This Premier League season has been Ipswich Town’s first in 22 years, and to say it’s been tough so far would be an understatement.
Kieran McKenna’s side have already played Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in their first 14 games, and while they’re down in the relegation zone, they’ve looked better than people were expecting.
Much of their success has come thanks to the signings made over the summer, but not everyone bought in over the window has been a roaring success in Suffolk.
In fact, one addition, who the manager was particularly excited about, has been dreadfully underwhelming and should be axed from the team for some time.
Ipswich's summer success
So, starting with the positives, and while there have been several successes from the summer arrivals, the most obvious is Liam Delap.
The young striker joined the club from Manchester City for around £20m, and while he was a relative unknown then, he isn’t now, as several clubs from the ‘big six’ have supposedly taken interest following his impressive return of six goals and one assist in 15 games.
He’s not been the only new arrival to have found the back of the net, though, as Irish international Sammie Szmodics appears to have found his feet at Portman Road following his £11m move from Blackburn Rovers.
He hasn’t been quite as prolific as the former City man, but given that he’s played out on the left, his haul of three goals in 13 games isn’t too bad.
Finally, while he was signed on loan last year, Omari Hutchinson made his move to East Anglia permanent in the summer, and while he endured a slow start to the campaign, he once again looks like one of the best players in the team.
He was sensational in the win against Spurs and then scored a brilliant goal to secure a point at home against Manchester United. However, while all three of these signings have made the team better, the same cannot be said of another wide player signed from a Championship giant.
The Ipswich player who must be axed
So, with most of the significant summer signings already covered, it should be no surprise that Jack Clarke is the one we are talking about.
Ipswich spent £15m plus add-ons to sign him from Sunderland in the summer, and considering he produced 44 goal involvements in 92 games across the last two seasons, it was easy to understand the move.
In fact, the club were so pleased with the additions that when speaking to the press, McKenna said of the York-born ace that he’d prove to be a “terrific asset” for the Tractor Boys.
Appearances
50
42
Goals
11
15
Assists
14
4
Goal Involvements per Match
0.50
0.45
Unfortunately, that has not proven to be the case so far this season, and after being given another chance to start in the game against Crystal Palace on Tuesday night and failing to reach the required level, the manager simply must axe him from the starting lineup.
It might sound harsh, but it’s fair, and it may well be the best thing for the 24-year-old, as his display against the Eagles did not impress the watching press, with the East Anglian Daily Times’ Alex Jones giving him just a 4/10 at full-time.
In all, the former Sunderland star has only been able to muster a single assist in his 13 appearances this season, which is a far cry from his form in the northeast and certainly not enough to warrant a start ahead of Szmodics tomorrow afternoon.
Ultimately, Clarke is not a bad player, but he’s in undeniably poor form at the moment, and with every game being a must-win for Ipswich, McKenna would be doing him and the team a favour by taking him out of the firing line for a while.
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