2019–20 Ipswich Town F.C. season
Ipswich Town 2019–20 season: A concise overview
Ipswich Town spent 2019–20 back in League One, the third tier of English football, after relegation the previous season. It was the club’s 142nd year in existence, and the campaign ran from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. Paul Lambert remained manager, and Marcus Evans owned the club. On 1 January 2020, Lambert signed a new five-year contract, extending to 2025. The season was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic in March and ultimately ended early, with the final table decided on a points-per-game basis, Ipswich finishing 11th.
Key points
- Competitions: League One (finished 11th), FA Cup (Second round), EFL Cup (First round), EFL Trophy (Third round)
- League top scorers: Kayden Jackson and James Norwood, with 11 league goals each (11 in all competitions)
- Attendance: highest 24,051 (vs Sunderland, 10 August 2019), lowest 5,271 (vs Gillingham, 8 October 2019, EFL Trophy), average home league attendance 19,549
- Pre-season: 12-day training camp in Germany; Interwetten Cup in Meppen with Fortuna Düsseldorf, SV Meppen and FC Utrecht
- Pre-season signings: Tomáš Holý and James Norwood joined; several first-team departures
- Start of the season: 1–0 win at Burton Albion on 3 August; 1–1 draw with Sunderland in the home opener; 11-game unbeaten run early in the season; top of the table after a 5–0 win at Bolton on 24 August; Paul Lambert won August Manager of the Month
- Injuries: Kane Vincent-Young ruled out for around three months after ankle injury sustained in August
- EFL Cup: eliminated in the first round by Luton Town (1–3) on 13 August
- FA Cup run: beat Lincoln City in a late November replay for Ipswich’s first FA Cup win since 2010; knocked out by Coventry City in the second round after a replay in December
- EFL Trophy: Ipswich entered this competition for the first time; finished second in the group; beat Peterborough United on penalties in the second round; eliminated by Exeter City in the third round
- Mid-season slump and injuries: from November into January, Ipswich went eight league games without a win; James Norwood required adductor surgery in February, joining other injured players
- January rebound: 4–1 win over Accrington Stanley; wins at Tranmere Rovers and Lincoln City; briefly topped League One again before a 0–1 defeat to Rotherham United
- Season end: with the league curtailed due to the pandemic, Ipswich finished 11th, their lowest finish in decades
This season marked Ipswich’s return to League One after relegation, a period of ups and downs, and an abrupt finish because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 11:07 (CET).