Dead Cups

Town's all-time record in the now defunct Full Members, Anglo-Italian, Willhire and (the never to be forgotten) Texaco Cup Competitions.

Full Members Cup 1986-92

The Full Members Cup was a short-lived supplementary Cup competition for Full Members of the Football League, i.e. those belonging to the old First and Second Divisions. It was introduced in 1985 following the European ban on English clubs, along with Super Cup, and mirrored the relatively successful tournament for Associate Members which had been introduced 2 years earlier. However it was never very popular, and was viewed as an irritating irrelevance by the top clubs who usually declined to enter, and by the football supporters in general who stayed away from matches in droves (although the crowds at the Finals were quite creditable). The re-admission of English clubs to Europe in 1990 was a fatal blow to the ailing tournament and when ZDS's sponsorship expired in 1992 the tournament was consigned to the history books. It was replaced by the reserrected Anglo-Italian Cup, a competition which achieved the difficult task of proving even less popular than it's predecessor.

Town's best performance in this multi-named tournament came in the 1986/87 season, the first season that they had entered. Having KO'd Plymouth, Reading, Aston Villa and Manchester City in previous rounds they succumbed to Blackburn Rovers, 0-2, in the semi-final at Ewood Park.

No. of seasons entered: 6

Best: Semi-Finalists 1986/87

Anglo-Italian Competitions 1969-95

The original Anglo-Italian Cup grew out of the need to give Swindon Town some reward for winning the League Cup in 1969 (as a Third Division team they could not be admitted into the Fairs Cup). It also acted as a source of additional revenue for clubs who had not qualified for Europe. It was not a very successful competition and in 1975 it was abandoned, although the Anglo-Italian connection continued in the shape of a new tournament for semi-professional sides. In 1993 the idea of an Anglo-Italian Cup was revived to replace the discredited Full Members (ZDS) Cup. The new competition involved teams from the secondary divisions of the two countries (Football League Division One and Italian Serie B). It was a complete flop with most games, especially in Italy, attracted only minimal crowds and very little coverage. It managed to survive 4 seasons before disappearing into oblivion in 1996.

The Blue's single foray into the Anglo-Italian tournament saw them top their group in the first stage only to be thrashed by those fine exponents of "Il Calcio" Port Vale, 2-4 at home, in the knock-out stage.

No. of seasons entered: 1

Best: English Semi-Finalist 1995/96

Willhire Cup 1978-80

The Willhire Cup, named after sponsors Willhire (a local vehicle hire company), was created in 1978 to add a competitive edge to pre-season matches. Four of East Anglia's Football League sides, Town, Colchester, Cambridge United and Norwich competed in this League Format tournament. Town where crowned the winners in 1978 and 1979, before the tournament did a "Mary Celeste" after the summer of 1980.

No. of seasons entered: 3

Best: Winners 1978 and 1979

Texaco Cup 1971-75

The Texaco Cup was sponsored by the petrol company and involved clubs from England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic Of Ireland who hadn't qualified for Europe. The Irish clubs withdrew after the 1971-72 competition due to political unrest and competed in a separate Texaco Irish Cup. Texaco withdrew their sponsorship in 1975 and it was replaced by the Anglo-Scottish Cup.

The Texcao Cup will forever hold a place in the hearts of Town fans of the era for the style in which Norwich where beaten in the two-legged final of the 1972/73 competition. Town did not have an opportunity to defend the trophy due to UEFA Cup commitments the following season, having qualified for Europe several weeks before victory over the Green and Yellows hordes.

No. of seasons entered: 1

Best: Winners 1973

Many thanks to James M. Ross for the tournament histories and Liam Snell for help with the statistics.