'Mixture of anger and acceptance' at Delap release clause

The chant "10 more years Delap, 10 more years" rang out from the away end on Sunday as Ipswich gained an unlikely point away at Chelsea.

Liam Delap started on the bench at Stamford Bridge but has been the talking point all week after news broke of a £30m relegation release clause in his contract.

The reaction to this news amongst the fan base has been a mixture of anger and acceptance. Understandably, many are annoyed that one of the hottest young talents in English football will likely be moving on for a bargain fee.

Speculation around his valuation has been rife all season, with figures of £50-60m mentioned by the fans and the media. So to find out that he will most likely depart for about half of that figure is obviously frustrating.

While there is angst amongst the fan base, it is worth looking back at the situation the club found themselves in when Delap joined.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and very few fans would have predicted a player, who was coming in off an eight-goal Championship campaign at Hull City, would have turned out to be so impressive.

Delap has scored 12 Premier League goals this season, which is 36% of Ipswich's total, and his all-action displays are a throwback to a previous generation of centre forwards.

Unfortunately, however, if this relegation clause was a requirement of getting the initial deal done then in reality Ipswich had no choice.

Delap had already met with Southampton before signing for Town and newly-promoted sides rarely hold much advantage when trying to sign new players, because of the survival odds being stacked against them.

Town fans will get to enjoy Delap for six more games before he departs - and although £9m profit on a player after 12 months may be frustrating, it shows how quickly the club have progressed after years of poor player trading.

Trust must be given to the decision-makers at the club to always get the best deals possible and unearth another next gem for fans to serenade with songs from many away ends.

Find more from Seb Brown at the Blue Monday Podcast