2011–12 Ipswich Town F.C. season explained

The 2011–12 season was Ipswich Town's tenth consecutive season in The Football League Championship, the second-highest division in the English football league system. In addition to competing in The Championship, Ipswich Town also competed in the League Cup and the FA Cup.

Ipswich were knocked out of the FA Cup in their first match, the third round, against Hull City and lost to Northampton Town in the first round of the League Cup. Winning their final league match, Ipswich avoided their worst league finish for 55 years, ending the season in 15th position, and becoming the longest continually serving member of The Championship courtesy of Coventry City's relegation to League One.

Season summary

Pre-season

The 2011–12 season was Paul Jewell's first full season as manager of Ipswich Town. Many regular first-team players from the previous season left the club in the summer of 2011 including Márton Fülöp, Gareth McAuley and club captain David Norris. Young striker Connor Wickham was also sold to Sunderland on 29 June for a fee of over £8 million. New signings were made including strikers Michael Chopra and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas from Cardiff City and Arsenal respectively for fees of around £1 million each. Young left-back Aaron Cresswell was signed from Tranmere Rovers for a fee of around £250,000. Jewell also added experienced players to his squad, including former England internationals Lee Bowyer and Richard Wright, centre-backs Ívar Ingimarsson and Ibrahima Sonko, as well as striker Nathan Ellington who had previously played under Jewell at former clubs Wigan Athletic and Derby County. The previous seasons Player of the Season Jimmy Bullard was also signed permanently on a free transfer from Hull City following his loan spell the previous season. The loan signings of goalkeeper David Stockdale and Republic of Ireland internationals Keith Andrews and Daryl Murphy were also made to bolster the squad.

August to December

Ipswich made a winning start to the season, with new signing Michael Chopra scoring a brace in a 3–0 away win over Bristol City at Ashton Gate to take Ipswich to the top of the Championship table.^[1] Ipswich drew Football League Two side Northampton Town in the first round of the Football League Cup. Ipswich exited the League Cup at the first round following a 1–2 home loss, having initially lead the match through a goal from Jay Emmanuel-Thomas. The opening day league win was followed by a poor run of three straight losses in the league, including heavy defeats against Southampton and Peterborough United. Following this poor run, Ipswich managed to improve their form over the following eight games to get back into the play-off places. This improved run of form was followed by an appalling run of seven consecutive defeats to put Ipswich close to the relegation zone. This run looked set to continue as Ipswich found themselves 0–2 down at half-time away against Barnsley on 10 December, however an impressive second-half come-back saw Ipswich win the match 5–3 following second-half goals from Michael Chopra, Danny Collins, Jason Scotland and a brace from Keith Andrews.^[2] Ipswich followed this up with a 1–0 home win over Derby County at Portman Road,^[3]

January transfer window

Ipswich had a relatively quiet January transfer window, with goalkeeper Alex McCarthy joining on loan from Reading to provide competition following David Stockdale's loan return to Fulham in December. Scottish midfielder Ryan Stevenson was also signed from Heart of Midlothian for a fee of £50,000. There were no major departures from the club, although it was agreed that summer signing Ívar Ingimarsson's contract would be terminated by mutual consent, following which he decided to retire from football shortly after.

January to May

Another poor run followed leading up until late January, including a third round FA Cup exit to Hull City following a 3–1 away loss on 9 January.^[4] Ipswich managed to end this poor run with their biggest win of the season on 31 January, beating West Ham United 5–1 at Portman Road, with goals from Michael Chopra, Daryl Murphy, Lee Martin and a brace from Jay Emmanuel-Thomas.^[5] Ipswich went on to win the next three league matches to put a four game winning run together to take them away from the relegation zone. In February, Carlos Edwards took over as captain from current club captain Grant Leadbitter.^[6]

On 31 March 2012, the South Stand at Portman Road was renamed The Sir Alf Ramsey Stand in honour of former Ipswich and England manager Sir Alf Ramsey. The unveiling of the renamed stand took place before a home match against Barsnely. Prior to kick-off, club captain Carlos Edwards lead the Ipswich squad to applaud the members of the 1961–62 First Division title winning side including Ray Crawford, Andy Nelson, Larry Carberry, John Compton, Doug Moran and Ted Phillips, who had been invited to the club's directors box as part of the unveiling of The Sir Alf Ramsey Stand. Ipswich went on to win the match 1–0.^[7]

Ipswich followed-up their improved form in February with another consistent run throughout March, beginning the month with a 3–0 home win over Bristol City at Portman Road.^[8] Draws against Southampton and Hull City were followed by a 3–2 home win against Peterborough United, avenging the defeat to Peterborough earlier in the season.^[9] A run of 7 wins in 12 matches across February and March solidified Ipswich's place in mid-table following a poor first-half of the season.

