English football’s sleeping giants: part three

 

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By apaway, 11 Sep 2011 apaway is a Roar Guru

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 Derby County, EPL, football, Ipswich Town, newcastle united, Premier League

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It seems London clubs have remained fairly consistent in their place in the pecking order, although Tottenham Hotspur spent time in the old second division in the late 1970s, and Charlton Athletic once played out of the largest ground in the country apart from Wembley.

Funny that the clubs concerned here are from the North East, Yorkshire and the Midlands. Parts one and two looked at the former glories of Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Huddersfield Town, Burnley and Leeds United. Today, three more.

Derby County
It’s that Clough guy again… Just like with Nottingham Forest, England’s greatest club manager took a struggling second-tier outfit and turned them into a European powerhouse.

Derby County, a founding member of the Football League, had finished runners-up in the League twice, but that was more than 60 years before Clough and assistant Peter Taylor started working their magic in 1967.

Derby were promoted to the top flight in 1969. They finished fourth in 1970 but were banned from European competition due to financial irregularities. This didn’t faze the inimitable Clough-Taylor partnership and in 1972, Derby won the title.

They played at the Baseball Ground, one of the worst pitches in history, but players like Roy McFarland, Kevin Hector and Dave Mackay made a mockery of the muddy surface.

The club made the European Cup semi-finals in 1973, only to be eliminated by Juventus in a hugely controversial game which led to allegations of bribery. Clough called the Italians “cheating bastards” in several interviews, which no doubt gets nods of sympathy from modern day Socceroos fans…

Ever the iconoclast, Clough refused to temper his viewpoints in his various media roles. He openly criticised the Derby board, as well as established figures in the game such as Matt Busby and Don Revie. Despite his success, the Derby board forced he and Taylor out of the club in 1973.

Dave Mackay took over as manager and to the surprise of many, Derby won the title again in 1975. But by 1980, the club had been relegated. Despite a rally in the late 80s (they finished fifth in the first division in 1989), Derby have been one of the Football League’s yo-yo teams, bouncing between the Premier League and the Championship.

There is a familiar name in charge now; Brian Clough’s son Nigel has been at the helm since 2009. It might not be enough to resurrect the fortunes of the Rams.

Ipswich Town
Many English football fans regard the late Sir Bobby Robson as the best ever national team manager, despite never leading England to a World Cup win. The only man who ever did was Sir Alf Ramsey with his “wingless wonders” of 1966. And what do the two knights have in common? They both managed Ipswich Town to the club’s greatest successes.

Under Ramsey, Ipswich Town won the League title in 1962. The club’s fortunes nosedived after he left, and it was not until the appointment of Robson in 1969 that the club began a revival.

In truth, Robson was given a longer amount of time to build the club than would be allowed nowadays. By 1980, they were one of the top clubs in the land, and Robson did it by going Dutch a good 35 years before the FFA thought to do the same thing.

Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen were the football equivalent of the Dutch Masters in 1980, and their incredible talent helped propel Ipswich to the runners-up spot in 1981 and 1982. They won the EUFA Cup in 1981.

One of the oft-replayed moments is Ipswich tearing Manchester United apart 6-0 in the league in 1980, a result made more remarkable by the fact that United goalkeeper Gary Bailey saved three penalties in the game.

Just like Ramsey, Robson departed to manage the national team, and Ipswich’s fortunes began to slide. They were relegated in 1986, but were back in time to be an inaugural Premier League club in 1993.

After more relegation/promotion cycles, Ipswich finished fifth in the 2001 Premier League, just missing a Champions League place. That would be the last season of significance for a club who have provided England with arguably their two most successful national team managers.
Currently in the Championship under the guidance of Paul Jewell, Ipswich Town’s days of Dutch courage seem a long time ago.

Newcastle United
Is there a greater enigma in English football than the Toon? Beloved by thousands of passionate supporters, with a history that must be a chore to live up to, Newcastle United are the game’s perennial under-achievers.

Four-time League champions, their last one was 1927. Six-time FA Cup winners, 1955 was the last time the Magpie ribbons were tied to the famous mug.

For such a big club, Newcastle have spent an inordinate amount of time out of the top flight. Relegated in 1978, the club returned in 1984 due to the exploits of Kevin Keegan, Peter Beardsley and Chris Waddle.

In 1989, the club was relegated again, and once again, it was Keegan to the rescue, this time as the club’s manager.

They were back in the inaugural Premier League in 1993 and by 1996 looked to be lay-down certainties to win the club’s first title in 70 years.

With players like Phillipe Albert, Andy Cole, Alan Shearer and David Ginola, the Toon played a magnificent brand of attacking football, but amazingly, they self-destructed and Manchester United pipped them for the title in both 1996 and 1997.

Who could soon forget Keegan’s meltdown during an interview when Alex Ferguson’s mind games got truly under his skin and he ranted about how he hoped with all his heart that Newcastle won the title so he could see the look on Ferguson’s face.

He’s still looking…

Newcastle’s recent history can be best encapsulated in two of the greatest games in Premier League history; two trips to Anfield in which the Toon were beaten 4-3, the first of which virtually cost them the 1996 title.

Breathtaking attacking football, only to fall short at the death – that was Newcastle under Keegan. Ruud Gullit vowed to bring the “sexy football” back when he was appointed boss in 1999. He probably proved that porn can be ugly.

Sir Bobby Robson took the club to the Champions League in 2003 but by 2009 the club suffered relegation to the Championship.

They bounced back straight away and their crowd average stayed above 42,000 throughout. Their supporters travel further than any others and are as fanatical and loyal as any in the country.

But The Toon have the burden of history holding them down. They are surely the biggest club in the land enduring the longest drought.

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