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It seems strange that, in our best season for 20 years, there is not an obvious favourite for the player of the season, but there are many great options. I guess that is just a Kieran McKenna team for you.
Who would you currently pick? Personally, I would be tempted by Nathan Broadhead although that may be a bit of recency bias. I think Massimo Luongo has been our most consistently brilliant performer. Last years clear top three, Morsy, Chaplin and Davis, are definitely in the conversation, as is Vaclav Hladky who has had a surprisingly extraordinary season. It is very hard to pick.
Man City look like they have a real chance to win the Treble this year, the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions' League. But it has to be worth noting that Ipswich Town weren't part of two of those three competitions, and in the third Man City didn't have to play Ipswich. Surely it will be something of a hollow achievement because it clearly wouldn't have been the same story if Ipswich Town had been in the Premier League and the Champions' League this season, or if the teams had come up against each other in the FA Cup?
First third of the season: title-winning form P16 W11 D3 L2 - 36 points Projected points for the full season: 103.5 Projected finishing position - 1st
Second third of the season: mid-table form P15 W4 D9 L2 - 21 points Projected points for the full season: 64.4 Projected finishing position - 9th
Third third of the season - absolute domination form P15 W13 D2 L0 - 41 points Projected points for the full season: 125.7 Projected finishing position - 1st by a mile
This is the average rating given to each Ipswich player by EADT in every game of the season so far, the only exception being the 2-1 loss to Plymouth earlier in the season which I couldn't find an article for, so used the TWTD average instead, rounded to the nearest whole number. Here are the results, with the ranking emitted for those with fewer than five games played:
I think they do seem to have a bit of bias towards defenders for whatever reason, but even so having Cameron Burgess that high is surprising, and Wes Burns is very low but his contribution is perhaps a little overlooked in individual games because the opposition are so scared of him they tightly mark him and give more space for other players like Chaplin, perhaps. Janoi Donacien is also particularly low for a defender. Meanwhile Cameron Humphreys currently tops the pile for the second consecutive season (although last year it was with fewer than five games), but Sam Morsy is the highest ranked player without the boost given due to inexperience, which seems about right to me. I find it interesting to see how the players rank according to experts.
I would be tempted to go with Leif Davis, because his position was one of the weak spots of last season and he has come in and been exceptional all season. Sam Morsy also deserves a mention for consistently being outstanding, while Conor Chaplin would be number three for me as he had a bit of a quiet run in the middle of the half-season but was a goal-scoring machine at the start and end of it. Lee Evans was also excellent when he played but missed quite a few matches, as has Marcus Harness albeit to a lesser extent, while Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess have been extremely solid at the back. Freddie Ladapo and Christian Walton have had a few poor games but have been excellent in general. Meanwhile, the two best players of last season, Wes Burns and Janoi Donacien, have been a little disappointing. Humphreys and Edwards weren't expected to play a lot but have had spells in the side where they made a real difference.
So this is a ranking of all the Ipswich Town players and managers in 2021/22, done using average points scored in games they started divided by average points scored in games they didn't start.
1 George Edmundson 1.75 2 Wes Burns 1.705882353 3 Janoi Donacien 1.6 4 Kayden Jackson 1.519480519 Kieran McKenna 1.413793103 5 Tom Carroll 1.295454545 6 Sone Aluko 1.236467236 7 Sam Morsy 1.228163993 8 Bersant Celina 1.121212121 9 Christian Walton 1.100346021 10 Dominic Thompson 1.07826087 11 James Norwood 1.055555556 12 Tyreeq Bakinson 1.047619048 13 Conor Chaplin 1.027777778 Ipswich 1 (technically this should be infinity) 14 Macauley Bonne 0.99204244 15 Elkan Baggott 0.985074627 16 Matt Penney 0.976744186 17 Lee Evans 0.967741935 18 Luke Woolfenden 0.96 19 Vaclav Hladky 0.908805031 20 Joe Pigott 0.9 21 Toto Nsiala 0.9 22 Hayden Coulson 0.860215054 Paul Cook 0.81627907 23 Kane Vincent-Young 0.795454545 24 Scott Fraser 0.733153639 25 Kyle Edwards 0.725677831 26 Cameron Burgess 0.712962963 27 Bailey Clements 0.636363636 28 Idris El Mizouni 0.421568627 John McGreal 0.421568627 29 Rekeem Harper 0.298507463 30 Louie Barry 0 31 Armando Dobra 0
Only includes players who played at least 90 minutes of league games.
