The Revival of The Tractor Boys an Ipswich Town Story

[leckuno]

December

Barnsley v Ipswich

A dull draw with not much happening in the game

Ipswich v Crystal Palace

Well it all looked like we were going to lose here then in the final 10 minutes everything changed with some choice subs as Donley comes on with 20 minutes to go and completely changes the game.

Luton v Ipswich

A much start to the game here as Donley gets a starting position and makes the most of it with the opening goal.

Ipswich v Blackpool

Blackpool made a real game of it here with keeping us out but John-Jules got a goal from the right wing

Ipswich v Bristol City

Donley is on top form just now when given his chances with 2 excellent solo goals in the opening 15 minutes of the game. We did get a fright with 18 minutes to go but thankfully held on

Crystal Palace v Ipswich

Sadly in the return fixture here Palace were just too strong for us and deserved their win

Blackburn Rovers v Ipswich

A penalty was our undoing here sadly but it could of been a lot worse as we were probably lucky to only get a yellow card for the challenge that gave the penalty away.

League

we've moved up 2 spaces to 11th now just after the halfway stage of the season and it looks like we are comfortably out of the relegation battle as well which gives us some comfort.

January

We enter the 3rd round of the FA Cup this season and get lucky with the draw against Coventry and its not too busy for the month as well​

 

[leckuno]

January

Ipswich v Middlesbrough

Donley is at it again as he manages to rescue us a point with a nice lob over the keeper.

Sunderland v Ipswich

He gets another goal yet again and we get lucky with a penalty to win the game

FA Cup 3rd Round
Ipswich v Coventry

A much better game here as we make light work of Coventry and move into the 4th round. Cantwell had a great game as he gets two goals in 2 minutes and assisted in the other.

Ipswich v Bristol Rovers

He just can't stop scoring at the moment as he scores two excellent goals in the matter of 2 minutes.

Rotherham United v Ipswich

We notch up another commanding win here as we make the most of set pieces.

Ipswich v Huddersfield

A bit of a boring draw here to finish off the month as we missed plenty of chances.

League

Its been a good month and we now find ourselves just outside of the playoff spots by a single point.

Transfers

We've made 3 signings this month to try and add a bit more support to the team in key areas and also bringing in good players.

Sam Curtis

Sam joins from St Patrick's Athletic for £450,000 and looks like he is going to be a very good RB and will compete for the starting spot despite him on being 18.

Elliot Anderson

Anderson joins on loan from Newcastle for the rest of the season and is a versatile player and can provide cover in multiple areas

Harry Darling

Darling joins from Swansea City for £2.1 million and at only 24 he looks like he could be a big defender for us over the next few seasons

February

Another favourable draw for us in the FA Cup which gives us a big chance to progress to the next round but we do have big games against West Brom and Southampton to look forward to​

 

[leckuno]

February

Ipswich v West Brom

Was always going to be a tough game and O'Shea heads home from a corner for the 3 points

FA Cup 4th Round
Millwall v Ipswich

This was not a fun game as we made the mistake of rotating the squad a bit and Bennett took full advantage of it but thankfully we were able to gel a bit more throughout the game and managed to make it into the 5th round

Stoke City v Ipswich

What a second half for Donley he tore Stoke to pieces with his 4 goals as nobody could touch him at all

Hull City v Ipswich

Well this was disappointing to say the least as we should of done a lot better.

Ipswich v Southampton

Devine scored a cracker of a goal for us to take the lead but sadly momentum went against us as Southampton pegged us back within 3 minutes before Telles got the winner with just under half an hour to go

Ipswich v Preston

We did well to bounce back here with a well needed win over Preston even if we left it to the final 10 minutes.

League

Well after a mixed month we have fallen away from the playoff spots and the gap has now grown to 7 points

March

4 away games to look forward to along with the cup game against Brentford but more importantly its youth intake month​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Still an outside chance of making them playoffs which would be an amazing achievement.

 

[leckuno]

March

FA Cup 5th Round
Brentford v Ipswich

Well the FA Cup run comes to an end as we get beaten by Brentford for the 2nd season in a row but just an an earlier stage this year.

