On this day in 1981 Town won the UEFA Cup in Amsterdam, losing 4-2 to AZ Alkmaar on the night but winning 5-4 on aggregate, and to mark the occasion a new book about Arnold Mühren and Frans Thijssen is being published in the Netherlands.
Het Geheim van Ipswich (The Secret of Ipswich) has been written by Dutch journalist and Town fan Tom van Hulsen, 51, who worked for Voetbal International, the main Dutch football magazine, for 23 years and was editor-in-chief before becoming a freelance journalist earlier this year.
The book recalls Mühren and Thijssen’s time with the Blues under Bobby Robson. Van Hulsen interviewed a number of Town figures from that era, including former captain Mick Mills, ex-press officer Mel Henderson and Pat Godbold, secretary to every Town manager from Scott Duncan to George Burley, and also spoke to all the players who won the UEFA Cup about the influence the two Dutchmen had on English football.
Trots! Zojuist boek bekeken bij drukker Wilco in Amersfoort. Dit is 'm! Voor meer info zie https://t.co/TnHidRHCkB pic.twitter.com/AcfUhA7UDc– Tom van Hulsen (@tomvanhulsen) May 13, 2016
The book covers the period 1978-1983 and includes plenty of anecdotes related by members of the team and great stories told by Mühren and Thijssen themselves.
Het Geheim van Ipswich, which is currently only available in Dutch, will be sold in bookshops in the Netherlands but also through the website www.portmanroad.nl.