Theirs was a beautiful dream, but the Premier League has long since stopped having any time for dreams.
They have been comfortably better than the other promoted sides, both of whom have spent most of the last decade in the Premier League but that has not been enough to keep them up.
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That demonstrates smart recruitment and this squad’s potential, but also supports the pre-season hunch that if any team could avoid a Championship return, it would be Ipswich.
Combined, their goalkeepers have made the 18th-most saves of any team at the 15th-lowest save percentage, with joint-19th most clean sheets. Any argument they should be anywhere other than 18th just doesn’t hold water.
“I wouldn’t change how it happened for the world, but we did. One or two weak spots we had in the Championship team have just massively reared their heads in the Premier League.
Hutchinson has done his time in the Championship (Photo: Reuters)
And so perhaps the only obvious conclusion is this side neither underperformed nor overperformed. For McKenna, that damages his gilded reputation as a miracle worker, the nation’s most talked-about manager for a heady fortnight last May.
There are, as always, caveats to this season – not least a dreadful injury record, with five first-teamers out long-term, including both first-choice right-wingers. By December, only Brighton’s players had missed longer due to injury.
But then neither does McKenna’s reticence to make substitutions early in second halves when it is abundantly clear they are required, a regular complaint among supporters.
Ipswich’s new dream is that a Championship return will only provide an opportunity to solidify the foundations, to reinforce a base from which to go again.
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It’s a lovely idea, but it hinges on the premise the upstart disruptors will not be disrupted themselves. Reports have suggested that Liam Delap’s already reasonable £40m release clause drops to £30m on relegation. One thing that £30m certainly won’t do it adequately replace Delap.
Axel Tuanzebe and Massimo Luongo are both out of contract this summer. Hutchinson might believe he’s done enough time in the Championship, with offers for Philogene, even after three months at the club, not impossible. This does not mean
“I’m hopeful we get him for another season, at least,” Pentti-Smith says.
Delap is likely to be the first domino to fall in the great carve-up of Ipswich Town. Who’s next?
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