How should one commemorate returning to the Premier League after more than two decades away? Get the bins involved.
Ipswich Town earned promotion from the Championship in 2024, ending a 22-year absence from English football’s top tier, and the neighborhood celebrated. Hard.
Pubs in that area of Suffolk ran out of pint glasses and were forced to serve beers in takeaway coffee mugs. Defender Luke Woolfenden donned a long blue-and-white wig all afternoon and evening (it was rather a hot day). Harry Clarke, a fellow academy graduate, wore his Hawaiian-themed Ipswich vest the whole weekend.
It was a genuine underdog tale, fueled by courageous football, late goals, and drama, as a team primarily formed in League One earned consecutive promotions.
On the eve of their top-flight comeback, the club and local council announced a trash disposal agreement, with bins bearing the slogan “a proud Premier League town” lining the route to Portman Road.
Nine months, 82 goals conceded, and 22 Premier League points later, Kieran McKenna’s squad returned to the Championship. The bins? The “Premier League” tagline was merely pasted over, not redecorated. Is it confidence that their Championship position is only temporary, or is it a way of covering up flaws? You select the metaphor.
And now, here we are once again. This time, it did not take 22 years. Another shot at the big time is on the horizon, with promotion guaranteed on the final day of the season thanks to a 3-0 victory against Queens Park Rangers. Have lessons been learned? Can Ipswich improve matters? In some ways, yes. In other instances, the jury is out.
Ipswich joined the top tier two years ago with wide-eyed naiveté. What awaited them was harsh.
McKenna’s team frequently competed in games for extended amounts of time, only to be wrecked by an individual error. And afterward, another.
Recruiting, which had previously been so excellent, was now lackluster. A net investment of £104 million ($141 million) in the summer of 2024 resulted in 12 new additions, however only striker Liam Delap and midfielder Jens Cajuste appeared to be substantial improvements over the previous season’s squad. Ipswich depended on Delap for goals and to ease pressure with his persistent ball-carrying.
Ipswich’s Premier League transfers provided the club with the foundation for a strong Championship club upon their return to the second division. Delap and Omari Hutchinson garnered significant payments before a mini-overhaul in the window’s final days. The popular promotion-winning team was split up, and more significant funds were spent, including a Championship record £17. 5 million for Sindre Walle Egeli.
The formerly courageous underdogs had evolved into the playground’s bullies.
It’s been a hard change. This season’s promotion challenge has felt less heroic and more commercial.
Opponents frequently sit in low blocks, happy to frustrate and gain a point. It is no coincidence that two of Ipswich’s finest performances have occurred against Championship winners Coventry City, a more attacking team.
However, the fearless, exciting football that propelled their promotional push two years ago is gone, supplanted by something more conservative and cautious. Ipswich have the joint second-best defensive record in the division, giving up 10 fewer goals than in 2023-24. Despite this, a sense of vulnerability in defense persists, ready to be exploited once more in the Premier League.
Strikers George Hirst and Ivan Azon have provided running and connection play, but have only managed 16 goals between them.
Ipswich were promoted sooner than planned in 2024 and, understandably, were unprepared for the top league. While, as a team, this group looks better prepared to handle the Premier League, in reality, they have performed considerably worse than the previous promotion-winning team.
But there are reasons why this time might be unique. Midfielder Azor Matusiwa has been a consistent presence, combining skill and strength in a way that was unique for Ipswich in 2024-25.
Jaden Philogene and Jack Clarke have formed an excellent partnership on the left flank, with the former McKenna’s preferred starter known for the spectacular, while the latter is Ipswich’s leading scorer with 16 goals despite starting only half of their Championship games.
Philogene excels in cramped areas on the periphery of the opposition box, however he is unlikely to spend much time there while playing for a team fighting relegation. This is a crucial issue for McKenna to resolve.
And then there is McKenna.
Being an Ipswich fan under McKenna’s management felt like dating someone far above your league two years ago: you always feared they would leave you.
The 39-year-old’s valuation is not as high as it was when Chelsea and Manchester United were among his admirers, but he should be a better coach after his Premier League experience and what he has accomplished this season with a new-look side. McKenna was more flexible than many people believed in the top division, ready to go direct or use a back five without sacrificing his values.
The club has become more world-wise, recognizing that acquiring bright, young Championship players is insufficient to close the gap between the two divisions. Sunderland have proved how aggressive recruitment needs to be in order to provide oneself a decent chance.
Ipswich’s promotion celebrations are less naive and innocent this time, as they have learned firsthand that the journey is frequently more pleasurable than the finish.
But for the time being, remove the tape from those bins. The Tractor Boys are back.
