Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town are the most romantic story the Premier League has produced in years, and anyone who disagrees simply has not been paying attention. The Tractor Boys — yes, that is genuinely their nickname, and they wear it with a defiance that borders on the magnificent — stormed from League One to the top flight in consecutive seasons under Kieran McKenna, a feat that makes Leicester’s 5000-1 title look like a mere scheduling quirk by comparison. Based in Suffolk, this is a club that won the First Division under Sir Alf Ramsey in 1962, lifted the FA Cup under Sir Bobby Robson in 1978, and then won the UEFA Cup in 1981. European pedigree from a town most Premier League tourists could not find on a map? That is precisely the point.

McKenna’s appointment in December 2021, when Ipswich were rotting in League One, was either a stroke of genius or an act of desperation. It turned out to be both. Back-to-back promotions — League One runners-up in 2022-23, then Championship champions in 2023-24 — represent the kind of managerial alchemy that makes you wonder what the bigger clubs were doing while this Northern Irish tactician was building something extraordinary on a shoestring. Portman Road, capacity 30,311, has been rocking with a fury that belies its modest dimensions. When this ground is full and angry, visiting sides know they are in a proper football town.

Australian football fans should recognise something of themselves in Ipswich’s story. A club from a small town, perpetually underestimated, refusing to accept its supposed limitations — if that does not resonate with the Australian sporting psyche, nothing will.

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Here is the uncomfortable truth about Ipswich Town’s 2025-26 campaign: fairytales have expiry dates, and this is the season that determines whether McKenna’s project is a genuine revolution or merely a pleasant detour before the inevitable return to the Championship. The Tractor Boys face a step up in quality that no amount of tactical cleverness can entirely disguise, and the squad needs investment that matches the ambition of the manager. That said, Portman Road remains a fortress where bigger clubs come to suffer, and McKenna’s ability to extract maximum performance from limited resources is not something you bet against lightly. Whether fighting relegation or targeting mid-table respectability, Ipswich’s story remains the most compelling narrative in the Premier League — precisely because the ending has not been written yet.

VS — Chief sports columnist, australiafootball.com