2006–07 Ipswich Town F.C. season

• 5 June 2006 - Jim Magilton replaces Joe Royle as manager.[1]
• 19 November 2006 - Town defeat Norwich City 3-1 in the East Anglian derby, with Danny Haynes scoring two late goals.[2]
• 28 April 2007 - Ipswich effectively relegate Leeds United with a draw at Elland Road. The game is stopped half a minute early because of crowd trouble, with the responsible fans removed from the ground. Referee Nigel Miller controversially brings the teams back out to end the game. Ipswich hold on to a draw and would have won the game had their goals not been ruled out for offside.[3]

Jim Magilton was appointed Ipswich Town manager in June 2006

The 2006–07 season was a transitional season for Ipswich Town. Joe Royle left his position as manager and was replaced by Jim Magilton on 5 June 2006, who was making the move from player to manager. Magilton continued to be registered as a player at the club although he would only feature in the first-team in an emergency situation. Following his appointment he stated that he was intending to play in reserve team games to use his experience to help the club's young players develop. Bryan Klug was appointed as first-team coach alongside Magilton.[1] He thanked Ipswich's fans for the positive reaction to his appointment once he had been revealed as the club's new manager.[4]

"I have had a fantastic response from the fans and I would like to thank them for that.

"I've had a great rapport with the supporters of this club since I first came here as a player and have been lifted again by the support I have had since taking over as manager.

"I think in many ways the fans at the club are the most passionate in the Championship because they care so much about everything that happens here.

"This is a community and Ipswich Town Football Club is the focal point and the people of the town want the club to be successful.

"I want it to be successful as well, so do my coaching staff, and I can tell you that the players will be the same. We will be giving it everything to take this club forward."

Following his appointment as manager, Magilton named Canadian international centre-back Jason de Vos as Ipswich's new club captain. Magilton also appointed new members to his coaching and back-room staff. Steve Foley was appointed as a coach on 9 June, who had been appointed to work with both the academy and first-team,[5] club physio Dave Williams was named the head of Ipswich's newly created sports science department.[6]

Ipswich were still financially recovering from administration, with limited funds restricting the playing budget. Magilton's first signing as manager saw Alex Bruce arrive from Birmingham City on a free transfer on 2 August 2006.[7] Ian Westlake was sold to Leeds United on 4 August for a reported fee of £400,000, potentially rising to £500,000 with add-ons, in a deal which also saw Dan Harding move in the other direction, signing a three-year deal with Ipswich.[8] French midfielder Sylvain Legwinski also joined on a free transfer from Fulham on 31 August, signing a two year contract with the club.[9] Stikers Sam Parkin and Nicky Forster also debarted for fees, joining Luton Town and Hull City respectively before the end of August. Magilton also utilized the loan market, with midfielders Simon Walton and Mark Noble joining on loan from Charlton Athletic and West Ham United respectively.[10] Republic of Ireland striker Jon Macken also joined on loan until January from Crystal Palace.[11]

The season began on the 5 August, with Magilton taking charge of his first game as Ipswich Town manager at home to Crystal Palace at Portman Road. Despite taking the lead through a first-half goal from the previos seasons top scorer Nicky Forster, Ipswich suffered a 1–2 opening day defeat due to second-half goals from Jobi McAnuff and former Ipswich Town striker James Scowcroft. The tough start to the season continued for Magilton's Ipswich as they lost the following two games away to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City. A 0–0 draw with Hull City followed before Ipswich earned their first victory of the season, defeating Queens Park Rangers 3–1 away at Loftus Road, with goals from Simon Walton, Jason de Vos and Dean Bowditch. Following Magilton's first win as Ipswich manager, the team went on to win the following two games, with home victories over Southampton and Coventry City.[12]

Danny Haynes scored twice for Ipswich Town in the 3–1 East Anglian derby victory on 19 November

