The curtain raises on the 2013-14 Championship season this weekend and Sports Mole has been gazing into its crystal ball to assess the 24 teams' chances this term. Now it's the turn of the division's longest-serving side - Ipswich Town.
In:
Paul Anderson (From Bristol City, Swap Deal), David McGoldrick (From Nottingham Forest, Free), Daryl Murphy (From Celtic, Free), Cole Skuse (From Bristol City, Free, Jay Tabb (From Reading, Free), Dean Gerken (From Bristol City – Free), Frederic Veseli (From Manchester United, Free), Christophe Berra (From Wolverhampton Wanderers, Free), Jack Doherty (From Waterford United, £50,000), Ryan Tunnicliffe (From Manchester United, Loan)
Out:
Michael Chopra (To Blackpool, Undisclosed), Jay Emmanuel-Thomas (To Bristol City, Swap Deal), Andy Drury (To Crawley Town, Free), Lee Martin (To Millwall, Free), Gunnar Thorsteinsson (To IBV, Free), Jack Ainsley (Released), Cormac Burke (Released), Arran Lee-Barrett (Released), Ronan Murray (Released), Joe Whight (Released)
Last Season: 14th
Manager: Mick McCarthy
Three key players:
First game: Reading (A), Complete fixture list
Sports Mole says: As mentioned above, Ipswich are the Championship's best servant, having not experienced a change since they were relegated from the Premier League in 2002. It's been a stale few years for the Tractor Boys but this season things are looking up. Since McCarthy took over last November, Ipswich were the fourth-best team in the league and had it not been for the sluggish start to the season under Paul Jewell, then a top-half finish would have been achieved. The transfer dealings this summer have to be admired as just £50,000 has been spent on youngster Doherty, yet 10 players have arrived in Suffolk. To add to this, high earners like Chopra and Emmanuel-Thomas, who never quite delivered on their promise in a blue shirt, have moved on. When picking out a dark horse for the second tier this year, McCarthy's Ipswich may just be your best bet and a charge for the playoffs should be attainable.
Predicted finish: 8th