Ipswich Town F.C.

Ipswich Town Football Club is the professional football club of Ipswich, in East Anglia, England. Popularly known as the Tractor Boys partly because of Ipswich's agricultural history, and partly in self deprecating jest as fans of many other teams see them as being "country bumpkins", the Blues for the colour of their jerseys, or Town for short. Ipswich won the League in the 1961/62 under the management of Sir Alf Ramsey, and the FA Cup in 1978 with Bobby Robson at the helm. Ipswich also won the UEFA Cup in 1981, defeating Dutch team AZ Alkmaar 5-4 on aggregate in a two-legged final.

Related Topics:
Football - Ipswich - East Anglia - England - 1961 - 62 - Alf Ramsey - FA Cup - 1978 - Bobby Robson - UEFA Cup - 1981 - Dutch - AZ Alkmaar

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More recently, Ipswich have experienced the highs and lows of relegation from and promotion to the Premiership under manager George Burley, finishing 5th in the Premier league, and qualifying for the UEFA Cup, where they beat Inter Milan at home, but lost the tie over two legs after a 4-1 defeat in Italy. Next season, however, the club's fortunes changed, being relegated to the First Division (now the Football League Championship). They had the minor consolation of again qualifying for the UEFA Cup, this time via UEFA's Fair Play route, and became the first lower-level team to survive two ties in the same UEFA Cup (losing in the second round proper). The loss of income due to relegation led to the club going into administration, and eventually finished 7th in the league. The 2003/2004 season saw the club come out of administration and continue to challenge for promotion back to the Premier League. They eventually finished fifth in Division One and qualified for the season ending play-offs. Unfortunately, West Ham United defeated the Blues 2-1 on aggregate to qualify for the play-off final in Cardiff. Once again in the 2004/05 season Ipswich were drawn in the play-offs against West Ham, and once again were defeated. Despite fighting back from 2-0 down in the first leg to draw 2-2 at Upton Park, they lost 0-2 in the return leg at Portman Road, continuing their unenviable record in the end of season lottery.

Related Topics:
Premiership - George Burley - Inter Milan - First Division - Football League Championship - Administration - West Ham United - Cardiff

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Ipswich Town's current manager is Joe Royle. The club's main local rival is Norwich City.

Related Topics:
Joe Royle - Norwich City

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