History of Ipswich Town F.C.
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The History of Ipswich Town Football Club begins with the clubs' formation in 1878.
[edit] History to 1960
[edit] The Alf Ramsey era
Ipswich Town won promotion to the First Division for the first time in its history on winning the Second Division Championship at the end of the 1960-61 season[citation needed] (having entered the league in the Third Division South in the 1938-39 season)[citation needed] under Alf Ramsey. Ipswich's first top division season was an enormous success, winning the First Division Championship and qualifying for the European Cup at the end of an excellent 1961-62 season.[citation needed] This was arguably the most remarkable League Championship win in its history,[citation needed] as Ipswich were all but condemned to relegation by virtually all football pundits and journalists at that time.[citation needed] But Alf Ramsey's tactical astuteness, working with a squad of solid but not outstanding players, baffled and astonished the illustrious football clubs involved to produce the would be impossible task of actually winning the league title in Ipswich's first ever season in the top flight. But Ramsey quit the club soon afterwards to take charge of the England team and his 1966 World Cup success would gain himself a knighthood and a place in the book of footballing greats.[citation needed] After Ramsey took the England job in 1963 he was replaced at Ipswich By Jackie Milburn.[citation needed]
[edit] The Jackie Milburn era: Sudden slump
Under Jackie Milburn Ipswich's fortunes on the pitch plummeted, slipping down to the Second Division in 1964, just two years after winning the league title, conceding a top division record of 121 league goals in 42 games.[citation needed] Milburn quit after just one full season and was replaced by Bill McGarry in 1964.[citation needed]
[edit] The Bill McGarry era: The comeback
The club remained in the Second Division for four years until Bill McGarry finally guided Ipswich to promotion in the 1967-68 season.[citation needed] McGarry quit to manage Wolves and in January 1969 was replaced by Bobby Robson.[citation needed]
[edit] The Bobby Robson era: Chasing success
It took a while for Bobby Robson to establish himself at Ipswich. His first two seasons were a case of staying up. However, this marked the most illustrious period in the club's history, winning two major trophies, enjoying several seasons in top flight European football, producing a team full of international players and playing some very attractive football.[citation needed] From finishing 18th and 19th (from 22) in his first two seasons he then managed to push up the table finishing 13th in 1972, and in 1973 Ipswich finished 4th, qualified for the UEFA Cup for the first time, won the Texaco Cup and secured the FA Youth Cup.[citation needed] Ipswich became a regular feature in the top five of the league and in the UEFA Cup, again winning the Youth Cup in 1975.[citation needed]
Bobby Robson gained Ipswich Town's first FA Cup success in 1978 with a victory over Arsenal at Wembley Stadium, and more success came with a UEFA Cup victory in 1981 and runners-up finish in the league in 1981 and 1982.[citation needed] Key players of this era included Frans Thijssen, Arnold Muhren, Kevin Beattie, John Wark and Paul Mariner.[citation needed] Robson left Ipswich in the summer of 1982 to take charge of the England team and was replaced by his assistant Bobby Ferguson.[citation needed] The club has never repeated the success of the Robson years.[citation needed]
[edit] The Bobby Ferguson era: Decline
Bobby Ferguson's transition from coach to manager was not an easy one. This, combined with financial restraints following a new stand being built meant that Town could only manage to finish mid-table for a couple of seasons,[citation needed] then spend a season struggling followed by relegation a year later.[citation needed]Ferguson resigned a year later after losing to Charlton Athletic in the old Second Division play-offs.[citation needed]
[edit] The John Duncan era: Standstill
From 1986 to 1990, Ipswich Town were managed by John Duncan and gained themselves a reputation as a competent Second Division side,[citation needed] but they never really looked like gaining promotion.[citation needed] For a club with such a proud history, the Ipswich Town directors decided that the team's form under John Duncan had been unsatisfactory and he was sacked at the end of the 1989-1990 season.[citation needed] He was replaced by John Lyall, whose 14-year reign as West Ham United manager had ended the previous summer—during that time the Hammers had won the FA Cup twice and finished third in the league.[citation needed]
[edit] The John Lyall era
John Lyall guided Ipswich to a mid table finish in the 1990-1991 Second Division campaign but the following season saw them crowned champions of the Second Division and gain promotion to the new FA Premier League, ready for the 1992-1993 season.
