WorcesterBlue

2 hours ago, HankMarvin said:

Their 2 strikers were 1st and 4th for big chances missed.

40 in total. 

Which suggests that was the missing piece of their puzzle.
 

Would not disagree. Azon in particular had keepers producing more fabulous saves than anyone else. But our No9 is not just there to score goals themselves but to provide chances for others. We had 20 different scorers. The three just behind the 9 scored 45 goals between them.

Last year we had Delap. And he was good until Christmas but he then became very selfish and provided little for others. Chelsea are welcome to have him on his £100k/week.

But you are right, a top striker must be our first priority. Someone capable of holding the ball, moving it about intellegently and scoring a few.

Does Mr V still lace up his boots ?

Our big plus is that we have a mean defence. But, as you are aware that does impact the other end of the pitch.

3 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

Be interested to hear from Ipswuch fans on how they felt this season went/hoe enjoyable it was. From the outside looking in i'm amazed they have finished 2nd, felt like they properly struggled and still gone up.

 

I know at this level you can be fairly ordinary win less than half your games and have a chance of going up but of all of our promotions from the Championship i've never felt it was particularly hard work bar the O'Neill playoff one. 

 

This Ipswich promotion feels similar to QPR under Redknapp, not that they'll care. They're up, we're in League One and Kasey McAteer is back in the Prem 😂

When Town came down with the Foxes last year we had a massive clear out of players. Some much beloved like Morsy and Chappers. Leaving few of the old guard Div left.

A new team was bought/loaned in the close season. Those players took time to gel and it was not really until December that they started to get going. McKenna has a very definate system which has to be learnt.

That they all know it now can be seen from the fluent passing in the first two goals yesterday. But also all season we have tended to be a team of two halves. Good the first and bad the second or vice versa. (Except when we played the Foxes in which case we were bad in both halves).

We seem to have had a low league position because for a long time we had two games in hand for ages.

I feel we have a better squad going up this time.

Yesterday was weird at Portman Road. Before and at the start you could have cut the tension with a knife. But 6 minutes in and 2-0 up the whole stadium went into relax mode and it only picked up later when Kasey scored. Really strange. 

Then  why did they bring on hundreds of stewads to stop a pitch invasion ? It was never going to work. I was there having my picture taken on the penalty spot along with most of Ipswich. There must have been 10,000 of us.  It is amazing how different the ground looks from that angle.

I think we have a better team than the last promotion but time will tell. 

Highlights ? Doubling the Budgies undoubtably. I thanked my next door neighbour, who is a Norwich supporter, for the 6 points which gave us promotion. His reply was in pure anglo-saxon. Splendid. Doubling the champions as well was a good do.

As for the Foxes as I have said on here before I believe you will find next season one of transition. But after that you will be a shark in a pond of minows. You have the stadium and the supporters to rise above the rest.

Good luck.

16 minutes ago, WorcesterBlue said:

Nicely put. I'm an Ipswich supporter and having recently seen my team spend 4 years in Div 1 I can say I know a bit about it.

I think that for the first season there the Foxes will struggle. As you know you have far too many dead weight high earners. It will be a transition season, a time to clear out the dross, blood the youngsters and get used to the new level.

The second season will be your chance to kick on. Remember that income there is almost entirely via the turnstyle and merchandise. And comparatively you will be very well off. The way Town are going we will probably meet again back in the Champs before long.

Good luck

Oh and enjoy the ride going to different places. We played Forest Green. I did not where they lived either. But just over a year after the game we were heading for the EPL with you and they were going into non league. A funny old game they say.

On 20/04/2026 at 23:23, DJ Barry Hammond said:

There could be some positives in getting relegated.

 

1.) The drop in level should mean we can give our youth a proper chance; and our break through youngsters this season will be at a more realistic age profile to properly grow and develop.

 

2.) Rebuilding on a budget should be easier too. There’s always lots of free agents available at the level.

 

3.) By relegation happening now (unless something unbelievable happens), we avoid what could have been a long, season after season drawn out decline.

 

Next year’s Championship season already looks potentially tough; so we might be better off outside of that so we can properly rebuild rather than trying to apply sticking plasters.

 

4.) We’ve seen big teams fall into League one and return stronger in the long run - ourselves being a case in point, but also note Sunderland, Ipswich and Birmingham.

 

Compare that to the likes of Bristol City, Preston, Stoke and Swansea, who have just ‘existed’ in the Championship season after season.

 

5.) New grounds to travel to - hello Bromley! Blackpool away also looks to be on the cards.

 

Does this make anyone feel any better about the situation?

Nicely put. I'm an Ipswich supporter and having recently seen my team spend 4 years in Div 1 I can say I know a bit about it.

I think that for the first season there the Foxes will struggle. As you know you have far too many dead weight high earners. It will be a transition season, a time to clear out the dross, blood the youngsters and get used to the new level.

The second season will be your chance to kick on. Remember that income there is almost entirely via the turnstyle and merchandise. And comparatively you will be very well off. The way Town are going we will probably meet again back in the Champs before long.

