Some brilliant contract extensions there with Bishop Downes and Vincent - Young. Some positive news also in regards to the youth recruitment being upgraded and the scouting range being improved too. All in all some massive improvements at the club!
A lot of good news coming out of that update. You survived without Bialkowski last season, so I don't think his departure will be felt all too much. Although the supporters will certainly be disappointed to lose someone who has given some great service to the club since he arrived. I expect Vincent-Young will be receiving more interest in the years to come and clubs will be willing to part with much more than what Sunderland could offer, so therefore his contract renewal could be vital. Marcus appears to have softened up as a result of success!
Looking forward to hearing about how pre-season faired and who has joined the club. The range in opposition is understandable and a sensible approach.
MJK46 - Downes and KVY were always going to be essential. I wasn’t sure about Bishop just because of his injury record, but a 2 year deal isn’t too much of a risk in case something goes wrong.
TheLFCFan - those improvements were huge for the club, as we were never going to be to outbid teams for players. Can’t tell you the amount of players I lost to other teams offering more money.
ScottT - the Bart news was horrible as I knew how good he could be for us. Question is, does he leave? KVY is a biggest asset right now in terms of money, so securing him down for an even longer contact can only boost that higher.
I’ve moved on to poems now. Don’t ask me why. Away from the titles, we enter the most important month of the season. The July transfer window is open, so let’s run through all the transfers that have occurred this month.
TRANSFERS
01/07/20
First of all, lets take a look at the players that we have sold in July. What I am going to do, is give a detailed description on who I decided to sell, and why I felt I didn't need them this year. For the loan departures, it will not be a detailed discussion. Just a look at the three key players I want to keep an eye on, plus listing the other moves.
The most expensive sale of the season for us Goalkeeper Tomas Holy to divisional rivals Hull City. As you may be aware having looked at the player sales, there is no mention of Bartosz Bialkowski. At the beginning of June, he came to me asking if he could leave because he was unsettled, I granted that request and he was put on the transfer list. Fast forward 2 months, and he has not received a single bid. No body wants to sign him, so he's staying. That meant moving on one of keepers, because we brought another one in. Tomas didn't feature much last year behind Will Norris, and to get £725,000 for him was too hard to turn down.
Danny Rowe was someone I tried to sell in January, and I knew he wasn't going to feature much this year with the return of Jack Lancaster. Wigan were relegated last season, so he stays in League One for another few years, for a return of £450,000. Jon Nolan was another I was looking to move in January, and it was no surprise to see him leave this year. I didn't want players stunting the growth of my academy players, and our best position for youth is CM. He goes to play in the Scottish Premiership, as Dundee took him off our hands for £250,000.
Toto Nsiala was a tough one, because he actually played ok last year when called upon, but I knew he wasn't going to make the step up well enough, so he's joining Nolan up in Scotland as he joined Hibernian for £245,000. This next one is a sad one, because I love Freddie Sears as a player. He's so great as a League One winger, I just don't think he'll be consistent enough in the Championship, so he's back in the league below with promotion hopefuls Wycombe.
Two very cheap departures end the list of sales. James Wilson didn't play last year, Janoi Donacien and Barry Cotter were ahead of him in the pecking order. He will be a solid defender in League Two for Cheltenham, and we made a profit of £52,000 so that's good. The last player was out of my control, as I wanted to keep Cole Skuse around the club until he retired, but he came to me asking to leave because he knew his options were limited, so I let go to Portsmouth for £32,000.
In total, we collected £2million from outgoings in this window. How much of an impact did that have on our arrivals?
The three loan deals that I want to keep a close eye on this season are all on the second graphic. Idris El Mizouni and Aaron Drinan have both joined Carlisle in League Two. Idris is our highest potential youngster that has gone out on loan this season. He was at Dagenham and Redbridge last season and performed very well, so hopefully he can make the step up to the league above. Aaron Drinan was our best performing loanee last season, scoring 10 times in Sweden and then another 10 at Solihull Moors. He links up with Idris, so hopefully they can cause havoc together. The other play I want to keep an eye on is Harry Wright, who has the potential to be our leading keeper in a few years depending on our division, so hopefully his time at Solihull will be productive for both himself and Ipswich Town.
