Ipswich Town were founded in 1878 but did not turn professional until 1936; the club was subsequently elected to join the Football League in 1938. Ipswich won the English league title in 1961–62, their first season in the top flight, and finished runners-up in 1980–81 and 1981–82. They finished in the top six in the First Division for ten years, with the exception of when they won the FA Cup in 1977–78. Ipswich were a regular competitor in European football and won the UEFA Cup in 1980–81. The club has competed in all three major European club competitions and holds the record as being the only British side to have never lost at home in European competition, having defeated teams such as Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Lazio and Barcelona.[2]
Ipswich play their home games at Portman Road in Ipswich. They are the only fully professional football club in Suffolk and have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with Norwich City from Norfolk, against whom they have contested the East Anglian derby 148 times since 1902.[3] The club's traditional home colours are blue shirts with white shorts and blue socks.
Early years and entry to the Football League (1878–1954)
The club was founded as an amateur side in 1878 and were known as Ipswich A.F.C. until 1888 when they merged with Ipswich Rugby Club to form Ipswich Town Football Club.[4] The team won a number of local cup competitions, including the Suffolk Challenge Cup and the Suffolk Senior Cup.[5] After playing in the Norfolk & Suffolk League from 1899 and the South East Anglian League between 1903 and 1906, they joined the Southern Amateur League in 1907 and, with results improving steadily, became champions in the 1921–22 season.[6] The club won the league a further three times, in 1929–30, 1932–33 and 1933–34, before becoming founder members of the Eastern Counties Football League at the end of the 1934–35 season. A year later, the club turned professional and joined the Southern League, which they won in its first season and finished third in the next.[7]
The club were immediately relegated back to the Third Division South the following year at the end of a poor season, but made better progress after Scott Duncan was replaced as team manager by Alf Ramsey in August 1955. The club won the Third Division South title again in 1956–57, and returned to the higher division. This time, Ipswich established themselves in the Second Division, and as the division champions, won promotion to the top level of English football, the First Division, in 1960–61.[7]
In the top flight for the first time, Ipswich became champions of the Football League at the first attempt in 1961–62.[7][8][9] As English league champions, they qualified for the 1962–63 European Cup, defeating Maltese side Floriana 14–1 on aggregate before losing to AC Milan.[7] Ramsey left the club in April 1963 to take charge of the England national team. Under his leadership the England team won the 1966 World Cup. He received a knighthood for "services to football" in 1967.[10]
Decline and revival after Ramsey (1963–1969)
Ramsey was replaced by Jackie Milburn,[7] under whose leadership fortunes on the pitch plummeted. Two years after winning the league title, Ipswich slipped down to the Second Division in 1964, conceding 121 league goals in 42 games – one of the worst-ever defensive records in English senior football.[11] Milburn quit after just one full season and was replaced by Bill McGarry in 1964.[7] The club remained in the Second Division for four years until McGarry guided Ipswich to promotion along with his assistant Sammy Chung in the 1967–68 season, winning the division by a single point ahead of Queens Park Rangers.[12] McGarry left to manage Wolves and was replaced by Bobby Robson in January 1969.[7]
Robson led Ipswich to two major trophies and several seasons in top flight European football. The successful period began in 1973 when the club won the Texaco Cup and finished fourth in the league, qualifying for the UEFA Cup for the first time. In the 1974–75 season they reached the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time, losing to West Ham United after a replay, and finished third in the league. By the late 1970s, Robson had built a strong side with talent in every department, introducing the Dutch pair Arnold Mühren and Frans Thijssen to add flair to a team that featured British internationals including John Wark, Terry Butcher and Paul Mariner, although the Ipswich squad perhaps lacked the depth of established big clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United. Ipswich regularly featured in the top five of the league and in the UEFA Cup. At their peak in the 1979–80 season, they beat Manchester United 6–0 in a league game at Portman Road, a game where United goalkeeper Gary Bailey also saved three penalties. The defeat cost United two points – the margin which eventually separated them and champions Liverpool.[13] Major success came in 1978 when Ipswich beat Arsenal at Wembley Stadium to win their only FA Cup trophy.[14] The triumph was followed by almost winning the triple in 1980-81. Ipswich led the top division for most of the season and were on course to win a second league title plus FA Cup and European honours. However, injuries and fixture congestion (a squad of thirteen players played over sixty matches) took its toll and Ipswich ultimately came runners up to Aston Villa (a side they had beaten home and away in the league and in the FA Cup) and were semi-finalists in the FA Cup. Ipswich did win the UEFA Cup, however, in 1981 with a 5–4 victory over AZ Alkmaar in the two-legged final. The run to the final included a 4–1 win at St Etienne, captained by Michel Platini.[15] The club also finished as league runners-up in 1981 and 1982.[16][17][18]
Robson's success with Ipswich attracted the attention of many bigger clubs, and he was linked with the Manchester United job when Dave Sexton was sacked in May 1981, but the job went to Ron Atkinson instead. The Football Association lured Robson away from Portman Road a year later, when he accepted their offer to manage the England national team in July 1982.
