8 August 2024
Tractor Boys Back in the Big Time
Ipswich Town have ended a 22-year absence from the Premier League as Kieran McKenna steered the Tractor Boys back to the promised land after a season no one saw coming. Finishing second in the Championship table, they ensured their return to the top-flight.
McKenna saw his side top the goalscoring charts as they fired 92 goals to book their place in the Premier League. After their success last season, the vultures started to circle as they looked to prise the manager away to pastures new. The club acted swiftly and persuaded him to sign a new contract.
Under his leadership, Ipswich Town are playing a brand of football that has impressed everyone. Their high-tempo passing game has had Portman Road rocking and before the fans knew it, they were dreaming about the unthinkable, promotion to the top-flight.
The owners have established a tight bond with their manager and have invoked a transfer policy that complements his ethos. Investing in young players, not breaking the bank, bringing in talent that can deliver Kieran McKenna’s vision out on the pitch. Now they are looking forward to locking horns with Premier League giants.
It has been some time since their fans have seen the team compete at the top level. In fact, it was the launch of the Premier League when the Tractor Boys last graced the English top-flight. Acquiring Liam Delap from Man City was a good piece of business, with the young striker bolstering their attack for the season ahead.
The club have resisted breaking the bank in preparation for the season ahead. Merely just tweaking the squad that fired them to second place in the Championship. Last season they became only the fifth team to get back-to-back promotions to the Premier League. Only Watford (1999), Man City (2000), Norwich City (2011) and Southampton (2012) had achieved the feat before.
It is an exciting time for Ipswich Town fans. They have a young manager who is highly coveted, playing a brand of football that seems ready to pit its wits at the highest level. It is not just about free-flowing attacking football, he knows the importance of being solid at the back as well. They set a new club record of 559 minutes without conceding a goal under his tenure.
For newly promoted sides, the loan system can be pivotal. The big teams in the Premier League have young stars they want to gain Premier League experience, but it is not something they themselves can offer. They would jump at the chance of loaning them out to sides who are willing to offer them regular game time in the top-flight. This is something a club like Ipswich Town can thrive from.
If you look at the ‘big six’, their academies are a who’s who of future talent. Underpinned by the club forking out £20m to acquire the services of Liam Delap. In such instances, you would even find that the parent clubs would want very little, if any, contribution towards the player’s wages. Last season, Sheff Utd’s standout player who looked more than comfortable with the Premier League was Man City’s James McAtee. One of the few players at Bramall Lane who didn’t look out of their depth.
McKenna is a seasoned coach at youth levels and is more than aware of the plethora of talent that struggles with breaking into the first team squad from his time at Man Utd. For that reason alone, Ipswich Town could not be in a better position to fully capitalise on the loan system with his knowledge of club academies in the league.
In the last five years, less than half of the newly promoted sides to the Premier League have managed to survive their first season. That is the size of the task that the Tractor Boys face. Many write the new boys off even before a ball is kicked, for that reason alone, the pressure is immediately off Ipswich Town.
Their opening game of the campaign will be a real baptism of fire as they welcome Arne Slot’s Liverpool to Portman Road. With the transfer window open until the end of August, it will give the manager the perfect chance to see how ready his squad is for the challenge ahead. For The Reds, it offers the potential of a huge banana skin on the opening weekend.
If we do not learn from history, it tends to repeat itself. Clubs who have secured a second season in the Premier League turn their home grounds into fortresses that no one wants to visit. This will be key for McKenna’s side. Luton Town did it to an extent last season, whereas Burnley and Sheff Utd were dishing out points to visitors like a poorly calibrated speed camera.
Last season, Conor Chaplin and Nathan Broadhead ended as top scorers for the club. Goals will be key for survival. Liam Delap will be hoping to show Man City, much as Cole Palmer did, that Guardiola’s side made an error in letting him slip through their fingers. You do feel that Ipswich could do with adding another seasoned goalscorer to their ranks before the transfer window closes.
Rumours are circulating that McKenna is planning a swoop for Blackburn Rovers’ striker Sammie Szmodics. With 27 goals to his name last season, the Irish striker would be the perfect addition for the Tractor Boys. The only stumbling block could be just how much money the Championship club demand to let their prized asset go.
For Ipswich Town fans, it is a season of excitement that lays ahead. Of the three sides to be promoted, they seem best placed to make themselves a regular fixture in the Premier League. Portman Road will be key to their plight. Kieran McKenna will be keen to show the footballing fraternity why he is perceived as such a ‘hot prospect’ in the world of managers. The Tractor Boys are back and this time they want to stay.
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