Ipswich Town will not bounce back up to the Sky Bet Championship at the first time of asking after suffering defeat at the weekend.

The 1-0 loss away to Rotherham United sees the Tractor Boys sitting 11th in League One, 12 points behind sixth-placed Sunderland with just three games remaining.

Even if the club won their last three, then, they still could not make up that gap to the Black Cats, and given they have just one win in their last five, it’s also unlikely they would put together such a run.

One positive from the season has been the involvement of players that have come through the youth ranks at the club, such as Luke Woolfenden and Idris El Mizouni.

With that being said, here at Football League World, we thought we’d look back at recent Tractor Boys history and pick out some of their best youth products in recent times.

Here, then, are eight of the Ipswich Town’s best ever academy graduates, in no particular order.

The first name on this list is former Premier League defender Titus Bramble, who came through the Ipswich youth academy in the late nineties having been born in the town.

Bramble went on to make his first team debut in 1998 and in total made 48 league appearances for the club during his four senior years there.

The now 40-year-old went on to play for Newcastle United, Wigan Athletic, and Sunderland post-Ipswich, and also had a brief stint at Stowmarket Town in 2017.

At present, Bramble is an ambassador/lead coach for The Future Stars Charity, according to his Instagram.

Another player who played for Ipswich Town’s youth sides before turning pro is defender Richard Keogh.

Keogh never made a first team appearance for the Tractor Boys having left their youth system for Stoke City’s, but he spent time there nonetheless.

Throughout a lengthy career, Keogh has had spells at Bristol City, Carlisle United, Coventry City, Derby County, MK Dons, Huddersfield and most recently, Blackpool.

This season, Keogh has made 26 Championship appearances for the Seasiders.

The next man on the list and another fine player produced by the Ipswich Town academy throughout the years is Darren Bent.

Bent spent time in the Tractor Boys academy in the late nineties and went on to make 141 appearances for the club in all competitions.

Bent would go on to have a successful career in the Premier League with clubs such as Charlton Athletic, Tottenham Hotspur, Sunderland, Aston Villa and Fulham and also played in the Championship with Derby County later in his career.

Bent is now a pundit and can be seen on TalkSPORT, Premier League Productions and Sky Sports.

Another really good player produced by Ipswich Town is forward Jordan Rhodes.

Rhodes came through the Ipswich youth system from 2005 onwards and made his first team debut for the club in the 2007/08 season.

The now 32-year-old proved to be a prolific scorer at Championship level throughout his career, with fruitful spells at Huddersfield Town and Blackburn Rovers over an eight-year spell.

After playing at Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday, Rhodes returned to Huddersfield town in 2021 and has made two appearances for the Terriers this campaign.

Kieron Dyer is another fine player that the Tractor Boys have produced throughout the years.

Dyer came through the Ipswich academy in the 1990’s and spent three years as a senior player with the club, making 107 appearances for the club in all competitions before earning himself a move to Newcastle United.

Dyer went on to make 250 appearances for the Magpies, before stints at West Ham, Ipswich, QPR and Middlesbrough before hanging up his boots.

Most recently, Dyer was the under-23's coach at Portman Road but stepped back from the role recently due to illness. We wish Dyer all the best in his recovery.

Another player who has carved out a fine career for themselves in the Premier League is goalkeeper Nick Pope – who also had a spell with Ipswich Town as a youth player, although he never made a first team appearance for the club.

Pope went on to spend time at Bury and not play there either, before joining Charlton, where he spent five years between 2011 and 2016 and had numerous loan spells.

Pope joined Burnley back in 2016 and has gone on to make 148 appearances for the club so far, all of which in the league have come at Premier League level.

Another player to come through the Ipswich Town academy in the late nineties and early 2000’s is Darren Ambrose – another fine Tractor Boys’ product.

Ambrose made his first team debut for the club in 2001 and remained at Portman Road until 2003 when he left for Newcastle United.

Ambrose went on to make over 340 career appearances for further clubs such as Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, Birmingham City, Ipswich again, and Colchester United.

These days, Ambrose is a pundit on TalkSPORT, according to his Instagram.

Finally, and last but not least, Connor Wickham is another good player that Ipswich Town’s academy has produced, according to Transfermarkt.

Wickham went on to make his first team Ipswich debut in 2009 and went on to make 65 league appearances for the club before earning a move to then Premier League side Sunderland.

From then on out, Wickham struggled with injuries, making just 79 league appearances in the next four seasons for the Black Cats.

These days, Wickham is playing his football in League One with MK Dons where he has made 12 league appearances for the club so far after signing for them in the January transfer window.