Birmingham City v Ipswich

We bounce back with Cantwell getting the breakthrough just after half time from tapping in at the back post.

Millwall v Ipswich

Another good game and it was good to see Alli get a goal from open play to show what he can still do.

Ipswich v Nottingham Forest

A poor result here as Nottingham Forest just completely overpowered us and showed what they can do.

Reading v Ipswich

What a response here as we put in a great team performance. Its a shame we couldn't dig in once Reading went down to 10 men to get an even bigger score line.

Ipswich v Cardiff City

Well Cardiff certainly brought us back down to earth here as we just couldn't take any of our chances.

League

With 6 games to go we still have an outside shot at the playoffs as we are only 7 points behind so it is still doable.

Youth Intake

Well we've had a great youth intake with the potential of a golden generation with 3 players coming in that could potentially make it through the ranks into the first team.

Jamie Sdregas

A pacey left winger and decent finishing will be given the chance to develop at the club.

Evan Foy

This time a right winger who again looks like with the right training should make it into the 1st team

Adam McDonald

The best player to come through the ranks this season as the central defender is the brightest prospect. He needs some work on his tackling but hopefully that shouldn't be a problem

April

A tough start to the month against Burnley but thankfully things get easier after that​

 

[leckuno]

April

Burnley v Ipswich

What a win for us with our push into the playoff spaces as Dowell scores a freekick from just outside the box.

Ipswich v Coventry City

Dowell with another goal to keep our push going

Ipswich v Luton Town

A disappointing end to the game here as it adds some added difficulty to our challenge.

Blackpool v Ipswich

It was certainly a game of two halves here as we had an awful opening half hour but at least managed to turn it around in the final 20 minutes to walk away with a point

League

Well our last two games of the month cost us here and its now impossible for us to make the playoffs.

May

Just the two meaningless games to see the season out now​

 

[leckuno]

May

Ipswich v Barnsley

With the pressure off us here Soonsup-Bell ran absolutely riot here with 4 goals to notch a great win in front of our own fans to thank them for their support this season.

Bristol City v Ipswich

Soonsup-Bell scores in his final game for the club before his loan finishes with the only goal of the game as he pounces on a mistake from the Bristol keeper to tap it past him

League

Well we finish in the top half which is a lot better than the relegation battle we were expected to be in come the end of the season so its a bit boost for us and shows that with the right signings we could make a push for the playoffs next season

Budgets

Well its clear that we're going to have to sell first before we can bring in reinforcements to the club or hit the free transfer market come the end of June. We do have a slight increase in the wage budget which is always welcomed as we will no doubt have contract renewals soon as well for some players.​

 

[FM_TNSSO]

Ah I could only dream of a £350k wage budget...I've got to try to survive in the Championship with Tranmere on less than £100k per week! Good luck for next season mate...not a bad 1st year back in the 2nd tier for you there!

 

[leckuno]

Ah I could only dream of a £350k wage budget...I've got to try to survive in the Championship with Tranmere on less than £100k per week! Good luck for next season mate...not a bad 1st year back in the 2nd tier for you there!

yeah really happy with the wage budget. I would of been happy with your £2million transfer compared to what I have

 

[leckuno]

Season 3

Transfers Out

Well we needed to sell players to be able to have a transfer budget for us to sign players so sell we did and raked in nearly £30 million. The sales were all done carefully and were all thought about well apart from Davis and Alli as I was never going to turn those sums down where replacements would be a fraction of the prices. The deal for Alli was exactly what we wanted when signing him for free as he was never going to stay with us long term and also gets his wages off the books as well

Transfers In

Over the course of the window we have signed quite a few players to help us push for promotion again. We have signed Donley and Devine on loan again from Tottenham as they were vital for us last season so hopefully they can only improve this season with us.

Telmo Arcanjo

Arcanjo was signed for £4.8million from CD Tondela with the remaining budget from last season as I figured it was better to spend it than lose it and he is a versatile player but will mainly be played down the right wing.

Liam Delap

I wanted another striker in to compete with Donley and Delap fits the bill perfectly for us.

