Match of the Week

Anglia Television Football Highlights 1962-83
Encouraged by Ipswich Town's league title winning campaign of 1961/62, the three year old Anglia Television service reached a special agreement with the Football League to begin screening a 30 minute highlights programme during the 1962/63 season, thus Anglia became the 2nd ITV station in England to broadcast regular weekly coverage of League football (Tyne Tees began screening a local highlights programme two weeks earlier). The fee was just £1,000 for exclusive rights to 30 games that season involving four East Anglian clubs. Len Caynes, who went on to become a Match of the Week director and then Anglia's 'Head of Sport', was a cameraman at the very first match along with Stuart McConahie, later editor of ITV's World of Sport. Caynes recalled; "Everyone on the outside broadcast crew at that time was crazy about football. We couldn't believe our luck, getting paid for watching football - something we would have been doing anyway." The regular director in the 1960's was Bob Gardam who went on to direct The Big Match (One of the camera positions at Wembley later became known as "Gardam's Pit"), he couldn't have enjoyed covering games at Norwich in the early days as the camera gantry at Carrow Road was behind one of the goals, but the problem was eventually rectified following City's promotion to the top flight in 1972. Colour proved to be another headache as many grounds in the region did not have sufficient floodlight power for the camera's to capture satisfactory colour pictures and for a time viewers would watch the first half of a winter match in colour whilst the 2nd half would be in black & white!

Anglia commentators
August 1962 - Early 1967
Match Of The Week's regular commentator in the early years was the pipe-smoking John Camkin, a former newspaper sports writer who also co-commentated for BBC radio. Camkin (aged 40 during the season the programme began) served as a director at Coventry City and was secretary of the League Managers Association as well as writing several books on the game. He was the son of Bill Camkin who had managed Birmingham City during World War II. Camkin gave up his commentating role at Anglia due to a recurring back problem. See also this TV Times feature on John Camkin from 13/Dec/1963 and this article written by director Bob Gardam for the 30/Jan/1965 edition.
*Maurice Edelston also voiced several Anglia games and Simon Smith did at least one Match of the Week commentary during this period, both went on to commentate for Southern TV.
Dec 1966 - May 1969
36 year old Gerald Sinstadt joined Anglia in 1966 having previously worked for BBC Radio, but he was poached by Granada for the start of 1969/70. See the Granada page for further details.
August 1969 - 1993
Former Army second lieutenant and Daily Express war correspondent Gerry Harrison was Anglia's voice of football for 24 years (during which time he was also picked for ITV's World Cup commentary team for all tournaments from 1970-1990), he had been among the final six in BBC Television's 1969 "Find a commentator" competition (won by Idwal Robling). The Upminster born Harrison later became Anglia's 'Head of sport' but left the station in 1993 to take a job producing worldwide football coverage for an American owned TV company, citing ITV's losing out to SKY and the BBC in the soccer rights war as the main reason for his move.

Steve Rider joined Anglia at the age of 27 in 1979, he was a reporter/presenter on the programme and later left for the BBC in 1984 where he presented Grandstand.

The Anglia region's league teams
Ipswich Town*, Norwich City*, Peterborough United*, Colchester United*, Northampton Town and Cambridge United. Luton Town were shared with LWT, Southend United were shared with Southern/TVS. From 1965-1974 Anglia also covered Hull City, Grimsby Town, Scunthorpe United and Lincoln City**.

*Ipswich, Norwich, Peterborough and Colchester were the four clubs who Anglia initially covered in the early days.
**The addition of two new transmitters (Sandy Heath and Belmont) in 1965 expanded Anglia's choice of league clubs to 11 and then Cambridge United were elected into the league in 1970, but the four Belmont teams (Hull, Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Lincoln) were lost to Yorkshire Television when Belmont was switched over to YTV on 30th July 1974. Luton Town were often paid a visit by London Weekend Television cameras as many homes around the Luton area received their TV pictures from London as well as, or instead of, those from Anglia.

What matches were shown
The following lists detail all the Saturday matches recorded by Anglia cameras for local highlights, the re-edits of other region's matches are not included here (see the other region's pages for those here). For midweek games (which were networked) go here, for full details of networked Wembley Cup finals go here, for European finals see here. Given dates are for when the fixture was played (not the broadcast). Non-East Anglia based matches are in italics.

Season 1968/69
Strike action across the ITV network affected programmes through early-mid August, but "Match of the week" was not scheduled to return until 7th September. All editions continued to be broadcast in 405-line black & white on VHF only.
10/Aug    *most likely showed a network repeat of an old match due to strike action
17/Aug    *most likely showed a network repeat of an old match due to strike action
24/Aug    Showed LWT's "The Big Match"
31/Aug    No highlights programme scheduled *one source says Norwich City 2 (Curran 2) Bury 2 (Jones, Kerr(pen))
07/Sep    Hull City 1 (Chilton) Bristol City 1 (Galley)
14/Sep    Ipswich Town 0 Liverpool 2 (Graham, St. John)
21/Sep    Norwich City 0 Portsmouth 1 (McCann)
28/Sep    Luton Town 1 (Lewis) Torquay United 0 *programme is archived
05/Oct    Norwich City 1 (Curran) Hull City 2 (Houghton, Butler)
12/Oct    Hull City 3 (Houghton 2, Wagstaff) Huddersfield Town 0
19/Oct    Peterborough United 1 (Thompson) Grimsby Town 1 (Ross)
26/Oct    Ipswich Town 0 Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Gilzean)
02/Nov    Northampton Town 1 (Fairbrother) Torquay United 1 (Barnes)
09/Nov    Ipswich Town 2 (Crawford, Morris) Everton 2 (Royle 2)
16/Nov    Bury Town 0 Bournemouth & Boscombe A. 0 [FA Cup 1st Round] *Bury Town being of the Suffolk variety, Bournemouth won the replay 3-0
23/Nov    Hull City 2 (Lord, Wagstaff) Portsmouth 2 (Tindall, Hiron)
30/Nov    Norwich City 0 Blackpool 1 (Rowe)
07/Dec     Luton Town 3 (Harrison 2, French) Gillingham 1 (Yeo) [FA Cup 2nd Round]
14/Dec     Norwich City 2 (Manning, Crickmore) Fulham 0
21/Dec     Ipswich Town 2 (Hegan, Morris) Nottingham Forest 3 (Hall, Lyons, Moore) *LWT at Luton
28/Dec     Northampton Town 0 Luton Town 2 (Rioch 2) *Observer lists Colchester v Lincoln (PP'd)
04/Jan      Hull City 1 (Chiltern) Wolverhampton W. 3 (Wignall, Dougan 2) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
11/Jan      Ipswich Town 2 (Crawford, Mills) Burnley 0
18/Jan      Norwich City 2 (Curran, Foggo) Bolton Wanderers 0
25/Jan      Showed LWT's "The Big Match" [FA Cup 4th Round]
01/Feb     Ipswich Town 1 (Dunne (og)) Manchester United 0
08/Feb     Showed Southern's Portsmouth 1 (Hiron) Hull City 0 *only 4 fixtures played, Observer lists Colchester v Swansea (PP'd)
15/Feb     Lincoln City 1 (Hubbard) Scunthorpe United 2 (Kerr, Cassidy)
22/Feb     Colchester United 1 (Gibbs) Notts County 1 (Butlin) *Observer lists Norwich v Derby (PP'd)
01/Mar    Norwich City 1 (Manning) Birmingham City 1 (Vowden)
08/Mar    Peterborough United 0 Port Vale 1 (Mahon) *Observer & Sunday Times lists Ipswich v Leicester (PP'd due to an FA Cup QF)
15/Mar    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
22/Mar    FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Man City/Everton
29/Mar    Luton Town 2 (Branston, Sheffield) Orient 1 (Rofe) *Observer lists Ipswich v Sheff Wed (PP'd)
05/Apr    Hull City 2 (Jarvis, Wilkinson) Millwall 0
12/Apr    Ipswich Town 0 Southampton 0
19/Apr    Hull City 1 (Wilkinson) Aston Villa 0
17/May   Showed Granada's match

Back among the elite, Ipswich Town comfortably stayed up but suffered a big blow when manager Bill McGarry left to join Wolves in November, his replacement was Bobby Robson who had just been sacked by Fulham. In the 2nd tier, Hull finished 10th and Norwich City 12th with Lol Morgan sacked at the end of the season. Another side who had a change in the dug-out was Luton Town who bizarrely sacked Allan Brown in December (with the team in the top four of Division Three) for showing an interest in the Wolves and Leicester jobs, he was replaced by former QPR manager Alec Stock and the Hatters went on to miss out on a second successive promotion by three points to arch rivals Watford. Northampton Town dropped into the bottom tier, just a point short of safety. There was not much success in the 4th tier with Colchester United the highest placed club in 6th place, whilst fringe Anglia team Southend United and Lincoln City finished just below. Scunthorpe United and Peterborough United both finished in lower mid-table with Grimsby Town having to apply for re-election.
All footnotes on the Anglia pages have been written by Mark Bunn

