| History does not repeat - but it rhymes ... 19:14 - Feb 13 with 738 views | pablovian |
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/billy-baxter-ipswich-town-stalwart
"Bobby Robson was the new man in charge at Portman Road, and he quickly grasped that his dressing room was in the grip of a clique of senior pros, including Baxter, who fancied themselves as more powerful than the boss. For all his avuncular reputation in later years, the young and ambitious Robson was no soft touch, and he showed all the toughness bred into him from his Durham mining background to stamp his authority on the club.
Early on in his tenure, the inevitable showdown came after Baxter had been dropped for a match against Leeds United. Robson said in his autobiography: "Baxter [was] another who had been making the dressing room an uncomfortable place, while testing me to the limits of my endurance. We lost the game 4-2 and they revelled in our misery, laughing and joking and ordering a bottle of champagne to celebrate the defeat."
It was just one more source of friction among many — including a disagreement over which players' wives were permitted entrance to the club's guest room. Robson went on to describe the violent fracas which ensued, and how he stood "toe-to-toe" with Baxter, swapping punches with the Scot until other players intervened. But Robson won the power struggle. The majority of the players backed the manager, and Baxter was sold to Hull City soon after. He had made 409 League appearances for the club, and it was a desperately sad finale to a career that had brought much honour to Baxter and to Ipswich Town.
If Robson had lost his personal battle at Ipswich, it is unlikely that he would ever have made it as a manager. He had, after all, already failed at Fulham. But he followed his Ipswich predecessor, Ramsey, in becoming a much-respected England manager. Baxter's career, meanwhile, was on the wane. His best days in football were behind him."
|  | | |  |
| More context ... on 19:24 - Feb 13 with 710 views | pablovian |
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2003/feb/22/sport.comment2
"Yet in his early days at Ipswich Robson quite literally had to fight for the right to manage. He had succeeded Bill McGarry, a grim disciplinarian whose response to a mistake or a misdeed was apt to be a raised fist, and soon found his authority being challenged by a senior player, Bill Baxter, who, according to Robson, was a good defender but "a moody, dour Scot".
When Baxter refused to obey an instruction during training Robson sent him off and dropped him for the next match. Later he left both Baxter and Tommy Carroll, an Irish right-back and a friend of Baxter's, out of the side for a home game against Leeds that Ipswich lost 4-2.
"The pair of them were laughing in the dressing room afterwards," Robson recalled, "and what really upset me was when they sent a message in from the players' room saying they wanted a bottle of champagne to celebrate our defeat."
When Robson refused to recall the couple for the next game Carroll picked a fight with him, Baxter joined in and it took the intervention of players and backroom staff to break it up - much to Robson's annoyance, incidentally: 'I was beginning to enjoy myself.' " | | | |
| |
By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions.