The first three months of the season saw Ipswich pick up six wins, three draws and six losses from their opening fifteen league games. Whilst also exiting the league cup 2–4 on penalties at the first round stage to Peterborough United, following a 2–2 draw after extra time. On 29 October, Ipswich defeated Luton Town 5–0 at Portman Road, with Alan Lee scoring a Hat-trick, this was the team's largest winning margin of the season. The 19 November saw the first East Anglian derby of the season take place, with Ipswich facing local rivals Norwich City at Portman Road. Despite going behind in the 26th minute to a goal from Luke Chadwick, Sylvain Legwinski equalized for Ipswich in the 40th minute, leaveing the game at 1–1 going into half-time. With the game tied at 1–1, Ipswich academy graduate Danny Haynes came on as a substitute for Billy Clarke in the 76th minute and scored within a minute of entering onto the pitch, putting Ipswich 2–1 ahead. Haynes scored again in the 90th minute with a curling shot from the edge of the 18 yard box that went in off the post. Ipswich defeated Norwich City 3–1 in the East Anglian Derby. After the match Magilton said of Haynes: "Danny Haynes will get hero status here and seems to enjoy local derbies. I felt it was time to put him on because the pitch was strength-sapping and Danny's pace will always cause problems against tired legs."[2]

The January transfer window saw multiple new signings join the club. The first deal to take place was the permanent signing of midfielder Gary Roberts from Accrington Stanley, following a successful loan spell.[13] Defender David Wright was signed from Wigan Athletic on 11 January for an undisclosed fee,[14] whilst George O'Callaghan was also signed from League of Ireland side Cork City following a four month spell of training with Ipswich.[15] The club's final permanent deal of the January transfer window was the signing of Jonathan Walters from Chester City for a reported fee of £100,000.[16]

Ipswich's form had stuttered through to the end of December, however they started the new year with a 1–0 home win over Birmingham City at Portman Road, with Gavin Williams netting the winning goal in the 90th minute.[17] Ipswich were drawn away to Chester City in the FA Cup third round on 6 January. The first tie ended in a 0–0 draw, resulting in a replay scheduled for the 16 January, which Ipswich won 1–0, with Matt Richards scoring the winning goal. On 20 January Ipswich defeated local rivals Colchester United 3–2, with goals from Alan Lee, Sylvain Legwinski and Danny Haynes. The second round of the FA Cup took place on 27 January, with Ipswich drawn at home to Swansea City. Alan Lee scored the only goal of the match, converting a penalty in the 64 minute to send Ipswich into the next round of the cup. Ipswich suffered from a poor run of form during February, with the team going on a four game losing run throughout the month, whist also exiting the FA Cup due to a 0–1 away loss to Watford at Vicarage Road.[18]

The team's form improved during the later stages of the season. On 6 March, Ipswich recorded a 5–2 away win over Hull City, the team's biggest away win of the season. On 7 April, Ipswich defeated Barnsley 5–1 at Portman Road, the third time in the season that they had scored five goals in a single game. Ipswich faced rivals Norwich City for the second East Anglian derby of the season on 22 April away at Carrow Road. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, with David Wright's second-half equalizer leveling the tie. The following match Ipswich faced Leeds United at Elland Road. The match ended in a 1–1 draw, a result which effectively relegated Leeds to League One. The game was stopped half a minute early because of crowd trouble, with the responsible fans removed from the ground. Referee Nigel Miller controversially brought the teams back out to end the game. Ipswich held on to draw the game and would have won the game had their goals not been ruled out for offside.[3] Ipswich's final game of the season saw them host Cardiff City at Portman Road. Ipswich ended the season with a 3–1 victory following a goal from Francis Jeffers, and a brace from Jonathan Walters.[19] Ipswich finished 14th in the Championship in the 2006–07 season. Irish striker Alan Lee finished the season as Ipswich's top goal-scorer with 17 goals in all competitions, 16 of which were scored in the league. French midfielder Sylvain Legwinski won both the club's Supporters' and Players' Player of the Year awards for the season, whilst Tommy Smith won the club's Academy Player of the Year award. Welshman Gavin Williams won the club's Goal of the Season award for his strike in the 1–0 home victory over Leeds United on 16 December.[20]

Squad at end of season[21][22]

