TEAM PREVIEW: Ipswich Town – Simon Milton believes club can fight again

 

When Mick McCarthy is your manager, you’ve always got a good chance of promotion from the Championship. Unfortunately for Ipswich, last season ended in the worst way possible, losing to your bitter local rivals in the play-offs. The league will be as competitive as ever this season and Ipswich need to make sure they’re ready to go again in August.

Last Season: Championship (6th)

Manager: Mick McCarthy

 

Squad

GKs: Dean Gerken, Bartosz Bialkowski, Michael Crowe
DFs: Jonathan Parr, Luke Chambers, Tommy Smith, Christophe Berra, Matt Clarke, Josh Emmanuel, Kyle Hammond, Joe Robinson, Josh Yorweth
MFs: Cameron Stewart, Cole Skuse, Kevin Bru, Jay Tabb, Luke Hyam, Alex Henshall, Dylan Connolly, Teddy Bishop, Kundai Benyu, Ryan Fraser, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Adam McDonnell
FWs: Daryl Murphy, David McGoldrick, Freddie Sears, Shane McLoughlin, Brett Pitman, Cemal Ramadan

 

Transfers

In: Josh Yorweth (Cardiff City), Brett Pitman (Bournemouth), Ryan Fraser (Bournemouth – Loan), Ainsley Maitland-Niles (Arsenal – Loan)

Out: Darren Ambrose (Released), Paul Anderson (Released), Elliott Hewitt (Released), Jack Marriott (Luton Town), Noel Hunt (Released), Stephen Hunt (Released), Omar Suwonmi (Yeovil Town), Tyrone Mings (Bournemouth), Anthony Wordsworth (Southend United)

 

First Six: Brentford (A), Sheffield Wednesday (H), Burnley (H), Preston North End (A), Brighton & Hove Albion (H), Reading (A)

Likely Lineup: (4-3-3) Bialkowski – Chambers, Clarke, Smith, Parr – Skuse, Bru, Bishop – Pitman, Murphy, Fraser

 

 

A word from…Simon Milton

On his bond with the club My connection with this club is huge. I’m lucky enough to still be at the club within the commercial side and it’s the perfect second career for myself, it really is my dream job in some ways. Most ex-players go through their career wanting to go into coaching, management or media but I’ve always been interested in the commercial side of football. My last year playing was my testimonial year so I got to see how much goes into making an event work and I really enjoyed it. I’ve been with this club for 28 years, which is a very long time in football and I can honestly say I have loved every single minute.

On promotion into the Premier League era It was truly world changing at the time. It went from being four divisions to becoming the Premier League and divisions 1, 2 and 3, it was a massive change within the football world. We were promoted as champions during the 91/92 season under John Lyall, who was easily one of the best managers I have ever worked under.

The new Premier League was the start of live games and it was fantastic for everyone involved at the club to be there at the time. We spent three fantastic years there and visiting stadium like Old Trafford and White Hart Lane was just unreal. I have really proud to be involved.

On the frustration of not returning immediately Yeah it was very frustrating at the time. You see it today, when a team gets relegated to the Championship it’s always their aim to get themselves straight back into the Premier League, especially with the parachute payments available to the club.

George Burley took over the club and after five years got us promoted back into the Premier League. It takes time and I think that’s key. In 2000 we were promoted back to the Premier League and I was starting to get into the commercial side at that point but the buzz was still the same.

On the manager I think he is the perfect man for the club. Not just as a football manager but as a person, he fits into everything that Ipswich Town is about. He’s a fantastic man and is always happy to involve himself in the commercial side of the club. He makes players want to sign for the club and the fact we finished in the top six last season was fantastic. I hope we can get ourselves into the play-offs again or maybe even squeeze ourselves into the top two. Mick will have the players well aware of the task ahead and I know they are all ready to go.

On summer recruitment I think the mix of players is essential for a side in the Championship. You need that mix of experienced pro’s and talented youth to build a good team. I’m really excited to see Ryan Fraser at the club because he brings real flair and skill to us. The young lad from Arsenal will really enjoy it here and will benefit from Championship experience. Some youth players can play at higher Premier league clubs but never get a real opportunity at the real thing so it’s good to get them playing against some real physical opponents.

On his role at the club I work within the commercial side so I enjoy finding different avenues of revenue for the youth side. You do get that real sense of pride seeing a youngster going into the first team at such a young age. Last season we were really inspired by Ted Bishop who has really stamped himself in the Championship. He’s adjusted really well and I feel that everyone who invests any money into the youth should be proud because every single penny is spent on the youth system from the eight years old’s to the under 18s.

 

The Offside Rule Podcast Prediction: Three strong teams have come down this season and with Ipswich not strengthening a great deal, it could be a stretch for them to reach the play-offs, they may just miss out this season.

Key Player: Daryl Murphy – Given all the speculation surrounding his future this summer, it will be a great relief for fans and the club to have Murphy around for the new campaign. His goals last season were crucial to Ipswich, the key man.

One to Watch: Ryan Fraser – Whilst the winger didn’t play a constant role in Bournemouth’s promotion last season, he did play over 20 games and will be a valuable addition in a position Ipswich have lost players this summer. At 21, he’ll have plenty of pace to worry Championship full-backs.