Ipswich have a brilliant manager and excellent recruitment, which are the two most crucial elements, on top of the team spirit factor. They've bought and loaned well without spending much in the past few windows. Turning cast offs like Hirst into successes, and their recent January signings have got 15 goals combined. And when they get promoted, they'll have tons of money to spend on smart upgrades, and are likely to keep most/all their good loanees.
A good manager and recruitment are both things that Leeds and Southampton don't have.. I think ours is OK currently, but we have the additional handicap of the point deduction/forced sales/limited buying funds.
Had a bit of a sick feeling watching that Cov-Ipswich game just now, which I think is my gut feeling that Ipswich could finish above us next season and send us down. Hope I'm wrong