Relegation after Robson and promotion under Lyall (1982–1994)
Robson's successor at Ipswich was his assistant manager Bobby Ferguson.[7] Under Ferguson, Town finished mid-table twice,[19][20] but worsening performances meant that they began to struggle in the top division. The recent construction of an expensive new stand at Portman Road limited the club's budget, despite the money gaining from sales of key players including Thijssen and Wark.
Ipswich were finally relegated to the Second Division at the end of the 1985–86 season. Butcher, the last remaining key player from the successful 1981 team, was sold to Rangers that summer.[21][22] Ferguson, who had remained in charge despite the relegation, left the club in May 1987 after his contract expired, following Ipswich's failure to return to the First Division.[7] Ipswich Town were then managed by John Duncan for three years until he was replaced by former West Ham United boss John Lyall in May 1990, with Ipswich still in the Second Division.[23] Lyall guided Ipswich to the Second Division title and promotion to the new FA Premier League, ready for the 1992–93 season.[24] Suffering only two league defeats before the New Year,[25] Ipswich started the season well and were fourth in the Premier League in January 1993, but a dip in form during the final weeks of the season saw them finish 16th.[26] Poor form continued into the following season and Ipswich only avoided relegation that year when Sheffield United suffered a 3–2 defeat at Chelsea on the final day of the season.[24] Six months later, fortunes on the pitch had not improved, and Lyall was sacked in December 1994 with the club bottom of the Premiership.
Relegation and revival under George Burley (1994–2002)
Lyall's successor, George Burley, was unable to turn team performances around, and Ipswich were dealt a Premiership record defeat, 9–0, at Manchester United, on their way to relegation.[27][28] Back in the second tier of the league, Burley led the club to three consecutive promotion playoffs, but they were to endure defeats in all three semi-finals. Ipswich finally returned to the Premiership in 2000 after coming from behind to beat Barnsley 4–2 in the last Division One playoff final at Wembley Stadium.[7] Ipswich performed well in the Premiership in their first season with Burley's side finishing in an impressive fifth place—being pipped by Liverpool on the last day of the season for a place in the Champions League. Consolation was a UEFA Cup place and FA Premier League Manager of the Year Award for Burley.[29]
However, the following season was not so successful. The team took only one win in their opening seventeen league games, leaving them bottom in December. Despite a good run of form in January and February, Burley could not save the club from relegation back to the Championship at the end of the season. The loss of income due to relegation also led to the club going into financial administration.[30] There was the minor consolation of again qualifying for the UEFA Cup, this time via the UEFA Fair Play ranking, and Ipswich survived two ties before losing in the second round proper to Czech side Slovan Liberec.[31] A slow start to the season, culminating in a 0–3 defeat at struggling Grimsby Town, meant that Burley was sacked in October 2002 after nearly eight years as manager.[32]
Years in the Championship (2002–2019)
