Picture of the Day: “Osborne, one-nil”
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Category: Ipswich Town Team News
Tags: Celebrating The FA Cup Final Win of 1978
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It Was 30 Years Ago Today
May 6 is always a date in the calendar few Town fans forget, not least those who were at Wembley Stadium on this day in 1978 when Ipswich Town lifted the F.A Cup for the first and only time in their history. I still had another three years to go before I was to be brought into the world, but through my Grandfather and Uncle’s who were there, plus the countless times I have watched the match back, the win feels special to me and the generations of fans that were born post the Bobby Robson era. Here I have collected some footage and added some links to celebrate one of the proudest days of our great club’s history. Be sure to take time to out look at the excellent collection of F.A Cup memorabilia and articles at the Pride of Anglia website (www.tmwmtt.com).
3rd Round
Cardiff 0-2 Ipswich Town
> Match report from Pride of Anglia
> Pre-match Bobby Robson and Mick Mills video
4th Round
Ipswich Town 4-1 Hartlepool
> Pride of Anglia match report
> Post-match Bobby Robson video
5th Round
Bristol Rovers 2-2 Ipswich Town
> You Tube footage of Bristol goals
5th Round Replay
Ipswich Town 3-0 Bristol Rovers
> Mick Mills post-match video
6th Round
Millwall 1-6 Ipswich Town
> Pride of Anglia report
> Bobby Robson talks about comments he made about action towards Millwall hooligans
Semi Final
West Brom 1-3 Ipswich Town
> Video highlights from You Tube
> Pre and post-match interviews with Mills, Mariner and Robson
The Final
Ipswich Town 1-0 Arsenal
> Video highlights of the match
> Pre-match video interview with Malcolm Macdonald and Paul Mariner
> Post-match interviews with Bobby Robson and the players
Category: Ipswich Town Team NewsDaily Ipswich Round Up
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The Latest From Portman Road
> De Vos Announces Retirement
> Magilton Rues Away Form
> Ipswich Win Not Enough
> Another Award For Walters
> De Vos Says Goodbye
> Jim Tips Hull
> Blues Boss Begins Making Changes
> De Vos Believes Town Future Is Bright
> Where Do Town Go From Here?
Category: Ipswich Town Team NewsFabian Wilnis, A Tribute
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“Fabian Wilnis is a Blue, is a Blue, is a Blue”
With the news coming out of Portman Road today that Fabian Wilnis will not be offered a new contract next season, I thought it fitting to pay tribute to one of the club’s finest ever servants.
Arriving from De Graafschap in his native Holland for just £200,000, Wilnis debuted in the 1998-99 season as a replacement for the ageing Mick Stockwell as George Burley’s Town side chased promotion once again to the Premiership. His first start came on 9th January 1999 in a depressing 1-0 home defeat against Grimsby Town, before going on to make another 292 appearances in the blue of Ipswich.
The following season Wilnis was an integral part of the team that was to finally find promotion to the Premiership. With Town tipped for instant relegation the season after, Wilnis was to silence all the critics and produce one of the greatest moments in recent Town history when treble-winning Manchester United came to Portman Road, a night nobody, least Wilnis will ever forget.
After a slick passing movement from defence, David Johnson swept the ball to his right where a free Wilnis calmly burst into the 18 yard area and drilled the ball home powerfully past Fabian Barthez. Portman Road erupted as Wilnis leapt to the corner flag to scenes of pandemonium and adulation. Despite a David Beckham equaliser that night, Town earned a 1-1 draw, the praise of Beckham and Ferguson and were to finish the campaign fifth.
The following season Wilnis fell out of favour somewhat after storming down the player’s tunnel following a 30th minute substitution in the UEFA Cup game against Helsingborgs in a season Town fell alarmingly out of the Premiership. However in 2002-03 under Joe Royle, Wilnis fully reclaimed his position at right back, making 43 appearances and scoring twice, including a memorable goal away at Norwich, as Town sunk the Budgies 2-0, further cementing Wilnis’ hero status amongst the fans.
The following two seasons, Town twice fell victim to West Ham in the play-off semis, yet now approaching his mid-thirties, Wilnis put in 89 appearances across the 2003-04 and 2004-05 campaigns. Although the 2005-06 season was to end disappointingly for Town, ending up a lowly 15th, Wilnis deservedly scooped the Supporters Player of the Year award, testament to his continued commitment and dogged determination in the Ipswich back four.
Under Jim Magilton and Town in a transitional period, Wilnis found first team places scarce as age began to catch up with him. He made his final appearance in a Town shirt on 5th January this year in the home defeat by Portsmouth in the FA Cup - almost nine years to the day he first donned the number two shirt he made his own for almost a decade.
293 appearances, 6 goals and a lifetime of memories, Fabian Wilnis, we salute you.
Ipswich Town 1 -0 Hull City
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Good, But Not Good Enought
Town kept their part of the bargain for a play-off place after earning a deserved three points over promotion hopefuls Hull City this afternoon thanks to an Alan Lee header, but as expected; results went against us, meaning it’ll be the Championship again for another season.
For a side battling for an automatic place, Hull rarely threatened the Ipswich goal and the tone was set after just two minutes when returning hero Shefki Kuqi had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside.
What followed was a series of spurned chances for Town that should have had this game wrapped up before half time. Town pushed forward throughout with extreme confidence, passing the ball briskly and neatly in a manner that would have a neutral scratching their head as to why it wasn’t Ipswich who were pushing for the top two this afternoon.
