1980–81 Ipswich Town F.C. season

Ipswich started their league campaign with a 1–0 victory away at newly promoted Leicester City, with John Wark scoring the winning goal in the 88th minute. This was his first of a prolific season to come.[4] Home wins against Brighton and Everton sandwiched a 2–2 draw at Stoke City, and left Ipswich unbeaten in the league and top of the table on goal difference at the end of August.[5] Bobby Robson was awarded Football League First Division Manager of the Month for August.[6] The club went through September undefeated, with victories against Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Coventry City and Wolves, maintaining their position at the top of the division at the end of the month, four points ahead of Liverpool.[7] Commitments in both the UEFA and League Cups meant Ipswich's league activity in October was restricted to four matches, drawing with Leeds United, Liverpool and Manchester United, and winning at Sunderland. Although Ipswich remained undefeated in the league by the end of October, Villa topped the table by two points, having played two more games.[8]

November commenced with two draws, a goalless game at home against West Bromwich Albion and a six-goal match against Southampton. A shock 1–0 defeat against bottom club Brighton saw the end of Ipswich's unbeaten run of fourteen league games since the start of the season. Ipswich were without first-team regulars Paul Cooper, Thijssen, Alan Brazil and Kevin Beattie through injury, and Terry Butcher was suspended,[9] having been sent off in the Southampton match.[10] Burley succumbed to injury during the game; Robson remarked "I must admit, our resources are being stretched to the absolute limit".[9] The defeat was followed by two wins, against Leicester City and Nottingham Forest.[11] Ipswich ended the month third in the league, three points behind Aston Villa and two points behind Liverpool, but with three games in hand.[12] Their performance was similar in December, commencing with two draws (against Manchester City and Liverpool), followed by a 5–3 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. At 3–3, Ipswich's Eric Gates was sent off, seemingly for retaliating to Graham Roberts, and Tottenham took advantage to score twice in the final ten minutes through Steve Archibald and Osvaldo Ardiles, inflicting Ipswich's second league defeat of the season.[13] Ipswich won 3–1 at Birmingham City before playing two matches in two days after Christmas, beating Norwich City 2–0 on Boxing Day before drawing 1–1 at Highbury against Arsenal the following day, courtesy of a Wark penalty, his 23rd goal of the season.[14] The year ended with Ipswich in third place in the league, still behind Liverpool and Villa, but by only a single point and with two games in hand.[15]

The new year started with two home victories, a 2–0 win against Nottingham Forest and, on what was Robson's twelfth anniversary as Ipswich manager, a 5–1 defeat of Birmingham City, which took Ipswich back to the top of the league for the first time since October.[16] A goalless draw at Everton was then followed by a 4–0 win at Portman Road against Stoke City, with Ipswich's dominance leading Stoke manager Alan Durban to comment: "I've never seen a team with such confidence in their eyes".[17] Ipswich ended the month back on top of the league table, tied on points with Aston Villa and four points clear of Liverpool, and with a game in hand on both.[18] Ipswich went through February with a 100% record, with three home wins over Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers, and an away win against Coventry City. This consolidated the club's position at the top of the league by the end of the month, two points ahead of Villa and eight ahead of Liverpool,[19] and earned Robson another Manager of the Month award.[20] Two home wins (against Tottenham and Sunderland) and two away losses (against Manchester United and Leeds United) in March for Ipswich saw the gap at the top of the table ahead of Aston Villa reduce to a single point by the end of March,[21] yet Robson was awarded his third Manager of the Month award.[22] Having lost just two league games between August and February, Ipswich's form had started to dip as a result of fixture congestion with them still playing in three competitions.[23]