Good luck

2 hours ago, Manley Farrington-Brown said:

Wolves went from first to fourth division with three successive relegations in the eighties. But yes, it's very rare.

Northampton went  from the 4th Division to the 1st and back again in 8 seasons in the '60's. Or is that just a tale of Cobblers ?

9 hours ago, davieG said:

 

Non League Football ·

Follow

 

The social media admin of newly promoted Bromley after Leicester were relegated. The two sides will meet in League One next season...

Minnows

On 23/04/2026 at 16:09, WorcesterBlue said:

I'm an Ipswich supporter. 

I would just like to say that I am sorry for the state of your club. It is clearly not the supporters fault. 

Town have been into administration and then down to Div 1. Five years ago we were in grave danger of dropping into Div 2.

You will go down. You may find you have another points deduction. But after those have worked through you will be a massive force in a puddle of minnows.

Some sensible investor will come along and recognise a big fish going cheaply. And the Foxes will rise again.

Good luck.

City 1 Millwall 1. Excellent. Thanks Foxes. COYB.

11 hours ago, Arriba Los Zorros said:

Ipswich are quality with threat all over the pitch, but their possession style isn't effective at creating chances when teams going there shutting up shop with a low block and threat on the counter. That's what they struggle against and it's Rowetts speciality. He beat them with Oxford playing that way earlier this season

 

Plus, we are a bogey team to them. I wouldn't be shocked if we come away with something much like the Boro game 

This is true. Ipswich have failed several times to beat a team parking the bus. I get the impression by reading this thread 0-0 would be an acceptable result.

5 hours ago, Wigston Tractor Boy said:

I think 'hate him' is way too strong. There are question marks over why we bought him and definitely why we paid as much as we did, but he's regularly in the squad and I'd expect to see him involved the game tomorrow.

 

Beginning of the year we had 3 right wingers, Sindre Walle Egeli who is 19 and just joined, Wes Burns still injured and recovering from a season ending injury last year and Chio Ogbene who was also just back from a season long injury. Ipswich decided to ship out Ogbene on loan and bring in McAteer, which on the face of it meant we had a senior right winger without injury concerns to support Egeli while waiting for Burns. Issue is, that wasn't worth anywhere near the ~£10m figure bandied about. I think it's put him in a crap position because he's having to justify a price tag that is just higher than his value to the team.

 

PS. Yes, we have Clarke and Philogene on the Left who could deputise on the right, but both have struggled to perform on the right and in any case would weaken us on the left if they also had to cover the right.

Mehmeti plays all over the place at the front. Super buy for £3m. If McAteer plays it will be as a 70th minute sub.

20 hours ago, ParkerPen said:

McAteer hasn't scored for Ipswich yet...

No but Hirst has and he is on a roll.

18 hours ago, Suzie the Fox said:

Should have been down to 10 men, terrible decision by the ref to just give a yellow

Not having that. The bloke dived at the slightest touch. Yes a yellow offence but the other way.

8 hours ago, Corky said:

Norwich are in a real state on and off the pitch right now as well.

Their American owner just flew in to get a grip. He has time now his other club has stopped playing rounders.

6 hours ago, Fox92 said:

Ipswich are the most surprising out of every team I think and it's interesting to see if McKenna can turn it around. Back to promotions is always an unbelievable achievement but the second promotion sort of rides of the first promotion. He is now experiencing defeats/loss of form which is always the most testing of a manager.

 

But lets not forget they did concede a lot when they got promoted previously, and often outscored opposition. 

I'm a Town supporter.

We bought 11 players over the summer. The B2B team is no more. Only Davis remains. We seem to have some good players. It is getting them into an effective team that seems to be the hold up.

KMcK's teams wil always attack as first default. That will always leave space at the back. 3-2 rather than 1-0.

On 06/10/2025 at 16:55, Lambert09 said:

I posted the same in another thread.  If we’d just been willing to spend 5mill instead of maybe 2/3 m on a loan fee, we’d be looking balanced right now. 
 

Can anyone provide examples of a team going up without a decent striker?  Goals win games and you can’t rely on a season of fatawu wonder goals because too often those will just be strikes into row z 

 

this below sort of backs that up:(only 3 non-strikers listed in 10 years) 

 

### Promoted Teams from the EFL Championship to the Premier League (2015/16 to 2024/25 Seasons)

Below is a list of all teams promoted to the Premier League over the last 10 completed Championship seasons (2015/16 through 2024/25). Each entry includes the season, the promoted teams (top two automatic via league position, plus the playoff winner), and the top goalscorer for each promoted team in the Championship that season (with goals scored). Data is sourced from official EFL records and statistical databases.

