2008–09 Ipswich Town F.C. season

During the 2008–09 English football season, Ipswich Town competed in the Football League Championship.

Ipswich Town

2008–09 season
Chairman	Marcus Evans
Manager	Jim Magilton (until 22 April) Roy Keane (from 23 April)
Stadium	Portman Road
Championship	9th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Jon Stead (12) All: Jon Stead (13)
Highest home attendance	28,274 (vs. Norwich City, 19 Apr 2009)
Lowest home attendance	10,477 (vs. Leyton Orient, 12 Aug 2008)
Average home league attendance	20,961
Home colours Away colours

Season summary

Ipswich Town had an average season in the Championship, finishing in ninth place, eight points away from the playoffs. Manager Jim Magilton was sacked in April after three seasons in charge of Ipswich and was replaced by former Sunderland boss Roy Keane.

Kit

Ipswich Town retained the previous season's home kit, manufactured by English company Mitre, although Marcus Evans became the new kit sponsor. An all-red strip with black trimmings was Town's away kit.

Players

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  ENG Richard Wright 2 DF  ENG David Wright 4 DF  NIR Gareth McAuley (captain) 5 DF  IRL Alex Bruce[notes 1] 7 MF  IRL Owen Garvan 8 MF  ENG Tommy Miller 9 FW  ESP Pablo Couñago 10 MF  ENG David Norris 11 FW  JAM Kevin Lisbie[notes 2] 12 DF  CAN Jaime Peters 13 MF  ARG Luciano Civelli 14 FW  ENG Jon Stead 15 DF  NED Pim Balkestein

No. Pos. Nation Player 17 FW  ENG Dean Bowditch 18 FW  ENG Danny Haynes 19 FW  IRL Jonathan Walters[notes 3] 20 FW  MEX Giovani dos Santos (on loan from Tottenham Hotspur) 21 DF  ESP Iván Campo 22 DF  GER Moritz Volz (on loan from Fulham) 25 MF  IRL Alan Quinn 26 MF  MKD Veliče Šumulikoski 27 GK  IRL Shane Supple 28 GK  POL Bartosz Białkowski (on loan from Southampton) 30 MF  ENG Matt Richards 33 DF  WAL Ben Thatcher[notes 4]

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 6 DF  ENG Richard Naylor (to Leeds United) 14 FW  IRL Alan Lee (to Crystal Palace)

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  ENG Darren Ambrose (on loan from Charlton Athletic) 23 DF  ENG Dan Harding (on loan to Reading)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  NIR Chris Casement 24 FW  IRL Billy Clarke 29 MF  ENG Ed Upson 35 DF  ENG Tommy Smith[notes 5] 36 MF  ENG Liam Trotter

No. Pos. Nation Player 37 DF  ENG Kurt Robinson 38 FW  ENG Jordan Rhodes[notes 6] 39 MF  ENG Jai Reason 40 FW  ENG Connor Wickham

Competitions

Football League Championship

Main article: 2008–09 Football League Championship

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
7	Cardiff City	46	19	17	10	65	53	+12	74
8	Swansea City	46	16	20	10	63	50	+13	68
9	Ipswich Town	46	17	15	14	62	53	+9	66
10	Bristol City	46	15	16	15	54	54	0	61
11	Queens Park Rangers	46	15	16	15	42	44	−2	61

Updated to match(es) played on 3 May 2009. Source: The Football League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Ipswich Town's score comes first[1]

