Ipswich Town host promotion rivals MK Dons in League One tomorrow afternoon (3pm). Mark Heath takes a look at the Dons...
Story so far
After finishing third last season and losing to Wycombe in the play-off semi-finals, Liam Manning's new-look side have stumbled out of the blocks in this campaign.
They lost 1-0 at Cambridge United on opening day, and followed that with another 1-0 defeat at home to league favourites Sheffield Wednesday last weekend.
They did beat Sutton United 1-0 in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, but will arrive in Suffolk without a point or a goal in league action so far.
After a summer of change in terms of arrivals and departures, that dreaded term 'needs time to gel' could well apply to MK at the moment.
Star names depart
Two of the Dons' key men in their charge to the play-offs last season left for the Championship in the summer, amid a raft of departures.
Centre-back Harry Darling headed for Swansea, while forward Scott Twine - he of the spectacular long-range strikes - signed for Burnley.
Twine, especially, is a huge loss. He was probably the best player in the third tier last season, contributing a ridiculous 20 goals and 13 assists.
Replacing the likes of Darling and Twine was always going to be tough, but the Dons have brought in defender Jack Tucker from Gillingham and veteran ex-Norwich midfielder Bradley Johnson among their 14 new signings so far.
Johnson, now 35, was released by Blackburn in the summer.
Manning said: "Bradley brings a wealth of experience to a young group. Most importantly, he still has plenty to offer on the pitch.
"He has been a part of several successful teams during his career and certainly knows what it takes to win and produce high-level performances on a consistent basis."
Keep an eye out for winger Nathan Holland too, signed after being released by West Ham in the summer. He spent last season on loan at Oxford United, bagging six goals in 39 games, and could be a handful at this level.
And young midfielder Matt Smith, a fringe player last season, has stepped into the Twine role so far this campaign - while they are huge boots to fill, he's been impressive on the ball thus far.
Manning on Town
The Dons boss, a former player and coach at Town, insists that there is no room for sentiment as he heads back to Portman Road.
"I have really good memories at what is a terrific football club," he told the media earlier today. "But I'm not going back there to enjoy it, I'm going there to win a game.”
Of new Town signing Richard Keogh - with whom he played in Ipswich youth sides - Manning added: “I played with Richard in the academy when we were 13, 14, 15,.
"He's got a lot of experience, he's had a terrific playing career, and he'll bring a lot to that dressing room which is already stacked with quality.
“They've invested a huge amount to do that, and Kieran has given them a clear identity and style and that's what makes it an exciting game.”
The Dons come to Suffolk off the back of playing Wednesday, another side with big expectations this season, and Manning said he expects to learn a lot about his team as a result.
"They're two favourites for the division, with the size of the clubs, budgets, depths of squad," he said. "But these are the games you want to play in, to put in a performance and show what you're capable of.
"And you'll only do that if you believe in what we're doing. I'm sure all the players are looking forward to it.”
Familiar faces
Aside from Manning's links to the Blues, there is one player in particular who will be intent on impressing at Portman Road this weekend.
Step forward Louie Barry, who never got going while on loan in Suffolk from Aston Villa last season. One of Paul Cook's 19 summer signings, he quickly fell down the depth chart and returned to Villa early in January, having played just seven games in blue.
But he enjoyed success in League Two with Swindon after that, bagging six goals in 14 games, and is having another crack at League One with the Dons.
He's seen action in all three games the Dons have played so far, including starting last weekend against Sheffield Wednesday, and will almost certainly feature against Town.
And, of course, he'll want to prove a point after that disappointing spell in Suffolk.
“I’m very pleased to be here,” Barry said off his MK move. “I spoke with the gaffer and he sold it to me. I had a lot of interest this summer but this move really suits me so I went with my gut instinct and I’m really excited it’s all come together.
“I was very pleased with how things went with Swindon. I needed to do well there and the positive experiences help me come here with confidence and hopefully I can put that into my time here at MK Dons to help us push on."
Friendly billionaire needed
Dons chairman Pete Winkleman told a local radio station this week that his club must get out of League One if they are to increase their fanbase and size, saying that one option would be to find a 'friendly billionaire' to invest in the team.
"To be bigger, we need to be more important," Winkelman told BBC Three Counties Radio.
"When you talk about the big clubs (in League One), the Sheffield Wednesdays the Ipswichs, the Portsmouths, they've been in the Premier League, they've won the First Division, they've been there at different times in their history.
"We've yet to achieve that, and that's why we can't really be the big club that we want to be, until we do it. So the question is, how do we do it?"
He added: ""People will come to watch this club if we get in the Championship, and most people will come when it gets in the Premier League, it's only then in top-flight football that it gets interesting enough to get all those armchair fans into this stadium.
"If we'd gone up, I don't think we'd have lost any of the players that we lost in the summer. People say 'well, for that money he'd still have gone'. No, no, he would have shown what he could do in this team in the Championship.
"If you can't go as fast as your players you accept that's going to happen.
"But overall, I think the club's in much better shape than it's been for ages because we're focusing on what we've got to do, get the club out of this division - and that's all that's important."
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