I missed something last season. Two particular games that, for me, symbolised exactly what it was to be an Ipswich Town fan. Yes, the classic Ipswich-Norwich encounters or, as the national media dubs it, “The Old Farm Derby”.
Next weekend is the long-anticipated encounter at Carrow Road where Norwich will host Ipswich after the former’s brief stint in third tier football. Needless to say the home side have been in better form, three points ahead of Ipswich and four league positions higher.
I started watching Ipswich when I was eight years old; my immediate family were not football fans, although Ipswich runs through my extended family. As a Stowmarket lad I lived only 20 minutes from the ground, so naturally the Tractor Boys were an obvious choice. It was my granddad that took a big interest in football and it was through him that I took a liking to football and, eventually, interest in sports writing.
My record watching Ipswich has been relatively good, my fondest memory probably being the 3-1 Ipswich victory over Norwich three years ago when Danny Haynes scored twice, because it was one of a few times I went to see Ipswich play with my family, who enjoyed their day at Portman Road.
Over the years supporting my club I realised that there was one eternal argument between both sets of fans and that was which club was the better of the two? Naturally as an Ipswich fan I would say the Tractor Boys, but both sets of fans would usually pick their respective teams.
Looking at the argument from a Norwich perspective I can understand a couple of points. Firstly Norwich are likely to have more supporters, and this stems from simple demography. Norfolk have an estimate population of 850,000 people, while Suffolk have approximately 715,700, according to a 2008 census survey. Of both counties, Norfolk only have one professional football club, Norwich, whilst Suffolk has Ipswich, but also compete for Colchester fans further south.
Norwich have also had more success over the past decade, a Championship and a League One title is more prestigious than a 5th place finish in the Premier League and UEFA Cup football. However, Norwich’s relegation to League One was the lowest point either club had been for decades.
But to win a debate against a Norwich fan you simply have to point to a few things:
Firstly we have won more trophies, and more prestigious trophies for that matter. Most football clubs would be proud to have a top division title, an FA Cup and a UEFA Cup in their trophy cabinet. Ipswich have also won three second tier league titles to match Norwich’s.
Secondly, Ipswich Town are historically a better side than Norwich when compared with a head-to-head record. Between the two sides, Ipswich have won 40 times to Norwich’s 34. Over the past decade, Ipswich still shade it, winning five compared to Norwich’s four and the honours split even in four draws.
Finally, Ipswich are the better Premier League side, standing at 31st with 1206 points compared to Norwich’s 963 points and 36th position in the table. These types of tables can be misleading though, Ipswich have played almost more than 300 top flight games than Norwich since the Premier League’s inception in 1992.
Also worth pointing out is the fact Ipswich Town have played more top level football than Norwich and have supplied the England national team with two of its finest managers, Sir Alf Ramsey who won the World Cup in 1966 and Sir Bobby Robson who took the country to the semi-finals of Italia 90.
Back to the present, and I am looking forward to the local derby, however I do suspect the game will be difficult for us and looking at form and aided with home advantage, Norwich are favourites. But Ipswich and Norwich fans will know that form rarely counts for nothing in these games, which makes supporting either side that bit more exciting.
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