Season 1969/70
"Match of the week" returned for the opening fixture of this season rather than waiting until September. Many ITV regions began transmitting in colour from November, but all of this season's editions of "Match of the Week" continued to be broadcast in black & white.
09/Aug    Ipswich Town 0 Nottingham Forest 0 *Gerry Harrison's first TV commentary
16/Aug    Norwich City 3 (Crickmore 2, Fogg ) Blackpool 1 (Pickering)
23/Aug    Luton Town 3 (Collins, French, McDonald) Orient 2 (Jones, Bullock)
30/Aug    Possibly Northampton 1 (Neal) Lincoln 1 (Fletcher) *Pinks mention this game but TVTimes/newspapers have Show Jumping only, perhaps brief highlights shown as part of that
06/Sep    Ipswich Town 2 (Wigg, O'Rourke) Newcastle United 0
13/Sep    Hull City 4 (Chilton 2, Wagstaff, Butler) Bolton Wanderers 2 (Greaves, Byrom)
20/Sep    Ipswich Town 0 Everton 3 (Bell, Royle, Harvey)
27/Sep    Hull City 1 (Simpkin) Charlton Athletic 1 (Peacock)
04/Oct    Luton Town 2 (Nicholls Mcdonald (pen) ) Stockport County 0
11/Oct    Norwich City 1 (Forbes) Queens Park Rangers 0
18/Oct    Lincoln City 1 (Pletcher) Scunthorpe United 2 (Cassidy 2)
25/Oct    Hull City 2 (Butler, Houghton) Huddersfield Town 3 (Hoy 2, Worthington) *LWT at Luton
01/Nov    Ipswich Town 1 (McNeil) Manchester City 1 (Lee)
08/Nov    Norwich City 1 (Bryceland) Huddersfield Town 2 (Hoy, Dobson)
15/Nov    Ipswich Town 2 (Hill 2) Crystal Palace 0
22/Nov    Hull City 1 (Chilton) Watford 1 (Lugg)
29/Nov    Ipswich Town 1 (Mills) West Ham United 0 *Heavy snowstorm saw players taken off and game held up for 15 mins
06/Dec    Intended match Norwich v Middlesbrough was postponed, showed Tyne Tees's Sunderland 2 (Harris, Park) Ipswich 1 (Viljoen)
13/Dec    Lincoln City 3 (Smith, Lewis, Fletcher) Peterborough United 0
20/Dec    Norwich City 1 (Foggo) Sheffield United (Tudor)
27/Dec    Ipswich Town 2 (Woods, Hill) Tottenham Hotspur 0
03/Jan     Ipswich Town 0 Manchester United 1 (McNeil(og)) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
10/Jan     Norwich City 4 (Silvester 2, Conlan 2) Bristol City 1 (Garland)
17/Jan     Lincoln City 2 (Meath 2) Grimsby Town 0
24/Jan     Sheffield Wednesday 1 (Whitham) Scunthorpe United 2 (Barker, Cassidy) [FA Cup 4th Round] *Anglia cameras outside the region
31/Jan     Hull City 2 (Wagstaff 2) Sheffield United 3 (Addison 2, Colquhoun)
07/Feb    Showed ATV coverage of Northampton Town 2 (McNeil, Large) Manchester United 8 (Best 6, Kidd 2) [FA Cup 5th Round]
14/Feb    Norwich City 3 (Foggo, Silvester 2) Aston Villa 1 (Anderson)
21/Feb    Networked coverage of two FA Cup Quarter Finals at QPR & Middlesbrough
28/Feb    Hull City 1 (Chilton) Swindon Town 1 (Rogers)
07/Mar    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
14/Mar    Luton Town 2 (Ryan, Harrison) Mansfield Town 2 (Roberts, Partridge)
21/Mar    Ipswich Town 2 (Pitt(og), Whymark) Sunderland 0
28/Mar    Norwich City 2 (Silvester, Foggo) Millwall 1 (Cripps)
04/Apr     Ipswich Town 2 (Carroll, Robertson) Southampton 0

Bobby Robson’s first full season in charge at Ipswich saw a battle against the drop but they managed to stay up finishing 18th as Robson began to re-build the team. Norwich City, now under Ron Saunders, were again mid-table in 11th, just below them were Hull City who appointed 28 year-old Arsenal player Terry Neill as player-manager to replace the long serving Cliff Britton at the end of the season. Luton Town were promoted into the 2nd tier as runners-up with 25 of their league goals scored by Malcolm Macdonald. It was the region's lower league sides who made an impact in the FA Cup this year with both Scunthorpe and Northampton reaching the last sixteen despite mid-table finishes in the league. Scunthorpe caused a major upset in front of the Anglia cameras knocking out top flight Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Hillsborough before going out by the same score at 2nd tier Swindon. Northampton's run was ended by Manchester United and George Best who scored six times as they won 8-2 in one of Best’s most famous performances. In the 4th tier Lincoln City, Peterborough United and Colchester United all finished in the top half, with Grimsby Town and Southend United narrowly avoiding re-election.

Season 1970/71
01/Aug    Peterborough United 0 Hull City 4 [Watney Cup QF]
15/Aug    Cambridge United 1 (Meldrum) Lincoln City 1 (Trevis) *United's first game in the football league
22/Aug    Luton Town 0 Norwich City 0
29/Aug    No highlights scheduled this weekend
05/Sep    Ipswich Town 3 (Baxter, Clarke, Viljoen(pen)) Burnley 0
12/Sep    Grimsby Town 0 Northampton Town 2 (Large, Fairbrother)
19/Sep    Ipswich Town 4 (Viljoen 2, Clarke, Whymark) Manchester United 0
26/Sep    Norwich City 0 Hull City 2 (Houghton, Wagstaff)
Anglia began broadcasting in colour on 1st October 1970 but "Match of the Week" probably remained in black & white for the rest of this season.
03/Oct    Scunthorpe United 1 (Keegan(pen)) Grimsby Town 2 (Oates 2)
10/Oct    Norwich City 1 (Howard) Carlisle United 1 (Hatton)
17/Oct    Ipswich Town 2 (Clarke(pen), Hill) Stoke City 0
24/Oct    Lincoln City 2 (Fletcher, Trevis) Peterborough United 1 (Pleat)
31/Oct    Luton Town 1 (Macdonald) Sunderland 2 (Baker, Kerr)
07/Nov   Ipswich Town 2 (Hill, Mills) West Ham United 1 (Hurst)
14/Nov   Norwich City 0 Sheffield Wednesday 0
21/Nov   Hull City 1 (Chilton) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Leach) *b&w, LWT at Luton
28/Nov   Colchester United 4 (Crawford 2, Gibbs, Cramm) Brentford 0 *dog on pitch
05/Dec    Luton Town 2 (Macdonald, Jim Ryan) Sheffield United 1 (Currie) *b&w, YTV at Hull
12/Dec    Colchester United 3 (James, Gilchrist, Garvey) Cambridge United 0 [FA Cup 2nd Round]
19/Dec    Norwich City 1 (Foggo(pen)) Luton Town 1 (Macdonald)
26/Dec    Intended match Ipswich Town v Tottenham Hotspur was postponed, showed LWT's match instead
02/Jan     Hull City 3 (Butler, Wagstaff, Houghton) Charlton Athletic 0 [FA Cup 3rd Round] *snow covered pitch
09/Jan     Hull City 4 (Chilton 3,Wagstaff) Sunderland 0 *YTV also showed this, Gerry Harrison comm for Anglia
16/Jan     Ipswich Town 0 Derby County 1 (O'Hare)
23/Jan     Hull City 2 (Chilton,Wagstaff) Blackpool 0 [FA Cup 4th Round]
30/Jan     Intended match Luton Town v Cardiff City was postponed, showed ATV's match instead
06/Feb    Lincoln City 2 (Hubbard(pen), Trevis) Hartlepool 0
13/Feb    Hull City 2 (Chilton, Houghton) Brentford 1 (Ross) [FA Cup 5th Round] *ATV coverage of Stoke 0 Ipswich 0 was 2nd game
20/Feb    Peterborough United 1 (Moss) Northampton Town 0
27/Feb    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
06/Mar    Hull City 2 (Wagstaff 2) Stoke City 3 (Conroy, Ritchie 2) [FA Cup QF] *YTV also showed this, Gerry Harrison comm for Anglia
13/Mar    Ipswich Town 1 (Burton(og)) Newcastle United 0
20/Mar    Northampton Town 1 (Large) Notts County 1 (Hateley) *Surviving tape is b&w
27/Mar    Norwich City 3 (Foggo, Silvester 2) Sunderland 0
03/Apr    Ipswich Town 1 (Woods) Southampton 3 (Gabriel(pen), Channon, Davies)
10/Apr    Norwich City 3 (Foggo, Stringer, Darling) Queens Park Rangers 0
17/Apr    Luton Town 2 (Anderson, Givens) Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Sunley)
24/Apr    Norwich City 1 (Silvester) Cardiff City 2 (Clarke, Warboys) *b&w
01/May   Hull City 1 (Houghton) Norwich City 0 *Tape log says Hull 1 QPR 0

It was not a good season for Ipswich Town as they struggled to a 19th placed finish. Hull City, under Terry Neill, enjoyed an excellent campaign reaching the FA Cup quarter-finals (going out 3-2 at home to Stoke City) and were only five points short of going up. Luton Town, newly promoted were just behind and Malcolm Macdonald netted 24 more league goals whilst Norwich City had yet another mid-table season in 11th. Colchester United also reached the last eight of the FA Cup - As a bottom tier club they knocked out the mighty Leeds United at Layer Road in one of the most famous giant-killing acts of all time (shown on the BBC) thanks in-part to Ray Crawford who had been a part of the Ipswich Town title winning side almost a decade earlier, they also just missed out on promotion by two points, Northampton Town were close behind  in 7th place. The rest of the Anglia clubs where all clustered in the bottom half of the table; Lincoln City had to apply for re-election, Cambridge United - in their first season in the Football league - finished four points above them.

