 [Blog] Ten Defeats in Thirteen? A Little Historical ContextWritten by CherryHintonBlue on Monday, 13th Dec 2010 12:24 Six successive league defeats, nine in eleven games, ten in thirteen... it doesn't look good, but it has happened before, as Chris Rand explains. This blog has been submitted by CherryHintonBlue. To view more from this author click here. TWTD blogs are added by site users unedited by the admins. Want to become a TWTD blogger? Simply send us your first article via the Contact Us page. A run of 10 defeats in 13 league matches might seem like rock bottom, but the club has had worse: in fact, Town have suffered 10 in 13 twice before, an even-worse 11 in 13 on two occasions, and once, in the mid-sixties, a hopeless 12 in 13. However, there probably won't be any fans who remember the only previous time 10 in 13 happened at this level, because that was back in the 1954/55 season. There had been a 10 defeats in 13 league matches sequence in 1951/52 in the old Division Three (South), but that unwanted record would be beaten three seasons later, the club's first ever in Division Two, after having come up as champions. This was under former Manchester United boss Scott Duncan, who had patiently spent the club's first ten seasons as a professional outfit getting to that point. The promotion, however, proved too much, and Ipswich finished second-bottom of the table. A record of 11 defeats in 13 matches was reached in November with an away defeat at Derby County, who were plummeting down the table with Town and who would eventually finish bottom. Duncan stood down at the start of the following season, back in Division Three (South), having been at the helm for Town's first eleven professional seasons, spread over 18 years which included the Second World War period. It would be nearly ten years until Town went on a similarly poor run, but in the intervening years Sir Alf Ramsey had been and gone, and left the club in the top flight for the first time in its history. After the astonishing first-attempt title-winning exploits of 1961-62, Ramsey's team faded badly in its second season at the highest level, and towards the end of that campaign Newcastle legend Jackie Milburn took over a side which only narrowly avoided relegation. In his first (and only) full season in charge, 1963/64, Milburn couldn't stop the rot, and Town were sent back to the Second Division with a record of played 42, lost 26 and conceded 121. Late in November, a home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur marked 12 defeats in 13 games, a sequence never suffered before or since. Twenty years later, Bobby Ferguson was the man in Milburn's position, having to follow a managerial legend at Ipswich. In 1983/84, things started off well with eight matches unbeaten, but then faded badly. Ferguson's team suddenly found wins very hard to come by right through to Easter, and in March a defeat away at Everton marked a seventh defeat in a row, and Town were third from bottom, in imminent danger of relegation. It was also the fourth occurrence in the club's history of our old friend, 10 defeats in 13 league matches. However, from then on, suddenly, Ipswich would only lose one of the last 10 games. Finishing with five wins out of six, the club would surge up to 12th. Ferguson had another three seasons in charge, including a full season after a relegation. Step forward another ten years, to 1994/95, John Lyall's fifth season in charge, and the third season of the new 'Premier League'. The first two of these had both seen Ipswich narrowly avoid relegation. It was a season where Town never really got going at all, and in mid-November, lost 1-3 at home to eventual champions Blackburn, marking 10 defeats in 13 league matches for the fifth time in the club's history. Two matches later, Lyall was gone, to be replaced a few weeks later by George Burley. In the meantime, however, a home draw with Wimbledon under the caretaker management of Paul Goddard and John Wark, just before Burley's appointment, prevented an 11-from-13 sequence of defeats from being hit for the third time in the club's history. Despite a couple of early victories for Burley (including that famous Adam Tanner winner at Anfield), he couldn't lift the club out of its predicament, and in April 1995 a 1-4 defeat away at Arsenal marked a joint club-record eighth consecutive loss, and the reoccurrence of the 11 defeats in 13 matches sequence. Relegation was inevitable, but unlike the previous two occasions, the club did not dispense with Burley's services, and would eventually be rewarded with promotion five seasons later. And so to 2010/11, and 10 defeats in 13 league matches for the sixth time ever. Will the club continue with the current manager? A sequence like this saw the departures of Scott Duncan, Jackie Milburn and John Lyall, but it was probably clear in every case that their time was up. It did not see the end of either Bobby Ferguson or George Burley, and in both cases the club would stick with the manager for several more seasons. Ferguson turned things round as quickly as he'd let them go backwards, although he'd found his limit, and Burley was to embark on one of the steadiest rebuilding campaigns in the club's history. Older supporters who've seen it all before may be more inclined to give Roy Keane plenty more time. Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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