The other deals were: Zak Brown to Kings Lynn, U23 player of the year Nyam Mesuria to Hemel Hempstead, Kai Brown to Brackley, Bailey Clements to Eastleigh, Dylan Ruffles to Boston, Ben Folami to Grimsby, Adam Przybek to Yeovil, Tyreece Simpson to Yeovil, Ryley Scott to Macclesfield, Dylan Crowe to Wrexham, Corrie Ndaba to Wrexham, U18 Captain Cameron Stewart to Bromley, Jake Alley to Welling and Barry Cotter to Shamrock.
I only made 5 signings in July for this season, with my Head of Youth Development making 4. Although we made £2million in player sales, because of our upgrade to the youth facilities we plunged into -£2.4million debt. so I had to work all month to try and get that boosted back up, and eventually I did but only to the point where I can spend money on one player.
The only purchased player that we signed this month was 20-year-old Luke McCowan, who was snapped up for £300,000 from Ayr United. He is a Scottish winger with current ability and potential ability, can play all across the attacking three, and has a keen eye for goal. He will provide a good battle with Gwion Edwards this season, and I'm very happy to bring him in.
3 loans follow McCowan into the club, and three very good ones I believe. First is 22-year-old Andre Green, on loan for the season from Aston Villa. We needed an inverted winger on the left, and Andre is the perfect player to compliment Will Keane. He has current ability and potential ability, and should be a quality addition for the season.
Next up is Daniel Iversen, a 23-year-old Goalkeeper on loan for the season from Leicester. With the whole Bart fiasco this summer, I needed someone to take the reins this year in case he left. Now that Bart is staying, we have two very good Championship keepers this year. He has current ability and potential ability, and should be a great addition between the sticks.
The final loan is 22-year-old Konstantinos Mavropanos, who is valued at £9.5 million. I'm not sure how we got this guy, but alongside Luke Woolfenden he will be an excellent player. He has current ability, and potential ability. Cracking addition.
The final signing of mine is 19-year-old Goalkeeper Dorian Ciezkowski, who was bought in for a free from Hellas Verona right at the beginning of July as a back up to whichever goalkeeper was going to be here. With Iversen coming in, he'll be mainly the U23 keeper this year. Dorian has current ability and potential ability.
The final 4 players were all signed by Bryan Klug, as most of our youth players were sent out for first team football, so Klug brought in some extras who can do a job in the academy. Sebastien Nebyla was signed from West Ham for free, and can play anywhere across the middle. Stanley Asomugha was snapped up from West Brom and can play on eather wing. Tom Grivosti was pulled in from Ross County when his contract expired, and will be the academies first choice centre back, and also the 4th choice for the first team. May get some game time this year. Finally Klug brought in Elijah Dixon-Bonner from Liverpool, someone who can play in all positions in the midfield.
So that's the transfers for the month of July, I am still looking for a back up left back to support Myles Kenlock, and also a striker to challenge Will Keane for the starting spot. Before that though, let's get into the pre season friendlies played this month.
Very impressive way to start pre season, considering we rotated a little and they played some very good players like Vardy and Tielemens. Gives me hope for this season.
Another solid pre season win against good opposition, nice to get a bunch of players game time, and Woolfenden is carrying on where he left of last year scoring from every corner possible.
I know it’s only a pre season friendly but that’s a great result, lots of rotation and Teddy Bishop showing why I was right to extend his contract for a few more years. Ben Morris gets his first of the season, and hopefully can get himself a few more this year.
Another win in pre season and another new goal scorer in Kayden Jackson. We are looking fairly solid right now despite all the changes being made to test out each player.
I know it was a fairly reserve team for Wolves, but we didn’t play our full first XI either. Great win for the lads, 6 wins in a row now. Dobra getting two is very nice indeed.
Not the best result, but once again we rotated to see how others would do in different positions. Gives me an idea for what to do when the season begins.
I’ll take that. Very close defeat to the best team in Holland whilst playing most of the kids is very respectable. But now the real business starts, the Championship.
I know it was only pre season, and the games don’t matter much, but the player I have been most impressed with is Armando Dobra. I’ve struggled to find a back up for Alan Judge this window, but it looks like we might have had one under our nose the whole time.
joshleedsfan - thanks bud, yeah I think I go a bit O.T.T with details sometimes, but it makes it more interesting for myself when I look back over it. Leeds in the Prem will be interesting to follow, i'll try and keep you updated on how they are doing.