1. Janoi Donacien - was probably our second-best player at the start of the season after Bonne, solid in defence at right-back and also providing some great assists. But it was in the switch to three at the back when he really shone through, and McKenna has effectively invented a position (CB/RB) because he's so good at playing it. Wes Burns wouldn't be anywhere near as good without Donacien behind him. 2. Sam Morsy - massively bigged up by Paul Cook before his arrival, and was one of our best performers immediately. Still wasn't really as good as we'd expected until McKenna arrived and converted him into a driving midfielder, and is now perhaps our most important player as we always struggle considerably without him. He and Evans could be the best midfield pairing in the league, and complement each other perfectly. 3. Christian Walton - solid and dependable between the sticks, and our best keeper since Bialkowski. Has made many great saves, rarely makes mistakes, and is now the goalkeeper with the record for the longest time without conceding for Ipswich. Cook probably never intended on signing him but did due to Hladky's struggles, and he has been superb. 4. Wes Burns - a fantastic player to watch, able to beat his man so easily, and second-top scorer at the club, despite playing as a wing-back. His best goal was probably against Gillingham, but his performance on Burns Night stands out as his overall best. Misses out on a higher ranking because he has been a little inconsistent. Donacien also plays a huge role in his success. 5. George Edmundson - a very consistent defender and a great signing who is unlucky to only place fifth due to other players also being so outstanding. His introduction was important to the reduction in goals conceded at the start of the year. However, he was one of the few to play less well under McKenna than Cook, but still was crucial to all the many clean sheets. 6. Luke Woolfenden - a disappointing start to the season under Cook left him out in the cold once Edmundson was fit and looked certain to leave before John McGreal put him back into the team, and has now started every match under McKenna. Has probably been the most consistent performer in that time, and is playing better than ever before. It's great to still have an academy player in the team. 7. Macauley Bonne - it is such a shame he only ranks here because at the start of the season he was so good I was wondering if he could still be player of the season if he was recalled in January, but his current scoring form has really let him down. 11 goals quickly at the start of the year made him by far the best player at the time, and his goals against MK Dons and Wycombe stand out. But the Sheffield Wednesday moment was his finest. I still think we should sign him permanently next season. 8. Bersant Celina - not as good as we were expecting, but while Celina was inconsistent he still produced some moments of pure class, none better than the goal against Crewe, but also with some fantastic assists. Like many, has improved under McKenna, who appears to want to sign him permanently next year. And so he should. 9. Conor Chaplin - it seems very harsh to rank the best finisher at the club and third-top scorer only ninth, but it just shows how many other players have been great this year. After taking a while to get into the side, he was the first player to make the number 10 spot his own, and was unlucky to lose it. His goal against Portsmouth was probably his best. Has been a little inconsistent under McKenna. 10. Sone Aluko - after most considered him to be our worst signing before a ball was kicked, Aluko changed people's minds with his brace in the Cambridge game and became a key player for Paul Cook. Started brilliantly under McKenna with some classy performances, and while he has been unlucky not to play more, he is great whenever he does. 11. Lee Evans - signed to be our captain, but after a good pre-season he had a horrible start to the season, which probably forced Cook to sign Morsy. But alongside Morsy he was a new player, scoring a hattrick against Doncaster. He was another to improve under McKenna and allows Morsy to get forward more by playing deeper, but unfortunately has been out for some time with an injury. 12. Tyreeq Bakinson - the top 11 were great but there is a bit of a gap now towards those who had 'average' seasons. I was impressed by Bakinson, who is perfect backup for Evans and plays the deeper role well. We should sign him permanently. 13. Cameron Burgess - had a great start to the season alongside and was fantastic against Lincoln, but his form dropped and was replaced by Nsiala after some poor performances. Didn't become a regular in the side for a long time due to the great form of the main three centre-backs, but since he came in for Edmundson he has found his form again. 