The Most Expensive Squad in Championship History... Stuck Outside the Top Six?

Ipswich Town confirmed on Wednesday that there have been changes in their ownership structure, which essentially means they have a new majority shareholder, Portman Holdings LLC.

As a result, other shareholders now own less of the club, but unfortunately Ed Sheeran still owns his share, so you'll still have to put up with hearing about him every time Ipswich are mentioned on Sky.

Fans of the club will be pleased to know that Mark Ashton will continue in his current roles as chairman and CEO of Ipswich, who oversaw back-to-back promotions into the Premier League with the club.

All this change means that more money has been invested into the structure and foundations of Ipswich, which means they are now valued at £350 million.

This makes them the most valuable Championship club ever, which is an incredible feat for Ipswich when you consider that even just five years ago they were fighting in League One.

Ipswich Town have become the most expensive Championship club ever after they were valued at £350m per @mjshrimper.

This comes as the fund that purchased the club sold shares totalling more than £350m.

Not bad for a 7th place side 🤔 pic.twitter.com/lUigB8mLdr

— Second Tier podcast (@secondtierpod) December 4, 2025

Despite their financial successes, largely coming from the stint they had in the Premier League last year, they still find themselves unable to break into the Championship's play-off places.

So why is it that their performances on the pitch can't live up to their prosperity behind the scenes?

Lacking the Edge

Simply put, Ipswich have been drawing too many games this season. Of course picking up one point is better than losing, but for a club like Ipswich, who didn't suffer too many losses in the summer transfer window after coming down from the Prem, on too many occasions it has felt like two points dropped.

Take their start to the season for example. They went winless in all competitions for their first five matches, drawing four times and suffering defeat away at Preston.

They weren't able to find a win until they faced Sheffield United under Ruben Selles, which may well go down as the worst managerial stint the Championship has ever seen.

Since then, draws against Bristol City, Watford, Wrexham and Blackburn will leave them ruing the extra eight points they could have taken from games which, let's be honest, should have been winnable.

me waiting for ipswich town to ‘get going’ and ‘leave first gear’ pic.twitter.com/UbRNSnqFRC

— 🤷‍♂️ #BringMeANewGaffer (@itfcrg) November 26, 2025

In fact, the only side in the league to have drawn more games than Ipswich has been Wrexham, who will be pleased with their 10th-place position at the moment. This was written before the weekend's action, though, and knowing the Championship, they could be anywhere between 7th and 16th come the end of the gameweek.

That leads nicely to my next point.

A Notoriously Competitive League

The Championship is regarded by many as the best league in the world for two reasons. The first is that it's so unpredictable, but the other is that it is so competitive.

There are so many sides of very similar quality who could all make a push for playoffs at any one time. Now on paper this looks good for Ipswich, as they technically have better players than many of them and a manager who has earned a lot of respect for his successes with the club.

What it means, though, is that if they are capable of slipping up against one side, they are pretty much capable of slipping up against any of the others.

Sometimes being one of the sides to have come down from the Premier League that season makes your life harder than everyone else's that season. Success is not guaranteed, and now you have a nice big target on your back, because everybody wants the bragging rights to say they beat a team who are basically Prem quality.

I mean, look at Southampton and Leicester this season. They came down alongside Ipswich this season and, instead of fighting like the Tractor Boys, they've been beaten with a whimper time and time again, which has them placed in 14th and 16th, respectively.

Selection Issues

Ipswich have suffered injuries to key players throughout the season, which is evident in their list of absent players even now.

Alex Palmer, their first-choice goalkeeper, looks as though he will remain out for weeks, which is a big loss given his experience in the division with West Brom.

Harry Clarke will return at the end of the month and Conor Townsend will be out for the majority of the season, which means they are really lacking cover in the full-back positions.

Wes Burns featured regularly for the Tractor Boys in the Premier League last season before suffering a ligament injury in his knee in January, and he is still yet to return to action.

Luckily for Ipswich, Sammie Szmodics is set to come back into the side in their next match against Coventry, but it's fair to say he's been a big miss for the side creatively, after tearing up defences in the Championship with Blackburn, despite a less than convincing stint at Bristol City before that.

Kieran McKenna has provided an injury update ahead of tomorrow's game against Coventry City.

The Town boss revealed Sammie Szmodics could return from his knee injury.

Full updates for @twtduk. 👇#itfc https://t.co/DQAhTJGoBO

— Kallum Brisset (@KallumBrisset) December 5, 2025

Now this is all well and good, but realistically, how much can injuries really be used as an excuse anymore? As a result of the ridiculous schedules footballers are forced to adhere to, serious injuries are becoming more commonplace by the season, especially in the EFL, where there is less funding available for physios and treatment.

Of course some of the injuries have been to arguably their most important players, but that's just part of the game these days, and shows why squad depth is so important for success.

Despite all of this, I am genuinely curious as to why George Hirst is starting over Chuba Akpom. The Scottish striker has shown potential for sure, but if you're hunting for promotion back to the Premier League and you can't even break into the play-offs, why aren't you giving more game time to players with quality and experience like Akpom?