Latest news with #TractorBoys
The Sun
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Olympic bronze medalist Lewis Richardson, 28, set for professional boxing debut at stadium where he used to sell pies
LEWIS RICHARDSON flogged Pukka Pies as a schoolboy in the same Ipswich stadium he'll earn his first real crust in on Saturday. The 2024 Olympic bronze winner helped put himself through his GCSEs and A-levels by serving up grub to hungry Tractor Boys at Portman Road over a decade ago. 3 3 3 And the Colchester southpaw will break into the paid ranks by filling in Dmitri Protkunas, just down the road from his family home in a dream debut. He told SunSport: 'Despite it being so close, this is probably the first time I have been in Ipswich for a year. 'I came for one night out here when I was younger but I quickly realised that I had to stay true to my roots back in Colchester. 'I did do some matchday shifts here, though, serving up the Pukka Pies. 'I did the same job at Colchester when I was around 16 and when Ipswich were short staffed a few times, we got the call to come over - and now I am boxing here, it's crazy. 'I thought a London debut at York Hall or Wembley Arena was going to be a perfect start but Ipswich football stadium is unreal. 'All the friends and family who have talked about attending my first pro fight would have had to book trains or hotels. 'But we don't even need to arrange minibuses for anyone, it's a 29 minute drive from my front door, so everyone is happy sharing taxis for a great night.' Richardson turned 28 on Wednesday but had to bin his birthday plans to make the middleweight limit for this weekend. The spicy celebrations have been pushed back but the silky southpaw plans to put in a curry order worthy of a Gavin and Stacey special, to make up for the diet. 'The birthday is postponed for four days,' he revealed to us. 'The party is pushed back to Sunday. 'I have a curry house booked in Colchester for 15 of us and my mouth is watering just talking to you about it now. 'I can't even think about my order now. "But I can say for sure that I will sound like Smithy with the number of bhunas and naans and rice types I am going to order.'
Metro
a day ago
- Sport
- Metro
Chelsea fans convinced Liam Delap will break curse after picking squad number
Chelsea fans have been encouraged by Liam Delap's bold statement of intent after he selected the 'cursed' No.9 squad number following his arrival from Ipswich. The striker spent just one season with the Tractor Boys and moved to Stamford Bridge after signing a deal until until 2031 after the Blues triggered his £30million release clause. An agreement was reached between the clubs last week for the England under-21 international, who becomes the Blues' first summer signing and can join immediately due to FIFA's 10-day June transfer window. That will enable him to take part in the upcoming Club World Cup in the United States, though if he travels with the team it will means he will miss the European Under-21 Championship in Slovakia. The 22-year-old said on the club's official website: 'I understand the stature of this club and can see the trajectory it is on with these players and the head coach. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link we'll send you so we can get football news tailored to you. 'It's going to be an incredible place for me to develop and I hope to achieve amazing things here and help the club win more trophies.' Chelsea reportedly fended off interest from Manchester United, with the lack of European football next season for the Old Trafford side understood to be a factor in the player's decision to pick west London. Pierre-Emererick AubameyangRomelu LukakuTammy AbrahamGonzalo HiguainAlvaro MorataRadamel FalcaoFernando TorresFranco Di SantoHernan CresopMateja KezmanJimmy Floyd HasselbainkChris Sutton Gianluca Vialli Enzo Maresca's side will play in the Champions League after finishing fourth in his first season in charge, the first time the club has qualified for Europe's top competition since 2022. Delap's signing means the pair will be reunited after working together with Manchester City's under-23 team while Maresca was in charge during the 2020/21 season, and latterly with the senior squad when the Italian was assistant to Pep Guardiola. Delap made only six first-team appearances for City, scoring once, before loan spells with Stoke, Preston and Hull. Despite Ipswich's relegation from the Premier League, which made his release clause active, he adapted quickly to the top flight by scoring 12 times in his first full season in the division – comfortably his best goal return – having spent most of his senior career in the Championship. Chelsea have been stretched thin in attack this season, with injuries to Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu leaving the team without a fit striker for periods of the campaign. Of those two, only Jackson has scored in the Premier League and the need for credible competition and support for the Senegal international has long been apparent. Despite only a limited body of evidence to work with, Chelsea fans are convinced Delap can thrive without the weight of the No.9 shirt on his back. The likes of Romelu Lukaku, Fernando Torres, Radamel Falcao and Gonzalo Higuain, to name but a few, have struggled to cope with burden of expectation during their ill-fated spells in west London but Delap, it is felt, is made of sterner stuff. More Trending One fan wrote on X: 'Delap picked number 9 after all this? All I see is a striker with elite mentality.' Another Chelsea supporter added: 'Tammy backed himself with 9 shirt and proved himself. Like Delap is showing confidence and rubbishing superstition. 'If you're good enough, past shouldn't matter. And a third confidently said: 'Really like that Liam Delap has the confidence to take the number 9 shirt. He is going to explode at Chelsea. MORE: Liverpool given update on Florian Wirtz transfer by Germany sporting director MORE: Marcus Rashford handed transfer boost as Liverpool respond to Barcelona approach for Luis Diaz MORE: West Ham reject Chelsea swap deal offer for Mohammed Kudus
