The design of the statue of Blues legend Kevin Beattie is today publicly revealed for the first time.
Sculptor Sean Hedges-Quinn, known as Coach and the man responsible for the Sir Alf Ramsey and Sir Bobby Robson statues at Portman Road, believes his design captures the essence of Beattie, who died in September aged 64.
Both the Beattie family and The Beat Goes On committee, which includes fellow legend Terry Butcher, were delighted with his plans.
"Being an Ipswich Town fan and having known the player that he was, I came to the conclusion I had to capture the physical attributes of him as a player,” Hedges-Quinn said.
"That was strength and power. I decided the best way to do that is to have him doing one of his trademark leaps and clearances. I had to capture his strength, agility and athleticism.
"I wanted a statue of great movement and pose, which says he wasn’t just a footballer, he was a beast of a player!”
Sculpting Beattie in aerial action presented additional problems and the committee were concerned that some statues of players in similar positions required substantial steel supports.
However, Hedges-Quinn has come up with a unique solution - "I haven’t seen it done before” - attaching smaller supports to Beattie’s feet with him appearing to float in front of a slanted plinth around 4ft in the air. The statue, which will stand along from his mentor Sir Bobby Robson towards the corner of Portman Road and Sir Alf Ramsey Way, will also feature Beattie’s trademark moustache.
Brad Jones, editor of the EADT and Ipswich Star who are leading the project, said: "We are so thrilled with the design that Sean has come up with. Any fan who watched the Beat play for Town will recognise that Sean has captured his power and strength perfectly.
"This has made us all the more determined to crack on with the fundraising and get this produced as soon as possible.
"We’ve got off to a great start thanks to the generosity of fans. And there is a very big event planned which will help propel us towards the target in the coming months.
"I’d urge Town fans to continue to get behind this campaign so we can get this fantastic statue up soon.”
Led by the EADT and Ipswich Star in conjunction with BBC Radio Suffolk and TWTD, The Beat Goes On was launched on December 18th last year on what would have been Beattie’s 65th birthday.
The current target is £110,000, although it is hoped that figure will be reduced as the campaign progresses, with £49,000 already having been raised.
You can make a donation online via the Go Fund Me page or send a cheque made payable to ‘The Beat Goes On’ to Kevin Beattie Statue Appeal, EADT, Portman House, 120 Princes Street, Ipswich, IP1 1RS.
There are also collection buckets at reception at the EADT’s offices and at BBC Radio Suffolk and in the FanZone on matchdays.
You can find The Beat Goes On campaign website here.