First team coach Tony Mowbray was given four matches as caretaker manager, winning once, but he was ultimately replaced as manager by the former Oldham Athletic, Everton and Manchester City manager Joe Royle, who had played for local rival Norwich City.[33] Royle inherited a side struggling near the Division One relegation zone, but revived fortunes such that the team narrowly failed to reach the playoffs.[34] The 2003–04 season saw the club come out of administration and continue to challenge for promotion back to the Premier League.[35] They finished that season in fifth, but were defeated in the playoff semi-finals by West Ham United.[36]
Narrowly missing automatic promotion in 2004–05, Royle again took Ipswich to the play-offs, but once more they lost to West Ham United in the semi-finals.[37]2005–06 saw Ipswich finish in 15th place—the club's lowest finish since 1966.[38] Joe Royle resigned by mutual consent on 11 May 2006,[39] and a month later, Jim Magilton was officially announced as the new manager.[40] In November 2007, the club were involved in takeover discussions with both businessman Marcus Evans and former Birmingham City director David Sullivan.[41][42] In December 2007, Evans completed his takeover of the club, purchasing an 87.5% stake in the club, investing around £44 million, which included the purchase of the club's existing £32 million debt.[43] The club agreed a sponsorship deal with the Marcus Evans Group on 20 May 2008, lasting until 2018, the longest in the club's history.[44]
After failing to reach the playoffs despite substantial investment, Magilton was sacked in April 2009, and new Chief Executive Simon Clegg replaced him with former Manchester United player, Roy Keane.[45] Keane's spell as manager came to an end after an unsuccessful 18 months, when he was sacked in January 2011, to be replaced briefly by Ian McParland in a caretaker role before Paul Jewell took the reins on a permanent basis.[46] A poor start to the 2012/13 season with Ipswich bottom of the Championship after winning only one of their first twelve games, led to Jewell leaving his position on 24 October 2012 by mutual consent.[47]
He was replaced temporarily by Chris Hutchings for a single match in a caretaker role, before former Wolves boss Mick McCarthy was appointed full-time on 1 November 2012.[48] McCarthy led Ipswich to avoid relegation, taking them from bottom of the league in November to finish in 14th position.[49] The following season produced a 9th-place finish [50] and in the 2014–15 season a 6th place and play-off finish – though the club lost in the semi-finals to local rivals Norwich City 4–2 on aggregate.[51] Ipswich ended the 2016–17 season in 16th place, their lowest finish since the 1958–59 season.[52] McCarthy announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the 2017–18 season on 23 March 2018, though he ultimately left the role early with four games to go.[53] He was replaced until the end of the season by Bryan Klug as a caretaker manager and Ipswich finished the season in 12th.[54]
On 30 May 2018, Paul Hurst was announced as the new manager of the club on a three-year contract.[55] However, after a poor start to the season and with the team bottom of the table, Hurst was sacked in October 2018 after less than five months in charge – making him the shortest serving manager in the club's history.[56] He was replaced by former Norwich City manager Paul Lambert, but he was unable to prevent relegation to League One at the end of the 2018–19 season, ending Ipswich's 63-year stay in the top two tiers of English football.[57]
League One and return to the Championship (2019–present)
Kieran McKenna was appointed as manager of Ipswich Town in December 2021.