14. James Norwood - perhaps a little generous, but after a good assist against Morecambe he barely featured again under Cook and was transfer listed, before coming back into the fold under McGreal and scoring four goals in four games. Disappeared a little again under McKenna but has rarely been played in the centre and did well when he did. I doubt he will be with us next year. 15. Dominic Thompson - None of the left-backs have really had an amazing season, but Thompson has been the pick of the bunch and is solid defensively, if not quite as good going forwards. Has made a few mistakes, but still might be worth signing next year. I suspect we will look for someone more attacking (could we get Garbutt?) 16. Kayden Jackson - After being among the bomb squad at the start of the year, Jackson did make it out and back into Cook's first team, but was only making substitute appearances and rarely making an impression. Looked set to leave in January but was kept on and came good under McKenna, with a wonderful performance against Burton and two other goals. Seems to be staying. 17. Toto Nsiala - the much-maligned Nsiala is the highest-ranked player no longer at the club after being sold in January, but during his time in the team he did a good job, and played a role in the improved defensive performances initially. But he isn't as good as his four CB counterparts so it was the right decision to let him go, and it is a shame his final two games were the two shockers at Charlton and Barrow. 18. Kyle Edwards - probably our most exciting player burst onto the scene at the start of the year and was outstanding against Cheltenham and MK Dons. But after an injury, he never rediscovered that form and after a run of games in which he produced some good moments but no end product, he dropped out of the side, and doesn't fit with McKenna's formation. But he should stay, and I could see him playing the Burns role on the left next year. 19. Matt Penney - was signed as a backup leftback but with injuries to Coulson he ended up playing a lot more than expected, and generally was very solid, if a little weak in defence. After one shocker at Plymouth, he was transfer listed before a brief renaissance under McGreal and McKenna, and has been unlucky to barely play since. Still sufficient backup for next year, and might get the last few games in the side. 20. Scott Fraser - one of the disappointments of the year was Fraser, one of the best attacking midfielders in the league last season but generally very quiet this year, rarely having much impact on games and often being played out wide by Cook, where he was ineffective. Sold in January, but we actually made a profit from Fraser. 21. Hayden Coulson - it is a shame that injuries ruined his season because on the few occasions that Coulson played for us he was very good, with the assist against Lincoln his finest moment. Now playing in the championship, and it was possibly a mistake to let him go, but his low ranking here is down to a lack of games. 22. Idris El Mizouni - again, a player who is ranked outside the top 20 because of a lack of games, but has impressed when he played, including one great goal against Oldham. It is perhaps surprising that Cook kept him in the summer cull, but it remains to be seen whether or not he is considered good enough to be the Morsy backup next year. 23. Joe Pigott - perhaps the biggest disappointment of the new signings in the summer was Pigott, who scored 20 for Wimbledon last year and seemed like a great signing, but has had a poor season in which he has scored only twice and has never found form. He is contracted for next year and should come good at some point, but McKenna may decide to sell him. 24. Bailey Clements - got a surprise run of games in the side after Cook decided Penney wasn't good enough, and his first against Oxford was outstanding. But after that he went backwards and had some difficult games before being replaced again when McGreal took over. I don't know how well he has done on loan at Stevenage. 25. Tom Carroll - has done quite well considered he was never really signed to be anything more than backup, and actually we have a great points per game record when he plays, but Carroll has almost always looked a bit of a weak link when he has played, and I would be surprised if his contract is extended. 26. Vaclav Hladky - After being signed as the first-choice keeper, he looked good in pre-season, but had a bit of a nightmare at the start of the season, making mistakes and causing Cook to sign Walton at the end of the transfer window. He still made a few appearances when Walton was injured and did slightly better, but I think he is decent backup at this level and could improve significantly under McKenna in the future. 27. Rekeem Harper - another disappointment was Harper, who looked great alongside Evans in pre-season but struggled in the first six matches before being replaced by Carroll and never started again in the league before being loaned to Crewe in January. There is potential there, and we should keep him next year, but Harper has had a poor season.
So there is my ranking of the players, with the likes of Armando Dobra, Louie Barry and Cameron Humphreys missed out due to them not playing enough to get a ranking.
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