Ipswich Town column: Joey Sadler and fellow supporters look ahead to what the upcoming season in The Championship could have in store for the Tractor Boys
As the month of July ends and August looms, this time of year only means one thing if you’re a football fan and that’s a sense of hope, anticipation and excitement for another season ahead and everything that comes with it.
By now, we’ve all had a good two or three months away from watching our respective clubs in league action with plenty of time to reflect, review and get ready for what the next campaign could bring.
For Ipswich Town, it’s the first time in more than 23 years that they will go into a season as a newly-promoted side and they’ll have to be ready to adjust to the challenges that will bring.
That said, it certainly doesn’t feel like Kieran McKenna’s men will settle for being happy to be there and the consensus not only amongst fans, but pundits, is that Town are going to have a right good crack at things over the next nine months or so.
So what do I think? Now I’m no expert, in fact I’m just the same as you. A 27-year-old fan with a love for his football club which has – and never will – go away. Now that I’ve given away my age, you’ll be able to tell that going into a new campaign as a promoted team is something I have never really experienced as a Ipswich fan before.
But as I sit here today, full of the same hope and excitement as I always get at this time of year, this one feels particularly different. But why is that?
Years of hurt and demise have gone before us, but Ipswich Town now feels like a proper football club again, both on and off the pitch. Off the pitch, and with the introduction of Mark Ashton, Town seem to be doing everything right. With their interaction with fans becoming ever more impressive, shirt sales going through the roof and a once tired, run down and outdated stadium now rejuvenated into a venue for 30,000 fans to come and watch their football. Commercially, economically and now even globally with Ed Sheeran, this football club is finally being run like a football club in 2023 should be.
Ashton has done many good things since arriving at Portman Road in the summer of 2021, but none more so than acquiring the services of McKenna as manager and appointing him as the person to take the team forward. To be honest, I have run out of superlatives to describe the boss and anything I say, you’ve probably heard before. As he is quite frankly a phenomenon and arguably the most exciting young British manager out there today. Destined for the top, the longer Town can keep hold of their Northern Irish wizard, the better, as for me he is our biggest strength. But you already know that!
So with all of that considered and a return to Championship football on the cards after four years away, realistically what can Town fans expect from this upcoming campaign? What would a ‘successful season’ be? And what is this manager and current crop of players really capable of? Well before I give you my views, I asked some fellow Tractor Boys and Girls for their thoughts and what they would genuinely be happy with and accept from this season. Here’s what they said…
Kieran Bleasby said: “We need to keep our feet on the ground and realise last season is done and dusted and now a much harder and unpredictable year lies ahead. Although it's a been a few years, we are all familiar with The Championship and how nothing is guaranteed and the term 'easy game' doesn't exist. McKenna and co have a well established squad built on solid foundations with great camaraderie and excellent team spirit. A successful season for me will see us still have all of that come May, along with the sustainable approach to improve year after year. Hopefully we can surprise many sides this year and slot ourselves nicely in to the top 10 in our first season back, with anything more a bonus. But let’s take things one game at a time for now.”
Laura Tricker said: “As fans I feel that we obviously want the utmost best for our team and crave that promotion to the Premier League straight away. However, we have to stay level headed and remember this is our first season back in The Championship after a four-year tour of League One! It’s not going to be easy and I’m sure we’ll have ups and downs, but in McKenna and our squad I trust. I truly believe we can finish around mid-table but would love for us to push for those play-offs and maybe win one, if not two, games against Norwich!”
Billy Bloomfield commented: “It’s natural after last season to have big ambitions for this one. However, I do think the quality of The Championship this season compared to the last is a lot higher, with all three teams coming down from the Premier League looking particularly strong and a safe bet to be challenging for promotion straight back at the first attempt. So with that considered, I’d be happy with a mid-table, top 10 finish and of course, a double against ‘they who should not be named’ would be lovely too. Don’t rule out a late play-off push, though…”
Isabella Castaldo said: “Never have I ever looked forward to a season like this one. We are back where we should be as a minimum for a club of our size and everything is looking positive. Not so long ago, we were celebrating those pivotal George Hirst goals away at Bolton and Barnsley, which ultimately announced our return to The Championship and now we look on to what we can really achieve. I’m going for a top 10 finish. There is nothing in this league that concerns me greatly, but whether we can make the top six is another story. Let’s hope we just keep moving forward and smash those ‘budgies’ up the road.”
