After a 22-year absence, Ipswich Town are back in the Premier League.
By Sam McGuire
Kieran McKenna and his team will be hoping that their stay in the English top-flight isn’t a brief one. They have the makings of a team that will claim an upset or two this term.
What happened last season?
The Tractor Boys secured a second successive promotion with a second place finish in the Championship.
Ipswich played a nice brand of football under McKenna and recorded two goals per game, the highest of any team in the English second tier. They had the fourth highest Expected Goals total (75.1) while only Leeds United and Leicester City had a lower Expected Goals Against total. Their defensive resilience no doubt contributed to them keeping 15 clean sheets.
In a nutshell, they were good in attack and strong in defence. The perfect storm for promotion. They also had 53% possession in the Championship and completed over 390 passes per 90.
It was very much a team effort but there were two standout performers for Ipswich. Firstly, no player in the English second tier could better Leif Davis’ return of 18 assists. The left-back was an outstanding creator for McKenna last season. He also claimed a 7.54 FotMob rating.
Conor Chaplin also impressed. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder finished the campaign with 21 goal involvements, split 13:8 in favour of goals. If he can get close to these numbers for Ipswich this season, they’ll stand a very good chance of staying up.
What has happened during the summer?
Ipswich have managed to keep together the promotion-winning team. They’ve also gone about improving certain areas of the team.
Omari Hutchinson returned on a permanent basis having caught the eye at Portman Road last term. The versatile attacker signed from Chelsea having scored 10 goals for Ipswich last season.
Liam Delap joined from Manchester City. The 21-year-old spent last season on loan with Hull City and scored against Ipswich. It was one of the eight times he found the back of the net for the Tigers.
McKenna has also bolstered his defence.
The highly-rated Jacob Greaves arrived from Hull City in a deal believed to be worth £15million while the Tractor Boys also Ben Johnson after he was released by West Ham United.
Arijanet Muric, who starred for Burnley towards the end of the season, swapped Turf Moor for Portman Road. He’s expected to start the campaign as the first-choice shot-stopper.
What they should be aiming for next season?
First and foremost, their aim will be survival. Ipswich don’t want to head straight back to the Championship after just one season in the top flight. If and when survival is secured, just aim for the highest possible finish. It will be a hard slog though.
Prediction: 18th
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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