Some decent business there. I'm looking forward to learning about McCowan as he's a player who has escaped my knowledge before now, in all honesty. The same can't be said for the likes of Andre Green and Mavropanos, in whom are adept options at the bare mimimum.
The friendly results have been impressive. Both Leicester and Levante played largely strong squads and Burley's squad got the better of them both. It's difficult to gain a clear picture of how things will fair in pre-season, but hopefully the competitive season and the return to the Championship for Ipswich can start on the right foot.
Despite the final two matches (bet you were resting your guys), it was a great preseason and I hope they are ready for the season as it looks like they are.
We’ve finally reached the beginning of the new season, and our first back in the Championship after our short stint in League One. Our first game back sees us travel to Fulham, let’s hope for a good start to the season.
TRANSFERS
01/08/20
We came into August with only 7 days to do our final business. I still wanted to move a few out, and I was able to do so. The biggest surprise was getting £375,000 for 17-year-old Liam Gibbs, who has 2 star potential. Cardiff massively overpaid but I wasn't going to say no to that kind of money. James Norwood was another I was looking at to try and move on, and although I couldn't sell him outright, Wycombe are covering most of his wages which is good. He'll be linking up with Freddie Sears for the rest of the season. The other 4 were youth players going out on loan: Tommy Smith to Halifax, Stanley Asomugha to Met. Police, and Connor O'Reilly and Brooklyn Kabongolo (great name) have both gone to Carshalton.
I mentioned on the last update that I was still looking for a back up left back for Myles Kenlock, and a striker to challenge Will Keane. I've been able to do them both with the limited money I was given. Selling Gibbs for £375,000 meant I received about £50k for it (Thanks Marcus!) and I found myself a left back for very cheap that will be perfect for any occasions where Kenlock gets injured. His name is Peter Kurzweg, he is a 26-year-old German left back, signed for £74k from Ingolstadt. He has current ability and potential ability. Solely a back up but a comfortable wing back for us.
Striker wise, it took me until deadline day to find someone I really wanted. Everyone else that I was searching for either couldn't play the role required, or just wanted extortionate amounts of wage. Eventually I brought in Jan Mlakar on a season long loan from Brighton. He has current ability and potential ability, and oh my is this guy a beast. You will see more of that later, but he is the perfect person to push Will Keane this year, and its made Will Keane up his game even more.
The first game of the new season is upon us, and you’d struggle to find a harder game for Ipswich to start their journey in the Championship. Fulham will be one of the favourites for promotion, so getting anything from here would be massive.
Fulham will be looking at this as a must win game, but will have to do so without the presence of Josh Onomah on the pitch. He suffered some broken ribs in pre season and will be out for a while.
Ipswich have a slight injury crisis ( shock horror) and will definitely be without their best two centre backs in Mavropanos and Woolfenden; there will also be a late fitness test for new signing Luke McCowan.
Oh this is going to be a longgggggggggg season for Ipswich Town. Admittedly we didn’t have three first teamers for the game, but when your given £0 to spend there’s not much you can do.
Our first home game of the season sees us host Derby County, who won their last game 2-0 at home to Sunderland. If Ipswich are too stay up this season, then they will need to make sure they can grab some much needed victories on home soil.
For Ipswich, they will be boosted by the returns of Luke Woolfenden, Konstan Mavropanos and Luke McCowan, whilst also having recent signings Peter Kurzweg and Jan Mlakar available as well.
Derby may be without ex-Ipswich man Martin Waghorn, who has been out of action since March with a broken lower leg. Time will tell if he is to be passed fit for today’s game.
Yep this is going to be messy. It’s hard to compete on £0, being forced to sell for large amounts only to be given 5% of the transfer money. This team is going to need time to gel; will be a season solely based on survival this year.
Chance to step away from the league now and try and install some confidence back into the side, as we travel to local rivals Colchester in the Carabao Cup 1st Round.
Colchester won promotion to League One last season, and have currently gone undefeated in their first two games. For this cup game, they will be without Kaylen Hinds and Cohen Bramall, but what kind of team will they put out?
Ipswich have a fully fit side to choose from, but which players will walk out on to the pitch for this cup game. Will Burley go strong to try and get some confidence, or rotate to give others a chance to impress?