Season 1971/72
14/Aug    Ipswich Town 0 Everton 0
21/Aug    Showed Tyne Tees' "Shoot"
28/Aug    No football scheduled
04/Sep    Showed LWT's "The Big Match"
11/Sep    Showed Granada's "Football" - Blackpool 1 Norwich City 2
18/Sep    Showed LWT's "The Big Match"
25/Sep    Northampton Town 1 (Hawkins) Colchester United 1 (Hall)
02/Oct    Norwich City 0 Queens Park Rangers 0
09/Oct    Ipswich Town 1 (Harper) Nottingham Forest 1 (Moore)
16/Oct    Norwich City 3 (Foggo 2, Howard) Luton Town 1 (Slough)
23/Oct    Lincoln City 3 (Smith, Freeman, Gilliver) Peterborough United 2 (Robson, Barker)
30/Oct    Northampton Town 3 (Large, Hope, Buchanan) Grimsby Town 0
06/Nov   Ipswich Town 2 (Hill, Belfitt) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Dougan)
13/Nov   Colchester United 1 (Jones) Brentford 1 (O'Mara)
20/Nov   Ipswich Town 1 (Hill) Huddersfield Town 0 *Southern at Southend
27/Nov   Luton Town 3 (Keen, Hindson, Anderson) Portsmouth 2 (Reynolds 2)
04/Dec    Ipswich Town 0 Liverpool 0
11/Dec    Hull City 4 (Kaye 2, Pearson, Banks) Middlesbrough 3 (Mills 2, Craggs)
18/Dec    Ipswich Town 0 Manchester United 0
01/Jan     Luton Town 2 (Nicholl, Anderson) Millwall 1 (Possee)
08/Jan     Hull City 0 Cardiff City 0
15/Jan     Peterborough United 0 Ipswich Town 2 (Hill, Viljoen) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
22/Jan     Norwich City 1 (Paddon (pen)) Preston North End 1 (Bird)
29/Jan     Luton Town 1 (John Ryan) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Francis)
05/Feb    Coventry City 0 Hull City 1 (Wagstaff) [FA Cup 4th Round] *Anglia outside the region, ATV were at Birmingham
12/Feb    Norwich City 2 (Burnett(og), Cross) Millwall 2 (Possee, Bolland)
19/Feb    Ipswich Town 0 Arsenal 1 (George)
26/Feb    Stoke City 4 (Greenhoff 2, Conroy, Ritchie) Hull City 1 (Wagstaff) [FA Cup 5th Round] Anglia outside region (not listed in WOS Almanac but footage exists), ATV at Birmingham
04/Mar    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
11/Mar    Hull City 4 (Pearson 2, Wagstaff 2) Fulham 0
18/Mar    Lincoln City 1 (Gilliver) Scunthorpe United 0 *Not listed in the WOS Almanac
25/Mar    Norwich City 5 (Paddon 2(1 pen), Foggo, Cross, Bone) Blackpool 1 (Burns)
01/Apr    Ipswich Town 1 (Viljoen) Chelsea 2 (Webb 2)
08/Apr    Norwich City 1 (Forbes) Sheffield Wednesday 0
15/Apr    FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Arsenal/Stoke
22/Apr    Norwich City 1 (Forbes) Swindon Town 0
29/Apr    Grimsby Town 3 (Wiggington, Brace(pen), Gauden) Peterborough United 2 (Turpie, Hall) *Norwich special shown prior to this

Ipswich Town had an improved season finishing in 13th place, but their progress was over-shadowed by Norwich City who, under Ron Saunders, burst from a decade of mid-table obscurity to claim the 2nd tier title, they also reached the Quarter-finals of the League Cup. Both Hull City and Luton Town slipped down the table and at the end of the season the Luton manager Alec Stock resigned. It was a good year for the region's 4th tier clubs; Grimsby Town won the league title on the final day of the season in-front of the “Match of the Week” cameras with a 3-2 win over Peterborough United who just missed out on promotion themselves, although they did have the division’s top scorer in Paul Price who hit 28 goals. Southend United were visited by Anglia for the first time in November for their 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the 1st Round of the FA Cup and went on to win promotion as runners-up, whilst Ron Ashman’s Scunthorpe United (who had sold Kevin Keegan to Liverpool the previous summer) pipped local rivals Lincoln city to the final promotion spot by a point. Cambridge United and Colchester United were locked together in mid-table whilst Northampton Town were forced to apply for re-election.

Season 1972/73
12/Aug    Norwich City 1 (Bone) Everton 1 (Royle)
19/Aug    Showed Granada's "Football" - Manchester City 3 Norwich City 0
26/Aug    No football scheduled
02/Sep     Ipswich Town 1 (Viljoen) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Peters(pen))
09/Sep    Showed LWT's "The Big Match" *Gerry Harrison was commentating for Granada
16/Sep    Showed LWT's "The Big Match"
23/Sep    Scunthorpe United 1 (Deere) Grimsby Town 2 (Gray, Chatterley)
30/Sep    Northampton Town 2 (Neal 2) Cambridge United 2 (Collins(pen), Watson)
07/Oct    Showed LWT's "The Big Match"
14/Oct    Hull City 5 (Holme, Pearson 4) Portsmouth 1 (Price)
21/Oct    Luton Town 1 (Hallom) Hull City 2 (Houghton 2)
28/Oct    Norwich City 1 (Anderson) Liverpool 1 (Cormack)
04/Nov   Ipswich Town 2 (Madeley(og), Johnson) Leeds United 2 (Charlton, Lorimer)
11/Nov    Norwich City 0 Ipswich Town 0
18/Nov    Norwich City 2 (Stringer, Paddon) West Bromwich Albion 0
25/Nov    Abandoned match - Ipswich Town 0 Coventry City 1 *Abandoned after 61 minutes due to floodlight failure
02/Dec    Norwich City 0 Manchester United 2 (Moore, McDougal)
09/Dec    Ipswich Town 2 (Johnson 2) Crystal Palace 1 (Hughes)
16/Dec    Grimsby Town 4 (Wiggington, Hickman, Chatterley, Worthington) Brentford 0
23/Dec    Norwich City 1 (Bone) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Dougan)
30/Dec    Norwich City 1 (Paddon) Manchester City 1 (Towers)
06/Jan     Ipswich Town 1 (Whymark) Newcastle United 0
13/Jan     Chelmsford 1 (Woolcott) Ipswich Town 3 (Hamilton, Harper, Johnson) [FA Cup 3rd Round] *2nd half in b&w
20/Jan     Scunthorpe United 1 (Kirk(pen)) Bournemouth 1 (Clarke)
27/Jan     Luton Town 1 (Slough) Nottingham Forest 0
03/Feb    Hull City 1 (Houghton) West Ham United 0 [FA Cup 4th Round] *possibly Yorkshire coverage
10/Feb    Cambridge United 3 (Lill, Phillips, Watson) Newport County 1 (White)
17/Feb    Luton Town 1 (Aston) Cardiff City 1 (Woodruff)
24/Feb    Showed ATV coverage of Coventry City 3 (Alderson, Stein 2) Hull City 0 [FA Cup 5th Round]
03/Mar    League Cup Final - Norwich City 0 Spurs 1 (Coates) *Networked highlights
10/Mar    Ipswich Town 1 (Whymark) Arsenal 2 (Radford, Ball(pen))
17/Mar    Norwich City 1 (Paddon(pen)) Leicester City 1 (Glover)
24/Mar    Luton Town 1 (Garner) Bristol City 3 (Gow, Fillies, Fear)
31/Mar    Norwich City 1 (Stringer) Birmingham City 2 (Latchford 2)
07/Apr    FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Arsenal/Sunderland
14/Apr    Grimsby Town 2 (Hickman, Farrimond(og)) Tranmere Rovers 0
21/Apr    Ipswich Town 2 (Morris, Whymark) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Richards)
28/Apr    Cambridge United 3 (Walton 2, Ross(pen)) Mansfield Town 2 (McGaffey, Roberts)

Ipswich made a sudden return to prominence in the English game finishing in 4th place, their highest since winning the title in 1962, and it was enough to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Norwich City quickly adapted to life amongst the elite and, after Anglia covered the 2-0 win over West Brom on November 18th City sat 6th in the table, disaster then struck as they then failed to win another league game until mid April, but two further wins over fellow strugglers West Brom and Crystal Palace in the space of four days saved them from the drop. The other high point was their first visit to Wembley in the League Cup final but they lost 1-0 to Spurs. 2nd tier clubs Luton Town and Hull City had almost identical season's as the previous year with lower mid-table finishes. Grimsby Town adapted well to 3rd tier football and finished in 9th place with Southend United four points below them, but Scunthorpe United ended the season rock bottom and were relegated straight back down, Cambridge United were among those replacing them as they finished in 3rd in the Fourth Division. Lincoln City - who had appointed Graham Taylor as their new Manager in December - finished 10th, Peterborough United finished 6th from bottom, but better than Colchester united (now managed by Former Boston United manager Jim Smith) and Northampton Town who both had to re-apply for re-election.

