Ipswich Town

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Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna says Brentford can be used as a good example of how to get promoted from the Championship and grow into a solid Premier League team.

The Bees were promoted to the top-flight under Thomas Frank in 2021 at the second time of trying, while Ipswich achieved back-to-back promotions.

"I think they've done fantastically well- there's no doubt about it," said McKenna. "They've got their own model and though I think everyone's model is different, there's no doubt that they've done a fantastic job as a club and Thomas has done a fantastic job as a manager.

"Different clubs have their own context, but of course there's things that Brentford have done well that we can take some inspiration from.

"On the other hand, their journey is different than ours. The season before they got promoted, they lost in the play-off final. They had a couple of years pushing at the very top of the Championship. By the time they arrived in the Premier League, to be honest, they probably pretty much had their Premier League team already set.

"They've had their own journey. Our journey is very different to that with the speed of the ascent that we've made, but there's no doubt they've done some things very well and any newly promoted club can look at some of the things they've done and see it as an example."

Ipswich Town could terminate Kalvin Phillips' loan deal from Manchester City in the January transfer window, if the midfielder does not get up to speed at Portman Road. (Football Insider), external

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

Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game at Brentford (15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Jacob Greaves, Axel Tuanzebe, Ben Johnson and Massimo Luongo are still unavailable because of injury, while Jens Cajuste has trained this week and is in contention to play. The rest of the squad is the same that faced Everton.

• McKenna said the defeat against the Toffees last weekend was his side's "most disappointing result" so far: "Up until two games ago with the Aston Villa game, everyone inside and outside the club could see the momentum, the performances and of course having four games unbeaten and lots of progression. These are the setbacks that come over the course of the season."

• He accepted it has been a tough start: "This is a period where we have to stay really strong as a group and come out the other side as strong as possible. There will be other phases in the season where we manage to keep the same group of players available and manage to be more consistent with our selection."

• On left-back Leif Davis, who signed a new deal this week: "Really positive signing for the club in all aspects. He's adapted to us well. He was a big investment for a team in League One, but we always felt the talent was there and we trusted our development programme. He's stepped up to the Premier League."

• McKenna says Brentford have done "fantastically well" under Thomas Frank: "They have their own model. Every club has a different model. Different clubs have different contexts. There's things Brentford have done well we can take inspiration from."

• More on the Bees: "They had a number of seasons at the top of the Championship, lost in the play-off final before going up. When they did, they had a squad that was almost ready for the Premier League. They've had their own journey - ours is very different with the speed of our ascension. They have done some things well and any newly promoted team can look at them as a good example."

All the main lines from Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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Crystal Palace's 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest on Monday meant that for the first time in the English top-flight's 126-year history, four clubs have failed to win any of their first eight matches of a league season.

Palace, Ipswich, Southampton and Wolves are all yet to be victorious in the Premier League this campaign.

According to Opta,, external 10 clubs in the Premier League era (since 1992-93) have failed to win any of their first eight games and yet have gone on to avoid relegation.

The most recent of those came last season when Bournemouth, who did not win until their 10th league fixture of 2023-24, recovered to finish 12th.

Before Saints and Wolves did so this season, there had only been six occasions when a team had taken one point or fewer from their opening eight matches of a Premier League season.

Two of those sides ended up surviving - Southampton in 1998-99 and Sunderland in 2013-14.

Seb Brown
Fan writer

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As the chants of "We are Premier League" reverberated around Portman Road on 4 May, everyone was excited about what was to come.

New grounds, world-class players and managers, and a chance to re-establish ourselves at the top table of English football were all on the horizon.

Fast forward five months and is the enjoyment factor subsiding?

Even the most optimistic of Ipswich fans would have known we were in for a shock following two seasons of continuous winning, but this weekend's defeat by Everton has knocked the confidence - and enjoyment - of Town fans.

The majority of the old guard have become squad players, and there is not yet the same bond with the new arrivals. Watching players who have given us so much joy looking out of their depth is both sad and sobering as we face facts that this could be a very long season.

One of the biggest cheers on Saturday was the introduction of Harry Clarke and Conor Chaplin - two mainstays of the past couple of years. Other than that there was not much to cheer about, least of all our first real experience of VAR overturning an awarded penalty.

Of course, it is still very early in the season and this team will get better in time. Get a win against Leicester in two weeks and optimism will return. We must remember this is what we longed for through so many years of mediocrity. The chance to take on the best and go toe to toe with the true elite.

The atmosphere at Portman Road is the best it has been for decades while the scenes in the away end at St Mary's and Etihad Stadium (for three minutes!) will live long in the memory.

Is the Premier League enjoyable? Yes, I think aspects of it have the potential to be, even though it does not really feel like it right now.

Find more from Seb Brown at the Blue Monday Podcast, external

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Ipswich defender Leif Davis says he is thrilled to agree a new deal with the club until 2028.

Having joined the club from Leeds in 2022, he has made 98 appearances for the Tractor Boys and has played every minute of their Premier League games so far this season.

Speaking to the club's official website, external, the 24-year-old said: "I am really pleased to have signed a new contract,

"I have loved my time at the club so far and have improved so much during my two seasons here working with this group of players and under a manager who has done so much for me.

