Suffolk’s best homegrown products from non-league to the professional game

Suffolk is not considered a footballing hotbed in the same manner as north-west regions like Lancashire and Yorkshire, but this East Anglian county has developed more than its fair share of players that have been cherry-picked from the non-league into the professional game.

Within this feature we explore three of Suffolk’s most successful players to have graduated from non-league to the full-time scene through the decades – and one hard luck story.

Simon Milton: 280 appearances for the Tractor Boys

Arguably the biggest success story of a non-league player moving up to the professional game in Suffolk is midfielder Simon Milton. The 57-year-old, who played for Ipswich Town for 11 years from 1987 to 1998, made 280 competitive appearances for the Blues, scoring 48 goals to boot. Milton began his junior career as a player for Thetford Rovers and caught the eye of nearby Norwich City and Cambridge United. However, following unsuccessful trial spells at both teams, Milton made the switch to Bury Town.

Prior to his switch to Ram Meadow, Milton impressed in a Thetford Rovers jersey against Ipswich Town, who were then managed by Bobby Ferguson. Ferguson offered Milton a trial and settled in with ease at Portman Road. Despite the sacking of Ferguson, just weeks after offering Milton a professional contract, new boss John Duncan agreed to honour the deal and snap him up for £5,000 from Bury Town.

Milton was even voted by the fans as Player of the Year in 1996 just a year before finishing his spell at Ipswich. Milton was a big part of Ipswich’s title-winning side in the 1991/92 Division Two season under boss John Lyall. Town have enjoyed something of a roller-coaster ride since then and now find themselves at their lowest ebb since the mid-1950s. They are well off the League One promotion pace. FOX Bet, which is a US sports betting operator that covers English leagues as well as those stateside, recently priced Ipswich as long as +12500 to win the division outright.

Tyler French: Stepping up to League Two

22-year-old Tyler French successfully made the step up from Suffolk’s non-league scene in 2019 when he signed for League Two Bradford City. French spent three years in the first team of AFC Sudbury, who ply their trade in the Isthmian League North Division. He made almost a century of appearances for the Yellows and secured a trial with Charlton Athletic in June 2019 before making the move to West Yorkshire. French also earnt his stripes playing as a youngster in Step 6 of the Thurlow Nunn League, turning out for the likes of Long Melford and Hadleigh United in defence.

French spent two seasons at Valley Parade before leaving Bradford earlier this year for National League outfit Wrexham, who recently celebrated their Hollywood takeover from Ryan Reynolds and co.

Ian Miller: From Step 4 to the Championship

Central defender Ian Miller had spent five years playing for Bury Town between 1999 and 2004 before being plucked from obscurity by Ipswich Town boss Jim Magilton. Ipswich paid a nominal fee for Miller’s services, who agreed a 12-month contract until June 2007. He made his first-team debut in March 2007, but spent loan spells with Boston United and Darlington after failing to cement a regular place in the XI. Miller would go on to play 130 games for Darlington in a three-year permanent spell, before spending time with Grimsby and Cambridge, skippering the U’s in 2013/14.

Kieran Morphew: A story of what could have been

Long-serving Needham Market defender Kieran Morphew could have followed in Ian Miller’s footsteps in 2016 after securing a trial with Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich. The centre back impressed hugely when turning out for the Blues’ U21 side and put in another solid display after being recalled for a second trial. Unfortunately, both McCarthy and U21s boss Mark Kennedy admitted to Morphew the club couldn’t sign him with no guarantee of first-team football available. Morphew admitted that having been trialled at the age of 22, his salary would have been “coming out of the first team budget” which almost certainly “played a part” in the management’s thinking.

Either way, Morphew’s performances and glowing reports on trial were vindication of the Needham Market Academy, of which Morphew was the first official graduate from the youth ranks to the Needham first team setup.