Ipswich Town: League One stars as Blues finally win promotion

The Blues were hoping for an instant return when they dropped into the third tier in 2019 but, as we well know, it didn’t work out that way. 

Paul Lambert and Paul Cook both tried and failed but, four long seasons later, Kieran McKenna’s class of 2022/23 have completed a stunning campaign and secured a return to the Championship. 

Town could only manage a pair of 11th-place finishes and one in 9th in the three seasons prior to promotion, with the campaign just finished doing a lot to push Ipswich’s overall League One record towards respectability. 

Ipswich Town have won promotion from League One at the fourth attempt (Image: Steve Waller)

In total Ipswich played 174 league matches during their stay in the third tier, with 79 of those games ending in wins and a total of 290 points being claimed at an average of 1.66 per game. 

That average, stretched over a full 46-game season, would have produced 77 points which, this season, may just have been enough to sneak into the final play-off place depending on goal difference. That total would have missed out on the play-offs altogether in 2021/22. 

That highlights just how much of the heavy lifting Town’s 98-point promotion season has done in terms of Town’s overall League One record. 

Town scored 260 goals in total over the last four seasons and conceded 163, resulting in a goal difference of +97. Again, Town’s 101 goals this season and their ultimate goal difference of +66 has helped that statistic no end.

Conor Chaplin is Ipswich Town's top League One scorer (Image: Steve Waller) 

A total of 44 different players scored goals for Ipswich during the League One years, with Conor Chaplin leading the way on 35, nine clear of James Norwood’s 26. Wes Burns, Kayden Jackson, Freddie Ladapo and Macauley Bonne are the only other players to have reached double figures. 

In terms of appearances, Luke Woolfenden played regularly during all four seasons and leads the way on 128, with Jackson the only other player to reach his century on 107. Janoi Donacien is close on 94, having featured in three League One seasons, with Chaplin, Burns, Christian Walton, Sam Morsy and Norwood all passing 75 games. 

Ipswich faced 38 different teams during their four League One seasons, with only eight sides featuring in all of those campaigns. 

No player featured more for Town in League One than Luke Woolfenden (Image: Pagepix)

Burton Albion have been Town’s most welcome opponents, with the Blues taking 21 points from a possible 24 against the Brewers, while Accrington (18 points) and Shrewsbury (17) have also been willing adversaries. 

At the other end of the scale, Ipswich couldn’t manage a single point against a Rotherham side who beat them four times on their way to a pair of promotions, while no wins were claimed from any of their games with Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Cheltenham, Coventry or Northampton. 

But the only statistic which really matters now is the fact Ipswich’s efforts in 2022/23 got them over the line on 98 points, meaning they will be playing Championship football once again and can put the last four League One years firmly behind them.  

Luke Garbutt scored Ipswich Town's first League One goal, away at Burton in August 2019

