Pride of Anglia - Ipswich Town Football Club
since 1878
Happy 58th Birthday Arnold
The Man with Velvet Feet ... Arnoldus Johannus Hyacinthus Muhren
A few years ago Kevin Beattie was once gain voted the greatest Town player of all time in a poll run by the East Anglian Daily Times. With no disrespect to a player that Bobby Robson described as the best English player of the 70's, my vote went to Arnold Muhren.
Robson's signing of the Dutch midfielder from FC Twente at the start of the 78/79 season was an absolute masterstroke. The impact that Muhren had on the side over the next four years -- with his breadth of vision and a left foot that delivered inch perfect passes, seemingly without effort -- is unquestionable.
His arrival was overshadowed nationally by the arrival of the Argentinean pair Ardilles and Villa at Spurs, who that summer had helped their nation to victory in the '78 World Cup Finals, but not at Portman Road where he quickly became a local favourite.
Tactics were adopted to suit his talents, and Town now had much greater variety in their approach play, with moves being built through the middle of the park as well as the long ball style favoured by manager Robson in preceding years.
At the end of his first season he unsurprisingly collected the Town Player of the Year award, which coincidentally was presented to him by Osvaldo Ardilles prior to the home league fixture with Tottenham (Muhren scoring in a 2-1 victory).
The arrival during his first season at the club by fellow countryman and midfielder Frans Thijssen, and with John Wark also in midfield, so was formed one of the most potent and attractive midfield trio's in the country. Over the next four seasons the midfielders were instrumental in the clubs success as they won the UEFA Cup in 1981, finished as League Championship Runners Up in 1981 and 1982, FA Cup Semi-Finalists in 1981 and League Cup Semi-Finalists in 1982.
In all the times that I was privileged to watch him play for the Town he had just one poor game. But that was at a packed Nou Camp in the '79 Cup Winners' Cup away defeat at Barcelona. With 100,000 volatile Barca fans screaming their team on I guess he can be forgiven that one.
At the age of 31, and looking for a final contract that would allow him to unashamedly cash in on his skills, he signed for Manchester United.
In the same way that he had lifted the Town four years earlier, he had an immediate effect on Ron Atkinsons outfit. His first season at Old Trafford culminating in a 4-0 win against Brighton, in an FA Cup Final replay, in which he laid on a trademark cross-field pass for Whiteside to score United's 3rd goal and also netted the 4th himself.
In the following season (83/84) he was injured during the later stages of a league campaign, that looked at one stage as though it would end with the Red's first Championship success for 25 years, but evaporated in his absence. Perhaps a measure of his influence on the side.
His final season at Old Trafford was plagued by injury, and unable to reclaim a regular place in the first team he headed back to Holland, and by then aged 34 we could be excused of thinking that that was that for our flying Dutchman. Not likely !.
He re-signed for Ajax, a club with whom he had won a European Cup Winners medal in 1971. Rather curiously he was capped by the Netherlands on just six occasions whilst at Ipswich and not once whilst at Old Trafford. However, his return to Ajax signaled an upturn in his international career and in 1988, by then aged 37, he was an inspiring factor for his nation as they triumphed in the European Championship's defeating the Soviet Union 2-0 in the final.
Remember Marco van Basten's outrageous goal in that game ?. Well Muhren laid on another trademark, inch perfect, cross-field pass for the assist. Brilliant !