Ipswich Town: Karl Fuller on Liverpool defeat and transfer business

How on earth have these last three months whizzed by so quickly? In truth, I did not really want Saturday to come just yet. The summer has been glorious.

For yours truly, promotion again was the ideal opportunity to publish another book. The Premier Edition of The Game Changers is available on Amazon now. Might as well get a plug in nice and early!

As promised last August, I went ahead and got the promotion tattoo. As did seven others of my group, plus Mark Ashton and countless other Town fans.

I have lapped up all the adoration and jealousy from my friends who do not support a Premier League club. And I have brushed off the demands for tickets from those that do. Like every one of you, I have felt like a king since that glorious day on May 4!

Omari Hutchinson is Town's club record signing (Image: Ross Halls)
The transfer window thus far started at a pace, went quiet, and then picked up splendidly last week. Omari Hutchinson’s permanent deal is the player signing of the summer.

But we have already seen in just one game, that the fans of Hull City were right in just how good Jacob Greaves could be.

Personally, the signing that meant the most to me was that of Sammie Szmodics.

Five years ago, I worked with a Colchester United fan who told me that Sammie would never sign for us. I always wanted him to eat those words. For as long as that saga went on, so too did my desire to see it happen!

The arrival of Kalvin Phillips has set a few tongues wagging. Especially those outside of Ipswich.

Personally, I think it is potentially a great signing. Look, we do not have anyone else with that kind of experience.

Karl's happy Town have signed Sammie Szmodics (Image: Ross Halls)
Luton’s acquisition of Ross Barkley last season was the type of signing we needed. And Phillips can be that man.

For the experience and the hefty price, I urge you to tell me who is available that could be a better option. We will see.

We can also look forward to some more arrivals before the window closes. The squad required is gradually taking shape.

But without any shadow of doubt, the signing of the summer was the keeping of Kieran McKenna.

Of all the ingredients we are going to need to keep ourselves in the mix for survival, he is the most important one. Continuity and consistency on the managerial front were key going into this new season.

As much as I did not want the Liverpool game to be with us just yet, it was really what the last two years had built towards.

Kieran McKenna is Karl's signing of the summer (Image: Ross Halls)
This Thursday sees the 46th anniversary of my very first Ipswich game. It was a 3-0 defeat on August 22, 1978, against Liverpool at Portman Road.

It seemed poetic that my daughter would be with me to see her first Premier League game against the same opposition so close to that anniversary date.

I wondered for much of the build up to the game if we would suffer a similar defeat. That is not me being pessimistic. Simply realistic.

I am not normally in the ground an hour before kick-off. But on this occasion, we had to be to soak up as much of the atmosphere as possible.

We had got used to crowds of over 29,500 last season. There may have been only 500 more present on Saturday, but the place had the feel of a whole level above.

There's plenty to be positive about after Town's display against Mo Salah and Liverpool (Image: Ross Halls)
The stadium works looked good, and Portman Road really is top-notch for the old traditional type of stadia that it is. The attendance of 30,014 was a new record for a live TV home game.

Our first-half performance gave us much to enthuse about, and that of the second half was at times, an experience to learn from.

In the main, we can feel encouraged about the season ahead. Remember, McKenna has never lost two league games in succession.

That is a real test on the line so soon. It is only Manchester City next.