"This feels like home now and I am excited to continue the journey."

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna added: "We are all delighted that Leif has committed his future to the Club.

“Leif has made huge strides over the last two-and-a-half seasons and has developed well, both as a player and as a young man.

"He has been an important part of the successes of the last two seasons and now has the opportunity to play regularly in the Premier League for the first time in his career."

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We asked for your views on how you would like to see Ipswich's midfield line up after former defender Mick Mills gave his view on BBC Radio Suffolk (Monday, 08:41) about switching to a three-man midfield in order to become more robust.

Here are some of your comments:

Dave: Totally agree with Mick.

Slowerball: Mick Mills very rarely gets it wrong and he is spot on once again. Most of us, especially fans of a certain vintage who recall Mick as a super player and captain, recognised well before the start of the season that the Premier League was and is a different proposition. McKenna and the club have done a great job, but it's back to the Championship next year.

James: We are weak and naive to think we can play the same way as we did in League One and the Championship. We get punished for silly mistakes so we need to go back to basics and stop trying to be a better team than we are. McKenna needs to change things up. Hutchinson is not a number 10. We’ve got Sammie Szmodics sitting on the bench who is a proven goal scorer.

John: I’m with Mick. It's all very well talking about front foot football, being brave etc, but we’re struggling to do that at the levels required due to the much better quality of opposition in the Premier League. OK, go for it at home, where we have been more competitive, but we should be more cautious in away games. Keep it tight and play on the counter.

Andy: I’m certainly not going to disagree with MM, but I’d add two things: (1) we look better when we are closer to last year’s team with Omari Hutchinson on the right, Cameron Burgess and Luke Wolfenden at the back; (2) January additions have made the difference in the last two seasons.

Shaun: Totally agree with MM - we need more legs and athleticism in the middle of the park. I would play Jack Taylor in there as he can also get forward.

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

Here are some of your comments:

Ipswich fans

Bill: The togetherness we have come to love was just not there. I hate to admit this, but Everton deserved to win. We all know we can do better. Bad defending and little in the way of creative knowhow. Better next time I hope.

Shaun: Our poorest home performance so far. The passing was far too slow, we lacked energy and looked really lacklustre. It absolutely shows that a number of our players are struggling to make the step up to the Premier League. We improved when the subs came on and Omari Hutchinson has to start on the right.

Damo: I was embarrassed by the abject performance. Kieran McKenna has a lot to learn, especially about his players the system and their abilities. Too slow at the back and no presence up front. I don’t mind losing, but to do it so pathetically was really poor and sapped all the confidence from the fans. We have played so much better.

Everton fans

Mike: It was a really good performance. I thought the midfield were outstanding and dominated Ipswich. We need to get to a point where we convert more of our goal chances but overall a comfortable win.

Kevin: Great performance from Everton. Sean Dyche gets the absolute best from the players he has at the football club. No other manager could achieve more in the circumstances. I don’t understand talk about replacing him

Anton: Well that was a pleasing performance to secure us an important victory. No drama, no worries, no stress - I'd honestly forgotten what a Saturday afternoon like that feels like. It's difficult to say who was our worst performer - although maybe Dominic Calvert-Lewin gets that for all his misses. Get Keano upfront!

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Former Ipswich defener Mick Mills spoke to BBC Radio Suffolk about trying Omari Hutchinson and Wes Burns: "I was delighted that Omari Hutchinson signed in the summer, but for me it just doubled up in a position where we've already got a player who is really good.

"Wes Burns is a good player when he's given a full-back who is prepared to back him up all the time. When we used to have Janoi Donacien, he used to back him up brilliantly. He was so athletic and used to drive behind Wes Burns. That's the sort of full-back I like and the type you need in the Premier League.

"Dara [O'Shea] and Axel [Tuanzebe] are full-backs coming in. They can do a great marking job, but they can't do the athletic job and Wes Burns is suffering.

"Hutchinson is an exceptional player, but he's going to either get the position [on the wing] or backup to Burns. I don't see him as a number 10, I really don't. I see him as a wide-right player.

"I don't know why we've been overlooking Harry Clarke a lot. He is fit and available to play now and he should have been selected."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

After defeats over the weekend, Southampton and Ipswich have become the 30th and 31st teams in Premier League history to be winless after the first eight games.

But it is not all doom and gloom for the two newly promoted sides.

Of the previous 29 teams to not taste victory in their opening eight fixtures, a third have still gone on to avoid relegation.

Newcastle in 2021-22 did not get their first win until their 15th game – a 1-0 win against Burnley in December – and ended the season in 11th!

Saints have even been in this position before in 1998-99. They had just one point and a worse goal difference of -18 after eight games and stayed up on the final day of the season.

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Former Ipswich defender Mick Mills spoke to BBC Radio Suffolk about what the Tractor Boys need to change as they seek their first Premier League victory of the season:

"When we go away from home, we've got to give the division a bit more respect. I'm not sure we are good enough to play with four attackers. I think it lightens us too much.

