Ipswich Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers are now the only two cursed teams in the Premier League yet to pick up a win this season, but the Tractor Boys were moments away from a rare victory over the weekend.
Jordan Ayew’s 94th-minute equaliser killed the mood around Portman Road after the Suffolk masses were sent into raptures when Leif Davis’ beautifully taken strike rippled the net, as Kieran McKenna’s underdogs continue to hunt down an elusive three points ten games into the campaign now.
McKenna will be contemplating what direction to go in with his starting lineups with Sammie Szmodics in danger of dropping out of his XI for the upcoming trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the league.
Szmodics' form this season
The world must have been expected of Szmodics when he put pen to paper on a move to the newly promoted side this summer, having just been fresh off a golden boot-winning season with Blackburn Rovers in the Championship.
That Midas touch in front of goal for the Riversiders hasn’t really been visible on his new patch yet, with the 29-year-old sharpshooter only bagging two strikes from ten top-flight contests to date at his new employers, compared next to his blistering goal-haul of 27 in the second tier.
Of course, Szmodics was the focal point of the Blackburn attack and was extremely comfortable in his role at Ewood Park, often operating as a central attacking midfield option behind the lone centre-forward.
Minutes played
74
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
20
Accurate passes
6/8
Shots
1
Big chances missed
1
Total duels won
2/6
In Suffolk, however, the Republic of Ireland international has regularly been shoehorned into his manager’s main lineup down the left wing, which has seen the once venomous forward recede into his shell and fade in and out of contests.
That was very apparent last game when Szmodics only managed 20 touches of the ball as the contest passed him by, leading to him not surviving the full 90 minutes.
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The player who could replace Szmodics
The first port of call in terms of changes moving forward could be to freshen up the options on the left flank, therefore, with one face well suited to take over from the underperforming 29-year-old, having been a star for Ipswich all the way through their unbelievable rise to the top-flight.
The player in question here is Nathan Broadhead, who is yet to get going this season for McKenna’s men after suffering a hamstring injury in pre-season.
Yet, with the Ipswich number 33 now seemingly back in his manager’s plans with a spot on the substitutes bench in his team’s last three Premier League clashes, he could soon be unleashed as an attacking talent who can catch top-flight defences off-guard.
Season
Games
Goals
Assists
23/24
41
13
5
22/23
20
8
6
Sourced by Transfermarkt
The Welshman was key in Ipswich managing to pull off back-to-back promotions, with 13 goals and five assists picked up from 41 games in all competitions last term, linking up well with Conor Chaplin in the process.
Chaplin has recently worked his way into McKenna’s starting XI, with the ex-Barnsley man displaying spurts of his quality during the disappointing 1-1 draw with Leicester last time out, firing three efforts at Mads Hermansen’s goal.
Chaplin is another lively member of McKenna’s camp who was instrumental in Ipswich rising up to the Premier League, having amassed the same number of goals as Broadhead last season, on top of registering nine assists.
Whilst the Ipswich boss has attempted to play Omari Hutchinson in this number ten spot, and has attempted to get the best out of Szmodics as a left winger, a back-to-basics approach might be the best way forward, which could see his trusty EFL performers in Chaplin and Broadhead link up soon in England’s top division.
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