After Liverpool, then Manchester City, a first realistic opportunity for Ipswich to lay a marker. Fulham presented a truer litmus test. And though the wins will have to come sooner rather than later, the conclusion from a helter-skelter draw in which Ipswich were usually the better team is that Kieran McKenna’s side have enough talent and spirit to survive the Premier League.
Ipswich’s manager has received backing to achieve that objective, around £110m worth. Ed Sheeran spent Saturday in Sofia but maintained his presence, his current tour an official club sponsor, his face and voice heavily rotated on Portman Road’s public broadcast system. It isn’t just the Gallagher brothers who can crash a web server. As an investor in the club, what have Suffolk’s pop hobbit’s spare royalties been spent on? McKenna blooded a number of signings, on-loan Kalvin Phillips making an impressive first start in midfield, Chiedozie Ogbene’s speed employed effectively down the wing.
