Pride of Anglia - Ipswich Town Football Club
since 1878
Do You Remember... 1973
...when the kids came good?
(the first team made it into Europe, the Reserves won the Combination,
but the kids trumped the lot by winning the FA Youth Cup)
Bobby Robson had been at Ipswich for three and a half years when the 1972/73 season got under way. In that time the Club had not managed to finish in the top half of the First Division, but the board at Ipswich had patience in abundance. They would have known, and seen, the year-on-year improvements that Robson was making around the Club, notably the building of the impressive Portman Road stand in the summer of 1971. Knowing that the Club could not afford to buy success, Robson had focused on developing the youth structure at the Club, which had been started by Jackie Milburn, and was afforded the time to allow this to bear fruit. Young players such as Mick Lambert, Laurie Sivell, Geoff Hammond, Clive Woods and Trevor Whymark were all given their first team debuts by Robson in these early years, and the new season started with yet another home-grown debutant - the 18-year-old Kevin Beattie.
Robson knew that Blues had a bright future beckoning and before the season began he commented, almost prophetically, "I believe that the time has come when we can drop the unfashionable tag which seems to have stuck with the Club over the years. The only way to do this is to provide added glamour by winning something or getting closer to a trophy."
The season started with an impressive win at Old Trafford, and equally impressive results including a 3-3 draw at Elland Road and a win at St James Park meant that by the end of August Blues were in sixth place and undefeated away from home. The reserves side, after a shaky start, also began to impose themselves and climbed up the Combination table, helped by a 4-0 win over lcval rivals Norwich. Not to be outdone, the youth side also hid four against the Canaries in a youth League game.
In Early November the Youth team began their FA Youth Cup campaign, a trophy in which the Club had never made much of an impression. The first round tie was a local derby against Southend United, a match Blues won 2-0 with goals from two young strikers recommended by Northern scout John Carruthers - Robin Turner and Eric Gates. There was sensational news involving two other strikers - Town's top goalscorer Rod Belfitt and Everton's 21-year-old David Johnson, who swapped Clubs, much to the dismay of many Blues fans. Their concerns may have been tempered by Johnson's impressive debut in a 2-2 draw against title-chasing Leeds, after which United boss Don Revie enthused, "Ipswich have reached the stage we were seven years ago and I reckon they'll go from strength to strength."
In the Youth Cup Blues progressed past Orient with goals from Turner and local lad Stephen Vale, who also netted the only goal in the next round against over Coventry City to set up a Fourth round game at Bolton Wanderers. On a heavy pitch in early February, Blues found themselves a goal behind after only five minutes, the first goal they had conceded in the campaign. Spurred on by their captain, a young Sam Allardyce, Bolton had chances to wrap the game up but a goal-line clearance by George Burley and a brilliant save by David McKellar kept the score down to one. In the second half John Peddelty, another of Carruthers' finds, helped Blues to dominate the second half and after 64 minutes Vale pounced from close range after a long-range shot from Turner was only parried to take the tie to a replay.
It was by now February. The first team were up to fourth place in the League, their highest placing for over a decade, the reserves were topping the Football Combination, a competition they had never won, and the youth team were hosting Bolton Wanderers in a Fourth Round Replay. Since Bobby Houghton's departure the previous October, the youth team had been run by coaches Cyril Lea and Bobby Ferguson, and to good effect. Over 3,500 came to Portman Road to watch a close contest, decided by a goal similar to the previous game, when England youth 'keeper Brian Siddall dropped the ball for Stephen Vale to poke home the winner, and put Blues through to the last eight.
The quarter-final draw pitted Blues against Swindon Town and another single-goal victory was enough to secure a semi-final place for the first time in the Club's history. With only three minutes left to play, Eric Gates picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box and drove home a glorious shot just inside the upright. Chelsea were Blues' next opponents and included in their side the promising Wilkins brothers, Ray and Graham.
The three Ipswich teams continued enjoying success and seeing who could outdo the others. The first team were attracting the attention of pundits up and down the country and in particular were enjoying their visits to the capital, winning at Spurs and West Ham, as well as putting four past Manchester United at Portman Road to complete the double over the Reds, and were progressing well in their first foray into the Texaco Cup. For the reserves, home-grown players such as Sivell, Brian Talbot and Roger Osborne were helping to keep their side several points clear at the top of the Combination, often cherry-picking the youth squad for players like Burley, Gates and Turner to continue their development.
In two hard-fought legs against Chelsea, a single goal decided the outcome and it was Eric Gates who scored the vital goal, in the first leg at Portman Road. Over six thousand people witnessed that game, and saw more promising youngsters like Tommy Parkin and John Stirk play their part in taking Blues to their first-ever FA Youth Cup Final. The second leg at Stamford Bridge was watched by former Blues player Charlie Woods, newly installed as youth team coach after occupying a similar role at Blackburn Rovers.
In the first leg of the final, Blues youths played Bristol City and over five thousand filed into Portman Road to witness a magnificent performance which would have graced the Wembley pitch. Stephen Vale bagged a brace and Robin Turner scored once and had another disallowed, as City were ripped apart. After the match Chairman John Cobbold beamed, "tonight is one my my proudest moments since I have been associated with Ipswich Town." High praise indeed since Cobbold had appeared in the Club's group photo before the Second World War! Having secured a three goal lead, Robson quipped, "I might even resign if they concede four goals next Monday!" There was no cause for Robson to consider his position as the following Monday Blues took an early lead through John Peddelty, who had already seen first team action, at Anfield no less! Although City scored a consolation goal in the dying minutes, Ipswich were deserved winners of the trophy.
Had it not been for the fact the first team didn't win any of their six games against the top three sides - Liverpool, Arsenal and Leeds - they would surely have finished higher than fourth. As it was, their impressive accomplishments in qualifying for the UEFA Cup and winning the Texaco Cup, was matched by the Reserves winning the Football Combination for the first time, but both teams had to step aside and allow centre stage to be taken the youngest players at the Club. By the time the dust had settled on the season, the youth side had won the Mercia Youth League and the Eastern Junior Floodlit Cup, had also reached the final of the Southern Junior Floodlight Cup, and had, for the first time in the Club's history, won the coveted FA Youth Cup. The faith the Board of Directors had placed in Bobby Robson was being repaid, and how!
Ian Hunneybell