Ipswich did not win any of their next five matches before ending the season with a 3–2 away win over Doncaster Rovers on the final day of the season, a match in which manager Paul Jewell gave academy graduate Byron Lawrence his first-team debut as a second-half substitute at the age of 16 years and 47 days old, making him the club's second youngest ever debutante after former striker Connor Wickham.^[10]

Post-season

An inconsistent season saw Ipswich finish 15th in the Championship, having not spent any time in the relegation zone during the season whilst never putting together a substantial challenge to get into the play-off places. The team suffered from a very poor defensive record, conceding 77 goals in the league, the joint second highest goals conceded of any team in the division, with only bottom placed side Doncaster Rovers conceding more goals than Ipswich, although only the division's top five placed sides scored more than Ipswich's 69 league goals, making them the highest scoring of any side to finish outside of the play-off positions. Striker Michael Chopra finished the season as Ipswich's top goal-scorer with 14 goals in his debut season at the club. Left-back Aaron Cresswell won the club's Player of the Season award for his excellent form during the campaign, with new skipper Carlos Edwards rounding off an impressive campaign by earning the Players' Player of the Season award. Striker Jason Scotland won the goal of the season award for his 25-yard equalizer away against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on 14 April.

First-team squad

Out on loan

First-team coaching staff

Position	Name
scope=row	Manager	Paul Jewell
scope=row	Assistant Manager	Chris Hutchings
scope=row	Assistant Manager	Sean McCarthy
scope=row	Goalkeeping Coach	Malcolm Webster
scope=row	Fitness Coach	Andy Liddell
scope=row	Head of Fitness Development & Match Preparations	Steve Williams
scope=row	Head Physiotherapist	Matt Byard
scope=row	Assistant Head Physiotherapist	Alex Chapman
scope=row	Performance Analyst	Jon Bickers
scope=row	Kitman	Paul Beesley

Competitions

Football League Championship

See main article: 2011–12 Football League Championship.

April

FA Cup

See main article: 2011–12 FA Cup.

Football League Cup

See main article: 2011–12 Football League Cup.

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Fee	Ref.
10 June 2011					£1,000,000	[11] [12]
13 June 2011					Free transfer	[13]
21 June 2011					Free transfer	[14]
1 July 2011					£240,000	[15]
10 July 2011					Free transfer	[16]
26 July 2011					£1,100,000	[17]
23 August 2011					Free transfer	[18]
25 August 2011					Free transfer	[19]
26 August 2011					Free transfer	[20]
30 January 2012					£50,000	[21]

Loans in

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	From	Date until	Ref.
26 July 2011					14 December 2011	[22]
12 August 2011					30 January 2012	[23]
25 August 2011					30 June 2011	[24]
9 September 2011					17 December 2011	[25]
30 September 2011					31 December 2011	[26]
9 January 2012					11 April 2012	[27]

Transfers out

Date	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Fee	Ref.
23 May 2011					Free transfer	[28]
15 June 2011					Free transfer	[29]
29 June 2011					£8,100,000	[30]
29 June 2011					Free transfer	[31]
1 July 2011					Released	[32]
1 July 2011					Free transfer
1 July 2011					Released	[33]
1 July 2011					Free transfer	[34]
1 July 2011					Free transfer
1 July 2011					Free transfer
1 July 2011					Free transfer	[35]
1 July 2011					Released	[36]
1 July 2011					Free transfer	[37]
1 July 2011					Free transfer	[38]
1 July 2011					Released	[39]
30 July 2011					Free transfer	[40]
6 August 2011					Free transfer	[41]
23 November 2011					Free transfer	[42]
9 January 2012						[43]
17 January 2012					Free transfer	[44]
20 January 2012					Free transfer	[45]
8 March 2012					Free transfer	[46]

Loans out

Date from	Position	Nationality	Name	To	Date until	Ref.
31 August 2011					30 November 2011	[47]
15 September 2011					19 January 2012	[48]
23 September 2011					8 December 2011	[49]
24 November 2011					20 January 2012	[50]
24 November 2011					17 January 2012	[51]
25 November 2011					14 January 2012	[52]
19 January 2012					30 June 2012	[53]

