FLW runs through eight former-Tractor Boys who are surprisingly still playing
Their playing squad has really changed over the years and while plenty of the focus will be on the exciting assembly of talent that the Tractor Boys currently have at their disposal, it is also interesting to delve into the archives and analyse some of their players from the past who you simply will not believe are still playing in 2023.
Be prepared for a fair few surprises here, and with that said, let’s get straight into it..
Carlos Edwards
Starting us off strong is Carlos Edwards, who is a staple of Ipswich’s fairly recent history.
Equally adept on the right wing or at right-back, Edwards was signed from Sunderland in 2009 and went on to make 191 appearances across a five-year period before moving on to Millwall two years later.
Spells back home in his native Trinidad and Tobago did follow, but interestingly, he has now spent the last six years playing in Suffolk – a second home if you like.
These spells have been undertaken with Woodbridge Town, Bury Town, and most recently Hadleigh United, for whom he signed for over the summer.
Amazingly, Edwards will celebrate his 45th birthday – yes, you read that right – next month, so you simply have to stand back and appreciate how dedicated he is to remaining in the game irrespective of the level.
Hadleigh currently ply their trade in the Eastern Counties League and they are placed in the Premier Division (step 5).
Kevin Bru
34-year-old midfielder Kevin Bru is strutting his stuff a bit further away from Portman Road than Edwards is, but the fact that he is still playing arrives as a surprise nonetheless, and so too does the league in which he is turning out in.
The French-born Mauritius international made just north of 100 appearances for Ipswich between 2014 and 2018 and has continued to transpire as something of a journeyman after his departure, too.
Stints in Cyprus, Romania and in the lower leagues back in the homeland have followed, but Bru is now playing in Iceland with IBV Vestmannaeyjar, having also signed during the summer.
He has made three appearances for them to date, with two of those being starts.
Michael Chopra
We did tell you to brace yourself for some surprises, and did you expect to read that Michael Chopra is still playing in 2023?
Chopra has seen it all, having previously graced both the Champions League and the Premier League before emerging among the second tier’s most feared goalscorers in the late 2000s, which he maintained during his first season with Ipswich in the 2011/12 campaign after signing from Cardiff City.
The goals dried up the following year and he ended his two-year Portman Road stay with 18 strikes to his name before leaving for Blackpool and embarking upon a more nomadic career.
And, as of 2022, the latest destination is West Allotment Celtic, which sees Chopra back in the familiar territory of the North East.
Due to the extremely low level in which the striker is playing at, official statistics are not available to access, but with nothing stating that Chopra has since departed the club or announced his retirement, it is safe to assume that he is still there.
A lesser-known name both on English shores and among younger Town fans perhaps, Sito Castro may well have evaded the memory and you will be shocked to find out that, at the ripe old age of 43, he is still playing football.
Castro spent three years at Ipswich between 2005 and 2008, with the rest of his career both before and after being played out in his native Spain, and nothing has changed on that front either.
It is now believed that he is playing in the fifth tier of Spanish football with the reserve side of CD Calahorra.
Brett Pitman
Brett Pitman is also still kicking about at a lower level.
One of the great goalscorers of Bournemouth’s history, Pitman was never quite able to truly find his feet at Ipswich after making the move in 2015 and returned to the south coast two years later with Portsmouth, having scored 15 times from 70 matches in Town colours.
Initially a big hit at Fratton Park, the goals eventually dried up there and he moved on to Swindon Town and Bristol Rovers before once again returning to the south coast with non-league side AFC Portchester.
Unsurprisingly, Pitman recaptured his goalscoring form there and scored 44 times in the 2022/23 season.
The 35-year-old is now with Shaftesbury in the Wessex League Premier Division.
David Norris
You can be forgiven for completely forgetting that David Norris still plays football at the age of 42, but he is yet another former Ipswich player who has decided to keep playing against all the odds that accompany that sort of age.
The attacking midfielder made 118 appearances for Ipswich across a three-year period and after spending time with Portsmouth and Leeds United, he has descended the footballing pyramid.
From Yeovil Town to Leatherhead and from Salford City some time before League Two to Shaw Lane and Boston United, Norris has now spent the last five years with Lancaster City in the seventh-tier.
Again, you simply have to respect it.
Conor Sammon
The 9-cap former Republic of Ireland international was just never quite able to cut it in English football, and the ill-fated 20 matches he featured in for Ipswich during the 2014/15 campaign while on loan from Derby County were absolutely no exception to that either.
Formerly prolific in Scotland, Sammon returned north of the border in 2016 to sign for Hearts and is still going to this day with third-tier Alloa Athletic.
Ben Pringle
Finishing off is a real surprise, not only because he is still playing but also because of who he now plays for.
Ben Pringle is now at Fleetwood.
No, not Fleetwood Town in League One but instead Dubai-based Fleetwood United, who play in the third division of football in the United Arab Emirates.
They are a sister club of the Seasiders and have recruited Pringle as a player/coach following his departure from Altrincham back in June.
The 34-year-old midfielder spent time on loan with Ipswich from Fulham in 2016 and made 10 appearances, scoring twice.
