Positives and negatives: Ipswich Town 1-1 Fulham

Some will say it’s a good point, others will say we should’ve given much, much more. Whatever the general consensus is, Cam’s taken all he can from Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Portman Road and he’s put it into words as per usual.

Positives

Adama the assassin

Whoever said that Adama Traore doesn’t have an end product can have that. Undoubtedly our man of the match, Traore bagged his first goal of the season with aplomb and when he wasn’t shaking Leif Davis like a Poundland chew toy, he was lifting inviting crosses into the mixer and getting in on the act in any way he physically could without actually maiming people.

It doesn’t really need to be told but if Adama can stave off injury, he is going to be a serious, serious problem for full-backs nationwide and I am going to revel in the havoc he wreaks. He scares me, my ancestors, even people that don’t even watch football shudder when he lifts his landing gear but the movement for his goal, our leveller, was subtle and dare I say it, offensively astute.

Antonee Robinson can be credited with another decent assist as he flashed his cross into the penalty area, Ipswich weren’t anticipating both the flight of the ball and indeed the timely emergence of Traore and as the hosts’ backline ripped on the handbrake, our Spanish Bouncing Betty rounded off what was a terrific team manoeuvre like an assassin with a silenced pistol on the back of some poor fucker’s head in a crowded Parisian restaurant.

He is another that has been granted a new lease of life by Marco Silva this season. If there’s an XI to be picked, he starts every single damn time because he is a threat like no other. Adding regular goals and assists to his game isn’t going to be easy. It’s definitely doable, but he isn’t a player that naturally bangs them in left, right and centre although if he can contribute more often than not, a pivotal goal here and there, he isn’t going anywhere from that right flank and there isn’t a winger in our fold that would. Just you try shifting him.

Sasa was serene

We will claw and paw at our midfield’s deficiencies in just a tick but first, I want to talk-up Sasa Lukic’s outing and as it has been since the start of the season, I’m purring. He was one of the only players in black and white that actually wanted to put a foot on the ball and treat it properly, with care and respect, and while he isn’t Usain Bolt in retreat, he’s a mighty fine mediator with the ball at his feet.

The Serbia international instigated calm where the vast majority of his teammates couldn’t. After United I pinpointed the simplicity in his game as a refreshing, desirable trait and in moments where he could’ve been pickpocketed, he was serene. It doesn’t dawn on you at first but when you deep just how tidy he actually is, you can’t help but appreciate it.

A great deal of pruning and refining has happened at Motspur Park, Lukic now has a knack for something in the Premier League, a genuine plus that is all-important to any midfielder and that is his ability to chaperone possession when the going gets tough. He’s Sydney Sweeney’s security guard when the ball’s there to be protected and with a vote of confidence from the gaffer, we’re beginning to see him develop into a near-perfect midfield component.

Negatives

Midfield cut adrift

Lukic cannot run things on his own, though, and alongside Andreas Pereira who was wildly out-of-sorts and out of position, in his defence, and a 70% fit Emile Smith Rowe, our midfield wasn’t the most expedient and we soon found out the tough way. We were cut adrift in the centre of the park countlessly, Ipswich identified evident weaknesses between our midfield trio and they exploited them systematically as they went ahead in the 15th minute.

Ipswich overturned possession and initiated a driven counter attack that marooned our trailing midfielders. Lukic was rounded fairly early on, Pereira couldn’t get goal-side, Liam Delap stomped forward with ease and whopped it into the top left corner, unruffled and undeterred. It became a running theme throughout the game and we were almost powerless.

They constantly found passing lanes between the lines, we were unbalanced in central areas and with a proven box-to-boxer in Sander Berge on the bench, it’s a mystery as to why Silva is so desperate for Pereira to fill that pivotal number eight berth. It just didn’t work and I doubt it ever will. The Brazilian was eaten alive while attempting to withhold Town’s advancements, his positional understanding was noticeable to blind eyes, let alone the naked ones, and I will not drone on anymore than I have done in private about how piss poor his distribution was. Chart-topping playmaker? My arse. He’s a number 10 and nothing else.

Clearly, Silva is waiting for players such as Berge to regain full fitness, as there’s been questions, and in doing so, he’s experimented. I think we can put this one back in the box, though, because in terms of cohesion and fortitude, it just ain’t going to click. We’ve a fortnight to get Sander up to speed and when he’s caught up with the group, I think we all know what our best midfield composition should be and for me, it doesn’t include one of Saturday’s participants. I will leave you all to discuss amongst yourselves.

Petrified to press on

Other than Smith Rowe’s snapshots and a lumbering scoop at goal from Raul Jimenez, the second half was nothing short of dog shit. Playing for a point surely couldn’t have been the game plan, Ipswich could have buckled quite easily if we opted to up the ante heading into the closing stages but instead, under minimal pressure, we threw down sandbags for a flood that was never really forecast.

At the back end of the first half having pulled ourselves level, it seemed as though we could’ve pressed on after the break but for whatever reason, we were almost petrified to assert ourselves and as we sat off, the hosts sought to break our self-inflicted resistance. In any given fixture, remaining vigilant is crucial and I understand that with Ipswich bypassing our midfield so frequently we were right to adopt a more absorbent attitude but on the flip side, we also had to retaliate when possession found its way back to us and we did anything but.

An early-season draw against a promoted side that are punching well above their weight is honestly the most Fulhamish result imaginable. We really should be setting the pace and pulling rank against what is effectively a League One side on steroids but we were lesser, inactive by our own design and obviously, it would be us that gets the Tractor Boys off the mark in the top flight. Portman Road isn’t Anfield, and while I wasn’t expecting a five-goal steamrolling, I at least thought we’d show some more energy as the minutes whittled down but we shrivelled into ourselves and that I cannot abide.