The Fun Juggernaut

There is a part of me that rebels at idolising goalscoring strikers. The pretentious hipster in me craves subtler arts to appreciate - the centre back whose reading of the game is so immaculate they barely make a tackle, the regista whose perceptive passing probes and teases the opposition, that sort of thing.

Ipswich's back-to-back games with Chelsea and Arsenal - two of the Premier League's great hegemons - provided plenty of scope to enjoy some more low key qualities in our squad. Our defence was outstanding across both fixtures. In these games you need to be more or less perfect in your organisation and concentration and we were. Though winning one of the two games required a little good fortune, it was by no means out of kilter with two performances that gave us every possible chance.

In the back line Dara O'Shea, fast becoming one of the squad's big leaders, had two fabulous games. Inside him at right centre back Luke Woolfenden was a class act, composed both in possession and whenever he needed to occupy the right square of space at the right time to thwart dangerous opponents. I could write sonnets about our low block over these two games (do check out Shaun Calvert’s excellent guide to our structure against Arsenal).

Further forward all four midfielders who featured across the two games deserved praise. Kalvin Phillips at least partially reversed some of Arsenal's momentum as he opened up his full range of passing in the second half. I will also never tire of watching Jens Cajuste wriggle elegantly through midfield traps.

So many things to enjoy across the pitch, but having resisted talking about him properly for so long after such a compelling performance it's finally time to properly revel in Ipswich's most obvious star. Liam Delap.

I am not always blessed with the gift of much foresight. I watched Delap play against us twice for Hull and saw nothing that notable beyond his rather obvious athleticism. I watched us in preseason and worried we'd paid an outrageous Man City Academy tax for a centre forward who couldn't hold the ball up and didn't know where to press.

At some point between looking a bit lost in a home friendly with Fortuna Dusseldorf and lining up in the first match at Portman Road in August, whatever McKenna had in mind for him clicked. By half time against Liverpool he'd more or less ended poor Jarell Quansah's career, forcing Arne Slot to insert the behemoth Ibrahima Konaté in his stead. An act of mercy.

Delap's power was immediately apparent, the deft first touch and terrifying acceleration revealed themselves over time. Watching him gather momentum with the ball is unlike anything I have ever seen. From a standing start he seems to rumble like a locomotive, gaining force and speed in a way that almost feels gradual. It appears defenders are matching him, but as he approaches top speed there's this unmatchable energy, part physics, part aura. Opponents almost dissolve in his wake. He is the Juggernaut from X-Men, physically unstoppable once in motion.

He runs at you, your legs lose coherence, you backpedal, he shifts the ball and unleashes an unerring howitzer towards goal.

There is much to admire about his team mates, but in truth when he is out of the game, either when absent as he was against Newcastle or when controlled by a powerful fellow mutant like William Saliba, we are so much lesser. The lack of his ever-present threat from any old aimless punt forward invites teams to push ever higher and get increasingly aggressive in working on our various vulnerabilities. Delap in full flow pushes opponents back single handedly, giving everybody more space to operate in.

He is one of the most singular footballers I have ever watched. I think most Ipswich players have some sort of analogue in a past Blue, someone whose play style they vaguely echo. No previous Town player comes to mind for Delap. With his artillery-barrage shot and those runs like a barrel rolling down a hill, the only comparison that occurred to me was a youthful Wayne Rooney.

Rooney though was more surly than joyful, even as a kid. Delap spends a lot of his time with a mischievous grin on his face. He bowls over a full back and grins with pleasure. There's almost a goofiness to him, a sense that all these duels and scraps he gets into are like the serious/play fights that brothers have. It's fun to clatter into someone. It's fun to smash a football as hard as you damn well can. It's fun to run and run and run.

And boy did he have fun with Chelsea.

You generally imagine that powerful strikers like to slide onto the defender least able to cope with their physicality. Against Chelsea Liam must have been tempted to match up with Levi Colwill or even pull onto either full back. But where's the fun in that? Like a new inmate asserting dominance in the prison yard Delap attacked the biggest guy he could find - Tosin Adarabioyo.

Wisely it seemed like he was under instructions to ration his exuberance, presumably in the hope we could extend his stint as deep into the 90 as possible. At times, others were sprinting around frenetically pressing whilst Delap hovered in a mid-block waiting to unleash sudden bursts of happy fury. Maybe not knowing whether he'd be suddenly loping towards them made Chelsea even more nervous.

Delap had two obvious contributions against Chelsea, winning the penalty with a burst of speed and setting up Omari Hutchinson with an interception, a long gallop forward and an intelligent pass. More generally though, knowing our centre forward has the measure of most opponents is just this enormous comfort blanket for everyone. You know sending the ball vaguely in his direction is potentially productive and the opposition do too. It reduced Chelsea's inclination to over-commit, it decreased the sheer amount of defending our (in any case busy) back line had to do. Delap simply makes us better.

He is a phenomenon. He is exhilarating to watch. Even those of us not naturally inclined to just love a goal scorer cannot be anything other than utterly compelled by him. He is unstoppable. The fun juggernaut.

Liam Delap v Chelsea

Minutes 89

Goals 1

Assists 1

Passes completed 4/8 (50%)

Shots 5

On target 4/5 (80%)

Touches 32

Touches in opposition box 7

Dispossessed 3

Ground duels won 3/8 (37.5%)

Aerial duels won 3/4 (75%)

Recovered the ball 4

Was fouled 3

Fouls 1