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  IRL Shane Supple 2 DF  NED Fabian Wilnis 3 DF  ENG Matt Richards 4 DF  CAN Jason de Vos (captain) 5 DF  IRL Alex Bruce 6 DF  ENG Richard Naylor 7 MF  IRL Owen Garvan 8 MF  FRA Sylvain Legwinski 11 MF  WAL Gavin Williams 12 MF  CAN Jaime Peters 14 FW  IRL Alan Lee

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 DF  ESP Sito 17 FW  ENG Dean Bowditch 18 FW  ENG Danny Haynes 19 FW  IRL Jonathan Walters 20 DF  ENG David Wright 21 MF  IRL George O'Callaghan 23 DF  ENG Dan Harding 24 FW  IRL Billy Clarke 27 FW  ENG Francis Jeffers (on loan from Blackburn Rovers) 33 MF  ENG Gary Roberts 34 GK  WAL Lewis Price

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 8 FW  ENG Nicky Forster (to Hull City) 9 FW  ENG Sam Parkin (to Luton Town) 10 MF  ENG Darren Currie (on loan to Derby County) 19 DF  ENG Aidan Collins (to Cambridge United) 20 MF  ENG Mark Noble (on loan from West Ham United)

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 MF  ENG Simon Walton (on loan from Charlton Athletic) 27 FW  IRL Jon Macken (on loan from Crystal Palace) 38 GK  CZE Jaroslav Drobný (released) 39 DF  ENG Matthew Bates (on loan from Middlesbrough) 40 GK  ENG Mike Pollitt (on loan from Wigan Athletic)

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 22 FW  ENG Darryl Knights 25 GK  ENG Andy Rhodes 26 DF  ENG Scott Barron 28 MF  ENG Martin Brittain 30 MF  ENG Sammy Moore

No. Pos. Nation Player 31 DF  IRL Michael Synnott 32 DF  ENG Ian Miller 35 DF  ENG James Krause 36 MF  ENG Liam Trotter 37 GK  ENG Andrew Plummer 38 FW  ENG Jordan Rhodes

Preparations for the 2006–07 season included a pre-season tour of the Netherlands and Belgium, in which Ipswich played friendly matches against Dutch sides Willem II and Dordrecht, Zulte Waregem from Belgium and Italian side Lazio.[23]

Legend

Win

Draw

Loss

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
8 July 2006	Boston United	A	1–1	Unknown	Forster (pen)
12 July 2006	Galway United	A	2–0	Unknown	Forster, Sito
17 July 2006	Willem II	A	1–1	Unknown	Richards
19 July 2006	Zulte Waregem	A	1–1	Unknown	Westlake
21 July 2006	Dordrecht	A	1–1	Unknown	Naylor
29 July 2006	Lazio	H	0–2	10,365