Season 1973/74
25/Aug    No football scheduled
01/Sep    Norwich City 2 (Mellor, Paddon(pen)) West Ham United 2 (Best, Robson)
08/Sep    Ipswich Town 2 (Lambert, Johnson) Manchester United 1 (Anderson)
15/Sep    Showed Granada's match *Listed in Sunday People
22/Sep    Hull City 0 West Bromwich Albion 0
29/Sep    Showed LWT's match
06/Oct     Ipswich Town 0 Tottenham Hotspur 0
13/Oct     Norwich City 0 Coventry City 0
20/Oct     Norwich City 1 (Livermore) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Gilzean)
27/Oct     Luton Town 2 (Anderson, Butlin) Hull City 2 (Greenwood, Lord)
03/Nov    Grimsby Town 1 (Sharpe) Cambridge United 0
10/Nov    Ipswich Town 3 (Beattie, Lambert 2) Derby County 0
17/Nov    Peterborough United 3 (Hall 2, Hill) Northampton Town 0
24/Nov    Ipswich Town 2 (Whymark 2) Manchester City 1 (Leman)
01/Dec     Colchester United 4 (Svark 2, Morgan, Dyson) Bradford City 0
08/Dec     Hull City 3 (Deare, Greenwood, Wagstaff) Crystal Palace 0
15/Dec     Norwich City 1 (Cheesley) Liverpool 1 (Cormack)
22/Dec     Showed Yorkshire coverage of Leeds United 1 Norwich City 0 *possibly with Gerry Harrison commentating for Anglia viewers
29/Dec     Luton Town 1 (Anderson) Bristol City 0
05/Jan      Peterborough United 3 (Cousins, Hill, Robson) Southend United 1 (Moody) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
12/Jan      Cambridge United 3 (Lill, Ferguson, Greenhouse) Southend United 2 (Coulsen, Ford)
19/Jan      Luton Town 2 (Jimmy Ryan 2(1pen)) Nottingham Forest 2 (McKenzie, Richardson)
26/Jan      Peterborough United 1 (Cousins) Leeds United 4 (Lorimer, Jordan 2, Yorath) [FA Cup 4th Round]
02/Feb     Ipswich Town 7 (Mills, Beattie, Hamilton 2, Whymark 2, Lambert) Southampton 0
09/Feb     Norwich City 2 (McDougal, Stringer) Sheffield United 1 (Hemsley)
16/Feb     Luton Town 0 Leicester City 4 (Earl 2, Worthington, Weller) [FA Cup 5th Round] *LWT coverage (Harrison was at Burnley v Aston V)
23/Feb     Showed ATV's match
02/Mar     League Cup Final *Networked highlights
09/Mar     Hull City 1 (O'Reilly) Luton Town 3 (West, Anderson, Aston) *possibly YTV coverage with Harrison comm for Anglia viewers
16/Mar     Ipswich Town 2 (Hamilton, Whymark) Arsenal 2 (Kennedy, Simpson)
23/Mar     Hull City 1 (Grimes) Carlisle United 1 (Owen) *possibly YTV coverage with Harrison comm for Anglia viewers
30/Mar     Luton Town 0 Middlesbrough 1 (Mills)
06/Apr     Norwich City 0 Manchester United 2 (Macari, B.Greenhoff)
13/Apr     Northampton Town 0 Peterborough United 1 (Murray)
20/Apr     Colchester United 0 Gillingham 2 (Yeo 2) *LWT at Luton
27/Apr     Ipswich Town 0 Sheffield United 1 (Woodward)

Ipswich Town’s reward for last season's 4th placed finish was European football, and they soon proved a liking for foreign adventures by knocking out Real Madrid in the UEFA Cup 1st Round, they went on to reach the QF's (losing on pens to Lokomotiv Leipzig) and again achieved a 4th place in the league with Kevin Beattie winnning the first ever PFA 'Young player of the year' award. At Carrow Road there was a change of manger as Ron Saunders walked out of Norwich in November over criticism of his style of play, he was replaced by the out-spoken boss of Bournemouth, John Bond, who signed several players from Dean Court in the process of breaking up Saunders' team, Bond took the Canaries to the League Cup semi-final but were defeated 1-0 in the second leg and he could not prevent a drop back down to the 2nd tier. Promoted as runners-up were Luton Town under Harry Haslam, the Hatters could now look forward to top flight football at Kenilworth Road for the first time since 1960. Hull finished in 9th place whilst 3rd tier Grimsby Town just missed out on promotion, Southend United were mid-table and Cambridge United lasted just one season at this level and were relegated. In the Fourth Division it was a good season for the region as Noel Cantwell's Peterborough United stormed to the title whilst Colchester United were also promoted in 3rd, Northampton Town just missed out in 5th.

Season 1974/75
10/Aug    Birmingham 3 Norwich 1 & Orient 2 Luton 2 [Anglo-Scottish Cup] *Networked highlights
17/Aug    Norwich City 2 (Powell, MacDougal) Blackpool 1 (Bentley)
24/Aug    Showed Tyne Tees coverage of Middlesbrough 1 (Mills) Luton Town 1 (Butlin)
31/Aug    Colchester United 1 (Cook) Bournemouth 0
07/Sep    Ipswich Town 1 (Woods) Everton 0
14/Sep    Showed ATV's match
21/Sep    Ipswich Town 2 (Talbot, Johnson) Chelsea 0 *ATV covered Northampton 3 Shrewsbury 3
28/Sep    Luton Town 3 (Anderson, Alston, Ryan(pen)) Carlisle United 1 (Laidlaw)
05/Oct    Showed LWT's match
12/Oct    Ipswich Town 0 Leeds United 0
19/Oct    Norwich City 2 (Stringer, Boyer) Portsmouth 0
26/Oct    Peterborough United 1 (Lee(pen)) Aldershot 1 (Walker(pen))
02/Nov   Colchester United 1 (Svarc) Wrexham 1 (Davis)
09/Nov   Luton Town 0 Sheffield United 1 (Currie)
16/Nov   Ipswich Town 4 (Johnson 3, Talbot) Coventry City 0
23/Nov    Norwich City 2 (Miller 2) Bolton Wanderers 0
30/Nov    Luton Town 2 (Faulkner, Spiring) Burnley 3 (Hankin 2, James)
07/Dec    Showed Granada's match
14/Dec    Ipswich Town 4 (Viljoen, Hunter, Lambert, Osbourne) Tottenham Hotspur 0
21/Dec    Showed LWT's match
28/Dec    Colchester United 4 (Froggatt, Dominey, Cook, Bradley) Peterborough United 1 (Turner)
04/Jan     Southend United 2 Queens Park Rangers 2 [FA Cup 3rd Round]
11/Jan     Ipswich Town 2 (Osbourne, Johnson) Middlesbrough 0 *top of the table clash - 1st v 2nd
18/Jan     Norwich City 2 (Suggett, Stringer) York City 3 (Seal, Jones 2)
25/Jan     Ipswich Town 1 (Mills) Liverpool 0 [FA Cup 4th Round]
01/Feb    Southend United 1 (Brace) Preston North End 1 (Holden)
08/Feb    Norwich City 3 (MacDougal 2(1pen), McGuire) West Bromwich A. 2 (Mayo, Hughes) *Machin sent off for punching Johnston in back of head, LWT at Luton
15/Feb    Ipswich Town 3 (Johnson, Hamilton 2) Aston Villa 2 (McDonald, Evans) [FA Cup 5th Round]
22/Feb    Luton Town 0 Stoke City 0 *Hudson had goal disallowed for Stoke
01/Mar    League Cup Final - Norwich City 0 Aston Villa 1 (Graydon) *Networked highlights
08/Mar    Ipswich Town 0 Leeds United 0 [FA Cup QF]
15/Mar    Peterborough United 0 Gillingham 0
22/Mar    Luton Town 2 (Aston, Anderson) Leeds United 1 (Jordan)
29/Mar    Ipswich Town 2 (Woods, Viljoen) Leicester City 1 (Worthington)
05/Apr    Probably FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Fulham/Birmingham
12/Apr    Luton Town 3 (Alston, Weller(og), Husband) Leicester City 0
19/Apr    Norwich City 3 (Peters, Boyer 2) Nottingham Forest 0
26/Apr    Luton Town 1 (Ryan) Manchester City 1 (Tueart)

Ipswich went for the double and just missed out in both the League and the FA Cup, they were just two points adrift of champions Derby County and finished 3rd, whilst in the FA Cup they reached the semi-final after knocking out Wolves, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Leeds United (after a four game quarter-final) before going out 2-1 in a semi-final replay against West Ham United at Stamford Bridge in which referee Clive Thomas disallowed two Ipswich goals. It was to be just a one season stint in the top flight for Luton Town as they were relegated two points short of safety. John Bond's Norwich bounced straight back up as they finished 3rd (three up, three down had been introduced the previous season). Norwich also reached the League Cup final for the second time in three years and, after knocking out both Ipswich and Manchester United (also in the 2nd tier for a season) they faced Ron Saunders and Aston Villa in an all 2nd tier final, but they again lost 1-0. Peterborough United had a good season back in the 3rd tier finishing 7th, Colchester United were mid-table whilst Southend United just avoided the drop in 18th. Cambridge United, under new manager Ron Atkinson, just missed out on promotion finishing four points short whilst Northampton Town finished in the bottom half. In the North of the region, the loss of the Belmont transmitter to Yorkshire Television in mid-1974 meant four less clubs for Anglia to cover this season, these being Hull City, Grimsby Town, Lincoln City and Scunthorpe United.

