No Place Like Home - Ipswich Town Football Club

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Club History

Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2008, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02.

The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn professional until 1936, and were subsequently elected to join the Football League in 1938. They play their home games at Portman Road in Ipswich. The only fully professional football club in Suffolk, they have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with Norwich City in Norfolk, with whom they have contested the East Anglian Derby 134 times since 1902.

Mick Mills holds the record for Ipswich league appearances, having played 591 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 goals scored in a season, 41 in the 1956–57 season in Division Three (South). Allan Hunter is the most capped player for the club, making 47 appearances for Northern Ireland.

The club's widest victory margins in the league have been their 7–0 wins against Portsmouth in the Second Division in 1964, against Southampton in the First Division in 1974 and against West Bromwich Albion in the First Division in 1976. Their heaviest defeats in the league were 10–1 against Fulham in 1963 and 9–0 against Manchester United in 1995.

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.

The highest transfer fee received for an Ipswich player is £6.5 million, from Newcastle United for Kieron Dyer in July 1999, 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 successful qualification for the UEFA Cup.

Portman Road Stadium

Following the recommendations of the Taylor Report in the wake of the Hillsborough disaster the previous year, 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.

Success on the pitch lead 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. In the past ten years, statues of both Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson have been unveiled outside the stadium. The playing surface at Portman Road is highly regarded and has been voted best pitch in the league on a number of occasions.The current groundsman, Alan Ferguson, has received a number of accolades, including both Premiership and Championship Groundsman of the Year.

Notable Players

Name: Richard Wright
Nationality: English
Date of Birth: 05/11/1977
Height: 6' 2" (188cm)
Weight: 14st 0lbs (88.98kg)
Previous Clubs: West Ham United, Everton, Arsenal, Southampton (loan)
Position: Goalkeeper

Started his career at Town and went on to make almost 300 appearances for the Club before joining Arsenal in a £6m move in the summer of 2001. Made 22 appearances for the Gunners, then joined Everton a year later for £3.5m. Spent four years at Goodison Park, playing 71 times then joined West Ham in the summer of 2007. A year later he was back at Portman Road. Capped twice by England at full level, as well as being an U21 international.

Name: Alex Bruce
Nationality: English
Date of Birth: 28/09/1984
Height: 5' 11" (180cm)
Weight: 11st 6lbs (72.64kg)
Previous Clubs: Tranmere (loan), Oldham, Sheffield Wednesday (loan), Birmingham
Position:Central Defender

Started his playing career at Blackburn and signed for the club from trainee in July 2002. He went out on loan to Oldham in December 2004, making eight appearances then left Blackburn without making a first-team appearance and joined Birmingham in January 2005. Two days after signing for Brum he joined Oldham again for a second loan and played in their FA Cup Third Round win over Manchester City. In March 2005 he joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan and played in their Second Division Play-Off Final win over Hartlepool at the end of that season. He made 12 appearances for Birmingham in total before arriving at Town this week on a free transfer in August, signing a three year deal. Capped by the Republic of Ireland at U21 level, he is the son of former Manchester United skipper Steve Bruce.

Name: Owen Garvan
Nationality: Republic of Ireland
Date of Birth: 29/01/1988
Height: 6' 0" (183cm)
Weight: 10st 8lbs (67.0kg)
Position: Central Midfielder

Academy product who got his first taste of the senior side in 2004/05 when aged 16, he was named as substitute for the win over Brighton in November of that campaign. Capped by the Republic of Ireland from U15-17 levels. Was a regular in Town's FA Youth Cup success in 2005 but unfortunately missed the decisive second-leg of the Final against Southampton after being rushed into hospital with a virus on the eve of the game. Made his Town debut v Cardiff in August 2006. Capped by the Republic of Ireland at U21 level.

Name: Tommy Miller
Nationality: English
Date of Birth: 08/01/1979
Height: 6' 1" (185cm)
Weight: 11st 8lbs (73.54kg)
Previous Clubs: Sunderland, Hartlepool, Preston (loan)
Position: Central Midfielder

Now in his third spell at the Club after joining as a free agent in the summer of 2007. Was a youth at Portman Road before starting his career at Hartlepool in 1997/98, where he made 137 League appearances, scoring 35 goals. He joined Town in July 2001 and scored 37 goals in 139 games over four years, then headed to Sunderland as a free agent in the summer of 2005. Spent two years at the Stadium of Light, playing in 35 games for the Black Cats, as well as having a short spell on loan at Preston.