Lambert remained as manager following relegation to take charge of Ipswich's first season in the third tier since 1957. Ipswich finished the season in 11th place, the club's lowest finish since 1953. The standings were decided by points-per-game due to the season's suspension in March 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[58] After failing to mount a promotion challenge during the following season, Lambert left the club by mutual consent on 28 February 2021.[59] Former Wigan boss Paul Cook was appointed as his replacement three days later.[60]
On 7 April 2021, the club announced that US investment group Gamechanger 20 Limited had purchased a majority stake in the club. The consortium was made up of Ohio-based investment group ORG, the "Three Lions Fund" (made up of three Phoenix Rising FC board members) and former owner Marcus Evans, who remained as a minority shareholder.[61] Ipswich finished the 2020–21 season in 9th place, three positions outside the play-offs.[62] Expectations were high ahead of the following season, but following a series of disappointing results, Cook was sacked in December 2021.[63] On 16 December 2021, Kieran McKenna, first-team coach at Manchester United, was appointed to replace Cook.[64] Ipswich finished the 2021–22 season in 11th place.[65]
With McKenna's first full season in charge, the following season proved more successful. Following an undefeated streak of 18 league games, and breaking several club records, on 29 April 2023, Ipswich were promoted back to the Championship after defeating Exeter City 6–0.[66] Ipswich finished the 2022–23 season in second place, with 98 points and scoring 101 league goals.[67]
Crest and colours
Crest used from 1972 to 1995
Crest
Ipswich Town's shirts did not sport a crest until the mid-1960s, when they adopted a design based on the Ipswich coat of arms, featuring a gold lion rampant guardant on a red background on the left half and three gold ramparts on a blue background on the right half.[68] In 1972, the crest was redesigned as the result of a competition, won by the Treasurer of the Supporters Club, John Gammage. Each element of the new design was intended to represent the region.[69]
"I regarded the Suffolk Punch as a noble animal, well suited to dominate our design and represent the club. And to complete the badge I thought of the town of Ipswich which contains many historical buildings, including the Wolsey Gate, and is close to the sea with a large dock area."
This crest was re-used on the home and goalkeeper kit during the 2020/21 season, in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of Ipswich's UEFA Cup triumph.[70] The crest was modified in 1995 after consultation with a Supporters Forum, with the turrets of the Wolsey Gate moved to the top of the crest, the yellow background changed to red, the Suffolk Punch given a more dominant physique and the F.C. expanded to Football Club. Three stars were added to the sleeve of the team's away shirt for the 2004–05 season,[71] and also to the home kit for the 2005–06 season.[72] These stars were added to represent the three major trophies which Ipswich Town have won; the FA Cup, the UEFA Cup and the old First Division. The stars were relocated directly above the crest when the shirt was redesigned prior to the 2007–08 season, with them being moved again in 2022–23 to the back of the shirt.[73]
Ipswich's orange away kit used during the 1999–2000 season
Ipswich Town's traditional home colours are blue shirts with white shorts and blue socks. One of Ipswich Town's nicknames is The Blues, stemming from their traditional kit. The club's first registered colours were blue and white striped shirts with black shorts. All-blue shirts and white shorts were first worn in the 1936–37 season, following the clubs entry into the Southern Football League after turning professional. These have stood as the primary colours of the club's home kits ever since.[74]
Since turning professional, Ipswich have used a number of away colours, including white, orange, red and black vertical stripes, claret and green, cream and black vertical stripes and dark blue and claret.[68] In 2006, the club donated 500 orange and blue-and-white shirts to children in Iraq.[75]
Kit suppliers and sponsors
In 1981, Ipswich Town announced a sponsorship deal with Japanese-based electronics company Pioneer Corporation, who became the first official sponsors of the club. Pioneer Corporation also sponsored the west stand of the club's Portman Road stadium up until 1999, formerly known as the West Stand. Pioneer would continue to sponsor the club's kits until 1985, when a new sponsorship deal was agreed with local Suffolk radio station Radio Orwell. The radio station would only sponsor the club's kits for a single season before being replaced with pharmaceutical and horticultural chemical manufacturers Fisons. Fisons were the main sponsors of the club from the 1986–87 season through to the 1994–95 season, including the 1991–92 season when the club won the Second Division championship and gained promotion to the inaugural season of the newly founded Premier League. Since then Ipswich have had multiple kit sponsors, including Suffolk-based brewing company Greene King from 1995 to 2001, and the energy companies TXU Energi (2001–2003), Powergen (2003–2006) and E.ON (2006–2008). After the club's takeover by Marcus Evans in 2007, Marcus Evans Group became the club's new primary sponsor and would go on to be the football club's main sponsor from 2008 until 2018. In January 2018, the club agreed a new three year sponsorship deal worth almost £2 million with British online casino company Magical Vegas.[76] In May 2020, Magical Vegas revealed that they had donated the final year of their shirt sponsor rights to The Carers Trust charity for the 2020–21 season.[77] On 6 May 2021, the club announced that popular artist and longtime Ipswich fan Ed Sheeran would be the club's new shirt sponsor for the 2021–22 season, a deal which was later extended to cover until the end of the 2023–24 season.[78][79] On 14 June 2022, Ipswich announced that the club had signed a 4-year contract with Umbro to become the new kit manufacturers for both the Men’s and Women’s teams, marking the first time since 1995 that Ipswich's kits were made by Umbro.[80]
Between 1878 and 1884, Ipswich Town played at two grounds in the town, Broomhill and Brook's Hall,[81] but in 1884, the club moved to Portman Road and have played there ever since.[1] At their new home, Ipswich became one of the first clubs to implement the use of goal nets, in 1890,[1] but the more substantial elements of ground development did not begin until, in 1901, a tobacco processing plant was built along the south edge of the ground.
