Magilton: plays total football

There are a lot of athletic teams who are good on the break and as soon as they turn over possession they can be on the edge of your box in four or five seconds.

Peter Beagrie
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Ipswich have always been one of those sides that don't travel well.

It might sound silly to say it, but I think it's because they play the game in the right manner.

It's total football in the way that their manager Jim Magilton used to play the game; it's lovely and fluent and when they dominate possession they can rip teams apart.

But the worry for Jim last season came when teams tried to bully them and stop them playing, which tends to happen away from home. When their opponents were able to dictate the pace of play, all too often that was too much for Ipswich.

They've got to be hardened, it's as simple as that. They were only beaten once at home last year and they need to reproduce that this season if they have any aspirations to get in the play-off places because they travel so poorly.

They were undone last weekend by a Wolves side who play good football in a similar way to Ipswich, but the difference was that Mick McCarthy's side have a bit more steel. Ipswich need to add that if they want to challenge.

Striker light

Another worry for Ipswich is, even though they had two or three people who got into double figures last year, they didn't really have a standout striker.

They scored a lot of goals from midfield, but they need an out-and-out striker to take the pressure off. Jon Walters out on the wing was their standout performer and got an incredible amount of goals from that right-hand side.

Tommy Miller is another fantastic midfielder and Pablo Counago will get you nine or 10 goals, but to elevate you to that top level you need someone who'll score 20 goals a season.

Unfortunately they don't grow on trees. They've been linked with Shola Ameobi, but I'm not sure he'd be the solution. He'd provide a physical presence and would give them an option to go a bit more direct if things aren't going well.

Kevin Lisbie has come in and I think he was back to his best in a Colchester team that struggled last year. I saw him a lot as a youngster at Charlton, but there were bigger names there and I felt sorry for him because he never really got a run in the side.

I never thought he was a natural goalscorer but he impressed me last year with his clinical finishing. Colchester were a side that really went for it at times, so Lisbie profited from that. Jim Magilton will be hoping he can reporduce that for Ipswich as well.

Ivan better?

A lot of people are talking about the signing of Ivan Campo and the thing about him is that he's a fantastic pro. I've played in a couple of charity games with him and he's a real character, but he also provides real quality.

Let's get one thing straight, this signing is not an attempt to shine a light on "little old Ipswich". Sometimes Ipswich tend to be a little bit forgotten tucked away down all those A roads and B roads, but this is a signing with plenty of purpose. Campo will bring a calming influence, he'll retain the ball, he has a good range of passing and he'll be a threat from set pieces as well.

For Jim, he'll act as the manager on the pitch, pulling people here there and everywhere and making sure they are not too gung-ho.

That will be important because there are some very good teams in this division who will punish you if you sacrifice too many bodies going forward.

There are a lot of athletic teams who are good on the break and as soon as they turn over possession they can be on the edge of your box in four or five seconds.

Ipswich have got to be careful and try to find a happy medium. They'll have been on a high with their home form last season, and it will have been drilled into them that they've got to be more strong and more resolute away from home.

Saying that, they've won their one away game so far this season and have lost their both of their home matches. It's almost like the complete reverse of last year and that's the sort of thing that sends managers crazy!

Contrast

In total contrast, Saturday's opponents Watford had one of the worst home records in the top 12 last year and that was why they lost out on an automatic spot.

After the start they had everybody from the punters to the so-called experts said they would go up. They were strong, physical, had a settled back four and they were blowing teams away.

They didn't make many changes after they came down from the Premier League and they had a rare amount of talent on the bench in case important players got injured.

But it's a totally different story this season. They've sold a lot of players and they're trying to play in a different manner, although I won't be able to measure how different until I see them live on Saturday.

There's a question mark over Watford and that's why I think this should be a very interesting game.

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Peter answers your questions...