| Season     | Promoted Teams                  | Top Goalscorer (Team)              |
|------------|---------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 2015/16   | Burnley (1st), Middlesbrough (2nd), Hull City (playoff) | Sam Vokes (Burnley, 15 goals)<br>David Nugent (Middlesbrough, 11 goals)<br>Abel Hernández (Hull City, 20 goals) |
| 2016/17   | Newcastle United (1st), Brighton & Hove Albion (2nd), Huddersfield Town (playoff) | Dwight Gayle (Newcastle United, 23 goals)<br>Glenn Murray (Brighton, 23 goals)<br>Nahki Wells (Huddersfield Town, 15 goals) |
| 2017/18   | Wolverhampton Wanderers (1st), Cardiff City (2nd), Fulham (playoff) | Leo Bonatini (Wolves, 12 goals)<br>Junior Hoilett (Cardiff City, 12 goals)<br>Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham, 15 goals) |
| 2018/19   | Norwich City (1st), Sheffield United (2nd), Aston Villa (playoff) | Teemu Pukki (Norwich City, 29 goals)<br>David McGoldrick (Sheffield United, 15 goals)<br>Tammy Abraham (Aston Villa, 26 goals) |
| 2019/20   | Leeds United (1st), West Bromwich Albion (2nd), Fulham (playoff) | Pablo Hernández (Leeds United, 12 goals)<br>Charlie Austin (West Brom, 11 goals)<br>Karlan Grant (Fulham, 14 goals) |
| 2020/21   | Norwich City (1st), Watford (2nd), Brentford (playoff) | Teemu Pukki (Norwich City, 26 goals)<br>Troy Deeney (Watford, 12 goals)<br>Ivan Toney (Brentford, 31 goals) |
| 2021/22   | Fulham (1st), Bournemouth (2nd), Nottingham Forest (playoff) | Aleksandar Mitrović (Fulham, 43 goals)<br>Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth, 29 goals)<br>Saman Ghoddos (Nottingham Forest, 12 goals) |
| 2022/23   | Burnley (1st), Sheffield United (2nd), Luton Town (playoff) | Zian Flemming (Burnley, 21 goals)<br>Ollie McBurnie (Sheffield United, 13 goals)<br>Carlton Morris (Luton Town, 20 goals) |
| 2023/24   | Leicester City (1st), Ipswich Town (2nd), Southampton (playoff) | Jamie Vardy (Leicester City, 21 goals)<br>Ali Al-Hamadi (Ipswich Town, 14 goals)<br>Adam Armstrong (Southampton, 21 goals) |
| 2024/25   | Leeds United (1st), Burnley (2nd), Sunderland (playoff) | Joel Piroe (Leeds United, 21 goals)<br>Jay Rodriguez (Burnley, 18 goals)<br>Tommy Watson (Sunderland, 15 goals) 

It seems to be always the way. Somebody publishes something and everybody respects it. That is until somebody with specialist knowledge looks at it and then doubt is cast about all its accuracy. 

23-24 Ipswich Ali Al-Hamadi scored 4 not 14. Chaplin and Broadhead 13 goals each.

18 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

He predicted seven points, which seems about right to me.

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/clyzxmkrm84o#:~:text=Football finance expert Kieran Maguire,and sustainability rules (PSR).

Why is it taking so long ? All everybody wants is clarity so we all know where we are. 

What I am reading on here is grieving like the loss of an old friend. Something that took you away from the drudgery of life and gave pleasure, excitement and sometimes, yes, pain. To see it in it's lingering death is painful to any football supporter no matter who you follow.

18 minutes ago, pmcla26 said:

They’ve adjusted to the Championship like every team has to after relegation (despite a massive outlay last summer) and bought mostly rubbish this summer. 

We have lost nearly all the remnant of the B2B team.

We will see if they are rubbish or not at the end of the season when they know each other and when McKenna has had the chance to breathe on them.

But you cant judge a group of strangers until they are some months in. That is an advantage for the Foxes. At least everybody knows everybody else.

On 08/09/2025 at 15:40, pmcla26 said:

They may have made a profit this summer but Ipswich spent £100m in the Premier League so they probably had to cover some of that from last summer.

Ipswich spent about £120m in the prem. After selling Delap for £30m Hutch for £37.5m, Braodhead for £7.5m and Woolfenden for £4m and then getting in several, most loans they have made a profit of about £30m. Their wage bill will be less, I expect.

Just now, WorcesterBlue said:

Difficult to say at this stage. We know Cajuste is quality of course but the others have barely kicked a ball yet.

The other point is that Nunez was worth it just to annoy the Budgies. And were they ANNOYED !

The pink 'un website went ballistic. 

Made me laugh just reading it.

COYB

18 hours ago, Ric Flair said:

Looks some absolutely horrible business you've done bar Egali

Difficult to say at this stage. We know Cajuste is quality of course but the others have barely kicked a ball yet.

18 minutes ago, suffolk fox said:

This.  Said it from day one the gulf is huge and getting bigger.

No. That's not the way to say it. 

 "The gulf is huge and getting huger " ! 

2 minutes ago, Lambert09 said:

Well is mckenna responsible for transfers?  Because he might not have much of a say in the individuals targeted 

McKenna will have set out what he wants and who he wants. Mark Ashton will then have tried his best to get the players at the top of the list. But as we know not everything always goes to plan.

Losing Morsy, Chappers and Woolfy etc has ripped the heart out of the team.  But looking on the Wrexham forum they think it is quite normal to change all your players every season. They have bought 11 this time.