Before the 2023–24 season had even begun, some pundits were picking Ipswich Town to win back-to-back promotions despite the team placing second in the League One standings behind Plymouth Argyle.
Some of those were being ridiculed by neutrals, but perhaps they won’t be being ridiculed right now after seeing how the Tractor Boys have been playing. Their momentum has carried on since last season, where they scored 101 goals on the way to automatic promotion from the third tier, and their attack has definitely been their most effective weapon in the Championship too.
Town are the top scorers in the league after 16 matches by a clear seven goals, with the likes of Conor Chaplin, Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst all chipping in with vital and important strikes. Leif Davis is another player who is impressing on the attacking end of play, with the left-back registering seven assists in just 15 league appearances, but there is still improvement to be made in defence, with Ipswich conceding a few too many goals which won’t please head coach Kieran McKenna too much.
There has, however, been an underrated factor in their fantastic run of form in the Championship, and that is the midfield duo of Sam Morsy and Massimo Luongo.
The relationship between Morsy and Luongo began in earnest at the beginning of 2023 when Ipswich signed the latter, who had made an appearance for the team on loan in 2012 and returned to Suffolk 11 years later. Luongo made his debut in early March, playing alongside the Egypt international in the engine room, and he was a major contributor to the team’s 35 points out of a possible 39 points between then and the end of the season.
Both Morsy and Luongo have started together for 13 of Ipswich’s 16 games this season; they have both scored goals, but it’s more what they do on the defensive end of things that helps the team and gives the more attacking outlets the freedom to be successful in the final third. This is true even with the summer signing of Jack Taylor from Peterborough United to bolster the engine room.
Both players rank in the top 10 of the Championship when it comes to tackles per game, averaging out at 2.7 as per WhoScored, and when it comes to their individual numbers, Luongo and Morsy come third and sixth respectively – Luongo has totalled 43 whilst Morsy has two less with 41.
