Pride of Anglia - Ipswich Town Football Club
since 1878
Do You Remember ... 8th March 1975
When over 38,000 crammed into Portman Road?
It was in the summer of 1974 that Don Revie left newly-crowned League Champions Leeds United to manage the national side. Leeds appointed Brian Clough before infamously sacking him 44 days later. For Blues the summer of 1974 was a far more peaceful time, with only Paul Cooper being added to the squad for £20,000 as cover for Laurie Sivell. Why worry about Leeds? Read on.
After a second successive fourth place in Division One in 1974, and with it UEFA Cup qualification once more, Blues looked forward to another successful season and a fine start with four straight wins and four clean sheets saw Town on top of the table. By late September Blues had won eight of their opening nine League games and with near-invincible form at home it was in large part thanks to nine single-goal defeats (seven away from home) that Town were destined to miss out on the title by only two points, but for the moment Blues fans could dream of a second Championship in 13 years.
With free-flowing football on offer the fans were flocking to Portman Road in their thousands and with the new Portman (now Cobbold) Stand being extended during the season there was more room than ever to accommodate them. League crowds averaged nearly 25,000 for the 1974/75 season - the highest in the Club's history.
While Town were flying high in the League they were also enjoying their most successful - and toughest - FA Cup campaign to date. It had everything - lucky breaks, a great comeback, a seven-hour marathon and a heartbreaking finish.
The first game of the new year saw Blues travel to League Cup holders Wolves for the Third Round and they had to come back from behind to secure a 2-1 win and a Fourth Round tie against the reigning FA Cup holders Liverpool who had knocked Town out of the Cup a year earlier! A record crowd of 34,709 - beating the 34,636 who had seen Arsenal defeat Blues two years earlier - saw a thrilling battle in the mud. The gates were closed at 2.20pm and thousands were locked out. It was not until the 86th minute that the deadlock was broken when Mick Mills stabbed the ball home from close range for his first goal of the season.
Town had therefore defeated both domestic Cup holders, and their reward was a Fifth Round home tie against Second Division Aston Villa. This was no walk in the park, though, as Villa would be promoted to the First Division that season and were only two weeks away from winning the League Cup themselves, beating Norwich 1-0 in the Final. Five minutes into the second half Blues found themselves 2-0 behind and staring an ignominious defeat in the face, before a goal from David Johnson and a late brace from substitute Bryan Hamilton secured a fortuitous victory and a place in the quarter-finals for the first time.
Blues had to wait several days for Derby County and Leeds United - two powerhouses in the English game - to settle their fifth round tie before learning it would be the reigning Champions who would be coming to Portman Road for the historic Sixth Round match.
In the days leading up to the game on 8th March the new extensions to the Portman Stand were opened, which increased the capacity of the stadium by adding 1,600 seats and more terracing. This was still not enough for all the fans who wanted to see the game and the stadium was full an hour before kick-off; for the second time in six weeks the ground record was broken, and 38,010 fans were in place to witness a titanic struggle. Three days earlier Leeds had beaten Anderlecht 3-0 in the European Cup and they were in fine form as they travelled to Suffolk. The Leeds team included household names such as Billy Bremner, Allan Clarke, Johnny Giles, Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Terry Yorath and Norman "Bite Yer Legs" Hunter. Town sent their own big guns into battle, nine of whom would go on to play in all four games against Leeds. The game was finely balanced and neither side could break the deadlock, meaning a replay at Elland Road three days later.
Over 50,000 supporters filled Elland Road for the replay, and the press had virtually written off the Suffolk club against the League Champions and soon-to-be European Cup finalists, especially with Peter Lorimer returning to their team, but it was a superb first half David Johnson header for Blues which broke the deadlock and silenced the crowd. Blues had more chances but were still leading after 90 minutes, and it wasn't until late into injury time that the League's most expensive substitute, Duncan McKenzie, volleyed home to send the tie into extra-time. No further goals were scored and so the tie headed into it's third act.
Ipswich would have been happy to toss a coin to decide the venue but Leeds were not in agreement and so it was left to the FA to decide upon Filbert street, Leicester as the neutral venue a fortnight later. Before then Blues had to squeeze in three League games - an amazing nine-goal thriller against mid-table Newcastle, a win at fifth-placed Stoke and a point at table-topping Everton. And so to Filbert Street.
Blues took 15,000 fans to Leicester for the Tuesday evening second replay. A new referee had been appointed, the 1974 World Cup Final ref Jack Taylor, and he presided over another very tight game in which once again it was impossible to separate the teams, even with extra-time, again. Laurie Sivell had emerged on top once more in his personal battle against Joe Jordan. Not a single mistake was made and both teams played superbly well, a point made by England manager Don Revie who was at the game. After the game, Bobby Robson enthused, "Compared to Leeds, we come from a small place. So how could I feel anything but proud when I heard our supporters on Tuesday. This must have been the biggest away turn-out the Club have ever had."
The third replay took place only two days later, on Thursday 27th March. Blues remained in Leicester and used the Leicester City facilities to treat their injured players. However, a hamstring injury proved too much for Kevin Beattie who was unable to take any further part in the tie. With another central defender John Peddelty out for the rest of a season with a fractured skull, Blues options were limited. Bobby Robson was upbeat: "Still, I can tell you I've got one or two players which are probably unheard of outside Ipswich, but I quite fancy them as players." All was revealed when, before the game, Robson turned to the 17-year-old youth team player John Wark whose role it was to stop England striker Allan Clarke - one of football's memorable David versus Goliath battles! Before the fourth showdown Robson paid due compliment to Blues opponents, "In my book, Leeds are as near as you can get to the perfect team. Yet, in all three matches with them, I believe we have matched them - and any manager must be pleased to be equal with a perfect team."
Over the next 90 minutes Blues were to prove they were even better than the "perfect team". After only two goals in five-and-a-half hours of football, the third replay provided a goal-feast with Blues twice taking the lead through Trevor Whymark and Bryan Hamilton, only to be pegged back both times with goals from Allan Clarke and Johnny Giles. The best was yet to come when, with only 11 minutes left and extra-time looming again, a brilliant swerving shot from Clive Woods broke the deadlock for the last time, a goal which would be voted the BBC's "Goal of the Month". After seven hours of scintillating football it was Blue who emerged victorious and took their place in the semi-final of the FA Cup.
The semi-final against West Ham also needed a replay to separate the teams but this time Blues were to lose in the cruellest - and most controversial - fashion, having two goals disallowed by referee Clive Thomas in the replay. Town went on to beat West Ham 4-1 in the final League game of the season at Portman Road, a result which ensured Blues finished in third place, just two points behind new Champions Derby County, but it was little consolation for losing out on the chance to play at Wembley.
So, a thrilling season overall, and one which will long be remembered for the four-match tie against Leeds, and the record breaking crowd which filled Portman Road to the rafters - a record which stands to this day.
Ian Hunneybell