Defender John Wark had returned to Ipswich after a spell at Middlesbrough, while Ipswich's key players included the ever reliable Mick Stockwell (who played in every position other than goalkeeper), Canadian international duo goalkeeper Craig Forrest and full back Frank Yallop, Welsh international midfielder Geraint Williams and Bulgarian striker Bontcho Guentchev as well as talented youngsters such as Jason Dozzell and Chris Kiwomya.
After enjoying the longest unbeaten start of any Premier League side, Ipswich were fourth in the Premier League come January 1993, with a UEFA Cup place looking possible - there was even talk of a league title triumph. But a dip in form during the final weeks of the season saw Ipswich finish a disappointing 16th in the first ever Premier League.
Lyall added several more players to the Ipswich squad, including Oldham striker Ian Marshall and the Danish attacking midfielder Claus Thomsen. These acquisitions looked to have had a positive effect on Ipswich's playing fortunes, as they made a good start to the 1993-1994 Premier League campaign. But the final weeks of the season saw a slump and Ipswich only avoided relegation when Sheffield United suffered a last-gasp 3-2 defeat at Chelsea on the final day of the season.
Lyall was sacked as Ipswich manager in December 1994 with the club rooted to the bottom of the Premiership. His successor George Burley was unable to turn things around and the writing was on the wall following a humiliating 9-0 defeat at Manchester United in early March, it is the heaviest ever defeat experienced by any team in a Premiership match. Relegation was confirmed soon afterwards and Ipswich ended the season having conceded 92 goals in 42 league games - the second worst-ever defensive record of any Premiership club.
[edit] The George Burley era
George Burley arrived too late to keep Ipswich Town in the Premiership, but he was intent on getting them back up. In 1995-1996, Ipswich fell one place short of the Division playoff zone, while the next three seasons brought semi-final playoff defeats.
By now, the likes of John Wark, Craig Forrest, Bontcho Guentchev and Claus Thomsen had long left the club. A new set of players had arrived and given Ipswich a reputation for playing attractive, high quality football. These players included goalkeeper Richard Wright, defender Titus Bramble, midfielder Kieron Dyer, midfielder/striker James Scowcroft, winger Martijn Reuser, striker Marcus Stewart and veteran defenders Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus.
Ipswich finally returned to the Premiership in 2000 after coming from behind to beat Barnsley 4-2 in the last Division One playoff final at Wembley Stadium before the old stadium was to be redeveloped. Most observers expected Ipswich to suffer relegation from the Premiership in their first season back at this level, but George Burley's hardworking side defied the odds and finished in an impressive fifth place—being pipped by Liverpool on the last day of the season for a place in the Champions League - gaining themselves a UEFA Cup place instead, and earning George Burley the Manager of the Year Award.
Ipswich's last spell in the top division ended in relegation after two seasons, but the first season of this short-lived spell at the top yielded a fifth place finish in the Premiership and qualification for the UEFA Cup. As an added bonus, manager George Burley was voted Manager of the Year by his counterparts for his achievement with newly promoted Ipswich, and, upon their relegation, Ipswich were awarded a place in the qualifying round of the UEFA Cup via the 'Fair Play Award'.
In the following season's UEFA Cup, Ipswich played Torpedo Moscow in the first round and won 3-2 on aggregate. After a goalless draw with Helsingborgs IF in the first leg, they won 3-1 in the second. Ipswich beat Inter Milan 1-0 at home in round 3 with a headed goal from Alun Armstrong, but lost the tie over two legs after a 4-1 defeat in Italy. However, their League form was the real cause for concern; 18 games into the 2001-02 Premiership campaign, Ipswich were bottom of the table with just one league victory and their top division days were looking numbered. Then George Burley's side climbed to 12th place with seven wins from eight fixtures which appeared to have saved them from relegation. But another decline set in and this time Ipswich were unable to halt it. Their fate was confirmed on the final day of the season with a 5-0 defeat away to Liverpool. This maintained the record that no team that was bottom of the Premiership on Christmas Day would stay up that season. This remained the case until West Brom survived the drop a few seasons later.
The loss of income due to relegation led to the club going into financial administration. They had the minor consolation of again qualifying for the UEFA Cup, this time via UEFA's Fair Play route, and became the first lower-level team to survive two ties in the same UEFA Cup (losing in the second round proper). A poor start to the season, culminating in a 2-0 defeat at Grimsby Town meant that George Burley was sacked in October 2002 after nearly eight years as manager of Ipswich Town. First team coach Tony Mowbray was given four games as caretaker mananger, winning once, but he was ultimately replaced as manager by the former Oldham Athletic, Everton and Manchester City manager Joe Royle, whose managerial career had so far yielded four promotions and one FA Cup victory.
