 | Forum Reply | ITFC ‘Unpopular Opinions’ at 20:38 3 Jul 2025
If they could somehow be magically free of injury and able to play 90 minutes, I reckon we could have scored more points last season if the starting 11 from the Exeter 6-0 game had played every game in the Premier League. The only one I would be worried about is Harry Clarke, and maybe Walton and Luongo would have been a bit shaky but overall I think the team spirit and familiarity with the system and each other would have been worth over 22 points. However, they would still have been relegated and then there’s nothing to build on from there. |
 | Forum Reply | Axel at the end of the Coventry game though... at 22:19 26 Jun 2025
I thought his limitations going forward made him the weakest link in the 11 who started against Huddersfield, but he has made the step up better than any other promotion player in my opinion. An outstanding defensive right-back who looked light years ahead of any other options in that position. I’m very glad he is in the Premier League next season because he was one of the few who looked clearly to have that quality. |
 | Forum Reply | Ambitous summer plans at 16:53 25 Jun 2025
I think it would be a huge mistake to sell Broadhead. I just can’t see yet how Szmodics or particularly Clarke and Philogene have shown to be improvements. Yes, they scored more in the championship last year but Sunderland finished 16th and we’re 4th this year after selling Clarke. Blackburn just escaped relegation and have improved since selling Szmodics. Broadhead also got 13 goals but in a team that finished second which would suggest a greater overall contribution than just his goals, and I think that was obvious from the link-up play with Davis. This season, Broadhead started seven games and we got seven points from them. That’s two wins out of just four all season. I recognise that he had some very anonymous performances too like Wolves but that seemed more like Clarke and Philogene every game. Clarke started 12 games across a wide range of the season, and from those we picked up 2 points. Philogene started 5 games and we scored 0 points. Clarke was very good in the championship and against Coventry but I don’t think that’s enough to put him ahead of Broadhead yet in the pecking order. I really hope we keep Broadhead. But I had similar thoughts regarding Burgess vs Greaves. I agree with all the rest except I think we need 5 in CM, so maybe would be worth keeping Taylor as one of those. But definitely two huge signings are needed. I also suspect it might be hard to find a better third choice than Al-Hamadi. |
 | Forum Reply | Axel Tuanzebe - Trabzonspor… at 13:28 16 Jun 2025
Tuanzebe is an outstanding player, easily Premier League level. Johnson, Clarke and Godfrey got torn apart playing as attacking right backs against Premier League wingers and they are all very good players, but it’s a very difficult role in our system. Tuanzebe never loses his man, and played the role perfectly. His only limitation is going forward but that’s why I would want Harry Clarke on the bench in case we are chasing a game. |
 | Forum Thread | The latest great Ipswich side is now beginning to be dismantled. at 16:40 14 Jun 2025
First Massimo Luongo, now Cameron Burgess leaves the club. Burgess turned out to be an unexpectedly brilliant signing, considering how badly his first season here went. He may not have got his chance at all if not for George Edmundson's ankle injury. Then he forced Edmundson out of the team on merit in the league one promotion season, was crucial to the championship promotion, and arguably stepped up to the Premier League better than any other of the league one eleven. I think he's better than Jacob Greaves and I think we will regret consistently not playing him last season, that's got to be a factor in not signing a new contract. Burgess will be best remembered for never losing a defensive header, very rarely allowing his lack of pace to be a problem due to good positioning, a very accurate long ball out to Leif Davis that started many attacks, and of course that crucial goal against Coventry at the end of the championship promotion season. I would say he was our most consistent defender across the two promotions, and can't think of any significant mistakes at all. |
 | Forum Reply | Burgess and Tuanzebe at 10:58 5 Jun 2025
Tuanzebe starting, with Harry Clarke on the bench to come on if we are chasing a game would be absolutely ideal for us at RB in the championship. But I do think Tuanzebe is Premier League quality so would expect him to have higher offers. I wouldn’t be surprised if Burgess left, considering he has been consistently overlooked in favour of Greaves despite playing better when he did start. |
 | Forum Reply | Interesting Leif Davis stat in BBC Ait-Nouri story: at 12:58 3 Jun 2025
The cover thing was crucial I think. Last season, Leif Davis rarely seemed to be caught out of position, and while that is partly because we didn't need to defend as much, I think it was also the cover from Burgess and Luongo meant he got away with it more. Davis did sometimes simply not mark the player he needed to; I remember Brennan Johnson being left absolutely free for both goals against as at home. He wasn't brilliant defensively this year, but he's still among our best players and it would be mad to let him go. Out of all the players at risk of being sold, Davis is the one I most hope we hold onto, followed by Hutchinson. He and Morsy were head-and-shoulders above the rest as our best players last season, and that was in a promotion-winning team that was greater than the sum of its parts. |
