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Regional daily runs special edition for football fans visiting patch

A regional daily ran a special edition aimed at football supporters visiting its patch from almost 300 miles away.

The East Anglian Daily Times ran the ‘Toon Army’ edition when Ipswich Town played Newcastle United on Easter Monday.

The edition marked Sir Bobby Robson Day – when Ipswich and Newcastle fans joined together to pay tribute to the much-loved football manager, who had spells in charge of both clubs prior to his death in 2009.

The tribute edition featured nine pages of memories of Sir Bobby, from both Ipswich and Newcastle, with an alternative front page especially for fans visiting from the North-East, who are known as the ‘Toon Army’.

EADT Bobby

Terry Hunt, EADT editor, said: “Ipswich and Newcastle supporters all love Sir Bobby, and the meetings between the two teams are always a special opportunity to pay a united tribute to the great man.

“We hope all the fans – whether Ipswich or Newcastle – enjoyed our special edition.”

Sir Bobby spent 13 years in charge of Ipswich, between 1969 and 1972, and five years with Newcastle, between 1999 and 2004, during a career in which he also managed in Holland, Spain and Portugal.

Internationally, he coached England to the semi-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy.