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The East Anglian derby is a
sobriquet A sobriquet ( ), or soubriquet, is a nickname, sometimes assumed, but often given by another, that is descriptive. A sobriquet is distinct from a pseudonym, as it is typically a familiar name used in place of a real name, without the need of expla ...
used to describe
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
matches held between
Norwich City Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 20 ...
and
Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
, the only fully professional football clubs in the neighbouring
East Anglia East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...
n counties of
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
and
Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
respectively. In recent years it has sometimes been humorously called the Old Farm derby, a reference to the
Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
derby played between rival
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
clubs
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
and Rangers, and to the prominence of agriculture in East Anglia. The derby has been described as the second-fiercest rivalry in England. Including friendly meetings, there have been 148 instances of the derby overall with Ipswich winning 60 to Norwich's 58. In competitive meetings, the balance tips equally narrowly the other way with Norwich having won 47 to Ipswich's 45. The series began in the early 20th century, when both clubs were amateur organisations, with the first derby between the two professional clubs taking place in 1939. The most recent was on 10 February 2019, which Norwich City won 3–0 at their ground, Carrow Road. It has been more than thirteen years since Ipswich won the derby: their last win was on 19 April 2009, a 3–2 at
Portman Road Portman Road is a football stadium in Ipswich, Suffolk, England, which has been the home ground of Ipswich Town F.C. since 1884. The stadium has also hosted many England youth international matches, and one senior England friendly internatio ...
, and they have not won at Carrow Road since 5 February 2006. Winning the derby is one measure used to determine which club from the region can declare itself the "
Pride of Anglia Various English association football clubs located in East Anglia vie for being the Pride of Anglia, an unofficial title celebrated by fans of the clubs involved. These clubs include Cambridge United, Colchester United, Ipswich Town, Norwich City ...
". As of the 2022–23 season, Norwich play in the second tier of English football and Ipswich play in the third tier. Therefore for the immediate future the next competitive derby would be if the two teams are drawn together in a cup competition.


Style and atmosphere

According to the ''Football Rivalries Report 2008'', the East Anglian derby is the second-fiercest rivalry in England, after the
Black Country derby The Black Country derby is the local derby between English football teams West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers, apart in the Black Country of the West Midlands. The most successful side in the Black Country derby is West Bromwich A ...
between
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pla ...
and
Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...
. The report stated, "The gap of 40 miles doesn't make those East Anglia 'Old Farm' derbies any less intense, and this, combined with the regularity and closeness of the games, and the recent fortunes of both clubs, put it ahead of all but one rivalry in League football." Former referee
Keith Hackett Keith Stuart Hackett (born 22 June 1944) is an English former football referee, who began refereeing in local leagues in the Sheffield, South Yorkshire area in 1960. He is counted amongst the top 100 referees of all time in a list maintained b ...
said of the East Anglian derby:
"As for the most aggressive atmosphere that I’ve ever encountered, believe it or not it was at Carrow Road for Norwich v Ipswich Town. There are certain derby fixtures that you always know are going to be highly charged, but the East Anglian derby tops the lot. The players came out of the tunnel as if they were ready for a boxing match. The noise was intense and aggressive."
Rob Hadgraft, who wrote ''The Old Farm'', suggested some reasons for the intensity of the rivalry: "I think it's because each club represents the entire county ... There's only one club in Norfolk, and the same goes for Suffolk ... The people live up to 40 miles apart, so they don't mingle and have pals who support the other lot ... you've got two sets of fans who never really mingle or mix, and there's no proper friendships. They really do despise each other."