Richard Moss, also known as ‘The Cruncher’ said: “Momentum is massive in any sport. Did anyone think last year that Sunderland would have had such a successful season and make the play-offs? Probably not. A top six berth is achievable in my opinion if we make a fast start, remain defensively strong and the key for me, be lucky on the injury front. We will score goals, I have no doubt about that. Realistically I see us finishing somewhere between eighth and 12th position, continuing to progress in a upward trajectory with a victory over ‘that lot up the road’ for the first time since 2009. What I do know is, isn't it great to be looking at the likes of Leeds, Leicester and Norwich on the fixture list, instead of Accrington, Lincoln and Shrewsbury.”
A big thank you to Kieran, Laura, Billy, Isabella and Richard for their thoughts, which certainly raise some interesting points. I agree with those before me, that a top half finish would definitely be a successful one for the Blues.
At this current moment in time, I think Town are a quality centre-back and striker away from doing anything more than that. Now that may seem harsh to some, given the performances of Cameron Burgess at the back and Freddie Ladapo and George Hirst up top last season. But as Billy mentioned, The Championship is a different kettle of fish this year and typically looks a lot harder now that Town are back in it!
We’ve already got the goalkeeping and midfield department sorted, but as we learnt last year, the spine of any promotion-chasing team is key and I just think if Town are really going to be mixing it with the likes of Leeds, Leicester and Southampton, who have all spent big money, then we do need some experienced Championship-quality at both ends of the of the pitch ourselves first.
We’ve been building a squad ready for football at this level for several windows now and whilst I don’t think we’re going to be flirting with the bottom end of the table, I’m not sure we have enough right now, to push ourselves out of it at the top end. So, with all that said, we shouldn’t disregard what the achievement of a top 10 finish would be in our first season back at this level.
As you’ll see, my thoughts are not too dissimilar to that of other Town fans, so it got me wondering, what do the rest of the league think about us? Are they worried about us? Are we being overly ambitious? Well I thought I’d ask Luke Minshall, a Leeds fan who works on the Leeds United podcast, ‘Orta Know Better’.
Luke said “Living as a Leeds fan in ‘Leify’ Suffolk, it’s not hard to find an Arsenal, Liverpool or Ipswich fan floating about. Preferring the latter, there certainly does seem like there’s plenty of noise surrounding Kieran McKenna and what he’s done so far with this Ipswich team. Being honest, I can’t say I, or many Leeds fans, know about your current coaching or playing style, but I am of course familiar with your left-back, Leif Davis and I’m not surprised to hear that he hasn’t disappointed. I always enjoy a trip to Portman Road as historically, it tends to be a tough encounter. None more so than our last visit in 2019, where we lost 3-2 to you, an already-relegated side, with 10 men.
“Come August 26 when we face off again, I expect the result to be different. We’ll be coming down to Portman Road as a relegated side that have hopefully managed to keep the majority of our key players and I think this could prove to be a bigger gulf in class than some Town fans anticipate. I do, however, hope Ipswich do well over the course of the season and have them to finish mid-table, just above them Norfolk yellow birds, not having to worry about relegation and continuing to build for the following year.”
A big thank you to Luke, who’s thoughts interestingly align with many other Town fans, in thinking we’ll be around mid-table.
So with all of that considered and for myself personally, it’s all about consolidation this season. It’s all about progression and I’m not afraid to say it, but it’s also all about finally getting one over that team up the A140. Last year was stressful at times, knowing it was now or never and that we had to win every game, so I’m quite looking forward to taking this one exactly how it comes and enjoying the highs and learning from the lows.
If you pushed me for an exact position, then I’d say we will finish 11th next season. But, as we’ve found out, you never know what Mr Ashton has up his sleeve so depending on how August goes, I may be changing my mind on that statement..
Thank you for reading and see you all at Portman Road soon. Uppa Towen!