HUNGRY LIKE THE WOLVES
Hi Peter. It is interesting to see the key sides you've picked out for the Championship this year. It's fascinating to note you haven't picked Wolves out as a side to watch; we've got two great wingers, a selection of forwards to envy and a young, hungry side. Do you not consider them a better shout than the older teams like Reading? Nikhil Khosla

PETER REPLIES: Reading were one of my picks for automatic promotion because they have still got their two centre halves from last year - and it's a physical league - plus the likes of Kevin Doyle. For me, they have a lot of players who underachieved last year but who are very good Championship players - players who starred in that record-haul season when they went up as champions.

As far as Wolves are concerned, they are actually one of my personal favourites. They've got Andy Keogh, who I was with at Scunthorpe, and he's a terrific young talent with a fantastic work-rate and no lack of skill either. Jay Bothroyd didn't fire for them last year but in Matt Jarvis and Michael Kightly, they have two important players back after injuries.

I like the way Wolves play a basic 4-4-2 with wingers who can go past people and get to the byline; they don't just go outside, they can go inside to provide the service and the assists too. I think Mick McCarthy has formed a team that hopefully will stay together for a few seasons, and it's a great shout describing them as a "young and hungry" side, Nikhil. You can tell by their attitude and application that the players are willing to listen and learn.

I also really like the way that Wolves are strong defensively, not because they are packed with defensively-minded players, but because of their work ethic. With Kightly and Jarvis back, they also have that bit of craft and flair so I think they have every chance of being up there in the play-off spots.

MORRISON'S BARGAIN BUY?
Do you think that Clinton Morrison is a good signing for Coventry and do you think he has a chance of being top scorer in the Championship this year? Kris Mccabe

PETER REPLIES: I don't think he'll be in the top scorers. Clinton's one of those players who will finish with between 10 and 15 goals if he has a decent season but he brings a lot of experience. He's a clever player; he can play up front on his own or with a partner and he comes alive when the ball is in the box. He won't get many spectacular goals but no one will care about that if he gets plenty of poacher's goals!

Coventry are still a bit of a mish-mash for me, though. We've already seen evidence of their inconsistency. It wasn't a surprise to me that they followed up a win with a 3-0 defeat, and Bristol City really turned them over. But there have been a lot of changes and I admire Chris Coleman greatly; I don't think he should have got the sack at Fulham.

RAMS AT THE READY
Hey Peter, I think that Derby are starting to build a great side that do need to gel, but they need to gel a lot quicker if we want to win promotion. Derby have brought in more players than anyone else in all four divisions as far as I'm aware and Paul Jewell has brought in good young players like Nacer Barazite. If we brought in a central midfielder and a foreign centre back we would be on our way. What do you think? James, Derby.

PETER REPLIES: If you look at the table now, the likes of Birmingham and Wolves are already eight points and six points ahead respectively - that's three wins without Birmingham picking up any points to haul that back. It doesn't sound a lot at the moment with 40-odd games to go but that gap is developing and Paul would have hoped that they would have hit the ground running.

They do have experience so it has surprised me that they haven't gelled and they have struggled. You look at Martin Albrechtsen, Claude Davis, Tyrone Mears, Jay McEveley, Paul Green, Robbie Savage; some of those players have got 250 to 500 games under their belts. Paul would have hoped that the majority of them, being British and having played vast amounts of games, wouldn't have needed a settling-in period. Yes, they might be playing a different shape from what they are used to but you'd think that with footballing intelligence they'd be able to adapt.

He still hasn't found his best pairing either. Nathan Ellington was on the bench a lot last season and Rob Hulse is still getting back to his best after that horrific injury he suffered. No doubt he will recapture his form of old but it's just whether or not it's in time for Derby to mount a promotion challenge.

The standout signing for me however is Kris Commons from Nottingham Forest. I think he is an absolutely wonderful player when he's played in the right position. He needs the ball and you need to get him in the final third of the pitch. He's played on the left of the midfield four and he's not really had a massive bearing on the games so I think as the season progresses, Paul might start to use him as a secondary striker or just behind the front two. I think he's an important player and he's got to spark for Derby to spark.

To send Peter a question CLICK HERE or use the feedback form below...