Ipswich Town's Promising Start in Premier League
Six points from Ipswich Town’s first four Premier League games. One win at Portman Road, one on the road. For a newly promoted side, that’s not just acceptable – it’s the kind of start most Blues supporters would have grabbed without a second thought before that opener against Sunderland last month.
Throw in progress in the Carabao Cup and the picture sharpens. Ipswich went out at the first hurdle to League Two opposition in each of the previous two seasons. This time, they cleared that early trap. That alone marks a step forward.
The cup run ended against the toughest of opponents. Arsenal, the Premier League champions, finally shut the door this week. Ipswich went out, but not quietly. Another late goal – their fifth of the season in the 90th minute or beyond – trimmed the scoreline and underlined a growing hallmark of this team: they stay at it until the final whistle.
That resilience is a useful trait. The defeat, though, cut a little deeper for a different reason.
Minutes running out, squad size not
For a clutch of players short on game time, the Arsenal tie was a chance to stake a claim. Lose the game, lose the opportunity. That’s the real sting.
The calendar is thinning. Just 14 fixtures remain this year, with only a couple of weeks featuring two matches. Gary O’Neil has 27 first‑team squad members to juggle. The maths is ruthless.
He knows it, and he isn’t pretending otherwise. Recently, when asked about keeping such a big group content, he didn’t shy away.
"I'm more than happy to have those difficult conversations with people," he said. "They're never personal and the players understand hopefully. It only takes an injury, a change of form or something I see in training to go from not playing to being back in the staring XI."
That door is never closed, but right now some are stuck on the wrong side of it.
On Tuesday night, you could feel the frustration from the man wearing the armband. Darnell Furlong, captain for the evening, spoke like someone who has been waiting too long.
A key figure in last season’s promotion from the Championship, Furlong has barely featured in the league this time – less than 25 minutes so far.
"It's really tough, that's all I can say. I'll keep working hard and try to change things," he told BBC Radio Suffolk. Short, honest, and heavy with meaning.
O’Neil’s balancing act
O’Neil doesn’t hide his admiration for the defender.
"I've not used Darnell anywhere near as much as I want to, but I love him to bits and he's a massively important part of what we're trying to do this season," the Ipswich boss explained. "How I value the players is not based on how many minutes they play, it's about how much you do to help the group."
That’s the line every squad player hears. With Furlong, it feels genuine. He was central to the rise; now he’s on the fringes of the next step.
Furlong, to his credit, isn’t kicking back at the competition. He recognises why the landscape has shifted.
"The squad is a level up from last year to meet the demands of this league. There have been some great signings, with some great players and some great humans. It's one very well knitted group."
If that sentiment runs through the dressing room, O’Neil’s job gets a little easier. A big squad only works if egos don’t tear it apart.
Everton next, and a chance to make history stir
Ipswich head to Everton this weekend with quiet momentum and a clear target. Victory at Goodison Park would give them three wins from their opening five top-flight matches.
That has happened only seven times before in the club’s history.
For a side still adjusting to the Premier League’s glare, that’s not just a nice statistic. It’s a marker. A sign that this season might be about more than simply surviving.
