Troy Parrott had made his debut for Ipswich Town, becoming the latest player to turn out for both the Lilywhites and the Tractor Boys. Over the past few years, the likes of Anthony Georgiou and Cameron Carter-Vickers have moved to Portman Road on loan, whereas others like Grant Ward have switched permanently. Keanan Bennetts, currently on loan at Ipswich from Borussia Mönchengladbach, is another Hotspur Way graduate.
However, there is a long history of players who have made the journey along the A12 (sometimes with stops on the way) – here are 10 of them:
Darren Bent (Ipswich 2001-2005; Spurs 2007-2009)
Darren Bent made his debut for Ipswich at just 17 years old, and he went on to score 53 goals in 133 games before joining Charlton Athletic for £2.5 million in 2005. Two heavy scoring seasons followed – 37 goals in 79 games – before Bent made the move to THFC in 2007 for a then club record £16.5 million.
However, despite finishing the 2008-2009 season as the club’s top scorer, Bent’s time at the club was an unhappy one. Not only did he face competition from the likes of Defoe, Keane and Berbatov, Harry Redknapp clearly did not rate him, publicly humiliating Bent after an open-goal miss: “You will never get a better chance to win a match than that. My missus could have scored that one.” He would end his spell at Spurs having scored 25 goals in 79 games and receiving a League Cup winners medal in 2008.
Bent moved to Sunderland, maintaining his good goal scoring record, before ending his career in 2018 after a loan with Burton Albion. He made 568 career appearances and scored 217 goals. He also scored four goals in 13 England caps.
Alan Brazil (Ipswich 1976-1983; Spurs 1983-1984)
An Ipswich Town great, Alan Brazil scored 80 goals in 210 games for the Blues, and was a key member of the sides that won the FA Cup in 1978 and the UEFA Cup in 1981. Town would also finish as First Division runners up in 1980–81 and 1981–82.
Brazil then moved to Spurs in 1983, but injuries, form and competition for places meant he could not recreate his Portman Road glory years. After a single season, he moved on to Manchester United having scored just nine goals in 31 appearances. However, the injuries continued and, after a number of moves, he retired in 1989.
Jamie Clapham (Spurs 1994-1998; Ipswich 1998-2003)
A talented young left back who came through the Spurs youth system, Jamie Clapham only managed to make a single Premier League outing – and a clutch of Intertoto Cup appearances – before heading to Portman Road.
It was here that Clapham made his mark, making over 250 appearances for the club, winning the club’s player of the year award in 1999 and being part of the side’s 2001/02 UEFA Cup run (although losing in the 2nd leg, this run included a 1-0 win over an Inter Milan side which included Toldo, Zanetti and Seedorf). However, relegation followed that same season and Clapham was sold to Birmingham the year after for £1.3 million. Clapham played on until 2012 before retiring after playing in more than 500 games.
Giovani Dos Santos (Spurs 2008-2012; Ipswich 2009)
When Giovani Dos Santos joined Spurs in 2008, there was near disbelief that Spurs had managed to prise away a player who was considered one of Europe’s brightest prospects, from one of the world’s biggest clubs, for just £5 million. It didn’t work out, as just three goals (none in the Premier League) in 33 appearances would attest.
Dos Santos’ loan with Ipswich, although brief, and in the Championship, was more successful with four goals in eight appearances, including a penalty against Norwich in the Old Farm Derby. He is now playing back in his home country with América.
Jason Dozzell (Ipswich 1983-1993, 1997; Spurs 1993-1997)
Another Ipswich legend, Jason Dozzell made 340 league appearances for his home town club, after being signed on schoolboy terms by the late, great Sir Bobby Robson. He was part of the side that secured promotion from the Old Second Division in 1991-92, meaning that Ipswich would feature in the first season of the newly formed Premier League.
In 1993, he was sold to Tottenham for £1.9 million, but his spell with the club was interrupted with injuries. He made 89 appearances in his four seasons – scoring 14 goals – but returned to Portman Road on loan in 1997. He moved to Northampton Town at the end of that season and retired in 2002 after spells with Colchester, Canvey Island and Grays.
