DEVOTED Ipswich Town fan Paul Fulcher reckons he could be the Blues' biggest supporter.

DEVOTED Ipswich Town fan Paul Fulcher reckons he could be the Blues' biggest supporter.

The footy-mad pensioner, who has just celebrated his 70th birthday, has been an avid Town follower since his first visit to Portman Road 63 years ago.

He said: “It was against Norwich and we won 3-1.

“My dad took me along for my birthday.

“I saw all the great European games - Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona. And we never lost to one of them here.

“But the best game I ever saw was when we beat Burnley to win the Championship in 1962.”

The Britannia Stand season ticket holder, of Samuel Court, Ipswich, has collected nearly 1,000 Blues programmes during his years supporting Town.

Mr Fulcher, a former baker, said: “It's the atmosphere and everything that comes with it. I don't know if I'm Ipswich's oldest fan, but I know that if I didn't go to football I'd be lost.”

He said his years of following Town had left him with some cherished memories.

“My dad passed away a few days before the 1978 cup final,” he said. “After the match, the people I had gone to Wembley with didn't know where I was.

“Eventually they found me sitting in the stadium crying my eyes out. I was just so emotional.

“I used to walk round the pitch at half time with the golden goal results and I can remember us playing Norwich City at home.

“It was frosty at the Churchman's End, which we had been attacking in the first half. But at half time, the groundsman came out and put sand on the pitch to male the ice. The Norwich fans went mad and started throwing apple cores and all sorts at me.”

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