This sounds like Mick McCarthy. Be ambitious. Have high standards. There are some things about Ipswich Town that puts us in esteemed company and set us above Norwich City, Birmingham City and certainly the likes of Rotherham United, so I’d say we should feel entitled in just the same way that Leeds United should. We have come a long way under the new ownership, but one thing that has been diluted this summer is that we have gone back to reliance on the loan market. A word of caution on McKenna, things can change so rapidly in football. In his favour, he is humble enough to know this and to keep working hard. I don’t think teams have figured us out, I think we have just lost our way this week and the common thread in the three games has been conceding early on, conceding at least two preventable goals and failing to score enough goals to edge the result.
There's being ambitious and there's having high standards - of course I want to see us in the Premier League and winning week-in, week-out - what Ipswich fan wouldn't? My point is we should have a degree of realism. We need to acknowledge that before this season, we were a mid-table third division side for three consecutive years. The last time we made the Championship play offs was eight years ago. The last time we played a Premier League match was in 2002. That context is important. It's not being complacent or being a 'Mick McCarthy' - it's stating fact. Otherwise, no Ipswich fan is going to enjoy what we've achieved so far this season. We have not been performing well over the last decade - the start of this season aside. Yes, we have a strong history, but our recent history has been poor. No other way to paint it. Why would we be more entitled than a Leeds United supporter? Historically, they’ve won more than us. They've watched Premier League football for the last three years. Their squad is expensively assembled (with a budget that’d make Mark Ashton blush) and they have a manager with a track record of getting promotion from the Championship. The comparison is a bit ridiculous, isn't it? We've had to use the loan system to strengthen the squad, but we're far from 'reliant' on it. From our ideal first choice starting eleven, how many loanees would make it? Williams. Hutchinson, at a big push. That's about it. We've had to use loans to avoid FFP penalties and control our spending. We've not sold a key first team player and weakened our starting eleven, unlike some other Championship teams. So recruitment wise, I think we're doing well.
Regarding teams figuring us out. When you have Davis on 1 flank and Jackson on the other, it’s fairly obvious where the main threat will come from. The other slightly worrying thing for me is Chaplin’s slight loss of form. Had a few chances yesterday which normally he would have at least made the keeper make a save, also, he is the 1 player with Broadhead absent that will drop and almost make a midfield 3 and set up chances from there but no so much yesterday. Still a fantastic start to the season and with Swansea due on Saturday, should be a proper footballing match as both teams like to pass it around
nah, I don’t think it’s ridiculous. If you exclude the embarrassing Marcus Evans era then the worst we performed for 50 years was promotion challenging in the second tier. When we weren’t challenging for honours ourselves we expected at least to be rubbing shoulders at the top table and we were devastated and angry to be relegated to the second tier - that might not be the case for younger fans who don’t remember what it was like, but it should be our minimum expectation. As for the loans, we are much weaker down the left than last season. It is precisely not about the first eleven now but where we are next year and the year after that. Where is the young attacking talent from our academy? The answer to that is, being kept out of contention by loans.
But that’s exactly my point, we cannot fairly judge this Ipswich Town team - back in the Championship after a long four year absence - by the expectations and standards we had decades ago. While I wasn’t around for the good old years of the 60s, 70s, and 80s, I remember the late 1990s and 00s. We were either in the Premier League or competing for promotion to it year-in, year-out. But the Sheepshanks financial gamble (although well-intentioned) and the collapse of ITV Digital had a detrimental effect on our club. The Marcus Evans years further compounded the misery and set this club so far backwards that we all experienced that nadir. Many things have changed in football over the last couple of decades - some for better, some for the worst. Chief among the negatives is the financial chasm that exists between the Premier League and the Championship. By not playing at the top level for 22 years, we are - unfortunately - left as a club with a smaller budget compared to many clubs in this division. Through smart recruitment and a clever managerial appointment, we are outperforming our budget and expectations so far this season and hopefully building a platform where we can recapture the success of this club. I’m not saying ambition is a negative thing. And I’m not saying we can’t be ambitious. Everyone at this club wants to get to the Premier League. And I’m more optimistic we can get there than at any point over the last 15 odd years. But saying we “shouldn’t be satisfied” with “performances over the last week” or “shouldn’t be satisfied with the play offs” - considering where we’ve come from after the last four years - smacks of completely unjustified, overblown entitlement in my opinion.
As I said, that’s the sort of sound bite we’d hear from the likes of Mick McCarthy and Paul Lambert that never connected with the heart and soul of the club and the mentality that kept us out of the top flight for so long. When I sing that Ipswich Town are the finest football team the world has ever seen, I mean it.
