Ipswich Town

Graeme McLoughlin
BBC Radio Suffolk sports editor

Image source, Getty Images

More of your questions to BBC Radio Suffolk sports editor Graeme McLoughlin. In this section, he looks at what hope there is left in Ipswich's season.

Glyn asked: After last weekend, "they think it's all over, it is now" sums up our chances. Convince me otherwise, please?

Graeme: It is going to be very difficult to convince you, Glyn. My last Q&A followed the Southampton defeat in February. At the time, I said I felt Town could still double their points tally for the season and should they do that, they might just have a chance of finishing above Wolves. Town were on 16 points at that stage, but in the five Premier League games since then they have added just one, while Wolves have taken seven. Not good.

If the great escape is to be achieved, surely Ipswich have to win at Bournemouth next week before seeing off Wolves a few days later? If they do not, then I am with you and Kenneth Wolstenholme.

Steve asked: Can we come back up next year?

Graeme: Should what is looking like the inevitable happen, Ipswich would be well placed to make a speedy return to the top flight.

While there will be a few departures and some new arrivals, the club will also be keeping hold of plenty of talent well proven at Championship level. There are no guarantees, of course, but Town are backed by ambitious owners intent on enjoying more than just a brief fling with the Premier League.

Richard Woodward
Fan writer

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Like a few of Ipswich's summer recruits, winger Jack Clarke has found the level up somewhat challenging to showcase his evident quality.

However, there is much he offers Kieran McKenna both in the short term - as Town seek to survive in the Premier League - and in the longer term (including a level down should the worst happen).

Clarke, who joined Ipswich from Sunderland in the summer, has struggled to make a consistent impact when called upon by McKenna in a left-wing role. Despite this, he has four assists in 16 appearances - the same amount he accumulated for Sunderland last season in nearly double the number of games.

Consequently, Clarke could make the biggest impact in Town's remaining fixtures by finding the net in the Premier League. His 15 goals for the Mackems last season have been followed up this campaign by just four - all in the FA Cup.

What might have been had Clarke scored late on at Fulham? Instead, his effort cannoned off the post and Fulham broke away and won a penalty to square the match (potentially the most significant of all the marginal moments to go against Town this season).

Infrequent starts will not have been helping the 24-year-old build familiarity with his role at Ipswich - and, of course, starts lead to confidence and confidence leads to goals.

Clarke seems to struggle with second guessing whether to shoot or pass at the key moment. The confident Jack Clarke who terrorised Championship defences (including Town's) last season would not hesitate to pull the trigger when presented with a sight of goal.

While McKenna's style of play favours take-ons into the opposition box, surely the Town boss can find a place to allow Clarke to express himself, not least when Town are struggling to impose themselves in front of goal?

Find more from Richard Woodward at the Blue Monday Podcast, external

It's international break. It's quiet. There's not much to talk about. But we know you'll have plenty on your minds when it comes to Ipswich.

So BBC Radio Suffolk sports editor Graeme McLoughlin will be on hand to tackle your questions.

It could be the relegation battle, tactics, recruitment, summer plans, hierarchy - or something totally different.

Send them in and he will tackle a selection.

Submit your questions here

Come back early next week to read his replies

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We asked you to tell us one thing - good or bad - that nobody is talking about at Ipswich Town.

Here are some of your replies:

Sam: Call me mad but nobody is talking about the success of this season. What were people's expectations, having been in League One just under two years ago? We are building, we haven't been built - yet somehow we are still close in games. They are not all wins, I know, but what incredible growth. We haven't stayed up but we are battling and we are better than the other two promoted sides.

Tom: Possibly surprising to many, considering Delap's excellent breakthrough season, many fans are calling for George Hirst to start over him against Bournemouth. Hirst has three goals in his past three games he has started. He also scored goals off the bench last time out against Nottingham Forest. There is no doubt about Delap's talent and very high ceiling, but Hirst is arguably the more complete striker overall.

Ben: Jens Cajuste has been our best player this season.

Harry: Delap is not the only bright talent coming out of this season. Cajuste has been incredible, O'Shea remains solid and, when given his opportunity, Broadhead has shone. We have missed out on so many points because of a lack of Premier League experience rather than a lack of quality. However, spending £40m combined on Philogene and Clarke was poor recruitment. Despite this, these two young English talents are assets for the future.

Shaun: We are going down, that is incredibly likely. The question is: will Kieran McKenna stay and what players will we lose? I think that will determine if we come straight back up or not.

Richard: While the journey to the Premier League was exciting, and the company fantastic, the destination is awful. The gap between Championship teams coming up and established Premier League teams is huge. Nobody is talking about how the Championship is a much more competitive league to be a part of. If you look at the Championship table, at least half the teams have still got a chance of getting into the play-offs.

