Anthony Elanga wheels away after putting Nottingham Forest 3-0 ahead. Anthony Elanga wheels away after putting Nottingham Forest 3-0 ahead. (Image: PA)
UNACCEPTABLE GOALS AGAINST
It's fair to say that this season has been a lesson in how Premier League teams are ridiculously ruthless and ultra-clinical. It shouldn't, however, be glossed over that Ipswich have also been their own worst enemy far, far too often.
Forest's four goals were a mixture of the above.
Anthony Elanga's arrowed strike and Jota Silva's cool finish, for 0-2 and 1-4 respectively, were examples of top play from the counter-attacking kings. Yes, there are things the Blues could have done better for both, but I chalk these down as well-taken goals. The weight of pass from Elliot Anderson and Ryan Yates on both occasions was exceptional.
The visitors' opener and third were, by contrast, ones that any team at any level should be bitterly disappointed to concede.
Just like at Old Trafford last month, Town's statuesque defence collectively lost concentration at a set-piece. Why was no-one was alert enough to spot Nicolas Dominguez peel away to the back post and head back into danger? And why, after Liam Delap couldn't get enough on a stretched clearing header, did Nicola Milenkovic have the time to take a touch and shoot? It was six-v-three around the edge of the six-yard box in Ipswich's favour, but somehow both Milenkovic (and Murillo behind him) found space. It looks like Milenkovic was meant to be Dara O'Shea's man.
It's the third goal that's the most unacceptable though. It's a long, straight, floated ball forwards from Milenkovic, delivered from the edge of his own area, that drops out the sky just beyond the centre circle. It should be a meat and drink defensive clearance, but Luke Woolfenden misreads the flight and is eased from underneath the ball by wily centre-forward Chris Wood. As big a crime is Jacob Greaves not getting his central defensive team-mate out of jail on the cover. It's far too easy for Elanga to head the ball on and then slot home.
Forget 'that's the level'. That's Sunday League defending. This division is hard enough without constantly giving the opposition a leg up.
Omari Hutchinson was part of an Ipswich Town attack that didn't function. Omari Hutchinson was part of an Ipswich Town attack that didn't function. (Image: Steve Waller)
NO COHESION
Forest are a team that are happy to sit in and let you have the ball. Ipswich tried to start on the front foot and with tempo, but it became apparent fairly early on that the attacking unit simply wasn't functioning.
Gone are the telepathic, well-oiled patterns of play that swept the Blues to back-to-back promotions. This looked like a team of individuals all trying to do too much off the cuff and on their own.
It's no surprise really. Kieran McKenna has still not named an unchanged team this season. Incredibly, he's not named the same starting XI over the course of 33 games across all competitions this season.
Jaden Philogene, Hutchinson and Julio Enciso was the 20th variation of the three in behind the striker we've seen. The average age of the front four, including Liam Delap, was just 22. It was a forward unit lacking in physicality, experience and chemistry.
Philogene and Enciso didn't play a lot of football for Aston Villa and Brighton respectively in the first half of the season. Over Philogene's five starts on the right for Ipswich (not his primary position) he has had three different right-backs behind him and three different No.10s inside him. Enciso's four starts have come in two different roles (right-sided 10 and left-sided 10) and been separated by a knee injury set-back. It's no wonder neither are firing on full cylinders.
There's no doubting that Town have missed the straight line running of Wes Burns and Chiedozie Ogbene on the right, plus the nous/leadership of Conor Chaplin and Sammie Szmodics.
George Hirst heads in a late consolation goal for Town. George Hirst heads in a late consolation goal for Town. (Image: Steve Waller)
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE
One positive was that Town scored two top-class goals in the closing stages of this game.
Jens Cajuste capped another silky smooth display in midfield with a fabulous spin and curling finish into the top corner. Sadly, I don't think there's any way Town can get him back from Napoli next season.
George Hirst then rose like a salmon before expertly guiding O'Shea's teasing deep cross into the far corner of the net with his head deep into stoppage-time.
Sadly, it was too little, too late. And it's led to a couple of common questions from the many Town fans I've spoken to.
One, why didn't McKenna turn to his bench sooner? And two, should Hirst actually be starting over Delap now?
Having been proactive in hooking the once again below-par Greaves at the break and replacing him with Cameron Burgess, the Blues boss then waited until the 80th minute to introduce Nathan Broadhead, Jack Clarke and Hirst.
The only reason I can think is that he saw this difficult scenario as an opportunity to not only get some more minutes into the legs of Philogene and Enciso, but also get a closer look at their character in adversity. It did feel like a good chunk of the second half was allowed to unnecessarily drift though.
Hirst has now scored four goals from just 443 minutes of action this season. He may not be as physical and rampaging as Delap, and he clearly doesn't have as high a ceiling, but there's an argument his running of channels, link play and finishing makes him a more rounded striker at this stage of their respective careers.
If Delap does depart over the coming months - and it's far from cut-and-dried clubs have seen enough to part with the £40m+ fee that's going to be commanded - then, for me, Town already have their replacement No.9 in house.
Alex Palmer, Leif Davis and Cameron Burgess react after Forest killed the game off with a fourth goal. Alex Palmer, Leif Davis and Cameron Burgess react after Forest killed the game off with a fourth goal. (Image: Steve Waller)
HOME RECORD
Since beating Chelsea at the very end of 2024, Town have lost five home league games in a row (Brighton, Man City, Southampton, Tottenham and Forest), conceding four or more goals in three of them.
Fortress Portman Road has increasingly crumbled in the Premier League. The league record there in 24/25 now reads: W1 D4 L10 F12 A34 GD -22.
We'll never know if that narrative might have played out differently had some of those pulsating early performances against the likes of Fulham, Aston Villa and Manchester United been turned into wins.
Jaden Philogene is knocked off the ball. Jaden Philogene is knocked off the ball. (Image: Steve Waller)
CHAMPIONSHIP BECKONS
Wolves won at Southampton. The Saints have taken just nine points this season and four of them have come against Ipswich.
The gap to safety is now nine points, effectively 10 due to goal difference.
Ipswich, having won just three out of 29 Premier League games, now have to win at least that many (probably more) in their final nine. That's not going to happen.
It is possible to both recognise and appreciate the bigger picture - where the club has come from, how big the challenge of this season was and how things are in a healthy place - while also being disappointed with how this campaign has fizzled out.
There's now a 17-day break from action. It will give McKenna plenty of chance to reflect. Realistically, what could he done differently?
Signed more players with Premier League experience? That was probably easier said than done.
Stuck with more of the promotion team and tried to ride the wave of momentum? Set his team up more pragmatically? Hindsight's a wonderful thing. Both of those things could have backfired and been held up as evidence of a lack of ambition.
For me, it's the strongest Premier League, strength in depth wise, for a long, long time and Ipswich have been competitive in a sizeable number of games. They needed a fair wind to stand a chance of beating the odds and have just never caught that. There's no shame in that.
Ipswich went up as major Championship underdogs. They'll return to the second-tier among the strong favourites. That's progress.