Ipswich Town Long-Term Strategy To Bounce Back From Relegation & Become A Permanent Premier League Contender – Team Analysis

The 2024/2025 Premier League season will host many highs and lows for Ipswich Town fans.

It has been a season defined by narrow losses, fine margins and, ultimately, insufficient quality.

Sadly, it now looks inevitable they will be relegated in the coming weeks. 

However, all is not lost for the Tractor Boys. 

The club that seemed doomed to rot in League One just four short years ago now returns to the Championship in very positive shape.

The atmosphere around the club should be one of optimism, not negativity. 

Despite a difficult year, this Ipswich Town football analysis will examine why I believe Ipswich are very well set to bounce back and why the good times aren’t coming to an end just now.

Ipswich Town Investment

The Premier League will provide Ipswich with a cash injection, unlike anything the EFL has to offer.

Last year alone, the bottom three each received parachute payments of over £109 million in revenue from the Premier League.

Off the pitch, the club has used these Premier League finances to invest heavily in their infrastructure.

Ipswich’s £30 million state-of-the-art training ground was approved in March this year.

This training ground provides an abundance of growth opportunities.

It will be a massive part of the progression to becoming a ‘Cat A’ academy, which will help recruit and develop exceptional young talents.

Darren Bent, Kieron Dyer, and Nick Pope all previously came from the Ipswich youth setup, yet the quality of graduates has dropped since then.

This investment could be groundbreaking in returning the youth success of the Suffolk club. 

Furthermore, the impressive facilities will hugely improve the daily development and training of the first-team men’s and women’s players.

This will aid in gaining short-term results on the pitch, but it should also act as a massive attraction to new recruits and could help Ipswich attract a new calibre of players even when outside the Premier League. 

Ipswich Town Recruitment

Upon arriving in the Premier League, Ipswich had a squad of 25 players, 14 of whom had also played for the club in EFL League One.

No player had been purchased for more than £2m, and the squad spent approximately £4.5m during the whole promotion season. 

For comparison, the lowest estimated squad purchase value of clubs already in the top division was Everton, with a roster bought for approximately £240m.

As such, Ipswich recognised the urgent need to strengthen their playing squad. 

Whilst unwilling to concede their chances, any fan knew Ipswich were facing a huge challenge to stay up in the EPL.

Despite their impressive £150m budget, they would still have a much less expensive squad than competitors. 

However, despite their slim chances this year, the Tractor Boys recognised the club’s amazing position.

Whilst they may face a huge short-term battle, the Premier League finances can long-term build a club and establish a legacy.

Clubs such as Burnley and Fulham have been relegated yet returned in a much better state.

On the other hand, many clubs have fallen and stayed down: Sunderland, Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City, Stoke City, and West Brom, to name a few. 

Ipswich were keen to fall into the first category.

Accordingly, their following transfer policy over the next two windows took a long-term investment approach to their acquisitions. 

Ipswich Town Permanent Signings 2024/2025 Season

Ipswich made loan signings of experienced players Jean Cajuste and Kalvin Phillips.

Nevertheless, as seen above, the bulk of Ipswich’s budget was spent on purchasing 12 players as permanent signings.

The signings followed the criteria below. 

Ipswich Town Recruitment Criteria

• Young
• Championship Experience
• Resale Value
• System Suited

Youth

The average age of Ipswich players recruited was 24.5, with five of the players aged 23 or under.

Buying young is very effective for Ipswich, as it allows Kieran McKenna to coach the players and develop them to his style.

McKenna, a former youth coach at Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, is very experienced in this regard and is extremely well-suited to growing young talent.

It also means the players have the best years of them.

Buying before their prime means that should Ipswich fail in their damning pursuit of survival, the players will then be peaking in the coming seasons.

This gives Ipswich great chances at future promotions and will benefit them long term.

Buying players nearing the end of their prime would be a huge risk, both on the pitch, where performances may drop, and financially, where resale value will decline. 

