The last time Ipswich Town had played in the Premier League was in the 2001-02 season. The club got relegated with 36 points. They spent the 2002-03 season to the 2018-19 season in the EFL Championship. The club got relegated to League One in the 2018-19 season after finishing at the bottom of the Championship with 31 points in 46 games played.
The club played the next four seasons in League One, finishing 11th twice and 9th once until 2021-23 where they finished 2nd and got promoted back to the EFL Championship. Conor Chaplin scored 26 goals in the league to help the team to promotion. He was also the league’s joint-highest goal scorer with Jonson Clarke-Harris.
One season later Ipswich Town is finishing 2nd in the EFL Championship and earning promotion to the Premier League.
Kieran McKenna’s Transformative Leadership
Ipswich Town’s fascinating season has been spearheaded by Kieran McKenna. He took over on the 16th of December 2021 as his first job as head coach after working in the Premier League under José Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick, and Ralf Rangnick at Manchester United. He had previously won the Under-18s Premier League Northern Division title with Manchester United in the 2017-18 season. He secured promotion for Ipswich Town to the EFL Championship in his first season in charge.
This season, Ipswich Town has exceeded expectations. The club is chasing automatic promotion to the Premier League in her first attempt. Since the club finished in 3rd position in the Championship with 85 points in the 2004–05 season, the points tally of 93 the club has accumulated this season is the highest the club has attained.
From League One To Premier League In One Year
After four wins and one loss in the first five games of the season, Ipswich rose to 2nd on the table. From the 2nd of September to the 11th of November, the club enjoyed a 12-game unbeaten streak including 9 wins. Conor Chaplin (13) and Nathan Broadhead (13) combined have scored the same number of goals Chaplin scored the previous season.
With 11 games to the end of the season, three consecutive defeats had compromised Leicester City’s position at the top of the table, closing the gap between them and Ipswich Town to three points. Three wins in four games took Ipswich Town to the top of the table. One loss and three draws later and the team was down in 3rd spot, only being able to quality to the Premier League through playoffs.
The club’s last game of the season would be on Saturday, the 4th of May, at home to Huddersfield Town. With Huddersfield Town already relegated to the EFL League One, a win at home is the most likely outcome on Saturday, but Kieran McKenna believes anything can still happen. With three points between Ipswich Town and Leeds United, even a draw would be enough to secure automatic qualification to the Premier League.
Ipswich Town’s Awards-winning Season
Wes Burns won the 2024 Goal of the Season award with his goal against Coventry City. Leif Davis also made it into the EFL Championship Team of the Season.
The club’s manager, Kieran McKenna, won the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award twice in August 2023 and March 2024. He also won the EFL Championship Manager of the Season award for leading Ipswich Town to promotion to the Premier League one season after being promoted from the EFL League One.
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About the Author
Ebenezer has been an avid writer for over a decade and a half. Within that period, he has garnered experience in various fields such as editing, graphics design, transcribing, sales, data analysis, and football management.
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