Referee Andre Marriner wisely allowed play to go following an awful foul by ex-Blue Wayne Brown, which led to Tommy Miller smacking the post after 19 minutes. Moments later, some excellent work inside the 18 yard box from Counago set up Alan Quinn beautifully for him to shoot wide, before the former Sheffield United midfielder saw another effort almost skim the crossbar.
Hull came out looking more enthusiastic at the start of the second half, but were quickly surpressed by Town, who continued their unrelenting assault on the Tigers’ goal.
Counago wasted a chance from just 10 yards out following a superb Owen Garvan pass, before Quinn wasted a further two efforts. When a last ditch Andy Dawson tackle denied a golden Counago opportunity five minutes later, it felt as though Town would never find their deserved breakthrough.
Enter substitute Alan Lee who replaced the wasteful Quinn. With twenty minutes remaining, the Irish international delicately headed to Jon Walters to the left of the goal, who crossed the ball back in for Lee to head the ball into the back of the Hull net.
Other than a long range Marney effort in the final 20 minutes, Town held their 1-0 lead with great comfort.
With Wolves bagging a winner late on, Palace thrashing Burnley and ten man Watford equalising around the time of Lee’s winner, the final whistle was met with muted cheers, with players, staff and fans finding it hard to hide the disappointment of missing out on the play-offs.
Town finish the season as the best home team in the league, with four of the top six defeated at Portman Road, but it is our dreadful away form that has denied us promotion. If Town had managed the away form of Leicester who were relegated today, we would have finished third. If we’d replicated the away form of contemporaries outside the play-offs such as Wolves and Sheffield United, Ipswich Town would be a Premiership side. However, we can all go into the 2008-09 with supreme confidence compared to this time last year. An exciting summer of transfers awaits.
Final Day Predictions
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A Playoff place for Town? I Doubt It
46 hard fought games all boil down to today, with ours proving to be one of the most important going into the final day. However, I expect the pre-kick off excitement to be fully out of steam by full time with Town finishing outside the top six. As I posted yesterday; it won’t be a disaster. We will end the season with a billionaire owner, the best home form in the division and the foundations of what will be a great promotion squad for next season. Here’s what I expect to happen on the final day of what has been an enthralling Championship season in the games that affect us:
Ipswich v Hull: Both will be giving it their all and given our excellent home record Ipswich will win the game as Hull come forward looking for goals. The only teams that have done well at Portman Road are those that have sat back and remained organised throughout the 90 minutes. Hull have to throw everything at us today and will be caught short. Prediction: Ipswich win.
Blackpool v Watford: Again, another important game for both sides. Watford’s form of late has been suspect to say the least and last week’s poor home defeat against Scunthorpe underlined that. Blackpool need just a point to get what they want from the game and at the end of the day expect Watford to cement their Playoff place (on goal difference) and Blackpool to keep their Championship status. Prediction: Draw
Palace v Burnley: Palace are the form team in the Championship and this is a home banker to give them their Playoff place. Prediction: Palace win
Wolves v Plymouth: If Plymouth hadn’t offloaded the immense goalscoring ability of Ebanks-Blake to today’s opponents and David Norris to us, Plymouth could have quite easily been one of the top six by the end of today. Ipswich will need Wolves not to win today, but they’ve more to play for than Plymouth. Prediction: Wolves win:
Top 8 by full time
1. Stoke 81 points
2. WBA 79 points
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3. Hull City 75 points
4. Bristol City 74 points
5. Crystal Palace 71 points
6. Watford 70 points
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7. Wolves 70 points (but won’t get the needed goals to go above Watford on goal difference)
8. Ipswich 69 points
Even if Ipswich Don’t Make the Playoffs, There’s Much to Look Forward to Next Season
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Town Are Winners No Matter the Outcome
There aren’t many Town fans who would have believed that Jim Magilton’s team would be fighting for a Playoff place on the last day of the season given the dismal 2006-07 campaign. Although destiny is out of Ipswich’s hands; relying on two of Watford, Wolves and Palace to slip-up and Town to beat Hull, we can all look back at what has largely been a strange but ultimately positive season. Strange, because Ipswich have the worst away record in the entire division bar none. It wasn’t until seven months into the season that victory came against a poor Sheffield Wednesday team. Positive, because Town go into the last game with the best home record in the division; real Jackyl and Hyde stuff, with only Watford taking three points from Fortress Portman Road. The biggest positive to take from the season however, is that if the season ends on Sunday, all Town fans can rest in the knowledge that for the first time since 2001’s regrettable Premiership campaign there are significant funds for the manager to spend on players.
Even if Town manage to go up through the Playoffs this season, 2007-08 will be remembered as the season that billionaire businessman Marcus Evans gained control of the club, bought our crippling £35m debt at a reduced rate and promised millions to bring Premiership football back to Portman Road. Even if Town had finished mid-table, we all would have settled for such an outcome. It is the belief of many that 2008-09 will be Town’s season. Indeed, if Ipswich had replicated the away form of the teams around them battling for PLayoff positions this season, tomorrow would have been about automatic promotion and not a Playoff place. With further strengthening to what appears to be a potentially strong squad already, Ipswich should prove to be one of the frontrunners in next year’s Championship, which I for one would rather see than something which could resemble a Derby-esque demolition in the Premiership.
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