The 50th anniversary of Blues legend John Wark’s debut for the club is to be marked with a new book, He’s Here, He’s There, by Neil Prentice, who was behind the recent George Burley book, All To Play For and 1980-81 - The Greatest Season in Ipswich Town’s History.

Wark, now 67, made his Town debut on 27th March 1975 in the 3-2 FA Cup sixth round third replay victory over Leeds at Filbert Street.

The central defender-turned-midfielder-turned-central defender went on to make 678 appearances for the club, second behind only Mick Mills, scoring 179 goals, alongside Ted Phillips second to only Ray Crawford.

In addition, Wark, a record four-time winner of the Town Player of the Year award, was a member of the FA Cup-winning team in 1977/78, the UEFA Cup side in 1980/81, when he bagged a then-record 14 goals, and, during his third spell at the club, Second Division title winners in 1991/92. He also won the FA Youth Cup in 1974/75.

PFA Player of the Year in 1980/81 and in ninth place for the Ballon d’Or the same season, Wark was also the first Town player to appear - along with Scotland teammate Alan Brazil - and score at a World Cup finals in 1982.

Further to his success with the Blues, Wark had a successful spell with Liverpool, in which he won the First Division title twice, and appeared in Escape to Victory.

Representing his 678 Town appearances and 179 goals, there will be a collector’s edition of the book limited to 857 copies, as well as the standard edition.

“You might find this hard to believe, but there were a lot of things that even I wasn’t aware of before we started working on it.

“I’m really excited to see it all come together. I’ve had always had a great relationship with the fans, and I hope they all really enjoy it.”
 

Prentice added: “Working on All To Play For with George Burley was an amazing experience and when the opportunity to work with another Ipswich Town icon came up, I jumped at the chance.
 
“Warky’s statistics and achievements remain unrivalled in the club’s history. When you think of John Wark you think of his goals, the penalties, the glory, his amazing longevity and not forgetting his famous moustache! When you think of Ipswich Town you think of John Wark.”
  
The aim is to have the book available in early October with pre-ordering getting under way soon.

All To Play For and 1980-81 - The Greatest Season in Ipswich Town’s History are available from TWTD here.

Contributed

Arthur_Hayes added 21:34 - Apr 9 ITFC’s greatest imho
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FreddySteady added 21:38 - Apr 9 I’ve just turned 60. My mates, a Utd and a Leeds fan bought me a John Wark T shirt. Nominally a defensive midfielder, 36 goals in the 80/81 season! Ridiculous. Why is this feat not recognised more?
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bluelad7 added 22:51 - Apr 9 Ultra legend. Definitely in the top five of all time.
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armchaircritic59 added 23:21 - Apr 9 It was a pleasure to watch Warky play, many times. Had a skill you just can't teach anyone, an innate ability to arrive in the penalty area, often unseen at just the right time. Add to that, later in his career when his legs couldn't carry him up and down the pitch, a more than decent stint in the centre of defence, and a short spell as a striker as well! A unique and very underated player, who clubs these days would have to break the bank for.

3

MBG added 06:49 - Apr 10 His achievements were extraordinary. He had the sort of ability that was highly respected by fans, fellow players and managers. His goalscoring record for a defensive midfielder was freakish. He had longevity. For me, he's the best ever ITFC player.
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SpiritOfJohn added 07:06 - Apr 10 A fabulous player and also the top goalscorer in East Anglian derbies with 9 goals.
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Northstandveteran added 08:07 - Apr 10 Agreed Arthur Hayes. I am old enough and lucky enough to have watched Warky play during all 3 of his spells at Town. The greatest player to pull on an Ipswich shirt in my humble opinion.
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Northstandveteran added 08:09 - Apr 10 " Warky's gonna get ya! "
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SandyBrown added 14:26 - Apr 10 I think you will find John Wark made his debut on the 11th March 1975 at Leeds in the FA Cup. I remember it so well as I listened to the commentary while driving to Cheltenham for the racing. The first day (Tuesday) had been abandoned due to a waterlogged course. The match finished 1-1 after extra time. A marvellous player and a great servant to ITFC.
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BangaloreBlues added 07:51 - Apr 11 One of my favourite all time Town players. Blimey, how old am I now? One minute I'm watching players running around the pitch with shorts so high their butt cheeks are practically on show (this is the era more women started to become interested in football), and the next I'm seeing Delap smash the ball into the net. Where did all those years go?
0

SandyBrown added 16:23 - Apr 11 I stand corrected. Warky did make his debut on the 27th March 1975. It was in the third Cup replay against Leeds not the first. Have always associated those games to his debut. Just that the old grey cells got a bit confused!
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