Etienne Green

Green joins from Saint-Étienne for £3.1 million and as we had no keepers in the squad we needed one that could step up and at only 24 he has vast room for improvement

Taylor Harwood-Bellis

We sign the former Man City defender on a free transfer, he has plenty of experience in the Championship after seasons with Stoke and Burnley.

Harvey White

White joins us on a free transfer from Tottenham, he had a great season at Sunderland last season and adds more to our midfield as well

Tom Ryan

Our scouts came across this gem while looking for a new LB after Davis left and he joins from Wellington Pheonix for £700,000 and he should be the starting LB for the season ahead

Adam Davies

Davies joins as the backup keeper for the season ahead and brings international experience to the squad as well afet he joins on a free transfer.

Noah Sahsah

Sahsah joins for £1million from FC København and being able to cover both wings is a big plus for this young player.

Azzedine Ounahi

With Alli leaving I wanted to pick up a midfielder that would only improve our midfield and the Moroccan midfielder fits the bill perfectly as he joins from Marseille for £2.4 million after being transferred listed after not having much game time

Preseason

A strong preseason with jus the one loss against Rangers as it shows that the team has really come together over the summer and hopefully it carries forward for the rest of the season.

Squad & Tactic

We've not got the largest squad in the world but we do have a very good one with lots of potential and hopefully it can be the squad for us to reach the playoffs.

We're going to stick with the same tactic from last season and feel the players we now have can take us the extra step for the playoff spots this season

Expectations

The board expect the playoffs as well this season so at least we're both on board with that and the cups aren't that important to them as long as we're competitive

August

A straightforward start to the season here apart from the game against Nottingham Forest​

 

[leckuno]

August

Ipswich v Plymouth Argyle

The start we wanted this season as we get off to a flyer with a very dominate performance. Arcanjo had a dream debut netting twice from the right wing.

Carabao Cup 1st Round
Cheltenham Town v Ipswich

We rotated some of the squad here thinking it would be an easy game but thankfully we managed to hold on from a late fightback to move into the 2nd round

Bristol Rovers v Ipswich

Another game where our wingers are key for us getting the two goals before the sending off but sadly we couldn't kick on and even conceded to have a nervy end to the game.

Ipswich v QPR

Donley finally gets off the mark now for us to pick up where he left off last season with two excellent goals.

Carabao Cup 2nd Round
Ipswich v Manchester United

We finally claim a premiership scalp even if it did take a penalty shootout but I couldn't be prouder of Arcanjo who has hit the ground running and is going to be a huge player for us this season

Nottingham Forest v Ipswich

Sadly we couldn't take our high from the last game into this one as an early goal from Lingard was enough to sink us.

League

4 games in and we're exactly where we want to be come the end of the season. Lets get it going

Transfers

We made one final signing this window to add a bit more cover to our defence as we sign Andreas Borset for £5million from Molde FK

September

A nice quiet month for a September since there is the international break to provide a rest to some of our players​

 

[leckuno]

September

Ipswich v Huddersfield Town

Nothing like leaving it late as our fitness levels were just better than Huddersfield as we get two late goals to take the 3 points

Middlesbrough v Ipswich

Dowell and Delap team up again to get us another 2 goals to get a nice win against Middlesbrough

Ipswich v Sunderland

We had to fight back twice to secure a draw but I was proud to see Soonsup-Bell score against after spending the last 2 seasons with us

Carabao Cup 3rd Round
Ipswich v Cardiff City

A bit of rotation in the squad for this game and it worked a treat as we move into the 4th round

Birmingham v Ipswich

Arcanjo hasn't been on the scoresheet for a while and he gets a nice early goal here to get a very narrow win

League

We're up to 2nd in the league and but there is still a long way to go over the rest of the season

October

A couple of big games against Wolves and Bournemouth to look forward to this month which are going to be tough games.​

 

[leckuno]

October

Ipswich v Luton Town

Its not often you see a penalty in the 2nd minute of the game but we make the most of it to get a quick lead which Donley was able to double for the 3 points.

Ipswich v Wolves

Two first half goals are enough to get us w very good win over Wolves who were the early promotion favourites

Stoke City v Ipswich

The former Norwich boys come together to get the win over Stoke to show they can do it on a wet rainy night in Stoke

Blackpool v Ipswich

A goal from a lovely bit of team play straight from the kick off of the 2nd half set Donley up nicely to tap home from 6 yards.

