John Wark Tribute - Ipswich Town's Greatest #ITFC
Johnny Wark - A tribute to #ITFC’s GREATEST ever player! With over 500 appearances and scorer of more then 135 goals.
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Warky trialled with both Ipswich Town and Manchester City, and selected Ipswich when the latter remained non-committal. On arrival at Portman Road, Town manager Bobby Robson, later described by Wark as the person in football "who had the single biggest influence on [him]" personally welcomed him and Wark signed with the club as an apprentice.
He signed up as a professional for the club on his 17th birthday, being selected for the senior squad as a replacement for the injured Kevin Beattie, Wark made his first-team debut on 27 March 1975 in the 3-2 FA Cup 6th round (3rd replay) victory over Leeds United.
He spent much of the 1975-76 season playing for the reserves, and was presented with the club's Young Player of the Year award, despite making just four appearances for the senior team. Moving into midfield, Wark made over 30 appearances in the 1976-77 season, scoring his first goals for the club, (10, in all) taking over penalty kicking duty.
Indifferent league performances in the 1977-78 season meant that Ipswich finished just three points above the relegation zone, but the season ended in success in the FA Cup. Wark scored in a 3-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion in the semi-final, and appeared in the final at Wembley as part of a side that surprised favourites Arsenal,winning the game 1-0.
Ipswich did win the club's only European trophy when they lifted the 1980-81 UEFA Cup. Wark set a competition record by scoring 14 goals-including two, one in each leg-in the final as Ipswich overcame Dutch side AZ 67 Alkmaar 5-4 on aggregate. Wark's record equalled the long-standing scoring record in a European competition, set by José Altafini of A.C. Milan in the 1962-63 European Cup.
Wark's personal triumph that year was to win a European accolade, Young Player of the Year,and gain the acclaim of his fellow professionals in England to earn the PFA Player of the Year award. He ended the 1980-81 season with 36 goals.
Wark's final full season at Portman Road, 1982-83, had seen him record the highest league goals tally of his career. He scored 20 goals in 42 league games.
After returning from Liverpool - Wark was close to being an ever-present in the side: he missed just two games in two seasons. He was the club's equal top-scorer in the 1988-89 season, sharing the achievement with forwards Dalian Atkinson and Jason Dozzell. Wark signed on a free transfer for Second Division rivals Middlesbrough in August 1990. In his two additional seasons with Ipswich, Wark had scored 20 goals, and won the club's Player of the Year award in both seasons.
Remaining without a club before the start of the 1991-92 season, Ipswich offered him a contract, initially on a week-Wark made 43 appearances in the first season of his third spell with the club. Ipswich went on to finish strongly in their league campaign and were crowned Second Division champions and promoted into the newly formed Premier League. Wark ended the season as the club's Player of the Year for the third time.
Wark agreed to a new one-year contract for the 1992-93 season and was asked to feature in a Sky Sports advertisement to promote the inaugural Premier League competition. Ipswich were the only Premier League club to remain unbeaten after eight games (a sequence that included Wark's first Premier League goal in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur).
Wark, now aged 37, secured yet another one-year contract shortly before the end of the 1993-94 season. Ipswich were saved from relegation in the last round of matches (for the second season running, another good start had given way to a late season slump), courtesy of an injury time winning goal scored by Mark Stein of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, which ensured that Ipswich's fellow strugglers Sheffield United went down. Wark went on to be voted the club's Player of the Year for a record fourth time.
Despite his appearance in three more matches in the 1996-97 season, and a testimonial against Arsenal at Portman Road, Wark played his last professional match against Tranmere Rovers on 30 November 1996 at the age of 39. By this stage, he was the club's oldest player.
Of a total 826 league matches played by Wark as a professional, he made 679 appearances for Ipswich. As of 5 June 2009, he is Ipswich Town's third-highest all-time scorer, with 179 goals scored for the club, despite rarely appearing as a striker.