Ipswich's season worsened in April, losing to West Bromwich Albion, Arsenal and Norwich, and securing just four points with wins against Manchester City and Aston Villa. Ipswich ended April second in the league, four points behind Villa with a game in hand, but with only two games of the season remaining.[24] Ipswich needed to win both games to remain in the title chase. They led 1–0 at half-time against Middlesbrough at Ayresome Park, but two goals from Yugoslavian international striker Božo Janković condemned Ipswich to their sixth defeat in nine games.[25] They went on to lose the last game against Southampton, and ended the season in second place, four points behind Aston Villa and three points ahead of Arsenal who won seven of their final eight matches.[26][27]

Ipswich commenced the 1980–81 Football League Cup campaign in the second round, where they were drawn against Middlesbrough. They lost the first leg 3–1 away from home, but secured a second leg 3–0 win courtesy of a Paul Mariner brace and a goal from Russell Osman. Although the match was covered for television by both the BBC and Anglia Television, footage was not screened because the Middlesbrough shirts were sponsored by a car company, contrary to the broadcasting companies' rules.[28] In the third round, against local rivals Norwich City, another Osman goal ensured a 1–1 draw at Portman Road. Ipswich progressed to the fourth round following a 3–1 victory at Carrow Road. Mariner put Ipswich ahead, but Tony Powell's first goal in two years drew the scores level. Mariner's second strike and a goal from Mühren in a three-minute spell secured the victory for Ipswich.[29] They then faced Birmingham City at St Andrew's but went into the tie without regulars Mariner, Thijssen, Beattie and O'Callaghan, all through injury. Ipswich were knocked out, losing 2–1 despite taking the lead with a penalty from Wark. It was their first overall domestic loss of the season.[30]

Arnold Mühren scored in the third round replay of the League Cup against Norwich City.

Ipswich's first appearance in the 1980–81 FA Cup was in the third round, against Aston Villa at Portman Road. A goal from Paul Mariner was sufficient to see the team progress to a fourth round tie with Second Division team Shrewsbury Town at Gay Meadow. The match ended in a goalless draw, forcing a replay and Robson declared Shrewsbury to have been unlucky: "if we play like that again we won't win the cup or the league title".[31] Ipswich won the replay 3–0 with two goals from Eric Gates and John Wark scoring his 25th goal in all competitions that season.[32]

A home draw in the fifth round against Charlton Athletic ended in a 2–0 victory to Ipswich courtesy of strikes from Mariner and Wark. Ipswich were drawn to play away against Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest in the quarter finals. In a match described by ESPN as "a classic FA Cup tie", the visitors took a two goal lead through a Mariner strike and an own goal from Viv Anderson, before Forest fought back to take a 3–2 lead after goals from Trevor Francis, Colin Walsh and John Robertson (from the penalty spot). Thijssen then scored with six minutes remaining to take the tie to a replay.[33] The replay, held three days later at Portman Road, was decided by a single goal from Mühren, with Robson describing his team's effort as "superhuman" while Clough, whose team dominated the first half, said: "I am still not sure they are a better team than us".[34] The semi-final against Manchester City was played at Villa Park as a neutral venue. Described as "one of the celebrated strikes in the club's history", Paul Power's extra time free kick settled the match in City's favour.[35] It was also to be the last game for the club for the injury-struck Beattie who broke his arm during the match. Beattie recalled "I collided with Dave Bennett during an aerial challenge. I won the ball fairly easily but he actually headed my arm ... the arm was bent out of shape and I was in agony".[36]

Paul Mariner scored three times during Ipswich's FA Cup run.

