The Super Blues posted some incredible team stats as they powered their way up yet another division to gain promotion and the chance to play in next season’s Premier League.
Finishing second in the Championship with 96 points, just one point from Champions Leicester City and 6 clear of third-placed Leeds. Importantly to the Tractor Girls and Boys they also finished a massive 23 points above 6th placed East Anglian rivals Norwich City who failed to progress from their play-off semi-final with Leeds United.
Much of their success came from their attacking approach highlighted by the achievement of placing as top scorers with 92 goals from a total of 505 shots — this ranked them second behind play-off champions Southampton who amassed 91 from 515. Only 2 goals were gained from the penalty spot with many shouts being turned away to the disgust of management and fans alike —whilst Leicester rammed in a massive 12.
The team hit the woodwork 20 times and topped the assists table with a huge number of 64. Left-back Leif Davis contributed 18 of those putting him top on the all-time list for a defender at this level.
They placed tenth in the passes list with a total of 22013 - perhaps surprisingly over a 1000 less than top of the table Southampton with 32194 — but demonstrating how effective those glorious team goals were as Town regularly played out from the back to hit the net at crucial moments.
Goal difference was affected by the 57 goals conceded and highlights the entertaining football that was on display at Portman Road throughout the season and on the road. 260 of their 505 shots were on target, again placing them second behind Southampton.
In goal, Václav Hladky held on for 14 clean sheets. On a negative note they topped the table with 6 own goals but only conceded 3 penalties. The player’s desire to win the ball back and press teams high up the pitch was enough to place them top in the league on tackle success with a 67% average. Along the way, they conceded 568 fouls.
Some might comment that 101 yellow cards were unjustified and harsh given the game that the Blues play, but it sees them sit 7th on the list with Bristol City being the lowest of offenders with just 71. Town were the only team in the division not to be shown a red card.
The Women’s team made some impressive stat of their own winning 19 of the 29 games played scoring 89 goals. They averaged 471 passes per game with an 82% pass percentage completion and have an average game possession of 63.8%.
They played their first game at Portman Road which saw their highest ever attendance of 10,173 whilst average attendance sat at 534. Peskett topped the assists with 20 and also contributed 12 goals. Natasha Thomas was the top scorer with 25 goals from her 29 appearances.
Some very impressive performances both as teams and individuals were recorded throughout the campaign. Town fans now look forward to seeing the men’s team take on the challenge of a first season in the Premier League for over 20 years whilst the Women’s team looks to continue to flourish and grow.
The next important date for the club, players and supporters alike will be the release of the fixture list on 18 June.
Stats from the official EFL Championship page: https://www.efl.com/competitions/efl-championship/