Resale Value 

Another great benefit of the youth policy is that if players do opt to leave, they should, in theory, bring money into the club in the form of net profit.

For example, this season, Liam Delap is being touted for a move.

Delap had a very successful year, and the fee Ipswich are rumoured to receive is around £40m—£25m more than what they paid for him in July.

These funds can be used to strengthen and replace his goals upon his sale and provide a revenue stream for the club when the Premier League funds stop. 

System Suitability

Arguably, the most significant sign of trust in McKenna from the board is the signing’s suitability to his system.

McKenna’s football is high-energy and progressive, with overlapping wing-backs and high-pressing forwards.

It also requires a very particular profile of player, and Mark Ashton has delivered this in his recruitment. 

Players like Chiedozie Ogbene and Wes Burns thrive in a particular system, in this case, as a flying wing-back.

Statistics will always push recruitment sides towards particular players, yet the best recruitment usually involves a mixture of data and manager influence.

This certainly seems to be the case at Ipswich. 

Wes Burns & Chiedozie Ogbene Ball Progression Map

Championship Experience

Another very obvious element of their recruitment is that the players brought in have Championship experience; 11 of the 12 purchased players have recently played Championship football.

Buying from the division Ipswich have come from, and are returning to, has plenty of benefits.

Firstly, McKenna and Ashton will have seen how good the recruits are up close and in person when Ipswich has played against them.

This market knowledge is invaluable and decreases the risk of misprofiling or overrating players that comes with scouting abroad.

Secondly, it means the players know what to expect and how to win in an extremely tough league.

The benefit of a young squad is overridden if, upon relegation, they are unable to deal with the demands of the lower league.

As seen below, the forwards that Ipswich signed thrived in the division in 2023/24. 

Ipswich Town Stats 2023/2024

Even with Delap’s expected departure, McKenna will be hugely excited about this attack’s proposition in the coming season.

The players mentioned combined for 96 goals and assists in their previous season, and all are arguably coming into the season stronger, having had a year of Premier League experience.

This is in addition to Chaplin, Hirst, and Broadhead, who all also had great seasons last time out in the Championship. 

Ipswich Town Squad Balance

Another reason Ipswich are very well-positioned moving forward is the excellent squad planning, the focus on positional depth, and the equally balanced recruitment.

As seen below, Ipswich increased their quality all around the pitch instead of focusing on just attack or defence, as some sides do. 

In addition to this positional variety in their recruitment, they also ensured they possess a very strong range of player profiles.

Clarke, Philogene, and Hutchinson are incisive creators and ball-carrying specialists, while Szmodics, Broadhead, Chaplin, and Hirst are all good goalscorers and finishers at the level. 

Jaden Philogene Radar Chart

Jack Clarke Radar Chart

The above diagrams represent two wingers recruited this season: Jaden Philogene and Jack Clarke.

Clarke is much more progressive in possession, whereas Philogene contributes more goal involvements and helps out a lot more out of possession.

This range of profiles in the Championship is just an example of the focus on balancing profiles within the squad, and this will give the manager a lot of flexibility to adapt to different opponents.

To further scare opponents, Davis, Ogbene, and Burns will fly down the channels in support just behind them.

There is undoubtedly more attacking quality than Ipswich had in their last championship campaign, which even then resulted in an admirable 92-goal tally. 

Ipswich is also very well stacked in the defence, with this season’s acquisitions all vastly experienced in the championship.

Jacob Greaves, Luke Woolfenden, Ben Johnson, and Dara O’Shea have all struggled this year, but they are all very young and inexperienced at the top-flight level. 

In previous Championship seasons, Greaves, Woolfenden and O’Shea have thrived.

Greaves made the TOTS last time out, and the others both have promotions to their names. 

They may need to boost their defence in terms of number should Tuanzebe and Burgess not renew their contracts, but only in terms of rotation options.

Ipswich Town Stability

Fans also have to look forward to next season’s much-needed return to stability.