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
9 August 2008	Preston North End	H	1-2	22,307	Lisbie
16 August 2008	Burnley	A	3-0	11,312	Trotter, Lisbie, Jordan (o.g.)
23 August 2008	Wolverhampton Wanderers	H	0-2	21,483
30 August 2008	Watford	A	1-2	16,345	Couñago
13 September 2008	Reading	H	2-0	21,366	Stead, Walters
17 September 2008	Southampton	A	2-2	14,916	Garvan, Quinn
20 September 2008	Sheffield Wednesday	A	0-0	17,198
27 September 2008	Crystal Palace	H	1-1	19,032	Stead
30 September 2008	Barnsley	H	3-0	18,177	Stead, Garvan, Campo
4 October 2008	Charlton Athletic	A	1-2	20,643	Cranie (o.g.)
18 October 2008	Swansea City	H	2-2	20,026	Couñago (2)
21 October 2008	Nottingham Forest	A	1-1	19,455	Miller (pen)
25 October 2008	Plymouth Argyle	A	3-1	12,294	Garvan (2), Lisbie
28 October 2008	Charlton Athletic	H	1-1	20,352	Garvan
1 November 2008	Queens Park Rangers	H	2-0	20,966	Stead (2)
8 November 2008	Blackpool	A	1-0	7,349	David Norris
15 November 2008	Doncaster Rovers	A	0-1	10,823
22 November 2008	Derby County	H	2-0	20,239	Couñago, Walters
25 November 2008	Birmingham City	A	1-2	15,689	Bruce
29 November 2008	Sheffield United	H	1-1	19,785	Miller (pen)
7 December 2008	Norwich City	A	0-2	25,472
10 December 2008	Bristol City	H	3-1	17,749	Walters, Couñago, Fontaine
13 December 2008	Cardiff City	H	1-2	19,665	Stead
20 December 2008	Coventry City	A	2-2	15,598	Lisbie (2)
26 December 2008	Birmingham City	H	0-1	23,536
28 December 2008	Derby County	A	1-0	28,358	Walters
10 January 2009	Sheffield Wednesday	H	1-1	22,213	Couñago
17 January 2009	Crystal Palace	A	4-1	15,348	Garvan, David Norris, Lisbie, Hill (o.g.)
27 January 2009	Barnsley	A	2-1	11,183	Stead (2)
31 January 2009	Plymouth Argyle	H	0-0	20,333
7 February 2009	Swansea City	A	0-3	14,020
14 February 2009	Blackpool	H	1-1	19,299	Miller
18 February 2009	Nottingham Forest	H	2-1	19,930	Perch (o.g.), Wright
21 February 2009	Queens Park Rangers	A	3-1	13,904	Stead, Couñago, Walters
28 February 2009	Preston North End	A	2-3	12,709	Miller
3 March 2008	Southampton	H	0-3	20,040
10 March 2009	Wolverhampton Wanderers	A	0-0	22,227
14 March 2009	Reading	A	1-0	20,592	Stead
17 March 2009	Burnley	H	1-1	18,745	dos Santos
21 March 2009	Watford	H	0-0	21,434
4 April 2009	Sheffield United	A	0-2	25,315
11 April 2009	Doncaster Rovers	H	1-3	19,918	Garvan
13 April 2009	Bristol City	A	1-1	16,430	dos Santos (pen)
19 April 2009	Norwich City	H	3-2	28,274	Quinn, dos Santos (pen), Stead
25 April 2009	Cardiff City	A	3-0	19,129	Couñago, Wright, Stead
3 May 2009	Coventry City	H	2-1	27,225	dos Santos, Couñago

FA Cup

Main article: 2008–09 FA Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R3	3 January 2009	Chesterfield	H	3-0	12,524	Walters (pen), Couñago, Stead
R4	24 January 2009	Chelsea	A	1-3	41,137	Bruce

League Cup

Main article: 2008–09 Football League Cup

Round	Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Goalscorers
R1	12 August 2008	Leyton Orient	H	4-1	10,477	Haynes (2), Miller, Lee
R2	26 August 2008	Colchester United	H	2-1	17,084	Couñago, Lisbie
R3	24 September 2008	Wigan Athletic	H	1-4	13,803	Walters

Transfers

Transfers in

Date	Pos	Name	From	Fee	Ref
16 June 2008	DF	Pim Balkestein	Heerenveen	Undisclosed	[2]
18 June 2008	DF	Gareth McAuley	Leicester City	Undisclosed	[3]
30 June 2008	FW	Kevin Lisbie	Colchester United	£600,000	[4]
21 July 2008	GK	Richard Wright	West Ham United	Undisclosed	[5]
11 August 2008	DF	Iván Campo	Bolton Wanderers	Free transfer	[6]
14 August 2008	DF	Ben Thatcher	Charlton Athletic	Free transfer	[7]
15 September 2008	FW	Jon Stead	Sheffield United	Undisclosed	[8]
29 January 2009	MF	Luciano Civelli	Club Atlético Banfield	£1,000,000	[9]