Season 1975/76
16/Aug    Luton Town 2 (R.Futcher, King) Hull City 0
23/Aug    Showed Yorkshire Coverage of Leeds United 1 (Lorimer) Ipswich Town 0
30/Aug    Peterborough United 0 Port Vale 0
06/Sep    Colchester United 0 Halifax Town 1 (McHale(pen))
13/Sep    Southend United 3 (Parker, Silvester 2) Port Vale 3 (Parker Silvester 2; Dulson, Cullerton(pen), Tartt)
20/Sep    Norwich City 2 (MacDougall 2(1pen)) Leicester City 0
27/Sep    Ipswich Town 0 Middlesbrough 3 (Foggon, Armstrong, Hickton(pen)) *local pinks say another region's match was shown
04/Oct    Norwich City 0 Stoke City 1 (Haslegrave)
11/Oct    Cambridge United 1 (Horsfall) Crewe Alexandra 1 (Nelson)
18/Oct    Ipswich Town 1 (Whymark) Leicester City 1 (Lee) *LWT at Luton
25/Oct    Cambridge United 2 (Horsfall 2) Brentford 1 (French) *LWT document says Norwich City 1 (Boyer) Birmingham City 0
01/Nov   Luton Town 0 Bristol City 0
08/Nov   Cambridge United 0 Northampton Town 1 (Hall)
15/Nov   Ipswich Town 1 (Peddelty) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Givens)
22/Nov   Showed ATV Coverage of Leicester City 0 Ipswich Town 0
29/Nov   Peterborough United 3 (Nixon, Robson, Eustace) Southend United 2 (Foggo, Brace)
06/Dec    Norwich City 1 (MacDougall) West Ham United 0
13/Dec    Luton Town 2 (King, Aston) West Bromwich Albion 1 (Martin)
20/Dec    Showed ATV's match
27/Dec    Norwich City 1 (Peters) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Bell)
03/Jan     Showed LWT's FA Cup 3rd Round match
10/Jan     Northampton Town 5 (Carlton, Robertson, Hall 2, Best) Barnsley 0
17/Jan     Ipswich Town 1 (Osborne) Coventry City 1 (Murphy)
24/Jan     Norwich City 2 (Peters, Jones) Luton Town 0 [FA Cup 4th Round]
31/Jan     Luton Town 1 (R.Futcher) Nottingham Forest 1 (Curran)
07/Feb    Norwich City 3 (Peters 2, MacDougall) Arsenal 1 (Kidd)
14/Feb    Derby County 1 (Rioch) Southend United 0 [FA Cup 5th Round] *Anglia cameras outside the region
21/Feb    Colchester United 3 (Garwood 2, Froggatt) Cardiff City 2 (Dwyer, Anderson(pen))
28/Feb    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
06/Mar    Norwich City 3 (Suggett, Macdougall(pen), Boyer) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Chivers)
13/Mar    Ipswich Town 1 (Osborne) Stoke City 1 (Smith)
20/Mar    Northampton Town 6 (Hall 3, Best 2, Stratford) Bournemouth 0
27/Mar    Ipswich Town 1 (Whymark) Everton 0
03/Apr     FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Crystal P/Southampton
10/Apr     Ipswich Town 3 (Johnson, Whymark, Lambert) Manchester United 0
17/Apr     Colchester United 2 (Gough, Froggatt) Southend United 1 (Moody(pen))
24/Apr     Ipswich Town 2 (Whymark, Lambert) Derby County 6 (Hector 2, Rioch 2, Lee 2) *Francis Lee's last match

Ipswich slipped back this season to 6th place whilst newly promoted Norwich defied most people's expectations that they would be relegated, finishing 10th (only 4 points behind Ipswich) and boasting the top flight's leading scorer in Ted MacDougall with 23 goals. The only blot on the season at Carrow Road was a shock 2-1 home defeat to 4th tier Bradford City in the 5th round of the FA Cup. Luton’s hopes of bouncing straight back into the top flight were not fulfilled as they finished in 7th place. In the 3rd tier, Peterborough finished 10th but it was a bad season for the two Essex clubs as both Colchester and Southend were relegated. Northampton came up the other way as they finished runners-up in the Fourth Division, their two home “Match of the Week” appearances saw them score eleven goals without reply. Cambridge United finished 13th.

Season 1976/77
21/Aug    Ipswich Town 3 (Lambert 2, Bertschin) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Jones)
28/Aug    Showed LWT's match
04/Sep    Norwich City 1 (Boyer) Birmingham City 0
11/Sep    Showed ATV's match
18/Sep    Peterborough United 0 Crystal Palace 0
25/Sep    Ipswich Town 3 (Osborne, Gates, Beattie(pen)) Arsenal 1 (Hunter(og))
02/Oct    Cambridge United 2 (Watson, Finney) Southend United 3 (Parker 2, Goodwin)
09/Oct    Luton Town 2 (Husband, Futcher) Hereford United 0
16/Oct    Norwich City 1 (Gibbons) Leeds United 2 (F.Gray, E.Gray)
23/Oct    Luton Town 1 (Chambers) Southampton 4 (Peach 2, MacDougall, Holmes)
30/Oct    Northampton Town 0 Brighton & Hove Albion 2 (Ward, Towner)
06/Nov   Ipswich Town 7 (Wymark 4, Wark, Beattie, Mariner) West Bromwich Albion 0
13/Nov   Showed LWT coverage of Millwall 4 (Kitchen, Lee, Walker, Speasman) Luton Town 2 (West, Buckley(pen))
20/Nov   Ipswich Town 1 (Talbot) Leeds United 1 (McQueen)
27/Nov   Norwich City 1 (Boyer) Aston Villa 1 (Little)
04/Dec    Ipswich Town 1 (Mariner) Liverpool 0
11/Dec    Showed Tyne Tees coverage of Abandoned match - Newcastle United v Ipswich Town *Newcastle leading 1-0
18/Dec    Showed Tyne Tees coverage of Sunderland 0 Norwich City 1 (Busby) *YEP lists Peterboro v Lincoln City (PP'd)
01/Jan     Norwich City 3 (Busby 3) Leicester City 2 (Sammels, Earle)
08/Jan     Showed YTV coverage of Leeds United 5 (Clarke, Reaney, Jordan, McQueen, Hampton) Norwich City 2 (Suggett, Peters) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
15/Jan     Ipswich Town 2 (Whymark, Wark) Everton 0
22/Jan     Northampton Town 2 (Best, Gilligan) Chesterfield 1 (Burton)
29/Jan     Ipswich Town 2 (Mariner, Burley) Wolverhampton W. 2 (Richards 2) [FA Cup 4th Round]
05/Feb    Colchester United 1 (Dowman) Rochdale 0 *Tape log credits scorer as "Afro Bighair!"
12/Feb    Ipswich Town 1 (Woods) Aston Villa 0
19/Feb    Norwich City 3 (Busby 2, Reeves) Coventry City 0
26/Feb    Showed LWT's FA Cup 5th Round match
05/Mar    Luton Town 2 (Husband, Fuccillo) Wolverhampton W. 0
12/Mar    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
19/Mar    Showed other region's FA Cup QF's
26/Mar    Luton Town 5 (Fuccillo, R.Futcher, Husband, West, Aston) Carlisle United 0
02/Apr    Norwich City 2 (Suggett, Reeves) Manchester United 1 (Powell(og)) *Man Utd fans riot
09/Apr    Cambridge United 4 (Watson(pen), Fallon, Biley 2) Aldershot 1 (Bell)
16/Apr    Norwich City 2 (Peters, Reeves) Bristol City 1 (Cormack)
23/Apr     FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Man Utd/Leeds
30/Apr     Norwich City 2 (Reeves, Busby) Everton 1 (Pearson)
07/May    Ipswich Town 2 (Osborne, Wark) Newcastle United 0
14/May    Colchester United 2 ((Radcliffe(og), Allinson) Bradford City 1 (Watson)

Ipswich rose back up the table to become genuine title contenders again, but like two years before they could only finish in 3rd place (behind Liverpool and Manchester City). Norwich struggled but managed to hang on to their top flight status by just 3 points, finishing in 16th. Luton Town finished 6th having been in the promotion hunt all season, 4 points adrift. In the 3rd tier, Peterborough dropped to 16th whilst Northampton dropped straight back into the basement league. Coming up from the 4th tier were both Cambridge (as champions) and Colchester United (in 3rd place) whilst Southend finished 10th.

