'Have Ipswich lost some of their identity?'

Have Ipswich Town lost some of their identity?

Saturday's latest Premier League defeat to Nottingham Forest, combined with Wolves winning away at Southampton, means Ipswich will most likely be playing Championship football again next season.

Successive promotions from League One to the Premier League was always going to result in a high transfer spend and high turnover of players but some of the characteristics associated with the last two years seem to have gone missing in recent weeks.

Three goals in six first half minutes on Saturday ended the game as a contest. Ipswich were guilty of poor defending for all three, but the capitulation was perhaps the most concerning aspect.

'Running Towards Adversity' has been the mantra by which the club has been run since the takeover in April 2021 and on countless occasions, in both the League One and Championship promotion campaigns, the players and manager found ways to win.

A total of 25 goals were scored last season after the 76th minute as the never give up attitude shone through. Ipswich seem to have lost some desire and mental fortitude, key cornerstones of the last two campaigns.

Stepping up to the elite level of top flight football was always going to be a challenge but while the physical differences are clear, the mental strength has at times been a surprising absence. Ipswich have won three games all season and taken just two points from the last 30 available, a team which became so used to winning games has seemingly forgotten how to.

The future should still be viewed with optimism. The project is ahead of schedule and the squad has been built with the future in mind, containing the top attacking talent from last season's Championship. Currently Ipswich are going down with a whimper, let's hope to see some of the old characteristics return and bloody a few noses on the way out.

Find more from Seb Brown at the Blue Monday Podcast