Loans in

Date from	Pos	Name	From	Date until	Ref
28 August 2008	DF	Moritz Volz	Fulham	30 June 2009	[10]
1 September 2008	FW	Jon Stead	Sheffield United	15 September 2008	[11]
11 November 2008	MF	Darren Ambrose	Charlton Athletic	2 January 2009	[12]
13 March 2009	FW	Giovani dos Santos	Tottenham Hotspur	30 June 2009	[13]
17 March 2009	GK	Bartosz Białkowski	Southampton	30 June 2009	[14]

Transfers out

Date	Pos	Name	To	Fee	Ref
27 June 2008	MF	Gavin Williams	Bristol City	Undisclosed	[15]
1 July 2008	DF	Fabian Wilnis	Grays Athletic	Free transfer	[16]
1 July 2008	DF	Jason de Vos	Retired		[17]
1 July 2008	MF	Sylvain Legwinski	Free agent	Released	[18]
1 July 2008	DF	Sito	UD Salamanca	Free transfer	[19]
1 July 2008	GK	Nick Pope	Bury Town	Free transfer	[20]
1 July 2008	GK	Nick Colgan	Sunderland	Free transfer	[21]
1 July 2008	DF	Michael Synnott	Free agent	Released	[22]
29 July 2008	MF	Gary Roberts	Huddersfield Town	£250,000	[23]
30 August 2008	FW	Alan Lee	Crystal Palace	Undisclosed	[24]
2 February 2009	DF	Richard Naylor	Leeds United	Free transfer	[25]

Loans out

Date from	Pos	Name	From	Date until	Ref
1 August 2008	MF	Matt Richards	Brighton & Hove Albion	1 January 2009	[26]
8 August 2008	DF	Dan Harding	Southend United	1 January 2009	[27]
29 August 2008	DF	Chris Casement	Hamilton Academical	1 January 2009	[28]
1 September 2008	MF	Ed Upson	Stevenage Borough	1 January 2009	[29]
12 September 2008	FW	Jordan Rhodes	Rochdale	1 January 2009	[30]
18 September 2008	MF	Liam Trotter	Grimsby Town	1 January 2009	[31]
31 October 2008	FW	Dean Bowditch	Brentford	1 January 2009	[32]
27 November 2008	DF	Kurt Robinson	Northampton Town	27 December 2008	[33]
7 January 2009	DF	Chris Casement	Wycombe Wanderers	7 February 2009	[34]
8 January 2009	DF	Kurt Robinson	Rushden & Diamonds	8 February 2009	[35]
22 January 2009	MF	Jaime Peters	Gillingham	22 February 2009	[36]
23 January 2009	FW	Jordan Rhodes	Brentford	23 February 2009	[37]
29 January 2009	DF	Dan Harding	Reading	30 June 2009	[38]
1 February 2009	MF	Jai Reason	Cambridge United	30 June 2009	[39]
23 February 2009	MF	Liam Trotter	Scunthorpe United	30 June 2009	[40]

Squad statistics

All statistics updated as of end of season

Appearances and goals

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Championship		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK		Richard Wright	50	0	46	0	2	0	2	0
27	GK		Shane Supple	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Defenders
2	DF		David Wright	36	1	34	1	2	0	0	0
4	DF		Gareth McAuley	39	0	35	0	2	0	2	0
5	DF		Alex Bruce	29	2	25	1	1+1	1	2	0
15	DF		Pim Balkestein	23	0	15+5	0	1	0	1+1	0
16	DF		Chris Casement	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
21	DF		Iván Campo	20	1	14+3	1	1	0	2	0
22	DF		Moritz Volz	23	0	20+2	0	0	0	1	0
33	DF		Ben Thatcher	23	0	20	0	1	0	2	0
35	DF		Tommy Smith	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
7	MF		Owen Garvan	39	7	22+15	7	1	0	0+1	0
8	MF		Tommy Miller	37	6	26+6	5	2	0	2+1	1
10	MF		David Norris	41	3	35+2	3	2	0	1+1	0
12	MF		Jamie Peters	3	0	2+1	0	0	0	0	0
13	MF		Luciano Civelli	8	0	8	0	0	0	0	0
25	MF		Alan Quinn	39	2	28+6	2	1+1	0	3	0
26	MF		Veliče Šumulikoski	27	0	22+4	0	1	0	0	0
30	MF		Matt Richards	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
36	MF		Liam Trotter	5	1	2+1	1	0	0	2	0
Forwards
9	FW		Pablo Couñago	47	11	26+18	9	2	1	1	1
11	FW		Kevin Lisbie	45	7	24+17	6	0+1	0	2+1	1
14	FW		Jon Stead	41	13	26+13	12	0+2	1	0	0
17	FW		Dean Bowditch	2	0	0+1	0	0	0	0+1	0
18	FW		Danny Haynes	29	2	8+16	0	1+1	0	1+2	2
19	FW		Jonathan Walters	41	7	30+6	5	2	1	3	1
20	FW		Giovani dos Santos	8	4	6+2	4	0	0	0	0
38	FW		Jordan Rhodes	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0
40	FW		Connor Wickham	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0
Players transferred out during the season
6	DF		Richard Naylor	25	0	20+3	0	0	0	2	0
14	FW		Alan Lee	4	1	2+1	0	0	0	1	1
20	MF		Darren Ambrose	9	0	6+3	0	0	0	0	0
23	DF		Dan Harding	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: end of season
Source: Competitions

