Ipswich Town Player of the Year
SportAssociation football
History
First award1973
Editions50 (as of 2023)
First winnerEngland Kevin Beattie
Most winsScotland John Wark
(4 times)
Most recentEngland Conor Chaplin

The Ipswich Town Player of the Year award is voted for annually by Ipswich Town's supporters in recognition of the best overall performance by an individual player throughout the football season. Towards the end of each season, fans are invited to cast their votes for this award either on-line or with one of the volunteers outside the stadium prior to a home game. The winner is the player who polls the most votes. The recipient is awarded a rosebowl trophy, presented at an awards ceremony immediately after one of the last home games of the season.[1]

The inaugural award was made to Kevin Beattie in 1973 and he retained it the following season. Since then, four other players have won the award on more than one occasion: Terry Butcher and Matt Holland have received the honour twice, goalkeeper Bartosz Białkowski has won it three times, while John Wark has been presented with the award a record four times. Only one winner has gone on to manage the club full-time, George Burley,[2] who won in 1977, although John Wark did act as joint caretaker-manager of the club with Paul Goddard for three matches in 1994.[3]

Winners

Kevin Beattie wearing a dark jacket, a white shirt, and black-and-white polka dot tie
Kevin Beattie was the inaugural winner of the award.
John Wark, wearing a dark suit, a white shirt and a dark-blue tie, standing on the pitch at Portman Road
John Wark has won the award four times, the most of any Ipswich Town player.
Four men standing on a grass football pitch. The man second from left, wearing a grey top, white shorts and white socks, is holding a trophy above his head. Spectators wearing blue or black tops are visible in the background.
Fabian Wilnis, winner for the 2005–06 season, with the trophy.
Bartosz Białkowski won the award in three consecutive seasons from 2016 to 2018.
* Ipswich Town Hall of Fame Inductee[4][5][6]
‡ Player still on the playing staff of the club[7]
Recipients of the Ipswich Town F.C. Player of the Year
Season Level[nb 1] Name[1] Position[nb 2] Nationality International
caps[nb 3]		 Notes
1973 1 Kevin Beattie* Defender  England 9 [nb 4][8]
1974 1 Kevin Beattie* Defender  England 9 [nb 5][8][9]
1975 1 Colin Viljoen Midfielder  England 2 [nb 6]
1976 1 Allan Hunter* Defender  Northern Ireland 53 [nb 7][10]
1977 1 George Burley* Defender  Scotland 11 [11]
1978 1 Mick Mills* Defender  England 42 [8]
1979 1 Arnold Mühren* Midfielder  Netherlands 23 [nb 8][12]
1980 1 Frans Thijssen* Midfielder  Netherlands 14 [13]
1981 1 Paul Cooper* Goalkeeper  England —
1982 1 Alan Brazil* Striker  Scotland 13 [14]
1983 1 Paul Mariner* Striker  England 35 [8]
1984 1 Trevor Putney Midfielder  England —
1985 1 Terry Butcher* Defender  England 77 [8]
1986 1 Terry Butcher* Defender  England 77 [nb 5][8]
1987 2 Romeo Zondervan Midfielder  Netherlands 1 [nb 9][15]
1988 2 Frank Yallop Defender  Canada 52 [nb 10][16]
1989 2 John Wark* Midfielder  Scotland 29 [17]
1990 2 John Wark* Midfielder  Scotland 29 [nb 5][17]
1991 2 David Linighan Defender  England —
1992 2 John Wark* Midfielder  Scotland 29 [nb 11][17]
1993 1 Mick Stockwell* Midfielder  England —
1994 1 John Wark* Midfielder  Scotland 29 [nb 12][17]
1995 1 Craig Forrest Goalkeeper  Canada 56 [18]
1996 2 Simon Milton* Midfielder  England —
1997 2 Mauricio Taricco Defender  Argentina — [nb 13]
1998 2 Matt Holland* Midfielder  Republic of Ireland 49 [19]
1999 2 Jamie Clapham Defender  England — [20]
2000 2 James Scowcroft Striker  England — [21]
2001 1 Marcus Stewart Striker  England — [22]
2002 1 Mark Venus Defender  England — [23]
2003 2 Matt Holland* Midfielder  Republic of Ireland 49 [nb 5][24]
2004 2 Ian Westlake Midfielder  England — [25]
2005 2 Shefki Kuqi Striker  Finland 62 [26]
2006 2 Fabian Wilnis Defender  Netherlands — [27]
2007 2 Sylvain Legwinski Midfielder  France — [28]
2008 2 Jonathan Walters Striker  Republic of Ireland 54 [29]
2009 2 Richard Wright Goalkeeper  England 2 [30]
2010 2 Gareth McAuley Defender  Northern Ireland 80 [31]
2011 2 Jimmy Bullard Midfielder  England — [32]
2012 2 Aaron Cresswell Defender  England 3 [33]
2013 2 Tommy Smith Defender  New Zealand 50 [34]
2014 2 Christophe Berra Defender  Scotland 41 [35]
2015 2 Daryl Murphy Striker  Republic of Ireland 32 [36]
2016 2 Bartosz Białkowski Goalkeeper  Poland 1 [37]
2017 2 Bartosz Białkowski Goalkeeper  Poland 1 [nb 5][38]
2018 2 Bartosz Białkowski Goalkeeper  Poland 1 [nb 11][39]
2019 2 Luke Chambers Defender  England — [40]
2020 3 Not awarded[nb 14] — — — [41]
2021 3 James Wilson Defender  Wales 1 [42]
2022 3 Wes Burns‡ Midfielder  Wales 6 [43]
2023 3 Conor Chaplin‡ Forward  England — [44]