Season 1977/78
20/Aug    Showed Tyne Tees match
27/Aug    Showed Granada coverage of Manchester United 0 Ipswich Town 0
03/Sep    Ipswich Town 1 (Talbot) Chelsea 0
10/Sep    Showed YTV coverage of Leeds United 2 (Hankin 2) Ipswich Town 1 (Mariner)
17/Sep    Luton Town 0 Blackburn Rovers 0
24/Sep    Norwich City 1 (Ryan) Arsenal 0
01/Oct    Ipswich Town 2 (Mills, Gates) Newcastle United 1 (McCaffery)
08/Oct    Norwich City 2 (Peters 2) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Sunderland)
15/Oct    Luton Town 1 (Faulkner) Fulham 0
22/Oct    Cambridge United 2 (Spriggs 2) Colchester United 0
29/Oct    Ipswich Town 0 West Ham United 2 (Hales 2)
05/Nov   Peterborough United 2 (Cliss, Sargeant) Cambridge United 0
12/Nov   Showed ATV's match
19/Nov   Southend United 1 (Goodwin) Watford 0
26/Nov   Norwich City 1 (Gibbons) Birmingham City 0
03/Dec    Ipswich Town 2 (Whymark, Gates) Aston Villa 0
10/Dec    Norwich City 2 (Suggett, Hamilton) Liverpool 1 (Thompson)
17/Dec    Luton Town 1 (R.Futcher) Mansfield Town 1 (Syrett)
24/Dec    No fixtures played
31/Dec    Ipswich Town 1 (Mariner) Derby County 2 (Ryan, George)
07/Jan     Peterborough United 1 (Sargeant) Newcastle United 1 (Hudson) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
14/Jan     Ipswich Town 1 (Mariner) Manchester United 2 (McIlroy, Pearson) *LWT at Luton
21/Jan     Showed LWT coverage of Chelsea 5 (Swain 2, Finnieston,Wilkins, Langley) Ipswich Town 3 (Osborne, Wark, Mariner)
28/Jan     Showed ATV's FA Cup 4th Round match
04/Feb    Showed LWT's match
11/Feb    Showed LWT's match
18/Feb    Showed HTV coverage of Bristol Rovers 2 (Williams 2) Ipswich 2 (Turner, Mariner) [FA Cup R5] *Gerry Harrison comm., at least for Anglia viewers
25/Feb    Cambridge United 1 (Biley(pen)) Preston North End 1 (Thompson)
04/Mar    Ipswich Town 2 (Mills, Wark) West Bromwich A. (T.Brown 2(1pen))
11/Mar    Showed two FA Cup QF's *Ipswich QF was on BBC
18/Mar    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
25/Mar    Norwich City 1 (Reeves) Coventry City 2 (Powell(pen), Wallace)
01/Apr    Norwich City 3 (Ryan, Jones, Hart(og)) Leeds United 0
08/Apr    FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Arsenal/Orient, the Ipswich SF was on BBC
15/Apr    Colchester United 1 (Foley) Wrexham 1 (Thomas)
22/Apr    Peterborough United 1 (Robson) Tranmere Rovers 0
29/Apr    Cambridge United 2 (Finney, Fallon) Exeter City 1 (Bowker)
06/May   FA Cup Final - Ipswich Town 1 (Osborne) Arsenal 0 *Networked live, brief Sunday highlights were on a Grand Prix "World of Sport Special"

It was a bizarre season for Ipswich as they became the first East Anglian club to win the FA Cup by beating Arsenal 1-0 in the final with a goal by Roger Osborne, but in the league it was a very different story as they dropped down the table to finish just 3 points above the relegated clubs in 18th (Town's lowest finish since 1971). Norwich City finished 13th, almost losing manager John Bond in March to Birmingham City, but at the last moment he decided to stay at Carrow Road. A team that did lose their manager was 2nd tier Luton Town when Harry Haslam moved to Sheffield United in January, he was replaced by reserves manager David Pleat and they went on to finish 13th. Cambridge United made it two successive promotions by climbing out of the 3rd tier despite losing manager Ron Atkinson to West Bromwich Albion in December, his replacement John Docherty led them to the runners-up spot, they were almost joined by Peterborough, but the Posh missed out on the final promotion place on goal difference. Colchester United were just 4 points behind in 8th place. Another Anglia team who enjoyed a good season was Southend who were promoted out of the bottom tier as runners-up behind Graham Taylor’s Watford. Both of United’s games against Watford were shown on TV with “Match of the Week” covering  the home win in November, whilst “Match of the Day” covered the 1-1 draw at Vicarage Road in April. Northampton, now managed by former Watford manager Mike Keen, finished 10th.

Season 1978/79
12/Aug    Ipswich 0 Nottm Forest 5 (O'Neill 2, Withe, Lloyd, Robertson) [Charity Shield] *Networked highlights from Wembley, Brian Moore comm.
19/Aug    Norwich City 3 (Reeves, Ryan, Chivers) Southampton 1 (MacDougal)
26/Aug    Showed ATV coverage of Leicester City 1 (Christie) Cambridge United 1 (Biley)
02/Sep    Cambridge United 0 Newcastle United 0
09/Sep    Ipswich Town 0 Aston Villa 2 (Gregory, Gray(pen))
16/Sep    Peterborough United 3 (Butlin, McEwan, Doyle) Brentford 1 (Kruese)
23/Sep    Luton Town 1 (Stein) Cambridge United 1 (Biley(pen))
30/Sep    Colchester United 3 (Rowles, Gough 2) Blackpool 1 (Hockaday)
07/Oct    Norwich City 1 (Ryan(pen)) Liverpool 4 (Heighway 2, Johnson, Case)
14/Oct    Northampton Town 2 (Farington, Mead) Reading 2 (Earls 2)
21/Oct    Showed LWT's match
28/Oct    Ipswich Town 2 (Gates, Mariner) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Francis)
04/Nov   Norwich City 2 (Ryan(pen), Peters) Tottenham Hotspur 2 (Lee, Taylor)
11/Nov   Ipswich Town 0 West Bromwich Albion 1 (A.Brown)
18/Nov   Cambridge United 1 (Finney) Leicester City 1 (Henderson)
25/Nov   Luton Town 0 Sunderland 3 (Rowell 2, Entwhistle)
02/Dec    Ipswich Town 2 (Beattie, Wark(pen) Leeds United 3 (Hankin, Harris, Cherry)
09/Dec    Norwich City 0 Arsenal 0 *Both keepers saved a penalty
16/Dec    Ipswich Town 3 (Gates, Mariner, Talbot) Bolton Wanderers 0
23/Dec    Cambridge United 0 Crystal Palace 0
30/Dec    Showed Granada's match
06/Jan     Showed Yorkshire's FA Cup 3rd Round match
13/Jan     Cambridge United 5 (Finney, Biley 3, Garner) Cardiff City 0
20/Jan     Ipswich Town 3 (Wark 2(1pen), Mariner) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Berry)
27/Jan     Ipswich Town 0 Orient 0 [FA Cup 4th Round] *Snow covered pitch, Ipswich changed into away strip
03/Feb    Cambridge United 0 Luton Town 0
10/Feb    Ipswich Town 0 Southampton 0
17/Feb    Bad Weather, showed ATV's match *only 5 fixtures from all divisions played
24/Feb    Norwich City 1 (Peters) Middlesbrough 0
03/Mar    Showed Yorkshire coverage of Leeds United 2 (Hawley 2) Norwich City 2 (Bond, Fashanu)
10/Mar    Showed other region's FA Cup QF's
17/Mar    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
24/Mar    Southend United 0 Bury 0
31/Mar    FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Man Utd/Liverpool
07/Apr    Cambridge United 0 West Ham United 0
14/Apr    Showed LWT's match *News of the World lists Norwich 0 Ipswich 1 (Thijssen) but it's not on Anglia's goal comp tape
21/Apr    Luton Town 1 (West) Brighton & Hove A. 1 (Maybank)
28/Apr    Ipswich Town 2 (Muhren, Brazil) Tottenham Hotpsur 1 (Hoddle(pen))
05/May   Showed LWT's match

Ipswich followed up their FA Cup win with a 6th placed finish in the league whilst Bobby Robson started to re-build the cup winning team, Brian Talbot was sold to Arsenal mid-season and Dutch pair Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijjsen were signed from Holland to become two of the first oversees players in the English game. The defence of the FA Cup ended at the Quarter-finals stage with a defeat to Liverpool (this game was due to be covered by Match of the Day but then the BBC was hit by a last minute strike, preventing coverage), there was also a run to the Quarter-finals of the Cup-Winners Cup where they were knocked out on away goals by Barcelona after Town’s 2-1 victory at Portman Road was followed by a 1-0 defeat in the Nou Camp. Norwich City finished 16th, winning just seven league games all campaign, but 23 matches were drawn. Cambridge United held their own in the 2nd tier and finished 12th whilst Luton had a battle against relegation - finally finishing just 3 points above the drop. Colchester finished one place higher than the previous year in 7th whilst Southend finished mid-table, but Peterborough United were relegated in 21st place. In the Fourth Division struggling Northampton finished sixth bottom.