Carabao Cup 4th Round
Bournemouth v Ipswich

I thought we might have had a chance here after White got the opening goal for us but sadly it wasn't to be as Bournemouth were just too strong in the end.

League

After a good month we keep up with Nottingham Forest and the two of us are now starting to pull away from the chasing pack slowly as well.

November

The games are all bunched together in groups of 3 as the International break hits in the middle so two banks of 3 with the games all coming within a week​

 

[leckuno]

November

Ipswich v Burnley

Going into this game I felt we had enough to get a result here but we just didn't get going at all and Burnley made us pay for it

Barnsley v Ipswich

Another disappointing result here as we should really of had enough to hold onto our 2 goal lead but sadly threw it all away

Ipswich v Sheffield United

Sheffield United have been really struggling this season so of course we again can't beat them and drop another 2 points

Hull City v Ipswich

A well needed win here as Baptiste gets the ball on the edge of the area and smashes it home for the only goal of the game

West Brom v Ipswich

The early goal put us on the back foot here and we never recovered to get back into the game

Ipswich v Cardiff City

A much better performance here as our midfield ran the show for us and secured us a vital 3 points.

League

We hold onto 2nd spot but its still close underneath us.

December

Watford is hopefully the only game to worry about this month and hopefully we can kick on from our last game​

 

[leckuno]

December

Ipswich v Reading

A great opening 25 minutes where we took a 2 goal lead through some great play and we just manage to hold on even with them giving us the fear for the last 18 minutes.

Preston v Ipswich

The wingers come together here to get both the goals and get us the 3 points.

Ipswich v Coventry

Things seem to be coming together now after a poor month last month as we keep another clean sheet which is always great to see

Derby v Ipswich

What a first half as we take in a 3 goal lead at half time for the 2nd game in a row. I really liked what I saw in this game

Watford v Ipswich

As I said Watford was the main worry this month and when we went 2-1 down I was scared but thankfully Donley popped up to score the equaliser for us

Ipswich v Preston

The 2nd time we face Preston in the league this month and we absolutely obliviate them in the opening half

League

Well sadly I forgot to take a screenshot of it this month but we'll be back to it next month

January

Not the best end to the month here as we need to see off Wolves and Burnley

​

 

[leckuno]

January

Transfers Out

We only had a few players leave permanently this window with Baptiste being the biggest casualty as Leeds came in and activated his minimum release clause so sadly there was nothing we could do to stop him. Woolfenden had been moaning about his game time so we looked to move him on to keep the rest of the squad happy. Davies leaves for the same reason even though he was signed as a backup keeper.

Transfers In

We made 4 signings this window to make sure the squad has what we want to continue to compete in the promotion race.

Faustino Anjorin

Anjorin had decided he did want to renew his contract at the end of the season with Chelsea so we jumped at the chance to sign him for £1.5 million as he lets us change our formation up to be a bit more attacking

Ethan Ampadu

We actually lost out on him last summer when his contract expired as he decided to join Lazio instead but didn't find the game time he required there so he was placed on the transfer list and he comes in to replace Woolfenden for £3million

Tim Ronning

With Davies leaving it was importing to sign another capable backup and Ronning fits the bill and provides good competition as well.

Carney Chukwuemeka

Chukwuemeka joins on loan for the rest of the season with Chelsea picking up his wages for us as he adds another player in the middle of the park after Baptiste left

Tactic

With Anjorin coming in we need to change how we play to fit him in so we move to a 4-2-3-1 which hopefully allow us to be a bit more creative going forward.

Ipswich v Birmingham

What a debut for Anjorin as he has an amazing debut scoring 2 goals to show what he can do to the fans.

Luton Town v Ipswich

Anjoring getting his 2nd penalty in 2 games and slotting it home again as well but the hero was Delap who came on with 15 minutes to go and scored the winner for us.

FA Cup 3rd Round
Ipswich v Coventry

Delap starts here this time and his darting run and neat finish is enough to get us into the 4th round

Ipswich v Stoke

What a game as we demolish Stoke and Donley shows that whatever Delap can do then he can do better.

