Even though George had scored six goals in 25 Premier League games—a decent total for a winger—he was 31 years old going into the 2002–03 season. Two months into the season, the manager who had signed him, Burley, was fired, and Joe Royle, Burley’s successor, did not think highly of George.
George’s last game was in the UEFA Cup against Slovan Liberec in November 2002. The winger was frozen out after missing a penalty kick in a shootout that resulted in their elimination from European competition once more.
Why was Finidi George frozen out at Ipswich Town?
A few weeks later, George received word that he could quit Ipswich because Royle desired to assemble his own team.
And even though there was supposed to be a transfer to Fenerbahce in January 2003, it never happened. Instead, George left Portman Road in the summer of 2003 after a few months following the club’s administration.
Some things just don’t turn out the way you expect them to. George has expressed his personal unhappiness in recent years about how his time at Ipswich went and how he couldn’t really stay totally fit to help them survive in the top division.
Though there were other players in that field who offered more for less money, such as Matteo Sereni, George was by no means the largest failure since he did not live up to the expectations placed on him.