Ipswich Town are winless in their first three games of the Championship season and have struggled in front of goal in the opening weeks.
Ipswich Town are looking to make a statement in the closing weeks of the summer transfer window, armed with significant funds to spend. With Omari Hutchinson and Liam Delap departing in high-value moves, ITFC now have the resources to fully support Kieran McKenna.
After relegation from the Premier League, Town’s focus is firmly on securing an immediate return. However, frustration lingers as they remain winless in their opening three outings across all competitions, despite battling to draws against fellow promotion contenders Birmingham City and Southampton in the Championship.
The Tractor Boys have scored just two goals in their opening three games, one of which was a penalty away at Birmingham City. McKenna has spent big in recent days to bring in winger Kasey McAteer from Leicester City, a move which could see 2024 signing Jack Clarke dropped from the side.
However, removing Clarke from the side is not the answer to their attacking woes. Instead, McKenna should finally play him in his natural role, where he caught the eye so much for Sunderland, leading to Ipswich Town spending so much money on him last summer.
Clarke is a cheat code in the Championship if used correctly, something McKenna has not managed to do so far.
McKenna should look back at Jack Clarke’s Sunderland form for some inspiration
In the 2023/24 season, Sunderland really struggled in the Championship, especially in the 2nd half of the year. However, Clarke was simply a level above, possibly more.
He carried Sunderland for the majority of the year, which ultimately led to his move to the Premier League last year. Clarke excelled in that Sunderland side due to the confidence put in him by the club every game; they simply allowed him to play his game.
That campaign was not an anomaly as well; Clarke was phenomenal the season before too. The former Spurs man was simply overshadowed by the brilliance of Amad Diallo, but his presence also helped Clarke.
During that campaign, Clarke was often given a lot of space due to teams focusing on Diallo and Patrick Roberts’ partnership on the other side. That meant Clarke could play from the touchline and attack defences with more pace.
With plenty of other attacking talent in this ITFC squad, this is something they can replicate. Jaden Philogene has operated from the right side often in his career and does so more effectively than Clarke.
Jack Clarke is hampered due to Leif Davis, but that does not need to be the case
Clarke wants to play as a natural left-winger, something he has never really done at Ipswich Town, as he has been made to operate either as an inside forward to accommodate Leif Davis or over on the right wing.
For all Clarke does operate better when given freedom on that left side, an attacking full-back like Davis can still help him. Dennis Cirkin had formed a brilliant partnership with Clarke at Sunderland, often creating the space for him to use.
It is understandable for McKenna to want to use Davis’ attacking ability, after all, he picked up 18 assists last time out in the Championship. However, after investing a lot of money in Clarke, he is simply being wasted at Ipswich Town at the moment due to his insistence on allowing Davis the whole left-hand side.
Allow him to play how he wants to play, and the goals will come in the Championship. Unless things change for Clarke, his stock and confidence will only drop further and further.
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