Ipswich Town are yet to win a Premier League game in 2025 and, barring a miraculous recovery in the final nine games, their stay in the top flight is likely to last a single season.

But is there something else that is slipping under the radar? What is the one thing - good or bad - nobody is talking about in relation to Ipswich?

Let us know here

Seb Brown
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

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, external

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is pushing for a return to Leeds United following his loan spell at Ipswich Town this season. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

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Former Ipswich captain Mick Mills says his former side's inability to perform over the full 90 minutes will cost them but he remains confident they can bounce back next season.

"The problem we have had against the level of teams that we are playing against in the Premier League is actually beating them, winning the game, getting the points on the board," he told BBC Radio Suffolk.

"We've been OK mainly in the first halves of those games and looked as if we can handle it but we don't seem to be able to do that over the 90 minutes and it's going to cost us in the end.

"I always thought it would be difficult. I always worried that it would be just one season in the Premier League and I think it will be. But from what I've seen we will come straight back up and I'm pretty sure about that."

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Ipswich and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Ipswich fans

Alf: Our team has overperformed for two seasons but we were not ready for the Premier League. We need more investment and players. Kieran McKenna has took them to where they are now. Obviously we will get relegated - I just hope McKenna is still here. He's a good coach, but he just doesn't have the skillful players he needs to keep us up.

Paul: Another sobering afternoon at Portman Road as the Premier League light fades. A lot for McKenna to reflect on, including his own stubborn refusal to change the formation. We are too predictable and have no plan B.

Spike: Not great. Majority of the game we weren't too abhorrent, but Forest really tore us apart in a 15-minute span and we never recovered. We scored two good goals but this game sort of epitomises the season for Town.

Simon: George Hirst's goal shows we'll be fine when Liam Delap is sold to a bigger club. Shame we won't take the same kind of risks at the start of the game that we do at the end. We're scared of giving the ball away in the final third but you have to take risks or else you'll never create anything.

Forest fans

Emma: What even is this season? I keep thinking I need to wake up. Unbelievable.

Sean: Keep doing as we've been doing all season, picking the right moment and doing damage to opposition. Anthony Elanga was on fire with the double, and Mr Tuchel will need to start paying attention to Morgan Gibbs-White's assists and work rate.

Al: It says something when I'm actually disappointed we conceded two. Excellent result in an excellent (so far) season.

Andy: Great in moments, but it says a lot about the standard we fans have come to expect when it feels like a defeat conceding two goals to Ipswich. Gibbs-White being a model pro and showing Tuchel what he brings to the table was good to see. All that being said, Europe beckons!

Newcastle want to keep Sweden striker Alexander Isak at the club but are keeping an eye on several players, including Ipswich's young English forward Liam Delap, 22, as a potential replacement if Isak leaves amid reported interest from Liverpool. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Ipswich 2-4 Nottingham Forest

• Bournemouth 1-2 Brentford

Steve Sutcliffe
BBC Sport journalist

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A bad afternoon for Ipswich only got worse when news of Wolves' victory at Southampton filtered through to Portman Road.

Kieran McKenna's team, who remain 18th in the table, are now nine points from safety and while there were some positives against Nottingham Forest, there were too few, crucially in the first half, when the scores were level.

By the time Ipswich looked like scoring they were already three goals down after a calamitous seven-minute period, when the game and any prospect of earning their first league win in 2025 had drifted away from them.

McKenna has spoken repeatedly about learning lessons but the basics of defending were not adhered and proved costly against Forest.

A poor defensive header from Liam Delap was punished by Nikola Milenkovic for Forest's first goal, while Anthony Elanga was allowed to run over 40 yards without being challenged to score his first of the day for the visitors.

Elanga's second and Forest's third arrived due to indecision in defence and Ipswich are showing few signs that they can extricate themselves from the bottom three with only nine fixtures remaining.

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Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna, speaking to Sky Sports: "It was a really frustrating game and result, everything. Three really poor goals in the first half in a short space of time in a tight game. It makes it a near impossible task at half-time.

"A lot of work goes into every game and when goals like that go in, in a short space of time it is really hard to accept and deliver the performance and result you want. It has happened a few times at home where we have conceded poor goals in a short space of time and we need to take accountability for it.

"We will learn from the situations. It is a painful experience for the boys involved in the goals but it is a sore one for now and it is the stage of the season where you want to take points."

On the gap to Wolves increasing: "There is a pretty big gap there and we can only focus on ourselves. We have two big games after the international break and we need to be ready for those and ready to compete.

On staying up: "It is possible. With six points to play for when we come back from the international break. We are running out of games. We need to take points soon, we know that but we are certainly not going to give up hope or stop fighting until the last game is done."

Image source, Getty Images

Ipswich remain the only side across the top four tiers of English football without a league win in 2025, drawing two and losing eight of their 10 Premier League matches since the turn of the year.