Promotion two years in a row, Ed Sheeran as sponsor and “the most beautiful field in the world”. Ipswich Town returned to the Premier League on Saturday under the leadership of a former assistant of José Mourinho after 22 years. “It is a sleeping giant.”
Lachend vertelt oud-speler Martijn Reuser dat hij een vooruitziende blik had, toen hem begin dit seizoen werd gevraagd om als model het nieuwe shirt van Ipswich Town te promoten. “Ik heb toen voor Ipswich een fotoshoot in Amsterdam gedaan.”
“Ze kwamen bij mij terecht vanwege het oranje uitshirt, hetzelfde shirt waarin we speelden in het jaar dat wij naar de Premier League promoveerden. Toen zei ik al tegen die gasten: ‘Let op, ze gaan meteen weer promoveren.'” En dat gebeurde zaterdag na een 2-0-zege op Huddersfield Town.
Reuser maakte in 2000 deel uit van het Ipswich Town dat destijds naar de hoogste divisie in Engeland promoveerde. De aanvaller zorgde in de finale van de play-off tegen Burnley voor het beslissende doelpunt (2-4) op Wembley. Een bijzonder moment, weet hij nog. “We stonden constant onder druk. Met nog een paar minuten te gaan kon ik het verlossende doelpunt maken.”
In totaal speelde Reuser vier seizoenen voor Ipswich Town en de oud-Ajacied is nog altijd niet vergeten in de Oost-Engelse stad. “Je merkte de waardering die ze voor je hebben. Dat was ook zo bij Arnold Mühren en Frans Thijssen eind jaren zeventig en begin jaren tachtig. Je bent daar als oud-voetballer een legende.”
‘It really is a big club’
Pim Balkestein, who played for Ipswich Town from 2008 to 2010, joins Reuser. “When I walk there, I am still recognized. You wouldn’t believe that. If I walk around in Venlo now (Balkestein also played for VVV-Venlo, ed.), no one will recognize me. There is a lot of awe, also for other Dutch former players. When Fabian Wilnis walks through the city, he is carried around on his shoulders.”
During his time at Ipswich Town, where he was voted Most Improved Player of the Year, Balkstein quickly noticed that it was not just any club. “It’s a really big club. When I was presented, the press room was full. The media attention is enormous with three or four pages in the local newspapers every day. They also have a big stadium for such a city. When it’s full it can accommodate about 29,000 people.”
“The city of Ipswich is relatively small compared to other cities,” says Reuser. “In the whole of the Suffolk region alone you have one million people, 70 or 80 per cent of whom are football crazy. They all flock to Ipswich. Most of the fans come from the countryside. The Ipswich Town brand is essentially the beating heart of that region. It’s a sleeping giant.”
‘Absolute legend’ Bobby Robson led Ipswich to UEFA Cup
The beautiful turf on Portman Road also characterizes Ipswich Town. “The club has the most beautiful field in the world,” says Balkestein. “Everything is done with hand lawn mowers. You train on a billiard table.”
Reuser: “It is a beautiful turf à la De Kuip. The funny thing is: Alan Ferguson, the groundsman of England, worked at Ipswich and once admitted that the grass came from the Netherlands.”
Ipswich Town experienced its greatest success on that billiard table in 1981. With Mühren and Thijssen in the team, the English club won the UEFA Cup by beating AZ in the final over two matches. Ipswich won 3-0 at Portman Road and could afford a 4-2 defeat in the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium in the return. Thijssen scored once in both matches.
The European club tournament was won under Sir Bobby Robson, coach of Ipswich from 1969 to 1982. The Englishman, who died in 2009, gave the club its greatest successes since the national title in 1962. In 1978 he led his team to the FA Cup and three years later to the UEFA Cup. “Robson is an absolute legend,” says Balkestein. “He is the Abe Lenstra of Ipswich.”
A few years ago, Ipswich had debts of £100 million
After the Robson era, Ipswich did not win any more trophies and were relegated from the Premier League in 2002. This season we finally managed to return. ‘The Tractor Boys’ had to come from far away, because a few years ago they had a debt of £100 million and were in League One.
Salvation came in 2021: the club was taken over by the American investment company ORG and the sky-high debt was canceled.
Ipswich Town also received help from its most famous fan: Ed Sheeran. The British singer, who grew up in a village about 25 kilometers from Ipswich, has been a supporter since his youth and joined the club as a sponsor in 2021. Ipswich Town’s blue shirt features large white letters with +-=÷× Tour, referring to Sheeran’s fourth concert tour.
From 2021 onwards the upward trajectory will start. At the end of that year, with the club twelfth in League One, Ipswich appointed manager Kieran McKenna. A season later, the Northern Irishman guided his team to the Championship and on Saturday ‘Town’ secured promotion to the Premier League. It is the first time since Southampton in 2012 that a club has been promoted from League One to the Premier League in two years.
Mourinho’s former assistant is the architect behind success
The 37-year-old McKenna, in the past assistant to José Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United, is the architect behind Ipswich Town’s success. “It is quite bizarre what he has achieved,” says Reuser. “McKenna has been able to look behind the scenes at United and Mourinho for years. That’s where he learned the coaching trade. He plays daring and modern football.”
For example, Ipswich Town returns to the Premier League after a 22-year absence. All season tickets for next season are already sold out. It’s no surprise to Reuser. “Not only people in the area, but also former football players saw that something was changing.”
Tags: Promotion Sheeran assistant Mourinho Ipswich sleeping giant Football
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