During McKenna’s first two seasons, the squad was relatively unchanged.

The first XI would largely pick itself, and as a result, chemistry grew, and performances improved. 

This year, 14 new arrivals heavily altered the squad. Injuries and poor form have also led to constant changes to the side.

In fact, no Premier League side made more starting XI changes this season, and they have yet to start the same side in consecutive games.

This has made it more difficult for Kieran Mckenna’s style of play to come across on the pitch, limiting its effectiveness fully. 

Ipswich Town Style Of Play

The summer window should bring much fewer changes; after a year of experimentation, the starting side will be more established.

This will be essential in starting well and finding the consistent form that Championship promotion demands.

Concerning this they are very well positioned when compared to Leicester City and Southampton.

Both these sides have faced numerous managerial changes and look set to have bigger windows in terms of net arrivals and departures. 

Ipswich Town Improvements 

Despite their excellent squad profile around the rest of the pitch, Ipswich’s midfield may require a renovation to match the quality around it. 

The central zone looks like a very weak area of the pitch, both in terms of numbers and quality.

Massimo Luongo looks likely to depart the club at the end of his contract.

This leaves just Sam Morsy and Jack Taylor.

Morsy turns 34 in the summer and will need his minutes managed carefully. 

Again, this should be no concern.

With the strong financial position of the club and all of the attractions, Ipswich will have no issues in persuading talent to join.

Ipswich’s recruitment record also leaves fans with no reason to worry, and the right acquisitions could make them an even more efficient side than before.

Whilst ambitious, Coventry City midfielder Ben Sheaf may be a great target in this role.

Sheaf has one year left on his contract, and should the Sky Blues not gain promotion, he may be ready to pursue his Premier League dream elsewhere.

Sheaf is defensively adept, high-energy, and a very effective progressive passer of the ball.

Sam Morsy Vs Ben Sheaf Progressive Passes Map 

Wouter Burger at Stoke could be another potential signing.

Just 24, Burger has been one of the Championship’s best midfielders.

Despite a longer contract than Sheaf, this may be a very effective way to utilise the funds received from Delap’s potential departure. 

Kieran McKenna Coaching Style

It would be impossible to speak positively about Ipswich without highlighting Kieran McKenna.

Keeping McKenna in the summer was a brilliant coup, and they will no doubt face these challenges again. 

Nonetheless, if he is to stay, Ipswich can only be excited.

McKenna took over a club in a dire state and gave them back-to-back promotions in outstanding style.

Whilst this season has not gone to plan, very little blame should fall on his doorstep. 

While many will criticise his loyalty to a system and style, this consistency will only help them in the long term.

Competitors Southampton and Leicester have switched and changed to no avail, and remaining true to his principles will give the players a clear vision of what is expected of them next season.

His biggest task will be returning Ipswich to their progressive, exciting style and once again making Portman Road a fortress.

With a year’s coaching of this talented squad behind him, there should be little doubt as to whether this is possible. 

Premier League Relegation Statistics

Finally, the optimism regarding Ipswich’s future should extend beyond just internal factors.

It’s important to look towards the history books when considering their chances going into next season. 

Out of the last 15 sides to face relegation from the Premier League, seven have bounced back at the first attempt.

From the 15 prior to that, only four did.

This shows that the Premier League’s financial importance is only growing, and it has helped teams bounce back faster in the last few years.

Burnley and Sheffield United look like they will be promoted this year, further improving this statistic.

This is just another reason to fancy Ipswich to succeed next season.

Conclusion

Although Ipswich’s time in the Premier League has ultimately been disappointing, the club’s beneficial impacts will be prolonged, and the Blues fans have a lot to be grateful for. 

A talented young squad, great finances, a top-class manager, and brand-new facilities are just a few of the aspects to be excited about. 

None of these would be possible to the same extremes without this stint in the Premier League, and it will be no surprise when the bookmakers have Ipswich town near the top of the list for Championship promotion for the 2025/2026 season.