Ah, hello, Proper Relegation Battles, we’ve missed you.
The three going down last season looked uncertain at times btu was virtually a foregone conclusion from August onwards as Luton, Burnley and Sheffield United set up camp in the relegation zone and refused to budge. This time, it’s Southampton and then anybody’s guess as to the other two.
Fulham 2-2 Ipswich spelt out why. For Ipswich, the big issue is that they don’t quite have enough quality in their promoted squad to turn all their fight and endeavour into consistent enough wins.
In contrast to Fulham, that’s less in an attacking sense, and more in their ability to avoid making costly errors. But that’s no surprise after their rapid rise up from League One, and it is a credit to them that they have put up as good a fight as they have.
Case in point: Ipswich had to endure plenty of pressure throughout this game, but responded to it all ruggedly – sadly too ruggedly when it came to the penalties they gave away.
When they took the lead in the 38th minute through Sammie Szmodics, it was with their first shot of the game having had just 29% possession. But Fulham were characteristically toothless once again, and had managed just four efforts of their own despite their domination.
When Ipswich were hauled back to level pegging in the 69th minute by a Raul Jimenez penalty, Ipswich immediately got into the Fulham box and won a penalty of their own; there was little doubt that Liam Delap would deliver on smashing the ball past Bernd Leno.
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But then, the final twist that left Ipswich fans gutted but leaves the relegation battle no less finely poised for us neutrals. Another clumsy penalty was given away, and Jimenez again coolly converted.
But Monday morning, once the disappointment of the nature of their dropped points has faded, Ipswich may well feel that any points away from home are valuable in a relegation battle. They did enough here to show, once again, that they remain in an actual battle and do not look like getting cut adrift. Realistically, could they have hoped for more than that?
We were impressed earlier this season by Ipswich’s confidence and tenacity, despite then being yet to claim their first win of the season at the time, feeling that as they got used to the rigorous standard to succeed in the Premier League, they might actually be able to put up a reasonable fight against the threat of relegation. Perhaps not successfully, but respectably at the very least.
Nothing has changed our minds since then, and this game was a perfect example. Ipswich’s respectable showings have proven just what a high standard the Premier League relegation battle has been this season, pitiful Southampton excepted.
Every side down there has had some humbling and heavy defeats, but by and large when you watch Ipswich, Wolves, Leicester et al, they are not actually bad sides at all. Their results have been just as unpredictable as anyone else’s.
Managers often speak about just wanting to see their sides be competitive and then let the chips fall where they may; that’s exactly the word that describes the competition as a whole this season, unless Liverpool or Southampton are involved.
Wolves have taken four points off Spurs, drawn at Nottingham Forest, beaten Manchester United and battered Leicester and Fulham away from home, yet have also been thumped by Everton and Chelsea and lost at home to Ipswich.
Everton have got points at Arsenal and Manchester City, comfortably beaten Wolves and triumphed at Ipswich, yet they also lost at Southampton and have failed to score more often than they have, in fact, scored.
There have been times over the past few years when too many fixtures on a given weekend have not felt worthy of your time, because you have a pretty good idea which way it is going to go. But that has not been the case this season.
Between Forest and Bournemouth’s surprise ascent into European contention, the steep decline of the Manchester clubs, the constant nonsense from Brentford, Tottenham and Brighton, and the genuine battle for places at the bottom, every possible fixture between table-topping Liverpool and rock-bottom Southampton has the capacity to surprise and engross, and even their game finished 3-2 with a late Mo Salah penalty. We’re loving it, to be honest.
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