The first stand, a wooden structure, was built on the Portman Road side of the pitch in 1905. In 1911 the roof was blown off,[1] and the ground was later commandeered by the British Army for the duration of World War I. The club turned professional in 1936, and work began on the first bank of terracing at the north end of the pitch. The following year, on the back of winning the Southern League, a similar terrace was built at the southern ’Churchmans’ end.[I] All sides were terraced by 1954, and floodlights were erected in 1959 for use in lower light conditions.[1] The two-tier Portman Stand was built along the east side of the ground in place of the existing terraces in 1971, and the West Stand was extended in 1982 by the addition of a third tier. The rebuilt West Stand was renamed the Pioneer Stand as a result of the club's sponsorship by the electronics company Pioneer Corporation and was converted to all-seating in 1990.[1] In 1992, following the recommendations of the Taylor Report in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster three years earlier, the terraces in both the north and south stands were also converted to all-seating, creating the first complete all-seater stadium in the top flight of English football with a spectator capacity of 22,600.[1]
Success that took place on the pitch led to further investment in the infrastructure, with the club spending over £22 million on redeveloping both North and South stands, resulting in a current capacity of 30,311, making it the largest-capacity football stadium in East Anglia. In the past ten years, statues of both Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson have been unveiled outside the stadium.[82][83] The North Stand was renamed in honour of former manager Sir Bobby Robson in September 2009. On 31 March 2012, in conjunction with celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Ipswich Town winning the First Division, the South Stand was renamed in honour of Ipswich and England's former manager Alf Ramsey. Portman Road now features two stands named after their two most successful managers in the club's history, as well as being England's two most successful managers. On 10 July 2012, the West Stand, formerly known as the Pioneer Stand and the Britannia Stand, was renamed the East of England Co-operative Stand following a sponsorship deal with the East of England Co-operative Society.[84] The Co-op's sponsorship lasted until 2021, when it was not renewed and returned to be simply the West Stand.[85] The East Stand of Portman Road, formerly known as the Portman Stand, is called the Cobbold Stand, named after the former owners of the club.[86] The playing surface at Portman Road is highly regarded and has been voted best pitch in the league on a number of occasions.[87] The former groundsman, Alan Ferguson, received a number of accolades, including both Premiership and Championship Groundsman of the Year.[88][89] The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior Englandfriendly international match, against Croatia in 2003.[90]
Supporters
Average and peak attendances from 1936
A recent nickname for Town is "The Tractor Boys", which was coined during the club's brief period in the Premier League from 2000–01 to 2001–02, when the team regularly competed against more fashionable clubs. The nickname is an example of self-deprecating humour referring to Suffolk's agricultural heritage.[91] The origins of the nickname are not certain, but the first generally accepted use of the nickname was created whilst playing at Leeds United in 2000–2001: Ipswich were winning the game 2–1 and the Leeds fans started chanting, "We're being beaten by a bunch of tractor drivers". Barracking by supporters of more established Premiership clubs during Town's spell in the Premiership lent the ironic chant "1–0 to the Tractor Boys" increased potency and publicity, and the nickname is commonly used by the media.[92][93] Former Town manager Jim Magilton commented in the local press that he disliked the nickname and said that it conjured up "images of carrot-crunching yokels",[91] while players such as Matt Holland accepted the chant with good humour.[94]
Ipswich have a global fan base, with the official Ipswich Town Supporters Club having supporters branches across the world.[95] The club has a particularly strong affiliation with German club Fortuna Düsseldorf, with Fortuna fans making an annual visit to Portman Road since 2006. Ipswich fans also organise visits to the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Düsseldorf to support Fortuna at their home matches.[96] The two clubs have previously organised a pre-season friendly match in Düsseldorf in 2015, which was the first match to be played between the two teams.[97]