"Rather than have a 10, we should have a three-man midfield away from home. Say it was [Jens] Cujuste, [Sam] Morsy in the middle and Phillips on the left. They work as a team, they work up, down and across the pitch. It could work with [Jack] Taylor as well.

"There's not going to be a number 10, but they protect the back four and would give us a real solid look across the middle. It backs the front players up. I think that would make us stronger and tougher to break down.

"I don't think it will affect us too much in the attacking area. We have enough threat in the wide areas and with Liam [Delap] in the middle. It would be stronger and more capable of winning points away from home."

Do you agree with Mick's ideas, Ipswich fans? Or does your ideal midfield look different?

Let us know your thoughts here, external

Gary Lineker brings highlights and analysis from Saturday's Seven Premier League fixtures.

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

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Man Utd 2-1 Brentford

• Bournemouth 2-0 Arsenal

John Bennett
BBC Sport Final Score at Portman Road

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The frustrating wait goes on for that first Ipswich Premier League win for 22 years and on Saturday their manager Kieran McKenna told me that this is going to be a really important week for his squad.

It’s eight games in but he admits that the players are “still settling into the rhythm of the season.” Mckenna says adapting to the new division and integrating the many new players has been a challenge that hasn’t been helped by the two international breaks. So a full week now on the training ground for McKenna and the Ipswich players going into what feels like two huge games now as they try to get that opening victory. Brentford away and then Leicester at home could be defining matches.

Mckenna told me it’s a “great group” who are “trying their best” but there’s a feeling that the big moments in games are going against them at the moment. Against Everton it was the overturned penalty which McKenna felt should’ve been given because in his view it wasn’t a “clear and obvious” mistake.

So a vital seven days now for Mckenna because to be honest it felt very flat at Portman Road. The delay to kick-off due to a turnstile issue maybe didn’t help but the performance from Ipswich against Everton lacked a spark. They had moments of pressure but you never felt as though they were going to get back into the game in the second half.

McKenna’s challenge now over this important week is to give the Ipswich players - old and new - the belief that they can be competitive in this division.

Tom Mallows
BBC Sport journalist

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Ipswich showed weaknesses at both ends of the pitch in the home defeat against Everton that suggests a winter of struggle lies ahead.

The Tractor Boys gave away cheap goals in a 4-1 loss against West Ham last time out and were equally sloppy here, failing to deal with crosses into the box that led to both Everton goals.

They also lacked the quality at the other end to truly trouble Everton, who could and perhaps should have extended their lead.

It means they set an unwanted club record by making it eight games without a win to start a top-flight season.

They remain out of the relegation zone though and will point to a run of four straight draws in August and September as evidence they can compete in this division.

The home crowd grew frustrated in the second half but never turned on the side, aware of just how far the team has come over the last few years under manager Kieran McKenna.

But if they are to avoid a battle against relegation they need to cut out the defensive errors and discover a ruthlessness in front of goal.

Image source, PA Media

Kieran McKenna spoke to BBC Sport after Ipswich lost to Everton: "It ended up being a poor day for us. The first half was pretty even but at the moment the moments are going against us.

"It was an error from us for the first goal and the over-rule for penalty is a very surprising one considering everything I've been told about clear and obvious - that makes it 1-1 and shortly after we didn't defend a corner well enough in the second phase.

"We knew it would be a challenging season and the step up into the Premier League was always going to be a big challenge. In eight games we've got a result in four of them. We know where we need to improve and it's up to us to turn those margins in our favour. The last two games have got away from us.

"We need to look back on what we can do better. We've had a couple of VARs against us recently and I found that a strange one today."

On VAR overturning a penalty for his side: "Jack [Clarke] rolls inside the box, he is around the penalty spot and about to shoot and Dwight McNeil lunges his leg across the line of the ball and Jack's swing of the ball when he is about to probably score.

"Of course he kicks Dwight McNeil, but I understand you can't lunge across the ball like that when someone is in their backswing. I'm sure Sean will see it differently but in terms of clear and obvious unless I'm wrong I can't see how that is clear and obvious. It's a really debatable decision but from everything I've heard is that they wouldn't go against that decision."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

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What did you make of Everton’s display?, external

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week eight, he takes on legendary boxing manager Kellie Maloney.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

This one is very hard to call. Ipswich are still winless but, performance-wise, they might still be strangely happy because they have shown they can compete in the Premier League.

Everton have some reasons to be cheerful too. They are only a point and a place above Ipswich in the table but their results have picked up recently, and they are unbeaten in three league games now.

So, I have been scratching my head here about what to go for... and I am going to go against all my instincts and say Ipswich are going to get their first win of the season.

Kieran McKenna's side deserve a break, and maybe they will get it here.

Kellie's prediction: I like the way Ipswich play and I think this is when they get their first win. 2-0

Read the rest of their predictions, and have your own say here

There are seven matches that make up Saturday's Premier League action:

• Tottenham v West Ham - 12:30

• Fulham v Aston Villa

• Ipswich v Everton

• Manchester United v Brentford (listen on BBC Radio 5 Live)

• Newcastle v Brighton

• Southampton v Leicester

• Bournemouth v Arsenal - 17:30 (listen on BBC Radio 5 Live)

Kick-off 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here