Ipswich Town
Formed in 1878, Ipswich remained an amateur club until 1936 and didn’t become a Football League club until 1938 when they were elected to the Third Division (South).
Under the guidance of future England manager Alf Ramsey, they were promoted to the top flight of English football after winning the Second Division title in 1960/61.
One year later they were First Division Champions for the only time in their history. In January 1969 the club appointed another future England manager in Bobby Robson, and he guided them to victory in the 1978 FA Cup final.
Promotion from the Second Division in 1991/92 meant that Ipswich were one of the founder members of the newly established Premier League.
They arrived in League One following relegation from the Championship in 2018/19 and there they have remained, finishing last season in a disappointing (for them) 11th place with 70 points.
The 33 league meetings between the sides include 16 Rovers wins, seven draws and 10 Ipswich Town victories, while in the FA Cup there has been four Ipswich wins and two draws.
The sides have also met on two occasions in the League Cup, with Ipswich winning on both occasions.
The first ever meetings in the league were in the 1938/39 season, in Division Three (South) and both games were drawn. There was a goalless affair at Portman Road on October 1st 1938 and a 3-3 draw at Eastville on February 4th 1939.
We last met in season 1920/21 and Ipswich did the double over Rovers, winning 2-0 at the Memorial Stadium on September 19th 2020 and 2-1 at Portman Road on April 2nd 2021.
Players to have appeared for both clubs include Jamie Clapham, Mustapha Carayol, Nathan Ellington, Rory Fallon, Brian Gayle, John Hallworth, Reggie Lambe, Lee Hodges, Ellis Harrison, Matt O’Mahoney, John Scales, Marcus Stewart, Luke Thomas, Geraint Williams, Gavin Williams, David Whyte and Ed Upson.
Former Rovers manager Ian Atkins scored four goals in 77 league appearances for Ipswich while Russell Osman, who along with Kevan Broadhurst, took charge of Rovers in a temporary capacity before the appointment of Atkins appeared in 294 league games for Ipswich.
Rovers players who have made their league debuts against Ipswich include Bryan Bush (1947/48), Peter Sampson (1948/49), Richard Evans and Marcus Stewart (both 1991/92) and Lucas Tomlinson (2019/20).
Rovers visit Portman Road on 17th September and the return fixture takes place at the Mem on 14th February 2023.
A round trip to Portman Road takes in 412 miles, via the M4, M25 and A12.
Ipswich Town FC
Portman Road
Ipswich
Suffolk
IP1 2DA
Keith Brookman
(images courtesy of Keith Brookman)