The club's main rivals are Norwich City. When the two teams meet it is known as the East Anglian derby, or, informally, as the "Old Farm derby", a comic reference to the "Old Firm Derby" played between Scottish teams Celtic and Rangers and the prominence of agriculture in East Anglia. The series began in the early 20th century, when both clubs were amateur organisations. The first derby was held between the two clubs on 15 November 1902, with the first derby between the two professional clubs taking place in 1939. Locally, much is made of the informal title "Pride of Anglia". Fans claim the title for either winning the East Anglian Derby, finishing highest in the league, having the better current league position and having the more successful club history.[98]
Mick Mills holds the record for Ipswich league appearances, having played 741 first-team matches between 1966 and 1982. The club's top league goalscorer is Ray Crawford, who scored 203 goals between 1958 and 1969, while Ted Phillips holds the record for the most league goals scored in a season, 41 in the 1956–57 season in Third Division South. Allan Hunter won the most international caps whilst a player at the club, making 47 appearances for Northern Ireland during his time at Ipswich.[99]
Ipswich's record home attendance is 38,010 for a sixth round FA Cup match against Leeds United on 8 March 1975. With the introduction of regulations enforcing all-seater stadiums, it is unlikely that this record will be beaten in the foreseeable future.[99]
The highest transfer fee received for an Ipswich player is £8.1 million as part of a deal worth in excess of £12 million from Sunderland for Connor Wickham in June 2011,[100] while the most spent by the club on a player was £4.75 million for Matteo Sereni from Sampdoria in July 2001, following the club's qualification for the UEFA Cup.[99]
Bobby Robson is the club's longest serving manager in terms of games managed, managing Ipswich for 709 matches between 1969 and 1982. Scott Duncan is the club's longest serving manager in terms of time spent as manager at the club, managing the club for 6,487 days between 1937 and 1955.[101]
Ipswich still maintain an undefeated home record in European competition. This record began in 1962, when the club first qualified for the European Cup. For 45 years, Ipswich held the record for the longest unbeaten run of games at home in European competition, with a run of 31 home matches undefeated. Due to the team's absence from such tournaments in recent years this record has since been broken by Dutch club AZ Alkmaar, but remains a record for British clubs.[102]
In 2007, the club created a hall of fame into which a number of personnel associated with the club are inducted every year. The inaugural members, Ray Crawford, Mick Mills, Ted Phillips and John Wark, were selected in 2007 by a ballot of former Ipswich players.
Alf Ramsey managed Ipswich Town between 1955 and 1963, before leading England to win the World Cup in 1966.Bobby Robson managed Ipswich Town from 1969 to 1982.
A ladies team affiliated with the club, Ipswich Town Women, currently compete in the FA Women's Premier League Southern Division, the third tier of women's football in the country, with a very successful academy playing in the U21 Premier League with England recognition. The team play their home games at the AGL Arena in Felixstowe, the home of Felixstowe & Walton United.[112]
Notes
I^ : Up until 2000, when the stand was completely rebuilt, it was commonly referred to as "Churchmans" after the family who owned the tobacco factory (before John Players Ltd) which stood next to it.
^Francis, Tony (23 February 2003). "Tractor Boys ploughed out". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 14 October 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2007.
^"Town out of UEFA Cup". BBC Suffolk. 14 November 2002. Archived from the original on 29 November 2002. Retrieved 19 March 2007.
^"Ipswich sack Burley". BBC Sport. 11 October 2002. Archived from the original on 28 July 2004. Retrieved 17 March 2007.
^Duncan Adams (21 February 2012). "What's Portman Road Like?". Ipswich Town: Portman Road. Football Ground Guide. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
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