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They started in League One, now they’re here. Ipswich Town were of course a Premier League team in the early 2000s, but the way I want to tell this tale is when the mighty Tractor Boys who have even played in European fixtures only 22 years ago, got plunged into the lower depths of the football pyramid.

A brief history lesson is needed on Ipswich Town is needed, arguably to make the tale more believable and to bring the story to life.

For a club with a proud history as Ipswich, that’s quite the fall from grace. The Suffolk club can call on a very proud history. From 1969-1982 (Sir Bobby Robson era), The Tractor Boys in this period might have won just two trophies some argue, but it was the consistency that Ipswich had.

One needs to bear in mind, that this was an era where Liverpool, Everton and even Manchester United were the powerful forces in English football at the time. Sir Bobby would sign out of his time at Ipswich with a UEFA Cup win, Ipswich overcame Dutch side AZ Alkmaar 5-4 on penalties in 1981.

Sir Bobby’s Ipswich did finish runner-up a few times in the League after that triumph. After Sir Bobby Robson left Portman Road, it would be his assistant Bobby Ferguson who would take the reigns.

Despite an initial solid start to life in the managerial dugout, Ferguson would then start to struggle and this started the host of changes at managerial level for the club.

This story moves on to 1994 when the club appointed manager Craig Burley. For eight years the Scot would be in charge and this would be a period in Ipswich’s history when the Suffolk club were back on the rise.

Not quite the heights of Sir Bobby in terms of rise, but a fifth-placed League finish in 2000 is very impressive indeed. Liverpool would finish fourth that year, just piping Burley’s boys to Champions League football.

Just like with the Sir Bobby Robson era, the Craig Burley of eight years had to come to an end too. Arguably the end of Burley’s reign is what caused the club to go into one of it’s more darker times in its history.

From 2002-2019, the mighty Ipswich Town were in the Championship, the second tier of English football. There was hope that The Tractor Boys would plough through the field and get promoted back to the bit time.

Sadly from the Ipswich perspective then manager Paul Lambert oversaw the club’s relegation to League Two in 2019. This was the first time in sixty years had Ipswich Town fans had to go through such an ordeal (playing in the third tier of English football).

Lambert who had got Norwich City promoted to the Premier League in consecutive seasons, struggled with Ipswich and would end up leaving the club by mutual consent in 2021.

That brought Paul Cook into the job. This would be significant as a few of his signings would remain in the Tractor Boys’ team too, to this very day. Cook himself would only last nine months in the job.

McKenna who was a coach at United took the top job at Ipswich and helped guide the club to an 11th place finish. A respectable finish, but it would be the following season when the highly-rated coach would make his mark.

Ipswich Town would finally get promoted to the Championship and Kieran McKenna would be the man to do it. Mocked at Manchester United alongside Michael Carrick, Mckenna had the last laugh.

His Ipswich side would secure an impressive 98 points and score a mouth-watering 101 goals. Having been promoted as runners-up, some people in the football community coming into this season were suggesting that Kieran McKenna can achieve a double promotion.

After an impressive season and a half, to get promoted two seasons in a row would take some doing, right? Wrong! McKenna who since being appointed Ipswich manager has won more League points than anyone in England’s top five divisions (yes even more than Pep).

Just like in League One, The Tractor Boys were in a tussle for promotion. Relegated duo Leeds and Leicester were the two foes for Ipswich. The Suffolk club would get the better of Leeds, but not Leicester as they would finish second behind Enzo Maresca’s side.

McKenna’s side got 96 points in the Championship as runners-up and scored 92 goals. So football fans, there you have, Ipswich’s rise through the Football League. Granted this, isn’t a Luton Town story, but to be fair to Ipswich, it’s still a remarkable story all the same.

As impressive as Ipswich Town have been with their positive front-foot football, they will need to be careful of implementing this when playing in the Premier League.

Burnley were able to play sparkling football in the Championship, only for them to see themselves on the end of regular thumping when they were in the Premier League.

If anyone can, Ipswich Town and Kieran McKenna can. Despite being the League’s top scorers, they have been relatively miserly at the back, when it comes to conceding goals.

Best of luck in the Premier League Ipswich, I am sure you will get a lot of neutral fans in the process.

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