It could have been so different...

With only a couple of Premier League games remaining before Ipswich Town drop back down to the Championship, I thought I'd scratch a 'whataboutery' itch for the season to date.

So for what limited good it will do, here's my top five 'Sliding Doors' moments for Ipswich's 2024-25 campaign - the situations which could have taken a far more positive path than what actually happened.

Palmer as goalkeeper

While the criticism of goalkeeper Aro Muric has been overblown, it's clear that Alex Palmer is a calmer pair of hands. Starting the season with him in goal might have given our defensive unit more confidence from the off.

Dropped points against Fulham

There was only one team that looked likely to score the winning goal in this game back in August, and sadly they had to settle for a point. Had Jack Clarke or Omari Hutchinson beaten the stoic Bernd Leno late on who knows what an early season victory would have done for confidence.

Beaten at Brentford

This incident-packed trip to west London ultimately led to a galling defeat, a season-ending injury and a suspension. If only the Blues had dug in at half-time and not gone on to lose in such a confidence-sapping manner.

Failure to beat Leicester at home

A shocking VAR-induced minute of madness - where an ascendant Town were denied a stonewall penalty before seconds later Kalvin Phillips was harshly sent off - started an unwelcome trend of dropping points late on at home to relegation rivals.

Clarke hits the post at Fulham

Off the back of victory over Chelsea, Town headed to Fulham with confidence and managed the game expertly. That all changed in the 89th minute, when Jack Clarke fired in a fearsome shot to secure the points which instead agonisingly came back off the post. Within a minute, the Blues had conceded a penalty to the hosts and were denied back-to-back wins for the first time.

Find more from Richard Woodward at the Blue Monday Podcast