Dozzell still holds the record for being the youngest goalsocrer in England’s top division after scoring for Ipswich on his debut aged 16 year and 57 days. His son Andre, who Spurs have previously been interested in, also scored on his Ipswich debut aged 16.
Jake Livermore (Spurs 2008-2014; Ipswich 2010-2011)
Jake Livermore’s loan move to Ipswich was his fifth (he would go on to have seven in total) and in his half a season there he made a dozen appearances before moving onto Leeds.
Although he would appear in more than 50 games for Spurs, he would never manage to make the breakthrough and was sold to Hull in 2014 after another loan spell. Now with West Brom where he is captain, Livermore has over 400 senior appearances as well as seven England caps.
Jimmy Robertson (Spurs 1964-1968; Ipswich 1970-1972)
A winger who played for both clubs with distinction, Jimmy Robertson signed for Spurs in 1964 from St Mirren and went on to play 181 times for the club, scoring 31 goals. His most important strike came in the 1967 FA Cup win over Chelsea, with Robertson opening the scoring in a 2-1 win.
He joined Arsenal the year after, but left for Portman Road in 1970, and became a key member of Sir Bobby Robson’s early Ipswich sides, making nearly 100 appearances. Spells with Stoke, Seattle Sounders, Walsall and Crewe followed, with Robertson retiring in 1979 after more than 600 career appearances.
John Scales (Spurs 1996-2000; Ipswich 2000-2001)
John Scales was part of Wimbledon’s ‘Crazy Gang’ that won the FA Cup in 1988, and he joined Spurs in 1996 after a two year spell at Liverpool.
However, despite receiving a League Cup winners’ medal in 1999, he missed the final with a calf injury, epitomising his time at the club. In his four years with Tottenham, Scales made only 34 appearances, and left to join Ipswich on a free in 2000. Sadly, the injuries continued and, after just two appearances with the Blues, Scales retired.
Mauricio Taricco (Ipswich 1994-1998; Spurs 1998-2004)
Mauricio Taricco spent the majority of his career with both Ipswich and Spurs, having moved to England from Argentinos Juniors in 1994. He went on to make 137 league appearances for Ipswich, winning their player of the year award in the 1996/97 season.
The Argentine full-back joined Spurs in 1998 for £1.75 million, George Graham’s first signing at the club (he did not appear in the 1999 League Cup final win due to be cup-tied). He made 149 appearances in his six years at the club before joining West Ham on a free transfer in 2004. Taricco in 2012 and has held a number of assistant manager roles since, his last with Bordeaux under former Spurs Guy Poyet.
Andros Townsend (Spurs 2009-2016; Ipswich 2010)
Like Jake Livermore, Andros Townsend was a serial loanee, with Ipswich his fourth loan club (he would have nine in total while on Spurs’ books). He would make 16 appearances in total, but joined Ipswich in the middle of Roy Keane’s tenure as manager, a spell that wasn’t exactly an unqualified success.
Townsend would later begin to establish himself in the first team in the 2013-14 season, but Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival eventually resulted in Townsend’s departure to Newcastle, having played a total of 93 games for Spurs and scoring 11 goals. He now plays for Crystal Palace.
One more…
Sir Alf Ramsey (Spurs 1949-1955; Ipswich 1955-1963)
He may not of played for both clubs, but he is steeped in the history of both Tottenham Hotspur and Ipswich Town. Ramsey joined Spurs in 1949, playing under Arthur Rowe, becoming a focal point in the ‘push-and-run’ team that won the title in 1951. He was later made club captain and made 250 appearances before retiring in 1955.
With fellow defender Bill Nicholson joining the coaching staff at Tottenham, Ramsey took over at then Third Division Ipswich Town. He succeeded in getting Town promoted in 1956-57, and again in 1960-61. In their first season back in the top flight, Ipswich succeeded Nicholson’s double winning Tottenham side as English Champions. Nicholson would get one over his old rival in the 1962 Charity Shield final, with Spurs running out 5-1 winners.
Ramsey would be announced as the next England manager that October, but didn’t formally take over until May 1963. The rest is history.
Lilywhite Rose 