Goalscorers

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Championship	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
14	FW		Jon Stead	12	1	0	13
9	FW		Pablo Couñago	9	1	1	11
7	MF		Owen Garvan	7	0	0	7
11	FW		Kevin Lisbie	6	0	1	7
19	FW		Jonathan Walters	5	1	1	7
8	MF		Tommy Miller	5	0	1	6
20	FW		Giovani dos Santos	4	0	0	4
10	MF		David Norris	3	0	0	3
5	DF		Alex Bruce	1	1	0	2
18	FW		Danny Haynes	0	0	2	2
25	MF		Alan Quinn	2	0	0	2
2	DF		David Wright	1	0	0	1
14	FW		Alan Lee	0	0	1	1
21	DF		Iván Campo	1	0	0	1
36	MF		Liam Trotter	1	0	0	1
Own goal				4	0	0	4
Total				61	4	7	72

Clean sheets

Number	Nation	Name	Championship	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1		Richard Wright	13	1	0	14
Total			13	1	0	14

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Name	Championship		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
2	DF	David Wright	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
4	DF	Gareth McAuley	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
5	DF	Alex Bruce	3	2	1	0	1	0	5	2
6	DF	Richard Naylor	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
7	MF	Owen Garvan	6	0	1	0	0	0	7	0
8	MF	Tommy Miller	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
9	FW	Pablo Couñago	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
10	MF	David Norris	6	1	1	0	1	0	8	1
14	FW	Jon Stead	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
15	DF	Pim Balkestein	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
16	DF	Chris Casement	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
18	FW	Danny Haynes	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
19	FW	Jonathan Walters	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
20	FW	Giovani dos Santos	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
21	DF	Iván Campo	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
22	DF	Moritz Volz	6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
25	MF	Alan Quinn	6	0	0	0	1	0	7	0
26	MF	Veliče Šumulikoski	4	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
33	DF	Ben Thatcher	5	1	0	0	0	0	5	1
Total			72	4	4	0	5	0	81	4

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions[41]

No. Pos. Nat. Name MS Notes 1 GK Richard Wright 50 20 RB David Wright 36 4 CB Gareth McAuley 39 5 CB Alex Bruce 28 33 LB Ben Thatcher 23 10 RM David Norris 30 8 CM Tommy Miller 30 14 CM Owen Garvan 23 Veliče Šumulikoski has 23 starts 25 LM Alan Quinn 32 9 CF Pablo Couñago 29 Kevin Lisbie has 26 starts 19 CF Jonathan Walters 35 Jon Stead has 26 starts

4–4–2 Formation Wright Wright McAuley(C) Bruce Thatcher Miller Quinn Garvan Norris Couñago Walters

Awards

Player awards

Award	Player	Ref
Player of the Year	Richard Wright	[42]
Players' Player of the Year	Richard Wright	[42]
Young Player of the Year	Connor Wickham	[42]
Goal of the Season	Jonathan Walters	[43]

Notes

1. Bruce was born in Norwich, England, but also qualified to represent Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland internationally through his grandmother and represented the Republic of Ireland at U-21 and B level before making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in May 2007; he would change his international allegiance to Northern Ireland in July 2011 and make his international debut for Northern Ireland in February 2013.
2. Lisbie was born in Hackney, England, but also qualified to represent Jamaica internationally and made his international debut for Jamaica in 2002.
3. Walters was born in Moreton, England, but also qualified to represent Republic of Ireland internationally through his mother and represented them at U-21 and B level before making his international debut for the Republic of Ireland in November 2010.
4. Thatcher was born in Swindon, England, and represented them at U-21 level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his grandmother and made his debut for Wales in March 2004.
5. Smith was born in Macclesfield, England, and represented them at U-17 and U-18 level, but was also raised in New Zealand and made his international debut for New Zealand in March 2010.
6. Rhodes was born in Oldham, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally through his father and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for Scotland in November 2011.

