More than £125m spent on transfer and loan fees. A return of 17 points from 29 games.
So how would chairman Mark Ashton describe Ipswich Town's long-awaited first season back in the Premier League?
“Brutal," he says, through a pained smile. "It’s been a huge learning curve.
"I think the biggest obstacle we’ve faced is simply time. This is a club that's been outside of the Premier League for 20 plus years and it's a very different place now.
"There have been huge challenges around infrastructure, project delivery and getting 30,000 fans in here every single home game.
“We haven't got as many points on the board as we would ultimately have liked, but the club is in a healthy place. The club is thriving, with so many areas moving forward.
Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton shares a joke with the players.Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton shares a joke with the players. (Image: PA)
“This is the very best league in the world for a reason and we're competing with the top 20 clubs on the planet, in my opinion, every single week.
“I see erratic behaviour by some of the clubs around us who are facing some of the same challenges and I'm proud when that I don't see such erratic behaviour at this fantastic club.
“We stick to the plan. It's tough to deliver the plan, but we're in a good place and we’ll fight to the death this season.”
With regards 'the plan', is Ashton referencing investment in young players that can be developed?
“That’s part of it," he replies. "Look, I don't think there's been a transfer window since we've been here where we haven't been active in. If you look at some of the transfer windows before we joined the football club it was dead.
“We've tried as best as we can to stick to our plan. We've acquired young hungry talent that we can develop. Financially we've got real assets on the pitch and a number of players that other clubs would love to take from us. We're in a strong position.
Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton, pictured in discussion with manager Kieran McKenna.Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton, pictured in discussion with manager Kieran McKenna. (Image: PA)
“I go back to it, we would all want more points on the board, but there is a structure to what we do, there's process to what we do.
“You're around the football club on match days. I don't think you've seen us behaving in erratic wild manners because we try and be professional.
“As I've said before, this is a long, long term investment.
“There are things that we'll learn from, there are things we'll adapt and there are things we'll repeat - because some things we've done really well.
“Ultimately our aim is to be a club that has longevity in the Premier League."
There are, of course, still nine games to go. But, upon reflection, is there anything that he would, or indeed could, have done differently?
“The time to do that detailed debrief is in the summer, but be under no illusion that Kieran (McKenna) and I debrief every single week. We learn every single week. This is a learning environment.
“Whether you're Ipswich, Manchester United or Liverpool you learn every single week.
"Hindsight's always a wonderful thing. Liverpool will more than likely go on and win the Premier League title and even they will look back at their season and say, in hindsight, ‘we could have done this differently’.
Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton, sat in the stands with Suffolk superstar and shirt sponsor Ed Sheeran.Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton, sat in the stands with Suffolk superstar and shirt sponsor Ed Sheeran. (Image: PA)
“The key is to learn and adapt. The minute we think we know it all we are in a world of trouble. The exciting thing here is we are nowhere near the finished article either either on or off the pitch.
"It’s going to take time, but when we get this club being anywhere near the finished article, and we're flourishing on all fronts - whether that's revenue, facilities at Portman Road, facilities at the training ground, the men's team, the women's team, the academy - we will have some football club."
Ipswich spent 17 consecutive seasons in the Championship, followed by four in League One. Ambitions may have been grand under new owners, but back-to-back promotions to the Premier League were beyond even their wildest dreams. Is there an argument that the Blues reached the promised land too soon?
“You can never get somewhere too soon because the reality is it advances your learning," argues Ashton.
"That’s life. When opportunities arise you don't turn them down, you take them on, you give them the best shot and you learn from them.
“This is an industry that changes and throws different types of challenges at you every single day. You adapt, learn and keep moving forward. We have to keep moving forward at pace because if we don't then others will go past us."
Kalvin Phillips was the most experienced Premier League player that Ipswich signed last summer.Kalvin Phillips was the most experienced Premier League player that Ipswich signed last summer. (Image: PA)
The aforementioned £125m+ transfer spend over two windows acquired Ipswich 16 players. There was very little Premier League experience among them. The profile, in general, was young, top-end Championship players with room to grow.
Asked if the club pushed things as far as they could within Profit and Sustainability rules, Ashton said: “Absolutely. This is probably a fuller conversation for another time, but the reality of acquiring players in your first year in the Premier League, having been outside it for so long, brings challenges.
“Whilst Kieran's brilliant, and we can make the football argument and the development argument, there are big finances involved now around established Premier League players. The overall cost of the package is big.
“It's about the length of contracts and the terms of those contracts. If you sat in my world you would probably be surprised at what it takes to get a deal done. Those financial deals are on a whole other level and often undoable.
“Nottingham Forest have been in the Premier League for a couple of years now and will find it easier to acquire players. So will Brentford, so will Brighton. But that first year challenge is always difficult."
Is he saying, therefore, that Ipswich signed the very best they could within the financial constraints they faced?
“We want success now, we want results now, we want performances now. Now, now, now. But as the chairman I have to protect the future of the football club" says Ashton.
“This football club's been there (in financial trouble) before, okay. Let's not forget that. That can't happen again, so we have to get the balance right between getting as much as we can that gives us the best chance for now, while also protecting the future."
Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton poses for a photograph with a young fan.Ipswich Town chairman Mark Ashton poses for a photograph with a young fan. (Image: PA)
Ashton, who admits the club needs to explore further territories when it comes to recruitment in order to kick on, adds: “If you look at the clubs around us I think there's been some very erratic behaviour. You see agitated fan bases, you see agitated stakeholders, you don't see a plan or the direction of travel.
“Our fans have been incredible. The messages I get on a Saturday night are incredible. ‘Mark keep going, keep doing what you're doing, we're all behind you, we're all behind the football club’.
“I think we have a fan base that very much remembers where we've come from, remembers what it was like before we got here and what those dark, dark decades felt like.
“We're in the light now, we're moving forward and we're not going to stop moving forward.”