 | Forum Reply | Harness released at 10:45 2 Jun 2025
A promotion hero not of the same bracket as Massimo Luongo, but still worthy of a special place in the club's history alongside the likes of Freddie Ladapo, George Edmundson, Kayden Jackson and Janoi Donacien. |
 | Forum Reply | So, how many league wins did you see in person? at 22:55 28 May 2025
Two wins, and 8 points from 5 in total has to be the luckiest rate on here (plus Coventry and Forest in the FA Cup is 12 points from 7 if they were in the league - average that over the season and we just miss the Champions league). |
 | Forum Reply | Woolfy off? at 15:31 26 May 2025
It would be devastating. I hope it is a move upwards at least. |
 | Forum Thread | Favourite game this season? at 14:40 26 May 2025
Here would be mine: 3. Wolves (A). A last minute winner against (at the time) a relegation rival. I was in the home end but there was something quite fun about closing my eyes and enjoying the limbs in silence. Also six members of the league one team started, and Chaplin and Burns were excellent. 2. Chelsea (H). Most comfortable victory this season, and against one of the very best teams. Liam Delap put in a truly world-class performance, single-handedly running through the Chelsea defence again and again, and it seemed the most like a sign of progress as we were using a slightly different system to usual. Six members of the league one team started again with Broadhead and Walton particularly impressive. And this time I was sat in the right end, and the limbs for Omari Hutchinson's goal were as good as I can ever remember. The entire row behind me were lying on the ground. 1. Liverpool (H). Defeated by, as it turned out, the best team in the league. But until half-time we really gave them a game and were the better team. It looked like the Ipswich of old with all the promotion players and the passion of last season. Only in the second half did Liverpool step up a gear and become unbeatable. Being back in the Premier League, playing against the best players in the world, still felt exciting and special, and a continuation of last season. Honourable mention to Brentford (A), giving it everything despite all the injuries and losing a really exciting game. |
 | Forum Reply | Now the dust has settled who do we expect to leave in the summer: at 08:43 26 May 2025
I would be shocked if Wes Burns left, surely it's very unusual to sign a player who will be injured for months. He's also pivotal to our system, but I do have a sneaky suspicion that he won't be the same after coming back from this long injury. All the others seem feasible. I think it would be stupid to let Nathan Broadhead go, considering we have seen nothing yet to suggest Jack Clarke or Jaden Philogene are even equal to him let alone better, yet they would be worth a lot more in a sale. I also wonder if Walton could adapt to the playing out from the back better than Palmer so it would be good to keep him. Hutchinson would be a huge miss but I can see the Premier League taking him, same with O'Shea. Burgess also will surely choose to leave. |
 | Forum Reply | Massimo at 11:09 24 May 2025
It seemed so often last year, if I was listening to a game on TownTV, to hear Glenn Wheeler talking about an opposition attack and his voice getting higher and higher, and then relax and say 'brilliant sliding challenge from Luongo.' It happened about four times on the opening day against Sunderland, and felt like at least once each game after that. I really think he's been a miss to the team this season; he adds much more defensively than Cajuste or Phillips, and that in turn gives Leif Davis more freedom to attack. |
 | Forum Reply | Goodbye Mass at 19:58 23 May 2025
I just watched the highlights of that Millwall game, don't know how I barely remembered it because all three goals were vintage McKenna-ball team goals. |
 | Forum Reply | Davis at 12:26 22 May 2025
The one player I am most hoping we keep for next season is Leif Davis. He was absolutely crucial to our last promotion, clearly more than any other player bar perhaps Sam Morsy. |
 | Forum Reply | 1961-62 season formation at 14:14 20 May 2025
Thank you very much, this is really interesting and exactly what I was hoping for. Where you describe Carberry and Compton as right and left backs, was that in a more modern sense and very unusual at the time? Like mellowblue I thought 2-3-5 was most common at that time so was surprised to see four defenders in the starting eleven. That point about no TV meaning opposing teams couldn't work out tactics like a withdrawn winger for a whole season is really fascinating, I had never thought of that before. Were there collusions between teams sharing information? I see Ipswich played Burnley twice in August, so you would think Burnley would have been quite keen to get that sort of information to the other managers later in the season. |
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