We can’t buy a result right now. In our last 3 games, we’ve had two shots on target. Last season we were smashing teams and not winning, this year we can’t even get past the half way line.
Neither side has form going into this game, with Ipswich sat bottom of the league, with Swansea 3 places above that.
Swansea need to find a win this season in the league, and will have to do so without Matt Grimes, Meritan Shabani and possibly Bersant Celina for this crunch tie.
Ipswich were knocked back by the news that Luke Woolfenden will be our of action for the next few weeks, so will need to rely on Luke Chambers to step up an replace him.
Last years king is back on the goal scoring chat. Such a much needed victory for the club, and of course it would be Will Keane getting our first goal of the season.
Bristol City are in stronger form as they travel down to Portman Road, as Ipswich look for a 2nd win of the season. Neither side can afford to drop points at this early point of the season, so a victory will be the key aim here.
Ipswich will once again be without Luke Woolfenden, but still have a full squad available to them. But with Oxford coming up in 3 days, what kind of team will be played this afternoon.
Bristol City are looking to push on into the play offs this season, but will play this game without Rene Gilmartin, Tomas Kalas and Jack Hunt who are all absent for numerous reasons.
BRISTOL CITY: (4-2-3-1) Bentley, Vyner, van den Berg, Moore, Dasilva, Nagy, Brownhill, Paterson, Nmecha, Eliasson, Taylor.SUBS:O’Leary, Pring, Szmodics, Rodri, Palmer, Bakinson, O’Dowda.
Oh what a wonderful win for Ipswich town there. Hat trick for the great Will Keane, proving he can hang in the Championship. Jan Mlakar gets his first goal of the season as well.
Next up is newly promoted side Oxford United. They came up with us last year through the play offs, but have found life in the championship incredibly tough, as they sit 23rd in the league with 1 point.
Ipswich will provide a late fitness test for Luke Woolfenden, but after how the last two results have gone I can’t see Ipswich changing too many players around for this clash with Oxford.
Oxford may be without Chris Martin who has blisters, and if they are that could be a huge blow to them. They will need to find something out of nothing to pick up a win in this game.
three very nice wins a row. This team is finally beginning to click, and I don’t even have Luke Woolfenden at the back! Loving our new strike partnership now that I’ve changed formation to two up top. Feels like it suits both Mlakar and Keane very well
The final game of the month sees us travel up to Barnsley to see if we can jump into an unlikely play off position. Barnsley just played in midweek, so they may rotate for this game.
Barnsley played Rochdale in midweek and beat them comfortably 4-0 in the Carabao Cup, so may switch their team up for this game. They will definitely be without Jordan Williams, who has an ankle problem, and will require late fitness tests for Kenny Dougall and Mike Bahre.
Ipswich have welcomed Luke Woolfenden back into the squad for this game, and have had a week rest so will be fully fit going into this game against mid table Barnsley.
Brilliant win away to Barnsley, somehow we’ve won 4 games in a row in the Championship with this side. Absolutely phenomenal achievement already by the Tractor Boys. Long may it continue.
It’s always great when your new signing wins the first player of the month award. Jan Mlakar arrived just after the Fulham game, and has been playing brilliantly. Hat trick against Oxford sandwiched between goals against Bristol City and Barnsley.
I am honestly schooled at how well we are performing right now. After the first 3 games I thought that I was going to be incredibly tough for us to try and survive in this league, but since then it’s been 4 wins in a row, and we’ve shot up the table into the play offs spots. Not sure how much longer it will last, but I very much like our position.
ScottT - McCowan looks like a great little prospect that I myself didn’t know much about until my scout showed him too me. He seems to have overthrown Edwards quite quickly for that starting RW spot. Green and Mavropanos have been really good so far this year.
MJK46 - pre season went as I hoped, get some minutes into every single player, test the waters for players in different positions, and still able to secure some wins.
Well, a horrible start to the season, especially that Cup loss, quickly left the memory! Getting Mavropanos was a coup in my opinion and Mlakar is looking like an incredible signing so far, finally someone for Keane to have as a backup. Great start to the season!
It was a difficult start to life back in the second tier for Ipswich, but a change in system has coincided with an excellent improvement in results and plenty of goals for both Keane and loanee Mlakar. Plenty more twists and turns ahead though.
