E&S fans' verdict on Wolves 0 Ipswich 0

CHRIS HUGHES

What's your verdict on the match? Reality. Check.

After Saturday's exciting, high energy display there was a buzz of expectation before the game.

Then came a dose of classic Championship football, complete with a typical Mick McCarthy performance from Ipswich comprised of niggly shirt pulls, cynical trips and even a couple of outright lunging tackles.

If our new Chinese owners are the savvy investors we've been told they are, I expect them to get this game out onto DVD as a cure for insomnia.

Few chances at either end from open play and not a lot of passing play through midfield from either side lead to some grumblings of discontent from the stands (though generally the crowd stayed with the side and continued singing).

Dadi's penalty was poor and, had he scored, I expect the game would have been very different. Not entirely sure why their 'goal' was disallowed either but a defeat would have been harsh on us.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Doherty looked back to the same player that finished last season strongly, getting forward well down the left to support attacks.

Hause and Batth were solid against the expected aerial bombardment aimed in Murphy's direction and from Knudsen's bullet throw-ins. Coady also kept himself busy in midfield when out of possession and tried to harass and win the ball back.

While energetic out of possession, Coady joined his central midfield partners Evans & Edwards in being generally ineffective with the ball at their feet.

At times there seemed a lack of positional awareness from all of them that resulted in a lack of options for the back four looking to play out of defence.

Mason looked like a lost puppy for the majority of the game, one early burst down the right aside, and the Ipswich defenders looked a little too physical for him.

HEATHER LARGE

What's your verdict on the match? After the highs of Saturday's impressive performance, we were definitely brought back down to earth.

It was a tough game and I think a point was a fair result as neither side created enough chances to deserve to win.

Unlike Reading, Ipswich weren't prepared to sit back and let us attack and we lacked the creativity and energy to break through their defence.

We really struggled in midfield, we couldn't keep hold of the ball, giving it away far too easily.

But we're still only three games into the season and Zenga has only been here less than three weeks - although it feels much longer with everything that has been going on!

Hopefully he will be able to rally the players and we will come back fighting against Blues.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Our most creative players against Reading - Teixeira and Bodvarsson - failed to make the same impact as they did on Saturday, they were kept in check and couldn't break away.

I thought Hause had a much better game than he did against Crawley.

Costa coming on in the second half did give us a bit of much-needed spark but then we didn't manage to make the most of him.

I would like to see Price start as I feel he deserves a place, having proven against Crawley what he can do.

STEVE PLANT

What's your verdict on the match? If ever a team played in the mould of its manager there is no finer example than Mick McCarthy's Ipswich Town.

Rugged, solid, organised but definitely not pretty,they cancelled Wolves out easily in the first half. Exciting and full of running on Saturday, we looked decidedly flat here.

Missed penalty aside we were hardly seen as an attacking force with Joe Mason following up his best appearance in a Wolves shirt against Reading with possibly his worst just three days later.

In the second half Ipswich were stronger all over the pitch and fully deserved the point. We looked tired and short of ideas, hopefully an injection of new blood will freshen it up.

Unbeaten after four games with five points on the board, I would have taken that all day long after the Swansea game.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Jed Wallace, wasn't on the pitch long enough to be as bad as the rest!

As for who didn't impress, sorry Walter but you got it wrong this time. Like a certain number nine who played for England remarked, why change a winning team?

RUSS EVERS (HATHERTON WOLVES)

What's your verdict on the match? Four games in 11 days with no rest days in between and a busy August might may go some way to explaining the slightly "leggy" look about Wolves.

Mad Mick's Ipswich were the expected physical side who gave no quarter yet it still took their keeper to be on top form to save Bodvarsson's penalty and an even better save late on to deny us again.

A 0-0 but with more positives than negatives.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Teixeira again was the pick but will be nursing a few bruises this morning!

RUSS COCKBURN

What's your verdict on the match? As exciting as Saturday was, this was the hangover. The same tempo that typified the Reading win disappeared and was replaced with hopeless punts up field and a midfield that was about as much use as a chocolate teapot.

Should we be surprised? Not really. A midfield containing Evans and Edwards doesn't become a promotion winning combination overnight and, let's face it, they never will.

This is very much work in progress and, at the end of the season, we may look back and think… 'a decent point'.

The midfield is the heart of the team and drastically needs overhauling. How Evans commands a place in the starting line-up over Price will go down as one of the world's greatest mysteries…he didn't even look great against Cork reserves.

