The Suffolk side had an up and down season last; they were targeted as dark horses for promotion but slumped to a 9th finish; there play-off hopes were all but ended in March when they recorded a 2-0 defeat at Sheffield United - Greg Halford and Darius Henderson scoring for the Blades.
Since then things have changed, a wealthy businessman has bought the club and appointed former Sunderland boss Roy Keane as the new man at the helm with Jim Magilton leaving for Queens Park Rangers.
The Irish manager has been handed somewhere in the region of £20,000,000 to spend in his transfer budget although at Championship level would doubt very much that he would spend half of that after he inherited what is already a strong Town squad.
Five players were released this summer, most noticeable being Ivan Campo! Matt Richards, Dean Bowditch, Chris Casement and Dan Harding also followed. Jai Reason (Cambridge United), Danny Haynes (Bristol City) and Billy Clarke (Blackpool) have also left Portman Road.
To date though Keane has signed just three players; Tony Brown (Fulham) Lee Martin (Manchester United) and Damien Delaney (Queens Park Rangers) - others will follow with Daryl Murphy (Sunderland) linked with the club and many more millions will be spent on the team.
They would have enjoyed success with Jim Magilton (In my opinion) but they have chosen to swap mangers. In Jonathan Stead he will find double figures and Ipswich Town should gain promotion; it won't be easy but second spot is at their beck and call.
Blades-Mad Predicted Finish: 2nd (promoted)
| Betting Odds: | |
| Promotion: | Relegation: |
| 3/1 | 33/1 |
2008-09 Players Statistics
| Player Name | Position | DoB | # | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wright, Richard | Goal | 05 Nov 1977 | 1 | 50 | 0 |
Wright, David | Defence | 01 May 1980 | 2 | 36 | 1 |
McAuley, Gareth | Defence | 05 Dec 1979 | 3 | 39 | 0 |
Bruce, Alex | Defence | 28 Sep 1984 | 5 | 28 (+1) | 2 |
Garvan, Owen | Midfield | 29 Jan 1988 | 7 | 23 (+16) | 7 |
Counago, Pablo | Forward | 09 Aug 1979 | 9 | 29 (+18) | 11 |
Norris, David | Midfield | 22 Feb 1981 | 10 | 38 (+3) | 3 |
Lisbie, Kevin | Forward | 17 Oct 1978 | 11 | 26 (+19) | 7 |
Peters, Jaime | Midfield | 04 May 1987 | 12 | 2 (+1) | 0 |
Civelli, Luciano | Midfield | 06 Oct 1986 | 13 | 8 | 0 |
Stead, Jon | Forward | 07 Apr 1983 | 14 | 26 (+15) | 13 |
Balkestein, Pim | Defence | 29 Apr 1987 | 15 | 17 (+6) | 0 |
Haynes, Danny | Midfield | 19 Jan 1988 | 18 | 10 (+19) | 2 |
Walters, Jon | Forward | 20 Sep 1983 | 19 | 35 (+6) | 7 |
Quinn, Alan | Midfield | 13 Jun 1979 | 25 | 32 (+7) | 2 |
Shumulikoski, Veliche | Midfield | 24 Apr 1981 | 26 | 23 (+4) | 0 |
Supple, Shane | Goal | 04 May 1987 | 27 | 1 | 0 |
Upson, Edward | Midfield | 21 Nov 1989 | 29 | 0 | 0 |
Thatcher, Ben | Defence | 30 Nov 1975 | 33 | 23 | 0 |
Smith, Tommy | Defence | 31 Mar 1990 | 35 | 2 | 0 |
Trotter, Liam | Midfield | 24 Aug 1988 | 36 | 4 (+1) | 1 |
Rhodes, Jordan | Forward | 05 Feb 1990 | 38 | 0 (+2) | 0 |
Wickham, Connor | Forward | 31 Mar 1993 | 40 | 0 (+2) | 0 |
* Statistics up to and including 26 May 2009