To make comparisons between Ipswich and Liverpool is absurd in the extreme, but there is one lesson we could learn from them – regardless of the gulf in class. Liverpool were struggling to break down a very resolute Everton defence yesterday, but once they did, they did not take their foot off the gas. Even when the second one went in they refused to down tools and continued to attack with a vengeance. It is no coincidence that they rarely let leads slip because they know that the best form of defence is attack, and they do this with distinction. We do the complete opposite.
Town boss Kieran McKenna said after our disappointing 1-1 draw away at relegated Crewe Alexandra that it is very much a case of going back to the drawing board.
“There are not that many different lessons at the moment. We seem to be getting the same lessons repeatedly. There are things we’ve spoken about, but sometimes there are only so many things you can speak about. There are things that you need to do. Every game is an education.”
Every game is indeed an education, but this begs the question, what are we learning? When we take a lead we seem to go into our shells. It has happened too often under McKenna, so what have we learned? We rarely get penalties because we rarely find ourselves in threatening positions, and our corners and set-pieces are abysmal. McKenna has addressed these issues many times over the last few months, but it does not seem to have sunk in. Does the squad suffer from collective amnesia, or are those words of wisdom not conveyed on the training field? McKenna is an intelligent guy. I feel sure he would impart his opinions to his team, and I assume, too, that he would try to iron out these problems on the practice field as well. If this is indeed the case, then why is there no discernible improvement? After all, this is not a new lesson to learn.