Wins by playing position

Ipswich Town F.C. Player of the Year winners by playing position
Position[nb 15] Number of
winners[nb 16]
Goalkeeper 6
Defender 19
Midfielder 17
Striker 8

Wins by nationality

Ipswich Town F.C. Player of the Year winners by nationality
Nationality Number of
winners[nb 16]
 England 22
 Scotland 7
 Ireland 4
 Netherlands 4
 Poland 3
 Northern Ireland 2
 Canada 2
 Wales 2
 Argentina 1
 Finland 1
 France 1
 New Zealand 1

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ The official "Level" of competition in the structure of the English league system.
  2. ^ For a full description of positions see Football Positions.
  3. ^ If blank, uncapped at full international level.
  4. ^ Beattie was the inaugural winner of the award.
  5. ^ a b c d e Second award.
  6. ^ Viljoen was born in South Africa.
  7. ^ Hunter was the first non-English winner.
  8. ^ Mühren became the first winner from outside the United Kingdom.
  9. ^ Zondervan was born in Suriname.
  10. ^ Yallop was born in England.
  11. ^ a b Third award.
  12. ^ Fourth award.
  13. ^ Taricco was the first non-European winner.
  14. ^ No Player of the Year award was given due to the Coronavirus outbreak resulting in the early curtailment of the 2019–20 season, and the cancellation of the Supporters' Club annual event.
  15. ^ Stockwell and Zondervan have been classed as midfielders.
  16. ^ a b Multiple winners are counted multiple times.

References

  1. ^ a b Hayes, Dean (2006). The who's Who of Ipswich Town. Breedon Books. p. 183. ISBN 1-85983-515-5.
  2. ^ "George Burley's managerial career". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 15 November 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  3. ^ "Wark/Goddard managerial statistics". Pride of Anglia. Archived from the original on 4 March 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  4. ^ "Ipswich Town Hall of Fame inaugural members". Ipswich Town F.C. 10 August 2007. Archived from the original on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2007.
  5. ^ "Ipswich Town Hall of Fame members from 29th reunion dinner". Evening Star. 29 March 2008. Archived from the original on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2008.
  6. ^ Davis, Derek (21 March 2009). "Hall of Fame honours for five more Town greats". Green'Un. East Anglian Daily Times.
  7. ^ "Player Profile". Ipswich Town F.C. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "All time England Caps". The Football Association. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  9. ^ "Young Player of the Year 1974–2007". Professional Football's Association. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007. Beattie was named PFA Young Player of the Year in 1974.
  10. ^ "Allan Hunter – international career". Pride of Anglia. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  11. ^ "George Burley profile". Scottish Football Association. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  12. ^ "Arnold Mühren profile". KNVB.nl. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  13. ^ "Frans Thijssen profile". KNVB.nl. Archived from the original on 27 October 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  14. ^ "Alan Brazil profile". Scottish Football Association. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  15. ^ "Romeo Zondervan profile". National Football Teams. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  16. ^ "Frank Yallop profile". Canada Soccer. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  17. ^ a b c d "John Wark profile". Scottish Football Association. Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  18. ^ "Craig Forrest profile". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 2 October 2008. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  19. ^ "Matt Holland career statistics". Soccerbase. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007. Retrieved 26 October 2007.
  20. ^ Warren, Andy (28 March 2019). "Picking Ipswich Town's shining light in a dark season – the contenders for the player of the year award". East Anglian Daily Times. Ipswich. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  21. ^ "Scowy Wins Player of the Year". TWTD. 5 May 2000. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  22. ^ "2000–2001 Top Scorers". 4TheGame. Archived from the original on 22 October 2007. Retrieved 29 October 2007. Stewart was the second highest scorer in the Premier League in the 2000–01 season, and the highest English-born scorer that season.
  23. ^ "Veno Player of the Year". TWTD. 29 April 2002. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  24. ^ "Matt Supporters' Winner". TWTD. 24 April 2003. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  25. ^ "Westy Wins!". twtd.co.uk (Those Were The Days). 3 October 2004. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  26. ^ "Kuqi Player of the Year". twtd.co.uk (Those Were The Days). 5 April 2005. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  27. ^ "Fab Player of the Year". TWTD. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  28. ^ "Legwinski Players' Player". TWTD. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  29. ^ "Walters completes clean sweep of awards". East Anglian Daily Times. 5 May 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  30. ^ "Richard Wright Wins Supporters Player of the Year". TWTD. 3 May 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  31. ^ "McAuley Player of the Year". TWTD. 2 May 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  32. ^ "Bullard Player of the Year". TWTD. 30 April 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  33. ^ "Aaron Cresswell wins Supporters Player of the Year". East Anglian Daily Times. 22 April 2012. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2012.
  34. ^ "Tommy Smith the Ipswich fans' player of year". stuff.co.nz. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2013.
  35. ^ "Berra Player of the Year". TWTD. 12 April 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  36. ^ "Murphy wins player of year". twtd.co.uk. 11 April 2015. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
  37. ^ "Białkowski Wins Player of the Year". twtd.co.uk. 9 April 2016. Archived from the original on 14 April 2016. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
  38. ^ "Białkowski Wins Player of the Year". twtd.co.uk. 29 April 2017. Archived from the original on 30 April 2017. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
  39. ^ "Bialkowski Player of the Year for Third Successive Season". TWTD.co.uk.
  40. ^ "Chambers Named Player of the Year". TWTD.co.uk.
  41. ^ "No Player of the Year Award for 2019/20". TWTD.co.uk.
  42. ^ Warren, Andy (7 May 2021). "Wilson wins player-of-the-year award". Ipswich Star. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  43. ^ "Wes wins player of the year". Ipswich Town F.C. 30 April 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
  44. ^ "Chappers wins player of the year". TWTD. 29 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2023.

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