Football Season Guide

Ipswich were a regular fixture in the Championship until a year ago but once again find themselves in an unfamiliar situation of starting a season as a League One side. They spent a considerable amount of time in the first half of the previous campaign leading the league, but their form fell off a cliff in December and they eventually finished outside of the play-off places, but is worth noting that, even while they were doing well, their displays were not all that great. Paul Lambert remains in charge despite failing to deliver promotion, but there can be no excuses this time and it is hard to see him keeping his job for long if the Tractor Boys do not get off to a good start. In fairness, Ipswich had what was among the longest injury lists in the league last time around and the situation is expected to improve now - a lot will be expected of Flynn Downes in particular, after the highly-rated midfielder missed large chunks of the previous campaigns. When it comes to their squad as a whole, Ipswich are among the sides that changed the least. No important players have left, while only three new signings have been made. Clearly, the idea is that what is available to Lambert is already good enough to win promotion, and that does not seem to be too far away from the truth. Whether or not the experienced manager is the man to return them to the second tier, remains to be seen.