Ipswich's European campaign commenced in the first round of the UEFA Cup against Greek team Aris Salonika. The first leg, at Portman Road, was an ill-disciplined match which saw Aris' Giorgos Foiros sent off after a second yellow card towards the end of the first half. Ipswich were awarded three penalties, all of which were converted by John Wark, who also scored a fourth from open play. Aris also scored from the spot through Theodoros Pallas in what would be a consolation goal in a 5–1 win for Ipswich,[37] described as a "sparkling" victory by the Belfast Telegraph.[38] Two weeks later, Aris won 3–1 in the return leg, taking an early 2–0 lead before Gates pulled one back for Ipswich. Although Aris scored a third midway through the second half,[39] Ipswich progressed to the next round 6–4 on aggregate,[40] where they faced Bohemians of Prague. A 3–0 home win saw Wark on target twice more, who was substituted off with a tendon injury, to be replaced by Kevin Beattie who scored a third for Ipswich with a free kick,[41] described in The Times as a "thunderbolt".[42] The goal would prove to be pivotal as Ipswich, without regular goalkeeper Paul Cooper, midfielder Thijssen and striker Mariner, all through injury,[43] lost the away leg 2–0 with goals from Antonín Panenka and Tibor Mičinec, but qualified for the third round 3–2 on aggregate.[44][45] Three weeks later, Ipswich faced Widzew Łódź from Poland, who had defeated Manchester United and Juventus in previous rounds, at Portman Road.[46] Wark once again found the net, scoring a hat-trick with goals from Alan Brazil and Paul Mariner completing a comprehensive 5–0 victory,[47] the only negative being a trip to hospital for Mick Mills for 15 stitches in a cut to his shin.[48] On a frozen pitch which many observers considered to be dangerous,[49] Widzew Łódź won the away leg 1–0, with Marek Pięta scoring for the hosts but went out 5–1 on aggregate.[50] The lead from the first leg allowed Robson to withdraw Mariner and Mühren, as he said that he was prioritising Ipswich's league challenge.[49]

After a three-month break, Ipswich faced French team AS Saint-Étienne in the quarter-finals in March 1981, the first leg being held in the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Dutch player Johnny Rep put the home team in the lead after 16 minutes, but a brace from Mariner and goals from Arnold Mühren and John Wark ensured Ipswich took a 4–1 lead into the second leg.[51] The victory against the French team has been described as one of the greatest performances in Ipswich's history,[51] with Robson noting: "we have demolished a good side with one of the best victories anyone has achieved in Europe in the past 10 years".[52] Ipswich won the game at Portman Road 3–1 with goals from Terry Butcher, Mariner and another penalty from Wark, while Saint-Étienne's consolation goal came from Jacques Zimako.[53] Winning the tie 7–2 on aggregate, Ipswich progressed to the semi-finals where they met German side 1. FC Köln. Both legs finished 1–0 to Ipswich, Wark scoring again in the home leg,[54] his 12th goal of the European campaign, with Butcher heading in a Thijssen free kick in Cologne.[55][56] The 2–0 aggregate victory ensured that Ipswich qualified for their first (and as of 2020, their only) European cup final, where they would face Dutch team AZ Alkmaar.[46]

The first leg of the 1981 UEFA Cup Final took place at Portman Road on 6 May 1981. Ipswich took the lead through Wark who scored from the penalty spot midway through the first half. It was Wark's 13th goal of the European campaign and ensured that he had scored in every round of the competition.[57] The lead was doubled a minute into the second half, following a header from Dutchman Frans Thijssen.[58] A third goal for Ipswich, this time from Paul Mariner, saw the English team win the game and take a 3–0 lead into the second leg at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam.[59] Thijssen scored four minutes into the second leg, giving Ipswich a 4–0 aggregate lead, but Austrian striker Kurt Welzl pulled one back for AZ minutes later.[46] Playing with two central defenders, the rest of the AZ team attacked,[60] and Johnny Metgod and Pier Tol scored before half-time, either side of a Wark goal, to take the aggregate to 5–3.[46] Jos Jonker scored AZ's fourth of the day with 16 minutes to go, but Ipswich held on to win 5–4 on aggregate,[46] with their goalkeeper Cooper named as man of the match.[60] As Mühren, one of the two Dutchmen playing for Ipswich, later recalled, "most teams would have given up, but AZ suddenly had wings ... AZ seemed possessed that night ... we really had to give all we had to reach the end, by the skin of our teeth – relieved and happy".[59]

John Wark scored 14 goals during Ipswich's UEFA Cup campaign.