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		Shane Supple	13	0	11+1	0	1	0	0	0
34	GK		Lewis Price	38	0	34	0	3	0	1	0
Defenders
2	DF		Fabian Wilnis	24	0	19+2	0	2	0	1	0
3	DF		Matt Richards	32	3	20+8	2	2+1	1	1	0
4	DF		Jason de Vos	41	3	39	2	1	0	1	1
5	DF		Alex Bruce	45	0	40+1	0	3	0	1	0
6	DF		Richard Naylor	29	0	21+4	0	3	0	1	0
15	DF		Sito	9	0	6+2	0	1	0	0	0
16	DF		Chris Casement	4	0	0	0	1+2	0	0+1	0
20	DF		David Wright	20	1	19	1	1	0	0	0
23	DF		Dan Harding	47	0	40+2	0	4	0	1	0
32	DF		Ian Miller	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
Midfielders
7	MF		Owen Garvan	29	1	24+3	1	1+1	0	0	0
8	MF		Sylvain Legwinski	36	5	31+1	5	4	0	0	0
10	MF		Darren Currie	14	1	6+7	1	0	0	1	0
11	MF		Gavin Williams	32	2	25+4	2	2+1	0	0	0
12	MF		Jaime Peters	26	2	20+3	2	3	0	0	0
21	MF		George O'Callaghan	12	1	3+8	1	1	0	0	0
28	MF		Martin Brittain	1	0	0	0	0	0	0+1	0
30	MF		Sammy Moore	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0
33	MF		Gary Roberts	37	2	30+3	2	4	0	0	0
36	MF		Liam Trotter	1	0	0	0	0+1	0	0	0
Forwards
14	FW		Alan Lee	44	17	38+3	16	3	1	0	0
17	FW		Dean Bowditch	10	1	3+6	1	0	0	1	0
18	FW		Danny Haynes	36	7	4+27	7	2+2	0	1	0
19	FW		Jonathan Walters	16	4	11+5	4	0	0	0	0
24	FW		Billy Clarke	32	4	10+17	3	2+2	0	0+1	1
27	FW		Francis Jeffers	9	4	7+2	4	0	0	0	0
Players transferred out during the season
8	FW		Nicky Forster	5	1	4	1	0	0	1	0
9	FW		Sam Parkin	2	0	0+2	0	0	0	0	0
20	MF		Mark Noble	13	1	12+1	1	0	0	0	0
21	MF		Simon Walton	19	3	13+6	3	0	0	0	0
27	FW		Jon Macken	14	4	13+1	4	0	0	0	0
39	DF		Matthew Bates	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0
40	GK		Mike Pollitt	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		Alan Lee	16	1	0	17
18	FW		Danny Haynes	7	0	0	7
8	MF		Sylvain Legwinski	5	0	0	5
19	FW		Jonathan Walters	4	0	0	4
24	FW		Billy Clarke	3	0	1	4
27	FW		Francis Jeffers	4	0	0	4
27	FW		Jon Macken	4	0	0	4
3	DF		Matt Richards	2	1	0	3
4	DF		Jason de Vos	2	0	1	3
11	MF		Gavin Williams	2	0	0	2
12	MF		Jamie Peters	2	0	0	2
33	MF		Gary Roberts	2	0	0	2
7	MF		Owen Garvan	1	0	0	1
8	FW		Nicky Forster	1	0	0	1
10	MF		Darren Currie	1	0	0	1
17	FW		Dean Bowditch	1	0	0	1
20	DF		David Wright	1	0	0	1
20	MF		Mark Noble	1	0	0	1
21	MF		George O'Callaghan	1	0	0	1
Own goal				1	0	0	1
Total				61	2	2	65

Clean sheets

No.	Nat	Player	Championship	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
34		Lewis Price	7	2	0	9
1		Shane Supple	1	1	0	2
Total			8	3	0	11

Disciplinary record

No.	Pos.	Name	Championship		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
2	DF	Fabian Wilnis	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1
4	DF	Jason de Vos	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
5	DF	Alex Bruce	10	0	1	0	1	0	12	0
6	DF	Richard Naylor	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
7	MF	Owen Garvan	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
8	MF	Sylvain Legwinski	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
10	MF	Darren Currie	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
11	MF	Gavin Williams	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
14	FW	Alan Lee	9	1	1	0	0	0	10	1
15	DF	Sito	2	0	1	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	1	0	3	0
20	DF	David Wright	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1
20	MF	Mark Noble	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
21	MF	Simon Walton	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
21	MF	George O'Callaghan	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
23	DF	Dan Harding	10	0	1	0	0	0	11	0
24	FW	Billy Clarke	10	0	1	0	0	0	11	0
27	FW	Jon Macken	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
27	FW	Francis Jeffers	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
32	DF	Ian Miller	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
33	MF	Gary Roberts	6	0	1	0	0	0	7	0
Total			96	5	6	0	4	0	106	5

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions[58]

No. Pos. Nat. Name MS Notes 34 GK Lewis Price 38 2 RB Fabian Wilnis 22 David Wright has 20 starts 4 CB Jason de Vos 41 5 CB Alex Bruce 44 23 LB Dan Harding 45 33 RM Gary Roberts 34 11 CM Gavin Williams 27 Owen Garvan has 25 starts 8 CM Sylvain Legwinski 35 3 LM Matt Richards 23 Jaime Peters has 23 starts 27 CF Jon Macken 13 Billy Clarke has 12 starts 14 CF Alan Lee 41

4–4–2 Formation Price Wilnis de Vos(C) Bruce Harding Williams Richards Legwinski Roberts Macken Lee