Season 1979/80
All ITV regions (except Channel TV) were taken off the air in early August 1979 due to a strike which lasted for almost three months! (East England viewers only had BBC1 and BBC2 from 10th August until 24th October).
27/Oct     Luton Town 0 Preston North End 1 (Elliot)
03/Nov    Showed LWT's match
10/Nov    Ipswich Town 0 Aston Villa 0 *LWT at Luton
17/Nov    Norwich City 2 (Fashanu, McGuire) Southampton 1 (Andrewseski)
24/Nov    Luton Town 2 (Moss(pen), Stein) Birmingham City 3 (Bertschin 3)
01/Dec    Cambridge United 2 (Spriggs, Murray) Queens Park Rangers 1 (Bowles)
08/Dec    Ipswich Town 4 (Mills, Gates 3) Manchester City 0
15/Dec    Norwich City 2 (Taylor, Robson) Bristol City 0
22/Dec    Showed ATV's *All but 4 fixtures this weekend were played on Friday night
29/Dec    Southend United 1 (Polycarpou) Wimbledon 3 (Denny 2, Cork)
05/Jan     Showed Yorkshire's FA Cup 3rd Round match
12/Jan     Norwich City 1 (Robson) Coventry City 0
19/Jan     Cambridge United 3 (Finnery, Fallon, Christie) Sunderland 3 (Marangoni, Brown, Cummins)
26/Jan     Cambridge United 1 (Turner) Aston Villa 1 (Donovan) [FA Cup 4th Round]
02/Feb    Luton Town 2 (Saxby, Hatton) Notts County 1 (Donaghy(og))
09/Feb    Peterborough United 0 Northampton Town 0
16/Feb    Ipswich Town 2 (Burley, Wark) Chester 1 (Jones) [FA Cup 5th Round]
23/Feb    Norwich City 0 Wolverhampton W. 4 (Hibbitt 2(2pens), Eves, Richards) *Norwich manager John Bond's thoughts heard on the commentary
01/Mar    Ipswich Town 6 (Brazil 2, Mariner 3, Thijssen) Manchester United 0 *Bailey saved 3 Ipswich pens (incl a re-take)
08/Mar    Showed Granada coverage of Everton 2 (Latchford, Kidd) Ipswich Town 1 (Beattie) [FA Cup QF]
15/Mar    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
22/Mar    Colchester United 6 (Foley 2, Lee 2, Dowman, Rowles) Brentford 1 (Funnell)
29/Mar    Luton Town 1 (Hatton) Burnley 1 (Hamilton)
05/Apr     Ipswich Town 4 (Wark 3(2pens), Mariner) Norwich City 2 (Bond, Robson)
12/Apr     FA Cup SF *Networked highlights of Arsenal/Liverpool
19/Apr     Norwich City 0 Manchester United 2 (Jordan 2)
26/Apr     Ipswich Town 1 (Gates) Bolton Wanderers 0
03/May    Showed ATV's match

Ipswich and Norwich had season's in reverse of each other - Norwich started the season very strongly and topped the summit of English football for the first time in August after three straight league wins. John Bond won the Manager of the Month award in September and his team were in the top five for most of the first part of the season, Ipswich on the other hand struggled around the bottom three until Christmas, but in the second half of the season the Canaries form dropped (which was not helped by the selling of Kevin Reeves to Manchester City for £1 Million) and they finished in 12th place, whilst Ipswich raced up the table to finish 3rd again for a third time in just six seasons. Both teams also reached the Quarter-finals of domestic cup competitions. Norwich were beaten in the League Cup QF's 3-1 at home by Liverpool, whilst Ipswich lost 2-1 at Everton in the FA Cup. Luton made a serious bid for promotion but slipped up to finish four points short of the required tally in 6th. Only two places behind Luton were Cambridge United, their highest ever finish. Colchester almost made it into the 2nd tier, but they finished 5th whilst Southend were relegated after finishing 22nd. In the Fourth Division Peterborough finished 8th (eight points from promotion), Northampton improved to finish 13th.

Season 1980/81
"Match of the Week" was moved to a Saturday night slot for this season.
16/Aug    Cambridge United 3 (Reilly 2, Christie) Derby County 0
23/Aug    Showed LWT's match
30/Aug    Ipswich Town 4 (Butcher, Wark, Mariner, Brazil) Everton 0
06/Sep    Luton Town 1 (Bunn) Wrexham 1 (Edwards)
13/Sep    Norwich City 1 (Fashanu) Southampton 0
20/Sep    Ipswich Town 2 (Wark 2) Coventry City 0
27/Sep    Colchester United 1 (Lee) Chester 1 (Jones)
04/Oct    Showed ATV's match
11/Oct    Norwich City 1 (Fashanu) Wolverhampton W. 1 (Hibbitt) *John Bond's last match as manager of Norwich
18/Oct    Showed other region's match
25/Oct    Cambridge United 1 (Reilly) Luton Town 3 (Moss(pen), Goodyear, Stein)
01/Nov   May have intended to show Man City 1 (Power) Norwich 0, with John Bond now at Man City, but Granada were hit by union dispute
08/Nov   Norwich City 2 (Fashanu, Royle) Everton 1 (Latchford)
15/Nov   Southend United 1 (Cusack(pen)) Bury 0 *LWT at Luton
22/Nov   Norwich City 1 (Goble) Sunderland 0
29/Nov   Northampton Town 3 (Phillips 2, Sandy) Tranmere Rovers 1 (Craven)
06/Dec    Peterborough United 3 (Cooke, Robson 2) Hereford United 0
13/Dec    Ipswich Town 1 (Brazil) Liverpool 1 (Case)
20/Dec    Cambridge United 0 Blackburn Rovers 0
27/Dec    Norwich City 2 (Fashanu, Bond) Tottenham Hotpsur 2 (Archibald, Hoddle)
03/Jan     Norwich City 1 (Downs) Cambridge United 0 [FA Cup 3rd Round]
10/Jan     Ipswich Town 2 (Mariner, Muhren) Nottingham Forest 0
17/Jan     Luton Town 0 Newcastle United 1 (Harford)
24/Jan     Showed ATV coverage of Shrewsbury Town 0 Ipswich Town 0 [FA Cup 4th Round]
31/Jan     Ipswich Town 4 (Wark(pen), Gates, Brazil 2) Stoke City 0
07/Feb    Luton Town 3 (Price, Hill, Moss) Blackburn Rovers 1 (Burke)
14/Feb    Ipswich Town 2 (Wark, Mariner) Charlton Athletic 0 [FA Cup 5th Round]
21/Feb    Peterborough United 1 (Cooke) Torquay United 3 (Bowker, Fell, Cox)
28/Feb    Norwich City 3 (McGuire, Watson, Fashanu) Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (Robinson)
07/Mar    Showed ATV coverage of Nottm Forest 3 (Francis, Walsh, Robertson(pen)) Ipswich 3 (Mariner, Anderson(og), Thijssen) [FA Cup QF]
14/Mar    Ipswich Town 3 (Wark, Gates, Brazil) Tottenham Hotspur 0
21/Mar    Norwich City 1 (Fashanu) Arsenal 1 (Talbot)
28/Mar    Luton Town 0 Cambridge United 0
04/Apr    Norwich City 2 (McGuire, McDowell(pen)) Manchester City 0
11/Apr    Southend United 0 Lincoln City 0
18/Apr    Luton Town 1 (Moss(pen)) Bristol Rovers 0
25/Apr    Ipswich Town 1 (Butcher) Manchester City 0
02/May   Norwich City 2 (Maguire, Fashanu) Leicester City 3 (Melrose 3)

Ipswich finished above all of the 'big boys' this season but were pipped to 1st place by Aston Villa, Town were also denied a place at the FA Cup final at the last hurdle by Manchester City, but there was European glory for Ipswich in the UEFA Cup in a 2 leg final v Dutch outfit AZ 67 Alkmaar, Town won 5-4 on aggregate having knocked out St.Etienne and Cologne in the QF's and Semi's, Frans Thijssen was named 'Footballer of the year' and John Wark was the PFA's 'Player of the year'. So a terrific season for Ipswich, but disaster for Norwich as a six season stint in the top flight came to an end with the Canaries relegated as the 3rd bottom club, this despite a contribution of 19 league goals from teenage sensation Justin Fahanu. In the 2nd tier; Luton finished 5th (Brian Stein scoring 18), Cambridge 13th. Colchester United were relegated to the 4th tier and swapped places with Dave Smith's Southend United who went up as champions, Peterborough narrowly missed out on promotion in 5th with 22 goals from Robbie Cooke, Northampton trailed behind in 10th.