And Edwards in a deeper role will never work. Yes, he runs around a lot, but so does Mo Farah and I wouldn't want him marshalling our midfield.

Moving up top, we have the curious case of Joe Mason, the striker who looks like he constantly needs an arm around his shoulder to reassure him he should be on the pitch.

Whether Jackett's 'in/out' management last year has destroyed his confidence I'm not sure, but he's not playing like a £3m/£1.6m (depending who you believe) striker at the moment.

So a lot of work to do, but three games in and we're unbeaten and hopefully our limitations exposed so the management can do something about it.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Slim pickings on who had a good game, but I'm going for Matt Doherty.

Solid at the back and, arguably, still our most attacking threat going forward.

SARAH CONNOLLY

What's your verdict on the match? It's always the same old story when Mad Mick returns; we never seem to generate a win. It's almost as if he placed a curse on us when he left.

I've seen less exciting 0-0 draws, but this wasn't the most enthralling either. Both teams didn't seem particularly great, but Mick always sets his teams up well and we found it hard to break them down.

It did seem as though we had a lot of tired legs, especially in the second half and we lost a lot of the spark going forward that we had shown on Saturday.

There are some encouraging signs though - the new boys put a good shift in again and Costa made some promising runs.

Overall, it's clear we are a work in progress. I don't see a reason to overreact as Zenga starts to put his stamp on things and with the arrival of Prince and potential other new signings and players due to return, I'm sure we will see further shaping of the team and tactics.

As a positive - we're still unbeaten and it's another clean sheet!

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Teixiera played well again, although his spark seemed to dim toward the end - presumably as a result of tiredness.

Ikeme seems a lot more confident in coming up to catch a ball now. Doherty seemed to get forward well and got into space; he seems to have gained confidence from his wonder strike.

As I said on Saturday, I'm still not sure what Lee Evans offers in midfield. He must be impressing in training because he certainly isn't on the pitch.

He plays hot potato with the ball, and subsequently can't place a pass as he's trying to get the ball away from his feet as quick as possible.

Mason didn't lead the line well and I imagine he will probably move to the bench once Dicko returns.

ROB CARTWRIGHT

What's your verdict on the match? In a word - drab!

Walter remains unbeaten in his first four games and it is clear we are in for a rollercoaster of a season. I remain very positive.

There was little entertainment, except in the last 20 minutes when the game opened up. This was a typical match against a well drilled Mick McCarthy team. Probably one we would have lost last season, who knows?

I was surprised Hause was the only change, but understand the need for height in the team. This must be the reason Evans remained in, as I can think of no other!

This could so easily have been a 1-0 win or a 0-1 defeat, so I'll take a point and look forward with confidence to Blues.

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Best player for me was Doherty. He encapsulates everything I love about Wolves and leaves nothing on the pitch.

Hause also played well and Costa made a positive difference when coming on for last 20 minutes, nearly scoring with our first shot on target!

There were a few 'below par' performances. Evans for poor distribution and going backwards too often.

And Batth for being pulled out of position too easily; though he finished the game strongly. Mason looked completely lost as a lone striker when Bodvarsson went off with 25 minutes remaining.

There are a few trends from last three games: Teixeira falls over a lot, we will give the opposition a free header from a set piece and Walter will make a sub at half time.

PETER ABBOTT (LONDON WOLVES)

What's your verdict on the match? After the Lord Mayor's show and all that, and nope, I didn't travel up from Ipswich with Mick and the Tractor Boys...

From the off, they closed us down very quickly, were strong, fielding a very experienced line-up, however we didn't allow them any clear chances at goal apart from disallowed goal plus their late chance was superbly defended by Danny Batth.

Although I'm still debating whether Danny or Dominic Iorfa was our man of the match it was back to our expected back four with no new options... yet?

With a mixed bag in midfield and only two available forwards and no space or time on the ball it proved a difficult evening... although if only Bodvarsson had put away the penalty, unfortunately it proved an excellent save.

Yep 0-0 however, Wolves are in transition... new players on the way... what is there not to like about the new dawn at the Mol?

Who played well - and who didn't impress? Again I enjoyed watching Teixeira's ability on the ball plus Costa was equally skilful when he came on second half... we need to see more of him. .. plus Matt Doherty again looked dangerous when adding to the forward line.