Wolves v Ipswich

The early goal against us wasn't great but I thought we had managed to ****** a point before the Brazilian internationalist snatched the 3 points for Wolves

Burnley v Ipswich

What an opening 10 minutes with both goals being scored before it fizzled out and both teams shared the spoils

League

After a good month we take top spot as it looks like a 2 horse race for the title now as the top 2 increase the gap over 3rd

February

A very tough game against Nottingham Forest since we've not managed to even get a point from them over the last 3 games against them​

 

[leckuno]

February

Blackpool v Ipswich

Anjorin has been a revelation since he joined as he just can't stop scoring

FA Cup 4th Round
West Brom v Ipswich

We knew this would be a tough game and it showed as we fell 1 behind in the opening 20 minutes but thankfully we had enough to move into the 5th round in the end

Ipswich v Nottingham Forest

Well sadly we continue our form against Forest as we lose our 4th game in a row against them

Huddersfield v Ipswich

We got away with it here as we can make use of of the extra man going into injury time as Delap is able to find an equaliser.

Sunderland v Ipswich

A really poor result here and there really isn't much else to say about it

Ipswich v Barnsley

A much better performance here as we we our first game in the league in 4 games

League

We hold onto top spot by a single point but its still looking good as we hold a 10 point lead over 3rd

March

Some more tough games again this month to start us off before it starts to get easier​

 

[leckuno]

March

FA Cup 5th Round
Ipswich v Norwich

What a game for Donley as we managed to get a huge win over our main rivals as we manage just to pip them in penalties to make the quarter finals.

Sheffield United v Ipswich

We rotate the squad here due to the closeness of this game and Delap and White fit in perfectly and get us the win

Ipswich v Hull City

Delap keeps his place here and bangs in another goal to add to his tally

Ipswich v West Brom

A really poor opening 15 minutes here and it really cost us.

Cardiff City v Ipswich

We bounce right back here with a very good win against Cardiff

FA Cup Quarter Final
Wolves v Ipswich

Well our FA Cup run comes to an end here but we've done a lot better than anybody could of expected

League

We've fallen down to 2nd place after a poor month but we do have a game in hand

Youth Intake

We've had two decent players come through this months intake who could make it one day

Brian Foley

A decent goalkeeping prospect which is always a tough position to fill. If he realises his potential he could be the 1st choice for years to come

Casper Lyme

A defensive midfielder who again looks like with decent training and game time could be a decent player.

April

6 of our final 8 games this month and hopefully their won't be too many issues for us​

 

[leckuno]

April

Plymouth Argyle v Ipswich

Donley has been huge for us again this season and he's going to be a big loss when his loan comes to an end

Ipswich v Bristol Rovers

This was a pretty dull game until Dowell broke through the defence to get the only goal of the game

Ipswich v Middlesbrough

A great game here and a fair result after a mix up in defence lead to a penalty but we got it back just before half time for the draw

QPR v Ipswich

We should really of done better here against QPR

Coventry City v Ipswich

We bounce right back and take immediate advantage of the red card to go on a scoring spree before just doing enough to see out the game in the 2nd half

Ipswich v Derby

What a game to end the month as Donley bags a hat-trick for us but Derby really gave us a challenge here and I was worried that we weren't going to get the win as they pulled it back 3 times before we finally got the winner

League

Promotion has now been confirmed and with only 2 games left its all in our hands to go up as champions

Budgets

I can't complain at all about the budgets that we've been given and its now going to be all about brining in the right sort of players to try and stay up

May

Just a single win here will confirm our rise as champions and its great to finish the season in front of our own fans as well​

 

[leckuno]

May

Reading v Ipswich

Was always going to be tough with Reading fighting for their safety as they get a big point from us.

Ipswich v Watford

Delap comes in for the injured Donley and what a way to sign off with an excellent 4 goals. What a way to lift the Trophy on the final day of the season in front of our own fans.

League

Turns out Reading's point against is kept them up which is good to see. Its also great to see the top 3 teams be promoted as it would of been unfair on Middlesbrough after the season they had if they hadn't been promoted with us​