From 1878 to 1936,
Ipswich Town F.C. was an amateur club and the team was selected by committee. After turning professional in 1936, the club appointed
Mick O'Brien as their manager who led them to immediate success in winning the Southern League.His sudden departure left the club manager-less for 11 matches until
Scott Duncan was placed in charge, remaining with the club for almost 18 years. Duncan retired in 1955 and was replaced by
Alf Ramsey who led Ipswich to further success in the league. This included back-to-back league championships, winning the Second Division in the
1960–61 season followed by taking the First Division title in
1961–62 season. Ramsey was appointed
England manager in 1963 and went on to win the
1966 World Cup.
Managerial turnover at Ipswich was low with only six full-time appointments in 46 years, but after
Bobby Robson left the club in 1982 to manage England, the club employed six full-time managers in the following 25 years.
David Sheepshanks became chairman of the club in 1995 taking over a club recently relegated from the
Premier League and in financial difficulty. Under
George Burley, the club failed in three play-offs before finally winning promotion back to the top flight in 2000 after a 4–2 win over
Barnsley at
Wembley Stadium. Relegation followed two seasons later after a brief spell in Europe and Burley was replaced by
Joe Royle. After nearly four seasons, Royle left the club and...
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