New contracts

Number	Position	Nationality	Name	Contract length	Expiry	Ref.
3				1 year	2015	[54]
29				1.5 years	2013	[55]
22				3 years	2015	[56]
28				1.5 years	2013	[57]
19				1 year	2013	[58]

Squad statistics

All statistics updated as of end of season

Appearances and goals

|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Goalkeepers|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Defenders|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Midfielders|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Forwards|-! colspan=14 style=background:#dcdcdc; text-align:center| Players transferred out during the season

Goalscorers

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Championship	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
10	FW		Michael Chopra	14	0	0	14
15	MF		Keith Andrews	9	0	0	9
14	FW		Jason Scotland	7	1	0	8
9	FW		Jay Emmanuel-Thomas	6	0	1	7
6	MF		Grant Leadbitter	5	0	0	5
11	MF		Lee Martin	5	0	0	5
27	FW		Daryl Murphy	4	0	0	4
25	DF		Danny Collins	3	0	0	3
8	MF		Lee Bowyer	2	0	0	2
17	MF		Andy Drury	2	0	0	2
20	DF		Tommy Smith	2	0	0	2
22	MF		Josh Carson	2	0	0	2
3	DF		Aaron Cresswell	1	0	0	1
21	MF		Jimmy Bullard	1	0	0	1
31	DF		Ibrahima Sonko	1	0	0	1
Own goal				2	0	0	2
Total				64	1	1	66

Clean sheets

width=0%	No.	width=0%	Nat	width=0%	Player	width=0%	Championship	width=0%	FA Cup	width=0%	League Cup	width=0%	Total
12		Arran Lee-Barrett	5	0	0	5
13		David Stockdale	5	0	0	5
32		Alex McCarthy	2	0	0	2
Total			12	0	0	12

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Championship		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
11	MF		Lee Martin	4	1	0	0	0	0	4	1
6	MF		Grant Leadbitter	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
20	DF		Tommy Smith	1	2	1	0	0	0	2	2
3	DF		Aaron Cresswell	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1
32	GK		Alex McCarthy	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
5	DF		Damien Delaney	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
8	MF		Lee Bowyer	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
31	DF		Ibrahima Sonko	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
19	MF		Luke Hyam	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
15	MF		Keith Andrews	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
9	FW		Jay Emmanuel-Thomas	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
10	FW		Michael Chopra	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
22	MF		Josh Carson	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
25	DF		Danny Collins	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
13	GK		David Stockdale	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1	GK		Arran Lee-Barrett	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
7	MF		Carlos Edwards	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
27	FW		Daryl Murphy	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Total				53	6	1	0	0	0	54	6

Awards

Player awards

Award	Player	Ref
Player of the Year	Aaron Cresswell	[59]
Players' Player of the Year	Carlos Edwards	[60]
Young Player of the Year	Gunnar Thorsteinsson
Goal of the Season	Jason Scotland

