Argentinian World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles believes promoted Ipswich Town have a “big chance” of remaining in the Premier League next season.
The 71-year-old former Spurs star noted that teams promoted from the Championship are typically favorites for relegation. However, Ardiles emphasized that Ipswich’s previous experience in the top flight would be significant.
“Ipswich have a big, big chance – they have played extremely well,” he said. Ipswich Town and Championship winners Leicester City secured automatic promotion to the Premier League. They will be joined by Southampton, who clinched their place in the top flight with a 1-0 win over Leeds in the play-off at Wembley on Sunday.
“Every time, the three teams who are promoted are the favorite to go down – certainly,” Ardiles told the BBC. “But on the other hand, I believe that for people like Leicester and Ipswich, they have been there before, so that will count for a lot. I don’t think they will go down.”
Ardiles and fellow former Argentinian international Ricky Villa, also 71, visited a pub in Barley, Hertfordshire, to mark national independence day on 25 May. The pair, who moved to Spurs after winning the World Cup with Argentina in 1978, took part in celebrations at the Fox & Hounds. They watched the FA Cup final and then answered punters’ questions about football and their careers.
Ardiles lives in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, and is a friend of the Fox & Hounds’ owner, Graham Smith-Bernal. Villa lives in Argentina and is visiting England. Ardiles said he and Villa had “absolutely wonderful” memories of playing for Spurs against Ipswich in the late 1970s and 1980s, when Bobby Robson was manager. He said Ipswich had been one of the best sides in the country when he was playing and expressed his hope to see the club return to those heights.