Ipswich Town record v League One opponents 

Burton Albion – P8 W7 D0 L1 – 21 points 

Accrington Stanley – P8 W6 D0 L2 – 18 points 

Shrewsbury Town – P7 W5 D2 L0 – 17 points 

Fleetwood Town – P8 W4 D2 L2 – 14 points 

Gillingham – P6 W4 D1 L1 – 13 points 

MK Dons – P7 W3 D4 L0 – 13 points 

Lincoln City – P8 W3 D2 L3 – 11 points 

Wycombe Wanderers P6 W3 D2 L1 – 11 points 

Bristol Rovers – P5 W3 D1 L1 – 10 points 

Doncaster Rovers – P5 W3 D1 L1 – 10 points 

Plymouth Argyle – P6 W3 D1 L2 – 10 points 

AFC Wimbledon – P6 W2 D3 L1 – 9 points 

Charlton Athletic – P6 W2 D2 L2 – 8 points 

Crewe Alexandra – P4 W2 D2 L0 – 8 points 

Morecambe - P4 W2 D2 L0 – 8 points 

Oxford United – P8 W1 D5 L2 – 8 points 

Portsmouth – P7 W2 D2 L3 – 8 points 

Blackpool – P4 W2 D1 L1 – 7 points 

Bolton Wanderers - P5 W2 D1 L2 – 7 points 

Peterborough United – P6 W2 D1 L3 – 7 points 

Rochdale – P3 W2 D1 L0 – 7 points 

Derby County – P2 W2 D0 L0 – 6 points 

Exeter City – P2 W2 D0 L0 – 6 points 

Forest Green Rovers – P2 W2 D0 L0 – 6 points 

Port Vale – P2 W2 D0 L0 – 6 points 

Tranmere Rovers - P2 W2 D0 L0 – 6 points 

Wigan Athletic – P4 W1 D3 L0 – 6 points 

Cambridge Untied – P 4 W1 D2 L1 – 5 points 

Barnsley – P2 W1 D1 L0 – 4 points 

Cheltenham Town – P4 W0 D3 L1 – 3 points 

Hull City - P2 W1 D0 L1 – 3 points 

Sheffield Wednesday - P4 W0 D3 L1 – 3 points 

Southend United - P1 W1 D0 L0 – 3 points 

Swindon Town – P2 W1 D0 L1 – 3 points 

Sunderland – P6 W0 D2 L4 – 2 points 

Coventry City – P2 W0 D1 L1 – 1 point 

Northampton Town – P2 W0 D1 L1 – 1 point 

Rotherham United – P4 W0 D0 L4 – 0 points 

Kayden Jackson is one of only two League One centurions for Ipswich Town (Image: © Copyright Stephen Waller)

Ipswich Town League One appearances (2019-2023) 

128 - Woolfenden 

107 - Jackson 

94 – Donacien 

84 – Chaplin 

80 - Walton 

79 – Burns 

78 - Morsy 

77 - Norwood 

70 – Chambers 

64 - Judge 

63 – G Edwards 

57 – Holy 

54 - Burgess 

53 – Downes, Dozzell 

50 – Edmundson, K Edwards, Evans 

49 – Vincent-Young 

46 - Ladapo 

45 – Bishop 

44 – Aluko 

43 – Bonne, Davis 

41 - Nsiala 

40 – Wilson, Harness 

37 - Sears 

35 – Nolan 

33 – Skuse 

32 - Celina 

30 – Kenlock, Ward 

28 – Garbutt, Bennetts 

26 – Huws 

24 - McGuinness 

23 - Keane 

22 – Dobra, Drinan, Penney, Pigott 

21 - Hirst 

20 – Hawkins, Clarke 

19 – Humphreys, Broadhead 

18 - Parrott 

17 – Lankester, Bakinson, Thompson, John-Jules 

16 - Ball 

15 – Norris, Harrop, Fraser, Luongo 

14 – Rowe, Carroll, Leigh 

13 – Harper, Hladky 

10 – Georgiou, Cornell 

9 - Keogh 

8 – El Mizouni 

7 – Earl 

6 – McGavin, Coulson, Ahadme 

5 - Thomas 

4 – Simpson, Clements 

2 – Matheson, Baggott, Barry 

1 – Roberts, Gibbs, Nydam, Camara 

Ipswich Town will be playing Championship football next season (Image: Steve Waller)

Ipswich Town League One scorers (2019-2023) 

35 – Chaplin 

26 - Norwood 

20 – Burns 

18 – Jackson 

17 – Ladapo 

12 - Bonne 

8 – Broadhead, G Edwards 

7 – Morsy, Judge 

6 – Evans, Harness, Hirst, Celina 

5 – Nolan, Garbutt 

4 – Edmundson, Woolfenden, Bishop 

3 – Davis, K Edwards, John-Jules, Aluko, Chambers, Keane 

2 – Burgess, Humphreys, Luongo, Bakinson, Pigott, Lankester, Vincent-Young 

1 – Fraser, Penney, Bennetts, Drinan, Hawkins, Huws, McGuinness, Parrott, Sears, Wilson, Downes, Rowe 

Ipswich Town have been promoted to the Championship (Image: Ross Halls)