Notes and References

1. News: Bristol City 0 - 3 Ipswich . . 6 August 2011 . 9 April 2021.
2. News: Barnsley 3 - 5 Ipswich . . 10 December 2011 . 9 April 2021.
3. News: Ipswich 1 - 0 Derby . . 17 December 2011 . 9 April 2021.
4. News: Hull 3 - 1 Ipswich . . 7 January 2012 . 9 April 2021.
5. News: Ipswich 5 - 1 West Ham . . 31 January 2012 . 9 April 2021.
6. News: Jewell: Captaincy Change No Slight on Grant . TWTD . 6 March 2012 . 9 April 2021.
7. News: Legend Crawford Had Tear in His Eye . TWTD . 2 April 2012 . 9 April 2021.
8. News: Ipswich Town 3 - 0 Bristol City . . 3 March 2012 . 19 August 2021.
9. News: Ipswich Town 3 - 2 Peterborough United . . 17 March 2012 . 19 August 2021.
10. News: Doncaster 2 - 3 Ipswich . . 28 April 2012 . 9 April 2021.
11. News: Michael Chopra joins Ipswich Town from Cardiff . 7 June 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
12. News: Jewell reveals Chopra fee . EatSleepSports . 10 June 2011 . 11 October 2011.
13. News: Ivar Ingimarsson to leave Reading for Ipswich Town . 13 June 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
14. News: Watford's Nathan Ellington seals move to Ipswich Town . 21 June 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
15. News: Ipswich Town sign Tranmere defender Aaron Cresswell . July 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
16. News: Midfielder Lee Bowyer joins Ipswich Town . 10 July 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
17. Web site: Jay Emmanuel-Thomas at Sky Sports . Sky Sports . 11 December 2019.
18. Web site: Wright Back in Blue as Reserves Draw. Independent Ipswich Town. 23 August 2011. 22 September 2013.
19. News: Jimmy Bullard and Daryl Murphy join Ipswich Town . 24 August 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
20. News: Ibrahima Sonko seals one-year Ipswich Town deal . 26 August 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
21. News: Ipswich Town sign Hearts midfielder Ryan Stevenson . 28 January 2012 . . 11 December 2019.
22. News: Fulham keeper David Stockdale joins Ipswich Town . 25 July 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
23. News: Ipswich Town sign Keith Andrews from Blackburn Rovers . 11 August 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
24. News: Jimmy Bullard and Daryl Murphy join Ipswich Town . 24 August 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
25. News: Ipswich Town sign Stoke City's Danny Collins on loan . 6 September 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
26. Web site: Reece Wabara at Sky Sports . Sky Sports . 11 December 2019.
27. News: Ipswich Town sign Reading keeper Alex McCarthy on loan . 9 January 2012 . . 11 December 2019.
28. News: West Brom sign Ipswich defender Gareth McAuley . 23 May 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
29. News: Portsmouth agree deal for David Norris . 15 June 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
30. News: Sunderland sign Ipswich striker Connor Wickham . 22 June 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
31. Web site: Civelli Released . . 11 December 2019 .
32. Web site: Pablo and Lisbie's Exits Confirmed . TWTD . 3 April 2020.
33. Web site: David Cowley at Soccerbase . Soccerbase . 29 February 2020.
34. News: Town announce three players are to leave Portman Road. Ipswich Star. 5 April 2011. 8 August 2015. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304042409/http://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/sport/town_announce_three_players_are_to_leave_portman_road_1_855828. dead.
35. Web site: Murphy Signs for QPR . TWTD . 10 August 2011 . 9 April 2020.
36. Web site: Quinn Released . TWTD . 8 April 2011 . 9 April 2020.
37. Web site: Troy Brown exits Ipswich Town . 31 May 2011. 11 June 2011. BBC Sport.
38. Web site: Eastman Joins Colchester . TWTD . 19 May 2011 . 9 April 2020.
39. Web site: Lambe Sacrificed . TWTD . 6 May 2011 . 9 April 2020.
40. Web site: Hourihane Joins Plymouth . . 11 December 2019 .
41. Web site: West Brom Sign Márton Fülöp . https://archive.today/20120805192435/http://www.wba.co.uk/page/News/0,,10366~2412143,00.html . dead . 5 August 2012 . . 11 December 2019.
42. News: Ipswich Town release midfielder Colin Healy . 23 November 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
43. News: Ipswich Town sign Reading keeper Alex McCarthy on loan . 9 January 2012 . . 11 December 2019.
44. News: Ipswich Town terminate Tamas Priskin deal . 17 January 2012 . . 11 December 2019.
45. News: Ipswich Town cancel Shane O'Connor contract . 20 January 2012 . . 11 December 2019.
46. Web site: Griffiths Joins Sudbury . TWTD . 8 March 2012 . 9 April 2020.
47. Web site: Griffiths Joins Plymouth on Loan . . 11 December 2019 .
48. News: Crawley Town sign Claude Davis and Andy Drury . 15 September 2011 . . 11 December 2019.
49. Web site: Peters Joins Bournemouth on Loan . . 11 December 2019.
50. Web site: Shane Joins Port Vale on Loan . . 11 December 2019.
51. Web site: Priskin Joins Derby on Loan . . 11 December 2019.
52. News: Swindon Town loan move for Ipswich striker Ronan Murray . . 11 December 2019.
53. News: Ronan Murray returns to Swindon Town on loan . . 11 December 2019.
54. Web site: Cresswell Signs New Contract . . 11 December 2019 .
55. Web site: Ainsley Signs New Contract . . 11 December 2019 .
56. Web site: Carson Signs New Contract . . 11 December 2019 .
57. News: Ronan Murray returns to Swindon Town on loan . . 11 December 2019.
58. Web site: Hyam Signs New Contract . . 11 December 2019.
59. News: Dave . Gooderham . Aaron Cresswell wins Supporters Player of the Year . East Anglian Daily Times . Ipswich . 22 April 2012 . 5 December 2017 . 6 December 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171206074610/http://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/aaron-cresswell-wins-supporters-player-of-the-year-1-1356096 . dead .
60. News: Edwards Players' Player of the Year . TWTD . 24 April 2012 . 24 March 2020.