What is Ipswich’s secret?

[Green Flash]

Ipswich seem to have unlocked the secret of championship success with the most points of any team ever after 20 games. Yes their fans like banging on about it but what they have done is remarkable and I am starting to think, rather like us last season, they are going to keep it up, against everyone's expectations. In short they are doing to the Championship what we did to League One.

As I understand it they have not spent significantly since promotion and their budget is mid table. The team is largely the one that finished last season behind us (albeit after the January transfer window they were probably the better team). How are they doing it? Are they doing something we can emulate?

 

[justanotherfan]

They bought for the Championship and we bought to secure promotion.

 

[Tugboat]

They’ve invested in proven pedigree and for the philosophy they play in.

It was clear back end of last season they had built a team far superior to L1.

That success and mindset has carried them through to where they are today.

In pretty simple terms, they concede a low number of goals and score lots.

 

[Keepitgreen]

They had a Championship standard team last season and as you say, they've got virtually the same team, so have benefitted from the continuity. We can't emulate them unless we bring in PL standard players.

 

[Cobi Budge]

They bought for the Championship and we bought to secure promotion.

Correct. Ipswich were signing Championship pedigree players last season, whereas we’re a couple of years ahead of schedule, the play offs were the target last season, nobody thought we’d be the Champions, we were recruiting for promotion rather than for the Championship.

 

[Jon with no H]

They do a lot of similar things to Argyle in respect of recruitment, but a few rungs further up the ladder - they buy Championship players (Luongo, Ladapo, Ball) and the best players from teams near the top of League One, like Jack Taylor from Peterborough and dear ol' Panutche.

Instead of paying comparatively big money for people on the Championship fringes, they've done it for people at Premier League clubs, like Leif Davis and Nathan Broadhead.

 

[Green Flash]

They had a Championship standard team last season and as you say, they've got virtually the same team, so have benefitted from the continuity. We can't emulate them unless we bring in PL standard players.

Absolutely they did, but I did not think it was going to turn out to be not just Championship quality but better than Championship quality. They have only spent a fraction of the parachute clubs.

 

[Cobi Budge]

They do a lot of similar things to Argyle in respect of recruitment, but a few rungs further up the ladder - they buy Championship players (Luongo, Ladapo, Ball) and the best players from teams near the top of League One, like Jack Taylor from Peterborough and dear ol' Panutche.

Instead of paying comparatively big money for people on the Championship fringes, they've done it for people at Premier League clubs, like Leif Davis and Nathan Broadhead.

Agree for the most part but I definitely didn’t think that Camara was one of the best players in League 1, 500k was a great deal for us and a terrible one for them.

 

[memory man]

Agree for the most part but I definitely didn’t think that Camara was one of the best players in League 1, 500k was a great deal for us and a terrible one for them.

I think I spotted a bulging cheek caused by the presence of a tongue😁

 

[Jon with no H]

Agree for the most part but I definitely didn’t think that Camara was one of the best players in League 1, 500k was a great deal for us and a terrible one for them.

Indeed, not one of the best in the division. I was saying he was one of the best players at his club which happened to be in League One, at the time they bought him.

I was certainly disappointed to see him go, but in hindsight he wouldn't have fit into the formation from last season and it was a lot of money coming in the opposite direction.

 

[Green Flash]

Indeed, not one of the best in the division. I was saying he was one of the best players at his club which happened to be in League One, at the time they bought him.

I was certainly disappointed to see him go, but in hindsight he wouldn't have fit into the formation from last season and it was a lot of money coming in the opposite direction.

Camara got injured and it seems has not recaptured his form. I think however we have forgotten how effective he was as a box to box midfielder. I think we do actually miss not having that type of player in the squad (Matete did it in the second half of last season albeit his form was variable). Whether Camara was ever championship standard is of course a different question.

 

[IJN]

I still can't work out how they claimed to be the best team ever in League One though. 😏

 

[Graham Clark]

Ipswich Town's last accounts (2022) show that on a turnover of £14.4m their operataing expenses were £28.9m. Their reported losses were £12.6m for the year. In the year to 2022 their wage bill (total not playing) was £16.4m. They issued £14.25m in shares to cover the losses.

Their 'secret' would seem to be to overspend relative to income. Their owning company, the appropriately named Gamechanger 20 Ltd. is ORG an American Investment Fund 90% of which consists of the Arizona Public Safety Personnel Retirement System ( a pension fund!) with funds of $13 billion and $700m in cash. Their investment in Ipswich started off with them wiping out Ipswich's debts of around £100m and reportedly paying £40m for the club.

Their mission statement is

"Our long-term goal has always been to build a sustainable club who can be competitive and compete at the highest levels of English football."

Their 'secret' is just a very different version of sustainability compared to to Argyle's which rests, it would seem, wholly on the gamble of resecuring their Premiership status. Good luck to them if they make it but if they don't .....?

 

[WoodsyGreen]

Camara was a top League One player and anyone who says otherwise is a victim of recency bias. Pan used to win games for us in that league practically on his own. Yes, he was raw and had work to do on his final ball, but he was an absolute beast who was unplayable on his day.

With the benefit of hindsight it was a bad deal for Ipswich and a good one for us, but at the time it was a steal.

 

[IJN]

Yep, loved him playing in a green shirt. The sort of player I love to watch.