References

1. http://www.statto.com/football/teams/ipswich-town/2005-2006/results
2. "Ipswich sign defender Balkestein". BBC Football. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 16 June 2008.
3. "Ipswich Capture Defender McAuley". BBC Sport. 18 June 2008. Retrieved 18 June 2008.
4. "Ipswich sign U's striker Lisbie". BBC Sport. 19 July 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
5. "Ipswich re-sign goalkeeper Wright". BBC Sport. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
6. Campo completes move to Ipswich; BBC Sport, 11 August 2008
7. "Thatcher deal finally done". Green 'Un. 14 August 2008. Archived from the original on 16 March 2009. Retrieved 2008-08-14.
8. "Stead Completes Move From Sheffield United". TWTD. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
9. Plummer, Matt (28 January 2009). "Magilton hails 'immense' performance from Town". Harwich & Manningtree Standard. Newsquest. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
10. Derek Davis (28 August 2008). "Volz signs for Town". Green 'Un. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 7 December 2013.
11. "Stead signs for Ipswich on loan". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
12. "Ambrose rejoins Ipswich on loan". BBC Sport. 11 November 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
13. "Ipswich sign Dos Santos on loan". BBC Sport. 13 March 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2009.
14. "Bialkowski in Ipswich switch". Sky Sports. 18 March 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2009.
15. "Williams makes Bristol City move". BBC Sport. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2008.
16. "Dutch Giants in Town?". Ipswich Town F.C. Official Site. 23 June 2008. Archived from the original on 1 October 2008. Retrieved 23 June 2008.
17. "About Me…". Jason Devos. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
18. "Three Leave the Blues". TWTD. 4 May 2008. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
19. "Sito to exit Ipswich in clear-out". BBC Sport. 15 May 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
20. Watson, Stuart (18 June 2012). "'Never give up on your dream' – ex Ipswich Town youngster Nick Pope ready for the Championship with Charlton Athletic". Green 'Un. Archant Community Media. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
21. "Colgan Joins Sunderland". TWTD. 24 July 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
22. "Synnott Released". TWTD. 29 February 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
23. "Roberts joins Huddersfield for £250,000". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
24. "Ipswich sign Cardiff striker Lee". BBC Sport. 10 January 2006. Retrieved 25 May 2009.
25. "Naylor Leaves Town for Good". East Anglian Daily Times. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
26. "Matt Returns to Brighton". Ipswich Town Football Club. 1 August 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
27. "Harding completes loan move". Southend United F.C. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 10 August 2011.
28. "Chris Joins Hamilton". 29 August 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
29. "Upson Joins Stevenage on Loan". TWTD. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
30. "Rhodes on Rochdale move". TWTD. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
31. "Trotter goes to Grimsby". Ipswich Star. 18 September 2008. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
32. "Dean Completes Loan". Ipswich Town Official Site. 31 October 2008. Archived from the original on 17 February 2012. Retrieved 12 January 2009.
33. "Robinson Joins Northampton". TWTD. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
34. "Accies move for Casement". Sky Sports. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
35. "Robinson Joins Rushden". TWTD. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
36. "Rhodes to Brentford and Peters Joins Gillingham". TWTD. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
37. "Bees sign Ipswich striker on loan". BBC Sport. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2009.
38. "Ipswich loan Harding to Reading". BBC Sport. 29 January 2009.
39. "Reason Makes Senior Debut". TWTD. 18 February 2009. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
40. "Blues sign Irish youngster". Ipswich Star. 6 February 2009. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
41. http://www.11v11.com/teams/ipswich-town/tab/players/season/2009
42. "Richard Wright Wins Supporters Player of the Year". TWTD. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
43. "Wright the Players' Player of the Year". TWTD. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2020.

External links

• Ipswich Town squad for 2008–09 season
• Kits for 2008–09 Championship clubs