Season 1981/82
"Match of the Week" was back on Sunday afternoon's for this season.
29/Aug    Ipswich Town 3 (Wark, Gates 2) Sunderland 3 (Ritchie, Buckley 2)
05/Sep    Norwich City 1 (Jack) Barnsley 1 (Parker)
12/Sep    Ipswich Town 2 (Wark, Neal(og)) Liverpool 0
19/Sep    Southend United 2 (Spence, Gray) Portsmouth 0
26/Sep    Luton Town 4 (Moss 2(2pens), Stein 2) Watford 1 (Bolton)
03/Oct    Showed LWT's match
10/Oct    Showed LWT's match
17/Oct    Showed Granada coverage of Everton 2 (Ferguson, Stevens) Ipswich Town 1 (Gates)
24/Oct    Ipswich Town 2 (Mills, Mariner) Arsenal 1 (Sunderland)
31/Oct    Showed ATV coverage of Aston Villa 0 Ipswich Town 1 (Osman)
07/Nov    Ipswich Town 2 (Muhren, Mariner) Swansea City 3 (Curtis, Latchford, Stanley)
14/Nov    Norwich City 2 (Walford, McGuire) Cambridge United 1 (Fallon)
21/Nov    Cambridge United 1 (Spriggs(pen)) Sheffield Wednesday 2 (McCulloch(pen), Bannister)
28/Nov    Peterborough United 1 (Kellock) Northampton Town 0
05/Dec    Norwich City 0 Leicester City 0
12/Dec    Showed Granada's match
19/Dec    Showed Granada's match *Intended match was probably postponed, few fixtures played this weekend
26/Dec    Showed LWT's match
02/Jan     Showed Central coverage of Birmingham City 2 (Worthington, Curbishly) Ipswich Town 3 (Wark, Brazil 2) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
09/Jan     Showed Granada's match *Intended match postponed
16/Jan     Colchester United 1 (Adcock) Bury 1 (P.Hilton)
23/Jan     Luton Town 0 Ipswich Town 3 (Brazil, Gates 2) [FA Cup 4th round] *Harrison comm. for Anglia, Moore for LWT
30/Jan     Ipswich Town 1 (Thijssen) Notts County 3 (Mair, Kilcline, Hooks)
06/Feb    Cambridge United 1 (Spriggs) Newcastle United 0
13/Feb    Showed Shrewsbury Town 2 (Cross, King) Ipswich Town 1 (D'Avray) [FA Cup 5th Round] *Martin Tyler commentating
20/Feb    Norwich City 2 (Mendham, Jack) Chelsea 1 (Walker)
27/Feb    Luton Town 2 (Moss 2(1pen)) Oldham Athletic 0
06/Mar    Showed Central & LWT FA Cup QF's
13/Mar    League Cup Final *Networked highlights
20/Mar    Ipswich Town 3 (McCall, Wark, Gates) Aston Villa 1 (McNaught)
27/Mar    Norwich City 2 (Jack, Bertschin) Cardiff City 1 (Gilbert)
03/Apr    Peterborough United 1 (Phillips) Bury 0
10/Apr    Cambridge United 1 (Reilly) Luton Town 1 (Turner)
17/Apr    Ipswich Town 2 (Wark, Mariner) Stoke City 0 *LWT at Luton
24/Apr    Norwich City 2 (Bertschin, McGuire) Blackburn Rovers 0
01/May   Showed Central coverage of Leicester City 1 (May) Norwich City 4 (Deehan, Barham, Bertschin, Leet(og))
08/May   Norwich City 2 (Bertschin(pen), Bennett) Orient 0
15/May   Sheffield Wednesday 2 (McCulloch, Bannister) Norwich City 1 (Bertschin) *Anglia cameras outside the region, YTV were at Leeds

A very successful season for the region's top three clubs - Ipswich Town's defence of the UEFA Cup came to an abrupt end in the 1st round to Aberdeen but they again finished the season as runners-up (Alan Brazil netting 22 league goals and John Wark 18) and Town also reached the Semi-finals of the League Cup whilst Luton and Norwich both won promotion from the 2nd tier - Brian Stein's 21 goals helped David Pleat's Hatters to finish as champions with Ken Brown's Norwich in 3rd, Cambridge finished 14th. In the 3rd tier, Southend finished 7th. Down in the 4th tier, Peterborough were once again one place short of promotion in 5th with Robbie Cooke scoring 24 times, Colchester were 6th, Northampton had to apply for re-election in 22nd.

Season 1982/83
"Match of the Week" was on Saturday night's again for this season.
28/Aug    Cambridge United 0 Chelsea 1 (Robson)
04/Sep    Luton Town 5 (Walsh 3, Hill, Moss) Notts County 3 (Kilcline, Chiedozie, Goodwin)
11/Sep    Norwich City 1 (Deehan(pen)) Southampton 1 (Armstrong)
18/Sep    Ipswich Town 2 (Wark, Brazil) Stoke City 3 (Thomas, Macguire 2)
25/Sep    Colchester United 4 (Lyons, Leslie, Groves, Allinson) Blackpool 1 (Pashley(pen))
02/Oct    Luton Town 1 (Hill) Manchester United 1 (Grimes) *Harrison comm. for Anglia, Moore for LWT
09/Oct    Peterborough United 0 Scunthorpe United 1 (Angus)
16/Oct    Luton Town 1 (Stein) Ipswich Town 1 (Brazil)
23/Oct    Showed Granada's match
30/Oct    Showed LWT's match
06/Nov   Norwich City 1 (Deehan) Notts County 2 (Mair, Christie) *LWT at Luton
13/Nov   Northampton Town 2 (Denyer 2) Blackpool 1 (Hockaday)
20/Nov   Cambridge United 1 (Smith) Queens Park Rangers 4 (Wicks, Sealy, Allen 2)
27/Nov    Ipswich Town 3 (Osman, Wark, Burley) Swansea City 1 (L.James)
04/Dec    Norwich City 1 (Deehan) Liverpool 0
11/Dec    Ipswich Town 0 Everton 2 (Sheedy, Richardson) *LWT at Luton
18/Dec    Norwich City 0 Nottingham Forest 1 (Hodge)
01/Jan     Ipswich Town 2 (Mariner, Osman) Southampton 1 (Wright)
08/Jan     Showed LWT coverage of Charlton Athletic 2 (Robinson, Hales) Ipswich Town 3 (Thijssen, Wark 2(1pen)) [FA Cup 3rd Round]
15/Jan     Luton Town 1 (O'Reilly(og)) Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Hoddle)
22/Jan     Norwich City 0 Everton 1 (Ratcliffe)
29/Jan     Luton Town 0 Manchester United 2 (Moses, Moran) [FA Cup 4th Round]
05/Feb    Ipswich Town 1 (Wark) Manchester United 1 (Stapleton)
12/Feb    Cambridge United 0 Leeds United 0
19/Feb    Cambridge United 1 (Turner) Sheffield Wednesday 2 (Megson 2) [FA Cup 5th Round]
26/Feb    Ipswich Town 3 (Brazil, Wark, Putney) Luton Town 0
05/Mar    Luton Town 0 West Bromwich Albion 0
12/Mar    Showed TVS coverage of Brighton & Hove Albion 1 (Case) Norwich City 0 [FA Cup QF]
19/Mar    Peterborough United 1 (Gynn) Hull City 1 (Mutrie)
26/Mar    Norwich City 1 (Deehan(pen)) West Ham United 1 (Dickens)
02/Apr     Ipswich Town 1 (McCall) Aston Villa 2 (Shaw, Withe)
09/Apr     Luton Town 2 (Aylott, Moss) Aston Villa 1 (Shaw) *Harrison comm. for Anglia, Moore for LWT
16/Apr     Norwich City 2 (Deehan 2) Sunderland 0
23/Apr     Luton Town 3 (Walsh 3) Swansea City 1 (Latchford)
30/Apr     Showed TVS & Granada matches
07/May    Ipswich Town 3 (McCall, Wark 2) Watford 1 (Rostron)
14/May    Showed LWT's match

A memorable season for Luton who retained top flight status thanks to a final day away win at Manchester City (which sent the Sky Blues down), striker Paul Walsh was jointly named 'PFA Young player of the year' (alongside Liverpool's Ian Rush). Norwich comfortably held on to their place among the elite in 14th with 20 of their goals scored by John Deehan, but it was a disappointing season for Ipswich having lost manager Bobby Robson to the England post in July 1982, first team coach Bobby Ferguson took over but having qualified for the UEFA Cup they again exited at the 1st round stage (this time to Roma) and Ipswich went on to finish 9th in the league - their lowest in 5 season's. On a brighter note for Ipswich, striker John Wark matched John Deehan's tally of 20 goals. Cambridge lived to fight another season in the 2nd tier - mid-table again in 12th. Southend were 15th in the 3rd tier, and in the 4th tier Colchester once again ended the campaign in 6th with 22 goals from Ian Allinson, Peterborough were 9th and Northampton 15th.