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It would be fascinating to know what recruitment algorithms or eagle-eyed staff in Ipswich’s recruitment department spotted the potential and capability in Emersonn to score the goals to keep them in the Premier League. Thirteen games, no goals and a serious knee injury at the Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense, two league goals in 17 games at the Turkish side Goztepe, then six in 28 at the French side Toulouse. A modest return, for sure, but it doesn’t scream ready to break down doors in the English top flight.
Ipswich have spent more than £150m this summer, intent on not making the same mistakes as the last time they came up, which detailed analysis presumably showed was not spending enough money. Emersonn became a club record signing, at £24m plus add-ons, beaten a month later by the arrival of the attacking midfielder Julio Enciso, for £26m.
In a season of flux and uncertainty, the sparks of a compelling partnership between the pair in the opening weekend win against Sunderland offered the faintest hope that Ipswich can defy the odds and stay up this season.
They combined for the opening goal, one that started with a gift from Sunderland but turned into an impressive display of skill and precision.
Luke O’Nien, for reasons unbeknownst to anyone but Luke O’Nien, had the ball under no pressure on halfway but passed straight to Enciso. Anyone watching the previous 23 minutes could tell the quick-footed, tricky No 10 was the last person you wanted to give the ball to with yards of open grass behind you.
Enciso duly skipped past O’Nien and drove into Sunderland’s half, then when Dan Ballard came across to cover shimmied past him, too. It was then a simple pass across, bypassing the onrushing goalkeeper, Robin Roefs, for Emersonn to tuck the ball away scruffily.
There is indubitable flair and talent in the 22-year-old – the first Brazilian to play for Ipswich. A little later, with the ball on the left, he evaded Thomas Meunier and Enzo Le Fée by slipping the ball between them, then found Enciso with a low cross, but the attacking midfielder caught the ball wrong and it flew over.
Enciso has returned to Ipswich as though intent on making up for lost time. He’s had nibbles at the Premier League before – first at Brighton, where he couldn’t quite move beyond useful-player-to-bring-on, before a loan to Ipswich the last time they were here, where he did well but they ultimately went down.
There will be times in retirement when O’Nien will wake up, drenched in sweat, from feverish dreams replaying over and over what Enciso did to him on this afternoon. On another occasion, Enciso darted in to steal the ball from O’Nien’s feet, the defender taking a yellow card to avoid being humiliated again.
And if it wasn’t O’Nien, it was others. In another flowing move, Enciso chopped easily passed Granit Xhaka – the midfielder, unused to being beaten like that, shaking his head in frustration – then cut inside Nilson Angulo and crossed to the back post, where Emersonn was unable to head on target.
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Enciso has the vibe of a diminutive forward who will have a worldy performance once every four or five games – just enough that you think if he could only find that consistency, he would be one of the best players in the league. Rather than at Ipswich. Perhaps he will prove that prediction wrong: his deft flick on the turn, attempting to turn Abdul Fatawu’s driven in-swinging ball inside the far post, but missing by inches, was evidence of a football brain few share.
For most of the second half it appeared as though all their good work would not deliver three points. Six minutes before half-time, Sunderland won a free-kick on the edge of Ipswich’s penalty area – a fraction off to the left – and Angulo swept the ball in marvellously via the crossbar.
But Jack Clarke came on in the 71st minute – replacing Enciso, the man of the match leaving to a standing ovation – and in the 90th minute he dribbled towards backing-off defenders and delicately finished into the bottom right corner.
Ipswich are back – and there is something different about them.
