fitness calls for other players who have picked up knocks.
He said players are "learning every week" but there will still be "mistakes along the way" and they just have to "keep the right mindset, then we will put ourselves in a good position."
On what the mood has been like since the dramatic draw against Aston Villa: "It’s been good. We enjoyed the game. We are still a group and I am still a manager and staff that are used to winning a lot of games. I don’t think we will ever be euphoric after a draw but it was a really good game to be involved in."
He added: "It is a pretty quick turnaround from Aston Villa to West Ham but it hasn’t been hard to get the players to turn their attention. I know it is another big game, another big challenge and one to look forward to."
On how close he thinks it will be against the Hammers: "Let's hope we can make it really competitive. I don’t think there [will be] many weeks this year where we are going to blow teams out of the water so we need to work really, really hard to be competitive."
The Ipswich boss feels they have "begun to impose our football a bit more", but it "always comes down to margins and moments": "We hope we can be really clinical in our execution when we have our moments, and defend their moments well to give ourselves a chance to get a result."
On Kalvin Phillips importance: "He is settling in well and enjoying it day to day. He is getting fitter. Each performance he has had for us has probably been stronger than the last. It doesn’t always work like that [but] if he can keep working as he is, then he has a good chance of working himself into some really good form."
On the progress of Liam Delap: "He has really committed himself well to that [intense] process and is working really well with the staff. He is a popular member of the group and for 21 years of age, the start he has had in the Premier League is really promising. But it is a handful of games [and] he knows there is still a long way to go and there is still lots to improve on. But he has made some really good first strides."
It was something former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa worked on with the 28-year-old during their time at Elland Road.
Former Leeds team-mate Patrick Bamford felt the Argentine was the "harshest" on Phillips.
Speaking on Bamford's My Mate's A Footballer podcast on BBC Sounds, Phillips said: "When we first came in, Bielsa - being South American - was obsessed with body composition, weights and body fats. I was on the higher end of the team, if not the highest.
"I had a pre-season where, for about three weeks, I'd go home and I'd just have a protein shake for my dinner and then come in the next day and I just have to keep losing weight.
"He always pushed me to be on a certain weight tag. Obviously I respected it, but then I knew that I can't starve myself or I can't dehydrate myself because eventually I'm going to get injured or stop performing."
England international Phillips has praised Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna for how he has been since making his loan move to the club in the summer.
"That [overweight] narrative on social media just kind of grew and grew. Every club that I'd go to, I spoke to the manager and the nutritionist, and they'd always speak about weight before they'd say anything else," Phillips added.
"I was getting quite frustrated with it, but now I've come to Ipswich, the manager is an unbelievable person as well as a manager.
"We spoke about all the past stuff that happened in my career. He just said, 'I'm big on body composition and I just want you to get to where you were when you left Leeds. That'll give us a good starting point for you to push on and hopefully get to back, back to where you were.'"
Phillips 'loving it' at Ipswich Townpublished at 08:47 3 October
08:47 3 October
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Ipswich Town midfielder Kalvin Phillips says he is "loving" his time with the Tractor Boys following his loan move from Manchester City - and manager Kieran McKenna is a big reason why.
Speaking on the My Mate's A Footballer Podcast on BBC Sounds, Phillips said: "I'm loving it to be fair. It's a lovely part of the world.
"I'd never expect myself to be down here, but yeah, it just happened and I spoke to McKenna in pre-season and he was very keen on bringing me here.
"I knew Leif [Davies] and Leif was Facetiming me every day for the three weeks before I signed.
"I spoke to the manager and obviously I didn't know him but he seemed like a good guy. I spoke to Leif about him all the time and when I spoke to him I just knew straight away that he was a manager that, if I went there, he’d put trust in me and make sure that everything that he did was for my benefit."
Phillips has started in four of the past five games for Ipswich in all competitions and admits it has just been great to be back playing on a regular basis.
"The main reason I came to Ipswich was just to get back playing football week in, week out and make sure that I'm fit again," he added.
"I'm not getting many injuries, which over the past two years I've had quite a lot and I think I am just back to enjoying my football."
Who can back up Delap's goalscoring efforts?published at 15:22 30 September
15:22 30 September
Richard Woodward Fan writer
Image source, Getty Images
'Liam Delap ole ole!' rang out across Portman Road on Sunday afternoon, as the Ipswich Town faithful acknowledged another goalscoring impact from their new hero, who scored an excellent double to extend the club's unbeaten run to four.
If previous performances were about grinding out points in adversity, especially away from home, and becoming hard to beat - then Sunday's outing marked an evolution in attacking intent.
Despite Aston Villa dominating territory and possession in the first half, the home team had more shots, efforts on target and also so-called 'big chances'.
In similar fashion to the draw with Fulham, the second period saw the Blues grow into the game and extend their dominance of the attacking metrics.
Kieran McKenna's side, roared on by the buoyant home support, would not have been flattered - in either fixture - if they had scored a winning goal.