Name: Danny Haynes
Nationality: English
Date of Birth: 19/01/1988
Height: 5' 11" (180cm)
Weight: 12st 4lbs (78.09kg)
Previous Clubs: Millwall (loan)
Position: Striker

Academy graduate. Made his debut at Leeds in September 2005. First goal for the club at home to QPR in December but it was his last minute winner at Norwich three months later that booked his place in Town folklore. Part of the winning FA Youth Cup squad of 2005, he was named as the Club's Most Improved Player in the 2005/06 season. Capped by England at U19 level.

[BayernMünchen]

could use a bit more detail

and i suggest you should have separated the players but nice start so far

[SideFX]

Originally Posted by FcBayernMunich

could use a bit more detail

and i suggest you should have separated the players but nice start so far

Thanks for the feedback, this is my first attempt at one of these things so i guess its going to be a learning process as much as anything.

[BayernMünchen]

Originally Posted by SideFX

Thanks for the feedback, this is my first attempt at one of these things so i guess its going to be a learning process as much as anything.

no prob

yeah its pretty good for your first onee may i suggest manager mode for dummies 09 it should give you some big tips to make your Thread as detailed as it can get

[SideFX]

Originally Posted by FcBayernMunich

no prob

yeah its pretty good for your first onee may i suggest manager mode for dummies 09 it should give you some big tips to make your Thread as detailed as it can get

Yeah all suggestions welcome my friend. I will check that out.

[BayernMünchen]

so far mate its looking good
are you going to do any pre season matches? or go straight into the season?

im sure you will get better n better as time goes on, i shall be following this

[SideFX]

Originally Posted by FcBayernMunich

so far mate its looking good
are you going to do any pre season matches? or go straight into the season?

im sure you will get better n better as time goes on, i shall be following this

Thank you. I will be getting stuck straight into the League campaign tomorrow evening, i will update right after and provide a match report etc. Hopefully i will get a few more people following but that's up to them. Im not going to go around the forum in search of people to comment on my latest write up lol.

[BayernMünchen]

lol i understand mate, the more detail you put on your updates the more readers you will catch, just dont make em hard to read for example using different colors but im sure you know that already haha

well a good way to have readers look at your MM is to put your MM in your signature so after you post they will see it

but will be looking forward to the updates!

[Xeneize]

The club history was copied straight from Wiki

[SideFX]

Originally Posted by Xeneize

The club history was copied straight from Wiki

Yeah thats true, didn't know think it would matter but i will remember for next time not to do so.

[SideFX]

Championship Season Begins

The new football season is only 3 days away and for most football people that can not come quick enough. The pre season is always tough on players as they have to strive for match fitness whilst not playing any competitive games. That will stop this saturday though as Sky Sports shows it first live game of the season from the Keepmoat stadium as Doncaster Rovers host Ipswich Town. The two sides will be looking to get off to a winning start but doing in the right way, Ipswich Town have demonstrated for years that they like the get the ball on the ground a pass it about. They can be a very entertaining team to watch but the fans will want more and i asked manager Jim Magilton today whether the blues fans could expect anything more than a midtable finish this year?


"I certainly hope so you know, we have a solid squad of players that lives and breathes football. We have plenty of experience mixed in with the youth team products that we are very proud of. Yes, i really do beleive we can start thinking of a playoff position this season."

The Championship as everyone knows is a very tough division to get out of but when a team can get 30,000 fans behind them it will surely help. Ipswich Town really could be a dark horse this time around although they will get over looked by many people. The hardest thing for Jim Magilton to acheive this year will be maintaining the beautiful pass and move football that he loves and winning games doing it. Its going to be easier said than done and im sure Doncaster Rovers will be looking to spoil the party this weekend.

[fifa_mayhem]

this is gd kutgw

[SideFX]

Originally Posted by fifa_mayhem

this is gd kutgw

Thanks for the comment man. First game is about to be put up.