During this period, the stands at each end had been rebuilt, increasing capacity to over 30,000.
[edit] The Joe Royle era
When Joe Royle became Ipswich manager, the club was struggling near the Division One relegation zone and following a revival after a change in management just missed the playoffs. The 2003/2004 season saw the club come out of administration and continue to challenge for promotion back to the Premier League. They finished that season in fifth, but were knocked out of the playoff semi finals by West Ham United 2-1 on aggregate.
Despite missing automatic promotion in 2004-2005 (Ipswich finished 3rd with 85pts, only two short of 2nd-placed Wigan Athletic with 87pts) Joe Royle tried to achieve his fifth promotion success as a manager through the play offs—he won promotion to the Second Division in 1983 and First Division in 1991 with Oldham Athletic, as well as getting Manchester City to the Premiership in 2000 after two straight promotions. However, Ipswich lost to West Ham United again in the play-off semi-finals. Despite fighting back from 2-0 down in the first leg to draw 2-2 at Upton Park, they lost 2-0 in the return leg at Portman Road, continuing their unenviable record in the end of season lottery.
2005-06 saw a campaign plagued by injuries and pre-season promotion favourites Ipswich finished a disappointing 15th - the club's lowest finish since 1966[1] —having never looked serious contenders for the play-offs. Joe Royle resigned by mutual consent on 11 May, 2006.
Joe Royle's period as Ipswich manager will be best remembered for his ability to bring the best out of inexperienced and perhaps fairly mediocre players during an era of wage bill reductions and other cost cutting measures. The Premiership wage bill was slashed from around £20m to under £5m and the higher earners were the first to leave, such as Pablo Couñago, Matteo Sereni, Marcus Bent, Martijn Reuser, Matt Holland, Jamie Clapham, Chris Makin and Hermann Hreiðarsson. Darren Ambrose also departed in this era during desperate attempts to replace lost income. Other major players, largely developed during their time with Ipswich, left at the end of the 2004/05 season when automatic promotion was missed by three points. This was partly to balance the books, as was the case with the sale of Darren Bent to Charlton and Kelvin Davis to Sunderland, but others wished to realise their Premiership ambitions, such as Shefki Kuqi and Tommy Miller, whose contracts had ended.
[edit] The Jim Magilton era
- For the current season statistics, see 2006-07 season for Ipswich Town F.C.
On 5 June, 2006 at a press conference, Jim Magilton was officially unveiled as the new manager and former Academy Director Bryan Klug, who coached and helped develop players such as Owen Garvan, Kieron Dyer, Darren Ambrose, Richard Wright, Darren Bent Titus Bramble and Billy Clarke was appointed to assist as first team coach.
At the start of the 2006-07 season, many predicted a poor league finish for the club, the likes of the News of the World stating that Ipswich Town would only manage 19th place in the Championship due to lack of transfer activity and the inexperience of the new manager.[citation needed]
Magilton started his management career with 3 straight defeats. This was followed by a first round defeat in the League Cup at the hands of Peterborough. His first win as a manager came in a 3-1 away win at QPR with a promising display before recording consecutive 2-1 victories over Southampton and Coventry City.
With a new man in charge there has been cautious optimism from the Town fans. Positive signs have included a fantastic team performance in the 3-1 victory against the old enemy Norwich who were out played by a young and mobile Ipswich Town team.
It is also during the Jim Magilton era when Sir Bobby Robson pledged his loyalty to the club by agreeing to become their president, an act which was met with great pleasure and grattitude form all Ipswich Town fans.
With sections of the club's support seeing the last decade as been the most turbulent in the club's history, with constant fluctuation in the club's fortunes many fans appear prepared to settle for a period of steady progress and good, passing football. They finished February mid table in the Championship, which suggests that they are too good to be relegated but not quite good enough to be promoted.
The 2006-2007 season has been plauged with inconsistency, which has seen them at the wrong end of the table. Despite fantastic wins against Luton (5-0),league leaders Birmingham (1-0), arch rivals Nowrich (3-1) and Colchester United (3-2) and a fantastic 5-2 win away at Hull. However, Ipswich fans havebeen frustrated that Ipswich never seem to be able to keep up a run of form.