Games against the likes of Aston Villa will not decide the ultimate success or failure of Ipswich's campaign, and the same goes for a good chunk of our opponents this season, but taking points over other sides seeking to avoid the bottom three will.
That requires chances to be created and, most crucially, converted.
It is worth noting that Town's pathway to the top-flight relied heavily on goals from the three players behind the front-man.
Conor Chaplin was the Blues' top scorer from the number 10 position in each of the club's promotion-winning seasons. Even in the Championship last season, Nathan Broadhead and Omari Hutchinson scored more than our forwards.
So, while Delap's early goal return is as reassuring as it has been necessary so far, the hope now is that the likes of Hutchinson and Jack Clarke can get off the mark to back him up.
What better time than a run of four games in a row against fellow bottom-half sides?
Ipswich 2-2 Aston Villa - the fans' verdictpublished at 12:35 30 September
12:35 30 September
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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Ipswich and Aston Villa.
Here are some of your comments:
Ipswich fans
Greg: This is the first time this season when it has felt like last season. Real belief today. I can't remember a player who has reached legendary status at Portman Road quicker than Liam Delap. What a heart that lad has!
Paul: Brilliant. Aston Villa were outplayed for most of the match. We were a little loose in defence for about 15 minutes in the first half and it cost us with two soft Villa goals. After that, Villa produced little of quality. Delap was brilliant, especially on his second goal while Phillips, Burns, and Davis dominated down the middle. Keep it up boys!
Alan: I think we are finally looking like a Premier League team. One mistake which led to their first goal, but other than that we really held our own and probably should have won it in the end. Our best performance so far, we were fighting for our lives against Brighton, but today looked like the better team against a Champions League side.
Mat: Spirited display and you can see week on week the likes of Hutchison and Clarke having the confidence to attack teams with full commitment. Once our imposter syndrome is put to bed, there will be a lot of teams drop points at Portman Road this season and the signs continue to be bright against a whole new level of quality in the Premier League.
Villa fans
Susan: It was not the best preparation for the upcoming game against Bayern. A good result for Ipswich and it was not Delap who helped them to a draw, but again, bad defending by Villa. Still feel Emery needs to change the 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2. Villa will find the Man Utd match tough.
Rob: Disjointed performance especially at the back where Carlos continues to look out of place. Missed McGinn in midfield with Ramsey for once having a poor game and as soon as Rogers went off we lacked presence in midfield. Unai will sort it out though - fifth after six games is okay.
Colin: Probably close to our strongest team, we looked comfortable through a lot of the match but the intensity of Ipswich earned them a deserved draw. Villa’s defensive mistakes continue and the return of Mings cannot come soon enough. He organises, challenges and puts his body on the line for the team. Martinez is losing some gloss!
Carlos: It was clear Villa players had their minds on Wednesday’s game against Bayern, otherwise they would have won this comfortably. Players lost focus in the second half trying to avoid Ipswich's aggressive and dirty tackling. Delap took his goals well, but they came from Villa. Ipswich will look back at it as a missed opportunity. Villa move on to a bigger fixture.
Delap is serving up 'humble pie'published at 09:54 30 September
09:54 30 September
Tom Gayle Match of the Day 2 commentator at Portman Road
Image source, Getty Images
Having watched Liam Delap in the Championship I was of the belief the second tier was his level. Loan spells at Stoke, Preston and Hull showed he was a goal scorer, but not prolific enough to suggest the England Under-21 international could, in the short term, transition to the Premier League.
Not for the first time in my career I am having to revisit my opinion on a player.
Delap’s early development came at Derby County’s academy, before switching to Manchester City aged 16. A year later he scored on his debut for the senior team in their Carabao Cup third round win over Bournemouth. Prior to the arrival of Erling Haaland Pep Guardiola described Delap as "the type of striker we don't have, a killer, a typical British striker. He has special qualities. An incredible finisher. The only problem we've had is injury after injury after injury".
A succession of ankle problems at Manchester City, and most recently a knee injury picked up whilst playing for Hull in January, would have been noted in scouting reports. Kieran McKenna appears to have always seen the bigger picture. When asked about his main striker’s potential following the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, he told Sky Sports: "I think there's loads to come. I still don't think fitness-wise he is anywhere near the level he can get to after a big injury at the end of last season. The impact he has had and all-round play, and to have so much growth left in him, we are really happy to have him here."
When stood in front of me in the interview area afterwards, the youngster with his near middleweight boxer-esque physique, admitted he is full of confidence and excited by what the future could have in store. "It’s my first season in this league," he said. "I’m still young. I’m learning every game. Hopefully I’ll get better and better."
Ipswich agreed a club record £20m deal to secure Delap’s services, which speaks to the faith they have in him becoming an excellent long-term investment. It’s still early days, but so far, there’s no doubt Delap is forcing sceptics, like myself, to force down a generous helping of humble pie.
Image source, Getty Images