[SideFX]

Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Ipswich Town

Ipswich Town traveled up to Doncaster with one thing on their minds and that was the three points. Jim Magilton put out an attacking lineup with on loan Jon Stead partnering Kevin Lisbie and Jonathan Walters in attack. Doncaster Rovers set their side up slightly more conservatively but that did not show at all when on the ninth minute of the game James Hayter forced a marverlous save out of Richard Wright who settled for conceding the corner kick. The danger was not over as James Hayter met the ball with his head on the penalty spot and cannoned the ball off the wood work, the ball looked to be heading out but it took a huge amount of luck on Doncasters part for it to rebound off Richard Wright's back and into the goal. The Ipswich Town goalkeeper was obviously angered by the opening goal of the match as he shouted at his defence for reasons we are totally unaware of. The marking was not to be called into question it was just one of those moments in football.

Jim Magilton was clearly earging his side to keep playing the ball on the ground but it was not looking like their day, a mistake at the back almost let James Hayter in for another chance on goal but he just didnt have the legs to chase it down. Town started to pressure the Doncaster defence on the 39 minute mark as Kevin Lisbie went for placement on the edge of the box when power looked like a better option. 1-0 to Doncaster it finished at half time but the Ipswich boss would not of been too upset with his teams first half showing. They lead possession with 57% and had two more shots on goal with there total at five.

The second half began much the same as the first, two sides zipping the ball across the pitch quickly and looking to build some openings. No chances opened up though until the 58th minute as a beautiful one time pass set Jon Stead chasing and he took one touch and hammered the ball home into the top corner. His emotions where clear and so was the relief of manager Jim Magilton. Doncaster continued to press but it was really becoming a one sided match, Ipswich seemed to be wearing the opposition down with some clinical passes and bursts of pace from the wings. The momentum swung the other way in the 83rd minute though as a dangerous tackle from Kevin Lisbie was immediatley met with a straight red card, town fans in disbeleif as Lisbie went in for what looked like an impossible and unneccessary challenge. Jim Magilton made a quick decision in bringing on the lively young star Danny Haynes off the bench to replace Jon Stead as Ipswich looked to have the final roll of the dice and on 89 minutes they did, a pin point through ball from Ivan Campo unleashed Danny Haynes for one of the coolest finishes you will see this season. Doncaster goalkeeper and defence hung their heads as they atleast thought they had a point in the bag. Great drama from the Coca Cola Championship and some beautiful football witnessed today live on Sky Sports as Ipswich end the day 3rd in the League.

[Vasic]

Oh,finally a MM with a good team.I was so bored with Man.Utd,West Ham,Bayern Munchen,Arsenal,Liverpool MM's.Now will be interesting

[SideFX]

Originally Posted by vasi4

Oh,finally a MM with a good team.I was so bored with Man.Utd,West Ham,Bayern Munchen,Arsenal,Liverpool MM's.Now will be interesting

That means a lot to me lol. I was thinking i would get very little interest in using my home team. My theory is if i am enjoying the game and producing updates then maybe others will enjoy reading and commenting.

[Vasic]

Originally Posted by SideFX

That means a lot to me lol. I was thinking i would get very little interest in using my home team. My theory is if i am enjoying the game and producing updates then maybe others will enjoy reading and commenting.

YOU HAVE 5 STARS FROM ME!

SO LONG ROOKIES.500 POSTS.YEAH
::evilna na:

[Chelsea11]

Anyway...Good start so far

[Dean16efc]

No need for that post two posts up

Good start btw

[SideFX]

Originally Posted by Chelsea11

Anyway...Good start so far

Originally Posted by Dean16efc

No need for that post two posts up

Good start btw

Thanks guys.

[SideFX]

Originally Posted by vasi4

YOU HAVE 5 STARS FROM ME!

SO LONG ROOKIES.500 POSTS.YEAH
::evilna na:

Well i appreciate the five star rating man.

[SideFX]

Ipswich Confirm Mancienne Bid

Ipswich Town started there season with a 2-1 comeback victory over Doncaster Rovers but manager Jim Magilton has said he is not 100% happy with his squad at this moment in time. That statement has been backed up today as Chelsea confirm they have had a bid from the Championship club for their 20 year old Defender Michael Mancienne who's loan spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers is about to expire. Mancienne has been touted as a future full England International but at this moment in time can not get anywhere near a starting place at Chelsea. The bid has not been disclosed but its beleived to be around the £550K region. No comments so far from the Defenders agent or the player himself but we will report any updates on this story as soon as we receive them.

[fifa_mayhem]

nice mm kutgw

[SideFX]

Thanks to whoever voted one star. Your a great help.

[fifa_mayhem]

it wasnt me