We move into the second month of the season, sat just inside the play offs in 6th place. Our first game of the month sees us travel away to league leaders West Brom
TEAM NEWS
12/09/20
We embark on our next Championship fixture against the midlands side. West Brom are in very good form having 5 of their first 6 games this season. How well will Ipswich Town perform in this game?
West Brom are playing out for their skins right now, but will have to play today’s game against Ipswich Town without Rayhaan Tulloch, who is suspended for this afternoons match. How key will his absence be in this game?
Ipswich have the blessing off a fully fit squad for the 3rd straight game, possibly the first time since I’ve been in charge that has happened. Without fully fit squad to choose from, can Ipswich make it 5 wins in a row against Steven Gerrard’s West Brom.
Probably our best result of the save in my opinion. I know it wasn’t a win, but to come away from the Hawthorns with a draw is a brilliant achievement for a team like ours.
It’s time for another battle with a newly promoted side, as we host Sunderland at Portman Road. Sunderland have been struggling this season, so will be looking for a win to kick start their season.
For Ipswich, they will be without Emyr Huws who is suffering from blisters, whilst Flynn Downes has returned to fitness just in time for the game. Other than those two, it is a full squad at their disposal.
Sunderland have a slight injury problem currently, with Charlie Wyke, Leif Davis and Tom Naylor all either injured or doubtful for the game this afternoon. Sunderland need a win, can they get it?
No the best result, but considering Sunderland spent £4mill this window bringing nothing in, making them one of the highest spenders in the league, I’ll take a point. Keeps us further away from the relegation zone.
Going through the month quickly as we only have 4 games to play in September. We go into our second to last game of the month at home to Blackburn. Can Ipswich keep their unbeaten run going?
There was also the big news that George Burley has accepted a new 3 year deal at Ipswich Town, so will be at the club until at least 2023. Guess Marcus Evans has seen something he likes so far this season.
Ipswich will be disheartened by the news that Luke McCowan will be our for the next 3 weeks with a twisted ankle. Andre Green has also passed a late fitness test, so it will be interesting to see if he will start today.
Blackburn are in dreadful form having lost their last 4 games, and sit 16th in the league currently. For this game, they will be handing a late fitness test to John Buckley after he suffered a thigh strain a few weeks back.
Another very good result with two youngsters getting on the scoresheet. Very happy seeing Ben Morris pick up his first goal of the season, seems to be filling in the gap left by McCowan.
The final game of the month sees us travel to relegation favourites Luton. They are struggling down in 22nd right now, whilst Ipswich are flying high up in 7th.
Luton have been in woeful form having lost their last 5 matches, slumping further down the table. They are however blessed with a fully fit side for this game against Ipswich Town
Ipswich on the other hand will be without Kane Vincent-Young through suspension, whilst Luke McCowan is still out with an ankle injury. Ipswich are unbeaten in 8 games, how far can they go?
That is exactly the kind of wins we should be looking at this season, beating the teams expected to finish around us. 3 goal scorers in this game means we end the month with 7 goals and 7 goal scorers.
I’ve decided to give it to Myles Kenlock for this month. Got himself 3 assists in 4 games, and has made the left back spot his own this season. Didn’t know if he was going to fill Garbutt’s shoes but he’s doing a very good job so far
Unbeaten month, 2 win and 2 draws, and still sat in the play offs. I don’t know how these youngsters are doing this but I hope they can keep it going for a couple of months more.
TheLFCFan - the start gave me flashbacks to our start in the previous season. But we turned it round much quicker this time compared to last. Mavropanos is so solid alongside Woolfy, and Mlakar is forming a very good partnership with Keane right now.
ScottT - changing to two up top for our home games has done wonders. If they can both stay fit then this season will be fun.
joshleedsfan - I expected a tough month, but we came through it fairly unscathed. However, October looks like a frightful month. Also, on the 1st of October Leeds are currently sat 8th in the Prem, one point above Manchester United.
current ability and 
potential ability, can play all across the attacking three, and has a keen eye for goal. He will provide a good battle with Gwion Edwards this season, and I'm very happy to bring him in.
current ability and 
potential ability, and should be a quality addition for the season.
current ability and 
current ability and 
potential ability. Solely a back up but a comfortable wing back for us.