I think this goes to the heart of the issue, Hampy, because when I sing that Ipswich Town are the finest football team the world has ever seen, I don’t really mean it.
If we win the rest of our home games and draw our away games I would suggest automatic promotion is still likely
Ah now then, when I sing we are the finest football team, I realise they are not but to me they are, my head says ....far from it you IJYAT but my heart says.....hell yeah!!
Can I just say I would be satisfied with a playoff place...what an outstanding achievement that would be for a team that won promotion from league 1 and hasn't really strengthened. Have to say it would have to be a pretty bad run of form for us to drop out of the playoffs now though. Let's just get this all in context in regards to expectations not only have we had the 2nd best start ever at this level (only bettered by Leicester) but it's the best start by a promoted team ever.
I like all the positivity on here! We are so lucky to have witnessed such a remarkable turnaround of our Club's fortunes! As several of us have commented, we are bound to have a few dips in performance, mainly caused by injury & absence of key players. While my hope is we can reach the dizzy heights of the Prem, which of course will have huge repercussions for the Club finances, new players, morale, confidence of our US backers etc, I for one would have been quite content at watching us play another enjoyable season in the championship and finish in top 6. But now the sky's the limit!
We've taken 8 points from our past 4 games...2points a game is still automatic promotion form. Why are people talking of a blip...christ knows what an actual blip will look like. At some point last season over about a 15 game period we were only just averaging over a point a game
I think it's because of our previous form and who we dropped points against that makes it a blip ptc, I get what you are saying but we really should be beating Brum and Rotherham, who are on a piss poor run of form themselves. That's why it's a missed opportunity, especially with some really tricky games in December coming up!
Initially, I think I would be disappointed if we had to “settle” for the play offs - after the start we’ve had. I’d be particularly annoyed if we dropped into the play offs towards the end of the season, had we stayed in the top two for so long, because in the heat of the moment - it’d feel like a bottle. However, if we fail to get promoted through the play offs, in the weeks after the season ended I ultimately would be proud that we managed to make the play offs and had such a strong first season back. I’d recognise and appreciate we don’t have the squad and talent that several Championships teams have that have been financially turbocharged by parachute payments and recent Premier League experience. I’d be optimistic we could build on that platform and start competing regularly for promotion places. I think a lot of us were cautiously expecting a mid-table place - and would’ve been happy with it after recent years. If we get promoted this season, McKenna would’ve achieved in two and a half years - and including back-to-back promotions - what most managers here have failed to achieve in their long spells here (with the exception of Alf Ramsey and Bobby Robson’s successes).
I think the relative depth of the squad has been exposed as quite thin over the past week. New faces and partnerships bedding in. Lucky the disruption is coming in "easy" games really. Can't lose sight of the fact this was a league 1 side less than 20 games ago. I think anything less than playoffs would be disastrous, but willing to give squad leeway for off days/results Can't see us going through January without reinforcements.
I have to say had we played the way we played against Rotherham under Cook, Lambert, Hurst, McCarthy, Jewell and Keane we would've been raving at how well we played and saying how unlucky we were to draw and be beaten by a great finish at the end. Our form and performances have been ridiculous in 2023, to the point I actually can't believe how good we've been. When you compare the past few performances to pretty much any game in the 13 years pre McKenna I would say they're probably some of the better ones, infact I'd say they were still better than alot of the performances in the first half of last season as well. To expect us to maintain those standards all season is in my view unrealistic. We do have quality players and I do think fairly decent back up players for this level just maybe not the level of the recently relegated teams. And whilst our performances this season have on the whole been impressive we've had no easy games, we've worked hard for every single point. This doesn't mean i wouldn't be hugely disappointed if we didn't get promotion this season given the start we've had. We're not guaranteed to improve season on season and an opportunity like this doesn't come round very often. Certainly starting to see areas we need to strengthen, it will be interesting to see whether we strengthen in January and whether we target 2nd team players or players who will command a starting place. On the whole I don't think our second team is too bad it's more I'm not sure we're sometimes set up to get the best out of them and often the balance of the team doesn't feel quite right.
Well if last seasons recruiting was anything to go by ptc....we will be trying to recruit premier league quality. Last season we recruited players ready for the championship, so it stands to reason this season will be no different but for the premier league.
And I often look at what Brighton down the road from me, have recruited.and achieved under Potter and recently with De Zerbi. Similar size Club to us and punching way above their weight.