History

The first derby was held between the two clubs on 15 November 1902, when both sides were still playing at an
amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...
level. The Norfolk & Suffolk League fixture was played in Norwich and finished 1–0 to Norwich City. Norwich turned professional in 1905 with Ipswich following in 1936. Ipswich Town was elected to the
Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
in 1938, and the first league game between the two clubs took place on 2 September 1939 in the
Third Division South The Third Division South of The Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division North with clubs elected to the League or relegated from Division Two allocated to ...
. Played at Portman Road, the match finished 1–1, although the league was abandoned a few days later following the outbreak of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. As the clubs have tended to play in the same division over the years, the derby has been contested in most seasons since this time, the longest gap being for a period of six seasons between 1986–87 and 1991–92 inclusive. Since Norwich's promotion to the Premier League and Ipswich's relegation to League One at the end of the 2018–19 season the two teams have been at least a division apart, and the derby has not been contested since February 2019. Two of the more notable meetings between the two clubs have come in cup competitions. In the 1972–73 season Ipswich beat Norwich 4–2 on aggregate to win the two-legged
Texaco Cup The Texaco Cup, officially known as the International League Board Competition, was an association football competition started in 1970, involving sides from England, Scotland, and Ireland that had not qualified for European competitions. It wa ...
, with 2–1 wins in both legs.Anglo-Scottish Cup & Texaco Cup – Full Results
RSSSF.com Retrieved 8 May 2011.
In 1985 the clubs met in the semi-final of the
League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, with a place in the
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
final at stake. Ipswich won the first leg 1–0 at Portman Road, but Norwich scored early in the return leg at Carrow Road to level the tie. With extra-time looming,
Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Br ...
scored a late winner to send Norwich to Wembley.Norwich Milk Cup special: Day 3
''Norwich Evening News'', 24 March 2010. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
In the 2014–15 season there were four East Anglian derbies, because the sides met in a two legged
Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
play-off semi-final in addition to the regular two league games played during the season. The first match of the season was held at Portman Road on 23 August; it finished with Norwich winning 1–0. The reverse fixture at Carrow Road was on 1 March and Norwich again won, this time 2–0. The two play-off ties were held on 9 and 16 May, the first at Ipswich. The first leg finished 1–1, and the second leg finished with Norwich taking their third derby victory of the season by winning 3–1 and therefore booking their place in the play-off final at
Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...
.


Statistics

The derby has been contested 115 times in competitive games, 58 of which have been played at Ipswich and 57 at Norwich. In these, Norwich have won 47 times and Ipswich 45, with 23 matches ending as draws. The clubs have also played each other in friendlies and testimonial matches. In total, including friendly matches, the derby has been contested 148 times, with Ipswich having 60 victories and Norwich having 58 victories, with 30 matches finishing as draws. The highest attendance in the derby at Portman Road is 35,077 for a First Division match in September 1975, while Carrow Road hosted 39,890 spectators for an
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
match in January 1962.
John Wark John Wark (born 4 August 1957) is a Scottish former footballer who spent most of his playing time with Ipswich Town. He won a record four Player of the Year awards before becoming one of the four inaugural members of the club's Hall of Fame. W ...
is Ipswich's leading goalscorer in the derby with nine goals, while
Hugh Curran Hugh Patrick Curran (born 25 September 1943 in Carstairs, Lanarkshire) is a Scottish former footballer who spent the majority of his career in the English Football League. He played in five full international matches for Scotland between 1969 a ...
remains Norwich's top scorer with five, a record that has stood since 1968. A team has scored five goals in a derby match on five occasions – Ipswich in 1946–47, 1947–48, 1976–77 and 1997–98, and Norwich in 2010–11. The highest aggregate score in a match is seven goals, Ipswich winning 4–3 in a Second Division match at Carrow Road in 1968–69. At least six players have scored
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
s in derby matches – Hugh Curran in 1968–69 and
Grant Holt Grant Holt (born 12 April 1981) is an English former professional footballer who is currently a scout at West Ham United. During his football career, Holt played for a number of non-league and professional clubs, making nearly 100 league appeara ...
in 2010–11 for Norwich, and Albert Day in 1946–47,
Colin Viljoen Colin Viljoen (born 20 June 1948) is a retired footballer who played in midfield for English teams Ipswich Town, Manchester City and Chelsea. Born in South Africa, he won two caps for England under manager Don Revie. Biography Born in Johanne ...
in 1967–68,
Trevor Whymark Trevor Whymark (born 4 May 1950) is a former England international footballer who played in the Football League in the 1970s and 1980s, notably with Ipswich Town. He is currently (2016) the team's sixth highest goal scorer. Ipswich Town Why ...
in 1976–77, and Alex Mathie in 1997–98 for Ipswich.Mathie tips Ipswich for derby win
BBC sport, 5 December 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2011.
A summary of derby games in individual competitions, as of 10 February 2019, is shown below.


See also

*
Pride of Anglia Various English association football clubs located in East Anglia vie for being the Pride of Anglia, an unofficial title celebrated by fans of the clubs involved. These clubs include Cambridge United, Colchester United, Ipswich Town, Norwich City ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:East Anglian Derby Ipswich Town F.C. Norwich City F.C. England football derbies