Norwich City icon endured tough 855-day Ipswich Town nightmare: View | OneFootball

Paul Lambert's time at Ipswich Town will only be remembered well by one half of the East Anglian divide

Paul Lambert’s time at Norwich City is remembered quite fondly by supporters even after all these years. His stint at bitter rivals Ipswich Town proved an 855-day disaster, perhaps only strengthening their feelings for what he achieved at Carrow Road.

The Scot guided the Canaries to back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League, a feat the Tractor Boys have just repeated under Kieran McKenna over the last two seasons.

First and second place finishes in League One and the Championship led to a three year stint in the Premier League, which also included seasons where they finished 12th and 11th, their best top flight results since coming third in 1993.

Norwich haven’t hit such heights since, and neither has Lambert, who hit rock bottom as a coach at Portman Road.

Paul Lambert’s underwhelming Ipswich stint

Lambert took charge of Ipswich in October 2018, and held onto the role until February 2021.

It was hoped when he took over that he could lead the Suffolk outfit back towards the Premier League, where they hadn’t competed since 2002.

However, he instead led them to relegation to League One in his first campaign in charge, with the team coming bottom of the Championship table, while Norwich finished first under Daniel Farke.

A report by ITV Anglia highlighted that his appointment by the club’s great rivals was met with a mixed reception at the time.

But this humiliation must have helped ease any bad feelings from the Canaries over their former legendary coach.

Lambert’s time with Ipswich didn’t improve in League One either, with the team coming 11th in their first year in the division and sitting eighth by the time he departed in 2021.

The 55-year-old has yet to return to management in the three years since his exit from Ipswich, with this disastrous spell ultimately pausing his career for the time being.

It was a far cry from the highs he experienced at Norwich.

Ipswich have trumped Norwich since Lambert’s departure

But in the three years since Lambert has left, Ipswich have also shown just how quickly things can change in football.

In 2021, Norwich were once again preparing for life back in the Premier League, while the Tractor Boys were starting their third campaign in League One.

Yet within three years, Ipswich have moved ahead of Norwich in the pecking order of English football under McKenna, with one back in the Premier League and one stuck in the Championship.

The 3-0 victory for Farke’s side over Ipswich in February 2019 was supposed to signal that one half of the East Anglian derby was on the rise while the other was on a downturn, but it only took five years for the roles to be reversed.

That win was a celebrated moment for the Canaries as they enjoyed a triumphant afternoon against the best manager they’ve had in the last 30 years, with his sending off in the game only adding a cherry on top.

It was another memory for supporters to cherish with Lambert even though he’d long departed Norwich, but one out of 855 days to forget for the man himself.