AFC Wimbledon can be forgiven for thinking Ipswich Town are a cursed club - here's why | OneFootball

AFC Wimbledon and Ipswich Town have not had too many transfer dealings, but from recent history, something mysterious must be happening

Joe Pigott and Ali Al-Hamadi are two names that any AFC Wimbledon fan will tell you have cult status at the club.

Their individual goalscoring feats are etched in recent legend at the club, and rightfully, fans talk about their talents at great lengths when given the opportunity to.

But on the mention of opportunity, when the chance came for the two to join Ipswich Town, they obviously jumped at it. However, with how things have transpired since both of their moves, Dons fans could be forgiven for thinking the Tractor Boys are a cursed club.

Ipswich Town moves did not work out for Joe Pigott and Ali Al-Hamadi

When Ipswich came calling for Pigott in 2021, and for Al-Hamadi in 2024, Dons fans could not be too disgruntled at either making the move.

For Pigs, as he is affectionately called, it was a chance to sign a lucrative three-year deal, having decided against committing more years for less money at the Dons, and for Iraqi international Al-Hamadi, it was a chance to be a part of a team fighting at the very top of the Championship, with a real possibility of playing Premier League football.

It is not as though the duo did not deserve their respective moves either, as they had been banging in the goals for Wimbledon by the bucketload.

Over his three years at the club, Pigott overtook the legendary Lyle Taylor to become the club's all-time leading EFL goalscorer, and during his very short time at the club, Al-Hamadi picked up a few player-of-the-month accolades, and just about averaged a goal every other game he played for the Dons.

But for former Maidstone striker Pigott, upon moving to Sussex to join up with an uneasy Ipswich side, at the time, managed by Paul Cook, it would soon transpire that things would not be as easy as life was at Wimbledon, despite still playing in the same division.

At Wimbledon, Pigott was the main striker and the one that was always entrusted with leading the line. However, at Ipswich, playing under a manager that preferred a front two, he found himself behind James Norwood, Macauley Bonne, Kayden Jackson, Conor Chaplin and Sone Aluko, with Pigs often deployed as an attacking midfielder behind the two strikers.

Obviously, this was not his preferred position, and with that, despite being given 22 appearances to make an impact, he could only muster up two goals for the Tractor Boys.

With Al-Hamadi on the other hand, when he completed his move, things were looking much rosier. Kieran McKenna, the man who took over from Paul Cook, had guided Ipswich out of League One and had even managed to get them to the dizzying heights of promotion candidates in the Championship.

Added to that fact was that Al-Hamadi would be joining a team less ladened with strikers to be playing in front of him, presenting him with a great opportunity to succeed.

However, only days after joining, Kieffer Moore was signed, and paraded as the "number one target" and a very impressive signing.

Despite it never coming to light, this must have dented the confidence of the Iraqi forward, as despite scoring very early into his tenure at Ipswich, he would then only net three more times across 23 more appearances, with the majority of those being from the bench.

Joe Pigott, Ali Al-Hamadi careers following Ipswich Town disappointments

Following on from becoming a regularly-used substitute, Al Hamadi did at least get to celebrate being part of a side that achieved promotion to the Premier League in what was a fairytale season for the Sussex-based side.

He then went one step further by creating a historical legacy for his nation, becoming the first Iraqi to play in the Premier League when he was substituted on against Liverpool on the opening day of the 24/25 season.

However, following this, and despite appearing consistently as the replacement for Liam Delap in multiple games across the first half of the campaign, he has shown that his irregular gametime is perhaps contributing to him slipping very slowly behind the development curve many felt he was on. And when now-regular second choice George Hirst came back from a long-term injury to instantly depose Al-Hamadi, writing was perhaps on the wall.

And that writing soon became a reality as, after a very poor showing against Bristol Rovers in the FA Cup, the Iraqi was sent on loan to relegation-threatened Stoke City in the Championship.

For Pigott, on the other hand, his story since his terrible time in East Anglia has been one of sheer disappointment.

A loan move to Portsmouth only a year after joining Ipswich looked good to begin with, as the striker found the net very early on into his time with the club, but, like Al-Hamadi, despite patience and love being shown from the stands, he was just not the same dangerous striker he had grown to be known as at Wimbledon, netting less than five goals in his full season at Pompey.

He would then head back to familiar London surroundings, joining Leyton Orient following a mutually-consented release from Town, but once again, things very quickly took a nosedive and his time with the club was nowhere near as successful as many had wished it could have been.

This poor first year of a two-year deal saw him rejoin the Dons on loan for the current 24/25 campaign, and with a return back to the club where he had enjoyed so much success and love, there was a lot of excitement that this could be the redemption of the Pig.

But what has instead transpired is the sad story of a player that has simply lost all confidence, and is quickly losing his technical abilities too. Despite him being a good fit for the profile of striker Johnnie Jackson has needed this season, goals have quickly dried up and a very recent substitute performance against Harrogate Town showed that there is a highly-likely reality that this current gig at the Dons will be his last in the EFL.

It is a shame that this current loan move may have just tainted his overall legacy at the South-West London club, but it is clear his loss of confidence in his own game began at Ipswich, and has just snowballed since.

And with Al-Hamadi likely to become a forgotten man at Ipswich, unless given a divine opportunity soon, if Ipswich do indeed get relegated back to the Championship, these two lay a cautionary tale for any AFC Wimbledon player perhaps looking at Ipswich as their next destination soon.