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
🚨 Chelsea complete the signing of Ipswich star Liam Delap
Champions League-bound Chelsea have begun their planned summer shopping spree in earnest after officially completing the £30m signing of Ipswich star Liam Delap. Delap, 22, was the standout performer for the Tractor Boys across the ill-fated 2024/25 Premier League campaign, and despite dropping back down to the Championship, the England youth international impressed the big boys to the tune of 12 goals; 33% of Ipswich's total number across the season. Despite a number of attacking assets at Stamford Bridge, including Senegalese international Nicholas Jackson, Blues boss Enzo Maresca now added further depth of quality in west London ahead of their return to Europe's premier club competition. Advertisement Delap will now once again team up with fellow Manchester City academy product Cole Palmer in what could become an impressive attacking duo down the line. 📸 Gareth Copley - 2025 Getty Images
The Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Premier League star reveals he was secretly a boxer as a kid as he throws support to heavyweight Fabio Wardley
FABIO WARDLEY has received backing from a Premier League star who revealed he was secretly a boxer as a kid. Wardley is a huge Ipswich fan and returns to the ring on Saturday at his beloved Portman Road against Australian Justis Huni. And he will have the backing of the Ipswich faithful and squad - including captain Sam Morsy - who knows a thing or two about boxing himself. Morsy revealed: "It's going to be amazing, I can't wait to watch it and I'm buzzing for him. "It's going to be an historic event and historic moment for him. I used to box as a kid, I had an amateur fight and won, back in the day. "I enjoyed it, boxing as a kid every summer – six weeks' holiday and I'd be in the boxing gym. 'So I really enjoyed it, I enjoy watching it and it's amazing to see Fab do his thing as part of the Ipswich family – and hopefully he wins!' Morsy, 33, joined Ipswich in 2021 from Middlesbrough and was named captain soon after. The midfielder helped the Tractor Boys gain back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League. But they were relegated this season along with Southampton and Leicester. 3 CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Morsy has given plenty motivational speeches in the dressing room and revealed what he would tell Wardley on fight night. He said: 'I'd say 'look, you're living your dream," Morsy revealed. "Be brave, be bold, trust yourself – you've got it. Simple." Fabio Wardley faces off with Justis Huni ahead of his homecoming fight Over 20,000 are expected to be at Portman Road on the weekend and Wardley added: 'The support of the club as a whole is something that's hard to put into words. "It's not just been the odd player here or there, or the odd staff member, everyone around the club has been so supportive and invested in me, wanting this to come off in the years beforehand. 'From the players to everyone that's around the club and Mark (Ashton) himself, who has been a massive advocate and massive pusher of pulling this off… ultimately this doesn't come together without him being keen on it and him really wanting it to go ahead. 'So I could not be more thankful to him and the club as whole for their backing, their support – and ultimately just, at the crux of it, looking after one of their own. 'And I think that's the strong ethos of this club. We support and get behind our own.' 3
The Irish Sun
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘Did you send him back?' – Eagle-eyed fans spot awkward Match of the Day gaffe on Gary Lineker's farewell show
EAGLE-EYED viewers spotted an error during Gary Lineker's final Match of the Day show. The presenter Advertisement 2 David Moyes was accidentally displayed as West Ham manager on Gary Lineker's last show Credit: BBC As the Premier League season came to an end yesterday, the best bits of ten final day matches were on last night. The penultimate fixture saw Tractor Boys manager Kieran McKenna was incorrectly put next to a photo of Everton manager David Moyes instead of Hammers boss It made for an awkward blunder as Moyes left West Ham last summer after four-and-a-half years in charge. Advertisement READ MORE IN FOOTBALL Fans were quick to spot the mistake and took to social media, with one saying: "Error from the BBC? Did anyone else notice." Another laughed: "Did you send David Moyes back to West Ham as manager for the last game of the season?" A third joked: "Why was Moyes shown as the West Ham manager during the show, is that a clue they want him back?" Though it did little to damage an excellent goodbye to Lineker, who received gifts from pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards before tributes flooded in. Advertisement Most read in Football Breaking Latest BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Video messages from the likes of Pep Guardiola, Paul Gascoigne and Claudio Ranieri were displayed as Lineker was left in tears. In an emotional goodbye, the ex- Gary Lineker tears up as he bids emotional farewell to iconic Match of the Day after controversial BBC axe "Also, a huge thank you to those you don't see at home, the work that goes into making this iconic show. Advertisement "It is a huge team effort from the editors to the analysis team, from the commentators to the floor managers, from the producers to the camera operators, from the PAs to the subs. "Thank you all. You're the very best. Rather like my football career, everyone else did all the hard work and I got the plaudits. "It's been an absolute privilege to have hosted Match of the Day for a quarter of a century. It's been utterly joyous. "I'd like to wish Gabby, Mark, and Kelly all the very best when they sit in this chair. The programme is in the best of hands. Advertisement "My final thank you goes to all of you. Thank you for watching. Thank you for all your love and support over the years. "It's been so special and I'm sorry that your team was always on last." 2 Lineker broke down in tears after his farewell montage Credit: BBC
