“I don’t think it’s a surprise, but we didn’t set this goal. We just wanted to be as good as we could be.”
Kieran McKenna reflected on Ipswich Town’s second successive promotion to the Premier League at a parade on an open-top bus, celebrating a feat only achieved by four teams since the Premier League was founded in 1992.
Ipswich followed Watford (1997–1999), Manchester City (1998–2000), Norwich City (2009–11) and Southampton (2010–12) in becoming the fifth team in the Premier League era to achieve two consecutive promotions from the third tier to the top flight.
George Edmundson leads Ipswich’s promotion celebrations (Stephen Pond/Getty Images)
Thanks to their positive and courageous style of play, they finished second in the Championship behind Leicester City and automatically secured a place in the 2024–25 Premier League season after 22 years in the lower leagues.
“We want to play from the back and build up through the thirds of the pitch,” said Ipswich midfielder Massimo Luongo The athlete last October. “I wouldn’t say we’re a possession-oriented team – we want to get down the field quickly, but we have a number of ways to do that. We can go over the top, down the sides or sometimes across the field.”
McKenna’s team plays in a 4-2-3-1 and has clear characteristics with and without the ball. A common feature of Ipswich’s possession game is the left winger who advances into midfield as a second number 10.
Last season, Marcus Harness, Omari Hutchinson and Nathan Broadhead operated in this role, allowing left-back Leif Davis to advance down the wings and attacking midfielder Conor Chaplin to support the right wing in the build-up phase.
Depending on how far Davis pushes forward on the left side of the pitch, Ipswich’s on-ball formation switches between a 3-2-4-1 and an asymmetrical 4-2-3-1, timing his movements to help break through the opposition.
Ipswich primarily play the ball forward through the middle of the pitch, either by finding Chaplin, the narrow left winger, or by combining with the centre forward to get him into a position between the lines.
In this example, away to Middlesbrough last December, Luke Woolfenden plays a line through ball to the retreating George Hirst, with left winger Hutchinson taking up a tight position in midfield.
Hirst’s movement and backheel to the right triggers Hutchinson to attack the space behind a disorganised defensive line. Chaplin sees the opportunity and moves towards the ball…
…to find Hutchinson’s run behind the defence before the left winger scored to double Ipswich’s lead.
Another way to get the ball forward is when Chaplin moves to the right. The left winger’s positioning means that Ipswich still have a player to attack the spaces between the lines when Chaplin moves to the byline to assist in the build-up play.
Chaplin’s winning goal against Blackburn Rovers last March begins with him moving towards the right half-space…
…and thus offers himself as a passing option for Ipswich right-back Axel Tuanzebe to bring the ball forward. Blackburn’s left-back cannot advance on the Ipswich midfielder as Hutchinson is on the right wing, giving Chaplin time until his counterpart arrives in midfield.
Ipswich’s number 10 lets the ball roll over him, shields it with his body and controls it with his left foot before dribbling forward…
…and find Davis’ run down the left wing. Broadhead’s tight positioning also plays a role in this attack.
Broadhead’s foray forward creates more space in the box, drawing Blackburn’s other central midfielder with him. Davis then cuts the pass back to Chaplin, who scores into the bottom corner.
Davis’ forays down the left flank and his impressive performance from set pieces helped him to the highest number of assists (18) in the league last season.
Davis has an important role to play due to Ipswich’s attacking style of play and as the team’s left winger, he can act as the main creative focal point on the left side of the pitch.
“My style of play in the team is more advanced than that of a normal left-back. I don’t really have anyone in front of me and I have to do a lot myself on that side,” Davis told Sky Sports last November.
He also explained how McKenna improved his game defensively and offensively. “I didn’t think I had that quality in the final third, that wasn’t my strength, but now I would say it is,” Davis said.
“He’s worked with me in training to get me more comfortable with the ball at my feet in the final third and to find passes instead of just putting it in the box and hoping for the best.”
McKenna’s game plan also allows Davis to attack the baseline, which helps him get into dangerous positions to make cutbacks and create chances, as shown in the graphic below.
Ipswich constantly try to put Davis in advantageous situations, either by combining and finding his overlapping runs on the left or with long passes beyond the opponent’s back line.
In this example against Sheffield Wednesday last September, Luongo Davis’ run behind the defence finds…
… and the left-back has several options to choose from in attack: Freddie Ladapo and Wes Burns attack the penalty area, while Chaplin is in position to receive the pass behind them.
The movements of Ladapo and Burns force the Sheffield Wednesday defence to retreat and Davis finds Chaplin near the penalty spot…
… so that the midfielder can score the decisive goal.
Five months later, Ipswich scored an almost identical goal away at Swansea City. Davis played the back pass to Chaplin and Kieffer Moore’s run to the far post made room for the midfielder, who again scored the winner.
Cutbacks are one of Ipswich’s main solutions in the final third, with the positioning of Chaplin and the narrow left winger providing cutback options, complemented by the movement of the centre forward and Burns in the box.
Last season, Ipswich scored the second most goals (10) from cutbacks in the Championship behind Southampton (14). They also had the second highest number of expected goals (xG) from cutback situations in the league, as shown in the graph below.
Another aspect of Ipswich’s game that should increase their chances of success in the Premier League is their set pieces. Recent seasons have shown just how important set pieces are in the top flight. They can make the difference between survival and relegation.
Last season, Ipswich had an impressive set-piece record, both defensively and offensively. Measuring goals conceded per 100 set-pieces allows for a fair comparison of all teams, and McKenna’s side had the fourth-best rate (2.6) in the Championship last season.
With their 20 goals from set pieces, they achieved the third best goals ratio per 100 set pieces (5.1) in the league, after Norwich and Cardiff City.
Without the ball, Ipswich can be proactive with their high pressing, which is all about pinning the opposition down in wide areas with their front four. The centre forward’s main job when pressing is to force the opposition’s centre back to play over the full back, with Chaplin covering the nearest midfielder and the Ipswich winger covering the opposition’s full back near the ball.
Meanwhile, Ipswich’s far winger moves inside to mark the opposition midfielder or get into a position where he can put pressure on the other centre back. Here, Harness moves inside from the left wing to help smother the Hull City defence.
When the ball is played to the other side, Ipswich right winger Burns moves inside to put pressure on the centre-back if necessary.
The downside to this pressing strategy is that Ipswich’s press can be broken if the opposition quickly plays the ball to the other side or combines to find the free full-back. However, McKenna’s safety nets are Davis on the left and midfielder Sam Morsy covering the right wing.
Captain Morsy’s initiative without the ball and ability to win possession back quickly solidifies the midfield alongside Luongo and strengthens Ipswich’s play out of possession. Last season, Ipswich conceded the fourth lowest xG per game without penalties (0.98) in the Championship, highlighting how their defensive organisation limits the opposition’s quality chances.
Defensively and offensively, the Premier League will be a much tougher test for this Ipswich side. Teams with better pressing won’t give them as much time to combine through the thirds and more relentless attacking units will test their defensive solidity.
“We’re going to have to adapt again,” McKenna said after securing a second promotion. “This is a massive jump up and we’re going to try to keep the best of what we have and take it to a whole new level.”
